In a new tweet, CEO Koen Deetman and managing director Paul Deetman decided this after “nothing substantial” materialized after visiting GDC and exhausting “all our possible options for publishing, work for hire, and co-development.” While its utmost priority is to ensure new jobs for its team, the pair is committed to rebuilding the studio “brick by brick like we’ve done before, in the name of our people and to continue the legacy of our games.”

In the meantime, they’re working on a Kickstarter for the next title in the Deliver Us series – Deliver Us Home. As a follow-up to Deliver Us Mars and one of the five prototypes revealed last month, it focuses on “finding home,” providing more player agency than other titles. There will also be improvements to progression, more options for tackling various challenges, suit upgrades and more.

Stay tuned for more details on its Kickstarter campaign in the coming days.

https://twitter.com/KeokeN/status/1785294530054385774

Owlcat Games’ Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, an indirect sequel to Pathfinder: Kingmaker, has smashed another funding goal in its Kickstarter campaign. After reaching its initial goal of $300,000 within the first day, the campaign recently crossed $1 million in funding. There are still 27 days left to go for the Kickstarter.

The next stretch goal is at $1.035 million and will see several key music pieces, along with the main theme, being performed by a symphony orchestra. Other stretch goals that have been achieved since the campaign went live include evolving animal companions, mounted combat, new classes like the Cavalier and Skald, two more Mythic Paths and much more. Players can even vote on additional race to be added.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is aiming to release in June 2021. The title is set near the Worldwound and has the player commanding a crusade to battle back against an army of demons. Along with numerous returning classes, players can partake in powerful Mythic classes like Lich and Angel for even more incredible abilities.

Owlcat Games has launched the Kickstarter for its next big RPG, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. As an “indirect” sequel to Pathfinder: Kingmaker, the story sees players venturing to the Worldwound to war against demons. The campaign has a funding goal of $300,000 and has already reached $144,723 at the time of writing.

The new game revolves around the Mythic Paths. Players can choose from 21 different classes and 10 races with tons of spells and abilities. However, they can also take on Mythic Paths like Angel, Lich, Tricker, Aeon, Demon and Azata. The developer promises that along with “unique skills and appearance,” each Mythic Path “greatly impacts the game’s story.”

While Kingmaker had the Kingdom Management option, Wrath of the Righteous is about leading the Fifth Crusade. You’ll recruit soldiers, send them off to explore ruins and battle demons, and garner some artifacts. Ten companions can be recruited with romance options also available.

The Kickstarter campaign for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous will end on March 11th. The planned delivery date is June 2021 so stay tuned for more details in the coming year.

The rumors were indeed true: The Wonderful 101 is being remastered for Nintendo Switch, PC and PS4. The remaster is being crowd-funded by Kickstarter and despite having an initial goal of $50,000 for the Switch version, it’s already amassed over $456,000 in funding. So the Switch and Steam versions have been confirmed with the PS4 version not too far off.

Along with adding “amazing extras” to the remaster, there are a number of rewards for Kickstarter backers. Those who opt for physical versions will receive a Special Backers Only Kickstarter-exclusive cover. Additionally, backers will receive DLC unlocked through the stretch goals for free.

Some of the tier rewards include the OST, keychains, stickers, a physical comic book, t-shirt and even the option to be blocked by director Hideki Kamiya on Twitter. The estimated delivery date for the title is April 2020. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks on The Wonderful 101: Remastered, especially with more stretch goals to be revealed.

Owlcat Games’ Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is a follow-up to the underrated Pathfinder: Kingmaker and sees players traveling to the Worldwound to battle demons. While the setting is new, the development team will be taking a familiar route when it comes to funding. Like its predecessor, Wrath of the Righteous will be funded through Kickstarter.

The developer announced that the Kickstarter campaign would begin on February 4th. More details on the game’s features along with some gameplay will also be revealed. As it stands, Owlcat is promising a vastly improved experience following the troubled launch of Kingmaker.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous will be coming to PC and along with classes from the previous games, there are the new Witch and Oracle classics. A new Mythic progression system will also allow for specialization like becoming an angel or Lich. Stay tuned for more details when the Kickstarter campaign launches next month.

Shenmue 3 has been very successful in its Kickstarter run, and it has just now reached its $ 7 million stretch goal. As a result, the game’s developers Ys Net have now announced that an expanded AI battling system will be added to the game as part of meeting this stretch goal.

This expanded battle system will allow players to automatically use the “perfect technique” based on the position of an enemy and distance. We learn that the concept behind the system is from Yu Suzuki, the game’s director, and that the aim is that even those not used to fighting games will be able to be fully immersed in the game’s battle system. The developers also included a new screenshot, which showcases the protagonist Ryo engaged in battle. It certainly looks like the developers are doing their best to ensure that this game remains accessible to a wide audience. Hopefully, we’ll soon get to see some actual gameplay footage of how the expanded battle system works.

Ys Net have also announced some new info on whether or nor the game will have a proper disc based release on both, PS4 and PC, which is apparently something they’ve been questioned about quite a bit. Ys Net have assured fans that the game will indeed have a physical launch, and that it won’t just contain a prompt to download the game online.

You can check out the new screenshot released below. Shenmue 3 is set to release in 2019 for the PC and PS4.

With all that in mind, there’s some worry that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night may suffer the same fate. If you haven’t heard, Bloodstained is developed by ArtPlay and DICO with Koji Igarashi as the producer and writer. Igarashi had a role in almost every single 2D side-scrolling Castlevania title since Castlevania: Rondo of Blood in 1993 (and in Castlevania Judgment as well but leave that aside for now). To say that he understands the Metroidvania format, let-alone how to make a great Castlevania game, is an understatement. Should Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night be held up under the spectre of Castlevania though? Or should it thrive as its own entity?

"That feeling of looking at the map and being overwhelmed yet excited at how much more is to come is a good one indeed."

I recently had a chance to play the backer beta demo for Bloodstained on the PC. The story began with an old-school rolling text screen and introduces us to Miriam. Adopted by the Alchemy Guild, Miriam suffered numerous crystal-binding experiments that turned her into a Shardbinder. The Guild would launch its own heinous acts on the public until it was eventually stopped. However, Miriam fell into a coma for 10 years instead of being killed by the experiments. She awakens when her comrade, another survivor named Gebel, begins to summon demons in another attempt to ruin the world. Thus will Miriam venture into the Demon Castle to stop him.

The game doesn’t start off at the Castle’s entrance or near it. Instead, Miriam and the alchemist Johannes are travelling by sea and must repel enemies (along with a boss) to reach the shore unscathed. Though the story-telling may seem heavy-handed at first, it does help establish the characters and their motivations in a solid manner. Once you enter the Demon Castle, the memories may or may not come flooding back.

For me, it felt like I never left. From that opening shatter to the lights suddenly coming on, the catchy orchestral rock, the variety of enemies inviting slaughter, the sheer level of detail in the backgrounds – Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night imbibes that feeling of Castlevania rather well. In fact, I feel it skirts a nice line between nostalgia and establishing its own identity. Even if the environment design isn’t breaking new ground, the joy of discovering a new area, finding sections that loop back into familiar places and requiring certain abilities to progress is still inherently fun. Looking at the map and being overwhelmed yet excited at how much more is to come is a good feeling indeed.

"Progression-wise, Bloodstained is giving you new weapons, Shards and items to play with at a healthy pace, adding further incentive to exploring all those nooks, crannies and cracked walls."

There’s plenty that will be familiar though. The Shards system, which is essentially the Tactical Soul system from Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, allows players to kill enemies and equip Shards from their remains. These grant different abilities, from summoning a giant water tentacle to lash out at foes to firing arrows. Some Shards can also confer passive benefits like increasing damage with one-handed weapons. The addition of directional aiming adds a bit more depth to the combat but it’s still all about hacking and slashing. Firearms with unique kinds of ammo are also included to mix things up. If there are particular Shards you like, then some can be farmed to strengthen their potency. There is an element of danger though – if Miriam gathers too many Shards, then she could become corrupted. I never really saw it in action in the demo but I’m interested in the story-telling potential this could have (a la Sundered).

Other intriguing features include the crafting system for upgrading different weapons and Shards. It’s also possible to cook meals and upgrade your stats beyond just levelling up. This provides an extra layer to the backtracking – you may find a useful material when exploring the same section or killing the same enemies, thus leading to some bonus. If there was a wishlist option for certain materials needed in a meal or weapon, I’d be golden. It’s still too early to judge these systems, especially their mid- to end-game uses. But it is an option that I can appreciate in theory. Progression-wise, Bloodstained provides new weapons, Shards and items to play with at a healthy pace, adding further incentive to explore all those nooks, crannies and cracked walls.

The attack animations, ability to slide under objects and into enemies, breaking environmental objects for items and currency, back-stepping and even how some foes mechanically operate is very Castlevania-like. The feedback from the weapons is nice though it still feels like the combat could be ever so slightly polished. It’s still fun to go around, smashing foes with a Claymore or shooting flying demon pigs out of the sky. Movement is also responsive and natural, especially when attacking mid-air.

"You can never really go back to the past but Koji Igarashi’s latest vision does feel like coming home."

Some weapons like the katana even have certain special moves. Though I’m not sure if using quarter-circle directional commands is the best way to go about it, the learning required to master them is a nice touch. The two boss encounters also felt fun and appropriately challenging, forcing you to learn their patterns and attacks rather than charging blindly into battle.

At the end of the day, I’m left more optimistic about the potential of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night than anything else. If you’re a hardcore Castlevania fan, Bloodstained doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel. However, it does embody the formula while telling its own unique story and introducing various new layers and mechanics. That gorgeous blood moon in the background at one point only invigorates the urge to explore further.

Maybe the nostalgia being channelled is its greatest strength. Maybe it’s the great art direction or strong combat coupled with the level design. Whatever it may be, even if you’ve been completely burnt out on the Metroidvania genre and all the top-tier releases it’s seen in the past few years, Bloodstained is worth keeping an eye on. You can never really go back to the past but Koji Igarashi’s latest vision does feel like coming home.

InXile Entertainment’s next big RPG is The Bard’s Tale 4: Barrows Deep, a sequel in the legendary The Bard’s Tale series. The dungeon crawler will be out on September 18th for PC, while the Xbox One and PS4 versions arrive in Autumn. Check out the newest video from inXile below where CEO Brian Fargo details the making of the box art.

The Bard’s Tale 4: Barrows Deep is a dungeon crawler that is played from the first person perspective. Players can recruit a party and explore vast dungeons teeming with traps and puzzles. Developed on Unreal Engine 4, players will explore the world of Caith while hopping from one adventure to the next. It’s been 30 years since the release of The Bard’s Tale 3: Thief of Fate, so the sequel has plenty to live up to.

Preordering the Platinum or Ultimate Edition can be done through BardsTale.com and will grant access to the beta which is currently live. Those who backed the game on Kickstarter will also receive access to the beta.

Shenmue 3 has received a new update that may interest PC gamers. The latest Kickstarter update for the long awaited game sees developer Ys Net give some preliminary PC system requirements, including a rather large amount of hard drive space.

Recently delayed to 2019 for further polish, the PC version of Shenmue 3 will require players have an Intel i5-4460 CPU, 4Gb RAM, NVIDIA GTX 650 Ti or better, not to mention 100GB of hard drive space. For comparison, Grand Theft Auto V asks for 72GB of storage space for the entire game, online included. 

Of course, Ys Net clarifies that the game is still in active development, and these specs may change for the final release. Shenmue 3 will launch on PC and PS4 sometime next year thanks to the involvement of publisher Deep Silver. The game is not planned to hit the Nintendo Switch, at least for now. Thoughts on this matter? Let us know in the comments section below.

The story of crowd-funded games, especially those from smaller studios that take time to develop, seems to have a pattern. Take Bit Kid’s Chasm, which was funded on Kickstarter in 2013 and received $200,000 but has taken a long time to actually release. However, it is indeed releasing. The developer has announced that Chasm will be out in Summer 2018 for PC, PS4 and PlayStation Vita.

Like Dead Cells or Sundered, Chasm is a procedurally generated Metroidvania title. That means it has hack and slash elements along with RPG progression. The game also employs a sprite-based art-style that looks utterly fantastic, even all these years later. Check it out in the trailer below.

A spokesperson for Bit Kid said on the Steam Store listing that, “This has been an incredibly arduous undertaking – one that I’ve loved (almost) every minute of, but one that wound up being an even bigger challenge than I expected. I know you guys are all looking for the most kick-ass action-adventure ever to grace a gaming system, and we’re doing everything we can to deliver on that promise. And now, we’re almost there!”

In Chasm, players take on the role of a recruit for the Guildean Kingdom. In order to become a knight, you head to an important mine to investigate some rumours. Before you know, there are monsters to deal, ancient weapons to discover and a number of rooms that are procedurally created to explore. Along with six areas in total, players will learn new abilities and battle different bosses.

What are your thoughts on Chasm finally having a release date? Let us know in the comments.