TGO Daily | March 17, 2021 | Dark Alliance Reboot
March 17, 2021
Hey everyone! Big day of news today, headlined by a new D&D game that kinda came out of nowhere, but has some interesting potential. I’d encourage you to click through some of the links in the Grab Bag today if any of them catch your eye — there’s some interesting stuff I couldn’t get to today.
Happy gaming~
Adrian
Dark Alliance Reboot Announced
Wizards of the Coast have officially announced a reboot of Dark Alliance — a top-down RPG originally released in 2001. This time around, it’s a 3rd person adventure designed for co-op (online only, unfortunately). It is being developed by an internal WotC studio.
According to the devs, there will be 21 missions which each take 20-25 minutes to complete (more if you explore every side quest, or if you play solo). There is a loot system which encourages you to replay levels as well. You can check out gameplay footage in the video I linked above — it’s a little rough around the edges but I could see it being good fun.
The game releases on June 22nd for all the usual places except the Switch for $40 USD. Significant DLC is planned, but cross-play is not.
2K Acquires HB Studios
2K are going to be adding another sports franchise to their portfolio with the acquisition of HB Studios, who are the developers of the PGA Tour series (golf). They have been publishing the games since 2018, and the latest game shipped close to 2 million units.
They’ve also entered into an exclusive partnership with golf legend Tiger Woods, who is going to be a consultant for the series and will be credited as an executive director.
It looks like 2K is starting to re-emerge into the sports scene. Once upon a time they had their hands in almost every sport — recently they’ve been pretty limited to the NBA and WWE. Today’s announcement, alongside a recent non-simulation NFL deal, shows that they’re trying to enter the market a bit more strategically this time.
Super Bomberman R Online
In 2017, a game called Super Bomberman R was released as a Nintendo Switch launch title — it was the first Bomberman in a long time, and it got ported to the other platforms. Then last year, they released an online multiplayer version of the game exclusively on Google Stadia. Today, they announced that Super Bomberman R Online would be arriving on consoles and PC.
It’s biggest feature is its battle royale mode called “Battle 64.” It takes 64 players and puts them on a giant map segmented into 4 smaller maps, with the last survivor alive winning the game.
I’ve heard good things about the game. If you want to check it out, it’ll be free to play on all the usual platforms. They offer a monthly subscription which offers cosmetics, as well as the option to create private lobbies with unique rules.
Animal Crossing Update
According to Nintendo, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is now their fastest selling game in history for the European continent, in terms of first-year sales. It has apparently sold 7 million copies both digitally and physically in the region (a hefty chunk of the 31 million worldwide).
Speaking of which, the game is now one year old! Or it will be, on March 18th. Sign into the game and you’ll see more upgrades for the custom designer which can create different surfaces like umbrellas and doors. They’re also increasing the design limits from 50 to 100.
What a great year for that game, by the way. Perfect timing for its release, and definitely a landmark game for both Nintendo and the industry as a whole. Easily my Game of the Year (and I didn’t even play that much of it!)
Jade Raymond - Haven
Jade Raymond has officially announced a new independent studio called Haven, which is working on a new IP funded by PlayStation.
Raymond is the former head of the internal studios at Google Stadia. She was also a key figure behind the creation of Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft Toronto, and was a lead at EA’s Motive studio (Star Wars: Squadrons). She’s an important person in the industry, and finally has the opportunity to stretch her wings with Haven. Fingers crossed it all works out.
The Grab Bag
The Xbox Game Pass train does not stop. Adding Undertale, Outriders (day 1), Yakuza 6 (complete franchise), Narita Boy, Empire of Sin, Star Wars: Squadrons, Octopath Traveller, NieR Automata (PC), Torchlight III, and more
Activision Blizzard lets go of 50 people in the esports division. One of the most profitable games companies in the world. *eyeroll*
Say Hello!
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