The Kickstarter for The Wayward Realms will launch on May 30:

Kickstarter Launch Date Reveal

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The Gamer reports that GOG will host the Fallout: London mod:

Report: Fallout London's Delay, And The Move To GOG

GOG tells us about its partnership with Fallout: London, a game that's "overflowing" with love for the series.

HIGHLIGHTS

• GOG will host Fallout: London, a fan-made expansion for Fallout 4.
• Fallout: London is too big to launch on the usual site, Nexus Mods.
• GOG is working to make Fallout: London playable for Fallout 4 players, regardless of where they bought the game.

Whenever we cover Fallout: London, we get a few readers who, understandably, believe that it’s an official Bethesda release that escaped their notice. It’s easy to see why - the various screenshots and trailers certainly look the part, with a team of passionate devs using Fallout 4 as the foundation for a unique story, complete with new characters, items, textures, voice acting, and much more.

Now, the lines between mod and game blur even further, with GOG set to host Fallout: London. This is among the first releases of its kind, with previous ambitious fan projects like Fallout: The Frontier and New California both launching via Nexus Mods, not long-running gaming storefronts. The problem is that Fallout: London was just too big for Nexus, so it needed a much larger site to rush in and save the day.

[...]

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The Turn Based Lovers checked out the tactical RPG Fight Life: Vanguard:

GUIDE A MERCENARY BAND IN RETRO-INSPIRED TACTICAL RPG FIGHT LIFE: VANGUARD – OVERVIEW

IT LOOKS LIKE AN AMIGA RPG IN THE BEST POSSIBLE MEANING OF THE WORD

I am drawn to everything that evokes titles from the past, and the game I’m presenting, at times, seems to come straight out of an Amiga, in the best possible meaning of the word. Fight Life: Vanguard, just discovered on Steam pages, developed by StartImpulse and Two Cakes Studio, is a PC tactical RPG in which players are plunged into a dark, fantastical world teetering on the brink of destruction.

In Fight Life: Vanguard, players lead a mercenary squad across treacherous landscapes in which they must choose their allies wisely from a pool of diverse and skilled recruits, each bringing unique classes and abilities to the fore as they strive to restore harmony to a world shadowed by imminent oblivion.

[...]

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Cochpotato spotted an HD mod for Grim Fandango Remastered:

Grim Fandango Remastered HD 

Grim Fandango Remastered HD is a combination of a mod loader and asset mod that AI upscales the original Grim Fandango assets, with 640x480 resolution and dithered 16-bit color, into high-resolution 2560x1920 assets with full 32-bit color.

It tries to adhere to the tone of the original game as much as possible, while sharpening the visuals and eliminating dithering. It does not attempt to introduce 16:9 resolution and is intended to be played in the original 4:3.

Gamingbolt checked out Biomutant:

Biomutant – Three Years Later

After launching three years ago in a relatively disappointing state, how does Experiment 101's open-world action title hold up?

Have you ever had a game that sounds too good to be true? It just doesn’t seem possible given the resources, yet the systems are playing out before your eyes. That more or less describes the hype behind Biomutant. Established by former Just Cause developers from Avalanche Studios, Experiment 101 would announce the title in August 2017, just in time for Gamescom attendees to go hands-on with it. Those were the good old days, but even by the standards of double-A titles, Biomutant felt like it was doing an absurd amount of things.

The story occurs in a post-apocalyptic setting where players customize and control a mutant who must save the Tree of Life. To do that, they’ll need to defeat the five creatures assailing its roots, but some cooperation with the six tribes is paramount. The catch is that three have…differing opinions on whether they should ensure the tree’s survival. The Netra, Ankati and Myriad are different degrees of Light tribes and believe in saving the tree. Meanwhile, the Pichu, Jagni and Lotus are Dark tribes with more selfish and/or megalomaniacal views.

[...]

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Mortismal Gaming reviewed the Omenroad DLC:

Wildermyth: Omenroad DLC Review

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The FPS with RPG elements Second Sun has been announced:

Second Sun - Gameplay Announcement Trailer

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C4G looks back at RPGs of 2006 to 2009:

Why 2006 - 2009 RPGs Just Hit Different!

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RPG Fan reviewed Horizon Forbidden West:

Review: Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition

If you’ve followed my coverage here since 2009, you know I’m a huge fan of indies. I dabble with AAA titles from time to time, like FromSoftware and Square Enix releases, but I typically gravitate toward indies because of their ingenuity and evident passion. Many AAA titles, including the large and cinematic ones, can feel a bit shallow and cookie-cutter to me. A tad hand-holdy and overly polished, gilded with little substance. When we received an opportunity to review Horizon Forbidden West, I honestly went into it expecting little. Open-minded, I gave the game a shot, but the odds were not in its favor. Was I ever in for a surprise.

Clearly, I had never played Horizon Zero Dawn, which gives me a unique perspective on Forbidden West because a question folks frequently ask when entering a franchise in the middle is, “Do I have to have played the first game?” The answer is an emphatic no. Obviously, references to the first game and protagonist Aloy’s heroism from the first game are on everyone’s tongues, but Forbidden West takes no time moving on to the next story beat, which seems like a reasonable leaping-off point from the first game.

[...]

Horizon Forbidden West is the complete package across all aspects any player will care about. Stunningly beautiful, audibly beatific, challenging yet accessible, and frequently cinematic, I adored my time with Forbidden West the way I rarely do in any other game. Often, a game will excel in one area in particular and falter in others—and that’s okay. Here, I struggled to find criticisms to make, and the ones I did, while real, did not meaningfully impact the whole. If more AAA titles conducted themselves as such, I could see myself one day converting.

Score: 94/100

ESTNN reviewed the Vampire RPG V Rising:

V Rising Review – Not Just a Bloodsucker

Vampires have always been fascinating creatures that arouse a lot of interest in people, especially among lovers of the supernatural. As a result, the developers of V Rising decided to do something to “play it safe.” However, this certainly does not mean poor quality.

In this V Rising review, we will examine version 1.0 of the game, released after a long Early Access period. If you have had the opportunity to play in preview, you will certainly know what you are going to encounter. However, this review can be useful for all those who are new to this game.

The Vampires are Rising
As soon as we start the game for the first time, we will have the opportunity to watch an introductory film that explains the setting of the game. After a very long period of living in the shadows, vampires are ready to return and become the masters of the world.

Players, in fact, will have the opportunity to play a reborn vampire (hence the name of the game “V Rising”), which you can decide to create based on your preferences (you have a decent editor at your disposal). You will wake up in an abandoned cave and you will have to start exploring to recover both your strength and your powers.

We have no intention of continuing further in explaining the plot of the game, so that you are convinced that it must be savored as you proceed in your adventure. The game is full of things to do and twists, so going into too much detail about the plot can be counterproductive. Suffice it to say that, if you are a fan of vampires, you will certainly not be disappointed.

[...]

V Rising is an excellent game about vampires that manages to take the best of its various genres and mix them to create a superlative game. All lovers of vampires and this genre of games will certainly be pleasantly impressed. All the various aspects of the game (the plot, the gameplay, and the technical side) have been developed with extreme attention and we cannot fail to compliment the development team.

Score: 9.5/10

Couchpotato spotted an excerpt of the book Ultima and Worldbuilding in the Computer Role-Playing Game on Gamedeveloper.

Couchpotato spotted a Roberta Williams interview at Investors Business Daily:

Queen Of Adventure Video Game Design Isn't Done Yet

Roberta Lynn Williams is one of the most influential American video game designer and writers

Video game designer extraordinaire Roberta Williams has repeatedly displayed her leadership skills by doing whatever the hell she wants. Whenever the hell she wants.

That was true way back in 1980 when she combined her enchantment with mystery author Agatha Christie and her fascination with the board game Clue, and designed "Mystery House."

"Mystery House" is widely credited as being the first graphic adventure game.

It was also true back in 1995, when the longtime Stephen King fan also designed "Phantasmagoria," a terrifying, full-motion video that turned the industry on its head by combining terrifyingly frightful scenes — even one that featured a husband apparently assaulting his own wife — with live actors painstakingly acting out much of the 500-page script.

Stay Relevant Like Roberta Williams
It is also vividly true right now, with the feisty, 71-year-old video game design legend — whose games have sold more than 15 million copies — recently opting to make a professional U-turn after more than 25 years of retirement. She recently returned to a cosmically different video game industry where her sterling credentials as one of the industry's most influential creators are being seriously tested by a young audience that mostly doesn't know her.

Each one of these is a challenge that only a top-flight leader could take on. Yet, Williams says, she's never even thought about herself as a leader.

"No one has ever asked me about my leadership before," she said. "It's always been about my creativity."

Find A Partner So You Focus On Strengths
Williams and her husband Ken launched a wildly successful video game company called Sierra On-Line. The company was ultimately sold to CUC International for more than a billion dollars. The company's finances had been mostly overseen by her CEO husband, Ken Williams, the super-programmer and tech guru with the industry acumen that not only got Sierra off the ground but made it an industry force for decades.

But Roberta Williams provided the creative leadership. And it all comes down, she says, to the single quality that every great leader must possess: confidence.

"You have to be very self-confident," she says. "If you question yourself, you will show weakness and you'll lose your best people."

It was that boundless self-confidence that led to the unlikely creation of "Mystery House."

Follow Your Passion Like Williams
Way back in 1975, Ken Williams brought home a copy of something called "Colossal Cave Adventure," the first text-only adventure video game that he stumbled upon. Roberta Williams saw it and instantly fell in love with it. It was a text-only video game where you could basically move X's and O's around, but not much else.

"It was my light bulb moment," she said. "Something opened up in my mind that told me I had to develop something like this game. Never mind that I'd never done anything like that before."

She was in her early 20s and had done a smidgen of programming, but not much. So she posed the question to herself that any great leader would;  "How can I do this?"

That's when she gathered lots of paper — massive pieces of construction paper that she could roll and unroll and use as a flow chart. "I was basically developing a storyboard, but I didn't know what I was doing."

Just Get Started
Most great leaders don't know exactly what they're doing — at least, at the beginning, she says. They just have to do it.

She went wild. Williams started scribbling with a pencil on the construction paper. She drew a house with huge circles for each room — modeled after the Clue board game. But it kept getting more and more complex. She added more and more rooms, characters and objects.

Even as Roberta worked on her project, husband Ken had huge ambitions to start his own company where he could create software for personal computers. "He initially thought my flow chart was silly, while he was doing the he-man programming work," said Roberta.

[...]

Mp1st reports that Lies of P gets a DLC later this year.

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Couchpotato spotted developer diary #12 for VtM: Bloodlines 2:

Developing Ventrue

Developer Diary #12

Picture a group of stylish, ambitious vampires, each with a hunger for authority that matches their thirst for blood. That's Clan Ventrue for you - vampires with a taste for power, prestige, and opulence. Our team had a blast bringing their aristocratic grandeur and ambition to life in the game. Equally at home in the corridors of corporate power and the halls of high society, the Ventrue embody leadership, strategy, and a refined decadence. Whether they're making deals in the boardroom or dominating the nightlife scene, the Blue Bloods always maintain their iron grip on power.

Designing modern Ventrue for Tabletop
Just like the Brujah, the Ventrue are a foundational archetype both in Vampire: The Masquerade’s clan assembly as well as in wider vampire fiction. They represent the vampire as the aristocratic leader — classy, regal, and inhumanly majestic. Many silver screen depictions of Dracula would fit well in this clan, as would any number of his derivatives. Before Anne Rice, the Ventrue represented what most people would consider a classical vampire.

Taking the Blue Bloods into the fifth edition was therefore comparatively easy, as the clan has had a solid identity from its first appearance in 1991, never relying on gimmick powers or tangled setting elements. Their arsenal of Disciplines paint a clear picture of the kind of ruler they represent: Presence to incite awe, Dominate to enforce obedience, and — if the previous would fail — Fortitude to withstand retaliation. A true Ventrue commands from the front, but that is also their weakness.

While Ventrue vampires are no strangers to hierarchies, their tradition of Embracing mortals already used to being obeyed often creates brittle power structures with too many leaders and not enough followers. To many Blue Bloods the throne is more important than what it represents, and more than one Ventrue Prince has met final death because they would rather lead in defeat than triumph as a lackey.
– Karim Muammar, Designer of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition and Brand Editor for the World of Darkness

[...]

Fextralife checked out Enotria: The Last Song:

Enotria The Last Song Gameplay Impressions - How is the New Summer Soulslike?

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Matt talks with Stefan Nitescu about Zoria: Age of Shattering:

MC527: Zoria Age of Shattering with Stefan Nitescu

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You can get Dragon Age: Inquisition free on Epic Games until May 23.

Thanks Arahael!

Learn more about Enotria: The Last Song on IGN:

Enotria: The Last Song - Official 15-Minute Gameplay Overview

IGN shows a new Capes trailer:

Capes - Official Weathervane Overview Trailer

Mortismal Gaming reviewed The Witcher 3:

The Witcher 3 - Review After 100%

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Couchpotato spotted a VOIN preview on C4G:

VOIN - New First Person Open World RPG

The historical adventure RPG Assassin's Creed Shadows will be released on November 15:

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Official Cinematic Reveal Trailer

Experience an epic historical action-adventure story set in feudal Japan! Become a lethal shinobi Assassin and a powerful legendary samurai as you explore a beautiful open world in a time of chaos. Switch seamlessly between two unlikely allies as you discover their common destiny and usher in a new era for Japan.

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Soola found this challenge on Rock Paper Shotgun:

Game dev challenges other devs to multiply something in their game by 1000, triggering landslide of chaotic videos

Quantity always wins

I think most would agree that the artist formerly known as Twitter has never been in more need of a thermonuclear cleansing. The Musk era has transformed what was already fondly known as a hellsite into something at once more obnoxious and sadder, whether you're talking about the web3 grifters or the resurgent debate-me cryptofascists or the recommendation algorithm's perceptibly greater enthusiasm for quote-tweet flamebait.

Still, there are lights in the darkness. Yesterday, Graham pointed us towards a thread started by The End Is Nigh developer Tyler Glaiel in which he challenged other developers to "take a short break, pick a number in your code or data files, multiply it by 1000, and post the results". Other developers have heeded the call. Here's a round-up of the results that doubles as a watery echo of Alice0's (RPS in peace) old Screenshot Saturday Monday features.

Let's kick off with this instance of senior citizen rage from Kirt Olson and the World's Worst Handyman.

[...]

Henriquejr spotted Starfield update 1.11.36:

Starfield’s latest update is here and it’s bringing several new features with it!

• Improved surface maps - We’ve heard your feedback, and we’ve made some big improvements to surface maps, so you’ll always know just where to go and no longer “get lost” on the way to your parents’ place (and they weren’t buying that excuse anyway, you should really go visit them).
• New gameplay options - For those of you who like a bit of an extra challenge or want to make some aspects of the game easier, you can customize your experience with brand new options in the Settings menu. Want to make ground combat harder but ship combat easier? You can do just that!
• Added Ship Decoration mode to the interior of Ships – now you can decorate your ships just like you can with Outposts!
• Added Tabs to Container menus to make managing your inventory easier.
• Added the ability to change Traits and appearance after entering the Unity.
• Added Dialogue camera toggle in the Settings.
• Added Display settings for Xbox Series X to prioritize Visuals or Performance, adjust Frame Rate Target, and toggle VSync (Series X).

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Read on for a full list of fixes and improvements!

[...]

Henriquejr spotted a new update for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint:

Update #84: Cap Rising

Raised level cap to 25, +2 new Power Level 3 Armor options, improved Soldier's Blast Radius, improved Simstream Trainer

Exciting times ahead as we come roaring out of the major safehouse base building milestone and careening back into the regular order of updates, improvements, new content and more! With Update #84, we've raised the level cap by 5 levels, added 2 new Power Level 3 armors for sale from the newest contacts, improved Soldier's Blast Radius, and fixed a huge heap of F10s from the community!

A big thanks goes out to everyone reviewing, playing and posting. Hit F10 if you see anything odd, we are hard at work improving and fixing.

Level Cap Rises
With Update #84 and the big expansion of the safehouse, it is the right time to lift the level cap to 25. You'll gain an additional +1 Level Point per level. The next cap raise will include additional Talent LImit allowance.

For those players who have been grinding past the current cap, you will find that your XP is kept and used. You may suddenly find your mercs are Level 22 or even Level 25 if you've played out enough missions. Enjoy the new points!

[...]

Henriquejr spotted patch 1.4 for Dark Envoy:

Director's Cut is Live! The letter to our community.

Patch 1.4, also known as Dark Envoy Director's Cut, is available now along with the new trailer!

Dear Community, Players, Warriors, Sorcerers

We want to share an enormous thank you! We’re releasing Dark Envoy: Director’s Cut using each and every comment, report, and piece of feedback you’ve shared with us over the last six months.

Summary of most important Changes:

• Less shy about connections with Tower of Time universe, new main meta level voiced narration
• Major narrative changes, reworked main cutscenes, some VO reworked, creating a completely different experience, especially during the first few hours of the game.
• Balancing, polishing then reworking again, then repeating the process
• Improved Jaan map and unique boss items
• further optimization and QoL improvements

And we fixed one major sinister memory leak bug that made us all so miserable!

Instead of pushing the marketing for Dark Envoy, we gave this game 6 months of pure love and improvements. We’re still not done, but want to share this news with you.

If you’ve enjoyed your time with Dark Envoy, please leave us a review and share your thoughts with your fellow players! Tell your friends, sister, neighbor and maybe a hamster or two; HELP OUR LITTLE INDIE STUDIO COMPETE FOR VISIBILITY in this harsh AAA market.

Here is our Socially Awkward Zero Budget Launch Trailer:

Brutally honest one, but dire straits tend to create the best anecdotes.

The Director’s Cut update is coming, along with a 40% off Steam Daily Deal starting from Wednesday, May 15th, 2024, which will last for a week.

It was thanks to your immense support and belief in out team that we've managed to complete this enhanced version. We deeply appreciate your ongoing collaboration with us on this world that we love so dearly. We are committed to making this game as perfect as it can be.

Great THANK YOU from all 13 of us!

Henriquejr spotted that the strategy RPG Songs of Conquest will be released on May 20:

Farewell Early Access!

Two productive years are soon behind us...

Greetings Wielders,

In less than a week, the long-awaited release of Songs of Conquest will be upon us, and we couldn't be more thrilled. It's hard to believe that nearly two years have passed since we first embarked on this journey together, releasing our project into Early Access. And oh, what a journey it has been!

We consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to spend this time in Early Access with you all. Together, we've forged an amazing Community, achieved a "very positive" rating on Steam, and delivered an average of one update per month – ranging from small tweaks to major updates.

But let's delve into the details a bit. What are some of the things we have accomplished during these past two years?

[...]

Couchpotato spotted a new patch for Valheim:

Patch 0.218.15 – Ashlands

The world is heating up and in the south something is stirring... The creatures of the Ashlands come to life as the biome update is here at last!

After three weeks in the Public Test Branch, we believe we have ironed out most of the wrinkles with the update already, but please keep in mind that hotfixes and such are still likely to happen within the near future! Feedback and bugs are best sent in via the support page on our website.

Before you dive into the game, please do take a look at our preparation guide. This guide touches important matters such as world generation and mods.

You will find the abbreviated patch notes further down, and the detailed patch notes (full of spoilers) below those. Please respect those who don't want to see spoilers before they play.

If you have missed out on our gameplay trailer, it's available on our YouTube channel, but right now we want to get your blood pumping with this animated release trailer!

[...]

Couchpotato spotted an update for Rogue Trader's Steam Workshop:

An update on Steam Workshop

Lord Captains!

We have important news regarding mods - unfortunately, we've rolled out the Steam Workshop support feature a bit too early, before all legal issues connected to it were fully settled. For now, we will have to take additional time and temporarily shut it down until everything is fully resolved on the legal side of things. We currently do not know how long it will take, but we will do our best to get this feature up and running again as soon as possible. Stay tuned for further updates.

We thank you a lot for understanding, and apologize for the inconvenience caused.

Couchpotato spotted a new dev diary for Zodiac Legion:

Dev Diary – Level Construction Process

Greetings and salutations, friends!

We’re hard at work on our procedural map generation system, and as we get nearer to having its fully functional first iteration, we figured we could give you a little glimpse behind the scenes and show what the entire process looks like. I’m Maciej, the level designer/loremaster on Zodiac Legion, and here’s my approach to this part of the game.

The whole thing begins with a pencil and paper. I try to think of an arrangement that either feels interesting to me or which we don’t yet have in the game, and then I draw it, keeping in mind the level design constraints and a few gameplay considerations. At this stage, my thinking is only: “is this layout a good point of departure?”, and not “what will this map be?”

[...]

The J-RPG ALZARA Radiant Echoes has been announced:

ALZARA Radiant Echoes

A VIBRANT TRIBUTE TO THE GOLDEN AGE OF JRPGs

Take control of four heroes as you embark on an epic journey inspired by classic JRPGs across the stunning world of ALZARA.

HARNESS THE ELEMENTS
Harness the elemental magic of Kayla and her allies to battle the invading forces of Vedores. Share the magic to overcome puzzles and obstacles during your adventure.

INTENSE & STRATEGIC TURN-BASED BATTLES
Swap between heroes to combine elemental magic and unleash spectacular attacks. Make offerings to gain favors and summon Legends to defeat your enemies.

A MATURE, RELATABLE STORY
Restore Peace to the vibrant world of ALZARA, where the mysterious elemental entities known as Zals answer to humans’ prayers. Lead the Resistance against the merciless invasion orchestrated by the neighboring nation of Vedores.

A COLLABORATION WITH JAPANESE ARTISTS
We are honored to partner with two esteemed Japanese artists for this project. Renowned composer Motoi Sakuraba, celebrated for his contributions to iconic titles like Golden Sun and Dark Souls, joins us alongside main character designer Yoshiro Ambe, recognized for his remarkable work on games such as Trials of Mana and Fire Emblem Heroes.

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Couchpotato spotted some info for backers of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.

Game Developer talked with Jake Solomon about the combat system of Marvel's Midnight Suns:

Marvel's Midnight Suns director worries the card-based combat kept players away

Did a complex card system keep Marvel's Midnight Suns from being a hit?

At a Glance

• Firaxis' tactical role-playing game Marvel's Midnight Suns won praise from critics, but stumbled in sales.
• Midsummer Studios co-founder Jake Solomon admits the card-based combat system may have deterred players from trying the game.

Firaxis Games' 2022 game Marvel's Midnight Suns won praise from critics and dedicated players for its crunchy in-depth strategy (and surprisingly robust narrative design), but the quality of its gameplay wasn't enough to drive sales. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told Bloomberg in 2023 that the game wasn't living up to expectations, saying at the time that the game's December release window may not have been "perfect."

But if there's anyone who has reason to do a postmortem on Midnight Suns, it's Midsummer Studios cofounder Jake Solomon. Solomon, who departed Firaxis in 2023 after the game released, was the brain behind the game's card-based combat system.

[...]

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Mortismal Gaming checked out the Diablo 4 Loot Reborn Update:

Diablo 4 - Loot Reborn Update

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Tim comes up with a weird IP idea:

Another New IP Idea

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The Turn Based Lovers checked out Umbra - The Last Summoner:

CALL UPON 60 HEROES IN TURN-BASED RPG UMBRA THE LAST SUMMONER – OVERVIEW

Set for release in Q3 2024 on PC, Umbra – The Last Summoner is an adventure RPG crafted by EpiRPG, where players assume the role of the realm’s only summoner. This unique position charges them with the task of halting a demon invasion that threatens the mystical world of Umbra.

To fight this menace, players must strategically summon and command a diverse group of 60 heroes, each endowed with distinct abilities, to participate in intricate, turn-based combat against a legion of more than 160 demons and monsters.

The game unfolds across 15 expansive areas, rich with opportunities for exploration, combat, and narrative progression. Players will encounter over 100 side quests and face colossal boss fights, enhancing their summoner’s powers with soul energy gained from victories and discoveries. The sophisticated battle mechanics emphasize strategic management of action points and leverage elemental strengths and weaknesses to tilt skirmishes in the player’s favor.

[...]

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Couchpotato spotted an announcement for a strategy RPG on Gamesradar:

Helldivers 2 veterans are making a Fire Emblem-style strategy RPG complete with "horny" romance thanks to Baldur's Gate 3 and Hades 2

A group of Helldivers 2 veterans has spun off into another company to make a "narrative heavy" strategy RPG like Fire Emblem, complete with romance because one developer wants "the game to be horny."

Talking to Inverse, former Helldivers 2 lead writer Russ Nickel talks about the inspirations that informed his approach to the popular co-op shooter, D&D, and more. As the interview comes to a close, the chat shifts to what's next for the former Arrowhead Game Studios staffer.

"We just decided to spin off into our own company and we're making a tactics strategy RPG like Fire Emblem," Nickel says. "But it's very narrative-heavy, so Fire Emblem if it were published by Annapurna. So a deeply indie, emotionally poignant tactics game, that's also of course very funny with character-based comedy."

Nickel goes on to say that the idea is that the medium reflects the narrative and vice versa. While Helldivers 2 does "a really good job of that," the team is considering what that looks like for a tactical RPG. 

[...]

Couchpotato spotted the spring update for Sacred Fire:

Spring Update

Act 3 testing and its impact on 1.0 release

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the latest update from the trenches of solo development.

First things first - the testing of what’ll be available of Act 3 will start at the end of spring, meaning by the end of June. Those waiting for the full release, will then have to wait a little bit longer, as the feedback and amount of bugs in the testing build will determine the 1.0 release date.

While our last update was marked by the joy of writing out the story to its full potential, the increased scope meant spending more resources on localization and voice-over, putting increased pressure on the development. It’s thanks to my publishing partner’s flexibility and my determination that we tackled all the hurdles and can now bring you the good news of the game moving towards the finish line in an uncompromised state.

I understand the wait is long, both for players who’ve experienced the game recently, and for those who’ve been waiting for a conclusion to the story for a long time. That, however, is the road we went down ever since releasing the first public demo - of expanding the scenes with more player choice and NPC reactions based on your feedback. With Act 3, we wanted to avoid the common ailment of games in this genre - diminishing player choices, unanswered plot threads and patch-on endings.

Instead we tried to create many satisfying moments for many different playthroughs, addressing truly rare game states.

So, we want to thank you. Thank you for your feedback, your support, and your patience over the years! It's thanks to you that Sacred Fire could grow into what’ll hopefully end up being a satisfying choice-driven experience for all of you.

P.S.: Oh, and yes, for those kindhearted players out there, don’t worry, we’ve heard you: there will be an option for non-lethal attacks to stop the dogs in Act 1 as well.