X4: Foundations

X4: Foundations describes itself as a universe simulator, and that’s perhaps a really fitting description for such a game. Set against the backdrop of outer space, X4: Foundations lets players lose in a vast sandbox and lets them carve out their own lifepaths in a virtual space with customizable spaceships, dynamic economies, and crafting systems. It’s a complex game with a lot of moving parts and can be pretty fun to poke around.

On October 6th, Medieval Dynasty will be available for Xbox Series X/S players. This is a survival RPG with crafting and town management elements, currently available for PC. The first two seasons of Telltale’s The Walking Dead will also be available for PC players.

On October 11th, Double Fine’s Costume Quest is available on consoles and cloud along with the social deduction game Eville, playable on consoles and PC. Dyson Sphere Program joins the service on October 13th for PC players. On October 14th, Ebb Software’s Scorn finally releases for Xbox Series X/S, PC, and cloud.

The first wave wraps up with A Plague Tale: Requiem on October 18th for Xbox Series X/S, PC, and cloud. Several titles will also leave the service on October 15th, so play them now while you have the chance. They are as follows:

• Bloodroots (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Echo Generation (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Into The Pit (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Ring of Pain (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Sable (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• The Good Life (Cloud, Console, and PC)

In a Steam blog post titled ‘Combat System Preview #1 Intro & Background‘, the studio discusses the enemies that will be fought, as well as detailing how Dyson Sphere Program‘s combat will actually work.

In the blog post, the studio has provided a backstory for the enemies that will be fought in Dyson Sphere Program. Called Dark Fog, the antagonists in Dyson Sphere Program are essentially rogue AI modules that betrayed humanity’s central AI system. In fact, one of the primary goals of the in-universe Dyson Sphere Program is to defeat the Dark Fog.

When it comes to dealing with Dark Fog, players will race against their enemies, competing both in terms of industry, as well as energy gathering. Not wanting to change the core gameplay of “gather-transport-build”, the studio wanted to incorporate the core game loop that Dyson Sphere Program is popular for.

Players and Dark Fog will both compete for limited space and resources. Confrontation is inevitable, and thus, players will have to find the Dark Fog’s Central Core, and destroy its Tinder, rendering the entire headquarters inactive.

Dyson Sphere Program is available on Steam as an early access release.

Satisfactory

“First-person Factorio” isn’t the worst way to define Satisfactory but Coffee Stain Studios’ factory sandbox has plenty of distinctions. Set on an alien planet must be colonized, the world is hand-crafted and not procedurally generated. You can choose a starting location, like the Grasslands or Rocky Desert, thus influencing starting resources and your approach to building.

Combat is present but not a major focus – it’s all about creating a self-sustained factory spanning the surface, and delivering them to the Space Elevator. While still in early access and needing plenty of polish, the feeling of expanding, optimizing your factory and gazing out upon the sprawling industrial complex in first-person is great.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

The original Mass Effect trilogy is finally making its long-awaited return, complete with graphical updates, 4K resolution support and numerous gameplay improvements. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition packs all three games and most of their DLC into one huge package. A universal character creator, extensive revamps to Mass Effect 1 (including better combat and rebalanced boss fights) and much more await when Mass Effect: Legendary Edition releases on May 14^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Imagine Factorio but on an inter-planetary scale – that’s Youthcat Studio’s Dyson Sphere Program in a nutshell. The sandbox title recently launched in Steam Early Access and has already sold over 200,000 copies in four days. It currently has an “Overwhelmingly Positive” user review score on Steam and is also number one on Steam’s Top Sellers list.

The story sees the COSMO agency launching Icarus mechs to explore the universe and build a Dyson Sphere. This megastructure will harness the power of a star but requires setting up production lines on numerous planets, utilizing their resources and automating everything. The universe is procedurally generated with one playthrough estimated at 50 to 100 hours in its current stage.

Early access is currently planned to last for a year though the development team says this isn’t “written in stone.” “We will be open to our players’ feedback and ideas from the beginning, so that period can be expanded to meet their expectations until the game is ready for its full release.” Upcoming content includes new planet types, exploration events (like a black hole), designing one’s own mechs, monsters, additional construction types and much more. There will also be cutscenes and additional music tracks and sounds.

Stay tuned for more details on the Dyson Sphere Program in the coming months.