Author: Steve Heikkinen

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Preview: Team 17’s Planet Alpha is simple, tense and spell-binding

In the 90s, side-scrolling adventure games were the cream of the crop, and titles were built on a simple premise; overcome enemies and obstacles to make it all the way right to the end of the level. With the advent of 3D environments and isometric perspectives, interest in side-scrollers waned over time. It was only recently that the gaming community has seen a resurgence in the classic game formula, largely on the part of indie developers looking to bring new life to the genre.

Though it fits this basic mechanic, Team 17’s Planet Alpha is more than just a side-scroller. Here’s why.

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Captivating Credits:

Right from the start of the game, Team 17 clearly sets its adventure apart from other titles of its type, establishing a tone of mystery, desperation, and dread; it’s a game with an artistic personality. Rather than opening to a menu screen, players load Planet Alpha to find themselves staring at a humanoid in a retro spacesuit, standing on some sort of ancient platform on an alien world. There are no keys, no instructions, no interface, and no dialogue — just one sentient life staring forward, waiting for something to happen.

So, we just start moving to the right. And then we notice: our protagonist is limping. What happened to them? How did they get here? Where are they headed? Who is that other alien standing back there on that cliff? We aren’t told. We just keep on moving right, and the game soft cuts through a variety of barren environments, implying the passage of time as our hero (let’s call him/her the Explorer) makes the long trek forward through an alien desert. It’s ominous, artful, and engaging, all without uttering a single word of exposition.

The developer skillfully uses this introductory period to share its credits, hovering developer names softly over open areas of the screen as we watch the Explorer drag onward, finally collapsing before a cave mouth that looks suspiciously humanoid. This seems like the end of quite a long journey…

The Endless Pilgrimage:

And yet, it just goes on from there. We find our avatar lying down in a new place, jostle them awake, and then again move ever forward; the Explorer runs, walks, or jumps through beautiful, sometimes stunning settings, seamlessly blended together in a diverse and strange world. There are no load times, no more soft or hard cuts, and still never a word of dialogue an hour or more into the game. The only sounds to be heard are those around us or off in the distance, and an eerie, ethereal score that further immerses the player in the wonder and danger of this alien world.

With the exception of a few different button prompts for learning to crouch, push, and manipulate alien technology, the game relies heavily on us to figure out each puzzle, obstacle, and situation for ourselves. Softly highlighted, marked objects indicate something in the environment you can manipulate in order to progress forward. There are no verbal cues or text hints to help you, further adding to the feeling of isolation and the air of mystery the game successfully conveys at every turn.

One of the most interesting aspects of the gameplay is the importance of the day/night cycle; in particular, using nature’s day/night cycle as a means of traversing obstacles or evading enemies.

Can’t sneak past one of the game’s extremely deadly invading killer robots? You might just need it to be dark enough so the plant life to curls up its daytime blossom to form a large, person-size obstruction. Luckily, the game gives you access to powerful ancient platforms that let you manipulate the cycle itself. Over time, you use this power in new and interesting ways, each one feeling novel and unique, but never so complicated that the player is left completely in the dark (pun intended).

What a Wonderful World…

To call Planet Alpha a beautiful game is an understatement, and the art team for this title deserves high praise. Each and every environment has something interesting to look at, and while areas can appear similar, none are exactly the same.

For a game that does not attempt to communicate photorealism, every location has a distinct feeling; the creatures here are truly alive, that strange monolith in the distance is really there, the stars are actually traveling across the sky above this field, the cavern the Explorer crawls through is as vast a network as it appears.

With a visual style somewhat similar to No Man’s Sky, every setting is immersive to the point that the player feels that if they chose to, they could turn right or left and continue on through the same living world without missing a beat.

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To that end, the pacing is a part of the game that most players will never notice simply because it’s so well-constructed. ‘Boss events’ — which involves puzzle solving, not fighting — don’t feel staged or abrupt. Little flavor elements of the game, such as passing through a field of huge, foraging beasts, are treated with the exact amount of grandeur, never requiring you to stop and look at the world around you unless you truly want to. And when the Explorer does finds itself unable to move forward, the player doesn’t have to travel far to find some kind of solution.

And Yet, Deadly…

Some of the game’s most valuable teaching moments are those in which the Explorer is completely and utterly obliterated by one of the game’s many and diverse hostile enemies. When the Explorer takes damage, the colorful palette of the game fades into the greyscale. Given enough time, the color will return, but often threats are so large, fast, or powerful that our avatar is quickly and hilariously snuffed out.

Thankfully, the living, breathing nature of Planet Alpha is such that you are not the only prey — indeed, some of the most satisfying moments of the game are when you have an opportunity to put your enemies in view of one another, and watch them fight while you skate past.

Sprinkling seemingly random bits of mortal danger in between vibrant, gorgeous views gives the player an experience that is somehow both leisurely and tense. When you turn the page to the next chapter, will there be a beautiful valley of floating petals, or a dark chasm of War of the World’s-inspired tripods with lasers? The game rarely gives you hints of what’s ahead, rightly realizing that that’s part of the fun. By putting the player constantly at the mercy of their own mix of uncertainty and curiosity, Team 17 keeps our interest in what’s to come, and grants us constant awareness of our own fragile insignificance.

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Made with Love, Played with Love:

While many contemporary sidescrollers are fun and worth your time, it’s rare to find one as wonderfully crafted and detailed as Team 17’s Planet Alpha. The game is special; a side-scroller that keeps you often impressed, sometimes afraid and always engaged. Players looking for a casual-yet-immersive, familiar-yet-different gaming experience will find a lot to love here, and on September 4, we hope to travel to the end of the road with our courageous little Explorer.

How to prepare for World of Warcraft’s Battle for Azeroth

On August 14, 2018, the 13-years-running MMO giant World of Warcraft returns to the franchise’s central conflict: Horde or Alliance?

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In Battle for Azeroth, a world constantly at threat — whether from the undead, dragons, demons and olds gods — sees old wounds reopened in the form of heated, open war between the game’s two main factions. Whether you’re a new or returning player, here are the most important things you need to know to prepare yourself for the largest, most devastating conflict the two sides have ever waged.

Horde or Alliance

As the scope of war increases, so also do your in-faction choices. Key to getting started in BfA will be choosing your side (or which to play first). A big fan of Legion’s Nightborne? Well, join up with the Horde. Jealous of the Horde’s more lithe, pointy-eared elves? The Alliance gets their own version. Itching to play a Dark Iron Dwarf ever since the game was first released in 2004? Blizzard is giving you the fan-favorite option.

Sorry guys, these are still off the table.

Keep in mind, access to the new options isn’t a given; there are steps to unlock these ‘allied’ races which require some grinding through existing content.

Mount up…

Steps are also involved to gain access to class-specific mounts. Returning players may already see characters riding around on some fancy steeds. Whether you’re just getting reacquainted with WoW or still rolling through the current content, don’t get left in the dust of your fellow rogue or hunter.

And gear up!

As happens with every World of Warcraft expansion, the damage, stats and other benefits of new items (and more common) items will soon begin to overtake those of your most beloved epic and legendary pieces. Still, players who strive for those top-tier pieces will have an easier time in the first few levels of new content. Log in, grab your guild and create or join a Looking for Raid group that will get you that last ring, trinket, or chest piece that has been lagging several item levels behind the rest of your equipment.

With regards to Looking for Raid, those that love transmogrifying their gear will also want to make sure they complete these special LFR-only sets. Once Battle for Azeroth hits, Legion raids will no longer be available in LFR (and neither will the gear).

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Bid a fond farewell to artifact weapons

An interesting feature introduced in the current expansion, Legion, artifact weapons are also one of the first things to go in the new expansion. For players who skipped the current expansion, this is no worry. For paladins who enjoyed wielding the legendary Ashbringer, shamans who finally got to swing Doomhammer, and all those who enjoyed the special new weapons for their favorite specialization, it’s time to sacrifice your faithful friend in order to heal the wounds caused by the Sword of Sargeras.

Speaking of specializations…

WoW’s developers have spoken of a desire to return classes to the more unique feel they experienced in earlier versions of the game. Indeed, many classes are seeing big changes. Whatever you enjoy playing, it’s worth reviewing all the coming changes (some of which already arrived in patch 8.0) to determine whether you want to keep playing your druid or finally try your hand at the dark arts of the warlock.

Be warned: numbers are in flux

With a game as long-running as WoW, giving players new challenges means giving them tougher monsters, and giving players a growing sense of power to fight those monsters means giving them new and more powerful weapons. While this makes perfect sense, it can result in stat numbers growing to the point where they become a burden to track rather than a source of joy.

The only solution? The developers squish those numbers. This time, it hasn’t gone so well. Players reading this article should be warned that though Blizzard is taking steps to fix the unintended consequences of stat shifting and scaling, you might still find an unbeatable murloc or two.

Hit the auction house

With every new expansion, some crafting materials become rarer and most expensive while others become cheaper. Check your bank to see what your stash is worth. To ease things, use an online price-checker tool like AHPrices.com to see how you can make a pretty penny before prices change rapidly with the new content.

Keep to your career goals

Make sure you have quick access to the newest recipes for your given profession by maxing out each one you can. While all professions are likely to see some interesting and powerful new craftables, one long-standing secondary skill is going away entirely; First Aid, a staple of the game since its launch, will now be retired in Battle for Azeroth, and advancements will be considered legacy achievements. If you fancy yourself a completionist, get on and make some bandages!

World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth DOWNLOAD HERE ▶️

The Violet Spellwing

With the arrival of the 8.0 pre-patch last week, you may have already missed out on some time-sensitive questing and grinding Blizzard put into place. The coveted Violet Spellwing from Heroic Argus is still available, and for those players who still don’t have it, Softonic recommends getting on board a run with Perky Pugs or a similar community group dedicated to getting players this fantastic Legion-era rare.

On a final note… water mounts

Word is that with a WoW expansion focused more on island-based locations and the high seas, water mounts will be more useful than ever. If you’ve got nothing else in particular to be focusing on, it’s time to make friends with a sea turtle.

Anthem: All Hail The Destiny-Killer?

It’s a question that’s popped up on message boards, in YouTube videos, across Discord chats, and likely as the 9:00 a.m. topic of many hushed game developer board room meetings:

“Is Anthem the Destiny-killer?”

Bungie and Bioware (EA), two studios known for mega-hits such as Halo and Mass Effect, respectively, are household names to even casual gamers, drawing in players based on their brand as much as their product. Each has a long history with a respectable record and thousands of devoted fans. So when Anthem was first hinted at in 2014, the question wasn’t whether or not the Bioware title would make a profit, but how high the new IP would sit in the halls of gaming reverence.

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From up on high, Bungie knows those halls quite well. Still running off goodwill from the Halo series, the studio released Destiny in 2014, an ambitious, genre-defining multiplayer epic. The game’s combination team shooter-RPG play style was arguably one-of-a-kind, and while many have attempted to replicate their feel, Bungie’s two titles in this series have kept well ahead of contenders. Despite considerable problems, 2017’s Destiny 2 remains the reigning champ in its weight class, and it’s still evolving and producing.

On Bioware’s end, it was not initially apparent what their new IP was all about – developers are known for being vague in the early stages when a game begins to formulate in a chrysalis of concept and code. Yet, when the first sneak peaks and screen captures were released last year, the community began to see what was brewing inside, and boy, did it seem familiar.

When one begins to describe the ever-approaching Anthem, the parallels become all too obvious. Like Destiny and Destiny 2, Anthem is clearly a loot-and-shoot, open-world MMO dipping into role-playing elements and class dynamics, where persistent characters progress largely through gear acquisition and upgrades – the best of which are acquired through cooperative play. As an in-genre alternative, Anthem checks all the same boxes.

Further, the thematic comparisons are strong, and stronger with each new bit of Anthem info we hear. To be clear, many contemporary game series make use of the post-apocalyptic setting to create an atmosphere of intrigue and mystery, or an environment fraught with danger. Some of these games focus on advanced technology as a means of progression and protection. Some do all of this better than others. But an expansive, post-apocalyptic sci-fi world where players tech-up and team-up to defend humanity against large-than-life otherworldly threats? Well, it’s a niche, but I can think of one popular little game…

And that game is hurting. Micro-transactions from dawn to dusk. Arbitrary, hidden experience barriers. Loot stagnation. Gameplay that is simply boring. (But mostly the micro-transactions.) The problems are almost as popular as the game itself and, according to many, Destiny may have already vacated its throne long before Anthem even arrives:

So, with such a clear path to victory in front of it, and the king crumbling under the weight of the crown, will Anthem succeed to capture a skeptical player base?

As one player put it to us, “Don’t do what Destiny 2 did, and you win.”

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In the EA’s E3 presentation this summer, nothing was done to diminish first-blush comparisons — in fact, they actually seem invited. As player frustration with Destiny 2 goes mostly unanswered, Bioware developers are quick to point out how its new baby very specifically and conveniently lacks all those same frustrations. The studio continues to engage with both content creators and the general public to provide assurances that this game may look like Destiny 2, but let’s be clear that it ain’t:

This kind of pointed messaging may not just be the developers’ playing cute and coy during promotion; it’s rumored that there is a lot riding on Anthem’s success, which necessarily depends on hitting Bungie where it hurts.

Still, make no mistake: Bioware is taking a risk, and they have stumbled before. And while a miss or two won’t sink a company, Anthem is definitely deeper into uncharted territory than Bioware has gone before. A studio that is best known as for producing story-driven, single-player games, with an emphasis on writing, voice-acting and overall plot, has never had to concern itself too greatly with the idea of a competitive twitch gameplay experience, an element that was critical to Destiny’s initial success. Can they prove to be adept at both?

Very possibly. First gameplay impressions have been promising, and the studio itself seems to be ever mindful of who they are. Both will be important. Whether Destiny puts up a fight or fades before Anthem’s arrival on the scene, Bioware will need to learn from Bungie’s mistakes by harnessing the goodwill of the players through delivery of solid, fresh content; keeping to promises made about costs and DLC structure; staying engaged with the community about possible changes; and – above all – creating a game that enthusiasts will legitimately enjoy playing.

This is everything we know about Fallout 76

Dust off your favorite set of power armor; in four short months, you’ll be on an adventure through the rolling, mutant-infested hills of post-nuclear West Virginia as Fallout 76 comes to PC, PS4 and XBOX on November 14, 2018.

Fallout 76 is easily one of the most-hyped entries in Bethesda’s popular series, and also one of the least-understood — both thanks in part to the notable transition from the familiar sprawling single-player RPG to an even larger and dynamic, online world.

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What we know so far:

Since the game’s announcement in late Spring of this year, questions have been flying about what Fallout 76 will be like, and what kinds of changes can be expected from previous games in the series.

Timeline and Premise: From the start, Bethesda has been clear that the game will be a prequel of sorts, taking place in 2102, a short 25 years after the Earth was devastated by nuclear war, and many decades prior to the preceding titles. The residents of Vault 76 (a nigh-sacred place referenced in previous Fallout entries) will leave safety on a mission to rebuild and recolonize the world.

Given that there are four games of post-nuclear hardship that take place after Fallout 76, the jury’s still out on their success with that.

Setting: As stated above, the game world exists in a space approximately four times the geographic size of Fallout 4 and, at least at launch, will be set exclusively among the country roads of John Denver’s West Virginia (the inclusion of this track in the introduction trailer was virtually obligatory).

Single-player or Multiplayer: Both, kind of. Bethesda has clearly (and ambitiously) designed a multi-player romp, while also declaring that single-player adventures are still viable, given that the player maintains an online connection. The proposed small population servers — with an option for private servers — seems reminiscent of the fairly successful GTA Online set-up; albeit, with a bit more environmental impact on the part of the players. Regardless of whether you want to establish a crew to plow through the wasteland or forage alone, the developers have exhibited a real awareness of the potential for griefing and trolling, with several proposed measures to minimize unwelcome interference.

‘Softcore’ Survival: Much about what makes the Fallout series attractive is the setting’s innate danger to human livelihood (see: generous interpretations of radiation poisoning), and yet the games have never truly existed in the survival genre. In Fallout 76, although players will no longer just have to worry about wandering through radioactive muck, but basic food and water needs also. Death itself isn’t so bad, either.

Gameplay: One of the big issues in transferring a single-player game to a multiplayer one is the necessary absence of a pause or turn-speed function. In previous entries, for example, the V.A.T.S. system was a critical aspect of gameplay, allowing players the time to deliberately and tactically target enemy body parts in order to maximize effectiveness. This feature, as well as other time-manipulation-dependent mechanics, will persist in Fallout 76, with the intent of players managing those strategic decision in real-time. The degree to which this will be successful, however, is not clear. Hopefully, any issues in translating these elements will be sorted out in the beta.

Roleplaying: While the series has never truly been at home in the RPG genre, classic elements of character creation and customization have always been a heavy presence. With Fallout 76, Bethesda seems intent on keeping these aspects important, yet fluid, allowing for deliberate-but-changeable traits — meaning players can mold their strengths to their preference as well as the needs of a given group set-up, similar in spirit to the specialization swap of MMOs like World of Warcraft.

Base-building: A favored feature of Fallout 4, base-building makes a limited comeback in the new title, with permanent settlements traded in for more mobile, shareable outposts. While some may mourn the loss of the well-planned settlement, moveable pack-and-go shelters seem a necessary adaptation to the unpredictable nature of online play.

Questing: Bethesda is shooting for dynamic missions and story-telling, with most quests handed out by discovered footage, terminals — even notes. Curiously, there will be no NPCS — it seems every other human you encounter in Fallout 76 will be another player. How this will jive with the RPG-heavy gameplay remains to be seen.

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Recent Developments:

Travel: If you’re excited at the prospect of roaming around West Virginia in a chugging buggy or a trusted steed, Fallout 76 may not scratch that itch. In a recent talk with Bethesda’s Todd Howard, it was made clear that mounted and vehicle travel won’t be a part of the game, though fast-travel options are still planned.

Newbie-cide and Griefing: Low-level players need not worry about being killed by experienced players fresh out of their exit from Vault 76; low-level players will be immune from PVP damage.

Nukes: Nuclear war is a big part of the Fallout lore, and the inclusion of player-generated nuclear strikes in the game itself has led to a lot of understandable debate. According to Bethesda’s Pete Hines, nukes will be tough to launch, come with a fair warning time, and are designed not to target players. Instead, nuclear explosions will change the landscape in favor of further exploration and greater potential for high-quality loot.

Mods: A beloved aspect of Bethesda’s games have been the ability for players to create their own modified game experience. With a persistent online world, the concept of game-breaking mods seems out of the question; however, Todd Howard recently assured us that mods will have a role in private servers.

DLC is DL-Free: Bethesda has expressed a commitment to substantive downloadable content— both large and small— that is free to players who have the base game. Earlier reports remain unchanged; purchases requiring actual dollars will be reserved to purely cosmetic upgrades. In the era of micro-transactions, this news is basically as good as it gets.

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What’s To Come: With only a matter of months to go, the biggest questions unresolved deal with basic questions of how it actually feels to play a multiplayer Fallout game, and how the story of the game can and will be influenced by a prequel edition.

As to the latter question, considerations as to whether or not the game will be the final entry in the franchise are simply too soon to ask— when Elder Scrolls Online came out, it wasn’t clear if we would get an Elder Scrolls VI, but that is now, thankfully, the case.

As to the former; it remains to be seen if the soul of the series is transferable to a cooperative or competitive style of play, but much of what we’ve seen lends itself to optimism. Learning from the mistakes and successes of other studios, Bethesda has demonstrated a conscious appreciation for what makes the franchise great, as well as the potential for players to share in one another’s experiences and story.

And we will be there with them, from start to finish.