On February 10th, Smilegate’s CrossfireX joins the service for consoles. It includes Operation: Catalyst, one of two single-player Operations. To obtain the second Operation, one must purchase the Ultimate Pack which includes both Operations, the base game and the Season 1 Premium Battle Pass for $30.

Other titles available on the same day include Skul: The Hero Slayer, Edge of Eternity and The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom for cloud, consoles and PC. Besiege will also launch into Xbox Game Preview (aka early access).

Finally, on February 14th, ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition – which includes the base game and the Scorched Earth, Extinction, Aberration and Genesis Part 1 and 2 expansions – will be available along with Infernax. They’ll be playable on PC, consoles and the cloud.

Check out the titles that will be leaving Game Pass on February 15th:

• Control (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Code Vein (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age (Console and PC)
• The Medium (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Project Winter (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• The Falconeer (Cloud, Console, and PC

The developers of hit indie game sensation Contrast have just unveiled their latest game, and it’s a bit of a surprise. It’s called We Happy Few, and it is a fair bit different from Contrast, although it promises to be equally thought provoking. It’s about a plucky bunch of moderately terrible people trying to escape from a lifetime of cheerful denial. Set in a drug-fuelled, retrofuturistic city in an alternative 1960s England, you’ll have to blend in with its other inhabitants, who don’t take kindly to people who don’t abide by their not-so-normal rules.

The developers will be showing the game off at PAX East in Boston next month, and everybody who goes to the booth to check the game out is in with a chance to be invited to the game’s alpha; even if you can’t make it to Boston for PAX, the developers say, they will still be trying teir best to have as many people as possible involved throughout the entire development process.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt, and we will keep you posted.

It’s been a long ride since the launch of the Xbox One, though it hasn’t even been a year since the console launched. Compulsion Games, which developed Contrast for the PS4 and PC before eventually bringing the shadow-play puzzle platformer to the Xbox One, recently held an AMA to talk about how the tool kit has developed as compared to when they first received it.

In response to the same, Compulsion stated on Reddit, “Hmm, I don’t have a great deal of info for you. We only updated once since starting developing on it in January/February, and then we were done three months later. However, the tools are always more mature after (compared to before) launch, and there were in reasonably good shape.

“Generally we stick to one version of an SDK, unless we need to upgrade (whether that need is tech driven, ie the new SDK supports a feature we want to use, or because that SDK isn’t release supported any more).”

Compulsion’s Contrast was also one of the first few big-name indie games to be available for PlayStation Plus subscribers shortly after its official release. What led to the inclusion in PS+ and how would it – along with Games With Gold – affect the developer? Compulsion answers, “We got asked. We have a pretty good relationship with Sony, and when it looked like we were going to make the launch date, we started talking about it. We had hoped that the marketing support would mean we’d reach way more people.

“The PS+ and GwG programs are great for visibility. There is a substantial number of people who would never have known who we are, except for PS+. It’ll be really interesting to see how GwG grows over the next year, I think.”

It was also interesting to hear about Compulsion’s use of the Xbox One’s eSRAM. This has been under scrutiny since before the console’s release. While it has been praised for its texture streaming capabilities, it’s also been criticized for being hard to develop for (in comparison to the PS4’s unified architecture) and underpowered. What is Compulsion doing with it? They first state that, “Yes we did use the Xbox One’s ESRAM. We didn’t spend a huge amount of time tuning it; but we use it to store our most sensitive/commonly used visual elements.”

Compulsion further added that, “It’ll be interesting to see how people use it – we didn’t need to take too much advantage of it.”

Contrast is currently available for the Xbox One. Have you had a chance to play it? Let us know what you think in the comments, along with Compulsion’s use of eSRAM? Let us know in the comments.

Microsoft has finally released a short list for the first 25 indie titles to be arriving for the Xbox One. These titles have been developed under the ID@Xbox initiative and are expected to arrive in the coming weeks. Some of them, like Zen Studios’ CastleStorm and KickBeat, are already available to play at GDC 2014 while others like Nutjitsu have been revealed in advance.

Check out the full list of games below:

1001 Spikes – Nicalis
Calibre 10 Racing Series – Bongfish GmbH
CastleStorm – Zen Studios
Chariot – Frima
Chuck’s Challenge 3D – Niffler
Contrast – Compulsion Games
Divekick Addition Edition + – Iron Galaxy Studios
Forced – BetaDwarf ApS
FRU – Through Games
Guacamelee Super Turbo Championship Edition – DrinkBox Studios
Gunscape – Blowfish Studios
Habitat – 4gency
Hyper Light Drifter – Heart Machine
It Draws a Red Box – Other Ocean
Nutjitsu – NinjaBee
Pinball Arcade – FarSight Studios
Q.U.B.E. Director’s Cut – Toxic Games
Riptide GP2 – Vector Unit
Roundabout – No Goblin
Sixty Second Shooter Prime – Happion Laboratories
Spectra: 8bit Racing – Gateway Interactive
Strike Suit Zero – Born Ready Games
Super Time Force – Capybara
The Last Tinker – Mimimi Productions
Wulverblade – Darkwind Media

Keep in mind that, in Microsoft’s own words, this list is “neither comprehensive nor chronological”. Some games may release sooner than others and more details are pending at this time so stay tuned. Regardless, what are your thoughts on the first wave of indie games? Let us know below.

Compulsion Games have announced that their recently released adventure platformer, Contrast, has reached over one million downloads from the PlayStation store for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.

“We feel rewarded and ecstatic that so many PlayStation fans have embraced our world throughout the Holiday season,” stated Guillaume Provost, Founder and Creative Director, Compulsion Games. “It has given us the wonderful opportunity to engage with the community; evolving and improving the game as a result of their feedback. We’re overwhelmed with the fan support and look forward to sharing Contrast with a whole new audience.”

Contrast is a unique gaming experience set in a 1920’s themed world filled with magic and deception. Gamers will play as Dawn, an imaginary friend of one of the game’s characters. Dawn has the ability to shift between the normal 3D world and a 2D shadow realm in order to bypass various obstacles.

From these numbers alone, it’s safe to say that Contrast is definitely worth downloading and checking out.

Compulsion Games Community and PR Manager Sam Abbott, developers of PlayStation 4 launch title Contrast, recently did an AMA [Ask Me Anything] on Reddit. The PlayStation 4 version of the game is marred by several glitches and Sam has assured that development team is working hard on pushing out a patch as soon as possible.

In the thread, Sam revealed that patching on the PC is much easier. But that does not mean that development on the PlayStation 4 version is any harder. He also revealed that Steam/PC platform gives them more control compared to the PSN and Xbox Live.

Yes, absolutely! The PS4 is way easier to develop for, and that will only increase as engine developers increase their support. My comment was absolutely not about development or “porting” (which is a bit of a maligned term, in many cases).

The reason why we test on Steam is really simple. We control the patch management, and so we can put up a patch, ask people to let us know what they think, update, respond, etc. PSN/XBLA is much more restrictive. So, think of it this way: all the Steam/PC testing etc has contributed to the development of the PSN patch.

Contrast is free for all PlayStation Plus users and this has obviously made a lot of subscribers happy. Sam chipped in with his thoughts about the PlayStation Plus stating that it is a outstanding platform.

I think PS+ is outstanding. We’re moving towards a future where there are a crazy number of games available – what will make the difference is great curation systems, like PS+.

Sam also mentioned that those looking to develop games on the PlayStation 4 need to be highly experienced to get an SDK. In short your work should speak for you. In short, beginners will probably be turned down by Sony.

You need to get in touch with them [Sony], basically. They’re friendly and open, but they will be looking for devs with experience. You’d need to show them some of your previous work, or a working game.

Building the game on PS4 isn’t a significant stretch from building on PC, if you’ve got an engine that supports PS4 🙂

For more on Contrast, read our full review of the game here.

Given the recent success of indie and downloadable titles, it’s no surprise that two of the major launch games for the Playstation 4 would be downloadable games. The first was Sony’s very own Resogun, an excellent shoot ‘em up. The second is Contrast, the debut title from Canadian developer Compulsion Games, and like the games mentioned above, Contrast is a game that could only come from the indie scene. After all, how many other games will allow you to take control of a young girl’s imaginary friend?

"The story starts simply, but grows increasingly complex as the game goes on, and a large part of Contrast’s appeal lies in discovering what will happen next. Thankfully, the game spins its yarn well. The characters are largely complex and well-acted, and the story moves from one plot point to the next in a very organic fashion."

The game opens in a girl’s bedroom in 1920s Paris. Didi, the girl in question, is being tucked into bed by her mother, Kat, the star of the cabaret at a local club called the Ghost Note. Kat makes Didi promise not to sneak out while she’s away and Didi agrees to stay in. Of course, that wouldn’t make for a very interesting game, and Didi is soon sneaking through the night so she can watch her mother perform, and perhaps visit her estranged father. Didi isn’t alone, however. She’s got Dawn with her, an imaginary friend with the ability to become a shadow in brightly lit areas. What Dawn does affects the real world, and you’ll find yourself helping Didi as she gets far too involved in the very adult problems her parents are struggling with.

The story starts simply, but grows increasingly complex as the game goes on, and a large part of Contrast’s appeal lies in discovering what will happen next. Thankfully, the game spins its yarn well. The characters are largely complex and well-acted, and the story moves from one plot point to the next in a very organic fashion.

There are some genuinely touching moments here, and couple of well-executed plot twists as well, and it’s easy to become invested in the plight of Didi and her family. While the game does make use of many well-worn achetypes – gangsters, showgirls, illusionists, and con artists – it does so without resorting to clichés, and manages to present a fairly well-realized and believable world, despite the occasional bit of iffy dialogue.

"Dawn’s powers are the highlight of Contrast’s gameplay. She has the ability to roam the game’s 3D world, but the best parts take place when she’s traversing the game’s walls as a shadow. Contrast’s most exciting moments will have you quickly transitioning from one to another, manipulating objects in the real world so that you can use them in the shadow world, and vice versa."

And what a world Contrast creates. The game’s art style is captures the noir feeling perfectly, and environments and characters are rendered beautifully. Contrast also does a good job of presenting different and unique environments for Dawn to traverse and interact with. The accompanying musical score is a low, jazzy mix, and does the nearly impossible job of capturing the time period and locales perfectly, though special mention must be made of Laura Ellis’ superb vocal work.

The game’s shadows are equally impressive, which is important, since you’ll spend so much time interacting with them. In an interesting artistic decision, only Dawn and Didi are rendered as 3D models, while the other characters appear as shadows throughout the world. It’s an interesting visual technique that the game pulls off with aplomb, and it goes a long way in adding to Dawn’s status as an imaginary friend who is only real to Didi, and can only interact with the world in a limited fashion.

Dawn’s powers are the highlight of Contrast’s gameplay. She has the ability to roam the game’s 3D world, but the best parts take place when she’s traversing the game’s walls as a shadow. Contrast’s most exciting moments will have you quickly transitioning from one to another, manipulating objects in the real world so that you can use them in the shadow world, and vice versa. The controls are tight and responsive on both a controller and a keyboard, and the platforming never stops being fun. Unfortunately, it’s easy for Dawn to get stuck on objects in the environment, especially when she’s in the 3D world, or to be simply knocked out of the shadow sections for seemingly arbitrary reasons, which can be problematic when you’re using shadows to run over a gap. The former occurrences can often be escaped by using Dawn’s dash ability, and the game never punishes you for dying, so these are minor complaints, but they can get frustrating over time.

"Contrast is an intriguing and enjoyable title with a host of good gameplay ideas, fantastic visuals, beautiful music and an interesting and heartfelt story to tell, despite the odd technical issue and any complaints about its length."

Thankfully, the game’s puzzles and platforming sections are often very clever and fun to solve, and the game does a good job in keeping the environments varied, so you won’t often find yourself asked to do the same thing more than a few times. For instance, one section might have Dawn taking over the role of a princess in a shadow puppet show that Didi’s father is presenting, while another will task you with fixing a pirate ride at the local fair. The game also features sections that require Dawn to jump on shadows that appear straight out of the story’s cutscenes to reach a hidden area or item, which provide challenges of their own, though it should be noted that Contrast is never too hard. The game’s puzzles, while clever in terms of design, are often pretty simple, which means that the real challenge comes nailing the difficult jumps in the platforming sections.

The lack of difficulty is compounded by Contrast’s other problem: its length. I completed the game in about three hours after having done nearly everything, and while there are collectibles and secrets to find, many of which are necessary to completely understand the game’s narrative, they don’t add much replay value. This is problematic considering the game’s fifteen dollar price tag, which seems steep for the amount of content on offer.

Still, Contrast is an intriguing and enjoyable title with a host of good gameplay ideas, fantastic visuals, beautiful music and an interesting and heartfelt story to tell, despite the odd technical issue and any complaints about its length. Compulsion Games has crafted an interesting, unique, and compelling world with their first game, no small feat considering the quality of indie games on the scene today, and Contrast can stand next to those titles proudly as an indie game worth playing.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

Guillaume Provost, creative director and founder, stated that, “Creating Contrast was a journey, and ultimately a celebration of our craft. It is a story that came together by the efforts and support of our team, our partners, our fans, and by the dedication of everyone who helped propel the game to such unexpected heights. We are deeply grateful and humbled by the community’s reactions, and the overwhelming enthusiasm that at long last, helped bring Contrast to light.”

The PS3 version will be available on November 19th in the US and November 20th in Europe, while it arrives for PS4 in Europe on November 29th.

Details regarding the games launch have been changing since the delay of the PlayStation 4 title DriveClub. In a recent blog post on the games official site, Compulsion Games have said, “Our Xbox 360, PS3 and PS4 builds are all ready to go, having passed submission in nearly every territory, so we’re right on time for launch in mid-November.”

Right now, the PC, Xbox 360 and US PS4 versions are planned to launch on 15th November 2013.  The PS3 version is planned to launch on 19th November in the US, and 20th November in Europe.  Finally, PS4 Europe players will get it on the  launch of the PS4, on 29th November.

• 1. Development
• 2. Gameplay
• 3. Story
• 4. Characters

Development

Contrast is heavily inspired by the cinema genre, Film Noir. This is present in both the games visual aesthetic as well as its soundtrack, as demonstrated in the game’s trailer. The Film Noir, for those of you that don’t know, is a very stylish form of cinematography. Not in an overtly flamboyant sense of the word, but stylish in its approach to portrayal of the subject matter. The 2007 book “Rough Guides” by Alexander Ballinger and Danny Graydon attempts to describe the strange style by saying “We’d be oversimplifying things in calling film noir-oneiric, strange, ambivalent, and cruel”.

Strangely however, the Studio Head of Compulsion Games seems to have perfectly captured the definition of the genre and put it into video game form.  Guillaume Provost was, at the time working on a freelance basis for Arkane Studios (The Lyon Based, ZeniMax owned studio behind games like Dishonored and Dark Messiah of Might & Magic) and while spending time in a coffee shop in Lyon, France he had the idea for Contrast. Speaking in an interview with 1UP, he said “I used to be a rendering programmer when I used to write code, so I thought about a lot of physical and/or graphical novel ways of interacting with games, and that’s how the idea sparked. I can’t say ‘I saw a shadow on a wall’ and had this sudden boom of an idea. I was basically sitting in a café when I got the original idea, and I built up from that”.

It is this mention of a ‘shadow on a wall’ that best represents how the game will be played, leaping from one shadow to the next and manipulating various light sources to create platforms that best suit your needs. Contrast was originally supposed to launch on all the major platforms, however a problem arose with the PlayStation 4. PlayStation 4 gamers were promised the supposedly ground breaking racing title “Drive Club” on the day the console launched, but problems arose within the development team and the decision was made to delay the game until early 2014 due to concerns that the game wasn’t 100% complete in its current form.

A posting on the official PlayStation Blog says “SCE Worldwide Studios and the team at Evolution Studios have made the difficult decision to delay the release of Driveclub and Driveclub PlayStation Plus Edition until early 2014.” In order to make sure that the PlayStation fan base was not let down or left feeling disappointed, they were instead promised a free copy of Contrast as a means of compensation, this is currently set to be redeemable via the PlayStation Plus program.

A statement from the developer says “We’re also excited that the PS4 version of Contrast will be free to PS4 owners who are also PS+ subscribers.   This means a whole heap of people will play the game, who might not have otherwise.  We think this is really cool, because it’s a great opportunity to introduce new players to the indie scene.”

Story

The plot of Contrast will see you playing as two characters called Dawn and Didi, whom we meet for the first time in a train station. We then discover that the youngest of the two, Didi comes from a rather dysfunctional and broken down family, with her mother having been recently murdered and having an estranged father. When asked about the story, Guillaume Provost said “She’s asking the player to change the course of past events in order to mend her family. And that’s a little bit the theme of the whole game.”

Gameplay

The gameplay of Contrast is rather similar to Nintendo’s upcoming game, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. The player will be taking control of the young detective called Dawn, who can make her way through the games various levels by both traversing the world in 3D movement, or by flattening herself against a wall and becoming a silhouette of herself. Unlike Zelda: : A Link Between Worlds however, Dawn must make use of light and dark in order to become her flat, two dimensional self.

While in her shadow form she can leap from shadow to shadow and leave them at will, this will be her primary means of Platforming.  The player will also be able to manipulate various light sources in the game such as spotlights, to cast shadows in different directions or to create platforms for Dawn. This can be seen in the trailer for the game wherein she can be seen leaping from the heads of horse shaped shadows while a Merry Go Round carousel spins in the centre of a plaza and as she leaps between two shadows becoming both two and three dimensional.

Characters

There are to main playable characters in Contrast.

• Dawn: Dawn is a young detective, we don’t know very much about her except that she has the ability to leap in and out of shadows and light to help traverse her environment.
• Didi: Didi is a young girl from a broken family. Her mother was recently the victim of a murder and her father is estranged and we know little about him.

This week marks the PlayStation 4 launch; it therefore also marks the first batch of games that will be made available for PlayStation Plus members for free for the console. And the first batch of those games, while disappointingly lacking any big name retail games, is definitely a varied bunch that should cater to a wide variety of tastes.

The titles include Resogun, the stunning looking arcade shooter from the guys who gave us Super Stardust and Dead Nation, that should allow for some competitive shooting action for launch buyers; Contrast, which is a sedate, slow paced puzzle platformer; and Ibb & Obb, which is a charming gravity based puzzle game.

So if you were hoping to score Killzone or Knack with PS+, you’re out of luck for now, but regardless of the lack of big names, that’s an impressive, diverse lineup, and a good start to PS+ on the console.