A solid showing of indie games

Microsoft held their ID@Xbox Showcase today showing off the lineup of upcoming indie games heading to PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. We got a good look at some promising-looking indie games that are coming out over the next ?year. Alongside world premieres we also got a few surprise today releases.

We've put together a recap of all the new game reveals ?and announcements from the showcase. There were twenty games showcase??d in this ID@Xbox event so there's lots to talk about. Let's dive in!

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhRr_5HhKxI

Monolith: Requiem of the Ancients

Monolith: Requiem of the Ancients is third person action adventure RPG about a mysterious powerful monolith threatened by dark forces. Embark on a dangerous adventure with the power of the Runic Swarm and crush minions of evil on your path to save the planet. Monolith is coming in 2024 on Xbox One and Xbox Series ??X|S.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlwSl-jCNMM

Hellboy Web of Wyrd

Hellboy Web of Wyrd is an upcoming action-brawler-roguelite where you can punch, dodge, and blast your way through the mysterious Web of Wyrd as the comic-favorite Hellboy. While no exacty timeframe was given, Hellboy Web of Wyrd is coming soon to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCMCZ3gALc4

Everspace 2

Space action RPG Everspace 2 will finally be leaving early access and receives a full launch on August 15, 2023 on Xbox Series X|S. It is also a Day 1 on Game Pass title. Though it wasn't mentioned, we also know it's releasing on PS5 the same day. The full release will feature a 30+ hour ma?in campaign story that is fully voiced in English and German.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=mioYYcmsog0

Sea of Stars

We got another look at the Sea of Stars announcement trailer that was released a few months ago. The turn-based RPG inspired by the classics still looks as beautiful as ever. Sea of Stars tells the story of two Children of the Solstice who combine powers of sun and moon to perform Eclipse Magic and fight back the evil Fleshmancer. Sea of Stars features special guest composer Yasunori Mitsuda who is well known for his music in Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3. The retro?? RPG will release on August 29 and will be day 1 on Game Pass. A demo is out now on Xbox.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECbYebmtqvs

Solace State

Take on the role of a young hacker confronting political plots in Solace State. The visual novel-style game claims choices will be important as you build relationships and support communities attempting to revolutionize against a corporate biotech conspiracy. Solace State is co??ming this summer t??o Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCyWv7rexbo

Worldless

Worldless is a stylized 2D Adventure Platformer featuring turn-based combat. Explore a mysterious and abstract world as you attune to various polarities that change your style of combat. Worldless rele?ases on Xbox One and Xb?ox Series X|S in Fall 2023.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dXwcSoHWUU

MythForce

Jump into a Saturday Morning Cartoon with first-person melee roguelike MythForce. Adventure through crypts and castles with your friends as you hunt down the evil Hexstar. MythForce launches on September 12 on Xbox One and Xbox Seri?es X|S.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGtYNFtvGzc

Jackbox Party Pack 10

Timejinx and Hypnotorious were revealed as two of the five games coming in Jackbox Party Pack 10. We've already seen Tee K.O. 2 and FixyText revealed as two of the other games, meaning we're still waiting on one more. Jackbox Party Pack 10 releases this fall on all major platforms.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMgy7vI6hn0

Roman Sands RE:Build

This is a very unique-looking title. Roman Sands RE:Build is a delirium-charged journey into an apocalypse. Play through a variety of genres including visual novel, adventure, puzzle, horror, and survival simulation games. Roman Sands RE:Build is coming to Xbo??x One and Xbox Series X|S in Wi??nter 2023.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4ziEhBytrM

Scarlet Deer Inn

Scarlet Deer Inn is a narrative platformer featuring an emotional story and an interesting cast of characters. Explore a dark dungeon full of monsters and branching dialogue options where all character's animation frames have actually been embroidered. Furthermore, all backgrounds have been hand-painted. The Studio Ghibli-inspired Scarlet Deer Inn is coming to Xbox Series X|S but no release tim?eframe just yet.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnc7jSmcxB4

Rain World: Downpour

Rain World and the Rain World: Downpour DLC are out now on Xbox. Take control of five new characters as you explore the dark and mysterious wor??ld.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvRLsQmQAc0

Second Wave

Wait, this isn't an Overwatch skin pack? Apparently not. Second Wave is a free-to-play online multiplayer hero-based shooter MOBA in the world of Armantia. Choose from Domination or 3-Way Battle as you fight other heroes and exiles in an endless war for the Arcane Stone. Second Wave is coming to Xbox Series X|S but no rel??ease timeframe was given.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coku_dX7Tfk

Vampire Survivors

Even though it was revealed a couple of weeks ago, we got another look at the Vampire Survivors couch co-op mode. Dust off your couch and jump into the bullet hell Vampire Survivors with up to four total players.? The new mode is coming to Xbox One,?? Xbox Series X|S and Game Pass on August 17.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVju4TQoT1w

Axiom Verge 2

You can now explore the award-winning alien world of Axiom Verge 2 on Xbox. Our very own Eric Van Allen thought this was a beautiful Metroid-style game so it's definitely worth checking out. Axiom Verge 2 is?? out now on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S either alone or in a bundle with the first one.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=avFlZxNjOtI

Stray Souls

Ok, this probably has to be the best reveal of the showcase in my opinion. Stray Souls is a creepy-looking indie game that looks like a mix between Silent Hill and Resident Evil. The spooky third-person shooter features new music by legendary Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka. Stray Souls hits Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S in Fall 2023.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RxnHLsDGo8

Birth

I'll be honest, Birth definitely looked unique but I wasn't too sure exactly what I had just seen by the time the trailer was over. Apparently, it's an adventure puzzle game about constructing a creature from spare bones and organs you find around a city. The art is hand-drawn and the gameplay involves you solving physics-based puzzles as you discover secrets around town. Birth releases on Xbox One on July 28.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=50K1cw5_9vU

Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Like the film, Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a game based on true events. Try to s?urvive in this insanely chaotic survival game when it releases on August 18 on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. It will also be a day 1 Game Pass release.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_EseZ_Kalw

DREAMERS

It's time to go on an emotional journey with DREAMERS, a new colorful adventure game by PlaySys. Explore a world full of challenges and mysteries on September 1. DREAMERS is releasing on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=utb6ET0uhV0

Stumble Guys

The mobile game variant of Fall Guys is now officially coming to consoles. Stumble Guys is ano??ther multi?player knockout royale game coming to Xbox Series S|X and Xbox One.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyfNjdTaFLE

The Making of Karateka

Based on the 1984 martial arts action game by Jordan Mechner, The Making of Karateka is an interactive documentary that also includes four pixel-perfect versions of Karateka. It will also feature an all-new remastered version of the game with new features. The Making of Karateka releases later this year on Xbox Series X|S.

Whew, that's it! I'm personally really looking forward to Sea of Stars and Stray Souls. ??How do you guys feel overall about the ID@Xbox showcase?

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No Lasso of Truth needed

We've gotten plenty of surprises so far from The Game Awards, but one of the biggest shocks has been the announcement that Monolith is working on a Wonder Woman game. We didn't g?et, well, any other information than that, but boy are we excited about it.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpRIUoVl3Xk

Given the recent success of superhero games, as well as the Wonder Woman movies, it's not a surprise to hear that this game is in development, but still a pleasant one. The trailer showed only clos?e up shots of Diana, and a voiceover from a character who we can presume to be her mother, so we're not sure what the actual game is going to be l??ike yet. Still, the hype is real.

Monolith Productions already have some successful titles under their belt, most notably the Middle-earth series set in the world of The Lord of the Rings. This won't be Wonder Woman's debut in a video game, but we do think her first solo game i??s in good han?ds.

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Epilogue requirements reduced, too

Middle-earth: Shadow of War's in-game marketplace has finally closed its doors. If you're wondering what that sound is, it's the joyous chorus of many fans the world over. While microtransactions were actually removed a few months back, you will no longer have to deal with seeing that greedy orc rubbing his hands together while you get a fi?rst-hand look at an issue plaguing this industry.

In addition to expunging WB's cash-grabbing efforts, Monolith Productions has also greatly reduced the requirements for Shadow of War's epilogue chapter, "Shadow Wars". Previously, you needed to grind out the nemesis system to see the conclusion of the title or spend some money in the marketplace to speed the process up. Now, the chapter plays like an actual piece of ente?rtainment instead of a thinly veiled attempt to suck cash out of players.

Along with that, completing the epilogue will reward you with some high-end gear for your troubles. Players that have already completed Shadow Wars will be automatically given the gear when they log into the game. There is a further list of changes to Shadow of War that is far too long to go over, but it al?l sounds like positive stuff. I'm particularly fond of the increased spawn rates on legendary orcs.

Now if ?only we could get so??me other games to drop their microtransactions.

Official Announcements [WB Games]

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Nenya business

Middle-earth: Shadow of War surprised me in myriad ways in pretty much every facet of its existence. The large-scale battles involving giant armies actually felt ??grand in scale, and the mechanical advancements in Talion's locomotion made the game that much more fun to play when? it came to moment-to-moment action.

The narrative bits, while still mostly o?n the level of a QTE battle with Sauron from the first, were mostly take it or leave it affairs. Just when I thought the concept of the noble Celebrimbor from the source material becoming a greedy wraith obsessed with his own Ring of Power was the worst Monolith could d??o, in comes sultry Shelob.

I??t was a weird mix of fanservice and an attempt to create an actual tale that could credibly take place in Middle-earth, but for the most part, the second DLC abandons most of that fluff and moves right into?? the thick of it.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War - Desolation of Mordor (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Xbox One)
Developer: Monolith Productions
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Released: May 8, 2018
MSRP: $14.99 (or as part of the $39.99 season pass)

Desolation sets the stage right away ??before you even boot up the mode: "Baranor is mortal and carries no Ring of Power. If he dies, his story is over, be careful."

This motif actually does slot into place at the very start, giving the DLC a distinctly different feel. Even at Talion's lowest point he still had plenty of super powers to deal with pretty much any situation, but Baranor starts off in a sandstorm on a last-ditch mission to search for mercenaries (not even his loyal kin) to take back what Sauron stole. Wyrms (read: basically the things from Kevin Bacon's Tremors) eat up his entire palt??ry squad, and then he meets a dwarf that gives him a grappling hook.

Wait, what? Yeah, Desolation doesn't shy from the wackiness that the Shadow series has adopted (the Jackson-verse's artistic license with the unconfirmed mythical Were-wyrms is repeated here), but some sort of more mechanical consolations were necessary to prevent Baranor from boring us. I wish the hook was a little quicker, but its simple "point and click" setup works just fine. Baranor also sports a super sprint that's pretty much on par with the wraith-run, again, for conveniences sake, which slots in nicely with another gadget -- the Breath of the Wild-esque glider that counters great heights.

This sort of can-do attitude suits Barnor, a character whose arc is probably one of the best parts of Shadow of War. As a former Harad-born man he catapulted into the elite of Minas Ithil (the Tower of the Rising Moon, sister-city to Minas Tirith) after being adopted. He is not presented as a super-special Númenórean or a god-like character like Talion became -- merely a man who worked hard and rose up to the rank of captain of the guard. He's likable, and that helps drive this new take on Shadow of War, as does the tension between hi??m and his destined-for-greatness brother that was left behind.

But most importantly, Desolation bills itself as a rogue-like, something that's a bit of a gamble in a game that otherwise doesn't punish death in any meaningful way. It mashes up with the Nemesis system, which once again works by way of hiring bodyguards and sending out people on sorties, but this time your crew is human. You'll use healing potions to keep him alive (earned by killing more enemies) and find artifacts to level-up; if you screw up and die, you'll keep your story mission progress and skills, losing your mercenaries and outposts. To clarify death is sorta meaningful, but not to the point where your save will be automatically deleted or anything. And to clarify even further -- ??if you fail a mission parameter but don't die, you can immediately restart it.

I'm okay with that. The concept of "keeping skills but losing progress" has made for some of my favorite roguelikes, from Immortal Redneck to Rogue Legacy. While the first DLC was most definitely a "one and done" deal for me, I can see replaying Desolation on higher difficulty levels (of which there are several) more cautiously in an attempt to build up my force without having it all come crashing down. The Nemesis system is far from flawless, but giving it actual weight when your comrade??s die (some? of which are incredibly useful) is a great improvement.

Desolation's desert has a good feel to it, as its open nature lends itself well to gliding, and it's big enough to feel like you're making a dent in it. Manipulating various hazards to sic worms on your foes while your controller rumbles furiously is just the right amount of silly. Not having us repeat the same gist on an older map is also a major plus for a new DLC. It's a low bar to meet, sure, but Monolith met it nonetheless. The fact that it came day and date with the removal of microtransactions is the cherr??y on top.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War - Desolation of Mordor brings a worthy character into? the spotlight with a slightly different feel, to aplomb. Instead of controlling a superhero you're a stronger-than-average man, which somewhat grounds the gameplay while still allowing for plenty of wonderful toys. The whole "roguelike" angle was a bit oversold, but depending on your perspective, that could be a plus.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Here's the first cinematic

The sun is nearly ready to set on Middle-earth: Shadow of War. On May 8, the Desolation of Mordor add-on releases and that marks the end of WB's DLC roadmap.? Here's a cinematic trailer with brothers Baranor and Serka speaking in a lot of Tolkien-isms.

Of Shadow of War's four add-ons, Desolation of Mordor seems like the most ambitious. It features Baranor as he tries to take the Marauder fortress Shindram without the supernatural assistance of the Ring. More interesting, this campaign is described as a "rogue-like" mode. WB hasn't really explained what this means. It likely has to do with the way death impacts progress. We'll have to wait to see how this fits into the framework of Shadow of War.

Desolation of Mordor is also the most?? ambitiously-priced DLC. It'll c?ost $20 to see the rogue Baranor through on his rogue-like conquest of Shindram.

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Narya thanks

I hope that we're nearing the end of the tale that Monolith started to tell in 2014 with Shadow of Mordor and whatever i?s next is a clean slate. With a portion of the token DLC shipped we're nearing the finish line, and Talion's story has been squeezing blood from a stone.

The Elven assassin Eltariel is a little mor??e interesting, but her add-on's narrative also fails at providing a s??ufficient reason for her to be there.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Xbox One)
Developer: Monolith Productions
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Released: February 6, 2018
MSRP: $14.99 (or as part of the $39.99 season pass)

You'll take direct control of Eltariel after the campaign, literally seconds after her fate was left unknown. Yes, this is just like Capcom's old "true ending" DLC shtick. With a bit of Texas two-stepping around the details, it's her job to set thing??s right and continue the fight with Sauron in Mordor. She has "The New Ring" (read??: another One Ring, but "for good" this time), her fingers are healed, and she immediately squares up against another Nazgul to begin her quest to banish the darkness. Man, people really like to leave rings of power just lying around constantly for our heroes to grab!

Blade of Galadriel begins with an intruiging premise -- Eltariel doesn't want to dominate orcs even though her ring has the capability to do so. Although it's clear that Monolith simply didn't want to create a full-scale Nemesis system around this particular DLC, from a lore standpoint I actually find it refreshing -- having to dominate and slowly go through more unskippable dialogue for every Tom, Dick, and Jane orc was insufferable by the end of Shadow of War.

This time you're merel?y "convincing" orcs to fight for you by way of quests. Although Tolkien wasn’t a fan of the “good forces of Sauron" motif, the concept is interesting enough to warrant expl?oration. It never really reaches any highs, but there's an attempt to make each orc a little more chummy and emotive, like less forced versions of Bruz from both the campaign and the marketing campaign. One especially explosive orc ended up being one of my favorite characters in the two-game franchise, despite the fact that he only had a few short scenes to work with.

Eltariel sports Talion’s locomotion, bow, and most of the same moves. She can dual wield though, has a smaller less bloated skill tree, and uses the power of light to whittle down or instantly disintegrate orcs. All of these l??iterally flashy maneuvers and the linear storyline all serve up little snippets of greatness without fully attaining it. There??'s a Sniper Wolf-esque mission with an archer that's kind of cool but brief. She has a trap ability that feels even more Ranger-ey than Talion, which is weird but welcome. Flashes of something more will pop up and then fizzle.

It's limited in part because Blade of Galadriel follows the same plot as Talion's story. Yo?u need to gather orcs, then fight! Monolith tries to shove in identities for the Nazgul again (because they can't just be Nazgul), and skill points are rapidly doled out as the game rushes to its conclusion in just a few hours. You'll also be revisiting mostly old areas, and there's a nominal "choice" at the end like it was a contractual obligation. Eltariel does get an epilogue though, and?? her short jaunt, while quick, feels complete.

Shadow of War had a gamey quality to it and a fanfiction plot that had some moments of surprise. Blade of Galadriel is much more to the point, without much of the same flair -- either the good ?or the bad.

_{[This rev??iew is based on a ??retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Choir of Angels

With only a few days left to wait, Nintendo is ramping up the hype train for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. While no new footage has been shared, we now have a better understanding of what the music will sound like. The music/sound producer for Chronicles 2, Yasunori Mitsuda, employed the likes of Irish choral band ANÚNA to compose music for the towns in the game an?d the result is incredible.

Mitsuda shares his story about discovering the band's work over on Nintendo's website. He describes how in 1996, he was big into music from Northern Europe and was stunned by how ANÚNA carved out their own niche by mostly utilizing the human voice. "I dreamt about making music with ANÚNA one day," Mitsuda says. "After 20 years, my dream came true through the making of the game Xenoblade Chronicles 2."

I can't say I'm surprised at how great this sounds. The first game had an absolutely amazing soundtrack that didn't even need remixing for Smash Bros. Maybe if we ever get a Switch Smash, ANÚNA's work can be featured.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - 'SHADOW OF THE LOWL??ANDS' Music Video - Nintendo Swit?ch [YouTube]

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$55 if you were to buy them individually

Middle-earth: Shadow of War, an already big game, is going to get even bigger in the coming months. That's?? how the triple-A?? content machine is built.

Warner Bros. has outlined the four planned expansions for Shadow of War. It's two story add-ons and two additional tribes. Here's WB's description of each, with an awful lot of Tolkien-sounding words?:

Slaughter Tribe Nemesis Expansion

• The gruesome Slaughter tribe invades Mordor introducing new missions, Epic and Legendary Orcs, tribal showdowns and fierce battles, brought to life through the Nemesis System.
• New Slaughter tribe fortress with Overlord throne room, monuments and outposts.
• Players can hunt down Legendary Slaughter tribe Orcs for a new Legendary gear set with additional upgrade challenges.
• Slaughter Orcs are the most bloodthirsty in Mordor, capable of ambushing players at any point, creating a deadly new challenge for players.
• Available November 2017.

Outlaw Tribe Nemesis Expansion

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Falls afoul of a drunken Orc

There is a new episode of Conan O'Brien's Clueless Gamer series, where the chat-show host, comedian and former Simpsons writer tackles an upcoming title for a little bit of PR, ?to somewhat amusing effect.

The new episode has Conan try his hand at Middle-earth: Shadow of War, alongside actor/comedian Kumail Nanjiani, who also features in the open-world sequel. Conan gets into a few battles, with varied success, which is kind of reflective of the comedy in these ?skits.

We also get to hear Nanjiani's "Orc voice" in action which, unsu??rprisingly, earns him some ridicule from Conan which Kumail then neatly transfers to the game's Creative Director, Michael de Plater.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War launches next week, October 10 on?? PC, PS4 and Xbox? One.

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Hopefully no small print this time

It was reported last month that Middle Earth: Shadow of War DLC, created to honour a recently-passed developer, would be available for purchase, with the money going to the deceased's family. Things turned sleazy when it was revealed that this was apparently only applicable within certain U.S te??rritories, with the global sales going straight in the ?pocket of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

However, a new update on Monolith's official site now confirms that the "Forthog the Orc Slayer" DLC is now a free download for ??all players. Warner Bros. will instead make a donation directly to the family of Michael Forgey, in li??eu of the money that would have been raised through sales of the controversial DLC.

"We now reco??gnize that tying our donation to sales of the DL?C was not the best way to achieve our goal of offering financial support to the family and creating a lasting memorial to Michael Forgey," says the Monolith update. "We sincerely apologize to the fans and to the Forgey family for the confusion we created."

The update also states that ALL profits from the DLC, worldwide, would have gone to Forgey's?? family under the original plan. This is an odd statement to make, considering the small print in the original trailer straight-up implied the opposite of this. The trailer h??as since been updated, as seen below.

Anyone who has purchased the DLC is entitled to a refund, and further donations can be made direct to the Forgeys here.

Forthog Orc Slayer DLC update [Monolith Studios]

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I'M REALLY FEELING IT!

Along with a new, extended story trailer, today's Nintendo Direct has revealed the release date for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. The sprawling RPG ??will be coming just in time for Christmas with a release date of December 1,? 2017. Along with that, it will be packing full English voice acting (for anyone interested in that).

To hype players up even more, a Special Edition will be getting released along with a themed Pro Controller for the Switch.  The Special Edition will come with an art book, soundtrack CD and a steelbook case.? I'm a sucker f??or steelbooks, so I might have to get on the pre-order train (sadly).

I've gotta say, I like the look of this more and more. I wasn't too big on Xenoblade Chronicles X for changing up the art style so dramatically, but 2 looks more similar to the original (which is one of my favorite games on the Wii). Hopefully this can live up to fan hype, because an epic RPG?? like this on the go would be great.

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Impressions from PAX!

Maybe the strongest praise for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor necessitates pointing out its most glaring flaw. The game was a darling, ?managing to please fans and earn critical acclaim. All of that in spite of the fact that the final boss encounter with Sauron suuuuucccccckkkkked.

The climax, the moment the whole game had been working toward, was incredibly anticlimactic. The battle was a quick-time event sequence (and a short one, at that). None of Shadow of Mordor's systems were implemented in any way. No sign of the lauded Nemesis system, no Arkham-like combat, no Assassin's Creed-like ?climb?ing around. Instead, Mordor's biggest threat was dismissed with just a few button presses.

It was such a ridiculous letdown that it could really only be chalked up to the realities and constraints of video? game development. Anyone who played that whole game had to know that wasn't the end that Monolith envisioned. The studio must've run out of time or money or both.

Monolith assures us this won't be a problem in the upcoming Middle-earth: Shadow of War. We sat down with? design director Bob Roberts during a hands-on demo at PAX West, and he expresses a similar defeated attitude when talking about the predecessor's ending. He makes a point of mentioning that the developer doesn't go down that same route again. "I think people will be really happy with this ending," he says. "Well, maybe they'll? hate it for being too epic."

There's something inherently funny about fans of high fantasy being put off by "too epic," and, let's be honest, it's probably not going to happen. There's evidence that everything will skew toward more grand this time, just like we suspected upon reveal. With an hour to prep for and launch a fortress attack, we saw the ways that Shadow of War's expa?nded sandbox heaps variable after variable in?to the equation.

One of the more notable moments came when we attempted to simply assassinate a warchief's bo?dyguard. Upon arriving in his area, we found an elemental Graug. Roberts perked up. Apparently this was quite rare. On one hand, he got to see the sandbox play out di?fferently than the countless other demos he had hosted throughout the months. On the other, he expressed slight disappointment that the Graug's appearance would make this section entirely too easy in a way that's not necessarily representative of the game.

He was right. I killed that bodyguard and another captain entirely by accident. The fire-breathing Graug just kinda k?icked everyone's ass.

Shadow of War is a tough game to play competently in a preview setting. There are so many skills, so many approaches, and so many external factors. Without the benefit of knowing your character and knowing the environment, you kind of just bumble around until you're successful. It's never really indicative of how encounters will play out for someone who has the benefit of ??learning as they play the full game. It's more about gauging whether it seems like all these things can complement each other in a way that makes for a balanced game.

That's probably the most important obstacle for Shadow of War to overcome: That it doesn't let bulk become bloat. That it doesn't aspire to be bigger at the expense of being focused. It's impossible to know now w??here that balance will end up. Just know that Monolith is aiming for "epic" and that's from beginning all the way through to th?e end.

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Forthog rides again

[UPDATE: Readers with eyes far better than mine have directed me to the microscopic dis??claimer at the end of the trailer, which reads as follows: "Donations will be made on purchases from any 1 of the 50 US or DC (excluding purchases made from AL, HI, IL, MA, MS, and SC) Void where prohibited by law. Your purchase is not tax deductible."]

The developers of the upcoming Middle-Earth slaughterhouse Shadow of War h??ave created a ch??aracter to honour a comrade who passed away in 2016.

Michael Forgey, an executive producer at Monolith, lost his fight with a rare form of cancer at just 43 years old. Forgey, who was affectionately known as "Forthog", will be immortalised in the upcoming Shadow of War as DLC character; Forthog the Orcslayer.

Players who have purchased the c??haracter will encounter him randomly as he joins the fray, one-shotting Orcs left, right and center, before vanishing back?? into the mists. The character will cost $3.99, with $3.50 of the sale going to Forgey's family.

The trail?er belo??w sees The Orcslayer in action, powered on by music written and performed by the big man himself, followed by a message from the development team.

Middle Earth: Shadow of War launches on PC, PS4 and Xbox One on October 10.

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An action game with dragons?

Monolith Soft is basically announcing another project this week, but this time instead of a cryptic teaser with mostly text or a countdown timer, it's by way of a flashy recruitment ??page.

The developer just put out a call for designers, programmers, planners, and project managers for a new game, which will be “an ambitious project different from the brand image of Monolith Soft.” Based on the clues so far it seems to be centered around a knightly heroine, will feature dragons of some sort, and will have an act??ion-centric tint.

I'm not so sure what the difference in brand image will ??be this time around as the company has already dipped into the fantasy realm??, and has featured action elements in many of their games. I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Recruit [Monolith Soft via Gematsu]

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More Xbox news out of gamescom

It's that time of year where console bundles featuring the year's biggest upcoming games get announced. Sony took its first shot in July with the Destiny 2 PS4 Pro bundle. Now it's Microsoft's turn to fire back.

Just announced at gamescom is a Middle-earth: Shadow of War Xbox One S combo. It releases on October 10 alongside the game, but pre-orders will be available soon. The bundle comes with the white console, Shadow of War, a white controller, a one-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass, and a 14-day Xbox Live Gold trial. The 500GB version runs $279, while the 1TB hard drive is $349; that's the standa??rd price for bundles with new games.

Interestingly, those living in the US don't have a choice between hard drive sizes. The only option in the US (along with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico) is the 1TB SKU that runs $349. Both China and Japan miss out on this one altogether, but otherwise it's available in some? form in all Xbox One markets.

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Pass the midnight dust

Submitted for the approval of the Mordor Society, I call this story: Here's a New Middle-earth: Shadow of War&nb??sp;Trailer Where One of the Tribes Is Really Scary.

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Two rings to rule them all!

I know for awhile there, I was worried that Middle-earth: Shadow of War was? going to be a solo excursio?n. I mean, at every possibly opportunity, I want multiplayer modes. I especially love them in typically single-player games, because the only way to know how good I am at anything is to beat the piss out of other players.

All joking aside, Shadow of War is going to be getting a multiplayer mode when it launches this fall. While the first game sort of had asynchronous co-op with you being able to take revenge for your pals, now you can direct??ly face off to dete?rmine who will get to bring the ring to Mordor (if only).

The main multiplayer component seems to work similar to the FOB system in Metal Gear Solid V. Dubbed Social Conquest, you can set up a base in your own game that other players can then attempt to siege with their armies. Pretty harmless stuff, even if it got to be really annoying in MGSV. You can play it directly with?? friends or just randoms.

The ranked variant has you actually risking your army. Should you fail, not only will your rank drop, but you'll actually suffer the casualties of war and have to rebuild. If you are successful, though, then you'll be given a plethora of rewards to help power up your character for the campaign mode (similar to how Mass Effect handled MP).

While I'm not sure if I care for shoving multiplayer into every single game, at least this sounds decent. It was cool enough in MGSV, though players eventually got so powerful that it became pointless in trying t??o assault them. At least a mode like this sticks to what the game is about instead of trying to radically alter the gameplay.

Now we just have to see if those microtransactions will start to screw around with the balance.

Shadow of War has a ranked online mode [Eurogamer]

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The Horkin' Orc

He'll also answer to: Pukey, Spewz, and Hurla the Chunk Bl??ower.

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That's how you 'finish the fight'

After months of speculation, Warner Bros. and Monolith confirmed what we already suspected: Key Nemesis figures from the Shadow of Mordor will carry over to the sequel.

There's a newly-added "Nemesis Forge" mode in Shadow of Mordor that will automatically detect both your highest ranked orc foe and your highest ranked orc follower. Then, those will import to Shadow of War w??hen that releases this fall. The video that's embedded above e??xplains how it all works.

This particular feature has been all but confirmed for months. Upon Shadow of War's reveal in March, GamesRadar asked Monolith's creative vice president about save imports and he responded by saying "Oh, I don't remember what we're allowed to say about that." Then, last month, Shadow of Mordor received a mysterious patch that seemed to do nothing. We asked Warner Bros. representatives about it but received no response. It was clearly being sa?ved for a marketing beat later i??n the summer.

For anyone who has no nemesis because they never played Shadow of Mordor, now is the perfect time to jump in. The Game of the Year Edition is available on Steam, PS4, and Xbox One for $4 (but probably slightly more expensive if you aren't a subscriber to either PS Plus or Xbox Live Gold). Tha?t's an absolute steal, even if the game is three years old.

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Belt apocalypse incoming

On Tuesday, the Twitter account for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 revealed that Tetsuya Nomura, know for his work on the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchises, would be a guest character designer for the? game.

The account went into further detail about how the character design was being handled. Masatsugu Saito, who did the redesign of Celica for the Fire Emblem Awakening DLC, would be handling the character designs for the majority of the games cast, including main characters Rex and Pyra. Nomura on the other hand will be handling the designs for Torna, an organization found in the game. Two characters he's responsible for have been shown, but no names or further ?details were given.

The concept of bringing in a different designer to make unique designs isn't something new. It can be used to help bring a foreign feeling to certain items within a world, like they don't belong. It's a feeling that the anime Turn A Gundam went for by bringing in Syd Mead, an American designer who worked on Blade Runner and designed the light cycle in Tron, to do the designs for the Mobile Suits. It will be interesting to see what angle the story of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is going for with this, given it's a night-and-day difference between the designers ??at the moment.

@XenobladeJP [Twitter]

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Speculation run rampant

There's a new patch for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and no one seems to know what it does. Update 1.10 released today and it's mostly substantial in size -- reports indicate about 6GB on PS4, 2.27GB on Xbox One, but only 8.1MB on PC. Most curious, developer Monolith and publisher Warner Bros.?? haven't made any mention of?? this patch's function.

For context, Shadow of Mordor released in September 2014. Its most recent update? on PlayStation was in October of last year when it received 4K support for the PS4 Pro. Ever since then, it has been all qu?iet with regard to this game.

Of course, Monolith has been busy with another Lord of the Rings title, the upcoming Shadow of War. This is rampant conjecture, but this update might be affiliated with Shadow of War in some way. The most obvious reasoning would be that it allows for imported saves from Shadow of Mordor, so tha??t players can continue the battle against their most memorable nemeses.

This idea is more than just a pipe dream for a semi-weird reason. At the time of the Shadow of War reveal, GamesRadar interviewed Monol?ith creative vice president Michael de Plater. When asked whether the new game would allow for imported saves, Plater said "Oh, I don't remember what we're allowed to say about that" before asking a nearby PR rep. When he returned, his official comment was "We're not saying anything at this time."

Given the full picture, it's easy enough to infer that Shadow of War very well may support legacy?? saves. If it's true, it's the kind of thing that's likely being saved as a marketing beat and who knows when that might be. We reached out to Warner Bros. representatives about the 1.10 update and they hadn't responded at time of publishing. (To be fair, we emailed them very late in the d?ay.) We'll update this post, if/when we receive a response.

Shadow of Mordor 1.10 Patch [reddit]

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Not the one from Street Fighter, unfortunately

In Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf stands tall in front of a Balrog and boldly proclaims "You shall not pass!" It's an important moment because Gandalf probably should've died right then and there. Like, if you yell at a Balrog, you get smoked. Those are the rules, n??obody disputes this.

But Gandalf didn't die. Not yet anyway. He fell for a long time while he wrestled with the Balrog. He may as well have been dead as far as the Fellowship was concerned, though. All the hobbits were like "He called us ??fools, but he's the one shouting at a giant fire demon. Fuck, now we gotta find the volcano by ourselves."

This two-paragraph retelling of Lord of the Rings is my way of saying that Balrogs seem like bad news. Do not engage if you see one. The wizard had a tough time and you are not a wizard (even if you do have a cloak of elvenkind.)

This Middle-earth: Shadow of War trailer has a Balrog and you probably have to fight it at some point. We're seeing Shadow of War at ?E3 next week and we'll make sure to report back on any Balrog sightings. I've instructed our staff to not fight one under any circumstances.

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Down down baby your street in a Range Rover boom boom baby

The dungeons of Zelda, the cute characters of Undertale, and Geometry Wars had a threeway?? and gave birth to this wonderful roguelike that I've been having a deeply romantic affair with for the past couple weeks.

When I come home I just can't wait to ge?t inside of it and go as deep as I can in its fiery dungeons while spraying my hot load?s in every direction.

Monolith (PC)
Developer: Team D-13
Publisher: Team D-13
Released: June 7, 2017
MSRP: $7.99

Monolith is another one of those indie pixel art roguelike shooters with randomly generated levels, only it is damned good. Here players control a little space ship with twin-stick shooter controls on a quest to journey deeper and deeper into a dungeon killing enemies and huge bosses along the way. Along said journey, there are various shops, and secrets to find to purchase upgrades for your current run including extra bombs and health. Additional consumable weapons c?an be found in each level, with more to be purchased in the game's lobby from a blob-like cat.

You read that right, you buy weapons from a cat blob, who is heckin' cute. For a game about going through dungeons and killing things, Monolith manages to be about as adorable as you can get. Not only does the feline orb have a fun little personality, but so do many of the enemies that will randomly pop by your humble abode from time to time to non-violently chat. Perhaps cut??est of all is the pause menu that features your ship sipping a cup of coffee while a flurry of bullets scatter around the screen and an upbeat chiptune song play??s.

The soundtrack here is one of the more memorable chiptune offerings I've heard in some time that compliments the game well. Each level has its own music that seems to match the theme of said levels such as fire, ice, mechanical, and so on. I especially like one of the small touches the developers added in the water dungeon in which anytime you submerge your ship in?? water the music slows down just a bit, same as your ship.

Small touches like this set Monolith apart from other games in the genre for me, such as the HUD fading and flickering the closer you are to death. Backtracking through empty rooms? Not here, you can simply press a button to pull up a map and instantly warp to any rooms you've visited. Another such example, which also falls into the cute category, is that skulls (one of the frequent enemy types) will every now and then spawn with an accessory. Off of the top of my head, I think I've seen a wig, glasses, cat ears, and maybe a monocle if I recall co??rrectly. I don't believe I've seen a duplicate yet and I've put over 12 hours into the game.

Kawaii skeletons aren't the only thing with variety here. As I've said, Monolith is randomly generated, a phrase that typically turns off a lot of people, myself included. But there is so much variety to be found here, I rarely even thought about that fact. Every ??run I played felt fresh and like going through a whole ?new configuration of each dungeon, and not just with the same 10 or so rooms copy and pasted around. Not only have I been discovering new rooms I've never seen still, but I've also been coming across new bosses.

Each dungeon has a boss, and from what I've gathered bosses are randomly selected from a pool for each dungeon. At the very least I believe there at least 3 different possible bosses per dungeon, if not more. Fighting the bosses are such a joy thanks to Monolith's tight controls and smooth graphics. Unlike other rooms,?? bosses mostly give you the full screen to play with and are far more bullet hell like than the rest of the game; so?? conquering them just naturally feels rewarding. 

Rewarding is a good way to describe Monolith in general. The twin-stick controls feel great (you can play with mouse and keyboard if you so choose) and taking down even sm??aller enemies just feels fantastic. Aside from shooting, the ship can dodge through bullets and even be upgraded to allow teleporting through enemies. Each dungeon has a number of minibosses that must be defeated before you can even face the monstrous bosses, and the minibosses themselves are no pushovers. In my time with the game I probably took more damage from minibosses than any other boss other than the final boss, but mostly beca??use fights with them can be a bit cramped.

One thing that may turn some people off is ?that the game screen is displayed vertically with the side of the screen empty, much like CAVE bullet hell shooters. I didn't mind this fact but was disappointed that I couldn't get the game to display only the gameplay area on my monitor that I keep set vertically. Another issue I found is that for some reason the game is finicky launching on Windows 10, and I had to manually set the executable to Windows 7 compatibility mode to alleviate this issue. Aside from that, I experienced no glitches. One other disappointment is that the game currently doesn't support Steam Cloud Saves, which meant I couldn't take my save with me on the go when playing on my laptop. 

Monolith might sound like a million other indie games on Steam, but I just found that is a perfect goulash of cute, fun, challenging, and addictive. I've been doing run after run with no hesitation, back to back, over and over; and I'm still not tired of it. The music is great, the enemies are cute and Zelda-like as are the dungeons, and the bosses are hellis?h and taking them d?own feels oh so good.

It might not be as graphically impressive as many other recent roguelikes (although the screenshots and trailer don't do the game justice as it certainly runs at a buttery smooth framerate certainly 60fps or above), but for me, the gameplay loop makes Monolith one of the most addictive roguelikes I've played. It's well worth the $8 asking price, and if you're not sold there's a free demo.

_{[This review is b?ased on a retail build of the game provided by the publis?her.]}

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Frodo, the ring can wait!

If you were setting aside your August plans to jump back into Middle-earth, then I have some bad news for you; WB Games has announced that Middle-earth: Shadow of War has been delayed until October, 10, 2017. In a further bit of disappointment, it looks like New Zealand, Australia and Japan will have totally differe?nt (and unannounced) release dates.

The reason for the de?lay? I'll just let WB's words speak for themselves:

Middle-earth: Shadow of War expands gameplay in every dimension, including the massive open world, the story, the RPG systems, and personal player stories of the Nemesis System. As with Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Monolith is committed to delivering the highest quality experience. In order to do this, we have made the difficult decision to move our launch date to ensure that Middle-earth: Shadow of War will deliver on that promise.

It's strange how we've entered a period of the games industry where polishing a game is seen as something to be sorry for. I'd rather developers give more ambiguous release windows (like saying Fall/Winter) instead of rushing products out to market. Thankfully, Monolith has always been pretty damn good with the quality of their work, so I doubt we'll see Shadow of War launch with many bugs.

As for when we'll see more of the game, it looks like E3 is going to have something for us. Hopefully we won't forget about it.

Official Announcements [Monolith]

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Yeah, I took the low-hanging fruit in the headline

Shadow of Mordor is getting a sequel. Obviously Shadow of Mordor is getting a sequel. It's a triple-A game based on an incredibly popular property (Lord of the Rings), it was almost universally well-received (except, funnily enough, by this site), and it even won a few end-of-year awards (like Game of the Year at the 2015 GDC Awards). A second Shadow of Mordor was certainly a case of when and not if.

Developer Monolith's ambitions for Middle-earth: Shadow of War are high y?et predictable. In a hands-off demo in San Francisco, a representative outlined a bunch of gameplay changes that will define this title. It's the exact same route all big-name sequels take: More, more, more. We can't yet say if it'll be for better or for worse, but we feel comfortable asserting that feature creep is the main attraction.

Shadow of War's intentions aren't masked for long. Within 30 seconds, we're told "We wanted to expand the scale of everything. There are more epic stories and a much?? more massive world." A setting so massive that there's now a world map because "We have many more regions. They're far larg?er than they were in the last game, and they also extend beyond Mordor."

We all see exactly where this is going.

The bulk of our presentation was focused on combat and all the additives that accompany it. Shadow of War's major encounters will be Nemesis Fortresses, strongholds that control the different regions of Mordor. Rule the fortress and you rule the region (each region "significantly larger than anywhere we had in Shadow of Mordor"). What's unique ?about the fortresses is that the leader influences the entire region's society and ?culture. For example, a feral tribe will emphasize hunting/trapping/taming/using creatures in battle, while a mystic tribe will specialize in dark magic like necromancy.

Each fortress is run by an overlord, one orc rank higher than the warchiefs of Shadow of Mordor. Although, in order to approach the overlord, his warchiefs will have to be defeated. And, each warchief brings their own special modifiers to battle. In our d??emo, one had a cursed weapon that disabled some of our powers; another was fire savvy and made it so the orcs were equipped with flaming arrows, fiery trebuchets, and boiling oil.

This embellishment of the en??emy's forces is reciprocated on the protagonist's side. The Ranger is accompanied in combat by some followers, a group of orcs who are willing to fight on his side. We were shown a Demolisher who "is basically a living battering ram," good for helping us smash through gates; an orc who's riding a fire-resistant mount (they ride mounts now); and a sniper spy who has infiltrated the enemy ranks. Of course, those circumstances -- and all circumstances -- are completely different for eac??h player because of the game's Nemesis system.

Ah, the Nemesis System. The defining feature of the previous game. This too is being overhauled in the name of amplification. Now, more types of stories can exist. "In Shadow of Mordor, the Nemesis System's most memorable stories were really around bloodshed and revenge and hunting down the guys who killed you," we're told. "But now by expandi?ng enormously on the followers, it opens us up to have a whole range of new types o?f stories. So now we can have stories of savior, stories of betrayal, stories of loyalty, even stories of friendship."

The example we're given is an interesting one. Stormbringer, one of the warchiefs, used to be an ally of ours. He was a casualty of a rescue mission and was unfortunately left for dead. As it turns out, he cheated death but feels p??retty betrayed by how we treated him. He holds a burning grudge, a giant orc-sized chip on his shoulder. Rightfully so, to be honest.

It's a lot to process in 15-or-so minutes but that's unique to our situation. As is pointed out to us, we're on the cusp of launching a major assault. In ?practice, getting there could take hours of preparation and planning for a meticulous player. It's the culmination of a lot of sandbox gameplay.

But, for all that's new, it looked familiar again when we finally got to the heart of all of this. Shadow of War is just as stylish and grotesque and extravagant as its predecessor when it comes to lopping off orc heads. Its cinematic qualities again make ev??ery dead orc feel like an event until you remember that you've already done that a thousand times. There may be a lot more to it all, but it's also pretty fucking?? great watching the Ranger mow his way through an army of goblins with a calm and collected flair.

The sequence ended with us defeating the overlord and appointing one of our own as the new ruler of the region. We chose a fellow from a looting tribe, the idea being that he'll earn more money for the area. With that, we can expand the size of the fortress and make it more secure from inevitable attacks. This is a microco??sm of the manifest destiny of open-world games: Always get bigger, always expand.

As much as it pains me, I'll draw from a Tolkien reference to describe Middle-earth: Shadow of War. If Shadow of Mordor was The Fellowship of the Ring, then Shadow of War is The Two Towers -- specifically Helm's Deep. The scale of?? everything is so tremendously grand, far more than anything the series has shown us to this point. A worst-case scenario would be that this ends up as subtraction by addition. Something tells me that probably won't happen, thoug?h. A detailed and fleshed-out world is exactly what most Tolkien fans want.

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Hope this isn't an embargo-breaker!

Even though the video says it's a paltry five seconds long, the?? meat is actually even less. It's two seconds. Orc looking like he wants to fight, ranger riding a dragon, everyone yelling. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am, we're out.

But, this teaser is in service of a March 8 Middle-earth: Shadow of War gameplay reveal. While Warner Bros. will have its take on what's new, so will we. We saw Shadow of War in San Francisco at GDC l??ast week, and we'll have our thoughts on all the changes that? WB showed us.

For now, enjoy these two seconds of teaser. You can watch it a whole lot? of times between now and Wednesday.

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OF COURSE!

Not content to simply sell you the game, WB Games has unveiled the "Mithril Edition" of Middle-earth: Shadow of War for?? a quaint $300. Included in the package comes the "Gold Edition" of the game alongside a steelbook case, a war chest, 12" statue, the soundtrack, a cloth map of Mordor, a magnetic replica of the "Power Ring," a collection of lithographs, a stick??er pack (joy!), and a collector's box.

In another surprise twist, this collector's bundle is only available at GameStop. The retailer also has a listing for a "Silver Edition" of the game (costing $80), but doesn't detail the differences between that and the "Gold" variant. All of these aforementioned dif??ferent versions are listed for both PS4 and Xbox One, in cas??e you are worrying.

At least if you were que??stioning how WB Games was going to milk cust?omers, you now have an answer.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War Mithril Edition - Only at GameStop [GameStop]

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Sequel to the best Assassin's Creed game

Fans of Monolith's take on the classic Lord of the Rings saga will be happy to know that a sequel is in the works. Leaked by Target, Middle-earth: Shadow of War seems to be the title of the upcoming game. The description on the Target website (which has since ceased to be) reads, "Go behind en??emy lines to forge your army, conquer Fortresses and dominate M?ordor from within."

The much-touted "Nemesis" feature from the first game will be making a return. In ad??dition to that information, a "Gold" version of the game was listed which included two story expansions, a different playable character, new abilities, and extra side missio?ns. The "Gold" version also comes with some exclusive "Nemesis" content in the form of an extra Orc fortress and specific tribe.

The release date was listed ?for August 22 and will cost $60 for the standard and $100 for the "Gold" on PS4 and Xbox One. Seeing as how the past game launched on PC, as well, I'd assume the game is also coming to that platform?.

Shadow of Mordor sequel Shadow of War leaked [PC Gamer]

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Too busy right now

It's a bit weird for me that we're getting a new Xenoblade Chronicles game in the first year of the Nintendo Switch. Barring any unforeseen delays, we'll be returning to this wonderfully expansive sci-fi world once more before the end of 2017. I thoroughly enjoyed the original game on the Wii and was fascinated by Xenoblade Chronicles X, but I know with the latter gam?e there was a lot of frustration w??ith the localization.

If you were one of the people who didn't care for X's translation in the west, know the team behind that job, 8-4, won't be doing it for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. On Twitter, company co-fou?nder John Ricciardi told a fan who was hop??ing 8-4 would be localizing the game that his company is "busy on other stuff."

There is currently no word on who will be doing the localization this ti????me around.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2's Localization Will Not Be Handled By 8-4 [Siliconera]

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Still need to start this series!

Monolith Soft is bringing the next installment in the Xenoblade series to the Nintendo Switch. There's no release date yet other than "2017," but it sure looks purdy, and ?I always love a JRPG on a new console.

Oh, and Yasunori Mitsuda is behind the music, so get ready to feel alternatively rockin' and sad in your hear??t.

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