Gaming News FI

Gaming News Week 21

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

The first months of the year have a lot of days off from work for us in the Netherlands. And fortunately, the weather is cooperating currently, so there is ample time to enjoy the sun and do some gaming as well!

Anyway, let’s take a look at the news that caught our eye this week; enjoy!

The Indie Houses Steam Event

Being LadiesGamers, this event caught our attention, of course! Running from May 25-31, The Indie Houses Steam Event is a weeklong celebration of women in gaming, highlighting over 60 great games featuring women-led development teams and/or female protagonists. The event page will include demos and discounts from a selection of titles (over 60 in total!). It also has a section dedicated to Girls Make Games, the program’s work, and the games girls have created through it.

The event will also raise money and awareness for the Girls Make Games Scholarship Fund. A portion of the proceeds earned by each publisher during the event will be donated to the GMGSF, which combines professional development and financial support to ensure underrepresented students have the opportunity to access STEAM programs at an early age.

A New Story of Seasons Multiplayer Title

This week, Marvelous games showcased their upcoming games, with some nice new tidbits included. One that I wanted to mention is that they are working on a new title for Story of Seasons. One that should take let you enjoy farming life like before, but with new elements added.

Image of the new Story of Seasons title with the chickens on your farm

Or, as they said:

We’re preserving all the cherished elements of the series while creating an entertaining farming experience that will reach more players than ever before.

And what’s especially interesting, is that the title should be a multiplayer game! How cool is that! Oh, and don’t forget, the remake of Story of Seasons: a Wonderful Life is close: release date on June 27th.

Concept art of how the multiplayer Story of Seasons game looks

Everdream Valley is Close

Ready for another farming sim? Everdream Valley is a vast farming adventure with a touch of magic. By day, you’ll restore your special corner of the valley. Raise various crops, care for a slew of animals, and help rebuild your grandparent’s farm. At night, magic dreams let you embody various farmland creatures to complete special challenges.

The game will first release on PC, PS4 and PS5 on May 30th, 2023, while the Nintendo Switch version will be released sometime in June 2023.

Daydream: Forgotten Sorrow

Meet Griffin and Birly, a young boy and his teddy bear, and join them on captivating adventures in a dark and mysterious fantasy world. Ravenage Games and Frozen Line have officially announced Daydream: Forgotten Sorrow for PC on June 14, 2023. Later this year, this lovely-looking game will also come to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.

Immerse yourself in the gripping story of a person who visualizes himself as a small child accompanied by a cute teddy bear. Solve tricky puzzles in this platformer, escape terrifying monsters, and avoid dangerous traps on a quest for inner peace. Overcome challenges, avoid traps and defeat enemies to help the man find peace.

If you want to give the game a try, you can now try the free Daydream: Prologue.

Cassette Beasts Now on Switch

We reviewed this game a month ago and gave it our highest score on Steam. And now, Cassette Beasts is also available on the Switch, Xbox and Xbox Game Pass!

In short, Cassette Beasts is a fantastic game with plenty of charm, great gameplay, and a groovy soundtrack. I could highly recommend it to anyone who loves playing a great game. The narrative aspects should keep a playthrough for about 8 – 18 hours, but those who wish to collect all the monsters and complete all side quests could expect to be playing for up to around 50 hours. There is plenty to do in New Wirral, take the leap of discovery and become a Cassette Beast Ranger!

Cassette Beasts LadiesGamers

Do Tricks, Catch Fish in SkateFish

Tighten your trucks and slap on some new grip tape: publisher Whitethorn Games and developer Sudden Event Studios have announced that their skateboarding-meets-fishing game SkateFish is coming to mobile platforms this year!

I’m way past the days of risking my brittle bones on a skateboard, but you can now make the world your half-pipe as you ollie, grind, and kickflip your way into the hearts of fish and land that perfect catch! Customize your character, board, and fishing rod, and ride your way through seven chill environments, each with its own species to angle and rad obstacles to skate. Use two-finger touch controls to flip your board, grind ledges, and perform aerials and sick tricks as you become a skate-fishing legend by catching dozens of captious carp, bass, trout and other fish to help populate the local aquarium.

Check out the trailer to see how it works!

Rune Factory 6 and Spin-Off Project Dragon

Also in Marvelous Showcase was the unveiling of an exciting looking spin-off for Rune Factory: Project Dragon. This spin-off is set in Eastern lands with a Japanese-style aesthetic” and it looks completely new to the series.

Series director Maekawa Shiro told us this:

In Project Dragon, the adventure will unfold in a completely new setting with characters and scenery designed in a Japanese style… we’re going to deliver an experience unique from the main series while expanding upon familiar elements such as your day-to-day life, adventuring, and romantic pursuits…dragons will be important to the story

Rune Factory 6, in the mainline of games, is in development too, a new adventure taking place on the western continent of Adonea.

Multiplayer for Garden Path

Life sim The Garden Path is coming to PC and Nintendo Switch later this Summer. It’s a game where time runs in concert with the real world, like we know of Animal Crossing. The game encourages you to play a little bit and enjoy your time in the garden, then come back the next day or sometime later to see how your plants are doing, meet new characters and discover new activities.

When The Garden Path reached extra funding goals on Kickstarter a while ago, they promised a local co-op mode to explore the game together with a friend. Check the below trailer to see how it’s done.

Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord Now on Steam

We already reviewed this Tactical Turn-Based game with Visual Novel Elements on Switch a month ago, and now, Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord is also available on Steam. Here’s what I wrote about it in my conclusion:

I liked the battles, loved the music and disliked the banter between the characters. The story was interesting, however, and the battles made up for it.

So, a bit of a mixed bag. Will this be a game for you?

Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord

Botany Manor Soon to Appear on Steam

Botanical puzzle game Botany Manor will soon appear on Steam and the Switch and Xbox as well. The announcement trailer is below, and here’s what the game about.

The enduring estate of Botany Manor is home to retired botanist Arabella Greene. After a long career, she has amassed a collection of rare, long-forgotten plants that require some research to help them live again. Play as Arabella and explore the stunning historic manor and its grounds to look for clues in her notes, books, posters, and items scattered around the residence to determine the correct set of circumstances to help the flora flourish. Unlock new seeds and plant them. Interactable items around the property that can be turned and flipped will provide information to help you solve each gardening puzzle, grow the plants and discover their mysterious qualities.

Game Over, T1D! Steam Sale

JDRF Game2Give has partnered with the publishers of eighteen video games to present the Game Over, T1D! Steam Sale, running today through May 30. When you buy a game at a discount from the list, the publishers will make a donation to JDRF, the leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization.

There are a lot of games and bundles on the list, so be sure to check out the link above. Some of them, which we have reviewed, are below:

Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos Release Date

A good week for farming sim news! Natsume, publisher of Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos has given us a release date: September 26. And if you are partial to the plushies that often come alongside the game, pre-orders for the game on Amazon will include an adorable Harvest Moon 25th Anniversary Sleepytime Cow Plush.

Plus, there’s also a Limited Edition of the game available exclusively on the NIS America online store for $84.99. The Limited Edition includes the plush, but also an enchanting Animal Lapel Pin Set, a captivating soundtrack CD, and a stylish collector’s box. Of course, the game itself is included as well.

That’s it again for this week! Thanks for reading, and join me again for a cup of coffee or tea next week!

6 comments

  1. My personal favorite news this week was the official release date for Disgaea 7 was announced for October 3rd in North America and October 6th in Europe.
    Im just happy Disgaea 7 isn’t releasing as a Switch exclusive title and then become available on other platforms at a later date like Disgaea 6.

  2. Hey Yvonne, you should edit the story of seasons section. Marverlous announced two games. One being a mainline game and the other being a multiplayer game. It’s not one, but two. The screenshot you have makes it confusing and looks like one single game, but it isn’t

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