Digital RPG News
VaultBreakers Announced
VaultBreakers is a Diablo-like action-RPG that reminded me a lot of Torchlight II with its steampunk-inspired levels and stylized graphics. Players can join the playtest on Steam or the VaultBreaker’s site.
RPG Maker available with demo on PS4/PS5
NIS America has released a demo of RPG Maker WITH for the PS4/PS5. It allows players to not only try out the game, but also play games created by others on the Nintendo Switch. It is slated to be released on February 21st, 2025.
- RPG MAKER WITH – Demo Trailer (PS4, PS5)
- RPG MAKER WITH PLAYER PS4 & PS5 (Free player for games)
- RPG MAKER WITH (game page under construction)
Citizen Sleeper 2:Starward Vector review at RPGamer
Zach Welhouse at RPG Gamer reviews Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector. It is quite a good review, but I’ll let Zach’s content speak for itself. Link in the show notes.
Shujinkou Interview at RPGamer
Jordan McClain interviews Julian Rice about his dungeon crawler Shujinkou.
Roblox confirmed to be under investigation by SEC.
Information is sparse about what the investigation entails, but the SEC has confirmed that Roblox is under investigation.
SEC confirms Roblox part of ‘active and ongoing’ investigation
Eko Software releases two new videos showing off the world and city in Dragonkin: The Banished.
In the world presentation, it paints the main quest in broad strokes as it describes the environments the player will traverse from swamps to forests to underwater areas.
In the City Overview, it shows how the city can grow and change as the player proceeds through their adventure, and because the city itself is so large, there is a fast travel system for just moving through the city effectively.
Tabletop RPG News
Coping with cancellation of game sessions.
It has happened to us all. We get excited about a game session and get everything ready only to have everyone cancel so it cannot continue, and often it becomes habitual. MIchael Tresca looks at this phenomenon and how to get back on the horse.
RPG Evolution: Game Cancelled, Now What? | EN World D&D & Tabletop RPG News & Reviews
Pathfinder adds 2 new classes
Charlie Hall writes up a description of the two new classes for Pathfinder on Polygon. They will be included in the new Battlecry! Book. These two new classes will be the Guardian and the Commander.
Pathfinder adds 2 new classes, conflict seizes Golarion in Battlecry! | Polygon
Romantic Tabletop RPGs
Bell of Lost Souls releases an article about romantic games for Valentines Day.
Romantic Games For a Very Sweet Valentines Day – Bell of Lost Souls
Pathfinder: Guns and Gears (Remastered) now out
The new edition of Guns and Gears has been released by paizo. It adds blazing guns and exciting technology to the already-vast amount of equipment and skills in the Pathfinder universe.
Game Development News
EA says Dragon Age ‘underperformance’ justifies the decision to prioritize ‘highest potential opportunities.’
31st Union head Michael Condrey reportedly fired after weak Project Ethos reveal.
31st Union head Michael Condrey reportedly fired after weak Project Ethos reveal
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord wins Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord wins Grammy | News-in-brief | GamesIndustry.biz
Unions slam Bobby Kotick’s claims that Activision-Blizzard harassment reports were “fake”
What Obsidian Entertainment learned making Avowed a first-person fantasy RPG
What Obsidian Entertainment learned making Avowed a first-person fantasy RPG
Greenheart Necromancer reinvents the idle game genre
Greenheart Necromancer reinvents the idle game, shows how to rethink ‘predatory’ mechanics
Hi-Rez Studios fires at least 20 more developers in another round of cuts.
In the third round of cuts since June 2024, Hi-Rez has laid off another 20 developers.
Iron Galaxy lays off 66 developers.
Iron Galaxy, creators of titles like Extinction, Dive Kick, and Rumbleverse have laid off 66 developers.
Iron Galaxy lays off 66 to protect “long-term survival” | GamesIndustry.biz
ProbablyMonsters lays off more developers.
In addition to the layoffs, they have shuttered their internal development studio.
Update: ProbablyMonsters confirms more layoffs after pledging to build ‘stable home for developers’
Sumo group refocuses business and lays off more developers.
Sumo Group to refocus business on “development services for partners” | GamesIndustry.biz
Bandai-Namco shed nearly 120 employees over the last year.
Crytek Cuts 15% of workforce
Crytek cuts 15% of workforce, Crysis 4 put on hold | GamesIndustry.biz
Unity Cuts Jobs Once Again as it makes “Important organizational changes”
Unity has cut jobs again, and this time they did it with an email blast around the world so people on the west coast received an email from noreply@unity.com telling them they were fired and needed to have their stuff removed from the office by the end of day.
Unity cuts jobs once again as it makes “important organisational changes” | GamesIndustry.biz
Square-Enix revenues fall over the past 9 months
Square Enix revenues fall over the past nine months to $1.6bn | GamesIndustry.biz
Embracer sales drop 22% to 1.5bn, $298m debt remains
Embracer sales drop 22% to $1.5bn, $298m debt remains | GamesIndustry.biz
Ubisoft revenues decline 31.4% to 990m Eros
Featured Game
This episode’s featured game is Wild Arms 3. While it was originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2002, it is currently available to Playstation Plus subscribers. It takes place in the sepia-toned desert planet of Filgaia, and has characters even more inspired by spaghetti Westerns than the previous games. Plus, you can’t just wander around and find new towns. You have to have someone tell you about them and then plot a course to find them. It was one of the slowest and most frustrating parts of the game, unfortunately, but I do like that they tried to do something new… I just didn’t like the execution.
One of the funniest things about it is that in battles, the characters run amok while waiting for their turn. I know why they did this. In active-time battles, it is boring to wait for bars to load so you can take your turn. You end up watching progress bars filling on static screens. This was supposed to break that up, and it does. But it is still kind of crazy watching everyone run around the battle arena like crazy as you wait for your turn.
Still, the game works pretty well even today, or at least better than Wild Arms 2, which I still love, but it is much harder to go back to now.
The characters are fun, with names like Virginia Maxwell, Clive Winslett, and Gallows Carradine, I felt like I was in a western…with a little Kung Fu mixed in. But damn, when I read the amnesiac’s name I laughed out loud: Jet Enduro. It sounds like someone that should be skating their way to revolution in Jet Grind Radio.
All in all, it is a pretty solid game, even if the presentation is largely sandy colored environments.