The game is now being developed and re-launched for the Xbox One, Microsoft Windows and Linux based PC’s as well as OSX. The game is currently slated for a worldwide release in June of 2015, but a more specific date hasn’t been given yet.

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

Development

Superhot was named after two words that fit best with the games design philosophy and reflected the gameplay. Super and Hot, Positive and Intense respectively.

The development cycle for the original iteration of Superhot was exceptionally short. The initial build of the game was created in seven days due to its role in the August 2013 7 day FPS challenge. During this time, developers were given one week to create and complete a fully working and functional demo build of their game. Their Demo was split into three separate levels in three separate builds split across three separate computers due to limitations. Because of this, the three separate games were rolled together into separate applications and called an episodic game.

Drawing inspiration from the browser based flash game, Time4Cat, which shares a similar time bending mechanic, Superhot Team set about making a demo for the game. Following the positive reception of their demo, the game was polished and refined before its browser release where it gained fame amongst gamers, YouTube content creators and creative minds. Soon after, the game was placed on Steam’s Greenlight Project where it was approved within a week for digital distribution. At the time, it was the fastest game to clear the Greenlight system.

Since clearing the Greenlight program, the developers opened a Kickstarter campaign in May of 2014. The goal of the campaign was to extend the game by adding more levels as well as improving its art design. Plans are also in place for Oculus Rift support for the popular VR Headset. The first early build of this Oculus Rift support was shown off during E3 of 2014, this build of the game included the ability to lean to the side to aid in gameplay.

Other features included gameplay tweaks like the addition of a Katana sword that could cut incoming bullets in half as a defensive measure.

The developers ran into problems when it came to actually launching the campaign because Kickstarter wasn’t supported at the time in Poland. They used this time to tighten up the campaign assets and build up a better promotional campaign.

Once the campaign went live, Superhot soared to success in just 24 hours, before continuing on to make more than $230,000 in funding. This achieved the stretch goal that would include a new game + mode for those that can complete the game.

When the game was announced for Xbox One, news started to come out regarding the games performance. In a lengthy statement from Superhot Team’s Piotr Iwanicki, he spoke about performance and resolution. He said to GamingBolt, “60 frames per second is the most important ingredient here. Fluidity of gameplay make the whole world of difference in SUPERHOT’s case.”

“You should be able to see all the tiny movements in the game’s world very tightly tied to the movements of you controller. Otherwise the game feels wrong. It’s funny thing because it happens on the edge of your attention. With lower framerate you don’t complain about lower frame rate, you complain about other things. The game doesn’t look as well, the controls seem unresponsive, bullets seem much faster. Things like that. When you once start playing in 60 fps you never want to go back, you just learn the difference.”

Regarding resolution, he said to GamingBolt that ““1080p and 60fps are the goal and we’re on a right track. Frames per second are the more important ingredient in this combo. Fluidity is the key to SUPERHOT’s gameplay.”

Story

The browser based demo build of Superhot hinted at a plot with its ambiguous ending and mysterious man on a screen, but whether or not this is something that will be appearing in the final build of the game remains to be seen.

Gameplay

Like the browser based game that inspired it, time only passes when you (the player) move your character. That means pulling the trigger on your weapon will see the bullet suspended in the air until you move. This also applies to your enemies bullets meaning that dodging bullets is key, but placing accurate shots on your targets is easily important.

Characters

At this time, it’s not known if there’s going to be a varied vast of characters, but if the game does indeed follow a narrative, then this is likely to change.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

The game, which will be made available exclusively by way of digital download, is being developed for a very broad system launch that expands across multiple computer platforms and console platforms, though in that regard it is exclusively 8th generation focused except from one exception.

Set to release on a worldwide scale at some time early in 2015, Hyper Light Drifter is set to release on Microsoft Windows and Linux supported PC’s, OS X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Sony’s PS Vita, Wii U and finally, the Ouya. Whilst not officially confirmed, the game is possibly going to be self published.

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

Development

Hyper Light Drifter is yet another success story from the Kickstarter Campaign boom that has swept this generation of creative minds. The game was born from the mind of one Alex Preston who yearned to develop something unique and striking with regards to its visual and gameplay style.

The game is designed in a way that combat with enemies must be approached with a degree of strategy, thus reflecting The Legend of Zelda, players must manage an Inventory in an isometric perspective, thus reflecting Diablo.

His drive to create a game that combines things he loved was something that he realised was a possibility in 2013 when he set out to create a game for Windows and Linux supported PC’s and OSX. He took to Kickstarter with his plan for the game and asked for $27,000 to complete the game. He did this with the help of programmer Beau Blyth and Rich Vreeland, both of which are previous content creators on Samurai Gunn and Fez respectively. With these two team members on board he formed the basis of the team that would grow to become Heart Machine.

Within 24 hours, the campaign was a success and within a matter of days following this the game has passed the $100,000 and following this success, a number of stretch goals were put in place to encourage further funding that would help bring the game to other platforms as well as improve the quality of the end product. The reason these platforms were encouraged as stretch goals was that Alex Preston would have felt it dishonest to over promise on the premise of his plan.

The development team has since expanded considerably to include a variety of team members and because the scope of the game has grown considerably, the title has been delayed until some time early in 2015.

Story

Whilst specific plot details are vague at best, there are some plot elements of the game that we do know by way of interviews with team members.
The Drifter is a member of a people that venture into zones that cannot be inhabited by other peoples. They do so to find rare and lost technologies that they both sell, and make use of.

The drifter that the player controls is suffering from some sort of sickness that they are seeking to cure.

Gameplay

Gameplay in Hyper Light Drifter is from a top down perspective and makes a heavy use of platforming through stages (in the preview build) that are navigated by way of foot and (what I assume to be) short range teleportation.

Players tackle a variety of enemies with an array of equipment that range from direct fire projectiles to indirect fire spread projectiles and swords. Difficulty scales as both the amount of numbers of the enemy grows and their skill level grows. When the Drifter encounters powerful foes, he can rely on his most powerful weapons which are powered by potent, yet rare batteries that are found throughout his travels.

Characters

Thus far, one official character has been revealed and that is the Drifter.

Drifter – The Drifter is a member of a people that venture into zones that cannot be inhabited by other peoples. They do so to find rare and lost technologies that they both sell, and make use of.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

Pier Solar HD, a homebrew RPG, has finally received an official release date. The game is slated to release this September 30th on PS4, PS3, PC (via steam) and Ouya. The Wii U, Xbox One and, get this, Sega Dreamcast versions of the game haven’t been rated yet and are pending release.

“Development is completed” though, so there is that. The The Wii U, Xbox One and (sigh) Sega Dreamcast builds of the game are set to be rated next month, so if you’ve been keeping your ear to the ground and are excited for Pier Solar, which was also released on Sega Genesis in 2010, and I wish I was making that up, you can rest assured that it’s coming soon.

If Pier Solar sounds familiar, it’s because it was originally developed for the Sega Genesis and released in 2010 (seriously). It’s received some fairly positive reviews so it will be interesting to see how the HD release pans out.

The Wolf Among Us came out with its second episode just now, and as with all episodic Telltale games, the latest episode has come with a snippet of what’s to come in the episode to follow. We have here a short video that teases what we can expect in Episode 3 of The Wolf Among Us, and it definitely piques our interest.

We don’t exactly know when the third episode will be out, but considering how long it took for Telltale to release Episode 2- four months, to be precise- we can safely assume that it might take a while. We sure as hell hope it doesn’t, though.

You can keep up with all the latest news and tidbits on The Wolf Among Us right here on the game’s page at GamingBolt. Are you looking forward to the rest of the episodes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement though. Now it’s time to start looking at what is in store for the second season. Telltale has done a very good job about keeping this game and it’s plot under wraps, even during the height of convention season the developers managed to maintain tight, steel trap-like lips on many aspects of season two, whether it be major or minor, they just weren’t discussing much more of the game that would give up even so much as a main character. Now comes the fun part for us though, what can we expect from seasons two.

"If you haven’t played the first season of The Walking Dead yet and don’t want it spoiled for you, do us all a favor and stop reading now. It’s difficult to discuss what may happen in the second game without providing some context from the first one, which has a tendency to spoil things."

Plenty of us here at Gamingbolt are fans of The Walking Dead. Whether you’re asking us about the show, video games, or the comic book that started this whole zombie craze, you’d be hard pressed to find a member of the staff that didn’t like something about this franchise that’s completely exploded in the last few years.  At this point, with Telltale’s release of season two looming right around the corner we can’t help but speculate; sometimes wildly, about what we have to look forward to in the first episodic installment of season two. Now, let’s get this bit of awkwardness out of the way now. If you haven’t played the first season of The Walking Dead yet and don’t want it spoiled for you, do us all a favor and stop reading now. It’s difficult to discuss what may happen in the second game without providing some context from the first one, which has a tendency to spoil things.

Okay, hopefully if you’ve continued to read that means one of two things. You have finished the game, or you just don’t care that the ending of The Walking Dead Season One is spoiled for you. As you may remember our protagonist Lee, spent a lot of time taking care of the adorably shy and naive Clementine. Towards the end of the game he begins teaching her more things to make sure she’s safe, even if he isn’t around to protect her.

He cut her hair, taught her to shoot and how to brain a zombie with something blunt, if necessary. It was no real surprise that at the end of episode four Lee got a chunk taken out of his wrist by a zombie while he was trying to find Clem. As you may remember or can imagine things sort of spiraled out of control from there; ending with a quickly dying Lee and a very confused and scared Clem, who then had a choice to make regarding what to do with our buddy, Lee.

"Telltale even released a screenshot of Clemetine, sitting on a downed tree with another child who, at least appears like they’re a little younger than she is. It would be very interesting to see the game go this route actually. To be in control of not only Clementine but also another child character as they deal with the dangers of not only the undead but people within the world."

This brings us up to the 400 Days DLC that was released recently and has absolutely nothing to do with our friends in the previous episodes. This DLC did a good job with compiling stories of other survivors and what they had to do to survive. Most folks actually really enjoyed it, despite each section of this DLC being pretty disjointed from itself. This DLC isn’t quite stand-alone, it fits into the world and it’s been hinted at that this DLC does have at least a little bit to do with how the story for season two advances. What that is yet, we’re not sure. It may be something as simple, and small as survivors we played as in 400 Days cropping up as their zombified counterparts. It could also be a complicated and in-depth process that’s got Clementine rolling with this new party of folks, since her group all pretty much died at the end of Season One, with a few exceptions of course.

We will be playing as Clementine. I mean, we did spend the entire first season basically training her and preparing her for surviving on her own. She is obviously going to be in the game, at the very least but the fact that Telltale was peddling all sorts of Clementine related paraphernalia at their Con booths suggests that she is going to be playing much more than simple, small and supplemental role in the next season. Also, given the way season one went, it would be pretty strange if the development team took this series in a completely different direction after all that time was spent to essentially “train” her to survive in this new and frightening world.

Some have speculated that The Walking Dead: Seasons Two may take “The Last of Us” route, in that at the end of the game, Joel and Ellie’s story have been resolved. Naughty Dog has no plans to further their story in the form of DLC or a sequel. This sort of ending works well for The Last of Us. It seems unlikely that Telltale will be taking this route however, which might disappoint some people. Half the fun in The Walking Dead games is meeting new characters, and seeing who makes it or who doesn’t. I doubt that at some point in between seasons though, we’ll be seeing an Undead Clem walking around the game, trying to eat other survivors. While it certainly may be realistic, given the world they exist in, many gamers wouldn’t be happy about it.

Telltale even released a screenshot of Clemetine, sitting on a downed tree with another child who, at least appears like they’re a little younger than she is. It would be very interesting to see the game go this route actually. To be in control of not only Clementine but also another child character as they deal with the dangers of not only the undead but people within the world.

"Not only were you saying goodbye to a character you grew attached to, you were essentially sending the child you took care of as Lee out into the world without any real protection, only hoping that she’s able to take care of herself and that what you taught her was enough to survive."

If she is taking care of another child who is roughly her age, but most likely didn’t get the same kind of training and advice Lee gave her then it would be especially interesting to see her develop as a character. To see Clem move from the role of the terrified and helpless child to a young, but not naive protector of someone in a similar situation that she started in.

Lots of gamers had a very nurturing and parental sentiment towards Clementine in the first season while playing as Lee. And on upon his death or otherwise, unfortunate demise (depending on the choices the player made.) Players had to face their own character’s mortality, something that was relatively present through the entire game. Even when Lee’s fate was sealed plenty of gamers found the end of episode five to be heart wrenching in a lot of ways.

Not only were you saying goodbye to a character you grew attached to, you were essentially sending the child you took care of as Lee out into the world without any real protection, only hoping that she’s able to take care of herself and that what you taught her was enough to survive.

"Whatever the outcome though, if you enjoyed the first season of The Walking Dead, then there is a nice surprise waiting for you just over the horizon, most likely it’s a zombie."

Playing as Clementine would bring the everything around to a full circle. We’d get a bit more resolution from the first season that some players may want on top of knowing that Clementine is not only okay, but capable of taking care of herself, and possibly others. It is sort of a twisted version of seeing your child grow up, instead of attending a graduation, or a celebration to mark their milestones in becoming a self-sufficient adult, you’re sending them out into the world to fend for themselves because you cannot protect them anymore. That is what the world is like now for characters that exist in The Walking Dead universe though. The brutal and simple reality that a character lives until they don’t anymore and they may come back as an undead, ravenous creature isn’t at all a complicated force in this world, but it is incredibly effective.

At this point the 400 Days DLC is also supposed to fit into the new season somehow. However, no one is really sure in what way. There is a good chance that Clementine may end up in this group, or they might be passing through and offer her help. It has also been discussed that these separate and individual stories are nothing more than an expansion of the world that’s been created, something to make the world a bit more cohesive as the characters expand from their original locations, both as they develop and where they actually are in the United States. There are some compelling characters in 400 Days that would be good to at least see again or learn the fates of.

Whatever the outcome though, if you enjoyed the first season of The Walking Dead, then there is a nice surprise waiting for you just over the horizon, most likely it’s a zombie. Hopefully Clementine and her friends will be prepared, or else it’s going to be a very short season.

Harebrained Schemes, the minds behind Shadowrun Returns, the first $1 million+ Kickstarter video game project that released earlier this year on Steam, the App Store, and Google Play to great success, have announced the next entry to the game, Shadowrun: Dragonfall.

Shadowrun: Dragonfall will function as an expansion to Shadowrun Returns, and it will be made available on Windows PCs, Mac OSX, and Linux this January on Steam and on GOG; tablet versions for both iOS and Android will follow shortly. The game will retail for $14.99, and will require Shadowrun Returns to play. A compilation called Shadowrun Campaign Pack, which includes both the base game and the expansion, will also be made available for $24.99.

Shadowrun: Dragonfall will be set in a cyberpunk Berlin setting, and it will contain a multitude of new enhancements and features, including a new story, new weapons, cyberware, and attacks, as well as (finally!) the ability to save anywhere, at any time.

“I’m delighted that our Kickstarter Backers chose Berlin as the location for our next big expansion.” said Jordan Weisman, founder of Harebrained Schemes. “It’s the perfect setting to show off all the new gameplay and features we’ve added in this expansion. Our design team has done a fantastic job of building on the work we started withShadowrun Returns. I couldn’t be happier.”

Earlier today the one year anniversary trailer for the flight combat simulation game, War Thunder, was released and the only word I can think of to describe it would be, “epic.” And it’s not just epic in the sense that most trailers try to be by scoring vapid action sequences and such. Nope. War Thunder has the stats to back it up, and they have no problem telling you.

Since it’s release almost a year ago, War Thunder has amassed a user base of over five million, making it one of the most successful simulation games of all time. The game features a number of different play styles, including Arcade Battles, where two teams of up to 16 players can duke it out in close combat flight situations, Historical Battles, in which some of the most memorable battles in aerial history have been recreated for gamers to simulate, and Full Real Battles, which is the most realistic gaming style offered in War Thunder, and features only first person view from the cockpit, and puts flight physics settings at the most realistic level.

War Thunder is also preparing for a release on the upcoming next gen console, PlayStation 4.

A cache of screenshots was released for the newest installment in the Oddworld series, Oddworld New N’ Tasty. This newest Oddworld title will be released on OSX, PC, Linux, PS4, and on the Nintendo eShop.

This is a title that’s been dancing around the rim of release for quite some time. It was initially announced that a new Oddworld title would be released as far back as 2008. However, at the time of the announcement sources did say that due to the level of detail that developers Just Add Water planned to implement, development might take several years.

Five years later here we are with some stunning screenshots of the game finally hitting the internet. And I have to say, true to its name, the newest Oddworld installment looks new and tasty. The graphics are the best we’ve ever seen from the series by far, and while it’s tough to glean insight into what the game’s story will be, it’s clear that Oddworld will retain its signature brand of oddball humor.

The means by which this futuristic expansion will be applied to your current Sims 3 game is pretty fun: A futuristic Sim appears in your home and and bestows upon you and your Sims a time portal which leads to the future. Upon stepping through the portal, Sims will find themselves in Oasis Landing, and futuristic town.

In the future, you will be able to build and design robots to serve your city, play wit hover boards, jet packs, and hover cars. You know, all that fun future stuff. But one of the cooler future elements incorporated in The Sims 3: Into The Future is the ability for your Sims to interact with their descendants. You can choose to talk to them, change them and their career paths or even kill them. And the decisions your Sim makes in the present will affect those descendants in the future. Hopefully there will be some fun paradoxes to play around with.

The Sims 3: Into The Future releases on OSX and Windows on October 22, 2013.

A spokesperson for the developer stated that, “At this moment we aim to finish the game before the end of the year. We really don’t want to give a date and then miss it. Once we are absolutely confident of the date then we will let you know! More than anything we don’t want to release the game before it’s finished and polished…even if that means releasing it a bit later than we originally planned.”

Broken Sword: The Serpent’s Curse is a point and click action game. Like the previous entries in the series, gamers will, from a third person perspective, control a two dimensional character and navigate him through a series of logical puzzles.

Broken Sword: The Serpent’s Curse is slated to release across Microsoft Windows, OSX, Linux, iOS, Android, and PlayStation Vita.