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Lots of great things to see this week, from Streets Of Rage's surprising comeback to an Animal Crossing talk show & far beyond.
[Did I expect this particular Sega franchise to come back & hit big? Nooope.]
We’re back again with Video Game Deep Cuts newsletter on Substack, folks. I’m still enjoying putting these together - not least because there are plenty ‘big news of the day/week’ newsletters, but finding time to discover the alternative material is rewarding.
The ‘all the notable new games’ section may be getting too big/complex. But even working out what came out can be surprisingly tricky for the average reader, with all the platforms/microscenes out there. So I’ll keep noodling!
- Simon, curator
Gears Tactics (PC) takes the limb-strewn franchise into XCOM territory.
The Flower Collectors (PC, pictured) is an unusual short narrative game - “a simple but full-hearted spin on Rear Window.”
Fallout 76’s ‘Wastelanders’ update (PC, Xbox, PS4) - which is solo play-focused, intriguingly - seems to have elevated the game to ‘try this out!’ levels.
Paper Beast (PS4) is the under-the-radar Eric Chahi (Another World) PlayStation VR game which “throws players into a hallucinatory cyberscape.”
2D brawler remake Streets Of Rage 4 (PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox) is a bit of a surprise hit. (BONUS: ICYMI, Treachery In Beatdown City is an intriguing 2D RPG-brawler combo.)
4 vs. 1 multiplayer shooter Predator: Hunting Grounds (PC, PS4) has mixed reviews - game ‘feel’ better suited to dev’s previous, Friday The 13th?
Screenwriter (& former game mag editor) Gary Whitta has built a talk show in Animal Crossing, complete with bandleader & musical guests. (Example!)
Fortnite is more fully embracing the Metaverse comparisons with a no-shooting Party Royale mode.
How the game biz is dealing - somewhat awkwardly - with pregnancy & motherhood as a game dev.
The video game arcades struggling to survive in the era of COVID-19.
There’s a green vs. purple alien war in Grand Theft Auto Online that’s taking over the Internet? Apparently?
Vintage interview on the making of Capcom’s classic 2D fighter Darkstalkers (concept art pictured).
A visit to see Final Fantasy illustrator Yoshitaka Amano in his art studio.
Where are our queer and transgender elders in video game history? A historical look. (Part of a host of interesting MAGFest talks/panels coming online.)
How PC game ‘shareware’ came about, from Softdisk to Apogee & beyond.
A longform documentary on the genesis of megahit indie strategy battler Darkest Dungeon.
Magic: The Gathering has a wild card trading/speculation scene.
If you play PUBG on Stadia, you get to kill a lot of Derek-level bots?
3D printing is creating a whole new fan/semipro-created market for D&D miniatures (pictured).
Elite Dangerous has a benevolent clan that currently - in a coronavirus-related goodwill gesture - just gives players rare items to help them upgrade. Aw.
There’s a streetwear scene in the extremely fashion-customizable Animal Crossing.
Sure, you know about game engines like Unity & Unreal, but which game companies roll their own engines? Quite a few, actually.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
Simon.
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