Monaco 2! Coral Island! David Gaider’s musical game gets a new name! Plus loads more
Monaco 2 is official
Formerly known asChorus: An Adventure Musical, the next game fromDragon Agewriter David Gaider has now been re-named as Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, probably so it won’t get confused with last year’sChorus(aka: Chorvs), the space combat shooter that came out at the beginning of December. Also note that switch from Adventure to Roleplaying in the subtitle. This, according to executive producer Elie Young, is to better reflect how it’s “built on the DNA of roleplaying games”. It’s still being scored by composer extraordinaire Austin Wintory, though, who’s apparently written so much music he’d be surprised if players ever managed to hear it all. With Humble Games now on board as a publisher, the game’s been able to expand from its original two-hour length to something much bigger, with managing director Liam Esler mentioning more romances, songs and choices as being some of the key additions. All we need now is a release date.
After raising over $1.6 million on Kickstarter last year,Coral Islandis currently one of themost wishlisted games on Steamright now. Made by Indonesian devs Stairway Games, it’s a farming sim with a nautical, conservation-themed twist, as you’ll not only be farming fields, fixing up buildings and befriending the local islanders, but you’ll also be cleaning up the nearby coral reefs. There’s still no firm release date just yet, but when it does eventually come out, Humble Games will be the ones publishing it.
My personal highlight from the showcase,Moonscarslooksrad. Coming out later this summer, developers Black Mermaid had an incredible-sounding elevator pitch for their 2D pixel slasher: a union of Souls-like combat and the art of the Dutch old masters (your Rembrandts and Vermeers and the like). This I’ve got to see - as you can, too, in the trailer above. To my eyes, it looks likeBlasphemousmeets Castlevania, with a screen-shakingly good sword swing. No seriously, just look at that screen shudder when he swings that big axe. I can practically feel it grating against my cheek bones.
Look closely and the protagonist of new Metroid-like Ghost Song could almost be Samus' long-lost cousin. Armed with a natty hand cannon and a similarly glowing visor, you wake up a mysterious moon that’s full of horrible monsters and secrets to uncover. From the trailer it looks like we can expect plenty of zappin', runnin' and jumpin', and… big flying mechanical skulls? I also spied a rather nifty-looking hammer and sword in your arsenal too. No release date yet, but consider me intrigued.
Talk about a 180 tonal shift, eh? In this new rhythm RPG from Nikko Nikko, you’ll be shredding jammy guitar tunes in a world that’s set in the ruins of a global mech war. As well as performing side-on rhythm solos (plus the occasional duet with your fellow bandmates), you’ll be dodging rhythm-based attacks from big monsters in top-down adventure sections. It certainly looks energetic, but will it be able to match the mad, maverick action of other rhythm favs like Ouendan and Elite Beat Agents? Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to find out.
Chinatown Detective Agency is one of those games I’ve seen being demoed at shows for what feels like an actual decade, but now we know when it’s finally coming out. April 7th. That’s just a few weeks away! To celebrate this point and click game’s impending release, publisher Humble Games showed off another trailer that takes a closer look at some of the sus clients private investigator Amira Darma will be dealing with during the course of her crime-solving. Developer Genereal Interactive Co also revealed players will need to do a bit of real-world research to help solve the game’s cases. It’s not quite clear yet how this research (dare I say, homework?) will feed into its branching storylines, but stay tuned for our full review in the coming weeks.
The final announcement of the showcase, this turn-based tactical RPG from Curious Panda Games is coming to Steam early access on April 19th. In it, you’ll lead a company of mercenaries through the harsh lands of Caelum, hiring new recruits as your existing company starts to creak from old age, managing your reputation across different regions, and making sure you don’t all accidentally bite the dust from surprise skelly boys and big zombos. ThinkWartales, but in pixel form with some extra fantastical powers.
