Part two:
IRRATIONAL GAMES IS GONE—SAY HELLO TO GHOST STORY
http://www.pcgamer.com/irrational-games-is-gonesay-hello-to-ghost-story/
It was a big deal when Ken Levine announced in 2014 that the storied Irrational Games studio was "winding down." Its impact and influence over the years was so great that we actually wrote it a "fond farewell," recalling our time with brilliant experiences like System Shock 2, SWAT 4, and of course the BioShock games. It didn't go away completely—15 employees remained in what Levine described at the time as a "more entrepreneurial" outfit—but it obviously wasn't going to be making the big-budget blockbusters we'd grown used to.
Perhaps to reflect that fact, the studio made a pretty big announcement on Twitter today: Irrational is gone, and in its place stands Ghost Story Games.
PALADINS PLAYERS ERUPT IN ANGER OVER 'PAY-TO-WIN' CHANGES IN LATEST PATCH
http://www.pcgamer.com/paladins-players-erupt-in-anger-over-pay-to-win-changes-in-latest-beta/
Players of Hi-Rez Studios' free-to-play hero shooter Paladins are venting their anger on Reddit and elsewhere over a recent change to the game that's widely seen as a blatant change to a "pay-to-win" system. The complaints are rooted in a new in-game currency called Essence, introduced in the open beta patch 44 that was rolled out last week.
>>The studio has already send a response to those complains, stating the changes it will make to the game to please them.
THE LAST NIGHT TEASER SHOWCASES A 'CINEMATIC PLATFORMER' IN THE STYLE OF FLASHBACK
http://www.pcgamer.com/the-last-night-teaser-showcases-a-cinematic-platformer-in-the-style-of-flashback/
In 2014, brothers Tim and Adrien Soret founded an indie game studio named Odd Tales and announced their first project, a cinematic platformer called The Last Night. More recently—as in, yesterday—the team announced a partnership with publisher Raw Fury and released a very brief, and very promising, trailer teasing a stylish journey through rainy, neon nights of a Blade Runner-flavored cyberpunk future.
NEW OVERWATCH CHARACTER TEASE POINTS TO ROBOTIC 24TH HERO [updated]
http://www.pcgamer.com/new-overwatch-character-tease-points-to-robotic-24th-hero/
We're one step closer to learning more about the upcoming 24th Overwatch hero, as Blizzard today released a new character teaser. This follows the first tease, an in-universe interview with 11-year-old robotics prodigy Efi Oladele, which was posted earlier this week.
Update: The Overwatch PTR has been updated, and there's something different about the Numbani map. Something... missing. That's right, the Doomfist gauntlet has mysteriously vanished from the Numbani payload. The attacking team's spawn point—the airport terminal—also has been completely destroyed.
GRAVEYARD KEEPER IS A BLEND OF FANTASY AND CAPITALISM THAT LOOKS LIKE STARDEW CEMETERY
http://www.pcgamer.com/graveyard-keeper-is-a-blend-of-fantasy-and-capitalism-that-looks-like-stardew-cemetery/
Joining the small trend of 'roleplaying game NPCs made into full games' we've seen in games like Tavern Tycoon, Punch Club studio Lazy Bear Games has announced its next project, Graveyard Keeper, which it proudly proclaims as "the most inaccurate medieval cemetery management sim of the year." As the head of a fledgling fantasy burial ground, you'll have to find ways to cut costs, keep the customers coming, do "whatever it takes to build a thriving business."
RENAISSANCE ADVENTURE FOUR LAST THINGS IS OUT NOW
http://www.pcgamer.com/renaissance-adventure-four-last-things-is-out-now/
Four Last Things—an old-fashioned adventure game made out of stitched-together Renaissance art—is out now on Steam, which shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, seeing as I told you it was happening earlier this month. Following a successful Kickstarter, developer Joe Richardson has expanded his funny and rather beautiful point and click, buffing up the art and tweaking the writing—and, after playing it for a bit, I think it's definitely worth checking out.
YOU CAN PLAY AN EARLY DEMO OF XENONAUTS 2 NOW
http://www.pcgamer.com/you-can-play-an-early-demo-of-xenonauts-2-now/
Xenonauts creator Goldhawk Interactive loves that hyphen in the original X-COM so much that it's shoved one into the title of Xenonauts-2, the studio's in-development follow-up to its 2D take on the X-COM formula, which Ian Birnbaum enjoyed back in 2014. We've not heard much about Xenonauts-2 since its official announcement at around this time last year, but we do know that a) it'll be in 3D, and b) it'll be coming to Steam Early Access further down the line.
What if I told you that you could play it right now though? And without having to sneak into Goldhawk HQ and nick one of its computers? Well you can, because the developer has released an early demo over on GOG.
ELITE: DANGEROUS UPDATE TO ADD FRESHLY DISCOVERED TRAPPIST-1 SYSTEM
http://www.pcgamer.com/elite-dangerous-update-to-add-freshly-discovered-trappist-1-system/
In case you missed it—maybe because you were staring directly at the Trump, and not at fiery gas giants located in outer space—NASA has discovered seven new planets we humans could potentially live on, just as soon as we figure out how to travel 40 light years to another solar system. Upon its discovery, that solar system was named TRAPPIST-1 (presumably, TRAPPIST and TRAPPIST_Official were already taken), and I'm talking about it now because Elite: Dangerous is set to add it in an upcoming patch.
forma.8 LOOKS LIKE A BEAUTIFUL, ELEGANT METROIDVANIA
http://www.pcgamer.com/forma8-looks-like-a-beautiful-elegant-metroidvania/
Remember when every trailer tried to invoke excitement through the use of dubstep? It was a dark period for promotional videos, and one that (otherwise gorgeous) Metroidvania forma.8 channels with its noisy launch trailer. Despite that, this lovely-lookin' sidescrolling exploration game looks like something you might enjoy, providing you're a fan of Nifflas-style platformers, and other minimalist games that create a peaceful atmosphere through their use of colour, animation and sound design.
SHADOW OF MORDOR SEQUEL SHADOW OF WAR LEAKED
http://www.pcgamer.com/shadow-of-mordor-sequel-shadow-of-war-leaked/
A sequel to Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor has been leaked by US retail chain Target, via an online booboo that, at the time of writing, hasn't yet been fixed. Titled Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, the sequel will see Talion and his ghost buddy Celebrimbor teaming up once again to have another crack at Mordor. According to the Target description, you'll "go behind enemy lines to forge your army, conquer Fortresses and dominate Mordor from within". And in case there was any doubt, the Nemesis system will return, creating "unique personal stories with every enemy and follower".
>>This leak was later confirmed. There's already a thread in VGC, made by Shikamo.
DARK SOULS 2 LAUNCHES RETURN TO DRANGLEIC COMMUNITY EVENT
http://www.pcgamer.com/dark-souls-2-launches-return-to-drangleic-community-event/
As you might've spied James speaking about a few weeks back, Dark Souls 2's Return to Drangleic event kicked off over the weekend—a community-run affair that asks Souls players to return to the series' second entry to "engage in co-op and PvP along the way as much as possible."
ASHES OF CREATION'S FIRST PRE-ALPHA GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE SHOWS MMO WIZARDRY AND PRETTY AUTUMN LEAVES
http://www.pcgamer.com/ashes-of-creations-first-pre-alpha-footage-shows-mmo-wizardry-and-pretty-autumn-leaves/
Intrepid Studios has sent over the first pre-alpha gameplay footage of their upcoming MMO, Ashes of Creation.
It's a classic, though slick, look for an MMO—a mage dealing with a hotbar and damage numbers and a horrible spider-man—though it should be noted that the UI is currently a placeholder. Like a few MMOs I've seen recently, one of Ashes of Creation's aspirations is permanent change.
TWITCH TO SELL GAMES IN STREAMER-SUPPORTING INITIATIVE THIS SPRING
http://www.pcgamer.com/twitch-to-sell-games-in-streamer-supported-initiative-this-spring/
Streaming service Twitch will allow users to purchase games in a new streamer-supporting initiative set to launch later this year.
"Soon the best place to watch and share games will be the best place to buy," so says Twitch in a statement—a process whereby players interested in specific broadcasters will be able to purchase games and allocate them a cut.
