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About 20 years ago, a travel company declared this Monday just gone, the 15th, to be the most depressing day of the year. They call it Blue January. Enter yet more studio layoffs. 2023’s trend continues with Dead By Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive getting rid of about 45 staff, per Kotaku, while CI Games has laid off 10% of its workforce, including from Lords Of The Fallen studio Hexworks and Sniper Ghost Warrior studio Underdog (via GI.Biz).
Back in the depths of 2023’s February Steam Next Fest, Roots Of Yggdrasil was one of a handful of games that really caught my attention. Not because it was another beautiful-looking deckbuilder (though that does seem to be a steadily growing niche of mine these days), or because its colourful, inkwash visuals had the air of a Norse-flavoured Okami about them (though it did also help). Rather, it was the way its roguelike foundations meshed with its freeform, but still very goal-driven turn-based building systems, giving you drive and purpose in your construction choices, while also being light and chill, with just the right amount of existential threat nipping at your heels.
It struck me that if, say, my best puzzle strategy bud Dorfromantik was ever turned into a roguelike, this is probably a good approximation of what it would look and feel like, which is, frankly, yep, I’d like that game right now, please. Happily, with Roots Of Yggdrasil now approaching its early access launch on January 24th, I’m very happy to report that it’s come on leaps and bounds since that Next Fest demo. This is already a very moreish and polished building game, and I’ve been struggling to tear myself away from it as I guide my longboat of magic Vikings away from their impending Ragnarok.
After quite a while using the Fnatic Streak65, a 60% keyboard with Cherry brown switches, I have moved on from fruit (technically drupe, according to Google) and into a vegetable era. My Streak’s brown switches became a bit loud and quite rattly, which, as someone with hearing declared by an audiologist to be so sensitive that I give myself tinnitus, started to get to me.
So I type this to you now as someone who’s graduated to Kailh low profile switches, which is proving as nutritious for my finger pads as I’d imagine its leafy homophone would be. Here’s hoping that there’s more low profile mechanical keebs out there in a few years, as the options seem very limited at the mo.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 was featured in this evening’s Xbox Developer Direct. Ninja Theory gave a further glimpse of the things they show when talking about Hellblade: motion capture, graphical fidelity, mental health representation, and stabbing. They also provided a release date: May 21st, 2024.
Tonight’s Xbox Developer Direct brought an update on Avowed, Obsidian’s first-person fantasy RPG. A new trailer provided a substantial look at combat, including pistols, dual-wielding swords and wands, as well as a slightly updated release window: this autumn.
Today’s Xbox Developer Direct stream offered updates on some of 2024’s biggest Microsoft games, including MachineGames’ Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, Obsidian’s Avowed and Ninja Theory’s Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. If you missed the stream and want a quick roundup of all the news, games, release dates and trailers featured, we’ve gathered it all together in this post.
I think we’re well into “milking the gimmick” territory for bodycam horror games now – last week’s Digested may have been one giant snake too many – but Zoochosis does have the additional virtue of being heavily inspired by the cute doggy scene from The Thing. And also, perhaps, Five Nights At Freddy’s.
In this latest, gruesome escapade from Sparky Marky developers Clapperheads, you are a zookeeper working the night shift. Your job, initially, is to feed the incarcerated animals and clean up after them while giving them an occasional pat on the nose. But Something Is Wrong. Giraffes aren’t supposed to have that many legs, or mandibles. Kangaroos aren’t supposed to stick to the ceiling, or have several sets of teeth.
Games Done Quick is busy raising loads of money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, so we have a little chat about speedrunning, speedrunners, the benefits of breaking the game vs. the quality of a purist speedrun, and also a dog. We don’t have a Nate this week, but James has been playing Apelegs again and offers a surprising self-assessment of how he feels like he’s past his Apex Legends prime, and how confidence is a really necessary skill in competitive shooters. Worth tuning in for a listen to that.
Your favourite beaver-based colony sim Timberborn‘s latest big update has arrived, and honestly, I’d say your poor beavers won’t appreciate it one bit. The main reason being, it adds a new ecological hazard called Badwater, that doesn’t only make your water bad, but your crops and beavers at risk of being bad. Still, there are plenty of new buildings to help you harness the power of the stanky water and errr, exercise halls for beavers to get their sweat on. I wouldn’t recommend they rehydrate with the bad water, though.
As we all know, I like vampire stories, and I like different takes on vampire stories. Yesterday Edwin dangled an upcoming visual novel called Vampire Therapist in front of my nose. I am intrigued, also because I appreciate a Ronseal approach to titles. In Vampire Therapist, out on Steam this June 17th, you play Sam, a vampire who becomes a therapist to other vampires. So the title works twice!
