Goblinz Studio released an alpha preview video of their upcoming tactical RPG Robothorium:

Robothorium - alpha preview

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Robothorium is a futuristic tactical RPG combining rogue like gameplay and turn-based combat. Lead a robotic uprising by playing the AI, choose your allies by taking decisions and manage your team of robots to free them from the Human domination. Get the best items for your characters and specialize them through their talent trees to succeed in an advanced combat system!

A new trailer has been released for the open world RPG Exzore: The Rising:

Exzore: The Rising - Official Gameplay Trailer (New Open World RPG Game) 2018

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Version 19 of Vigilantes brings us amongst others: better pacing, interrogations and armor mechanics.

Hope you're having a nice weekend. Vigilantes version 19 has just gone live. This update is somewhat different from previous releases: rather than committing a considerable chunk of time to building new features, we've emphasised tweaking existing features, balancing and bugs fixes. If you'd like to get a detailed run down of the changes, you'll can find out more in the below development video.

A new gameplay trailer has been made available for Stellar Tactics showing many of the new additions and changes to the game.

Contrary to IGN Screen Critics feels that Undertale is overrated:

Why I Feel Undertale is Overrated

Undertale is an adventure RPG styled game for the PC that has been extremely popular and loved for quite some time now. However, I have always questioned what makes this game so great compared to the other RPG titles out there. There are some issues I have personally found with the game that leads me to believe it is overrated for what it is.

My first issue with the game is the fact that it is considered an RPG despite the way the gameplay is. There are two routes a player can take within the Undertale: the Genocide route and the Pacifist route. Genocide is when the player kills every monster they encounter, and Pacifist is when the player spares every monster they come across. However, if the player takes the typical RPG Genocide route, there are consequences. I have a problem with this because a typical RPG would be for a player to defeat every single monster they encounter. However, Undertale punishes you for playing this game as a true RPG. Why consider this a true RPG if the player is punished for playing the game through as a typical RPG would be played?

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

The devs of Vaporum announced that the game is done. Normally that is accompanied with a release date, but not in this case as they are still working with some PR people on gaining momentum before the game is released, which might be somewhere in September.

We are very sorry for not posting for a while about the project, but the amount of focus we put into the game instead of writing about it was time well spent!

The game is done!

You can expect an announcement about the release date in the coming weeks.

These past two years have been a rollercoaster ride for us. We’ve fought on many winning fronts and it looks like the fight is nearly over. There are just a few slain foes who are here and there sticking out the fingers from their coffins:

• Fixing a few remaining bugs.
• Balancing the game difficulty.
• General polishing of the game.

These are basically done, but we are still vigilant to possible issues that might come at us from the dark depths of quality assurance.

We are also preparing the PR for the release in cooperation with pros in the field, which is, really, a new experience for us. We want to make sure everyone who might like our game will get to know about it — this is something you can help us with by sharing information about us.

There is a lot of organizational stuff that has still to be taken care of and since there are just 4 of us in the team + some help from external contributors, we ask for your patience. We are aware that we are hugely behind schedule, but we are planning to release the game ASAP, and September looks like a promising estimation.

Thanks Hurls!

Bleeding Cool has reviewed the Western RPG West of Loathing:

This Paper Town Ain’t Big Enough: We Review ‘West Of Loathing’

I really love playing games that don’t take themselves too seriously. Not so much to the point of breaking the fourth wall (with some exceptions who get it right), but at least taking whatever genre they have and making fun of the idea while also making it an interesting game. The Kingdom Of Loathing was one of those games where you got to play an RPG in a stick-figure world where it poked fun at the genre and some of the absurdity of it, but also gave you a great adventure to embark upon. Asymmetric has now created a sequel of sorts called West of Loathing, which I happily got to play for review.

[...]

West of Loathing is one of the best indie titles of the year, hands down. It’s an awesome experience and made me want to go back and play it again, choosing a different horse and side character. Even with its flaws, this was a fantastic experience with great replay value, as no two adventures can be the same once you make the early choices. I loved playing it so much that I didn’t care how many hours I spent glued to the screen. I highly recommend it both for the humor and the gameplay. West of Loathing is a must for RPG fans, and something so simplistic in nature that casual gamers will enjoy it, too.

Score: 10/10

IGN reviewed Undertale - and it got a perfect 10:

Undertale Review

Undertale’s clever understanding of the RPG mindset and fantastic writing make it an unforgettable experience unique to games.

I finished my first playthrough of Undertale in stunned silence. My journey had begun with dumb puns and silly puzzles, but the end affected me in a way I never expected. That’s kind of Undertale’s specialty — playing with our expectations of what an RPG should be, subverting them, and using them to drive a story unique to what games can do. Its strong writing, integration of gameplay with storytelling, and acute understanding of its audience all build to something that surprises at every turn.

[...]

The Verdict

It's hard to express just how much I adore Undertale without spoiling anything significant, but that's what I love about it. It tells its story in such a dynamic way, and with such a great understanding of the RPG player’s mindset, that it couldn’t have been told in any other way. It's a masterfully crafted experience that I won't forget any time soon.

Score: 10/10 It might not be pretty, but Undertale is absolutely a work of art.

An open word action RPG set in a medieval world, named Exzore : The Rising is now available on Kickstarter.

Tiny Shark Interactive Launches Kickstarter for Exzore: The Rising Open world action RPG features realistic character interactions and consequences,mechanical gadgets, modular crafting and more

London, England--August 15, 2017--Tiny Shark Interactive has launched the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for their upcoming open world action RPG, Exzore: The Rising for PC, XboxOne and PlayStation4, along with a new trailer for the game. The campaign will run through September 18 and may be found at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/864487186/exzore-the-rising  

"[Tiny Shark] looks like it has the basics sorted out and a clear direction for how the systems will work together. Exzore: The Rising has a lot of potential," said RPGamer. Commented One Angry Gamer, "The one thing that I was most intrigued by...was the crafting mechanic. This feature allowed players to tinker around with different sword combinations by mixing and matching hilts, blades and crosses. This could be one of the highlights of the game depending on how well it all plays out and how effective the different weapon choices are when you utilize them in combat."

Set in the medieval world of Eogaan, the game follows Damien Clive, former commander of the Exzore army unit, as he is emerges from the ashes of his betrayal to seek retribution and regain his honor. Exzore: The Rising features the use of "mechanical gadgets" which give special abilities to the hero and can be used in combat and exploration. The game also features a unique Affinity system, which affects the player's experience and how the story unfolds as the character interacts with the game world and the various factions, as well as an extensive combat system that allows players to mix and match Exzore abilities in a wide variety of combos.   Eogaan is split into four factions, each with its own community and rules. As you play, your interactions between the different factions will affect the game's story and how it progresses. Favor any faction of your choice to get special missions, rewards, benefits, and abilities. Each faction has its own motivations and agendas. The Affinity parameter will be altered as a consequence of player's choices in game. Every mission will alter affinity, increasing toward one and decreasing toward another. Affinities are important because they directly affect the character and mission progression, and play an important role in gameplay experience. Choose your faction and actions wisely, as they may alter how the story ends.

• Play as an Exzore - As Master Exzore, you have the ability to equip up to six unique mechanical gadgets at a time - to help in combat and exploration. Each of these gadgets is different from one another and offers unique special abilities.
• Faction Affinity System - Favor any faction of your choice to get special missions, rewards, benefits, and abilities. Each faction has its own motivations and agendas. Choose your faction carefully as it may alter the game progression and ending.
• Companion - Icarus, your pet Golden Eagle is your most trusted ally in the field. Use his abilities to perform various scouting activities, from spotting targets or treasures to aiding in combat.
• Dynamic World - Feel the game world react to various natural factors like time, seasons, weather (rain, snowfall, the wind), day-night cycle, etc. Player interaction and exploration alter the game world, making it more alive.
• Smart Characters and Enemies - Every character in game has his/her own mind and will develop through the game. Everyone, right from common town folk to your greatest enemies will get smarter and stronger as you level up too.
• Nonlinear Quests - Every quest in game is designed to be completed in many different ways. Every choice has its own unique outcomes and consequences.
• Unique Combat system - Indulge in well-crafted combat system containing smart and challenging foes. Mix and match multiple Exzore abilities in combination with your weapons to create powerful combos.

  Exzore: The Rising is expected to launch in late 2018

The Fall of the Dungeon Guardians enhanced edition has now been released.

Enhanced Edition !

The version 1.0i has just been released, and this is another important update that brings new features and polishing to the game.

This is the 8th big update since the initial release of the game on Steam, back in November 2015, and hopefully you'll agree that all these updates combined deserve the title of "Enhanced Edition" !

Before seeing a recap of all the improvements done, let's focus on the version 1.0i

So its main additions are :
- a better streamlined party creation with more info where it's needed
- a macro system to save & restore your team members' ability queue
- smoother rendering if you play with a refresh rate higher than 60hz
- new Toggle Selection icon that should make its use clearer when discovering the game

Full changelog can be seen here, as usually : http://steamcommunity.com/app/409450/discussions/0/490123727974362306/?ctp=8#c1457328392103001810
[...]

All Walls must Fall, a tactical RPG set in Berlin 2089, where the cold war never ended is now available on Steam Early Access. It is being developed by Inbetweengames, who were formerly working for Yager on Spec Ops: The Line and Dead Island 2.

All Walls Must Fall is a tech-noir spy thriller set in Berlin 2089 where the Cold War never ended. A game in the isometric action tactics genre, you command secret agents using time travel, social stealth and combat. Prevent nuclear annihilation. Bring down the Wall. Love, kill, and remix reality to explore the meaning of freedom in a parable reflecting upon current global issues in the mirror of a fantastic future past.

• Isometric action tactics game for download on PC, Mac and Linux
• Procedurally generated levels and campaign that plays different every time
• Developed by a team of former AAA professionals using Unreal Engine 4
• Sci-Fi noir Berlin as a divided city in which the Cold War never ended
• A parable that reflects on free will, moral ambiguity and the meaning of freedom
• Mixed 2D/3D art style of a propaganda poster brought to life
• Mind-bending time manipulation abilities
• Pausable real-time tactics with actions on the beat of the music
• Synaesthetic nightclub environments and audio
• A simulation sandbox featuring crowd simulation and destructible objects
• A focus on player agency and expression fostering different play styles including combat, hacking and social stealth using specialized secret agent characters
• An inclusive representation of the people of Berlin including their diverse cultural, sexual and gender identities

Ghost of a Tale has been expanded with a new location and new quests.

Indeed we’ve opened up a new location: the Northern Slopes (along with the old armory) but we also worked a lot on the existing Far Tower area. Not only is the location much prettier to look at (thanks to many new assets) but there’s actually stuff to do there now!

We’ve added 5 new quests to the existing 28, which brings us to a tally of 33 quests available in the early access version. The new quests range from quite easy to much more involved.

Furthermore we introduce a couple of new gameplay mechanics: among which are the “brisance kegs”. Those are in effect a sort of exploding barrel/nitroglycerin. They are heavy items which Tilo can grab and move anywhere within a certain distance.

And that’s what makes them special: every time Tilo takes a step the brisance bar fills up a little until it fills up completely and as you guessed… the whole thing goes ka-boom! So better not let that happen.

But that’s not all: the brisance is sensitive to shocks so Tilo can also throw projectiles at it to blow it up at a distance.

Conversely, Tilo can light up the fuse of the brisance kegs (using his candlestick or fire steel) to create a delayed explosion. Which will prove very handy throughout the rest of the game, against some enemies and also as a way to affect the environment.

The strategy RPG Age of Fear 3: The Legend will be released on September 2:

Age of Fear 3

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Turn-based strategy game that marries a tabletop wargame with elements of RPG. Deep and challenging gameplay, with a huge variety of units and skills, a hex-free battle system and a groundbreaking AI. Play as a dryad sorceress or a drunken dwarven lord in two story driven campaigns!

PC Gamer reviewed the western comedy RPG West of Loathing:

West of Loathing Review

Welcome to the Old West, where snakes are used as whips, cattle are demonically evil, and alongside stick-figure cowboys there are goblins, necromancers, and ghosts. A lot of ghosts, actually. There are ghost horses—
I ride one myself— and ghost cowboys, and an entire quite literal ghost town. There are even ghost pickles, and they're not the strangest things, or even the strangest food, you'll encounter.

[...]

It took me about twelve hours to make it through Loathing's main story (with lots of diversions and side-quests along the way), but I played another dozen hours just to continue exploring, to make sure I'd been everywhere and done everything, to unravel some of the RPG's truly strange mysteries, and to solve a handful of remaining puzzles, some of which are admirably elaborate. I had to create a spreadsheet with formulas for one—though maybe you're better at math than I am—and a spare envelope on my desk is now covered on both sides with notes, numbers, codes, and the names of about two dozen dead women (which isn't nearly as grim as it sounds, I promise).

West of Loathing is a wonderfully written RPG adventure, both fun and funny from its opening credits to whenever it is you decide you've probably read every last word in the game and realize, regretfully, that you've finished.

Score: 88/100 - The turn-based combat isn't the best, but it's a delightfully written RPG absolutely packed with humor.

Bloom has a new teaser trailer.

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A slow paced teaser for our indie game Bloom ( www.studiofawn.com ) still in development.

Underrail is still getting better:

Specialization and Veteran Level Changes

Hi guys. I did some changes regarding veteran levels which I originally introduced back in October.

First of all, player will continue to receive the normal amount of skill points when leveling up even on veteran levels now. Also, dervied stats such as health, detection and such will scale normally on veteran levels as well. However, players will also gain a feat every even level instead of every level when leveling on veteran levels. So basically everything is going to work as with normal levels with the exception of the feat pool being expanded with veteran feats once you hit veteran levels.

Allowing of the further skill scaling beyond the 25th level, however, requires us to provide some use for such high skill levels, particularly in crafting. To address this, the end-game areas and stores will have some of its loot/stock scaled up if the Expedition DLC is installed, particularly when it comes to crafting components. In the future, we also intend to address the problem of other non-combat skill scaling (such as social skills and hacking/lockpicking) by adding high level encounters/opportunities, so while currently it might not make sense to max out these skills, in the future it will have benefits.

However, the second, and more important change, is that on veteran levels you'll also get three specialization points.

You use these specialization points to further improve your non-veteran feats, often across specific dimension, as demonstrated in the GIF above. Your investment of points in any given specialization cannot exceed your veteran level (or the maximum allowed points for that specialization).

That's it for now. Let us know how you like these changes.

Gamereactor has reviewed the action RPG Fictorum:

Fictorum

A good spell-casting mechanic isn't enough to save Fictorum.

If we were to tell you an RPG existed that combined destructible environments with varied spell-casting you'd probably say that this sounded like something cool to try out, especially if you're inclined in the way of fantasy games, and at first glance of Scraping Bottom Games' Fictorum we also thought the same. This remained true for the first half an hour of play as well, but then the sheen of the initial idea and the fun mechanics wore off a little bit, and we started to see the cracks in Fictorum emerging.

[...]

As the hours crept into our playthrough though, we found ourselves asking why we were bothering, and that's Fictorum's biggest shortcoming. After moving from peak to peak, battle to battle, map to map, it all starts to feel extremely repetitive, especially when you cycle through the same events on-screen as well. Granted, we pick up increasingly better gear, upgrade ourselves, and trade a bit, but all of this is just different methods to take on the same repetitive formula.

In short, the excellent spell-casting mechanic at the heart of Fictorum isn't enough to produce a well-rounded and enjoyable experience. Sure, it's great fun in the first hour or so to blow up buildings or multi-shot some enemies with your spells, but once you've done that time and time again over a number of different levels, the novelty wears off very quickly, so much so in fact that we found ourselves just rushing through levels to the portals to get done quicker. Without any meat to really sink your teeth into, then, Fictorum feels a little barebones, although we're interested to see if any other games will take a look at its spell-casting and learn something from it.

Score: 6/10

West of Loathing — a slapstick comedy stick-figure wild west adventure RPG has been released:

West of Loathing

Say howdy to West of Loathing - a single-player slapstick comedy adventure role-playing game set in the wild west of the Kingdom of Loathing universe. Traverse snake-infested gulches, punch skeletons wearing cowboy hats, grapple with demon cows, and investigate a wide variety of disgusting spittoons.

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Talk your way out of trouble as a silver-tongued Snake Oiler, plumb the refried mysteries of the cosmos as a wise and subtle Beanslinger, or let your fists do the talking as a fierce Cow Puncher. Explore a vast open world and encounter a colorful cast of characters, some of whom are good, many of whom are bad, and a few of whom are ugly.

Features:

• a sprawling open world, chock full of danger, quests, puzzles, and mysteries
• lush hand-drawn black and white graphics
• full stick-figure customization
• thousands of jokes, gags, and goofs
• crunchy turn-based combat (but only if you want it)
• liberal use of the Oxford comma
• over 50 hats
• disreputable saloons
• several gulches
• a drunk horse
• NOTE: characters are not literally colorful (the game is in black and white)

Champions of Odin, a first person action RPG, will be making its way to Steam Early Access by August 25th. The scheduled release date for the game is early 2018 on Steam, Xbox One and the new Xbox X.

Champions of Odin is a first-person, action role-playing game that combines the fast pace and intensity of a first-person shooter with RPG elements. The story and theme of the game draw from Norse Mythology. You play as a magical frost giant named Gymir, who makes a deal with Odin, the god of all gods! Odin promises to revive the fallen Freya, the love of Gymir's life, if he will return important favors for each of Odin's godly champions. During this trying wartime of Ragnarok, the Champions of Odin need your help!

You can find some screenshots at the developers' site.

Colin McComb talks about designing the Everest Hotel in Wasteland 3 in their latest update.

Colin here to talk about some of the early design we’ve been working on for the game. Right now, I’m the narrative designer for an area in the northern reaches of the world map, a place originally called the Stanley Hotel. We’ve recently changed the name to “the Everest Hotel” - in part, because I wanted a name that fit the function of the hotel better. See, not only is this hotel up in the mountains (thus "Everest"), but it's also a place for a guest to sleep forever, or Ever-rest.

I need to give a special shout out to Alex Kerr, the level designer for this area. He’s taking ideas and really making them shine - discussing features, conversations, and quests, and then suggesting improvements after he begins implementation and blockout of the quest areas. You will see more about the work Alex is doing in a future update.

By the way, this being a design diary-style entry, I have to warn you that this whole section is FILLED with spoilers. Skip to the Crowdfunding Corner section if you don’t want the the hotel ruined for you.

If you’re still reading, this is your own fault.

Still here?

 

Rock, Paper, Shotgun tried out Grimoire and the reviewer liked it for what it sets out to do, but isn't likely to play it any further.

I admire the size of this thing, the vision of it, the dedication. The labour of love is clear, and I have no doubt that it is going to absolutely delight those who have flown the flag of The Olden Days Did It Best for decades. But I think of 600, 300, 100, even 20 more hours of my life spent this way, this glacial churn, and I cannot accept such a fate.

I’m glad Grimoire’s real after all this time, I’m glad it’s done what it set out to do 20 years ago, and I acknowledge entirely that its development began in a very different age of game design, that it has all been handled by just one man and, as such, certain expectations are entirely unfair.

Neither that or my curiosity about what it will throw at me next means that I can abide the grind, the desperately cumbersome user interface or the sound that makes me want to throw my speakers into the sea. I like Grimoire in many ways, but again, I would need to truly, madly, deeply love it in order to endure all that. I’m afraid that I do not.

VGU checked out the Action RPG Victor Vran: Overkill Edition:

Victor Vran: Overkill Edition Review

Victor Vran, originally released in 2015, left little impression on nearly anybody. Labelled a Diablo clone and thrown into the cultural waste paper basket, a small cult following eventually formed around the Van Helsing-esque ARPG. Haemimont Games have decided Victor Vran deserves another chance at mainstream success, collecting the base game and it’s DLC’s into Victor Vran: Overkill Edition.

Borderlands would be a more apt comparison to make over Diablo. Sure, the isometric camera and gothic underpinnings are 100% Blizzard’s demonic wheelhouse. However, take that away and you have the raw beating heart of an action heavy, loot driven, murder-fest.

Victor Vran is a simple beast. Plow through undead hordes, get loot. Rinse, repeat. Further fleshing it out is a roster of a dozen or so weapon types, each with two special abilities, as well as dozens of enemy types. Trading depth for variety, it’s this balance that keeps Victor Vran compelling after dozens of hours.

[...]

Thankfully Haemimont are imaginative enough to make interesting encounters with the tools they created. New enemy types are thrown at the player thick and fast, with their own quirks to figure out. Skeletons must be killed twice unless you can score an ‘Overkill’ on them. Elemental types may split into something more dangerous after death. Weaknesses and strengths must be measured to prioritize targets.

[...]

Victor Vran: Overkill Edition has a wealth of content. The various weapons, enemy types, and challenges kept me engaged for the hours I sunk into it. While the production values aren’t highest, Haemimont have created a hyperactive gothic hellscape to explore. I’m glad Victor Vran was given a second chance in the spotlight, or I may have missed this diamond in the rough.

Thanks Farflame!

Fextralife checked out the Early Access version of Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem:

Wolcen Lords of Mayhem Features

• Dynamic combat system: fast-paced combat system with weapon-based combos and charged attacks. Dodge, Dash, Hack, Slash and unleash devastating spells on your enemies.
• Open World: Discover the world and enjoy it at your own convenience.
• Custom player: choose your gender and customize your player, skin color, hair, beard, eyes etc.
• Tons of Loot: Weapons, Armor, Potions and randomly generated magic effects for more game play diversity.

Story and Setting

Before I get into the story and setting within the game, I’d like to first fill you in about how this game has evolved from a mod designed for Cryengine, to its current state.  The game was originally known as Umbra and had humble beginnings in an apartment in 2013 developing into a prototype that was featured at GDC 2015.  After getting some buzz, completing a Kickstarter campaign that raised $400,000 and becoming a full fledged indie studio we now have the early access title that is Wolcen Lords of Mayhem.

So now for the game. You play as a former officer of the Army of the Human Republic. After somehow developing magical powers, you are sentenced to death by your own people and decide to flee.  After escaping death, you are recruited by a mysterious group know simply as, Templars.  This is where your story begins.  You play through escaping an initial dungeon where at it’s end you activate a waypoint that is noticed by one of the Templars who brings you to the main town of Amarth where you will be sent on your first quest.  The story isn’t anything special but definitely borrows from other games.  There was even a soldier in the town who “Can’t fight anymore because I took an arrow to the elbow.”  Sound famliar at all?

[...]

Summary: Wolcen Lords of Mayhem is a game that has come from basically a proof of concept mod to a game that has a ton of potential.  WOLCEN Studio has been changing the game for the better since it was offered for early access last year.  They still have a long way to go but have a good base of a game that could flourish into something big.  The developers have a good rapport with the community and even offer a roadmap that shows what they have planned for gameplay, features, new abilities and even multiplayer coming to the game.  The game itself needs a little more content and polish if it wants to take on the big boys but it's in a position to make some waves if it shores up the ship. Note that this review score reflects its early access state and current price and is subject to change upon full release.

Score 7.5

Thanks Farflame!

The action RPG Fictorum has been released today:

Fictorum

A reign of terror never feels so satisfying as when you leave a literal pile of rubble in your wake. Giving wizards a much-needed makeover, Fictorum is an action role-playing game that features fully-destructible structures, a randomized node-based world map, and a satisfying magic system with on-the-fly spell shaping and customization.

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In Fictorum, your mage wields real, legendary power right from the start—unlike those found in most magic-centric games. Our magic system uses a dynamic and intuitive spellcasting and shaping system that grants the player an unrivaled level of customization and reconfiguration. Up to three runes can be applied to a spell, each affecting a different spell characteristic. The runes are easily swapped to suit the player’s current need, interest, or whim. You might amplify ice blasts to freeze enemies in place, expand the radius of a fireball explosion to crumble a bridge and hinder pursuers, or chain a lightning attack together to strike several targets in a cluster. Shaping makes spellcasting much more tactical and satisfying.

Rather than starting out as a hapless farm boy who stumbles into his powers and avoids enemies or entire areas until leveling up, players take on the role of an established wizarding badass, hell-bent on his mission for revenge. Yet challenge is abundant—the wizard must bring down a sprawling empire by himself, besting scores of bandits, cadres of Inquisitors, and hordes of corrupted abominations on his quest for vengeance. The protagonist has access to unlimited magical powers, making the game less about spamming that one spell that works passably well until it becomes upgradable. The experience is more about tailoring your magical arsenal, giving the player a wide range of freedom and the ability to effectively, efficiently, and enthusiastically destroy every obstacle. The randomly-generated world map features locations where every structure (from large buildings to bookshelves to tables to even a lone fork) can be demolished.

The strategy RPG Weaves of Fate has been released on Steam:

Weaves of Fate is a unique and epic blend of isometric role playing and tactical strategy. In the far future, a demonic invasion throughout all of time has been triggered as a result of humanity’s actions. With the timeline shattered and paradoxes cropping up, the game follows multiple characters in different time periods as they deal with the resulting challenges and conflicts. As fate’s weaves fall apart and the timeline fractures, the incarnations of reality decide to intervene. To preserve fate and destiny, Death himself must become mortal and enter the human realm to fix things.

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Key Features

• Level-up system: Make your heroes more powerful by upgrading their stats or unlocking new abilities and spells for them to use in battle.
• Replayability: Replay levels for a better rating and extra upgrade points to spend on making heroes more powerful.
• Powerful abilities: Teleport your character around the battlefield and obliterate enemies with powerful spells.
• Deep and engaging story, spanning across multiple characters and time periods.

@GameWatcher There has been no sign of life around The Mandate.

Just yesterday we broke the news that developer Playdek was quitting their troubled Kickstarter RPG Unsung Story. Today we have another Kickstarter RPG, that frankly we were personally more excited about than Unsung Story, but this one seems to be completely dead. We're talking about highly ambitious space strategy-RPG The Mandate, which raised $701,010 from 16,408 backers in 2013.

It is now August 2017, with the game two years out from developer Perihelion Interactive's estimated release date, and there have both been no updates from the developer since April. Furthermore Perihelion's own website is offline, and the developer itself may have been dissolved.
[...]
Recently backer 'Count Thalim' on the forum dug up legal documents suggesting that Perihelion Interactive has been dissolved, with The Mandate trademark not renewed since April. The final piece, The Mandate website and forum (which is still active with backers commiserating the game's demise), is due to expire on August 19 so it will be quietly taken offline then.

@IndieRetroNews Aeon of Sands is a love letter to dungeon crawlers.

Grimoire isn't the only game we should be talking about today, as we've also heard from the developers Two Bits Kid, based in Germany, that the dungeon crawler ' AEON OF SANDS ' is basically finished, although 90% of the mazes are in alpha state with all dialogues and graphics. Now for those of you that haven't heard of this game before, this dungeon crawler harks back to the days of Eye of Beholder or Lands of Lore and is a "Dungeon Adventure" story-driven RPG love letter to the golden Amiga, PC classics of the 90's.
[...]

You can get now information about Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord every week:

Dev Blog 03/08/17

Greetings warriors of Calradia!

It is an exciting summer for TaleWorlds Entertainment: our community & communications team recently showcased Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord at E3 in Los Angeles, and next month they will visit Gamescom, Europe’s biggest games industry show, to give hands-on demos to quite a number of journalists.

In the meantime, there’s something that we want to talk with you about. We realise that we haven’t communicated with you as frequently and as openly as we should have. We failed at connecting with our community, and sometimes it might appear as if we are not paying you as much attention as you deserve. We are incredibly grateful for having such fantastic support and we were unsuccessful in letting you know just how much we appreciate you being there for us over the years.

We want to improve our relationship and communication with you – starting right now. We know that you can’t wait to get your hands on Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, and we understand that after all these years you have a lot of questions. Moving forward, we think that the best way to engage with you is by being transparent, by opening our doors to introduce you to our daily work, as well as by having clear channels to communicate with you about everything related to TaleWorlds Entertainment and Mount & Blade that we can – or cannot – talk about at this moment in time. We are striving to create the best game that we can deliver, which is a tough task that has taken us many years, and it is your support that motivates us to work harder!

That is why we are starting a new weekly blog! Every Thursday, you will get to know who is behind Mount & Blade, the diverse and talented team of designers, artists, programmers and others that make the game possible; you will glimpse our struggles and hopes, our daily work, and our favourite parts of the game… We hope that you enjoy the read – and also that it makes the waiting easier! This blog will be available in several languages, because we value all of our different communities and their languages, there are no “first class” or “second class” players for us. At the same time, as we will explain later on, we currently cannot confirm that any particular language will be supported by the game at the day of its release. So please keep it in mind that if this blog is available in, say, Catalan, it does not automatically mean that the game will release in full Catalan.

In the coming weeks we will start a series of short interviews with different members of the development team… and who could be better to start with than TaleWorlds’ founder and CEO, Armagan Yavuz! Armagan founded the company back in 2005 and he is still the driving force behind it. If you would like to know something in particular about him or his work, then leave a question in the comment section and we will pick one to add to our Q&A.

We are also working to improve our social media channels so that you know exactly where to reach us – but we will tell you more about that later this summer. In the meantime, if you want to talk with us and keep up to date with everything relating to TaleWorlds Entertainment and the Mount & Blade franchise, you can find us on our existing channels on Twitter and Facebook – as well as on our official forums, where we just opened a new Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord section where you can talk about the upcoming game.

Moral Anxiety Studio released their RPG/Visual Novel mix The Tavern:

The Tavern is a dark fantasy adventure standing between Visual Novels and RPGs. It merges complex, text-heavy plot and interactive gameplay. Talk to NPC-s, explore your surroundings, gather clues and make dozens of minor and major choices to discover the game's mysteries.

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Plot Description

You play as mercenary named Nalia - a single mother who tries to earn enough coins to survive the winter. Your children need you to come back, but how are you going to act seeing the cruelty and rottenness of the outside world?

After all, the monsters, dark magic and barbarians from Southern Tribes are nothing in comparison with the human iniquity.

Your story begins when you approach a weird, isolated tavern…

Features

• Immersive, complex dialogues filled with player's decisions;
• Narrative battles;
• Multiple endings;
• Unique, personal story;
• Non-linear, elastic plot;
• Estimated playtime - between 1.5 and 3 hours with branching, hidden parts of the story.

After loads of missed launch dates, today is a date where the game is launched. Grimoire is available on Steam with a 10% discount, which still makes it an expensive game. 

The game is live on the Steam Store now. Time to rest for a couple of minutes before going to work on my next game. I'm going to take a 30 minute break, get a Whopper and come back. I am thinking of some kind of Japanese romancing sim that takes place in a boarding school with girls who are disfigured but have great inner beauty. I actually wanted to start on that game in 1994 but I got sidetracked onto this Grimwhatchamacallit thingy.