Now that the festival of bellowing that is E3 2018 has come to an end, we begin the arduous process of making sense of it all. This means sifting through mountains of press releases and trailers to find all the curious games that lurked outside the spotlight glare of the larger publishers. And we find such treats as Maneater (Jaws RPG where you play as Jaws), Rapture Rejects (battle royale where you fight for the last spot in heaven) and Neo Cab (Uber-sim meets Blade Runner). So many delightful things, in fact, that new video person Noa couldn’t resist gathering them together.

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Not content with blowing everyone’s socks off last year with Divinity: Original Sin 2 (see Adam’s rightfully gushing review here), Larian Studios are putting in some serious man-hours on improving it for the upcoming Definitive Edition re-launch. This isn’t just a little bit of spit n’ polish work, but a major rewrite of large chunks of the game, an across-the-board rebalance, and even some brand new things to see making a return to Rivellon at the end of August all the more tempting. Today they detailed most of the big changes in this Kickstarter update and the video within.

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The festival of dumb explosions known as E3 is over, but that won t stop us. The RPS podcast, the Electronic Wireless Show, goes deep into the show, picking out our favourite games, the oddest moments, and best rats (spoiler: it was the one crushed by a shelf in the Resident Evil 2 trailer). We re also introducing two new voices this week. Who are these strange people? (more…)

Anodyne was an odd little beast of a game. On the surface, a Zelda-like action adventure, full of dungeons to explore, bosses to blat and new items to collect to open up more of the world. But just beneath the surface was an oddly personal and philosophical tale that wasn’t nearly as concerned with fate-of-the-world adventuring as it first seemed. Fitting, then, that Anodyne 2: Return to Dust wraps itself in PSX-era 3D graphics and sci-fi trappings, but still has you wandering the world, cleaning up dust.

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Wild theories have surrounded the three words “Shadows die twice”. My personal favourite was that From Software’s new game was a return to the Tenchu series, since they own the rights. Turns out this was partially right, but only in the sense that it’s about ninjas. As Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki’s latest project, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the company’s return to feudal Japan. It’s fast become one of the most anticipated games shown at E3 2018 and it’s different from anything FromSoftware have developed since Demon’s Souls. So here’s everything we know so far on Sekiro, including snippets from what others have seen behind closed doors and clues from the shown footage.

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Flash may be dead, but the NewGrounds house style lives on. Nightmare Cops is a newly announced cartoon platform brawler from a team of the flash portal’s best and brightest led by site founder Tom Fulp, now working with a new crew after producing the likes of Castle Crashers, Battleblock Theater and Pit People under The Behemoth’s banner. This one looks just as silly, putting players in the militaristic boots of a squad of Psychonauts-esque cops sent in to clean up people’s persistent nightmares – and I thought school was hellish enough already.

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The inspiration for Alien: Isolation came from a simple thought experiment: what if somebody let a lion loose in developer Creative Assembly s office? I d get behind my desk and make sure it wouldn t see me, says the game s creative director Alistair Hope. Then, you d need to get to the fire escape. Maybe I d move desk to desk and distract it. If you are confronted by it, what do you do? What do you know about it? What do you know about what it knows about you? That felt pretty cool, and it wasn t relying on scripted events.

Most of us know the feelings of dread that accompany playing a horror game. But how do developers create those feelings from scratch? What are the tricks that developers use to scare us, and create a sense of atmosphere? How do they go from imagining a lion in a studio, or an empty bathroom, to moments that will scare the pants off us? I spoke to four of the top minds in the industry to find out. (more…)

Objects in Space is a stellar sandbox that treats spaceships not as nimble dogfighters but like sneaky submarines trying to fly under the radar in a slice of space full of pirates, organised crime and corrupt governments. Sounds like a real home away from home. It just landed in Steam early access today.

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Perhaps the strangest thing for new players of Realm Royale is knowing the differences between the various classes on offer. Each one has a uniquely different play style with a host of abilities to master, as well as their own unique class legendary weapon to craft at the forge. This guide will take you through each one, detail what spells and weapons to grab, and also some tips on how to use them effectively.

Since this is not your typical battle royale game, there are a variety of things that you need to know going in. You can find some more of the core game tips and tricks over at the main guide for Realm Royale, which includes, among other things, some tricks to keep in mind should you become a chicken. (more…)

With their new game Realm Royale, Hi-Rez are taking on the likes of Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite, but instead of taking what’s already successful and simply slapping their name on it, they’ve brought more of a unique spin on the genre. It’s set in the same fantasy world as Paladins, for example, and it adds forges to craft gear and the ability to scrap weapons into resources. Oh, and dying turns you into a chicken.

So in order to not turn into poultry, this guide will take you through the basics of Realm Royale, what’s different about it compared to other similar games, and some general tips and tricks in order to obtain that coveted “crown royale”.

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