RockPaperShotgun reports on the trailer for Netflix animated series Dragon Age: Absolution which is set in Tevinter like Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.

We’ve finally got a proper look at the upcoming fantasy animated series Dragon Age: Absolution, heading to Netflix on December 9th, thanks to a new trailer. The series is made up of six half-hour episodes following Miriam, an elven mercenary, and it’s set in Tevinter. That’s where the next Dragon Age game, Dreadwolf, will take place, too. Have a watch of the trailer below. 

[...]

Larian has released an update on Patch 9 for Baldur's Gate 3.

Dev Blog: Patch 9 is Coming

Hello everyone,

Like a team of infernal reindeer, the next major update for Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming in for a smooth yuletide landing — yes, new features will be live before the year is out, accompanied by a festive Panel From Hell that will give you a peek at what’s to come in 2023!

In the Community Update accompanying that Panel From Hell, we’ll go into detail about some of the most discussed topics in the community. The good news is that we’re on track for release in 2023 – and we’ll have more on that in December. Acts 2 and 3 of the story are being actively playtested to ensure they’re up to the same level of polish and you’ll soon discover that there’s much more in the works (or already complete) than what you’ll encounter in an Early Access playthrough. Our goal is for even the players who have repeated Act 1 over and over again for hundreds of hours to feel like there’s a whole new experience in store for them at launch.

We're still paying close attention to all your feedback, bug reports, comments, your fan art and jokes – they sustain us, so please keep them coming or we will grow desperate and you’ll discover us consuming pigs’ blood in the middle of a Belgian motorway like a certain vampire spawn. Whatever it takes to get the game out, you know?

In all seriousness though, it takes time to tell a great story, implement feedback, and iterate on such a large game, so we want to thank you for your patience as we get closer to Patch 9.

We’ll see you in December – the dress code is “Christmas from Hell”. 🎄😈

Behind the Scenes: Motion Capture

We’ve just opened up a new, dedicated motion capture space in Guildford, so while we have you here and we’re telling you things, we thought we’d give you a little peek behind the betentacled curtain into one of the most important tools in our storytelling arsenal: our motion capture tech.

A typical day at work at Larian Quebec

We have been working with motion capture for years, with mocap-ready studio spaces constructed at our offices in Ghent, Kuala Lumpur, Quebec and Dublin.

Having multiple locations has meant that each team could be empowered to try out new ideas, experimenting upon and refining animations without having to wait for another studio to come online. Having spaces across the globe also meant we could capture data anytime over the 24 hour period, allowing for continuous development. 

[...]

The comedy RPG Shadows over Loathing has been released:

Shadows over Loathing

Mobsters, monsters, and mysteries — welcome to Shadows over Loathing, the shady side of an already black-and-white world, and a follow-up to the award-winning West of Loathing.

Your Uncle Murray has requested your aid at his antique shop in Ocean City, but upon your arrival the old man is nowhere to be found. Your investigation into his disappearance and the artifacts he’s been collecting takes a turn when you stumble across some shadowy plots (and a bunch of squirming eldritch tentacles) that threaten to bring about the end of the world.

Explore a sprawling open world chock full of danger, quests, puzzles, and stick figures in this single-player comedy adventure/RPG set in the prohibition era of the Loathing universe. See how many enemies you can stuff into a phone booth as the athletic Pig Skinner, control the curds and whey of the cosmos as the cunning Cheese Wizard, or march to the beat of your own inscrutable purposes as the hip Jazz Agent.

Features:

• Thousands and thousands of jokes, gags, and goofs
• A bunch more locations, items, friends, foes, and familiars than West of Loathing
• The same quality line art you’ve come to expect, but way more of it
• Superior stick-figure customization
• Strategic turn-based combat (but only if you want it)
• A corrupt government for you to overthrow at your leisure
• Authentically baffling 1920s slang
• Multiple cursed antiques
• Inappropriate fishing
• Non-Euclidean horrors from beyond the edges of the screen
• A time-travel side-quest given to you by your future-self
• An infinitely tall building
• Sentient math, talking frogs, and pettable cats
• No booze, as far as the feds know 

The Action RPG Valkyrie Elysium will be released today:

Valkyrie Elysium

This new game presents an original story, set in a world that teeters on the brink of destruction.

You play as a Valkyrie who is entrusted with the fate of this world by the All-Father - the highest among gods and the ruler of all creation. Descending to the land below, you must battle powerful foes, and uncover the secrets behind the impending ruin.

To take on the many dangers of this world, you’ll engage in fast-paced combat, using a variety of weapons and magical abilities to triumph over your adversaries. The game’s dynamic combat system fuses features from across the series, such as finishing moves and combos, with a brand new real-time action combat system that rewards both fast reactions and strategic thinking.

GamingBolt checked out the farming sim Harvestella:

Harvestella Review - The Final Verdict

The Action RPG Lilium has been released into Early Access:

Lilium

Lilium is an action role-playing game taking place in a very small, but dense open world. It has a short, interesting main story, several side quests, dungeons and exciting secrets waiting to be discovered. Find your fun by interacting with your surroundings, develop your character, loot everything. 

Some gameplay by Wizard Worm:

Shattered Hourglass is a classic J-RPG that's available on Steam since 2020:

Shattered Hourglass

Shattered Hourglass is a challenging Turn-based JRPG with freedom of choice. Your choices along the journey shape your story as well as your party members. There will be many difficult choices where you have to make and all of them has consequences. Levelling up your party members will unlock new skills and Job Classes that will help you in your long journey. Also, did I mention there are over 60 bosses to fight? Yes, that many.

FEATURES

• 40+ hours of content with 10 different endings
• Story-driven gameplay filled with many optional activities and dungeons
• Four different story routes to take. Each decision you make changes the story, permanently
• 5 character party system with 9 playable and 6 temporary characters to join your journey
• All party members have unique Job Classes and skills to fulfil every role
• Over 280 Items, 260 Armors, 240 Monsters, 130 Weapons and 70 Bosses to find
• Unique side quests, bounty missions, easter eggs, puzzles, riddles and quizzes
• Arena Battles: Rank up in the arena by defeating bosses and get rewards
• Identify Book: Stores all of your Item, Weapon, Armour and Monster data
• Karma System: Any critical decision you make gets saved into ‘Karma Book’ like a diary
• Housing: Upgrade your house with parts, decorations, animals and crops
• Fishing: A huge fishing journey to catch 48 unique fishes from all over the world

SUMMARY
In the peaceful mage town, Habon, every kind of mage you can imagine lived there, carefreely.
Everything was in serenity for them, but not for the one kind of mage who can do wonders.
A unique mage that can shape the future and can change the tides of fate, called Time Mage.

If any mage can change the tides of fate by altering history, that alone makes them a threat.
It's against the world's flow and must be stopped. Time mages are no different than criminals to one person known as the Mage Slayer. One way or another, all Time Mages are going to commit that crime, someday. Are you going to resist your fate or be prey for that slayer?
Only time will tell.

Prepare to get lost, save the people you care about, meet the most opposite party members, explore the new worlds, fight against the most fearsome creatures and travel in time!

Set your goal and change everything you want.
Be good, bad, neutral or be the great housekeeper!
It's your choice. the world spins around you.
But never forget, you are the Hourglass that can be Shattered.

The tactical RPG Tactics Ogre: Reborn will be released today:

Tactics Ogre: Reborn

Tactics Ogre, crown jewel of the tactical role-playing genre, is reborn!

Based on the 2010 release, the game features improved graphics and sound, as well as updated game design, bringing to life a new Tactics Ogre that remains true to its roots. Tactics Ogre veterans will experience a game that surpasses their fondest memories, while players new to Tactics Ogre will discover a game unlike any they've ever played. Reborn and deeper than ever, the game enables players to immerse themselves in the world and intrigue of Tactics Ogre like never before.

The Story
The Valerian Isles, jewels of the Obero Sea. Long a center of naval commerce, the people of the isles struggled throughout history for dominion over her shores.
Finally there rose a man to put an end to this conflict: Dorgalua Oberyth. But history would know him as the "Dynast-King." King Dorgalua strove to stamp out the hatred among the people of the isles, and for fully half a century, Valeria knew prosperity.

Yet upon the king's death, civil war erupted anew as three factions vied for control: the Bakram, who comprised much of Valeria's nobility; the Galgastani, whose people made up the majority of the isles' population; and the Walister, who numbered but few.

The isles were soon divided between the Bakram and Galgastani, and an uneasy peace settled across the land. Yet none believed the calm would last...

Tactics Ogre: Reborn Features

• Your choices affect how the story unfolds, and even how it ends, with a game system that allows for multiple paths through the game and multiple endings. The story takes place through the eyes of a young man named Denam. The decisions he makes will alter the fate of those around him, and shift the course of Valeria's history.
• Fight pitched tactical battles on three-dimensional battlefields. The completely revamped AI enables enemies to adapt their tactics to the situation, providing a battle system that always keeps you thinking and never grows old.
• The class-wide level management system used in Tactics Ogre (2010) has changed to a unit-by-unit level system. Theorycraft your way through endless combinations of classes, equipment, skills, and magic.
• Enjoy numerous playability improvements, such as a quicker pace of battle, auto save, and a complete overhaul to the controls and UI to make it easier to get into the game than ever.
• The unparalleled details of the characters and backgrounds from the original Tactics Ogre (1995) have been recreated in high definition, while the detailed pixel art that gives the game its unique feel has been preserved and enhanced.
• The cutscenes are fully voiced in English and Japanese, and all of the music has been rerecorded with live performances! The voices bring new life to the complex motivations of the characters that make up the factions and shifting political alliances of this epic story.
• When you advance far enough in the game you'll unlock the World Tarot, enabling you to travel back in the story with the power of your forces intact; an incredibly useful feature in a game where your choices have such a huge impact on how the story unfolds. If you wonder what a different choice would have led to, now you can find out!
• Traveling back isn't limited to the story; the Chariot Tarot lets you rewind up to a certain number of moves during battle. In a game of tactical battles where a single mistake can mean the difference between victory and defeat, you can play without worrying that you'll back yourself into a corner.
• Enjoy a wealth of endgame content such as the 100-level Palace of the Dead. A world of endless stories and intrigue awaits!

Henriquejr spotted the update plans for King Arthur: Knight's Tale:

Update plans for 2022 - New DLC Challenges coming soon

Knights!

We have exciting news about some of the things we have been working on lately!

The game's first DLCs are on the way, and it's a treat for those who like strategic challenges and prefer pure combat. In the completely separate and brand new game mode - with multiple difficulty settings - players will be able to face unique enemy encounters in arena / skirmish scenarios. Certain NPCs from the campaign will make a return and new achievements will be added for completionists.

Just to tease things a bit, in one of these set of maps for instance you'll be in control of Sir Tewelyn and his Lost army with their well-known unique abilities. The first set of this skirmish setting will be available for everyone for free (as part of a game update), while the second and the third parts will be added as two separate DLCs. All three (including 10 pretty challenging encounters each) will be out really soon.

Additionally, the second season of Knight's Tale is in the works! This will be a free content patch for everyone, just like the current seasonal update, with a short story campaign, new mechanics and more. This time around, we'll be taking up the mantle of the Seelie Courts, so powerful magic and agile melee combat are both guaranteed. The second season is set to be released at a later date - stay tuned for more details!

Avalon awaits!

The Strategy RPG Lost Eidolons got a new patch:

Lost Eidolons Patch Notes (11/9/2022)

Tacticians,

We are releasing version GM1.02.00.R9
 
[...]

Please note that if you are playing at this time, your game will not be interrupted. You will be prompted to download the patch the next time you open Lost Eidolons.

Now, here's a word about this patch from Jin Sang Kim, our Creative Director of Lost Eidolons.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey guys,

As you know we are working hard on our big patch that will bring the New Game+ to you, and that means some changes will be made in preparation, like the ability to save the game after seeing the ending. We’ll do a full release of our plans for NG+ in the coming days, so be sure to leave your suggestions on Discord or Feature Upvote.

In regards to the suggestions that you’ve already given, I do feel bad that we haven’t been able to implement them all quickly and have been working on them based on priority. But we are chipping away at the list. For instance, we are adding the Y-axis invert function for the controller and the keyboard, and we fixed the ultrawide resolution issue so you can play under better conditions.

As for our next patch following today, we are aiming to make it so that we are Steam Deck compatible. And we will also adjust the difficulty level for chapters 8 and 18 as we’ve gotten reports that you find these chapters to be too difficult. On top of that, we are giving you the ability to manage the team and prepare better for battle when you restart. And finally, we’re going to add an option for you to adjust the UI font size.

We will continue to improve the gaming experience with your feedback. So please keep them coming!

-Jin Sang

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patch Notes

Community Requested Fixes and Improvements

• Function to Invert Controllers Y Axis
• Added the ability to invert Y axis for both the gamepad and mouse
• Ultrawide Monitor Support
• Fixed the screen cutoff issue on the ultrawide resolution
• Option to Hide EXP Gain Window
• Added the option to turn on/off the popup window to show EXP gain

Other Fixes and Improvements

• Added the ability to save after clearing the game and seeing the ending. (This is prep work for NG+)
• Added Switch Pro Controller support 
• Fixed the issue where some inputs on the control pads were recognized as double taps
• Improved control input handling overall
• Added helpful text about mounts in the tutorial
• Fixed the issue where the EXP popup gets stuck in the battle due to having a max-leveled Aide
• Fixed the issue of some soldiers’ hair clipping with the helmet
• Fixed the issue of Silence skill not working on the boss in Ch. 27.
• Fixed text issues for skills: Prudent Strike and Chains of Ascuasa skill for Balastar 

Thank you for your patience as we continue to fix issues and provide more improvements per your suggestions.

Mortismal Gaming reviewed Tactics Ogre: Reborn:

Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Review After 100%

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:15 Major Changes
• 05:47 Initial Choices
• 06:34 Story Set Up
• 08:05 World Tarot (NG +)
• 08:35 Optional Dungeons
• 09:58 Gameplay Loop
• 10:15 Progression Systems
• 14:52 Combat
• 20:16 Steam Deck Compatibility
• 21:01 Positives/Negatives
• 23:23 Conclusion
• 24:39 Wrap Up

Noisy Pixel checked out the upcoming Tactics Ogre: Reborn:

Tactics Ogre Reborn Review – Put The World to Rights Once More

Back at the beginning of this year, Square Enix and Artdink released Triangle Strategy, a strategy RPG that drew heavy inspiration from the 1995 Super Famicon game Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. Some people on the Square Enix team responsible for greenlighting things thought it was thus only fitting to rerelease an updated version of that original game with Tactics Ogre Reborn.

While Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together has seen several rereleases on the Sega Saturn, PlayStation 1, and PlayStation Portable, Tactics Ogre Reborn, a vastly inferior name, let’s be honest, will see the game come to PC and Nintendo Switch as well as PlayStation 4 and 5. I tried to play this game once when I was much younger and dropped it after I didn’t get very far. Then I just sort of forgot about it. So now’s a great time to try again and put the world to rights once more.

[...]

Tactics Ogre Reborn is a remake that filled me with joy and nostalgia for something I couldn’t even get close to beating as a kid. It’s an enriching experience with some of the best strategy gameplay around. I hope this leads to remakes of other Ogre Battle games and maybe Final Fantasy Tactics titles while they’re at it.

Score: 9.5/10

The Action RPG Asterigos: Curse of the Stars got a major update:

Asterigos: Curse of the Stars | New UPDATE LIVE! (1.04)

In the video titled 'Memories and Lessons' Mark Darrah explains Dragon Age: Inquisition.

We've finally made it to Dragon Age: Inquisition. DAI is the game that I am most proud of as a game. It most closely matches what we were trying to do. The PROJECT on the other hand...

Chapters:
0:00 Who am I?
2:09 Frostbite
7:33 Vision
15:30 A Day Trip and a Lunch...
23:24 Ray and Greg
25:52 Mounts
28:03 Multi-region Open-world
32:04 The Inquisition
35:57 The Hinterlands
42:12 Designer Hugs
44:06 Tactical Camera
47:34 Story
49:58 Size != Quality
52:20 Save AFTER Alpha
54:30 5 Platforms
59:39 Corypheus is the Villain
1:01:41 DLC and Expansions
1:05:11 DAMP, Hendrix, Multiplayer
1:12:48 Early Access
1:14:41 Box Art and Collector's Edition
1:18:32 GotY 2014
1:22:24 Time Machine Time

Social Media: Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/biomarkdarrah/

Thanks lackblogger!

The comedy RPG This Way Madness Lies will be released today:

This Way Madness Lies

Let us begin our tale, in the quiet city of Verona, Italy. A town for lovers... and giant, mutant flower attacks.

As the leader of the Stratford-Upon-Avon High Drama Society, Imogen is no ordinary girl! Sure, she goes to school every day and helps produce plays for the community, but beyond that, she's a magical girl! With her powers, she can teleport to alternate dimensions based on Shakespeare plays, fight back the forces of Nightmare, and still get back in time for dinner!

Join Imogen, Paulina, Viola, Rosalind, Miranda, Beatrice, and Kate on an epic adventure throughout the Shakespearean metaverse in this comedy JRPG!

• Unique, turn-based combat!
• Hang out with your friends!
• Put on plays!
• Shakespearean dialogue too difficult to parse? No problem with our unique Ye Olde English to New English translator! 110% accurate!
• Multi-character unite abilities!
• Teaches you while you learn!
• Get a pet!
• Pacing that doesn't waste your time!
• Fun for the whole family!

We believe that world needs more bite-size turn-based JRPGs - short, self-contained games that you can enjoy over a weekend or a few play sessions when you want a change of pace from big epics. Something that's all killer, no filler. We estimate that a single playthrough of This Way Madness Lies will take around 4-5 hours, depending on difficulty & playstyle, and we hope that you will enjoy every minute! 

Henriquejr spotted the new dev update for Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms:

Time for a new development update and celebrations!

Hello Champions!

As we already said in our Discord server, we are finally back in action after a crazy October! Last month has been full of meetings and we have been busy with a relocation in the UK [not moving the studio, just opening a new office here!]. The team in Italy worked hard during this week and we've just released a new patch, so check the latest changelog and download the latest version of the game which is full of quality of life fixes and some new cool stuff to check. We have to say that we are a bit late with the plan. It's not about contents, everything is almost ready, but we've realized on the way that splitting updates on the way is not the most convenient thing to do at the moment, considering what's happening around us. Time ago, we sat down and decided to go on with small updates adding locations, quests, chars almost on weekly bases.
We tried to work like this but we decided to revert and go big with a massive patch expanding the world map and including all the changes announced a few weeks ago. Again, nothing to be worried because nothing changes for the long term, but we really understimate what was happening around us and we already knew that development is not about coding stuff only and communicate things properly is pivotal. Even if we are looking for new people to join us, our team stays super small and business related stuff took 100% of the time of the people usually taking care of this [Alberto. Me]. We apologize for this but it is how it works. We literally didn't have time to sit and write down stuff: flights, trains and meetings in four different countries drained our energy. Not whining, all has been great but still a lot of work to do!
At some point we've announced that we were running for the Indie Development Awards at Game Connection and we are proud to announce that we've won Best Hardcore Game! Game Connection is one of the most important business event in the world and we love celebrating such an important achievement.

[...]

Henriquejr spotted the October dev update for the strategy game Alliance of the Sacred Suns:

October Dev Update, AKA All The Cool Stuff

...and there's been a LOT of cool stuff
Hello everyone! Steve here again with another exciting update - we’ve had a busy month, so let’s get right down to what’s improved and changed in Alliance since we last spoke!

MASSIVE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS

We took a hard look this month after the last demo feedback at the memory and storage systems of Alliance. Some people who were running 8 GB of RAM were unable to play, or the game would partially load before timing out. We want the game to run on no more than 4-6 GB of RAM, with an integrated graphics card, and we want a consistent 60 FPS target on all facets of the game, including the UI.

So we went back to the drawing board, and Brandon, our lead UI programmer, was able to use and integrate Unity’s Addressables system, along with intelligent resource pooling, to dramatically improve load times, game generation times, and most importantly, memory usage! The game should now run on at least a 6 GB machine, and we continue to work towards 4 GB machines as well.

In addition, load and game generation times have been cut by 60-70%. This is the most significant performance update we have ever done.

[...]

Henriquejr spotted dev update #33 for Solasta: Crown of the Magister:

Dev Update #33 - Warlocks: So anyway I started Blasting

Heya people!

Less than 1 week before the release of the Inner Strength DLC, coming out Monday November 14th! And you know what that means - it's time to talk about the last class of the trio. Warlocks!

Read the Fine Prints
So you're telling me you want to learn magic, but you've got no money to enter a magic academy and no ancient bloodline running through your veins? It's alright, just sign here and I'll take care of it. What is this? You can't read either? Even better!

Jokes aside, Warlocks are spellcasters whose magic originates from their pact with an otherwordly being - a pact that could be your stereotypical deal with the devil, a whimsical interest from a powerful fey, or even the protection of a compassionate entity. Their patron grants them power in exchange for services, a facet of the class that can be very interesting to explore on Tabletop but which could not be implemented in Solasta.

Starting at level 1 Warlocks get access to Pact Magic. This type of magic is very different from other spellcasters, as Warlocks know very few spells and have even less spell slots... with only 1 at level 1, 2 at level 2 and 3 at level... 11! What sorcery is this?! However they regain their spells on a short rest instead of a long rest, and all their spells are automatically upcasted to the highest level they can cast (which caps at 5th spell level)! This makes Warlocks very explosive spellcasters who can afford to go all in during each and every fight. Also, don't forget to learn Eldritch Blast - Warlocks' signature cantrip! It's by far the most powerful cantrip in the game, and it synergizes with many Eldritch Invocations. 

At level 2 Warlocks get their first two Eldricht Invocations. Those are like special Feats available only to them, which can go from granting them additional spells to greatly improving Eldritch Blast. There are a total of 22 Eldritch Invocations available in Solasta, and Warlocks can learn an additional one at level 5, 7, 9 and 12. On top of that, they can also swap one of them each time they level up so you won't ever be stuck with one you dislike!

[...]

TitaniumLegman discusses the latest Tactics Ogre: Reborn news:

Tactics Ogre: Reborn | Relic Equipment, Dungeons, Stat Cards and More

Tactics Ogre: Reborn | All The Latest Information You Need to Know

The Outerhaven checked out the comedy RPG This Way Madness Lies:

This Way Madness Lies Review - The Thespian Work is Done

MrMattyPlays speculates about the new Mass Effect 5 teaser:

Bioware Just Got SHOCKING News - HUGE Mass Effect 5 Tease, NEW Details, & MORE!

The dungeon crawler Ludus Mortis (=Game of Death) has been announced:

Ludus Mortis

Story
Over the centuries the Roman Senate has become corrupt and has progressively lost power and influence, while the Emperor Diocletian and his army ruled unchallenged outside the eternal city.
Seeking to return to a dominant position, the members of the Roman Senate decide to use necromancy to increase their power, creating an army of undead and demons to fight against imperial soldiers.

By waging war on its own emperor, the Senate has caused a rift in the Roman population, that slowly began to live in fear.
Year after year, the armies of undead summoned by the Senate have taken over, imposing themselves on the senators and enslaving the Roman population.

In this climate of chaos, an ancient gladiatorial school continued to train soldiers for the games. But the purpose of these gladiators is now different: to rid the city of the undead and invaders...to allow Rome to return to its former glory.

Gameplay
Ludus Mortis is a Grid-Based First Person Dungeon Crawler inspired by classic cRPG from the 80s and 90s. It's a party-based RPG ("blobber") with turn-based combat.

KEY FEATURES

• Create your characters choosing from 14 classes
• Manage and develop you Ludus (Gladiator School) by improving facilities, acquiring gladiators, crafting new equipment.
• Explore dozens of catacombs and dungeons.
• Manage your party changing formation, equipment and skills: you can try different combination for every different dungeon.
• Turn-based combat: think carefully and use your Action Points wisely.

RP Gamer checked out the RPG This Way Madness Lies:

This Way Madness Lies Review

This Way Humor Lies

Why the twin narrative pillars of Shakespeare and the magical girl genre have never previously found common ground in works of fiction is a question that scholars have shamefully only dared to whisper about on lonely winter nights deep in the bowels of dusty university libraries. It was left to Robert Boyd and Bill Stiernberg of Zeboyd Games to finally bring the two together, with a healthy dose of Eldritchian horror thrown in. Packed into a pleasingly tight seven-hour experience, This Way Madness Lies is an excellent blend of disparate genres, solid gameplay, and humorous writing.

This Way Madness Lies follows a group of third-year high school girls in the Stratford-Upon-Avon High Drama Society. The game doesn’t waste any time setting up the premise: not only are these girls accomplished thespians, they can also travel via dimensional portals to other worlds based upon various Shakespearean plays. These worlds are under attack from nightmarish monsters, and these young actors change into their magical girl forms to battle the beasts and rescue some of the most iconic characters in literature. Between their extra-dimensional duties, the girls attend an English Literature class taught by a stream of substitute teachers as the regular teacher suffers from an unending string of strange and unfortunate events.

[...]

Those minor quibbles apart, Zeboyd Games has provided a splendid experience from beginning to end. With a bevy of 50-100+ hour RPGs weighing down RPGamers’ backlogs and more always on the horizon, its smaller experience makes for a welcome, hilarious, and reinvigorating respite. With such great writing, beautiful art direction, and a battle system with just the right amount of depth for its length, This Way Madness Lies’ lovely bite-sized package is still as fulfilling an RPG experience as they come.

Score: 4.5/5

All Rogue Trader newsbits from Owlcat Games:

Rogue Trader Newsbits

1. Abelard Werserian: A Man of His Duty
2. Idira Tlass: Warp Powers Unchained
3. Theodora von Valancius: Of Power and Glory
4. Privateers of the Imperium
5. Pasqal Haneumann: In a Cage of Digital Vows
6. How to: Warp Travel
7. Cassia Orsellio: Gazing into the Warp
8. Rogue Trader Content Digest – Summer 2022
9. How to: Imperial Creed
10. Sister Argenta: The Soul Ablaze
11. Nature of the Aeldari

Niche Gamer has reviewed the J-RPG Star Ocean: The Divine Force:

Star Ocean: The Divine Force Review

To preface this Star Ocean: The Divine Force review with some disclosure; your humble author has a love-hate relationship with the franchise. The first three games are classic RPGs, but when it came time to move onto the seventh gen on HD consoles, Star Ocean struggled to maintain relevancy.

Star Ocean was always a mid-tier RPG series and when Square Enix acquired tri-Ace, there was an effort to make it bigger than it was. Star Ocean: The Last Hope alienated everyone with its insufferable cast and sloppy storytelling. It looked amazing, but God help anyone who tried to endure the voice acting and melodramatic schmaltz.

Integrity and Faithlessness further damaged Star Ocean‘s image with its corner cutting, shockingly small world, and worse story. Most fans can’t agree which one is worse, but maybe the latest entry can make them forget that last decade and remember what it is about these games they love? Is this 25th anniversary a eulogy or a victory? Find out in our Star Ocean: The Divine Force review!

This is a review coupled with a supplemental video review. You can watch the video review or read the full review of the below:

[...]

Star Ocean: The Divine Force is not a perfect action-RPG, but it does have a lot going for it that make it extremely enjoyable. It has top notch production values for the most part and it more than makes up for the utterly disappointing Integrity and Faithlessness. The the balance of awesome visuals, exciting combat and addictive exploration mark this entry as a series high point.

Score: 8.5/10

Pladio spotted that the second system update beta is now live:

Second System Update BETA is now live

The system update is on the public test branch. As we said earlier, the update grew in scope (twice as big as what was planned originally, if not more) and as a result took a lot more time than anticipated. On the plus side, it's very comprehensive and we hope you'll enjoy it.

Having said that, it's in beta for a reason (i.e. work in progress). We changed a lot of things (see the previous status update) and tested as much as we could, but there are bound to be some issues we overlooked. While we're very happy with the overall state (grazes work all throughout the game, critical chance and damage depend more on your builds, evasion works as we envisioned, reactions work better, item progression and feats are improved, etc), the numbers will still need some work, we couldn't test and adjust every fight yet, weapon stats need some work, attacks might not be fully balanced, economy changes are still ongoing, item progression might be off in some situations, etc.

There are some issues with save games affecting items that were removed. We'll fix it for the public release, but for now please start a new game to properly experience and evaluate the changes, especially considering the changes to weapon progression.

Your feedback will be crucial but it needs to be detailed and focused on the mechanics. If there's a change (or mechanic) that you dislike, please give the examples to illustrate the problem, reproduction steps, and saves to test the builds.

Enjoy the update.

CHANGELOG

[...]

WindowsCentral estimates that Diablo 4 will be released in April, 2023:

Report: Diablo 4 could be launching in April 2023, with preorders going live December

From the seventh Circle of rumormill Hell.

What you need to know

• Diablo 4 is the next installment in the legendary action RPG series from Blizzard. 
• A rumor over the summer suggested that Diablo 4 may be getting revealed at The Game Awards in December, and we now have some tentative corroboration. 
• Reported on the XboxEra podcast and corroborated by our own sources, it seems Diablo 4 could be targeting an April 2023 launch window. 
• The game should go live for preorder during The Game Awards 2022 if the rumors are correct, alongside various digital editions and a premium collector's edition with some rather fiery goodies. 
• [...]

The dungeon crawler Legends of Amberland II: The Song of Trees has been announced:

Legends of Amberland II: The Song of Trees

Overview:
Legends of Amberland II: The Song of Trees is a classic western RPG inspired by the games from the 90s like Might & Magic, Wizardry, Ultima, the Gold Box series and others. Using the classic first-person perspective, over grid movement, turn-based system to travel in an open world with fast travel options and a quick combat.

You lead a party of 7 adventurers, manually assembled or pre-made, on an epic adventure to fight the evil which lurks in Amberland. It's light, fairy tale, epic, heroic and slightly humorous. It does not take tons of hours to complete or require an endless grind to progress. Basically, it's a love letter from the 90s, the golden era of RPGs.

Notable features:

• First person perspective, 90 degree rotation, over grid movement (like in the 90s).
• Turn-based (both combat and exploration).
• Party-based (7 heroes, either predefined or manually assembled upon new game).
• Fast paced combat, especially blazing fast against much weaker enemies.
• Quick travel to reduce backtracking.
• Easy inventory management with separate personal equipment encumbrance system and an infinite magic bag of carrying for items not equipped at the moment.
• Open world with a big overworld to explore.
• Quests (including both main storyline quests and side quests).
• Rich world lore (spanning between all games of the series, but no knowledge of prior games required).

Technicalities:
The game was designed to look and feel like one of the old games while working flawlessly on modern machines, especially on very high resolutions. It has very low hardware requirements and should run on even very old machines.

About the relation to the prequel:
The Legends of Amberland titles can be played in any order you wish. They share the same world and lore (historical events) but each has a separate and self-contained story. There might be some mild references to events in the previous titles of the series, but more like a flavor, so it does not hinder the ability to play those in any order. 

The Adventure RPG Xploquest 3 will be released late 2022/early 2023. The first and second part are free on Steam:

Xploquest 3 Gameplay - First minutes

Xploquest 3 is a turn-based role-playing game where you explore an open world and manage your character. 

In Xploquest 3, every step is a fight and the game saves only in cities. There is no loot, you only find gold to spend on equipment, food and skills.

SplatterCatGaming checked out the upcoming action adventure Blacktail:

BLACKTAIL - Dark Open World Druidic Survival RPG

The pixel art RPG Caves of Lore will be released early 2023:

Caves of Lore Introduction Trailer

Caves of Lore is a turn based, pixel art CRPG in the classic style. 6 character party,  65+ spells,  65+ abilities, 65+ traits, 50+ monsters, dozens of quests, dozens of characters and a plenty of dungeons to explore.

News from the Turn Based Lovers:

Top Turn-Based RPG News and Releases of the Week - November 6th 2022

Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:10 A new horror dungeon crawler RPG announced
1:05 A new trailer for Octopath Traveler 2 introduces 2 heroes
1:44 Square Enix Wanzers will fight again by the end of November
2:23 Hero Academy will open its door to Nintendo Switch
3:07 An inspired Paper Mario RPG on PC and Consoles
3:59 A brand new RPG with robots and lots of stuff just announced
4:46 Finally, a release date for the blood-soaked tactical Warhammer football game
5:17 The retro-inspired RPG second installment has a release date
6:00 New releases of the week - Beneath Oresa
6:25 Open-world sand box RPG - Pawsecuted
6:55 GBA Inspired RPG - For a Vast Future
7:18 Outro

The story DLC Bloody Ties for Dying Light 2 will be released on November 10:

Dying Light 2 Stay Human — Dying 2 Know Bloody Ties Special

The Metroidvania Astlibra Revision is an enhanced version of Astlibra:

Astlibra Revision

Travel Through Unfamiliar Worlds
Explore a vast, dangerous, yet beautiful world. Broken up through multiple chapters, join the protagonist and Karon, his talking bird companion, as they confront time and fate.

Back to The Golden Age Of JRPGs, with Side-scrolling Action
Slashing, Smashing, thrusting countless enemies while building up stamina for powerful Possession Skills, which are enough to melt away anything that blocks your way, including huge bosses that could take half, or even more of the screen. Fight aggressively while thinking strategically, always pick up the most trust worthy equipment, and select the best suited skills to deal with ever changing circumstances.

Fight God-Like Boss Battles
Battle ferocious bosses throughout the story, each with their own set of attacks and challenges. Upgrading abilities and acquiring new skills are vital to finishing each battle and progressing through the protagonist’s story.

Multiple Ways to Build Your Character
A warrior mastered ranged combat with bows and throwing knives? A mage smashing enemies with staffs and cast magic at the same time? Play it in your way. Gathering experience to level up, collecting force to grow up, forging and mastering equipment to open up more tactical options.

Combat and Story, Why Choose When You Can Enjoy Both
14 years in development and more than 1 year for revision, award-winning indie developer KEIZO gave his all into this work. The plot keeps twisting as characters growing in an ever expanding world; Classic themes like time travel and tons of spoilers are all custom-made with the developer's own style. In ASTLIBRA, Story elements are often made into game mechanics, for example, your soul-mate Karon is not just a sidekick to talk with.

Fruitful Endgame with Even More Challenges
With 6 difficulty options, all kinds of players can enjoy the combat system at their own pace, but no one can finish all those contents casually - even after you "beat" the game, the Postscript after Final Chapter will provide extra story, new adventure and fresh system, tapping the potential of skills, equipment, as well as your imagination.

RP Gamer interviewed Matthias Linda about his upcoming J-RPG Chained Echoes:

Chained Echoes Interview

Chained Echoes is an upcoming JRPG-inspired game developer by Matthias Linda and published by Deck13, described as a combination of a fantasy world with mechs, magic, and airships. It is planned to be released in the 4th quarter of 2022 on PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. RPGamer was able to talk to Matthias Linda about what awaits players in the game.

Johnathan Stringer (RPGamer): Can you give a quick overview of the game’s setting and game mechanics as well as its inspirations? Who should be interested in Chained Echoes?

Matthias Linda: I would describe the setting as a mix of fantasy and steampunk. Mechs meet magic. In a world where birdmen and lizardmen are just a normal thing running around, it is a turn-based RPG where you fill up your party with up to 8 members and try to save the world. It is heavily inspired by games such as Suikoden 2, Terranigma, Chrono Trigger, and Final Fantasy VI. And I’m not telling anyone to be interested in the game, but if you grew up with the mentioned games, I really hope you would enjoy my game as well.

JS: What new twists to the turn-based battle mechanic are in Chained Echoes that will set it apart?

ML: I hope to have created a system which will be enjoyed by fans of turn-based JRPGs. However, it indeed comes with a small twist called the Overdrive System. Every action by the player, and by the enemies, influences the bar. Some actions will raise it, others will lower it. In the normal stage, everything is normal. If you reach the Overdrive section of the bar, you do way more damage and take less. However, if the bar reaches the Overheat, it is the other way around. From the feedback I received through the Kickstarter backers and my publisher, I seem to have succeeded in creating a combat system which feels super tactical and yet fast-paced.

[...]

The Daily Goat Show checked out the Action RPG Steel Rising:

Steel Rising | A Gamer's Review

The Escapist checked out the upcoming RPG This Way Madness Lies:

This Way Madness Lies Review: A Sailor Moon-Like RPG with Deep Combat

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if an RPG combined Sailor Moon magical girls with the collective works of William Shakespeare? Of course not, but indie developer Zeboyd Games fortunately did, and so we have This Way Madness Lies for review on PC. It takes a fun but bizarre premise, sprinkles on most of the gameplay mechanics from prior game Cosmic Star Heroine, and results in a pretty solid appetizer RPG to supplement your other gaming.

A Series of Stuff That Happens

This Way Madness Lies doesn’t so much have a story as it does a series of linear, disconnected events that justify getting into lots of fights. Six (eventually seven) Shakespeare-loving girls compose the Stratford-Upon-Avon High Drama Society at their school, where they put on different plays across the course of the school year. But at the same time, gateways starts opening to alternate realities that take place in the actual worlds of Shakespeare plays — and those realities are full of monsters for some reason. The girls use magical powers they’ve obtained to extinguish the monsters, solve problems for characters in these alternate realities, and shut the gateways between worlds.

[...]

The Review Verdict on This Way Madness Lies

This Way Madness Lies is the quirky, messy, quality RPG that could only be born in the indie scene. It doesn’t all fit together perfectly, and the story is simultaneously imaginative but also frivolous and insubstantial. However, the combat is excellent and demanding, and the pixel art does a lot of cool and impressive things (including full magical girl transformation cinematics). Overall, it’s no masterpiece, but the game succeeds at being what it wants to be — a bite-sized RPG that you can play and enjoy in small doses. You don’t have to be a Sailor Moon or Shakespeare lover to enjoy it, but it will certainly help if you are at least one of the two.

Score: 7.5/10