Mortismal Gaming checked out New Arc Line:

New Arc Line - Early Preview

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Couchpotato spotted a trailer for the Digital Deluxe Edition of Flint - Treasure of Oblivion:

Flint: Treasure of Oblivion - Digital Deluxe Edition Trailer

The Turn Based Lovers present games of their favourite genre:

Upcoming New RPGs And Strategy Games Of October 2024

Welcome to October and, with it, a wave of exciting new releases about to make their debut this month. Last month was jam-packed with new RPGs, strategy games, roguelites, and much more. Personally, I had a great time with Beyond GalaxyLand. If you missed it, you can check out my review here.

This month, my main focus is obviously on Metaphor ReFantazio. I’ve already started with the free prologue, and I have to say, it’s absolutely impressive from a technical standpoint. The combat system is dynamic and can be played quickly, with frequent opportunities to bypass weak enemies - avoiding those repetitive, grindy encounters. And then there’s the unmistakable Persona influence, but with a fresh twist that works brilliantly. In short, this is a triple-A title that’s a masterclass and a source of inspiration for turn-based gameplay.

[...]

• Shards of Realm – October 2 [PC]
• Tarnished Blood (E.A.) – October 2 [PC]
• Vestiges: Fallen Tribes (E.A.) – October 3 [PC/VR]
• Necro Story – October 7 [PC]
• Beloved Rapture – October 7 [PC]
• Dead Season – October 8 [PC]
• Spear Song – October 10 [PC]
• Sky Oceans: Wings For Hire – October 10 [PC/PlayStation/Nintendo Switch/Xbox]
• Guild Saga: Vanished Worlds – October 10 [PC]
• Metaphor ReFantazio – October 11 [PC/PlayStation/Xbox]
• 8-Bit Adventures 2 – October 18 [PlayStation/Nintendo Switch/Xbox]
• Wildermyth – October 22 [PlayStation/Nintendo Switch/Xbox]
• Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch – October 23 [PC]
• Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven – October 24 [PS5/PS4/Switch/PC] 
• Flint: Treasure of Oblivion – October 24 [PC/PlayStation/Xbox]
• Romance Of The Three Kingdoms 8 Remake – October 24 [PC/PlayStation/Nintendo Switch]
• Triangle Strategy – October 31 [Quest]

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Couchpotato spotted the summer update for Sacred Fire:

Improved NPC checks and more!

Hello everyone,

With the summer in the rear-view mirror, here is a short update about the development progress of Sacred Fire!

While it’ll take a little bit longer before we’re ready to release a new testbuild with a fresh batch of scenes from Act 3, there have been a couple of pieces of community feedback we’ll be testing.

There will be a direct way to turn off tutorial pop-ups fairly early into the game. While these tutorials are useful to people new to the genre, they’ve been bugging more experienced RPG players or streamers enough to let us know about it.

[...]

Prometheus Wept got an updated demo for the Steam turn-based RPG fest.

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Couchpotato spotted that the tactical RPG Shards of the Realm has been released:

"Shards of Realm" is coming to Steam

Immerse yourself in a turn based tactical RPG set in an expansive open world, where you manage a diverse party of heroes and construct formidable fortresses. Strategize in battles, explore vast lands, and lead your team to glory in a dynamic fantasy adventure.

The 2D-dungeon crawler Thyria has been released:

Thyria is finally out!!

Come and confront the challenges of turn-based combat and dynamic environment exploration.
Be the first to discover the world of Thyria, its strategic combats, its dynamic auto-fight...
Thank you and all the feedback from our players and testers, you are the best.

See you soon :)

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Game Rant says that Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous was the basis for Owlcat's publishing:

How Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Laid the Groundwork for Owlcat's New Publishing Arm

Key Takeaways

• Owlcat is becoming a publisher for indie games to help new studios bring their visions to life.
• Owlcat is using its self-publishing experience on games like Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous to guide its publishing efforts.
• Owlcat's publishing journey is starting with Emotion Spark Studios and Another Angle Games, with the company striving to mentor and guide them.

The recent announcement that Owlcat, developers of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, would publish a pair of indie games–Rue Valley and Shadow of the Road–shouldn’t come as a surprise to fans of the beloved RPG developer. The studio characterized the decision as a logical next step after self-publishing a few titles.

[...]

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Couchpotato spotted a short teaser for Atomic Heart - DLC#3:

Atomic Heart: DLC#3 - First Look Teaser

The tactical RPG Scourge of the Reptiles has been announced:

Scourge of the Reptiles - Announcement Trailer

Scourge of the Reptiles is a party-based tactical RPG set in a prehistoric fantasy world. When a meteor strikes the Earth, humans, elves and dinosaurs alike are gifted with magical abilities - abilities that result in war, devastation and forces that stretch far beyond the hero’s quiet home village.

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Jordan Weisman is working on a new Open World, Deck-Building RPG called Sea of Legends. It's coming to Kickstarter:

Give Me Infamy or Give Me Death!

Sea of Legends: Open World CRPG is a deck-building, narratively rich, open world computer role-playing game in which you will chart the course of your pirate character through their career from commanding a dinghy to a pirate fleet. Assuming success in this Kickstarter your pirate journey will include:

• Navigate the deadly politics waters, currying either favor or earning the wrath of the Kings and Queens of Europe.
• Sail the waters of the Caribbean engaging in sea battles and boarding actions. 
• Canvas the taverns of port towns for crew, rumors, gambling, and maybe romance. 
• Raid towns for loot and information
• Woo Lovers and defeat Nemeses 
• Fight one-on-one duels of honor 

And beware of strange tides which bring all manner of strange creatures, ancient curses, and angry gods to the surface!
Based on the successful tabletop game by Zach Weisman and Ryan Schapals, Sea of Legends: Open World CRPG will be the first large scale game built on the Adventure Forge no-code authoring platform which has been in development for over three years. 

[...]

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The DLC SpellForce: Conquest of Eo - Weaver's Realms has been released:

SpellForce: Conquest of Eo - Weaver's Realms | Release Trailer

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Couchpotato spotted a new demo of Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch for the Turn-based RPG Fest:

Improving Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch

Hello,

This is Jin Sang Kim, the creative director of Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch. I am very excited to present a demo of our game just in time for the Turn-based RPG Fest, as we get ready to launch into Early Access.

After showcasing a prototype of the game at PAX West last September we conducted two internal company-wide tests, a Friends and Family test, first official closed beta test in July, and a demo just last August. With each test we ran a survey and gathered valuable feedback from the testers, and implemented various improvements, ranging from quality-of-life updates to significant changes in game balance, music, and art style. All based on the feedback.

The feedback from everyone has been incredibly helpful in refining and improving the game, and we’ve worked to reflect as much of your thoughts as possible for this demo, now open to turn-based RPG fans.

Let me briefly explain the history of our development, the improvements we made for this demo, and the ongoing work that has yet to be implemented.

[...]

Couchpotato spotted some gameplay for Phantom Blade Zero:

Phantom Blade Zero | FULL TGS 2024 PC Demo Gameplay (4K @ 60 FPS)

The expansion Shattered Space is now available:

Starfield: Shattered Space - Official Launch Trailer

The immersive sim Albatroz will be released on November 1:

Albatroz is set to launch on November 1!

Get ready to embark on a profound journey!

Hello, everyone!

We’re thrilled to announce, alongside developer Among Giants, that the highly anticipated backpacking RPG, Albatroz, is now slated to launch on November 1, 2024. The game will be available on Steam at a price of $29.99/ €29,99.

Get ready to embrace a new beginning with an adventure! Follow Isla on a captivating journey through the 'Forbidden Lands' and uncover a rich narrative of self-discovery along the way.

The Adventure RPG Neon Blood will be released on November 26:

Neon Blood available on November 26th!

Help detective Axel McCoin start a revolution that will change the world on November 26th, 2024.

Neon Blood available on November 26th!

We are thrilled to confirm that Neon Blood will be released globally on PS4/PS5,XBOX,Nintendo Switch and Steam on November 26th, 2024. On the same day, a physical edition for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch will be released.

[...]

Take a look at the development of Metal Slug Tactics:

Metal Slug Tactics - A New Angle

The strategy RPG Tenebris: Terra Incognita has been released into Early Access:

Tenebris: Terra Incognita in Early Access!

Greetings, space troopers! The day has finally come!

Today, having fought his way through an army of bugs, Colonel Grom loudly announces the release of Tenebris into Early Access!

When we decided to begin development on Tenebris: Terra Incognita, we drew on Darkest Dungeon, but decided to change a number of mechanics, make the game more fair to the player, and at the same time keep the difficulty fairly high. Misses and failed odds on effects remain, but we set out to create a system where the outcome is up to the player, and mistakes can actually teach you something rather than making you hope for a different dice roll result.

We are fans of Star Troopers, so the action of the game takes place in the distant future. Brave soldiers with huge guns and the favorite smell of burning bugs in the morning - that's the atmosphere of our setting!

[...]

The tactical RPG Rogue Waters has been released:

Rogue Waters

Rogue Waters is a Pirate Tactical Turn-Based Rogue-lite. Play as Captain Cutter, commanding your ship and crew through procedurally generated encounters to seek revenge. Recruit, train, and upgrade crew, use powerful sea creatures, and engage in dynamic naval and melee combat to gain the upper hand.

Rogue Trader got a new patch:

Hotfix 1.2.1.10 is live!

Lord Captains! We are deploying a hotfix to deal with a few annoying issues discovered by the community over the days since release of the Void Shadows DLC.

Consoles will receive the same update within 24 hours.

Note that https://steamcommunity.com/app/2186680/discussions/0/4027970580228219058/ always contains up-to-date information on known issues and the roadmap of upcoming patches.

Patch Notes

• Some space battles could become stuck after defeating all enemies - fixed;
• Abilities in space combat could become unavailable after the first use - fixed;
• In rare cases, UI in space combat could disappear - fixed;
• The main enemy of the battle in Astropathic Chapel refused to die if the difficulty was set to Custom and NPC stat modifiers were set below a certain threshold - fixed;
• Since the last update, the player could experience severe lag when using some abilities such as burst attacks - fixed;
• The main menu button “Continue” used to ignore the existence of Grim Darkness saves, forcing the player to load game manually through the Load Game menu - fixed, now continuing the game is possible as normal;
• Making four incorrect choices in  quest no longer causes all party members to instantly die (which caused a Grim Darkness game over), only inflicting damage and trauma instead;

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Publisher CE-Asia announced that a free limited-time demo for their upcoming action RPG AI LIMIT will be available on PC via Steam between October 14 and October 21.

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Couchpotato spotted a new trailer for VOIN:

VOIN - Get Ready For The Demo | Convergence Games Showcase 2024

RPG Site checked out The First Berserker: Khazan:

The First Berserker: Khazan wants you to feel Khazan's journey - hands-on preview

Regardless of how you choose to classify them, "Hardcore Action RPGs" have quickly blossomed into a truly international genre - and Nexon and Neople's The First Berserker: Khazan is just the latest in a long line of them that have released in the past few years. We've known about it for a while, but we had our chance to finally go hands-on with the game during this year's Tokyo Game Show - and we're pretty happy with what we got to play.

Even after a few minutes holding the controller, I'm already looking forward to the next chance I have to go hands-on; The First Berserker nails the balance between having weighty animations, with responsive controls, and Khazan feels great in motion. Players can use light attacks and heavy attacks, with heavy attacks offering the ability for Khazan to charge them up to deal more damage to both poise and health; shielded enemies can easily deflect lighter attacks, meaning that players will have to endeavor to break their guard before they can make use of their faster light attack combo.

[...]

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RPG Site checked out Fantasian Neo Dimension:

Fantasian: Neo Dimension is shaping up to be the perfect Steam Deck RPG - hands-on preview

I don't need to tell longtime readers how we here at RPG Site feel about Fantasian; and even if you've only been sticking around us recently, Josh said as much when he covered Fantasian: Neo Dimension earlier this month. We love Fantasian around here, we ended up giving the game our highest accolades in 2021, and frankly we're all just happy that more players will be able to experience it a few months from now, once it's finally escaped its Apple Arcade prison - all the additional changes and upgrades to Fantasian with these ports are the cherry on top, really.

I wasn't originally planning on covering Fantasian for us yet again during Tokyo Game Show, considering the close proximity to PAX West. Even now I'm not going to sit here and explain what Fantasian is, since Josh already did so just a few weeks back. Truthfully - when Square Enix reached out offering another chance to play the game at Tokyo Game Show, I took them up on it merely because they said it would be a new demo build - and because I wanted to see the new release for myself. I wasn't sure what my angle was going to be or if there was anything specific I'd be able to latch onto.

[...]

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6 Eyes Studio explains the current state of Pathbreakers: Roaming Blades:

The current state of Pathbreakers

Hello everyone!

Now that Pathbreakers: Roaming Blades has been officially announced, we've received questions about our plans and timelines and such, so here's what we have so far.

Release Date
We don't currently have a clear idea of the release date, and there's still a lot of work to be done. It's an ambitious project, and as usual, we're not willing to compromise on quality to get it out the door faster. We believe sometime in 2026 for the final release is probably likely.

That being said, we are strongly considering an Early Access on Steam. We were very happy with the amount and quality of feedback we got for our previous game, Fell Seal, during its Early Access, and we're hoping for a similar result with Pathbreakers. As such, an Early Access sometime in 2025 is likely.

General flow of the game
Pathbreakers: Roaming Blades is going to be a less "well defined" genre than Fell Seal was. It has more varied systems and gameplay mechanics and is, in essence, more "multi-dimensional" than Fell Seal in terms of gameplay.

When the game starts, you'll get to select one of many origin stories. An origin story has a protagonist, with their backstory, goals, and starting situation. There'll be an option to create a custom one as well.

From there, you'll start somewhere on the Stormtossed Isle, a large island populated by multiple factions, some friendly, some hostile. You'll be controlling a troop of mercenaries, with a general goal defined by your origin story. The game is meant to be very open-ended and you can pretty much do whatever you want for the most part. Each origin story character has their own story and goal, but you could put it on hold and focus on exploring the world instead. Think of something somewhat like Skyrim on that front.

As time passes, you have take care of your expenses: salaries, food supplies, new gear, recovering from battle injuries, etc., so you'll need some income. You can focus on contracts for your company, trading across the various cities, or exploring the wild island in search of grand discoveries. Or you could do all of those things, or even resort to banditry (which won't exactly give your company a sterling reputation, but it'll pay the bills).

Map exploration takes place on a large world map, filled with roaming enemies and populated with cities, dungeons, and lairs to discover. Lairs contain hostile faction leaders, often barricaded and enjoying favorable terrain. Battling them will yield rich spoils, but it'll be dangerous. Dungeons will have your protagonist walk around in dark and dangerous environments, filled with traps, patrolling enemies, and hidden passages. But dungeons can be as rewarding as they are dangerous, and unique riches can be found at their heart, including legendary equipment and holy statues that will bestow powerful traits upon your company.

As you progress through the game, your overall goal is to amass worthy mercenaries and equipment. Mold them up into glorious combatants through your selection of advanced classes, stats, abilities, passives and traits. Only in this way will you truly be ready for whatever awaits you at the end of your origin story.

Inspirations
I think the closest match to what Pathbreakers is, would be a hybrid between Uncharted Waters: New Horizon (or Horizon's Gate) and Battle Brothers, which one could say are the 3 main inspirations for the game.

Pathbreakers has the same focus on exploration, trading, and combat as Uncharted Waters and Horizon's Gate, but with a combat system and contracts system more akin to Battle Brothers. The overall feel is closest to Battle Brothers, but with a significantly more complex trading system, a dungeon exploration system, and battles with more diverse options, through a system of classes and abilities. Each unit, at max level, will have access to 5 active abilities to use in combat, on top of the basic attack option and their equipped items. This leads to a lot more options on the battlefield and a more fantasy feel overall.

Visual style
Anyone familiar with Fell Seal can easily tell that we've decided on a very different art style for Pathbreakers. We've opted for a more traditional pixelart style for this one. There's always pros and cons to these choices, but all in all, we're hoping this will be a net positive. The biggest upside of the new style is going to be much more detailed and smooth animations across the board for sprites.

Otherwise, just like for Fell Seal, Pathbreakers will be boasting a lot of customization options for your mercenary units and you'll be able to change the colors of various pieces of their attire.

Another style change is going to be on the UI front, where we've decided to design the game from the ground up for keyboard and mouse primarily. It should have a much more PC-style UI, with easy-to-access tooltips and a very mouse/hotkey driven UI. We'll have full gamepad functionality as well (we are targeting consoles as well after all, although nothing is confirmed yet), but the recommended input is going to be mouse and keyboard this time around.

In closing
Remember to follow the Steam Pathbreakers: Roaming Blades page if you want the latest information about the game: we'll be focusing all our announcements right here!

- 6 Eyes Studio team

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The Turn Based Lovers reviewed Beyond Galaxyland:

Beyond GalaxyLand is exactly what you need to satisfy your craving for JRPGs

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GamingBolt checked out Shattered Space:

A YEAR LATER, Can Shattered Space Change Starfield's Fortunes?

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GamingBolt checked out GreedFall 2:

Greedfall 2 Early Access Review - Needs More Time To Cook

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Phantom Liberty is one year old:

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - 1st Anniversary

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Wuthering Waves 1.3 is now live:

Wuthering Waves Version 1.3 Official Trailer | To the Shore's End

Like every week the RPG Crawler sums up the computer and tabletop RPG news:

RPG News Roundup (9-28-2024)

Tim explains the pros and cons of GURPS for CRPGs:

Pros And Cons Of GURPS As A CRPG

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Skill Up asks the question...

Dragon Age The Veilguard is make-or-break for Bioware (feat. MrMattyPlays) | Friends Per Second #54

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Todd Howard explains the creation of large game worlds at BAFTA:

How Todd Howard and the Bethesda team create the massive worlds in Starfield and Skyrim | BAFTA

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Learn more about magic in New Arc Line:

New Arc Line: A Brief History of Magic

Greetings, Magicians and Technologists!

Today we want to tell you more about magic and its place in the world of New Arc Line. As we have told you previously, there’s a duality to our world - a simmering conflict between technology and magic. And even though technologists have the upper hand at this point in history, becoming a magician can still grant you awe-inspiring powers. So, let’s peer into the magic’s glorious past, and then see what its present has in store for you as well.

Glory Days of the Arcane Arts
In days long gone, magic and its practitioners ruled the world; and the most talented and dedicated mages could challenge and overcome the very laws of reality - imagine making a waterfall flow upwards, or constructing actual Penrose stairs leading to someone’s house. The most powerful among the arcane practitioners, those achieving the absolute pinnacle of magical excellence and performing true miracles, became known as the Weavers - godlike beings whom others worshipped and followed.

The Weavers' power was almost limitless; they weren’t just wielding magic, they were its very embodiment. With a wave of their hand, the world could change, and they ruled it without opposition. It was brimming with wonders and mysteries, but also teetered on the brink of chaos, and regular people were nothing more than shadows to the powerful sorcerers, just pawns in their grand games.

But a hero arose - Reus the Lawbringer, who wanted to bring justice and balance to the world, and while the sorcerers were blinded by their own grandeur, he worked in secret and discovered the true source of their power; he managed to erect a barrier that severely limited the power of magic and with that decisive act, caused the downfall of the Weavers. This event allowed technology to develop and thrive, bringing prosperity to the people, allowing them to shape the world by non-magical means.

Unfortunately, while magic no longer impeded technology, this only turned the situation around - as it was the spreading of new mechanical inventions that was now causing magic to fade even further from the world. And with harmonious coexistence an impossibility, the Mago-Technology Wars became inevitable - bloody and devastating conflicts from which the technologists emerged victorious, solidifying their status as the ruling class today.

[...]

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IGN presents some gameplay of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii:

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii | The First 13 Minutes of Gameplay

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