Gaming News Week 2

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

You may have noticed the absence of news over the holiday weeks. We were ready for it, but there really wasn’t much news incoming, it seemed like every company had time off to celebrate Christmas and the new year!

But, with the year underway, here’s our news for these past few weeks.

Tales of Seikyu Announcement Trailer

China-based Ace Entertainment has shared the announcement trailer for Tales of Seikyu, a fantasy-style life-sim RPG game set on an island named Seikyu. This unique world is home to mystical yokai from various cultures, each enjoying their secluded life on Seikyu.

You’ll embark on an enchanting journey in a life-simulation RPG set on the mystical island of Seikyu. In the world of yokai, foxes and tanuki can transform into various other yokai creatures. The protagonist can also use this power to become a tengu and soar through the sky, transform into a slime and dive underwater, or become a wild boar and run across the grasslands.

Engage in crafting, cooking, farming, romance, pet care, husbandry, and town customisation. Contribute to developing a tavern, casino, and other features in the vibrant town of Seikyu. Prepare a scrumptious feast for your yokai companions by cooking many delightful Japanese dishes. Explore the expansive in-game world, gather diverse ingredients, and research recipes to enhance your culinary skills.

Discover a multitude of companions in Seikyu. Boldly forge connections with individuals from diverse backgrounds, listen to their tales, and embark on exciting adventures together. Strengthen your bonds by inviting them to your farmhouse for hot spring gatherings, themed pyjama parties, or Japanese dessert-filled afternoon teas. In Seikyu, every experience becomes more delightful with companions by your side.

A Kickstarter campaign is in the works, and you can find the Tales of Seikyu Kickstarter page here.

Momento Announced

A cosy room decorator was announced by developers Fat Alien Cat and Nomo Studio for Steam. Momento is made as a collaboration between these two small Australian studios consisting of three parents. Between the three of them, they have over 15 years of experience working in games, visual effects and animation. They wish to focus on creating small, heartwarming, and delightful games that give players the chance to reflect and relax from the stresses of life. And they did just that: Momento promises whimsical settings, relaxing gameplay and charming branching narratives. Journey through a life where the objects you choose to keep influence the life you lead.

The key elements of Momento are:

• No limitations on how you can decorate. Players can decorate their rooms however they want, there are no limitations or gameplay restrictions. The only limit is your imagination.

• Highly replayable with multiple endings and a unique playthrough each time. Every player is given a different set of objects to decorate with, providing a unique experience for each player even when they experience the same endings.

• Creative Mode. As players discover the various endings they will unlock the items and rooms they have found in creative mode. Allowing players to create their own stories and express themselves. Using photo mode, players can share their creations with their online communities.

No release date yet, but we will be on the lookout!

Ahro: Release Your Spirit to Fly

We are curious about the upcoming title Ahro, to be released on the Switch and on Steam in the first half of 2024. This side-scrolling adventure is developed by Oeh Interactive and published by Nakana.io.

Joe Vile, founder of Oeh Interactive caught my attention when he said this about the game: “Ahro is an experience about anxiety, working through your past, and coming to terms with it all. The game was born out of my personal struggle with panic disorder.

I wanted to place the focus on an ordinary character dealing with his own issues and then place the wars and world-changing events in the background (like it is for most of us). Ahro is not a warrior or a superhero, he’s not saving the world. He’s an average person who’s experienced personal trauma and loss. Ahro is me and you.” 

Check out the trailer here:

Cozy Exploration Bundle

Multiplayer desert survival game Wildmender has teamed up with dino ranch simulator game, Paleo Pines, to create the Cozy Exploration Bundle’ on Steam. This Steam-exclusive bundle offers players a 10% discount on both games.

We reviewed both games on LadiesGamers, and gave them both an I Like it a Lot. For Paleo Pines, Valerie wrote in her conclusion:

Ultimately, I’d say Paleo Pines is a well-made game, worthwhile if you don’t mind spending a good chunk of your time repeating routines. Many hours in, riding dinosaurs and befriending them still feels novel! Taking a trip into town to see how I could help the neighbours felt like almost all of the purpose I needed.

Paula reviewed Wildmender, and concluded with this:

Wildmender is an engaging and thoughtful simulation about freeing the Gods and breathing new life into a barren desert environment.  What begins as a game about the dry, barren land and as you delve into the mystery behind the fallen civilisation, it soon becomes a story about harmonious relationships. The story engages you and urges you to play on to discover its secrets.

Strange Horticulture on Mobile

PID Games, Bad Vikings and Iceberg Interactive are delighted to announce that Strange Horticulture is coming soon on iOS & Android. I see it expected in the AppStore on March 26th, 2024, at € 4,99.

Strange Horticulture is an occult puzzle game in which you play as the proprietor of a local plant store. Find and identify new plants, pet your cat, speak to a coven, or join a cult. Use your collection of powerful plants to influence the story and unravel Undermere’s dark mysteries.

Elena reviewed it on Switch back then and wrote this in her conclusion, giving it an I Like it a Lot:

Strange Horticulture is a beautiful investigative game. I was drawn in by immersive writing, simple but rewarding gameplay, and a fine level of polish in visual and sound effects. I loved the quiet, mysterious atmosphere and well-designed puzzles. But looking back, what I liked most were tiny details—sounds, especially. Crinkled pages turning, shop bell ringing, drops of water falling.

It’s an experience you want to soak in. That makes Strange Horticulture more than just a puzzle game.

She also remarked the user interface on the Switch version felt a bit inconvenient manoeuvring around, but that was in 2022. If they remedied that, it might be a good fit for mobile!

Cosy Detective Adventure Chronique des Silencieux

Pierre Feuille Studio has revealed that the hand-drawn historical detective adventure Chronique des Silencieux will launch for PC via Steam on January 29th, 2024, priced at $24.99. The news was accompanied by a new trailer, which you can see below.

Set in 1970s France, Chronique des Silencieux sees players step into the shoes of Eugène Faury, a rookie private eye investigating the peculiar case of Victor Dousvalon – a stubborn old history professor who shrouded his life in secrecy.

You will need a keen eye and sharp mind to solve this delicate mystery as you are thrown headfirst into the case, meeting a colourful cast of characters that you have to question in an attempt to sort fact from fiction. Only by following the right leads, digging through secret documents and investigating decades-old lies will the truth finally come to light.