Remi Racine, Behaviour Interactive CEO and co-founder, said in a press release, “It’s a privilege to welcome a developer of Red Hook’s caliber. Earlier this year, we established an ambitious goal for our future as a publisher – to make Behaviour synonymous with horror and surround Dead by Daylight with a library of similarly exceptional horror games.

“Our acquisition of Red Hook is another emphatic step towards this objective, with more to come.” This seems to imply that other studios specializing in horror titles could be up for acquisition.

Red Hook Studios co-founder Chris Bourassa said, “We’ve found kindred spirits in the Behaviour team. Both studios are Canadian, independent, and devoted to fantastic horror games. Where we differ is scale, which opens the door to new possibilities. Behaviour’s support will help us pursue our vision for Red Hook’s future and focus fully on transforming Darkest Dungeon into an absolute juggernaut of the dark fantasy genre.”

Studio co-founder Tyler Sigman added, “Joining forces with Behaviour is exciting on multiple levels. They have demonstrated a commitment to allowing our team to continue developing Darkest Dungeon in the manner we know best but with the benefit of their considerable knowledge and resources. We are stronger together than apart. Critically, there is a shared love of Darkest Dungeon, and with Behaviour’s help, we can delve even deeper into the franchise.”

How this will affect the direction of the Darkest Dungeon franchise remains to be seen. However, Red Hook Studios will remain independent while operating under Behaviour Interactive’s purview.

In the meantime, the developer is working on Kingdoms, a free new standalone campaign for Darkest Dungeon 2. It releases in three modules, with the first, Hunger of the Beast Clan, out in Q4 2024. There will also be a new paid DLC, Inhuman Bondage, which adds a new region, enemies, and hero with unique Trinkets, palettes, and much more. Head here for more details.

Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition and Inkulinati go live on January 31st, though the latter is launching via Game Preview. Those looking for more action can check out JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R for consoles, cloud and PC on the same day.

February 2nd marks the arrival of Darkest Dungeon, the punishing rogue-like turn-based RPG, which will be playable on consoles, cloud and PC. Codemasters’ GRID Legends is out on the same day via the cloud on EA Play, while Hot Wheels Unleashed – Game of the Year Edition arrives on February 7th for consoles, cloud and PC.

In addition, these four titles will be leaving the service on January 31st. Play them now while you can:

• Donut County (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Taiko no Tatsujin: The Drum Master (Console and PC)
• Telling Lies (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Worms WMD (Cloud, Console, and PC)

On June 10th, Darkest Dungeon will be available for console, cloud and PC players. The rogue-like dungeon crawler is renowned for its brutal difficulty, especially with managing the various afflictions that heroes can suffer. While this line-up may seem fairly sparse, it’s likely that more will be announced on June 13th when the Xbox and Bethesda showcase takes place.

On June 15th, a number of titles will be leaving the service. This includes Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (console), which is well worth playing before it’s gone; adventure titles Night Call and Observation; and rogue-likes West of Dead and Wizard of Legend. Stay tuned for more details on upcoming additions in the meantime.

Celeste: Farewell – Sub-Chapter 9

Anyone who’s played the B-Side and C-Side levels of Celeste knows the amount of precision platforming required. Farewell, the post-launch ninth chapter, is no exception, providing numerous new objects and challenges over the span of its numerous sub-chapters. It all culminates in the ninth sub-chapter – a single continuous screen of parachutes, spikes, feathers, springs and much more, with one mistake requiring a do-over.

Red Hook Studios’ Darkest Dungeon will be receiving a major new update today, introducing PvP combat to the punishing dungeon crawler. The Butcher’s Circus allows players to assemble teams to face each other to earn new banner components and trinkets. These are separate from the main campaign so there’s no risk of perma-death.

Other differences for these heroes include fixed stats and the inability to upgrade equipment. In a neat twist, Stress can be inflicted on enemy players during combat, which adds a whole new dimension to battle tactics. You can use DLC characters in PvP but the corresponding DLC pack will have to be owned.

The Butcher’s Circus will be free and includes anti-cheat (which players can opt out of if they have no interest in the PvP). The update will be available for Steam players only but stay tuned for more details on its release for consoles later. In the meantime, those who have never experienced the trauma of Darkest Dungeon can try it out for free from today till June 1st. The base game will also be on sale at a 75 percent discount.

Drakengard

The endings for Drakengard range from tragic to straight up “WTF”. In one ending, you can choose to seal the Watchers, the main antagonistic force, away in another dimension. But this requires protagonist Caim and the dragon Angelus to give up their own lives. It also doesn’t help that Caim’s sister Furiae, who he’s trying to rescue, is also killed. Even in the default ending, the world is saved from The Watchers but Angelus sacrifices herself to become the new seal (plus Furiae still dies).

Until Dawn – Everyone Dies

Make all the wrong decisions in Until Dawn and everyone dies. Who would have thought? Most everyone turn into Wendigos and it’s on Sam and Mike to survive by destroying the lodge when a gas leak breaks out. Of course, this can also be botched, causing the two to die in the explosion as well. Even if Josh somehow survives the whole ordeal, he’s seen in the post-credits turning into a Wendigo.

Bloater – The Last of Us

The final stage in evolution for a victim of the Cordyceps virus, the Bloater’s immense size is a testament to its damage resistance. As such, the sheer thickness of the fungus is pretty disgusting when you look at it. The one recognizable quality of humanity remaining are the teeth and they look especially awful, jutting out amid all the fungi.

BELOW

 Below was in development for five years, which is a long time to wait for any game. Late in 2018, we finally got to play the game, and what a ride it was. While there’s an argument to be made that it’s difficulty can actually be a bit unfair at times, especially combined with the undeniable repetitiveness, most of the times, the game manages to find the right balance. Struggling through gruelling encounters and navigating around the many deathtraps it throws at you is as satisfying as you would expect.

]]> https://gamingbolt.com/15-most-difficult-games-of-2018/feed 0 379561 https://gamingbolt.com/darkest-dungeon-the-color-of-madness-releasing-on-october-11th-for-consoles-and-ipad https://gamingbolt.com/darkest-dungeon-the-color-of-madness-releasing-on-october-11th-for-consoles-and-ipad#respond Sun, 30 Sep 2018 20:34:03 +0000 https://gamingbolt.com/?p=364611

Though it’s already available on PC, Red Hook Studios’ Darkest Dungeon will receive its next expansion, The Color of Madness, on October 11^th for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and iPad. It will retail for $4.99. As for PS4 and PlayStation Vita, certification for the DLC has yet to happen for these platforms. Regardless, they should arrive at roughly the same time, if not slightly later.

Some of the new content includes The Farmstead, a new region; new trinkets that can be purchased with Comet Shards; new Curios to continue fighting the brand new enemies; and of course, an endless quest, which sees players battling against wave after wave of foes. As players progress towards the crash site of the strange Comet, they’ll battle new bosses, like The Miller and The Thing From the Stars.

Along with this DLC, The Musketeer DLC and a sizeable game balance patch will be available for Switch, Xbox One, and iPad as well (if they clear certification by then). If you’re thinking of picking up The Ancestral Edition for Darkest Dungeon, then it’s best to wait till after October 11^th – it will then include The Color of Madness with no separate purchase for the DLC required.