NEWS: Diablo creator David Brevik announces It Lurks Below, will reveal more on Twitch

Diablo creator David Brevik, complete with magnificent beard. Source: Graybeard Games

Graybeard games, founded by 25-year industry veteran David Brevik of Diablo fame, has announced its latest game: It Lurks Below, a marriage of Terraria and Diablo gameplay mechanics made in heaven (hell). Brevik first major release since 2013, It Lurks Below will be coming to Steam later this year. The game looks to bring the signature hack and slash mechanics of Diablo together with the creativity and sandbox stylings of modern indie classic Terraria.

It Lurks Below's logo appears suitable to its themes. Source: Graybeard Games

The main reveal of the game, however, will be featured on Twitch this weekend. 200 streamers are set to participate in a closed beta session showcasing the gameplay of It Lurks Below, complete with surprise appearances from Brevik himself, who will also be streaming the game, having already spent many months on his creation. Brevik’s streaming schedule is as follows, and gamers are actively encouraged to participate:

• Friday 2nd February: 9-11pm PST
• Saturday 3rd February: 3-5pm PST
• Sunday 4th February: 10am-noon PST (this will be the main event of the reveal!)
• Monday 5th February: Noon-2pm PST

It Lurks Below looks to be a fitting marriage of signature Diablo characteristics with Terraria gameplay. Source: Graybeard Games

Looking at the screenshots, It Lurks Below looks like a fun and intriguing retro-styled project very fitting to its influences. David Brevik certainly has a great pedigree in gaming, so It Lurks Below shows a lot of promise to be an excellent game made with passion throughout.

NEWS: Subnautica finally surfaces from Early Access January 24th

Unknown Worlds Entertainment’s underwater survival game, Subnautica, has finally made it out of Steam’s Early Access, available for £17.54 (£19.49 after promotion) in the UK, and for $24.99 in the US. Already highly successful and much-loved by YouTubers including Markiplier and Jacksepticeye, Subnautica promises underwater survival sandbox gameplay and base-building elements that bring a unique twist on the flooded genre of survival games.

Subnautica is a deeply beautiful game with lots of bright colours in use bringing a engaging diving and exploration experience to the player. The gameplay consists largely of collecting blueprints and adventuring around a fluorescent alien ocean while also avoiding death from the many dangers lurking in the deadly sea, from dangerous stinging plants all the way up to giant sea monsters called Leviathans. 

 

Subnautica's beautiful, but deadly luminescent ocean. Source: in-game screenshot.

Some of the more promising features of the game include the scavenging elements and the crafting elements. With a fitting sci-fi twist on the formula most common in survival games, Subnautica forges its own identity in the genre; instead of crafting recipes using benches and tables, instead useful items are Fabricated using an in-game tool that 3D-prints such goodies in front of the players eyes. From this, an extensive array of underwater machinery and tools can be constructed to make exploration easier and more satisfying, and not only that but the player can also create sprawling underwater habitats with many cool little personalisations that add to the game’s individual charm. The game offers different options to explore its oceans including the traditional Survival mode and genre mainstays Hardcore mode (giving the player only one life alongside difficulty hikes) and Creative mode (offering players freedom of exploration and crafting).

It is promising to see the game finally out of Early Access after its development period. With the many performance upgrades and features added since its initial offering, including a deep story mode, Subnautica has grown as a game and is a fine example of how to do Early Access correctly. The game joins the likes of Klei Entertainment’s Don’t Starve in its success on getting out of what, for many games, is a long and protracted beta period that is difficult to survive.

On announcing the game’s final release, Charlie Cleveland, Co-Founder and Game Director of Unknown Worlds Entertainment had this to say:

“Since the game’s beta release in 2014, Subnautica has received waves of positive and constructive feedback from our dedicated players. The team is grateful to the community for the overwhelming support. We are proud to deliver an experience that gamers of all ages will dive into and immediately feel the thrill of exploration and survival in an expansive undersea world.”

Further coverage of Subnautica will include a review and a Twitch stream at a later date. The game’s trailer is viewable below:

For more information on Subnautica, a link to the game's page can be found here.

NEWS: Psychological Thriller STAY announced for Spring 2018, platforms include PC, Xbox One and Mac

STAY, developed by Spanish indie team Appnormals and published by PQube (also known for BlazBlue, MotoGP and Harvest Moon among others), is an intriguing looking psychological thriller that offers a unique take on player interaction, and the relationship between player and character. It appears much like an adventure game, albeit with the unique premise that the player doesn’t assume direct control of the protagonist (except for puzzle sections). Instead, one is only able to interact with the main character, Quinn, through a computer connected to a chat room with only the player as a member; his only form of contact with the outside world since being abducted and left isolated in a dark room. 

 

The computer chat room and the player are Quinn's only hopes of escaping alive. Source: http://pqube.co.uk/stay/

STAY promises a unique take on how to interact with game characters, offering an innovative, empathetic experience where the player’s own actions in real time will decide Quinn’s fate. Perhaps more interestingly, the game also allows one to use webcams to spy on the protagonist, so that this knowledge can be used to the player’s advantage; occasionally Quinn will lie and disobey, and this will undoubtedly be a central part of the game’s draw. 

In using a chatroom interface, STAY offers a unique way to interact with the game. Source: http://pqube.co.uk/stay/

The strange, sadistic mix of point-and-click adventure tropes with Tamagotchi and cyber-pet mechanics, and an escape-room dynamic, will undoubtedly make for a game to watch, if not an engaging and gripping take on a psychological thriller. STAY promises multiple different endings, many conversation trees and, of course, a lot of deaths. Replay value appears to be one of the biggest draws of this game. As a premise, it is obvious that Appnormals has crafted something that plans to interact with players in a meta, unique way, and it will be interesting to see how STAY fares in achieving this. 

 

The game features stylistic pixellated graphics, a popular choice for indie titles. Source: http://pqube.co.uk/stay/

STAY will be released in Spring 2018 for the PC, the Mac, and the Xbox One. It's YouTube trailer, detailing the game's unique premise and storyline, can be found below:

NEWS: Bomberman-like BRAWL blasts onto the Nintendo Switch January 12th (19th in EU/AUS)

Qubic Games, maker of Robonauts and Tactical Mind, will be releasing new Bomberman-like BRAWL on January 12^th, or January 19th in EU/AUS, for the Nintendo Switch.

Bomberman-like BRAWL; a unique take on classic gameplay tropes. Source: BRAWL presskit

With the premise of a darker theme not out of place in rogue-likes and survival horror games, BRAWL offers a unique, if twisted take, on the classic Bomberman gameplay that we have all come to know and love. Players will find themselves in the darkness of The Emporium to face off against creepy enemies and monsters.

Players will face off in 4-player multiplayer battles, in maps fitting to BRAWL's stylistic design. Source: BRAWL presskit

The game features a unique art style that resembles a cel-shaded, cartoony look. Something new offered by BRAWL is the introduction of different play styles such as Wrestler, or Thief. The class-based system looks not out of place for a roguelike, but to see it in a gameplay style such as this is refreshing.

Players will be able to play as many creepy characters, such as the Thief. Source: BRAWL presskit

The game will feature a multiplayer mode for up to 4 players, with multiple maps and game types that each look to add a different take on the gameplay. Of note is Colour Domination, which appears to be an interesting take on adding Splatoon characteristics to the playstyle.

Colour Domination offers a cool-looking fusion of Splatoon and Bomberman. Source: BRAWL presskit

Promising to offer a compelling, gruesome twist on a classic gameplay formula such as Bomberman, BRAWL will be blasting its way onto the Nintendo Switch on January 12^th in the US for $9.99, and January 19^th in Europe and Australia for €9/99.