Shovel Knight: King of Cards is a new action adventure platformer game developed by ‘Yacht Club Games‘. It is coming out the 9th of April 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS Vita, 3DS and PC. This is the final campaign in the Shovel Knight: treasure trove saga. Let’s take a look.
Some gamers should know what Shovel Knight is about by now. You run around, collect treasure and attack with shovels but there is some changes here. In Shovel Knight: King of Cards Players control King knight. Now king knight has a different fighting style so he isn’t a clone or skin character. Basically king knight is on a journey to take on and best the current three kings who rule over the land. This isn’t a simple walk up the road as king knight will need to make his way through 4 new worlds. There are more than 30 courses too. Players better be prepared.
King knight has a signature bash attack for destroying his enemies and a spinning strike. King knight is definitely a physical fighter. Shovel Knight: King of Cards has lots of in-game stuff. There are lots of abilities, weapons, followers and armours for players to find, collect and use to your advantage and become a powerful ruler. What else is new? Shovel Knight: King of Cards has card battles (big surprise) which are not physical battles but more mental ones. Players have to be strategic and clever to defeat their opponents and come our victorious. There are challenge stages, only for those who want to push themselves. There are challenges that let you take on the bosses again in a rematch. There are also platforming challenges too.
Shovel Knight: King of Cards is taking the retro approach. As you can see, the graphics are 8-bit style which we are sure older fans would definitely appreciate. Gamers aren’t done yet as there is a new game+ mode. This will give the players new challenges and there are more secrets in the world. So those who like to complete and get 100% will need to beat Shovel Knight: King of Cards twice. There isn’t really much we can say about Shovel Knight: King of Cards. It’s a shovel knights game, you are either a fan or not.
We checked out some Shovel Knight: King of Cards gameplay and it does look retro but definitely advanced. The music is very good and fits what’s happening on the screen. The graphics are definitely 8 bit styled and looks good. Controls seem simple and the action is simple too. Jump on enemies to destroy them. Spin and jump to destroy projectiles, bash through blocks, take on other knights and explore these worlds. There are hidden areas, hidden behind breakable walls. Some areas can only be reached by timing your jumps on projectiles to reach the higher area.
Overall Shovel Knight: King of Cards looks like a good game filled with action. There is some replay value and things look good. The developers ‘Yacht Club Games’ did a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker are not looking forward to Shovel Knight: King of Cards simply because like the previous Shovel Knight games, it has shown or got anything that makes us want to play it. Just seems like another good action platformer but nothing special. This one is a good game though. Now Shovel Knight: King of Cards may have the king knight but that king is a peasant when compared too… the ‘Earthwalk!’
Hive Jump is the new action platformer developed by ‘Graphite Lab‘. It is coming out the 11th of January on the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch but already out on the PC. It seems like it’s about running around and blowing up aliens. Sounds fun. Let’s take a look.
The story in the world of Hive Jump is a typical one. Basically it’s set in the 24 century. Humanity is in a serious battle against a hostile alien race called Ordovicians. As usual, the aliens are in big numbers. Matter of fact, humanity is outnumbered, a million to one. It’s clearly a one sided battle and the aliens don’t want to share the galaxy with humanity (We wonder why). The J.U.M.P corps is here to fight back against the aliens and bring victory.
Players control the, Jumpers, who’s mission is straightforward. Beat the aliens, hive by hive and planet by planet. Now straight up Hive Jump makes it clear that it’s all about multiplayer. That’s right, you can play local multiplayer with your friends in Hive Jump. It’s four players. We love to see games do this. We need games like this that gives you the option to just play with family or who else is around (More fun than angry online players).
Since the emphasis of the Hive Jump is on multiplayer know that if you do play with friends, one of you is the team leader and therefore carry the Transponder backpack. This pack is very important. Basically that backpack allows your command ship to send “soldiers and supplies” to your location. We assume it means that as long as you have the packsack, your team can respawn. If the leader dies then the backpack is just sitting there and can be destroyed. Don’t let that happen (and tell your leader to stop being a noob).
Your standard Jumper comes armed and ready Hive Jump. As we already made clear, the leader has the Transponder backpack. All soldiers have a multi-gun which has it’s standard fire but can be modified and switched up to be a rocket launcher and even a flamethrower. It does get crazier though. The Jumper alien infiltration suit offers some good protection as attacks get deflected but only for a while. The suit can be repaired but the means to be able to do that can be found deep in the Hives. Also your suit has a limited blast jetpack to give you a boost in the air. Lastly there are grenades (who doesn’t want grenades against aliens?). These grenades deal big damage to enemies but also have a special function like the explosives in Aliens Trilogy. They can destroy weaker walls which have treasures, goodies and hidden areas. Keep your eyes open.
There is a wide range of location for players to be fighting in. The Hives are different and look different but there are also different biomes too. You say biomes, we say Terraria. There is the volcanic wasteland which is where the aliens use the temperature to quickly hatch their eggs from the cold storage. The mushroom forests is basically the giant food store as the Ordovicians eat fungus. The crystal caverns is where the aliens produce and get their power source for their interstellar travels. The frozen underground acts as the cold storage room for the unhatched alien eggs. It’s clear that the aliens here in Hive Jump are quite organised.
The aliens themselves, the Ordovicians, are numerous as they are dangerous. Clearly hostile and will stop at nothing to stop you from completing your mission. They will hunt you and your transponder backpack throughout the hives and they can get to you no matter where you are. The aliens have four classes. They are: minor, mini, major and elite. These aliens get stronger and more powerful as you progress. So players need to keep getting better and more prepared.
Lastly the planetary campaign is not so straight forward and more strategic. In order to win you must manage carefully the amount of jumpers you have and alien goo. The alien goo is the resource you use to build fortifications, request jumper reinforcements, get new weapons and off course upgrades. When you look at the map, m you will see three things, alien hives which are orange, human bases which are cyan (light blue) and grey which is a free space for either a human or alien base. If you destroy a hive then you “jump” there and start a human base which brings in more resources and a random one time use bonus ability. These abilities are strong and must be used wisely. After a successful jump (destroying a hive), the aliens then have their turn and they could expand, buff up their defences or even come attack you!
We checked out some gameplay and the action looks good. Each Jumper in, Hive Jump, can equip only one utility at a time. So expect a utility to grant shields another to allow quick teleportation while another boosts fire power or even your mobility. The Hives are procedurally generated (random). The A.I has been classed as intelligent and challenging (we will be the judge of that). You can also get your hands on experimental weapons and explosive. So getting those resources and research is very important. There is permadeath simply because if you lose your bases then it’s all over and also if your Transponder backpack gets destroyed then you definitely lose as you can’t call in any more soldiers.
Overall, Hive Jump looks like a real cool game. It looks like it’s a difficult game as the aliens are many, the deaths are high and there are also traps for players to match out for. The big boss enemies look like big battles and requires a learning of patterns probably. The developers ‘Graphite lab’ have done a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing what others will think of this. It does look fun. Now the Jumpers may have technology and a big mission but those things are tiny when compared to… there ‘Earth Walk!’
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Feuled is the new remake of Crash Team Racing, developed by ‘Beenox‘ and published by ‘Activision‘. It is coming out the 21st of June 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC. This is the game that many PlayStation 1 gamers loved back in the day. So you know that this remake has really high expectations. Let’s take a look.
Crash Team racing was according to X35 Earthwalker, the one true Earthwalker by the way, was the best racing game. We haven’t played a better racing game. It was fast, fun, colourful, great variety of tracks, useful and fair weapons and challenging. Be honest, most of you didn’t even beat Nitros Oxide in time trial on ever track but X35 Earthwalker did it. Crash Team Racing was game that even families played together. Players who were masters at the game would always be ahead of the other racers but less skilled players stood a chance thanks to the weapons. Nothing is worse than getting hit by three homing rockets in a row, bouncing for an eternity.
So remaking a game like this and claiming it will have the “authentic CTR experience” is a big order to fill. Fans like us remember everything about this game from the tracks and characters to how the power sliding felt. So we will be watching. So don’t mess up. Crash team racing wasn’t perfect though. We felt that the stats of car types didn’t matter. We could out speed high speed characters like Tiny Tiger with handling cars like Polar. We hope that Crash Team Racing Nitro-Feuled makes the stats matter. That faster cars actually feel faster but not too much faster to the point where everyone only picks the fast cars.
What we do know about Crash Team Racing Nitro-Feuled is that the developers claimed that it will have “the original game modes, characters, tracks, power-ups, weapons and controls.” This is good to hear. Let’s go through this one by one. Game modes: That means there will be a story mode filled with races, CTR challenges, boss races, time trials for relics and gem cups. Characters: So Polar, Crash (off course), Tiny and the others are here… but what about the unlockable characters like Papa Papu? We do know that you can play Ripper Too though so many it’s the same for the others. Tracks: Crash Team Racing had some memorable and awesome tracks. We especially liked the tracks in the Nitro cup, the more difficult ones.
Power ups: Well the only thing that really counts as a power up is getting 10 wumpa fruits which then increases your speed and upgrades the items you get. Weapons: They can save your life or ruin it. Players of different skill can all compete in this game thanks to these things. Potions and ant crates for those in the lead, while missiles and a lighting orb for those in the back. Don’t forget about Aku Aku and Uka Uka. We hope they still have their signature music. Controls: The controls had a specific feel. The power sliding was different depending on the kart type. You can feel a resistance as you try to pull around that corner. It’s something you have to feel.
Now what’s different? We we do know that there will be more karts than before. There will also be more tracks than before too which is sort of exciting. There will be online racing too, so if you are good enough then you can literally trash (or crash) the competition. There will also be leaderboards too which off course doesn’t prove anything but adds to the competition. What’s also different is that characters aren’t stuck to one kart. Players can select a character and then select the kart that they want. This is a good change. Also it looks like players who are left bouncing from a weapon like a missile have an opportunity to get a boost as soon as they finish bouncing which is excellent and we hope the timing for such a boost is a small gap giving an advantage to players who practice it.
We checked out some gameplay and we can say that we are happy with what we saw. The levels look the same but off course remastered. Papu Papu pyramid looks wonderful and more greener greenery (yes, we said that). There is still some stuff we are wondering about but as we get closer to the release date, those things should get answered We are happy to see that split screen is back too as that was how we could play with out family to settle who was the best. This means gather your friends, bring out the cola, juice, water and let the fun begin. Trash talk is encouraged!
Overall, Crash Team Racing Nitro-fueled looks real good so far. Graphics are very good and the sounds seem okay for now. The characters look good, more cartoony and Polar has gotten so much fluffier (probably used a hair dryer). The developers ‘Beenox’ have done a wonderfully good job so far. We at X35 Earthwalker are off course keeping an eye on this game. Now Crash Team Racing Nitro-fueled may have some hype but nothing is more hyped than… the ‘Earth Walk!’
2018 has been a good year for X35 Earthwalker. Lots of stuff has happened. We have grown and will continue to do so. We hope that you all had a good year too. If your year was good then please keep it up and do even better. If your year wasn’t so good then don’t be discouraged, pick yourself up, encourage yourself and go make something happen. Now let’s think about a few things.
What you don’t want to do is just go through 2019 doing the exact same thing you did in 2018. We need to progress, we need to grow and develop. Anyone who is serious about what they do or who are going somewhere in life they are never satisfied with what they have done. This is because they think about what they have done, see how they could have done better and see what more they could do. It’s not about being a workaholic or depressed. So all of us must stop, look at our 2018, learn from it and then leave it behind and enter 2019 pumped up and ready, expecting great things.
Now there are more simple but important things for us to think about. Once again, sensible gaming. Video gaming is a ton of fun and a great hobby but like with anything else, too much of it is bad for you. Don’t be the person who hardly spends time with their family because you are in your room all day playing games. Make sure to be active, get up, go to the park or a walk, move around and get good exercise. Believe us, when Halo Infinite comes out we will be playing that for a very long time but even so we set ourselves limits. You have one body, so take care of it. Spend some time with your families, have fun and stay active.
Now we will encourage you to think about some other stuff too. Think about your life, your actions, your words and your thoughts. What does your actions say about you? Were your actions mainly good or bad? Think about your words. Words are powerful. Once you release a word, you can’t take it back and that word takes action. If people could see your thoughts, what would they say and think about you. How have you impacted others in 2018? Was it positive, was it for self gain or was it hateful speech through a game microphone? We must aim to also improve ourselves.
We also encourage you to thin about the bigger picture. Stop and think about your purpose. Off course we know video games are fictional but what about real life. Remember that a hammer didn’t give itself it’s purpose. The hammer got it’s purpose from the one who created the hammer. The person who created the hammer, created the hammer to fulfil a purpose. Yes, we know this is all deep stuff but it’s something to think about. We don’t create our own purpose because we didn’t create ourselves. If you have any questions or want to discuss these things then feel free to contact us through our social media accounts. We love to talk about this stuff and give the answers.
So to sum up: enjoy your games, stay active, game sensibly, think about 2018, learn from it and then leave it in the past, get pumped for 2019, do even better than you did before, think about your life, stay positive and off course do… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Ultimate Doom is one of those games that has it’s place in gaming history. Many gamers know about Ultimate Doom and what it’s about. If you don’t know then you are most likely one of the newer gamers. In Ultimate Doom you run around, kill demons, open doors, kill demons, find keys, kill demons, find new weapons, kill demons and get to the next level, while killing demons. Understand yet?
Players control a character called Doom Guy who later go on to learn that he’s called the Slayer (We wonder why). You start the game with a pistol which was typical of first person shooter games back then. Your first enemies where zombie men who were weak and never a problem. Ultimate Doom goes easy on you for the first level but does a good job at showing players what this whole game is about. You move fast, enemies tend to always be in groups, you must find items and ammo and there are secrets in the levels. Finding the secret location in the first level will reward you with a rocket launcher. Many players have accidentally killed themselves with the rocket launcher (admit it, don’t be ashamed).
Eventually everything goes from “hey not too rough” to “hurt me plenty” real quick. Before you know it the levels feel like “Ultra-violence”. Why? Because there are so many enemies, traps that can result in your death, many secrets you missed and a whole abundance of projectiles coming straight at your face (can’t you sit still in your seat?). So how do you survive? It’s easy… keep moving and move fast! In Ultimate Doom, Doom Guy (you) have unlimited stamina and run really fast. You can even outrun your own rockets. Move around, aim well and take them all down before they get you, then find those medkits and stay topped up.
Many players including us enjoyed this. There were a variety of weapons. many levels, many different vicious enemies, surprises in each level and things got harder as you progressed. There was lots of colours, dead things everywhere and hazards. X35 Earthwalker, the legendary soldier himself played this game when he was very young. This game was fun. We remember getting the shotgun for the first time and really started dropping those enemies easy. The imps didn’t phase us at all as they were easier to deal with in most situations. We had to dodge those fire balls they threw. Maybe… just maybe… we leaned to get out of the way… sometimes… maybe. It wasn’t long before we ran into the stronger pinky demons who forced you to back off as they just rushed you down but with diagonal movement until they were near you. The zombie men with shotguns was the biggest threat at that point as they had good accuracy and their shots did big damage as a shotgun should. It gets worse.
By the way we played Ultimate Doom through the game Doom 3 resurrection of evil as Ultimate Doom, DOOM 2 and the master levels were free features. Levels required you to search them completely to find keys, areas, switches and more to make your way through them. Some rooms had traps; for example, you enter a room and see the blue key you need. You grab it and then you hear many enemies. You then realised that a wall had opened up and enemies come out to say hello. Some times they were triggered by grabbing a certain weapon and some times they were triggered just for entering a room. Completing each level and seeing your completion percentage was cool but at times annoying as you always see the many secrets you missed. Today you can see whole gameplay guides showing where the secrets are. Ultimate Doom is Cleary not another shooter game.
This game was really fun. The best thing about Ultimate Doom was that you can play with others. X35 Earthwalker, the one true Earthwalker also played through Ultimate Doom with family. It was funny simply because at first we stuck together making our way through the levels but later on ended up confidently splitting up to tackle different parts of the levels by ourselves which could get chaotic. When one enemy was chasing one of us, one of the family would keep walking behind that enemy as the enemies didn’t change target until they were attacked. We even lead that enemy around the map while two of us was walking behind it. When the levels got real big and dangerous we would all be in danger and since we were far away we will always here our soldiers get hurt, die or us literally calling to another to help. The memories are definitely good ones. One time one of us fell into lava and we watched their split screen to see if they can find the exit out. Spolier, they survived.
The enemies have to be the most memorable thing about Ultimate Doom. Especially the bigger ones like the pinky demon, hell knight, baron of hell, Cacodemon and Spiderdemon. When you see them for the first time you don’t actually panic or get scared simply because all the enemies pretty much ave the same pattern. They always come towards you, normally have projectiles attacks so you have to dodge, can take a lot of damage and give a lot more.
The first time encountering the Cyber Demon solo was a problem as those rockets seriously hurt and multiple times had to run away to find rocket ammo. one thing about Ultimate Doom is that if the game presents and gives you loads of ammo, weapons etc, you know it’s about to go down. Those side steps to dodge rockets and that Cyber Demon took forever to die. First time facing this demon with a team was a different story. We were running around it at full speed all launching rockets like we didn’t care. It was basically a big bug being surrounded and attacked by three hornets firing their advanced explosive stingers at it repeatedly without mercy.
Ultimate Doom did have some interesting features that can help out. For example you have a map of the level. We actually never knew we had a map for the longest time. The maps weren’t always clear as it’s 2D while we play in 3D (yes we know Doom was a 2D game they made 3D through smart coding). So when you enter a room you see some recognisable parts but mainly use the map when you are either lost or completed the level but was searching around. The map was a good feature though. Another feature which was much cooler was the fact that the demons can turn on each other and fight amongst themselves. This can be done when you make sure a demon of a different kind gets hit by an attack from another. If they are different types of demons, there is a high chance they will turn and fight them instead. We got to see who would win in a fight of one Cacodemon vs five Imps or two hell knights vs a mixed group of imps, pinky demons and zombie men. If you play your cards right, you can sit back watch the fight and place your bets (gambling is bad and we don’t encourage it).
Overall Ultimate Doom was a super fun game. There is so much more we can say about this game. Ultimate Doom had unique features, variety in levels, weapons and enemies, there were secrets, multiple difficulty settings, boss monsters, useful power ups, surprises, monster betrayal and best of all multiplayer. We at X35 Earthwalker can safely say that Ultimate Doom was not ultimate fun but tons of fun. Now Ultimate Doom may have you fighting demons but even Doom Guy working with the demons is no match for… 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!’
Super Meat Boy Forever is the new action platformer game developed by ‘Team Meat‘. Super Meat Boy Forever is coming out April 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Epic Games store but April 2020 on Steam. The challenging and meaty action seems to be back. Let’s check it out.
Super Meat Boy Forever is a sequel so it’s basically Super Meat Boy 2. The story this time is that Meat Boy and Bandage Girl have a daughter. Her name is nugget. First of all how is the dad named Meat Boy and the Mum, Bandage girl but the baby is Nugget. Someone clearly hasn’t played Kindergarten. Anyway things look all normal but then Dr Fetus shows up and attacks both parents with a shovel and then kidnaps Nugget. So the villain knocks out his two enemies but instead of killing them when he had the advantage instead runs away leaving them alive (smart villains these days). So now Meat Boy and Bandage Girl set off to rescue their daughter.
Now if you liked the previous Super Meat Boy game then you should like this as it’s basically the same formula in many ways. You run, jump, avoid enemies and dangerous traps and spinning blades etc. There are some differences and new things though. For starters both Meat Boy and Bandage Girl can defend themselves. If an enemy is right next to you, why not punch them. They can punch, jump attack and even slide into enemies to take them out and keep up your mobility. Some would have figured this out from what we just said but Super Meat Boy Forever’s controls now have two buttons. So veterans of the game will need to make some adjustments.
The levels have been described officially as “dynamically constructed based on difficulty. Each time you beat a level, it reconstructs into a harder version of itself.” Off course they only get harder up to a certain point. More details? Okay. First of all Super Meat Boy Forever isn’t infinite. There’s an end to this. Each level is made up of 100 chunks. These chunks are little levels with difficulty ratings. It has been said that there are a total of 7200 chunks. That’s right. Don’t say you didn’t know what you got yourself into. This isn’t a game you can complete in 20mins. So have fun fighting through the 7200 Super Meat Boy Forever levels.
We checked out some gameplay and it’s exactly what we thought it would be. We knew infinite levels isn’t going to be the case this time. It’s good that we can play with both Meat Boy and Bandage Girl. The platforming is familiar. Being able to fight back is a good decision made. The enemies are simple but the boss fights are big and quite chaotic. Makes you wonder what the others will be like. It’s still Super Meat Boy but with some additional features and better looking.
Overall, Super Meat Boy Forever looks like a good game. The graphics and visuals are improved. Let’s make this clear. We at X35 Earthwalker have never played Super Meat Boy games. They never interested us once but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it. The developers, Team Meat did a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker are not interested in Super Meat Boy Forever. Now Super Meat Boy Forever may have odds of levels but it’s not as big 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!’
Hell Warders is a new action strategy game with some RPG elements, developed by ‘Anti gravity game studios‘ and published by ‘PQubed‘. It is coming out the 17th of January 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC. There has already been early access on PC. We at X35 Earthwalker like action strategy games and have been playing some recently so let’s see if they do this right. Let’s take a look.
In Hell Warders, players control… well… a Hell Warder. Hell Warders are a group of powerful heroes who have mighty powers and abilities and their job is to face and stop the hordes of demons. That’s pretty much it for the story from what we can see. So those demons are going forth as an army (conveniently in waves) and players are the only things standing in their way.
Now if you like tower defence, with the whole taking some time to plan, readjust and set up well, then you should be happy here. If you like controlling a character and running towards the enemy to back hand them yourself then you should be happy here too. Honestly this game right now reminds us off ‘World of Van Helsing: Deathtrap‘ and ‘Dungeon Defenders‘. When it comes to tower defence + action + RPG elements, these two games are excellent examples.
In Hell Warders, there are more than one type. For example you can control Dead Eye who is a longer ranged fighter using cannons. Samson III who has been described as an explosive specialist. Ash who specialises in melee combat and slicing everything with his sword. There are more. That’s right, you guessed it. These different Hell Warders have different abilities and powers to offer in your goal to destroy all the demons.
Those defences that you build are not cannons, ballistas and walls but instead your soldiers. Players can set up soldiers who are melee based and will run to attack any nearby enemies. There are archers who fire arrows quite accurately from a respectable distance. Catapults which brings in that heavy impact damage. Let’s say some big enemies will have problems with this weapon. There’s also mages that bring those effects and some magic to give you the advantage.
In terms of the enemies, we know that it’s demons. Demons come in all shapes and sizes. There’s the off course pawn small ties that just rush you, then there’s the bigger ones that require more special attention, then there are the massive towering enemies. There are some magic welding enemies like lychee. There is also Wurms who are very large and will anger some gamers.
We checked out some gameplay. It so far just looks alright. In terms of character animations it doesn’t seem on the same level as the other two games we mentioned earlier but this is all early access gameplay though, so expect everything to get better. We like that soldiers fight with you on the field but actual towers would be great to have as well and it’s something we prefer but it’s good to try something different. The variety of enemies so far looks interesting. We wonder what new abilities and powers the Hell warders will get as you play and progress.
Best of all about Hell Warders and if you been following us for even a short time you would know what that is. It is multiplayer. You can play with three more players to form a mighty team of four having explosives, melee, range and magic. You can just straight up invite and get your friends in the action but for those who want other options can use the match making to find more players. We need more multiplayer games with good options.
Overall Hell Warders looks okay right now. It’s early access but we are getting closer to the release date and we hope that Hell Warders becomes the next very good action strategy game. The developers ‘Anti gravity game studios’ have done good work right now. We at X35 Earthwalker will be looking forward to seeing this game game out. Now Hell warders may have heroes who face demons but these Hell Warders are a joke when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Deathgarden is a action first person shooter game developed by ‘Behaviour Digital‘. It is coming out in the first quarter of 2019 on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Sure there is early access for PC but we don’t really care about that. It’s the whole hunter vs hunted theme. We hope they do this one well. Let’s take a look.
Deathgarden is set in the so called near future. In the world of Deathgarden, the most popular sport in the world is actually a dangerous one where people can and do die. A powerful hunter must hunt down and kill a group of people called Runners. These people are willing participants in this. The Runners must hide, evade the hunter and escape the arena, the garden. Sounds fun right? We are sure normal (stupid) people would love to take part in this type of sport.
The rules are quite simple. The Runners must avoid and the Hunter and escape from the garden while the Hunter hunts them down and kills them. There are objectives for the runners to complete which will open an exit for the them to escape through. The hunter isn’t going to let that happen though. Does this sound familiar? Well it should. remember Dead by Daylight? Yeah, that’s right sucker.
There are three phases to every match so far. Phase one: the Runners are sent into the garden before the hunter. they can use this time to locate the objectives and mark them for the whole team to see and look for crates to upgrades their abilities. Then in some seconds, the Hunter comes in and things get real. Phase two is where the Runners must complete the objectives. There are two game modes: ‘Gather & Deliver’ and ‘Capture’. In Gather & Deliver the Runners must go to dispenser stations to gather keys which they must deliver to certain points in the garden. In Capture, Runners must stand in the designated areas for a period of time to capture it. All this is happening while the Hunter is chasing them down, shooting, shocking and trying to kill them. The last phase, if the Runners succeed in opening the exits by completing the objectives, is the blood mode. Now all runners are revealed and the Hunter can execute a downed Runner straight away. If the Hunter kills three runners, the runners lose. Sounds intense right? it is.
The Hunter is powerful and too much for the runners in straight up combat. He has powers, dangerous weapons, abilities and some perks too. The hunter plays in first person and cannot be killed. He must stop the runners from escaping the garden by straight up find and killing them.
Let’s go deeper though. The hunters have different weapons to choose from: shotguns, LMGs, sniper rifles and assault rifles. For example the “FR574 Devil’s breathe – Bolt action sniper” has a slow rate of fire but very long range and deals large amounts of damage. The Passam Hacksaw T24 LMG has 150 rounds per magazine and has an effective range of 30 meters. The two permanent abilities of a hunter costs stamina upon use. They are Super Charge which increase movement speed and jump distance and the other is Stun which (you guessed it) stuns and deals small amounts of damage within a short range. Hunters can do more.
There are four powers for Hunters to choose, only one, from. They are: I see you, Fade, Spawn Turret and Drop mine. I see you reveals all nearby runners for 11 seconds. Fade makes the Hunter invisible and he makes no sound, this also cure the hunter of all negative effects like slow for example. Spawn turret lets the hunter place up to two turrets which ca and will fire at any and all runners within the range of 40 meters. Drop mine allows the hunter to set up proximity mines, up to ten. The Deathgarden got a whole lot safer right. Finally the perks. Hunters can choose two always activated passive perks. For example you can have increased magazine size and have downed runners revealed to you for 6 seconds. There are more perks though.
The Runners are agile and off course fast. They can also climb any surface too which is a much needed skill. They cannot kill the hunter but have equipment and devices that can halt, distract and harass the hunter. They play in third person and rely heavily on communication and teamwork.
Let’s go deeper though. There are three runner classes: Torment are all about harassing the hunter, messing with him, debuffing and stopping him from messing with your team. Support who can heal and shield their allies from a safe distance. Control who are best at handling objectives and messing with the Hunters focus and actions. Each of their abilities have three tiers. For example the support has healing bolts that, at tier one, just heal allies, tier two has an increased radius, but at tier three can revive down allies. Another example is that the torment class has a blind ability which at tier 1 blinds the hunter, at tier two the radius is increased, at tier three the hunter’s weapon has maximum spread so basically blind and little accuracy.
Runners also have perks. More available perks than the hunter. Like with the Hunter Runners can pick two of them. For example you can have ‘revivalist’ which lets you revive with full health instead of the standard 1/3 and ‘Damage Dodger’ which reduces damage you take by 40% while evading. Or you can combine ‘Lucky Charm’ which gives a 25% chance to receive an additional weapon upgrade part from a crate and ‘Quick Rescue’ which increases rescuing speed by 50%.So get creative, communicate with your team and work out what will work smoothly together.
The gardens themselves are never the same. Like with Spelunky, Deathgarden has procedurally generated arenas. So you can’t really plan ahead as much as you want. This garden can simulate a whole forest. Some matches can have fog, others have rain, others be daytime while other matches can be at night. Let’s not forget the bloodpost. Basically the hunter can send a Runner to a bloodpost if he has enough bloodpost charges. Each time the Hunter downs a Runner, he gets a charge. Charges can be stacked. Once you have three then a bloodpost can be used in order to execute a Runner. Runners can save other runners from a bloodpost but they are revealed to the Hunter while they are rescuing. If a Runner is rescued, then the bloodpost loses three charges. So the game has some mercy for Runners.
We checked out some gameplay and it is looking good so far. The runners moved how we thought they could. They can jump, scale any surface and scatter like rats. The Hunter is real fast, powerful, jumps high, strong weapons and a real threat. You truly can’t kill the Hunter. The Runners need to look out for crates with provide ammo and also weapon upgrade parts. There are some discussions concerning the balance of the game. The Hunter does seem really strong right now.. we do like that Runners capturing an objective are revealed to the Hunter. It definitely looks better than Dead by Daylight right now. You can’t just run around that same block and the Hunter can never catch them. No! The Hunter will kill you if you try running around a big rock thinking you are safe. The Hunter is faster.
Overall, Deathgarden looks like a good game. We definitely preferred this over Dead by Daylight. We never liked that game. The executions are quite brutal. The graphics look good and the fog does give Runners an advantage most of the time. The sounds though, especially the sounds of the guns firing. The developers ‘Behaviour Digital’ did a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing this game come on the consoles for some real gaming. Now Deathgarden may have a powerful Hunter who has powers but even the Hunter would get stomped against… the ‘Earth Walk!’
