Hellboy, Jackbox, Silent Hill-likes, a playable documentary and more
Last night, Xbox held their 10th annual ID@Xbox games showcase and revealed a bunch of great new games coming to PC. There were gorgeous platformers, retro RPGs, party games, Silent Hill-esque spook ‘em ups, and even a playable documentary. There’s loads to chew on, so I’ve rounded up some of my personal favourites for your perusal.
Hellboy: Web Of Wyrdwas announced late last year as an action roguelike starring our titular horn-headed demon friend, and we now have our second look at the game. Web Of Wyrd is set within the comic book’s canon and features a story written by the series creator Mike Mignola, with the late Lance Reddick voicing our main man. Striking shadows and bold dashes of colour seem to recreate the comic’s artwork well enough too. So all in all, the seems like a dream for any Hellboy zealots.
Like clockwork, Jackbox Party Pack 10 is coming out later this year, and the team just announced two new games coming to the daft multiplayer collection. Hyponotorious (4-8 players) puts you in the shoes of a hypnotised stage show contestant, and Timejinx (1-8 players) has you travel through the decades to answer trivia questions. Though that might lead to some dangerous butterfly effects. You can find out more on Jackbox Games’website.
I didn’t expect the developers behind the time-and-space-bending horrorParatopicto be working on something as uptempo asRoman Sands RE:Build, but we now know it will be out on PC later this summer. The game traps us in a summery apocalypse resort where we either need to escape or wait until the sun swallows us whole. The team at Arbitrary Metric say it mixes visual novel, puzzle, horror, and survival sim elements, and that overwhelming blend is on display in the newest trailer above. I’m happy to see the team’s fantastic sound design is in tact, too.
You might rememberScarlet Deer Innas the gorgeous side-scroller that recently went viral for its fully embroidered animations. Wife and husband duo Attu Games are also doing everything else, from writing, painting, and even performing the folkloric soundtrack. That hard work seems to have paid off since the new trailer’s medieval village and sinister caves continue to stun.
Digital Eclipse announced a new initiative called the Gold Master Series, a line of interactive documentaries that fuse photos, videos, and games to tell the behind-the-scenes stories of select games. First up is The Making OfKarateka, which delves into the personal history of Prince Of Persia creator Jordan Mechner and his 1980s gameKarateka. Of course, the playable doc includes the final retail version of the martial arts game, but also multiple prototypes and unfinished versions too. One of the coolest ways to preserve game history, I think.
3D visual novelSolace Statehas been in the oven for a while, but it’s now happily coming later this summer. Set in a cyberpunk surveillance state, you’ll work to hack oppressive systems and build relationships that can culminate in a revolution. Or not. Depends on how good your people skills are.
The studio who remastered Baldur’s Gate andPlanescape: Tormentare about to release their first original game.Mythforceis a co-op roguelike that supports up to four friends, tasking you with stabbing beasties with the power of magic and teamwork. Developers Beamdog were inspired by Saturday morning cartoons from the 80s, and you can see that vibrant palette for yourself, as a demo is available onSteam.
Stray Soulsis a third-person action-horror game that has both foggy towns and devilishly unnatural monsters. That pitch sounds nightmarishly similar to Silent Hill, but so will the music, as the series’ famed composer Akira Yamaoka is joining the game for some guest tracks. Dodge rolls, lever-pulling puzzles, and some disturbing sights adds some extra throwback vibes.
Quick 2D platforming marries a turn-based RPG with the strikingWorldless. The game takes place in an abstract reality that has you chaining jumps and dashes like something out of the Ori games. Although, when enemies show up you’ll hit the brakes for some more tactical, turn-based battling. Looks great.
Ahead of its release in August, the SNES-style RPGSea Of Starsdebuted another trailer. The new look shows the expected turn-based battles, pretty pixel environments, and unique traversal. That’s a known quantity for anyone who’s played the game’sgreat demo. What’s new is the tease of a shadowy organisation near the end. I guess it wouldn’t be retro-inspired RPG if there weren’t a world-ending threat waiting to show up in the last third.
You can check out the rest of the announcements on the Xbox Wireblog post, or watch the full showcase onYouTube. Which ones caught your eye?
