I understand we’ll have something to say about the post-apocalyptic subterranean trainworld of UnderRail [official site] after our Christmas break but, 2016 is THE FUTURE or something, for now I’ll settle for quickly telling you it’s out. It’s out! Christmas seems a good time to escape your family by diving into a strange civilisation surviving in subway tunnels and stations (and I do mean your> family) with turn-based isometric RPG action, so I wanted to tell you. I’m telling you now, okay: it’s out.

… [visit site to read more]

What is the best expansion pack of 2015? The RPS Advent Calendar highlights our favourite games from throughout the year, and behind today’s door is…

The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth!

… [visit site to read more]

I’ve spent my afternoon watching the wildlife of the Dota 2 [official site] desert terrain. There are some newcomers who aren’t native to the vanilla map which is cool – scorpions and vultures and the like. There’s also a proliferation of beetles and I love looking at the new trees and the cacti. This isn’t an exhaustive animal catalogue – there are definitely some butterflies and fish and spiders I wanted to include but the Reborn launch Dota crashes a lot and I was getting fed up! HOWEVER here are some nice shots of little creatures going about their business :)

… [visit site to read more]

News that inXile’s spiritual Planescape sequel Torment: Tides of New Model Army [official site] won’t, in fact, release its first beta during 2015 comes as little surprise, given there are only four and half minutes left of this year. Even so, it’s good to have confirmation that a sizeable chunk of the soul-searching RPG will be with us “early next year”, with the delay in order that we get “a more polished and complete Beta Test” that should offer around 10 hours of adventuring and existential crisis. … [visit site to read more]

Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.>

We’ve gushed an awful lot about Bernband, but have you played its fellow waggly-handed walking simulator Hernhand [official site]? The two are companions of sorts, with Tom van den Boogaart (BB) and Jake Clover (HH) riffing off the same idea of exploring an alien city and both citing other as inspirations. They make interesting pals.

… [visit site to read more]

Ooh! Aviary Attorney‘s out now [official site] – I played the demo back at Rezzed in the spring and I’ve been looking forward to seeing how the game turned out ever since. The basic info is: it’s a legal investigation/courtroom game in the manner of Phoenix Wright, with beautiful character illustrations by 19th century French caricaturist J.J Grandville.

I believe there are four cases and possibly a bonus episode thanks to a Kickstarter stretch goal so I’m just under halfway through. I’m going to give some basic impressions (sans> case spoilers) but I think if you’re intrigued by the description you might like to go in without even knowing that much so here’s a few lines break and you can decide whether to continue reading.

… [visit site to read more]

Ho ho ho it’s Christmas, let’s celebrate by making light of one of history’s most brutal serial killers. Yes, the surprisingly ace Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate [official site] on PC now has the long-promised Jack The Ripper DLC, available both to season pass holders and as its own $15 purchase. Putting our confusion about how the Whitechapel killer could possibly feature in the Syndicate timeline to rest, it transpires that the new chunk of story is set 20 years after the parent game.

… [visit site to read more]

Only two doors remain closed on the Advent calendar (I’m saving today’s choccie for a filling afternoon snack) and tension is mounting. What will these final two doors reveal? Will my fun-size Mars bar come in a festive wrapper? Will it have a picture of a raptor Santa? Wait, no, that’s Ark: Survival Evolved [official site]. The Early Access survive ‘em up has launched its Christmas update, and Santy Claws is feeling giving.

… [visit site to read more]

The extent of the Christmas truces across trenches of the Great War in 1914 is still up for debate, but British and German soldiers kicking footballs all across no man’s land is now as much a part of Christmas Lore as The Happy Fat Chappy and the three gifts of Terry’s All Gold, Frankenstein, and Grrr. Trench warfare FPS Verdun [official site] is celebrating the truce itself again this year, with a special map where chaps from both sides can lark about together, throwing and kicking balls of snow and leather. Observe:

… [visit site to read more]

Pedestrian-gibbing racer Carmageddon: Reincarnation [official site] may have launched out of Early Access in May, but developers Stainless kept on patching and updating away. Following two big patches considerably boosting performance, they’ve now dropped another adding two new cars, a new way to wreck cars, and other odds and ends for Chrimbo. Heinz Faust has returned once more with a new terrifying vehicle on tank tracks, the Blitzkrieger, as you can see in this here video:

… [visit site to read more]