German developer Deck13 has garnered a reputation for itself as a developer of strong, solid action RPGs over the last few years, first with Lords of the Fallen and then with The Surge and The Surge 2. The latter in particular launched not that long ago, and if you were hoping that it would receive next-gen enhancements and ports the way many recent PS4/Xbox One releases have- well, don’t hold your breath.

Over on Twitter, the developer said that while it would “love to get the opportunity” to work on a patch of The Surge 2 for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, their resources right now are “pretty much all tied up” in the new IP that they’re working on with publisher Focus Home Interactive (who acquired the developer earlier this year).

Deck13 goes on to re-iterate that its next project isn’t going to be The Surge 3, adding, “It’s time for something fresh.”

If you do have a hankering to play Deck13’s sci-fi Soulslike, The Surge 2 is available currently on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

https://twitter.com/Deck13_de/status/1333350846709555205

Focus Home Interactive have announced the acquisition of German studio Deck13 Interactive, developer of the likes of The Surge, The Surge 2 (both of which were published by Focus Home Interactive), and Lords of thee Fallen. In a press release, the company said that they have acquired 100% of Deck13’s share capital, which gives them full ownership of the studio, all of its IP, as well as Deck13’s publishing initiative of indie titles, which Focus Home plans to leverage to “explore new opportunities”. The deal saw Deck13’s acquisition coming up to a total of €7.1 million.

“We are very happy to welcome the team of Deck13 and look forward to working together to achieve our ambitious objectives,” said Jürgen Goeldner, chairman of Focus Home Interactive’s management board. “This acquisition marks a major milestone in our growth story and will strengthen our business model.”

“I am delighted to announce that Deck13 is now part of Focus Home Interactive,” said Jan Klose, Deck13’s management director and co-founder. “Our companies have been working together successfully since 2011, developing award winning brands such as The Surge. We are looking forward to leveraging the incredible capabilities of Focus Home Interactive to develop new successes.”

Deck13’s The Surge 2, published by Focus Home, launched for PS4, Xbox One, and PC in September last year. In our review, we praised it for its combat, weapon variety, level design, and progression, but pointed out issues with its story, lack of originality, and technical hiccups. You can read our full review through here.

A few months prior to The Surge 2’s launch, it was also confirmed that Deck13 and Focus Home Interactive were also working on a new IP together. Read more on that through here.

During the recent Nindies Showcase, Radical Fish Games made a rather shocking announcement. CrossCode, its faux-MMO action RPG, will be heading to the Nintendo Switch. Check out the announcement trailer below and admire the flying Hedgehags.

CrossCode takes place in an MMO called CrossWorlds. Players assume the role of Lea, a mysterious Spheromancer who’s trying to recall her memories. Along the way, she’ll travel the Track of the Ancients and gain several other companions along the way. As an action RPG, combat is very similar to games like Secret of Mana and Terranigma, but quicker and more responsive.

Currently available on PC after spending years in Steam Early Access, CrossCode is also in development for the PS4. An official release date hasn’t been provided, but we do know that the Switch version is out in 2019. Stay tuned for more information, especially regarding some of the post-launch features like New Game+, the Post Game Episode, new quests, and more.

Deck13 Interactive’s The Surge, a Dark Souls-esque hack and slash title but with a sci-fi bent, has gone gold. Principal development has hence wrapped and the game is being sent off to disc manufacturers and digital storefronts.

Publisher Focus Home Interactive also offered more information on the game’s PS4 Pro support. A free update at launch will allow players to experience the game in either dynamic 4K at 30 FPS or 1080p resolution at 60 FPS. Another update coming post-release will allow high dynamic range lighting or HDR to be enabled.

The Surge releases on May 16th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. It follows an individual with an exoskeleton as the dystopic corporation around him is in shambles. You’ll fight other works with exo suits, giant robots and more, chopping off limbs and using them to augment your body further.

Will you be picking up The Surge? Let us know in the comments.

Microsoft’s Project Scorpio will be supporting some big names in the coming months and the PlayStation 4 Pro has had a fairly good well of support since launch. Deck13 Interactive’s The Surge can now be added to that list though it isn’t currently planned for Switch.

This was confirmed when DualShockers spoke to Deck13 Managing Director Jan Klose. Concerning PS4 Pro and Scorpio support, Klose said, “There will definitely be special support, but I can’t go into too much detail here. But we’re working on features for these consoles.”

As for the Switch, Klose said, “We love the Switch but right now our focus is on PC, Xbox and PlayStation. This might change in the future, but there’s nothing on the horizon as of yet.” Plans, as usual, could change but don’t hold your breath

The Surge will be out on May 16th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Will you be checking it out? Let us know below.

Deck13 Interactive and Larian Studios, responsible for Lords of the Fallen and Divinity: Original Sin respectively, will be showing off new games at the upcoming E3 2015. This is according to publisher Focus Home Interactive in a recent French press release (via RPG Codex).

“Two major collaborations will be unveiled in Los Angeles at E3, the biggest international gaming trade fair. Among them, Focus will present a new project from Deck 13, the best German studio of 2014. Its last game, Lords of the Fallen, has sold nearly a million copies on consoles and PC since October 2014.

“The most recent collaboration is from Belgian studio Larian, successful developer of the Divinity series. Focus and Larian are holding a beautiful surprise for players and journalists around the world at E3 in Los Angeles.”

Perhaps Lords of the Fallen 2 will be showcased, which Deck13 was already confirmed to be working on? Maybe some announcement related to Divinity: Original Sin, like a console release? Stay tuned for more information as E3 2015 rolls closer.

Lords of the Fallen, an upcoming action RPG from Deck 13 Interactive and CI Games, hasn’t really stood out in the past few months though this is more due to the sheer number of AAA releases out this October. Regardless, the game looks good. Like, really good. A new trailer showcases the world of the game in all its snow-ridden glory. Check it out above.

As a redemption story, Lords of the Fallen centres around Harkyn, a criminal. You and your mentor Kaslo will need to fight several different enemies and make several powerful friends in order to survive the war.

Lords of the Fallen will be out on Xbox One, PS4 and PC on October 28th in North America and October 31st in Europe. Will you be picking up the game? Let us know in the comments.

Taking place after the events of the original, The Fire Within stars the eponymous hero and his sidekick trying to break him out of a Chinese prison. They soon embark on a journey to acquire a legendary treasure, resulting in a globe trotting journey with a late 19^th century backdrop. You don’t need to have played the original to get the gist of what’s going on, but I felt my ignorance of Jack Keane 1 led to a fair bit of misinformation regarding the characters and their histories.

Still, the writing remains fairly confident throughout, recreating a Monkey Island style of comedy with a light peppering of pop culture references. There are still a few clunky dialogues to be had though, and the script never reaches the pinnacle of humour that the original Monkey Island touched upon so effortlessly.

Whilst the promised humour is there (albeit in a derivative manner), the depiction of a modern adventure game is only partially realised. Jack Keane 2 certainly makes an effort to expand upon the core point and click mechanics the genre is known for. It adds jumping and fast movement speeds to the equation, but this has the side effect of making for a fiddly control scheme.

"Where Jack Keane sadly drops all hints of forward thinking adventure design is in its puzzles."

Multiple options revolve around a WASD set-up and standard click to move varieties. You can also click and drag to move, but this often means your clicks to investigate the environment go unregistered and just move your character in crazy directions. It’s annoying there wasn’t a way to disable certain movement types in the options menu.

The double-edged sword of originality further hacks at Jack Keane through its inclusion of combat. This is still an adventure game though so, naturally, combat is a turn-based affair. It simply involves you reading your enemy’s animations and choosing an appropriate attack or defence from a list. It’s a nice idea, but one that ultimately becomes repetitive later in the game.

Where Jack Keane sadly drops all hints of forward thinking adventure design is in its puzzles. The point and click formula remains tried and tested, forcing you to hunt for a variety of objects before combining and examining them in a specific order for a solution. Finding the objects is quite the task in the first place though, a trial painfully extended by fixed camera angles that often obscure the environment. A button on the HUD helpfully highlights items you can acquire but, even when abusing this feature, some objects are still so small that you may miss them altogether.

"Bright and crisp textures and character models are interspersed with uncanny and glitchy animations. "

Even when you get every item needed in your inventory, what to do with them isn’t always entirely clear. The puzzle logic is decidedly retro, requiring a specific and often obscure solution with little to no compromise. Case in point, I managed to create a makeshift torch and bomb to blast through a locked door. That must work, right? Apparently not, for a second DIY explosive was needed unbeknownst to me. That’s at least fifteen minutes of aimless wondering I’m not getting back.

Further issues occur when the game takes place in Jack’s unconscious. It’s a cool setting to utilise and one that is vibrant and creative. By removing real world logic though, the puzzle solutions become even more obscure. Though the puzzles are well designed, there is a reason why fewer point and clicks take on such abstract settings. A hint system would have helped immensely in assuaging these issues.

Just like the gameplay itself, the production values are a mix of old and new. Bright and crisp textures and character models are interspersed with uncanny and glitchy animations. Other issues arise from sound effects cutting out. The rest of the audio is better handled, with fairly expressive voice acting.

"A few technical areas break the immersion, but otherwise you are looking at a solid entry into the point and click adventure canon."

Despite finding Jack’s voice initially unbearable, the vocal track does grow on you after a time. My issue comes in some casual racism peppered throughout. Plenty of stereotypes are covered, so I’m not accusing the game of some targeted hate crime or anything so serious as that, but the faux British and Chinese accents aren’t something I was hugely comfortable with. Had the humour been a bit more clever I may have made an exception, but the old “Germans have no sense of humour” gag is getting old.

The promise of a reinvented genre is never upheld in Jack Keane 2, but that isn’t to say the game is deficient in any way. A few technical areas break the immersion, but otherwise you are looking at a solid entry into the point and click adventure canon. Of course, puzzle solutions are as cryptic as they always are in the genre, but the satisfaction is plentiful enough to appeal to fans of the genre who dig this style of gameplay. Particularly if you want another dose of Monkey Island style adventure, Jack Keane will cater to your tastes nicely. If you are new to the genre though, there are better point and clicks to start on.

This game was reviewed on PC.