Remnant: From the Ashes is a new third-person co-op survival-action shooter game developed by ‘Gunfire Games‘ and published by ‘Perfect World Entertainment‘. It is coming out the 20th of August on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. It looks like Remnant: From the Ashes plan to make an intense survival game. Let’s hope they got the formula right. Let’s take a look.
In Remnant: From the Ashes, players start of in a world that is pure chaos now. Basically something evil, something ancient has caused all these problems The even bigger problem is that this ancient evil is in another dimension. That sounds fair right? At least the covenant in Halo attack from orbit. The chaos mainly comes in the form of dangerous creatures that come from different dimensions also. As you can see, humanity has their hands full.
Humanity isn’t going to accept this. They fight back but off course are losing. Players play as one of the last remnants of humanity. Humanity has the technology and means to go to alternate realities and other realms through portals. The main mission is to find where the evil is coming from and stop it. So get weapons, work together and scavenge for resources in order to survive and hopefully win.
Lets get to the main points about Remnant: From the Ashes. It’s post apocalyptic so expect busted cities, streets and not much people. Oh and lots of enemies. These creatures shouldn’t really be avoided though as defeating them will get you experience. Also you can get materials which are for building or modifying armour, attachments and off course weapons. We hope that there is a good range of modifications, weapons and armour.
Since you are travelling through and to different realms and realities there will be different worlds with different designs and environments. The world we can travel to are said to be dynamically generated worlds that change each time you play in them. So expect new encounters each time you enter that world. There will be new objectives and quests too. There are four worlds and all have their monsters waiting and ready for you. So Remnant: From the Ashes is suppose to give us different experiences all the time.
Concerning the enemies we have seen quite the variety. We’ve seen darkness red glowy enemies that look like trees and can duplicate themselves.. Mechanised enemies that go on all fours and has a cannon on their backs. Humanoid beast enemies that walk with large axes. Half insect half horse enemies that move in groups. What looks like a fire breathing bone or vine dragon. Giant butcher looking enemy wearing an apron and looks like it will eat you. Enemies that look like giant versions of the Interns from Oddworld Munches oddysee. We are definitely liking the variety of enemies you can face in the game. They even have their own group names like The Root and Pan.
We checked out some Remnant: From the Ashes gameplay and it’s what we thought it would be. Traversing and exploring the worlds, coming across enemies, face them or leave them alone. Gather resources, upgrade and get stronger. Big powerful enemies, small numerous enemies, using good guns and even melee weapons. We even know that there are some powerful bosses who will not give up their lives easy. From what we have seen it looks good. We will wait to see more though and see if we are impressed or not.
Overall Remnant: From the Ashes looks like a good game. We have no information on the game difficulty though. We hope games like this have a long curve in terms of progression so that players don’t end up just walking through enemies and slapping monsters around too soon. It should be a survival and struggle right to the end. Graphics look alright so far. The developers ‘Gunfire Games’ as done a good job with this so far. We at X35 Earthwalker will keep an eye out for this game but we need to learn about a few more things. Now Remnant: From the Ashes may seem promising but is a complete fail when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Ash of gods is a new turn based strategy and card role playing game developed by ‘AurumDust‘ and published by ‘WhisperGames‘. Ash of gods is coming out this year, 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PS4 but already out on PC. This game has a feature that definitely makes it stand out. Let’s take a look.
In Ash of gods the story has been described by the developers as “This is the story of “angels” who after being given free will turned the life of humans into hell in the absence of a god”. This doesn’t make sense but it’s a fictional video game set in a fictional world, so go with it. The game wants to centre it’s theme around moral choices and right and wrong. With people behaving like monsters and at times something that isn’t human behaves more human like than actual humans. That kind of stuff.
The style of the story telling is rouge-like but very serious. Ash of gods forces players to really and truly think things through. First things first, all of your characters can die. Yes, even the main character. If you truly mess up you can lose everyone and the game continues even when the main character dies. This is very good and already sets this game apart from others. Next is that every decision you make affects further plot development. It could either be immediate consequences or something much further down the line.
So like in life do not just focus on what’s right in front of you, or what you will gain immediately or you could start a war much later in the game or get someone killed. The developers gave examples, “A rude word may provoke a lethal conflict and a wound in battle may lead to death in a story mode”. That’s not all. Players will need to manage their resources carefully too. If you fail to do so the whole party of characters will die. Scared yet? Well don’t be, it’s a game after all.
You already know that Ash of gods is tactical as it’s turn based strategy. You think about what moves and options you have. What do you want to accomplish in the end? Also as a card game you will need to collect cards, have an effective build and use what you got wisely. Characters have classes which off course determines their moves and what you can do with each one. So turn based + characters classes + cards = quite a deep strategy game.
Concerning the combat with enemies, in Ash of gods, there is something players should know. The A.I has been described as smart. The developers have stated that there is no invincible team build. The A.I will constantly adapt to how you play so the challenges you face will always be different. Rushing in hard and fast won’t work multiple times in a row. This is good because many players like to be cheap and do things the super easy way. Good move developers.
Games like Ash of gods will off course have some risks. It’s up to players to decide if it’s worth it and whether to do it or not. You can save resources by taking the shorter but more dangerous route. Sacrifice some hit points for a all or nothing strike. Even take a smaller team into battle to acquire the better cards have rounds be quicker.
We checked out some Ash of gods gameplay and we like the character animations. They are very good. There’s lots of options and lots to do in Ash of gods. There are shop keepers, a large adventure and even multiplayer modes: PvP and PvE. Communicate with your friends by selecting from text options to let them know if they good or suck. This game is definitely very big and has a lot of work put into it. We even saw powerful magical spell like attacks such as using electricity and fire to shock and devour enemies. Looking good so far.
Overall Ash of gods is looking very good. There is more to the story such as that the Reapers are here and they want to drown the world in blood in an attempt to wake up the sleeping gods (That always ends well). The graphics are very good for it’s style and there is a lot of work that went into the music, so listen up. The developers ‘AurumDust’ did a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker will keep an eye on this game. Now Ash of gods may have some real consequences for decisions but the events that take place are child’s play when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Yaga is a new action roleplaying game developed by ‘Breadcrumbs Interactive‘. Yaga is said to be coming out in the fourth quarter of 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC. This game plans to actually make the players decisions effect the game. Let’s take a look.
In Yaga players control Ivan. Ivan is a blacksmith. While everyone is out living ordinary lives, Ivan lives life differently. He’s working hard at his forge, crafting, building, hammering etc making cool weapons and items. He plans to go on another adventure. He is in a situation that’s effected by three people. The Tzar who is jealous of Ivan and keep giving him impossible quests which Ivan is unaware actually weaken and destroys the magical creatures and ancient spirits, a witch called Baba Yaga who plans to protect the spirits and use Ivan for her goals and last of all Ivan’s grandmother who simply wants him to find a wife. Ivan clearly has his hands full. Oh did we mention that Ivan only has one arm? Yep, just one.
The developers describe this story as one “about greed, manipulation and dealing with impossible odds.” Don’t feel sorry for Ivan though as he knows how to work with his disability. A forged attachments that allow him to wield crossbows, shields and other weapons. So players must equip themselves to suit their style or the situation and head out on a strange adventure. One more thing. Yaga is set in slavic folklore. 14 century slavic folklore through the eyes of Eastern European peasants. So expect a lot of superstition, house spirits, magic (off course), unclean spirits (copying the Bible) and pagan beliefs. This will not be your simple adventure.
Now Yaga is going to attempt to be the game that gets the players decisions to effect the game done right. How you play and what you do effects things. You can pick pocket people, steal, trick, lie, attack and be totally unfair. The peasants and other characters will remember that you did these things and they will act accordingly. An NPC might place a curse on you while another might place a charm on you for helping them out etc. We hope they actually make it so that decisions and behaviour does matter.
There are levels and it’s done by a level generator which produces a mix of combat and roleplaying all from a huge library of quests and special rooms like shrines, merchants and more. Each level is different and has it’s rules. The area or region of the level will effect things, the focus of the story will effect things. Think for a bit first before making your way through the level. So expect different action and levels of drama each time.
While out on adventures make sure to gather all the materials and resources you can find. These are needed for all the crafting that Ivan does. Yaga gets quite detailed too as there are different types of Wood (like Minecraft), different types of ores and enhancements which you can find and even collect from fallen enemies. You can even get charms and curses which are long term effects for your character. They can seriously have big impacts concerning combat and even interacting with characters and things in the world. Some perks may grant different effects depending on your character and how you’ve played already. NPCs can charm or curse Ivan and even witches and priests in exchange for donations. Remember this.
The combat is always one of the main questions. Combat in Yaga is mainly close range. Where the hammers and melee weapons are effective. Where you position Ivan during combat is very important. You have to be just outside of attack range from enemies and then run in at the right moment to do a couple of strikes. Timing is key. We did mention magic before so you know that’s a part of the combat. Talismans and magic items will add in completely new factors like shields, ranged attacks and more.
We checked out some Yaga gameplay and it’s not exactly what we thought it would be. We liked how the folklore changes each time and Ivan has things differently each time. The talismans can be found throughout the world and they can add effects to your attacks and defences, mess with enemies and boost your stats. Magic items have supernatural powers and are rare. Do not use them too much or you will attract attention…
Overall Yaga seems like a good game. It’s quite deep in terms of crafting, materials, multiple play throughs, enemies, combat and in game mechanics. They better pull of the actions have consequences mechanic well. The developers ‘Breadcrumbs Interactive’ did a good job with this game so far. We at X35 Earthwalker will keep an ear out for what Yaga will truly bring to the gaming community. Now Yaga may have folklores and different tales but stays awesome is.. the ‘Earth Walk!’
Anthem was released and many gamers had their eyes on it. Almost everyone heard about Anthem and there was some hype for it. Some were already salty because of what they think about Electronic Arts. We at X35 Earthwalker aren’t childish about these things. We look at the game that that’s it. We have checked out what some of these reviewers have to say about Anthem and so far a good number of them didn’t give a good review at all. Some like Angry Joe and others aren’t even that good at it and it shows. Check out what we think of it so far. We say “so far” as we haven’t completed the game yet or anything like that. Also this isn’t a full review as there is literally so much to say.
Anthem can be played both single player and multiplayer. How we see to do it is that when it’s a story based mission, as in it forwards the story, we tend to play it solo but when it’s agent missions and others we then decide if we want others there or not. Now we do prefer single player overall because we get to do things at our own pace, explore around that corner if we want to and even get stylish when facing enemies. You can’t really do that in multiplayer. In multiplayer you have players who just want to complete the mission as fast as possible and so they zoom from objective to objective flying everywhere. If they reach the next area you have around 24 seconds to get there also or you’ll be teleported there. So it’s a rush. This doesn’t mean multiplayer isn’t fun. In multiplayer we have come across some playful and friendly gamers. If we throw a flare, they all do. In fact we once had a flare party where everyone was emoting and tossing flares everywhere. In multiplayer, there enemies don’t stand a chance. You feel powerful. Plus we have to admit that some levels, especially bosses are very difficult to beat alone and off course a team makes a difference.
Now when do you get to play with others? The answer is whenever you want. Every time you go on an expedition you have the option as to whether to play with other or private. What they shouldn’t have done is keep presenting a warning or reminder that Anthem is better experienced with others and if you are sure you want to play private. Yes we are sure, that’s why we selected private and not public. It’s annoying that every time they have to ask you. It’s like they want us to doubt our choices. Just stop please. Other from that, the system works fine. You choose public and they find a team. The levels of your team mates are questionable but not a big deal at all. It’s minor.
We tried three of the four Javelins: Ranger, Storm, Colossus (haven’t tried yet) and Interceptor. These four play very different from each other. Rangers are fighting like actual soldiers using mainly their guns and equipment as backup. Storm normally stay at long range and use elemental based attacks like lightning, ice, fire and even wind. The Interceptor is all about getting fast, do quick damage and then get back out just as fast. The colossus wants to get up in the enemies face and use some melee action while tanking some damage. When you play each one, it does feel different but the principle is still the same as in, don’t die, take cover to recover shields etc. Your strategy and style of play changes with each Javelin type and that’s a good thing.
The enemies are quite similar to each other in some areas. The main enemies are: Scars, Dominion and Outlaws. They have foot soldiers, elite versions of those soldiers, unique units and even a shielded unit. The three main enemy groups are different when it comes to their unique units. The Scars have a big flame throwing unit that uses a big physical shield to completely negate all frontal damage. It’s weakness is it’s fuel tanks. The Dominion have a large animal like thing that has a cannon on his back which is really fast. There are even more enemies too including the wildlife. An Ursix is a giant beast that throws rocks, charges and smashes you with brute force. There are more enemies to but some are passive and will not bother you at all, only until you scare or disturb them.
We haven’t completed the main story yet but so far we do understand what’s happening. The shapers, shaper relics, anthem of creation, what the dominion wants, cataclysms etc. You can learn a whole lot more through the items that have information and lore like scrolls and books found in fort tarsus or certain identified areas in the main world that give the the background story and more. There is a lot of information to find and they do explain quite a lot. Some not good critics like PC Gamer complained that the story was complicated and confusing. We didn’t find it confusing, they were obviously rushing through the game to complete it to give their review. Take your time and you will see that it’s not that confusing at all. It’s a fictional game with fictional rules. So see it from Anthem’s universe perspective.
The characters are interesting. Haluk is straight forward to us and he needs to stay cool at all times and not just on the battlefield. Owen is quite easily understood and his actions can make sense but not justified. Faye its quite realistic, she’s one of those people who’s so into their field of study or interest that people forget she has hobbies like radio series. Matthias is the brilliant but reckless type and the whole manifold incident made him even better. The other characters just add to the social flavour. You can speak to them from time to time and they clearly have their own views, focuses in life and stories. There are other characters that you can speak to and you get to decide how you respond to questions and situations. In one of them we convinced Amal, the bartender, to always do the right thing and be honest. We also couldn’t deceive the old woman (Marelda we think) by letting her think we are her dead son. What she needs is the truth, gentle but straight up truth. We truly helped her in the end. Yes, it has been said that no matter what you choose, the outcome isn’t effected by much but these conversations do test the player themselves, their morality and what they think. Nice touch.
Now let’s talk a bit about what we don’t like. We don’t like that you can’t really decide what you can craft. From the earlier parts of Anthem we happened to find a harvestable source during a mission (we played in private) and it released a crazy amount of masterwork ember. We had a lot of crafting material but couldn’t craft anything great. We later learned that you need to collect and then upgrade blue prints by completing certain weapon challenges. That wasn’t made clear to us. It should have been spelt out to players.
Another issue is that moment in the story where you needed to enter four special tombs and those tombs can only be accessed by those who are worthy. You are worthy by completing specific challenges. Now what’s the problem? The challenges can take quite a while especially if you haven’t started anyone of them while you are playing missions. This whole section feels like a wall. Until you complete the challenges you cannot progress. We were fortunate to have only three more challenges remaining: melee kill a certain amount of enemies, complete world quests and find 15 chests (15 we think). It took quite a bit but not that long but we know other players had to spend a long time on it which isn’t fun. If they made it so that getting into the temples unlocks you weapons, upgrades, blue prints, techniques or whatever then it would be better and feel like rewards, instead of making that the actual main mission. We weren’t happy about this part at all.
A small sized complaint is that we can’t feel that much of a difference when we equip gear that increases our armour and shields. We even crafted a couple of stuff and really increased both armour and shields but enemies seem to kill us at pretty much the same speed (we always play on hard difficulty). Maybe when we get much better gear we can feel the difference.
Another issue is that the story could have included more encounters with the different groups like the regulators and how messing with them could have consequences. The outlaws could have their own branch of missions along with the scars; giving players the opportunity to know more about them and their whole system. There’s opportunities in there and we want to see Anthem take advantage more of what they have in their universe.
One more issue is the items drops you get for beating certain enemies. X35 Earthwalker, the legendary soldier himself, literally earlier today in free play mode defeated an Ursix and got two epic items from it but later X35 fought a War Titan and beat it solo and the reward was a rare and uncommon. The war titan was stronger, had way more health, can do way more damage and took five times longer to beat but the drops were inferior. That needs to be fixed as that’s clearly not right. By the way we will show that fight against the war titan in a video in good time.
Now some critics were complaining about the characters and the conversations you have with them. Let’s be real, the characters do what they need to do. They said the characters just stand around. Well what do you want? You want the characters running around in a route in fort tarsus so players have to chase them down just to get a mission or talk. Some really slammed Anthem for not having big story effected consequences based on your responses to some characters. This isn’t that kind of game (what’s wrong with these reviewers). Anthem isn’t about meeting clans, persuading them to join your cause and them lead an army and if you anger clans then they become enemies. It’s just conversations to keep things fresh, different and these conversations are interesting. People go through different things and it’s good to talk to others. Others slammed Anthem for having repetitive missions. We don’t find them repetitive. The developers can’t keep adding in completely different gaming mechanics all the time, there needs to be some sort of formula. Rescue and protect missions are not fun at all. There are limits on games especially those that are open world, RPG with world events and stuff to come. It can’t go on forever that’s why DLC have to come in bringing new stories and adventures. It’s sad that reviewers and critics don’t understand this. Like we said, ignore the critics and reviewers and certainly you tubers like angry Joe who just hop on the hate train to get views. Do your own research check out some gameplay and if you like what you see, try it for yourself.
Now another thing that’s good is the Javelin customisation at least in terms of the colours. You can change the colour of each limb separately. It gets better. You can decide what shade of the colour, the fabric, patterns and even the texture. Players who have some level of creativity will go to work with these options and we still haven’t seen a javelin that’s just like ours. Even better we haven’t see one that looks like ours. What we don’t like is how long it takes to get different helmets and javelin body parts. Keep doing missions to get coins and then rely on those. Or you could buy shards but we aren’t doing that.
Overall we are really enjoying Anthem. The option to play with others is easy and just as easy to play alone. The Anthem world looks very nice and it does make you want to explore. Little things like how flying in rain helps your thrusters and reduce overheating while going in water or waterfalls completely cools you off, extending the amount of time you fly for. The weapon types definitely feel different. The pistols don’t feel like the scout rifles. The LMGs don’t feel like the assault rifles either. We like how much of a battle it is to take down a titan and when you finally do, it feels like an achievement because of how strong they are as enemies. The rabbits and other wild life creatures are cool. You can walk up to them, chill with them and even follow them around. The world definitely feels alive. Anthem has way more positives than negatives. Don’t forget that we haven’t gotten to the end of the story yet and we still have more to see.
Now what’s our current verdict? Anthem is currently 8/10. We recommend it to other players. It’s negatives especially the challenges to enter tombs does hold the game back as it makes certain things annoying. There is so much more we can say about the game but we want to leave it here for now. Now many have a lot to say about Anthem but there’s way more to say about… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Biomutant is a new third person combat, action, open world RPG developed by ‘Experiment 101‘ and published by ‘THQ Nordic‘. Biomutant is said to be coming out in the second quarter of 2019 on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. This game certainly stands out from everything else at the moment. Let’s take a look.
Not a lot is known about Biomutant right now. Concerning the story we know that there is a tree. Not an ordinary one. It’s called the tree of life (once again getting their ideas from the Bible). This tree is for some reason bleeding death from it’s roots. A plague is also on the loose and it’s negatively effecting everything, including the land. There are different animal tribes and are currently not in agreement and against each other. So it’s up to one, the player to solve this. Either unite everyone or put everyone down.
Now since Biomutant is a open world game players will assume there are ways of traversing the world. There is. Players can get around by foot (off course), jet-ski, mechs and even a air-balloon. Interesting since the game is set in an post apocalypse world. There are more methods of travelling like mounts but you’ll see for yourself. There’s more to this world than what you see. There is more under the planet surface and even high up. There are mountains to climb, tunnels to explore, the wildland which has seen better days, bunker networks and even an archipelago which looks cool by the way.
So if it isn’t clear by now, players will need to be big on exploration in a game like this. Biomutant has a lot to do. First of all you have to learn what’s happening with the tree of life, handle the plague and deal with the tribes… but wait… there’s more. There are more mysteries to be solved, probably concerning the inhabitants. There are certain characters for you to find and meet. Some creatures need to be dealt with and discoveries to be made. The players action are said to play a part in the story, a major part. We have heard this all the time. Most games don’t do a good job at handle the “actions and decisions effect the story” system. We hope Biomutant can do this well. By the way, the story will be told through a narrator.
Biomutant does remind us of Metal Gear Survive in one very particular way. Areas that require certain equipment for the player to explore safely. In Metal Gear Survive you had the dust which was toxic for humans and you need an oxygen tank to temporarily survive. In Biomutant, players will need an gas mask and oxygen tank in order to explore the Dead Zones. Equipment is very important in this game. Players can equip protective hazard like gear to protect from bio-contaminated enemies and substances. You can even equip thermos-resistant clothes to handle those really cold areas. So the kind of gear you equip and wear is completely up to you but it makes a difference.
Biomutant wants to keep things new and exciting and here’s how. It’s third person combat and there’s some good emphasis on mobility and agility. You can move how you want and that’s how it should be. Combat is a mixture of melee, shooting and even powers and abilities from your mutations. The melee is martial arts. Your character can learn new Wushu combat forms through natural progression or from master fighters. Some make sure you know some kung-fu. Decide when to get up close and beat your enemy down and when to get some distance and range down the pain. We are looking forward to seeing how they mix these things together.
If you was paying attention you would notice that we mentioned mutations. Your character is able to have his genetic structure re-coded. This will off course effect many things. For starters how you look will be different. Your attributes will be affected. If you receive exposure to radioactivity like the kind found in bunkers you” experience psi-mutations, your mind will be affected and you’ll learn abilities like elevation and telekinesis. If you get exposed to bio-contamination that will cause physical mutations like getting a barbed tail or even mantis claws. So there are many ways to develop your character.
There is crafting in Biomutants too. Developers claim players are “totally free when crafting weapons”. You can craft guns like shotguns, revolvers and rifles (off course). Craft melee weapons, whether they be heavy melee type, or sharp like slashing and piercing. You can add different parts to add modifications like a battery powered chainsaw (Gears of war inspired) and go even further with bio-contaminated sludge vials. We did say players should explore, as you may encounter a character who might craft some stuff for you. These things can include, a jump pack, bionic wings (sounds awesome) and even upgrade your automaton.
We checked out some gameplay and from what we can see, things look great. The graphics are very good, the world and areas look really interesting. The sounds are just good so far. The different animal mutant enemies don’t look so tough. The customisation and outfits your character can wear are showing some good variety right now. The giant monsters look like a real problem though. So far we are seeing high potential with Biomutant.
Overall Biomutant seems really good. Not much information on the main character though. This open world looks like players will have lots to do. We hope the creativity expands more. More interesting mutated animal enemies and a good amount of super dangerous enemies that players can’t face in combat. The developers ‘Experiment 101’ did a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing what Biomutant fully has to offer. Now Biomutant may have some kung-fu but their skills are nothing compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Warhammer: Chaosbane is a new action RPG, Hack and slash game developed by ‘Eko Software‘ and published by ‘Bigben Interactive‘. Warhammer: Chaosbane is coming out the 4th of June 2019 on Xbox, PS4 and PC. This game has been related a lot to Diablo and others. Let’s take a look.
Players are in the Warhammer universe. You, know the same place where the space marines are. Warhammer: Chaosbane is a world that’s dominated by magic and war. The enemy is the horde. A chaos horde. The story is simple and the action is what you’d expect.
There are four character classes in Warhammer: Chaosbane. Wielding some very powerful artefacts. There’s a high elf who’s all about ranged attacks with magic, an empire soldier who’s basically the tank of the group, a wood elf who uses lethal traps and has a bow (there’s always a bow), a dwarf who just loves melee combat. So it’s the typical tank, ranged, magic and traps. Pick your type.
Now notice that there is four types of characters and it’s a hack and slash with that high up camera and there’s loads of enemies. You just know Warhammer: Chaosbane has multiplayer. We are right. It’s four player co-op. Both online and local. We always appreciate it when developers allow local multiplayer. We respect that.
There’s more to this typical hack and slash than you think. Warhammer: Chaosbane has some replay value as there’s a boss rush mode which is all about facing the bosses (obviously), they claim to have regular updates and countless dungeons.
There’s over 70 different enemies. These enemies aren’t alone as they will also work alongside powerful bosses and even chaos gods. There are more than 180 different skills for players to learn and use to destroy the enemies and keep that advantage. Don’t forget to use your bloodlust ability. Just saying.
We checked out some gameplay and it’s what we thought it would be. Run around, see enemies, they rush you, you use your abilities and whatever to survive. A hack and slash for sure. If you’ve played games like this before, then you would understand. Games like this stick to this style. Quite a bit of work went into this game. Warhammer fans will recognise some famous locations like Nuln or Praag in this game.
Overall Warhammer: Chaosbane just looks like another RPG hack and slash. The graphics are alright, the attention to detail is good and the sounds are good. There isn’t really all that much to say about this. The developers ‘Eko Software’ did an alright job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker aren’t looking forward to Warhammer: Chaosbane. It’s not our type nor does it have anything that interests us. Now Warhammer: Chaosbane may have over 180 abilities but not one of those can do anything against.. the ‘Earth Walk!’
Indivisible is a new RPG platformer developed by ‘Lab Zero Games‘ and published by ‘505 Games‘. It is said to be coming out in the 2nd quarter of 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC. This game has impressed some people already. Some good things have been said already. Let’s take a look.
The story in Indivisible is quite simple really. Players control Ajna. A girl described as “a good-natured tomboy with a rebellious streak”. She was raised by her father in the outskirts of their rural. Things are normal. Things changed real fast though, as her village was attacked. The warlord Ravannavar and his army. Ruthless lot they are. Ajna also learns that she has a power. This power allows her to absorb certain individuals into her being.
Off course these two events will make anyone want answers. So Ajna goes on a journey, a world wide journey to one, face Ravannavar and two, learn about this power and eventually her true nature. The beings she can absorb are called ‘Incarnations’. They have their own personalities and stories which players should take note off. Ajna not only absorbs beings but they can be manifested to fight alongside her. It gets a bit more strange. Ajna can also enter inside herself, a dimension that’s forming inside of her. This realm is where saving the game, quests and upgrades is found.
Games like Indivisible will always have things to find, abilities to collect and areas to explore. It’s a big world indeed. From the world map you will areas like the Iron Kingdom, the Almutah sands, tai Krung, Ashwat forest and more. Now off course Indivisible is 2D but when you look at the environments and worlds you will explore you will see all the 3D of this game, and that’s how players will truly see the wonderful visuals.
Hopefully you would notice by now but one of the main things that stands out about Indivisible is the graphics style and visuals. All the art here is hand drawn, just like with Cuphead. That’s right. Indivisible looks wonderful. If you while playing don’t stop to take a look at the backgrounds and what’s happening, then we, at X35 Earthwalker, automatically lost respect for you. The levels and world definitely looks alive. The levels are well designed and the attention to detail is very well done.
The characters are another standing out good things about Indivisible. Ajna definitely has that tough tomboy look and it suits her well. She looks like someone who would constantly clash with Natsu from the anime Fairy Tail in heated battles. She’s just the start. There’s Tungar who weilds a long ribbon like flexible blade which when not being used rests on his head as a turban. His body covered in scars from years of training. There’s Ginseng and Honey who are a duo. Honey is a plant creature while Ginseng is a youngster with great knowledge of herbology. They aren’t the combat types but their skills will come in handy. There is said to be more than 20 different incarnations.
We checked out some gameplay and Indivisible currently looks very good. We already mentioned the graphics which are very good. The gameplay is smooth, the actions are well animated. The enemies are weird looking and each area of the world has different types of enemies based on the environment which is good stuff. The combat is turn based from what we can see and it looks like you can have up to three incarnations fight with you during combat which also means that combinations, techniques and strategy will have a big impact in Indivisible.
Overall Indivisible definitely looks like a very good game. The hard work with the art being hand drawn, the variety of locations with relevant enemies, unique different characters with their own stories, range of items and abilities to find and much more. The developers ‘Lab Zero Games’ have done a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker are looking forward to seeing Indivisible come out. Now Indivisible may have lovely visuals but it’s ugly when compared to the beauty of… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Dauntless is a new action role playing game (RPG) developed by ‘Phoenix Labs‘. It is said to be coming out in April 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PS4; however you can download and play now on PC. There are said to be some monsters who need to be hunted down. Let’s take a look.
The story in Dauntless isn’t really clear from what new can see on their official website but basically the world has be broken up in to islands by a cataclysm. These islands are floating. Many of these islands haven’t even been explored yet and are dangerous. Also the islands themselves are in danger. What could endanger an island though? The answer are large creatures called Behemoths. They will consume the islands. It’s up to the players to prevent this from happening.
In Dauntless the players control Slayers. Slayers as the name suggests do quite a bit of slaying but their targets this time are the Behemoths. Slayers are mankinds best defence against these creatures. The slayers won’t be easy to beat as they are armed with some serious weapons. Your slayer can wield Repeaters which is basically two and guns. It’s said to be difficult to use but you can hand out debuffs to enemies and fight at both close and long range. The sword is all about staying close and slicing everything up. Then with a full meter go crazy with pure speed. There’s more weapons.
Chain blade users have the highest speed of all relying on their mobility. Their weapons can off course extend for longer ranged combat and even pull yourself in to get close. Hammer wielding slayers can smash and deal heavy blows to enemies and also use blasts from the same hammer. Also you can use your blasts to dodge attacks. Slayers using the axe have immense damage potential. They can fill their meter to get a damage buff that can be stacked. The War pike is one of those that have great potential when used correctly. Keep attacking to fill your meter which is then used for your mortar attacks.
There are a number of places to explore. There’s ramsgate which is the frontier settlement. There is also the Maelstrom which has a completely different climate going on over there. There are some continually changing islands. Some islands have a flourishing habitats as in their are lots of plants, wildlife and as everyone says, “flora and fauna”. Dauntless has many islands and they all just want to be explored but there’s a catch…
The Behemoths in Dauntless are a real problem. Firstly they are endangering the floating islands because they just can’t get enough of the aether that they are consuming. This aether is what keeps the floating islands floating. Another thing that’s bad is that they are dangerous to face because well.. they are big. They are a serious threat. Some go about on all fours, others can roll like a ball, others can fly around, some look and move like dinosaurs while others are like angry bigger sloths. So taking these guys on alone is quite the problem.
We checked out some Dauntless gameplay and it’s a bit less than what we expected. The graphics aren’t impressive at all even for the graphic style used. The characters remind us of the ones in Fortnite. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad game though. Dauntless is a multiplayer game and encourages working together with other players. You can play with three friends or get teamed up with people online. We like that you can use the parts you collect from defeated Behemoths and use them to make armaments like transom stones, dyes and even cells. So get creative.
Overall Dauntless looks like an alright game. We haven’t been impressed yet. We like the multiplayer options and the using the parts from defeated monsters. We definitely like the visuals and the environments but that’s it really. The developers ‘Phoenix Labs’ did an alright job with this one. We at X35 Earthwalker aren’t looking forward to this but there are gamers who are. Now Dauntless may have floating islands but even those aren’t as epic as… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Dark Devotion is a new Action adventure RPG developed by ‘Hibernian Workshop‘ and published by ‘The Arcade Crew’ and ‘Maple Whispering’. It is coming out the first quarter of 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC. Dark Devotion is suppose to have some serious fights. Let’s take a look.
It’s not fully explained bu the story in Dark Devotion is that a templar sets out on a religious calling. The story must be pieced together by the players. Every item you find and every chest opened contains another piece of the story. You can find clues, a letter and even weapons. All will help piece the story together. This should tell gamers that exploration is required.
The action takes place in a fallen temple. This temple should have been boarded up and sealed by the way. There are four worlds. Your character must prove himself and dedication to his god. This won’t be easy as this temple is full of danger, answers to your questions and off course secrets. Rumour has it that this temple sort of has a mind of it’s own in a way. So learn it’s ways or have a really hard time.
Now off course this isn’t going to be your Indiana Jones adventure movie. This temple is real bad. Everything in it wants you dead. Players have to make the right decisions. Knowing when to handle curses, knowing when to retreat, knowing when to heal and when to thrust your blade through the monsters face. Every world in Dark Devotion has multiple paths. Each path is its own but you can’t turn back once you go down it.
The developers have left lots of rumours and secrets in this game that makes exploring a must. What you find can either be real good or real bad. You might find a monster that kicks your butt in 5 different countries or you may find an altar where you can save the game. Or maybe you find Doctor Who (not really). Either way, players need the items and secrets so you have to take the risk.
Dark Devotion doesn’t leave you at a complete disadvantage as there are a good dozen of weapons, armors, and relics which will give your character the boost she needs. These relics, weapons and armours can be customized with mystical runes. Each of these different items and equipment off course has their own stats and attributes. A game having attributes means that strengths and weaknesses amongst enemies is a mechanic here.
Now off course let’s get to the main dish. The enemies. There are a bunch of them. There’s simple zombie acting ones that approach you and takes a swing at you. All you got to do is time it and dodge. Then there are some big enemies who are chained to a spot, but that doesn’t mean it won’t strike with a mighty slam of their weapon. There are bosses who will make you sweat (probably). Some can teleport and then strike from the other side, some use magic and mystical powers. Powerful swordsmen with flaming swords and more. Each fight can go so badly if you aren’t careful so don’t get to cocky now.
We checked out some gameplay and it’s sort of what we expected. It’s 2D off course, the level design is very nice, everything looks responsive. You can either block or dodge. A variety of enemies who are definitely dangerous, like the pirate looking one who can dash attack. Multiple little areas to explore and items to find for sure. Dark Devotion definitely looks like it’s going to be a difficult game. We so far like what we see.
Overall Dark Devotion looks like a very good game. The graphics are handmade pixel art. The sounds are done well. The temple has traps like swinging pendulums, spike pits and more. One boss enemy looked unreasonable but it’s good to have at least one ridiculous boss. The developers ‘Hibernian Workshop’ did a very good job with this game so far. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing this game come out. Now the templar in Dark Devotion may be very devoted to what they believe but there is way more devotion in… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Ashen is a new action RPG developed by ‘Aurora44‘ but published by ‘Annapurna Interactive‘. It is coming out on the Xbox One and PC. Ashen straight away has gotten our interest. There’s combat, danger, survival and a brutal world. Let’s take a look.
In the world of Ashen, nothing lasts forever. Players control a “wanderer”. This wanders is alone, travelling and surviving alone. That’s going to change. This is a strange world as for starters there isn’t a sun. So how does everything survive (ask the game)? There is natural light but that comes from eruptions. These eruptions is what covers the whole place in ash (ash + en = ashen). There are multiple survivors and it’s wise to work together to survive. The game is centred around this.
When you find survivors in Ashen you must decide what to do concerning them. You can ignore them or lead them to your settlement. If convinced to stay they can be of some serious help to you, offering their skills and abilities. Some might be skilled blacksmiths and other crafting skills or even “foraging expertise”. The point is that surviving alone in Ashen is a bad idea.If you want to find a place to call home then you will need some members.
Ashen is a multiplayer game as well. In your very large world you will encounter other players. You can work with them to fight evil, off course send an invite to join your party or leave them alone. Don’t be a bully now. The whole of Ashen literally is about working together, meeting people (real and) computer so keep that in mind when exploring.
The world in Ashen is huge and there is lots to see indeed. Expect forests, fields, broken structures, fjords, palaces, bogs and more. Even more interesting is that, according to the developers, no two gameplay experiences are similar. Basically the game works in a way that your adventure changes depending on where you are “at any given moment”. This means if you went to the bog first then things will be different if you had instead gone to a palace first for example, not just what happens at that exact location but surrounding things and more in the world itself. Interesting right? We know.
Off course let’s get to the interesting parts. The combat and the monsters. Combat first. The combat should make a number of Dark Souls fans happy as it’s a similar style. Being patient is needed for the combat in this game. You need to watch your enemy, see the attacks coming and know when to dash and dodge. Every fight you get into regardless of how far you progress could be your last so always be ready and prepared.
In terms of the enemies, there’s more to say. You can expect some scary monsters, spiders, flying things which swoop down, giant flying whale creatures, actual giants and more. There are thinkings hostile enemies that don’t like you and then there are indigenous creatures. You see those nice looking plants and flowers over there? Pick some. Congratulations you are dead. Even the plants and vegetation can be dangerous enemies capable of killing you.
We checked out some Ashen gameplay and it looks good so far. The graphics are quite cartoonish but done well. Movement speed is good, you can roll, evasion is fast enough, enemy attacks are telegraphed nicely (well at least for smaller ones), game difficulty seems acceptable from the start, crafting is important so loot everything you find and kill. Also Ashen has a stamina based combat system. Your attacks and moves cost stamina. Players will need to know what fights to pick and decide their actions carefully. You can decide to never see other players or never have any A.I. We are given that choice. The A.I by the way work very ell. They dodge attacks, know when to heal and fight good.
Overall Ashen looks like a very good game indeed. The sounds are very good and the controls are very responsive. The world design and enviro meets have great variety and we like that. We do hope for more variety in enemies though but how frequent we see them, we don’t know. The developers ‘Aurora44’ have done a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing Ashen come out. Now Ashen might have a massive world but what’s even more massive is… the ‘Earth Walk!’
