‘Project Louisiana’ is the name of oft-revered RPG studio Obsidian’s next game, they’ve revealed, along with a graphic implying farmlands and a quote about facing up to some grim reality. Now, last summer rumours flew that a ‘Fallout: New Orleans’ was in the offing, based on an unverified and subsequently removed European trademark registration.

A whole mess of people looked at Obsidian expectantly, given that they were behind – don’t mention the war> – well-received Fallout 3 spin-off New Vegas. They all but shot down the idea – but now they’ve pointedly codenamed their new’un after New Orleans’ home state. … [visit site to read more]

As mentioned last week, it’s been one of those years. Lots of the biggest RPGs that we were expecting decided to spend a few more months in bed, or simply skip 2016. Can’t blame them! It’ll mean an awesome 2017, even if looking back there’s only been a few big names to pick from. Still, tradition is tradition! This week, another year marks another set of the RPG genre’s most fiercely fought-over fictional awards.

(Disclaimer: Actual fighting may also be fictional, all awards are based on the incredibly scientific principle of Wot I Think, awards cannot be exchanged for money, goods or services unless they too are entirely fictional. Please write all questions or complaints onto the back of a Myst CD using a Sharpie, break it into four pieces and bury them in interesting points around the globe for future treasure hunters to encounter, reforge, and then gag “Oh, god, Myst…” Or indeed, not. Completely your choice!)>

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It’s been a long time coming, but finally here’s my final review of Tyranny [official site], having completed the very lengthy game. You can read my thoughts at about the mid-point here, and I’d say I’ve changed my mind about very little, other than to have a greater respect for where the story was heading. Here’s wot I think: … [visit site to read more]

Well, this really isn’t the chart I’d expected to see at this point of the year. We’re in peak Silly Season, and yet last week’s 10 best-selling games on Steam form a broadly unexpected bunch.

Which is exactly what I like to see.

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So, a confession. My plan for this week was to talk about Obsidian’s Tyranny [official site] – the game, not any rumours of Feargus Urquhart openly stealing puddings from the company fridge no matter how well labelled!> Unfortunately, that plan hit a tiny snag… I haven’t had a chance to play much of it yet. A shame, simply because the genre is well overdue a game that, to quote, Kakos Industries, Does Evil Better.

This week then, a tribute to and call out for the games that at least did evil interesting>.

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We’re nearly at the end of silly season: most of the big releases are out now, with only Watch No Underscore Dogs Two really still to go. It’s been a messy one for a lot of the big companies, by all accounts. Let’s see how it shook out during Dishonored 2 launch week.

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Tyranny [official site], a new RPG from genre masters Obsidian, is about being bad. Or at least, being in a bad place, surrounded by bad people, with the choice to be bad. The evil Overlord Kyros has conquered swathes of the lands of Terratus, and now has his sights set on the Tiers, a desolate and desperate region, populated by surviving armies and the resilient, whom you are commanded to dominate. Perhaps to enslave, perhaps to slaughter, but as Kyros s trusted Fatebinder, it s your job to manage the misfits and warring factions under his rule.

Which is interesting, isn t it?

Well, I m struggling to make up my mind. Tyranny manages to be fascinating and ordinary, novel and plain, engrossing and detached. And big. Far bigger than we were led to expect in the game s promotion, where it was suggested that it was a shorter, time-limited experience, driving replays to explore different paths. In reality it clocks in at apparently 25 hours. I say apparently because despite working flat-out all week on this, I m nowhere near the end, and I d say the hour count could be an awful lot higher if you play anything like me.

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Evil in Tyranny [official site] is so ordinary. That s why it’s successful, I think. In a medium prone to cartoonish overexaggeration, where villains are barely more than mustache-twirling caricatures, Tyranny tells a bleaker story. It s the evil of numbers, the evil of tax collectors and bureaucracies and negligence and I was just following orders. A real-world sort of evil. The type that s much harder to stomach.

The type that, when you re given the chance to go hands-on with Tyranny s first few hours, leaves you unsettled.

… [visit site to read more]

“I begin to find an idle and fond bondage in the oppression of aged Tyranny; who sways, not as it hath power, but as it is suffered,” said WillzShakalaka in his preview of Tyranny [official site], “Come to me, that of this I may speak more.”

Yeah yeah come on mate, enough with your New Games Journalism patter. Tell me if Obsidian’s upcoming fantasy RPG is a good game or some sort of crime. How many spells does it have? What’s in the options menu? Score out of ten? You’re useless.

Here’s how it’s done, Shakespeare, with facts: Tyranny will come out on November 10th, publishers Paradox announced today. Booom. Lick my dust, Willz. … [visit site to read more]

I’ve seen Tyranny [official site] several times before and I even played it out at E3, but it was only after a hands-on session at Gamescom that I felt ready to write about Obsidian’s next RPG. It’s a tricky one to preview, seeing as so much of the pitch relates to a world that changes to reflect the Big Choices you make. In a game that’s so keen to gesture toward the bigger picture, it can be difficult to get a sense of how well the smaller moments work toward that end.

At Gamescom, I played a new section of the game, crafted some spells, and decided that even if I can’t know how well the bigger picture will come together, there’s enough here to understand at least some of what Obsidian are building. It’s strong stuff.

… [visit site to read more]