The first WitcherCon has just kicked off today and, would you look at that. As hoped for, and maybe slightly expected, Netflix have used the occasion to announce a premiere date for The Witcher season 2. Sure enough, they're squeezing it in before the end of 2021. Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer continue their adventures on The Continent on December 17th.
Update: They've now dropped the proper trailer down here as well.
Open world battle grind 'em up Genshin Impact has revealed more information about its next major update and it's a big one. Mihoyo have gone and skipped a couple version numbers even, queuing up game version 2.0 for later this month. The next major map area Inazuma is nearly here and they've given quite and in-depth introduction to the next big area your Travelers will be exploring. It all launches on July 21st.
When I think airships and sky pirates, it always brings to mind giant magical blimps fighting one another. Black Skylands has those, but the sky's no safer than the sea it looks, because there are all sorts of flying monsters too. You'll be staking a claim in the Skylands by building up your Fathership and claiming territory for your faction with alliances and combat both. This open world skyship combat adventure is setting sail for early access today.
Jett: The Far Shore is a game about making sense of the unfamiliar. It's the second game from Sword & Sworcery EP devs, Superbrothers, and your character, Mei, is part of a team of explorers looking for a planet to inhabit. The world you're on has its own interconnected ecosystem, one that you need to examine and exploit while trying to discover the source of a mysterious signal. Jett wants you to work out how to be part of the world without destabilising it. Your little team aren’t there to gather resources to make your journey easier. You’re there to learn.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings Of Ruin is finally out. As Ed said in his review, it’s a game that begins as a “slow slog” but eventually transforms into a “satisfying number cruncher.” If you are considering a purchase, there’s one final step you can take before plonking down a big pile of monster cash: grab the free dmeo, which is now available alongside the main game. I hear there’s a lot to it, though it does have the dreaded Denuvo monstie hiding in its files.
For decades now, developers have taken flack for either turning popular movies into subpar video games, or for trying to make their games more like what you see at the cinema. Two fair points.
But, if you're flinging muck at those in the interactive space, an equal amount should be reserved for the directors and screenwriters that have tried to turn video games into films.
With that in mind, let's now celebrate those video game movies in this week's Mystery Steam Reviews!
Chicory: A Colorful Tale is probably one of my favourite games of the year so far. It's a gorgeous top-down adventure about a dog called Pizza (or whatever your favourite foodstuff is) who suddenly comes into possession of a magical paintbrush one day after the titular character and brush wielder Chicory gives it away. What follows is an affecting and humbling tale about the highs and lows of being artistic and creative, and it's all backed by some truly stunning music by Lena "Celeste" Raine. Indeed, away from the puzzles and its endearing story beats, it's Chicory's soundtrack that continues to make it such a speical game for me, so let me tell you about some of my favourite tracks.
Let me be clear up front and say that I don't think Watch Dogs: Legion, Ubi's hacktion-adventure game set in near-future cyber-London, is not fun. After all, who wouldn't enjoy zooming around on a big construction drone and taking screenshots of the nice neon hologram art? However, its standalone Bloodline DLC that came out this week is arguably too much> fun. It makes regular Legion look very dull by comparison. And the reason for this is pretty simple: Bloodline lets you play as actual characters again.
Even worse - or better, from my point of view - is that it has one of my favourite characters ever. Though the headline character returning here is Aiden, the protagonist of the original Watch Dogs game, we also get Wrench aka The> Wrench aka Reggie aka the best boy supporting character from Watch Dogs 2 - and it is so refreshing after the main game's "play as anyone" shtick.
Medical malpractice physics box Surgeon Simulator 2 is finally making its way to Steam. Having served its residency on the Epic Games Store, Surgeon Simulator 2 Access All Areas will be returning the series to Steam in September, with a story mode, four-player co-op and a lot more head bowling than the last game.
Yesterday saw the release of Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness onto Netflix, a standalone four-part CGI animation based on Capcom's favourite survival-horror-action series of games. I binged it all in one sitting last night (it being collectively less than the length of the average Marvel film) and let me tell you: that was the best evening I have had in a while, and you should definitely watch it. It is simulataneously really well written and really badly written, and I'm still struggling to get my head around it.