Gaming’s had something of a love affair with vikings as of late, although the history books rarely mention dragon-felling shouts or horns and robotic embodiments of eternal night. This is, I imagine, in part due to the fact that those things are entirely fictional. Vikings, however, had hopes and dreams and pikes proudly bearing the festering heads of their enemies just like the rest of us. They were real, and – as Chivalry: The Deadliest Warrior hopes to demonstrate – some of them were total jerkstores>. Feast your eyes on a trailer below, but probably watch your neck as well. It is how your head stays attached to your body, and these vikings very much object to that arrangement.

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If it’s anything like its predecessor (and all indications seem to suggest as much), then Dark Souls II deals in tough love. Brutal bosses, grisly traps, excruciating punishments for even the most absent-minded of mistakes. By that line of thinking, Dark Souls II actually loves PC the most>. It is, after all, forcing us to endure just a little bit more suffering than everyone else by releasing “shortly after” console versions early next year. Obviously, it knows we’re made of stern enough stuff to take it. Or at least, that’s what I’m telling myself. Over and over and over and over and over. Until it becomes the truth!

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Day One Garry’s Incident needs a better name. “Garry” is already known in the game world, and then there’s the whole “Incident” thing. I’ve watched the trailer for the survival FPS and that’s putting it mildly, so I’ve helpfully come up with a few suggestions: “Amazonian Zombie Face Tossers”, “Whoops, I Blew Up Your Pyramid”, “Ahhhh! The Top’s Come Off The Mountain”, “Go To Hell, Monkeys!”, “Panther Wrestling”, or perhaps just “Tomb Raider Already Did It (Working Title)”. If from that you’ve surmised it’s a survival game set in a jungle with Mayan influences, you’d be completely correct. The trailer will fill in the rest of the gaps for you. (more…)

Editor’s note: RPS will no longer be covering PAX events. We believe that the values of the company operating those events conflict with ours, and as such we can no longer endorse their actions by providing coverage of PAX events. An explanation of this can be read here. However, others argue that attending can be an effective way to respond to the company’s poor behaviour, and that being there is a way to change things from within. Nathan spoke to people on both sides of the boycott at this year’s controversial event.

To Boycott PAX Or Not To Boycott PAX? That really is the question these days, isn’t it? The saga, up to this point, has been long, turbulent, and ugly. Penny Arcade’s tangled two-headed hydra of a creative force has been at the forefront of some pretty nasty movements over the years – the Dickwolves incident, which saw Mike “Gabe” Krahulik and Jerry “Tycho” Holkins stand resolutely unapologetic over a rape joke that made many fans deeply uncomfortable (instead of saying sorry, they went and sold freaking merchandise), easily stands as the most visible. In the wake of that, similar incidents, and Krahulik acting vocally intolerant of transgender people, Gone Home developer Fullbright – who we spoke to in regards to this article – went so far as to pull out of this year’s PAX altogether. But others – many of whom absolutely abhor Penny Arcade’s oftentimes turgid stances and values – attended despite all of that. Speaking with developers behind games like Journey, Always Sometimes Monsters, and Child of Light, and other fans and critics from many walks of life, I found out why. >

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Valve may not have pushed another 100 titles through Steam Greenlight’s mighty monetary birthing canal, but the latest batch of 25 is nothing to scoff at. Do you want Dear-Esther-influenced Mars exploration? You’ve got it. Car games (that are currently titled, er, Car Game)? There’s plenty of that too. And survival-horror? Well of course there’s survival-horror. There always is. This is Greenlight we’re talking about. But yes, between Lacuna Passage, U55 – End of the Line, Eden Star, SUPERHOT, and plenty more, there’s quite a lot to be pleased about.

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Warhammer Online, we hardly knew ye. OK actually that’s not true at all. But still, it is a bit weird when you realize that Mythic’s fantastical dig through Games Workshop’s toy meticulously crafted figure chest launched in 2008. Five years is hardly a mail-clad, blood-drenched spring chicken, but it is rather young by MMO standards. And yet, here we are. Mythic’s deal with Games Workshop has run its course, and the once tighter-than-a-too-small-sweater war buddies have decided to part ways.

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Epigenesis has all the hallmarks of a game that’s being made up as it goes along, possibly to troll me. But after I watched the first trailer I asked my girlfriend if she just saw what I saw? She did. She is a games industry outsider, so you can trust her unbiased opinion. Epigenesis is a future sports FPS game where players toss balls into the goal, just like every future sports game asks you to do. But you also earn seeds for pushing your opponents off the platforms. Those seeds will allow you to transform the levels, creating plant bridges across gaps and bestow buffs onto nearby players. If that intrigues you, the closed alpha details and accompanying trailer are below. (more…)

I am Glaswegian, so I’ve been born with -10 on my Voice Recognition stat. It’s an affliction that has led to humiliation on the phone to banks, at Kinect parties (in my defense, I was told it was going to be an orgy), and in front of Siri and her smug chums. Despite this torment, I downloaded the In Verbis Virtus demo and prepared for the worst. It’s fantasy puzzle game where the majority of the commands are uttered instead of clicked. I was surprised as anyone when I said “Let There Be Light” and a glow lit up the surrounding area. (more…)

Update: I sought clarification from Gaming Corps about Vin Diesel’s comment, further games in the Riddick series, and whether or not PC will be involved, and CEO Nicklas Dunham replied with the following: “At the moment we can only disclose that the iOS version is just the beginning.” So there’s more to come, but it’s still far too early to determine the exact form it will take.

Original: That’s it, Vin Diesel. I have had it >with your coy, ultimately empty promises and suspiciously shiny head. Next time I see you, we’re going to throw down. You will win, because a) you have the musculature of a mythological Greek titan and b) are> the Iron Giant, but still. Afterward, you will absolutely, positively – for some reason – regret getting me all excited about the prospect of a new Chronicles of Riddick game. Because really? All that ballyhooing and getting the old Starbreeze band back together for a quick-and-dirty mobile movie tie-in? I’m sitting here, fists clinched, just shuddering right now, Vin. And it’s only mostly> from fear.

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The Humble Indie Bundle 9 has, as you would have expected, updated. And I feel safe in saying it’s now likely the best bundle there’s ever been. Before you could pick up Trine 2, Mark Of The Ninja Eets Munchies Beta, Brutal Legend, FTL and FEZ for just a few coins. It was already pretty astonishing. A week in, and over half a million sales later, it’s now added four> new games, Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken, A Virus Named TOM, Bastion, and LIMBO. Good heavens.

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