News
2 CommentsNight in the Woods delayed to February
Night in the Woods, the gorgeous adventure game from Infinite Fall, has been pushed back to “somewhere in the first part of February,” the studio announced today.
That represents a delay of a few weeks from the previously given release date — Infinite Fall said in late October that it planned to launch Night in the Woods on Jan. 10, 2017.
“Some last minute things have come up suddenly over the past few days and we have to push back the [Night in the Woods] release by a few weeks,” said Infinite Fall in a Kickstarter update. “It’s all normal stuff, nothing is on fire, and it’s all to do with the fact that we’re a tiny team making a big game and doing a multi-platform launch is a whole *waves hands around* thing.”
It’s rough timing for Infinite Fall: Last week, the studio released the f...
News
0 CommentsLeague of Legends’ maker inks rich broadcast contract, with an eye on premium content
Riot Games will rake in $50 million a year — at minimum — under an arrangement with Major League Baseball's online streaming operation to monetize and commercialize League of Legends competitions.
The deal between Riot and BAMTech, which is a subsidiary of MLB Advanced Media, runs through 2023. MLBAM handles MLB.tv, the online streaming network showing the leagues' games throughout the season. Clients such as Disney, HBO, the WWE and the PGA Tour also use BAMTech for their premium content offerings.
In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, Riot representatives said the deal will not change or end the current supply of free League of Legends content found on Twitch, YouTube and other streaming platforms. However, with a $50 million minimum guarantee per year, it's obvious some kind of premium...
Cover Story
Issue
24
November 4, 2016
Blizzard’s prodigal son returns
How one of Blizzard’s co-founders left the company, why he decided to come back and what it means for the future.
Read moreNews
3 CommentsNight in the Woods has knife fights and creepy platforming
Indie adventure game Night in the Woods has received its official trailer, and it’s here to prove that there’s more to this stylish game than meets the eye.
Night in the Woods is the story of Mae, a cat who returns home from college to her beleaguered rust-belt town. We’ve spent time with this game’s E3 demo, which was lavish in presentation and dense with dialogue. But from the looks of this trailer, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It shows off the game’s many other characters, and also teases a few more mini-games including what appears to be a knife fight.
Night in the Woods won’t be available until its launch date, Jan. 10, 2017, when it will be out on itch.io, Linux, Mac and Windows PC via Valve’s Steam platform, and PlayStation 4. But there’s a few ways you can experience it...
News
13 CommentsYooka-Laylee launching in April, Wii U version canceled
Yooka-Laylee, the spiritual successor to colorful 3D platformers like Banjo-Kazooie, made by alumni of the original series, will launch on April 11, 2017.
The Wii U version, which had been part of Yooka-Laylee's crowdfunding promises since its Kickstarter began in May 2015, is formally canceled. This isn't much of a surprise as Nintendo's newest console, the Switch, is due to launch sometime before the game's release date.
Those who donated to the project on Kickstarter to get the Wii U version may choose another version of the game, or may wait until a Nintendo Switch version is developed.
Playtonic Games said "we are now working very closely with Nintendo to look to bring Yooka-Laylee to the upcoming Nintendo Switch," and will have more details on that arrangement later.
Donors who...
News
14 CommentsDota 2’s big update goes live tomorrow. Here’s what’s in it.
Monkey King, a brand new Dota 2 character teased back in August, headlines a comprehensive update arriving tomorrow for Valve's free-to-play MOBA. Changes to Dota 2's game interface, gameplay, and a talent tree for heroes, also are forthcoming.
The talent tree is probably the broadest-reaching gameplay update in Dota 2 version 7.00. With it, players can select talents for their heroes at levels 10, 15, 20 and 25 to equip them with new augmentations to their powers and abilities. As it is a skill tree, each skill taken opens a new branch, and once taken, other branches are no longer available to the hero.
This example, for Wraith King, explains what Dota 2 is getting at. Much more is available at the Dota 2 site.
Monkey King, the new hero, is a melee character who plays in...
News
2 CommentsDota 2’s 7.00 update announcement breaks Dota 2’s official site (Update)
Update: The announcement site is live; go see it for more info. (The main site still seems to be in trouble.)
Dota 2 was supposed to reveal what is in version 7.00 — it’s been 11 years since version 6.00 — at noon today but, 30 minutes later, the site is still crashed, presumably by all the interest.
The update was announced last night at the finals of the Boston Major, in a way overshadowing the very compelling 3-1 championship won by OG over Ad Finem. But right now, we can’t tell you what’s coming in the 7.00 patch. Other than this guy (rimshot)
Both the countdown site and the Dota 2 blog are currently borked. We’ll update when they are unborked.
Update: Well, they got this up, at least.
Valve Corp.
News
1 CommentFacing down copyright claims, Doom roguelike fan game goes open-source (correction)
Rights holder ZeniMax Media slapped DoomRL, a popular fan game based on the classic first-person shooter, with a cease-and-desist order earlier this week, but co-creator Kornel Kisielewicz chose to keep the game available online. To do so, DoomRL — now called DRL — has gone open-source.
ZeniMax Media took issue with DoomRL, as Kisielewicz revealed to fans earlier this week. He shared a letter from the company’s legal team, asking that all references to the Doom property be removed from the fan project.
After weighing whether to ignore or comply with the takedown request, Kisielewicz decided to strip the Doom branding from the game and open it up to other players. The designer told Polygon this week that this was “always the plan” for the free roguelike version of Doom, which has been...
News
1 CommentAlmost two-fifths of Steam’s entire library was released in 2016
If it seems like Steam’s list of new releases has been getting more and more cluttered lately, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. More than 4,200 games have been released on Valve’s digital distribution service so far in 2016, according to Steam Spy — a figure that represents a whopping 38 percent of the service’s entire gaming library.
Yesterday, Steam Spy tweeted a pie chart of Steam games organized by their year of release. Today is the first day of December, so the exact number of 2016 titles listed in the chart — 4,207 — doesn’t even include the last month of the year. We just checked Steam’s list of new releases, and as of this writing, 33 games arrived on the service today.
The percentage alone doesn’t tell you a lot, as indie developer Tony Gowland points out. But the actual number...
News
6 CommentsErotic adventure Ladykiller in a Bind adds Christmas sweaters to make sex scenes SFW
Christine Love’s erotic visual novel “about crossdressing, social manipulation and kinky lesbian sex,” Ladykiller in a Bind, is now safer to play at work, thanks to the game’s latest update that lets players skip sex scenes and wear festive knits over their BDSM gear.
Version 1.10 of Ladykiller in a Bind adds new options for players who’d prefer to enjoy the visual novel with far less nudity, Love said on Twitter. New players will be given the option to skip sex scenes on their first night in the adventure, while existing players with save files will need to enable the option, Love said.
A new “safe for work” preference can also layer Christmas sweaters over the nudity, just in time for the holidays. Love warns “I can’t promise Twitch won’t ban you anyway!” (Ladykiller in a Bind is not...
News
4 CommentsKoji Igarashi’s Bloodstained adds two new developers
Ex-Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi is bringing on two additional development teams to help complete his next project, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, according to an update on the game’s Kickstarter.
Originally in development at Inti Creates, best known for its work on Mega Man, Azure Striker Gunvolt and Mighty No. 9, developers DICO and Monobit have recently joined the project. Based on the update, it’s not clear whether Inti Creates is still involved in the project or in what ongoing capacity. We’ve reached out to the developer and publisher 505 Games for clarification.
In the development update, DICO is described as “a studio with a long history of localization and global development work.”
“We've gathered a lot of reliable core team members for the project—in fact, one of...
Deals
6 CommentsSteam’s Autumn Sale is live with Black Friday-style deals
Steam’s annual Autumn Sale is live, running from now until Nov. 29. This year’s discounts include some of 2016’s top games, along with other favorites that are available on the cheap.
There’s more than 12,000 games on sale, which means there’s a ton to comb through. Here’s just a sampling of games worth checking out, preferably while wearing a cozy sweater and drinking something pumpkin spice-flavored — because, y’know, it’s the autumn sale.
Hitman Intro Pack (Prologue and Episode 1): $7.49 (50 percent off)
Sid Meier’s Civilization 6: $53.99 (10 percent off)
Inside: $14.99 (25 percent off)
Icey: $9.89 (10 percent off)
Quantum Break: $29.99 (25 percent off)
Tom Clancy’s The Division: $13.39 (50 percent off)
Stardew Valley: $10.04 (33 percent off)
Dark Souls 3: $38.99 (35 percent...
News
17 CommentsValve introduces Steam Awards, chosen by the community
Steam’s annual Autumn Sale is now live, and along with it comes something new: the Steam Awards.
“For the first time in human history, our Steam Community will decide the nominees for the prestigious Steam Awards,” says Valve.
During the Autumn Sale, Steam users can head to the store page for any game — not just titles released in 2016 — and nominate it for one of eight awards. Instead of bog-standard fare like “Best Action Game,” Valve came up with quirky categories such as the “Best Use of a Farm Animal” Award and the “Villain Most in Need of a Hug” Award.
Those fields are joined by a ninth award for which the community will determine both the category qualifiers and the nominees. Steam users will submit their suggestions, and Valve says “senior members” of the Steam Award Selection...
Report
5 CommentsBuying condoms is awkward — in games and in real life
There are few games like Well This is Awkward, which tackles the discomfort of buying condoms from a teen’s perspective. Yet, as lead designer and University of Baltimore senior Emma Kidwell told Polygon, this free-to-play comedy about contraceptives is actually quite mundane.
“It’s relatable, which is the goal,” she said via Skype earlier this week. “I wanted to make something really weird and relatable.”
Well This is Awkward definitely fits into the latter camp. Kidwell — who writes for Kill Screen and has written for Polygon before — designed it in Twine, a format popular with narrative designers. It tells the story of one uncomfortable night when a couple just wants to get it on ... except they’re missing just one important thing.
It sounds like it could border on preachy — Don’t...
News
16 CommentsGone Home is free this weekend
Developer Fullbright is giving away its story-driven first-person adventure, Gone Home, for free this weekend on PC for anyone looking for a little “hope and love right now.”
Designer and Fullbright co-founder Steve Gaynor announced the free giveaway of Gone Home on Twitter. The game, which normally costs $19.99, is available to download for Linux, Mac and Windows PC from itch.io.
For people that need something about hope and love right now: We've made @GoneHomeGame free this weekend on @itchio. https://t.co/F7RCOZAj5Y— Steve Gaynor (@fullbright) November 12, 2016
Although Gone Home is free to download until 12 a.m on Monday, itch.io offers the option to “pay what you think is fair for the game.” Gaynor said that any proceeds donated during the free giveaway will be given to Lambda...
News
15 CommentsWasteland 3 meets $2.75M crowdfunding goal
inXile Entertainment’s crowdfunding campaign for Wasteland 3 on Fig met its $2.75 million goal this weekend, just three days after the developer launched its latest project.
Currently, the game’s crowdfunding campaign has raised more than $2.8 million, pushing Wasteland 3 toward a series of stretch goals. According to inXile, the developer’s Fig campaign will add the following features to the role-playing game at funding milestones:
$2.85M: 37 Pieces of Flair – We unlock further Ranger customization, which could include multiple body types, more heads, and more hairstyles. Plus we’ll show items that your Ranger has equipped (gear like shovels, binoculars, etc) on their models.
$3M: Car Companion (Codename: Morningstar) – We add a talking car companion! Morningstar is an AI built to...
News
16 CommentsInside soundtrack came from within an actual human skull
Martin Stig Andersen, the sound designer and composer for Playdead’s Inside wanted a different yet familiar soundscape for the indie platformer. His solution was to play it through an actual human skull.
"I had the basic idea of trying to recreate sounds as they would sound if they were happening inside your head," Andersen wrote in a post on Gamasutra. "That was the curious thought that led me to acquire a human skull and experiment with it."
Inside tells the cryptic story of a young person on the run from a mysterious evil, and plays with themes of mind control and genetic engineering. Our review called it a "jaw-dropping ... superbly crafted, beautiful game." It’s the spiritual successor of the critically-acclaimed Limbo, which was released in 2010.
"I didn't really want to hear...
News
5 CommentsPsychonauts 2 will get all the money its investors pledged
Psychonauts 2 is the first crowdfunded game project to offer equity investment to everyone, not just the rich. Its campaign, run through the Fig crowdfunding platform, concluded in January of this year with nearly $3.83 million raised. But neither Fig nor developer Double Fine Productions has been able to collect a portion of those investment dollars — specifically, money from non-accredited investors — because of an ongoing review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That process ended last week, and today non-accredited investors are being asked to pay for the shares they reserved.
But even if Fig and Double Fine can reach those many hundreds, perhaps thousands of investors who reserved the right to purchase shares in the project, those individuals are under no obligation...
News
1 CommentDota 2's second championship season begins with The Boston Major
The first tournament on Dota 2's second season of major events will be The Boston Major, Valve announced yesterday, and it will feature a $3 million prize pool.
The Boston Major presented by PGL is Dec. 7 to Dec. 10 at Wang Theater in Boston. A field of 16 teams will compete in a single-elimination bracket of best-of-three matches in Dota 2. The final round will be a best-of-five series between the semifinalists.
The Boston Major will be preceded by an open qualifying round Oct. 23-26, followed by regional qualifiers Oct. 27-30. A group stage will be set following qualifiers, and the top 16 teams from that round on Dec. 3 and 4 will advance to the Main Event.
Valve says that tickets to the Main Event will be available for sale beginning Friday, Oct. 14.
Valve inaugurated Dota 2's...
News
39 CommentsSteam review scores change to ward off playing the system
Heavy Steam users may have noticed that the customer reviews section of every store page looks a bit different as of last night. That’s because the system has changed, as Valve announced in a post last night, and the tweaks are meant to make scores more legitimate.
To do so, Valve has introduced several filters to the reviews tab; one limits customer write-ups to just a user’s native language, while the other lets them choose between game reviews by Steam purchasers, key activations or both. The latter option, which is set to reviews by Steam store customers by default, is what Valve honed in on in its post, explaining that the update comes as a preventive measure against illegitimate reviews.
"The review score has also become a point of fixation for many developers, to the point...
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