It’s that time again, time for the weekend gaming news! This weekend, we’ve got news about: My Time at Portia for sale, Orange Island’s growing composer list, Japanese gamers can learn how to be a princess, Fractured Minds released, Automachef in sales, Inkle’s Heaven’s Vault announced for Switch
My Time at Portia at a nice price
Ever since release, I’ve been a fan of My Time at Portia. This simulation game has kept me spellbound for many hours, and ChamZen even finished the entire storyline. If you have waited to pick it up until the bugs the game had were ironed out, now might be the time to plunge in. The game is for sale in the eShop at a 40% reduction, the sale ends November 20th. So for £14.99| € 17,99| US $ 17.99 it may be time to start the adventure. Want to know more first? Here’s my review!
Orange Island’s growing music composer list
A while back we covered news of Kickstarter Orange Island. A cute indie game that is being developed by Ted Sterchi and the team at Birthday Boy. This 2D platform game in the style of classic SNES games even being ported to the Super Nintendo, which is very special. It’s also coming to the Switch, by the way. (The article about the kickstarter campaign is here)
And now, the team revealed that the guest composer list for the soundtrack of the game adds another famous name: Soyo Oka is composing several pieces for Orange Island. Oka was in the news just last year when her soundtrack for the unreleased NES version of SimCity was unearthed and heard for the first time. Her composition on Super Mario Kart, Pilotwings, and SimCity (SNES) and time spent creating alongside Koji Kondo make her a verifiable Nintendo legend whose masterpieces are instantly recognizable for many gamers. On the guest composer list we also find the name of Hiroki Kikuta, the composer for 1993’s Secret of Mana. Orange Island’s soundtrack also features musical works by Ted Sterchi, artist Anton Corazza, and composer/music producer Mark Sparling.
Here’s a short clip of Oka’s first contributed full song.
https://twitter.com/orangeislandok/status/1193151445228490752?s=20
Japanese Princess title in the eShop soon
If you are into cute games with lots of mini-games and you love to decorate, this one might be a title to keep an eye on. I’ve been watching my first Netflix Christmas movies this week (yeah, I know it’s early still) and it would seem romance, Christmas and handsome princesses go well together. So if you want to learn what it takes to be a princess yourself?
In this title translated from Japanese as Pretty Princess Magical Coordinate you can learn how to be a princess. Decorate 20 rooms in the worn down castle and restore it to its former magical appearance. Create your own princess avatar with a selection of more than 50 beautiful dresses and a whooping 25 hair styles to choose from. The game offers a huge variety of options to create your own self as a princess.
Here’s the trailer, it’s in the Japanese eShop on December 5th. But whether it’s ever coming West is still unsure.
Fractured Minds released on Switch
Of course, real life isn’t always peachy as the fantasies of Christmas movies. This past week a very different game was released on Switch. Fractured Minds comes from the imagination of 2017 BAFTA Young Games Designers award winner, Emily Mitchell, who at 17 years-old found solace through game development.
Inspired by Emily’s personal journey through severe anxiety Fractured Minds seeks to create greater understanding and stand in solidarity with mental health sufferers around the world. In the game you will go on a deeply personal and emotional journey through the human psyche. Explore atmospheric and thought-provoking chapters, each symbolizing a different aspect or challenge associated with mental health. From isolation to anxiety, with everyday situations becoming distorted beyond recognition. Ashley is making a review for LadiesGamers, so stay tuned.
Meanwhile, the game can be glimpsed in the new launch trailer:
Automachef in sales
Another game, originally at a smaller price, that has a reduced price in the eShop is Automachef. It’s now 25% down, a sale that ends on the 20th of November 2019. Now Automachef isn’t a game everyone will like, it management, programming en logical thinking. Plus, it’s a good challenge. We wrote our review here, you can see for yourself if this one is a good addition to your Switch library. The price is now £8.24| € 11,24| US $ 11.24.
Heaven’s Vault coming to Switch in 2020
A game that sounds very interesting to me is upcoming Heaven’s Vault. At least, upcoming to the Switch, as it’s already released this week on the PS4. My interest was peaked, because I know and love several of Inkle’s games, like Sorcery!. And Heaven’s Vault sounds exactly like something I’d love, deciphering the hieroglyps. Read below what the game is about:
“Join archaeologist Aliya Elasra and her robot sidekick Six as they investigate The Nebula, an ancient network of scattered moons. Discover lost sites, freely explore ancient ruins and translate inscriptions to reveal the secrets of the Nebula’s past.
Decipher an entire hieroglyphic language in a puzzle mechanic with a unique narrative twist: every inscription you find has a meaning, and the translations you choose feed back into story, changing Aliya’s ideas about what she’s found. But be warned – you won’t ever be sure if your translations are correct.
The game has a non-linear design that allows you to approach the story in any order; backed up by inkle’s narrative engine, ink, which remembers every choice you make and every path you follow – and every path you don’t – and feeds that into what happens next.
Here’s the launch trailer:
That’s it for me this weekend. Have some great gaming times!