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All Articles: Earthlock: Festival of Magic
Flinthook, Earthlock: Festival of Magic, Bleed 2, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week
We don’t know what Nintendo has planned for tonight’s Nintendo Direct presentation, but it looks like 18 new games will be available to download from the Switch eShop over the next few days.
Leading the way (because the hero carries a grappling hook) is Flinthook, a roguelike side-scrolling platformer from Tribute Games. Available to download tomorrow, players will get to take control of the famed space pirate, Captain Flinthook, and board ships to steal booty.
But set to launch for the Switch today is Earthlock: Festival of Magic, a turn-based RPG from Snowcastle Games that was inspired by the first wave of 3D RPGs from the late 90s. Also available to download today is Bleed 2, a manic side-scrolling shooter from Bootdisk Revolution.
You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Switch
Tagged Earthlock: Festival of Magic, Flinthook
Minecraft: New 3DS Edition, Metroid: Samus Returns, NBA 2K18, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week
Are you ready for more Minecraft? Nintendo and Mojang teamed up to surprise launch Minecraft: New 3DS Edition on the Nintendo eShop earlier this week. The sandbox game is available to download exclusively for the New 3DS and comes bundled with five Skin Packs and two Texture Packs.
Other games available to download this week include Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS), an enhanced remake of 1991’s Metroid II: Return of Samus; NBA 2K18 (Switch), the latest basketball sim from 2K Games; and Earthlock: Festival of Magic, an RPG from Snowcastle Games.
You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged Earthlock: Festival of Magic, Metroid II: Return of Samus, Minecraft, NBA 2K18
New Retail Releases: For Honor, Sniper Elite 4, Halo Wars 2 Ultimate Edition, More
Five new games will be available on store shelves this week, and three of them will ask players to study the art of war…
The combat-heavy For Honor certainly fits the theme, and Ubisoft’s action game will pit some of history’s strongest warriors against each other. Coming to the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this week, For Honor asks players to choose their Faction (Knights, Vikings, or Samurai) and take them into battle in a single-player Campaign and an online Multiplayer Mode.
Another historical skirmish will be waged on the PS4 and Xbox One this week in Sniper Elite 4. Once again developed by Rebellion, Sniper Elite 4 transports players back to World War II and provides them with a series of missions for the Allies on the Italian front. The Day One Edition will also give early adopters the chance to kill Hitler in the “Target: Fuhrer” bonus mission.
It’s unlikely that future conflicts will play out like they do in science fiction, but Halo Wars 2: Ultimate Edition will give fans of the franchise a chance to try out 21st century tactics against Atriox and his Banished followers. The real time strategy game will be available for the Xbox One and as an Windows 10 Digital Code (which also includes an Xbox One download thanks to the Xbox Play Anywhere program), and the Ultimate Edition will be bundled with the Season Pass and a digital copy of Halo Wars: Definitive Edition.
And speaking of bundles, an Xbox One S 1TB + Halo Wars 2: Ultimate Edition Bundle will also launch this week, alongside a brand new Xbox One S 500GB + Forza Horizon 3 Bundle.
A different kind of war will take place on the racetracks of Ride 2, which will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this week. The hyperrealistic motorcycle racing sim will include more than 230 licensed bikes, as well as 1,200 real-world parts, 800 accessories, and over 30 tracks.
Finally, a special Retail Edition of Earthlock: Festvial of Magic will be released for the PS4. Currently available to download from the PlayStation Store, Earthlock is a turn-based RPG that features a very retro sensibility.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Earthlock: Festival of Magic, For Honor, Halo Wars, Halo Wars 2, Sniper Elite 4
Resident Evil 7, Yakuza 0, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8, more added to PS Store
It’s a big week for the PlayStation Store as developers and publishers plan to add more than a dozen new games to the digital storefront this week…
Let’s start things off with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, the latest game in Capcom’s long-running zombie saga. Resident Evil 7 promises to switch things up on the PS4 and many of the franchise’s most familiar characters won’t make an appearance in the game. However, there is a deranged family of cannibals to deal with, and full PlayStation VR support for the first-person horror title.
PS4 owners interested in a different sort of wild ride might want to look into Yakuza 0, which will travel back to the beginnings of Sega’s gangland tale. Players will learn all about how Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima got their start in the Yakuza, and they’ll experience the “unbridled decadence” of Tokyo in the 1980s.
Also available this week is a trio of RPGs that will most likely offer more uplifting stories. Square Enix has remade Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (previously a 3DS exclusive) for the PS4 as Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue. Bandai Namco will expand the Tales series with the pirate-themed PS4 adventure Tales of Berseria. And Snowcastle Games will bring their retro-inspired RPG, Earthlock: Festival of Magic, to the PS4 later this week.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Earthlock: Festival of Magic will be released for PS4 on January 27
Snowcastle Games originally released Earthlock: Festival of Magic for the PC and Xbox One last year. Yesterday the Norwegian developer took over the PlayStation Blog and confirmed that their RPG will also be released for the PS4 on January 27.
Lead Artist Fredrik Dahl also shared a few secrets about how Snowcastle tried to “honor and exceed” old-school RPGs with Earthlock:
Strategy is key to survival, not the grind.
“In the traditional turn-based RPG, I don’t think it’s a big secret that there’s a lot of grinding going on — to level up in order to beat a boss, for example. We’ve tried to limit that by focusing more on a tactical experience. Usually you can get through the bosses in Earthlock by choosing the right strategy, getting your talent board set up, and having the right character pairings. Getting wiped out is more often than not a case of having the wrong party setup.”
Earthlock: Festival of Magic is also in development for the Wii U, but it’s currently unknown when, or even if, it’ll reach Nintendo’s console.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Earthlock: Festival of Magic
Xbox Store Today: Earthlock Festival of Magic, Assetto Corsa, The Final Station, more
It’s time for another end-of-the-week update to the Xbox Games Store, and here’s what Microsoft has in store for you…
We start things off with Earthlock: Festival of Magic, a turn-based fantasy RPG for the Xbox One with a Norwegian influence. If that sounds like an interesting combination to you, then you’ll be pleased to learn that Earthlock is also one of this month’s Games With Gold freebies, and you’ll Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be able to pick up for free all this month.
Also available to download today is Assetto Corsa, a racing sim from Kunos for the Xbox One. Keepnig with our international theme, Assetto Corsa has an Italian flavor and features over 90 dream cars, “all rendered to an obsessive level of detail, each with bespoke handling and performance modelling taken from manufacturer’s real-life data and telemetry.”
Finally this week, The Final Station turns onto the Xbox One track from Russia, and it brings with it a train full of refugees trying to survive in a zombie-infested world.
More info on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Earthlock: Festival of Magic
Snowcastle will launch Earthlock: Festival of Magic on Xbox One for free through Games With Gold and PC on September 1
Snowcastle Games has announced that their turn-based RPG, Earthlock: Festival of Magic, will be available to download for the PC and Xbox One on September 1. But best of all, Microsoft has confirmed that Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be able to get the game for free next month through the Games With Gold program.
If you’re unfamiliar with Earthlock: Festival of Magic, head to Xbox Wire to learn more about the game’s Norse inspirations:
This westernized turn-based RPG, which in subtle ways reveals its Scandinavian origin, starts as a simple quest, but develops into a deeper journey. Play as Amon and join several unlikely heroes to save Umbra, a beautiful but harsh world that mysteriously stopped spinning thousands of cycles ago. Mix up your strategy to beat your enemies by crafting ammo and materials, harvesting elemental plants, and customizing your characters’ talent tree.
Earthlock: Festival of Magic is also in development for the PS4 and Wii U, and will likely be released for both platforms sometime this Fall.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Earthlock: Festival of Magic, Gamescom 2016
Kickstart This! Anniversary Interview: Bendik Stang of Snowcastle Games Takes A Turn to Talk About Earthlock: Festival of Magic
Earthlock: Festival of Magic was one of those rare Kickstarter projects that immediately grabbed our attention with its strong, colourful art direction, firm sense of genre, and polished gameplay. Its ambition was only matched by the passion of small Norwegian outfit Snowcastle Games, who, with only a couple of games under its belt, sought $150,000 to make a huge RPG for both PC gamers as well as the new generation of consoles. Originally featured in March 2014’s Guinness Aftermath Edition of Kickstart This!, Earthlock: Festival of Magic is expected to be released for the PC, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One later this year.
We caught up with Bendik Stang, Snowcastle’s Game Director, earlier this year to talk about the team’s progress from campaign to nearly-finished product, as well as their experience at the 2015 Game Developers Conference. He even shared two brand new pieces of concept art with us… (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, PS4, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Earthlock: Festival of Magic