Gaming News Week 12 - LadiesGamers

Come on in, get yourself a nice cup of coffee or tea and pull up a chair.

Over here, it’s been a busy week. Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key is out today, and of course, it needed a review. And while I was at it, a guide too. Over at LadiesGamers, we love making guides when we are fully immersed in a game!
Anyway, let me give you the news that caught my eye this week; enjoy!

Coral Island Original Soundtrack

Are you enjoying Coral Island in Early Access? Coral Island OST is now available to purchase on Steam! Enjoy more than 100 original soundtracks for € 9,99. You can find it here.

New Trailer for Gourdlets

Indie studio AuntyGames is making Gourdlets, a city-building sandbox. Place buildings and scenery, and then watch visiting Gourdlets arrive and interact with the world. Exactly the kind of gaming I like no objectives, no points, just building.

There’s a new trailer out, narrated by Gourdlets solo dev Preethi Vaidyanathan. It reveals two brand new features: the ability to customise the interior of buildings for visiting Gourdlets and a weather system! The building customisation feature is available to try now via the free demo on the Steam page.

Life by You: Create a Dream Life

Paradox Interactive, which you may know from Cities: Skylines, this week announced the simulation game Life by You. Coming to Steam on September 12th 2023, you can now already play it in Early Access.

Life by You allows players to design and live out the lives of the humans that they create in an
open game world where everything is customizable. You can create your own households, build your homes, and tell life’s many stories. There are real language conversations and the ability to switch from third-person to direct control gameplay. This will allow you to connect with your humans on an emotional level.

What makes it so special is that a wide variety of Creator Tools and Editors will allow players to tweak every aspect of their experience, allowing them to live life to the fullest – or break the rules as they see fit.

You can find more information about Life by You here.

Rogue-Like Platformer Elsie is Coming

You play as the android Elsie, embarking on a quest to clean up the world she calls home in this roguelike neon platformer. Start your journey in Sapir Wharf, a haven for all survivors of the attacks on Dr Grey’s city. From here, players will take the lighthouse teleporter and set out to the staple first location, the Eclipse Skyport, where you’ll encounter your first Guardian: Celestia.

Fight through a challenging hoard of enemies, defeat the boss at the end of the biome, and you’ll be rewarded with a selection of places to explore. Every playthrough will feature a selection of three biomes to explore, each differing greatly in art style and level design. Elsie emphasises playing the way YOU want to play, leaving progression through this dynamic roguelike platformer firmly in the hands of the player.

eShop 3DS and WiiU Closes Soon

Just a reminder: after March 27th, so in a couple of days, the eShops for the 3DS and WiiU are closing for good. This is your last chance to download some gems that, after the 27th, will be gone for good. Just a reminder: credit card payments have already stopped for these eShops, and so has the possibility to redeem cards. So you can only download and pay for games through the funds you have tied to your Nintendo Account on the Switch.

Meet Henry Halfhead

Sometimes an email lands in our inbox that immediately has us curious. Like this one from Lululu Entertainment:

Meet Henry, merely half a head, but with the peculiar ability to possess and control any object within their reach. Discover every object’s unique properties and abilities and cleverly combine them to progress through Henry’s not-so-ordinary everyday life.

Henry can become a knife to slice your morning toast, water your beloved plants as a watering can and can experience how much fun making your bed as bouncy wobbly pillows can be. A humorous narrator accompanies you on your journey through Henry’s life as you help them to rediscover their lost playfulness.

With over 150 items to possess and the ability to play local co-op, this should be a special game to play. It’s coming to Steam; a date is yet to be announced.

Block Tracks Trains Creative Building Tool

Block Tracks Trains is the passion project of one-man indie developer Splenbit and is a real sandbox game. Ever think back to when you had a train set in your youth? Now you can make your own train tracks on the screen or your PC. There are no goals or obstacles; it’s more of a creative building tool.

You can generate a random chunk of terrain to start your build. Modify the landscape any way you want; the dev tells us that in contrast to other train set builders, the terrain can be fully sculpted; it’s not just a height map. You can have tunnels, overhangs, etc., with various materials like stone, soil, gravel, grass, and sand! Build houses, bridges, mansions, castles, towers, lighthouses, and villas – from little blocks of wood, brick, and stone in this voxel world!

You can design your locomotives and carriage; almost anything can be painted; you can freely mix colours from the palette. There is also glowing paint and a matching Night View mode! Too much to tell. Paula is already giving Block Tracks Trains a trial, so we will have our hands-on verdict soon!

Having been available in early access for a couple of months, and in that time, it has been improved and extended. Now is available on Steam as the full game (find the info here) for € 9,75

Disney Speedstorm is Coming

It would seem that Disney has found its footing in video games. After the Early Access a year ago of the simulation game Disney Dreamlight Valley, it’s now time for the release in Early Access of Disney Speedstorm.

Do you like racing games? Disney Speedstorm is a hero-based combat racing game set on high-speed circuits inspired by Disney and Pixar worlds. Fancy driving from the docks of Pirates of the Caribbean’s Pirates Island track to the wilds of The Jungle Book’s Jungle Ruins map? I must say it looks good, as expected.

The game launches in early access on April 18th on Steam and all consoles, including the Nintendo Switch. And like DreamLight Valley, it’s made by Gameloft. You can buy three different types of founder packs and enjoy the game in early access. This means that eventually, the game will release for free with microtransactions, but as a founder in early access, you won’t be bothered with that for now. There will, however, be seasonal content for which in-game currency Tokens are required.

Here’s more info on the Nintendo eShop page.