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HIGH That moment when your old dorm is accurately represented in a videogame.
LOW Mode selection is a little lackluster.
WTF Academic performance tracking is my weekly nightmare come to life.
I don’t remember exactly where I was the last time I played a new college football game but I’m sure the scene involved me, my couch, and a noticeable cushion dent from hours of endless play. It’s not a pretty picture, but it is an accurate one. Now, after nearly 11 years away from digital collegiate gridiron, I was skeptical that EA Sports would be able to recapture that “just one more game” feeling.
Oh, EA Sports proved me wrong in so many wonderful ways.
College Football 25 (No “NCAA” this time around) is an outstanding, immersive, nostalgic title that quickly carves out its own identity against the inevitable Madden comparisons. Yes, those familiar with EA’s pro title will easily adapt to College Football 25’s controls and gameplay, but those — ahem — schooled in collegiate strategy and atmosphere will find themselves with a notable advantage.
The unparalleled college vibe is one of the biggest surprises after more than a decade away. The old NCAA series always did a solid job of emulating stadiums and crowd noise, but modern technology has allowed them to recreate the unique environments that each home school provides.
Fans of major programs like Clemson and Alabama will lose themselves in how seamlessly the designers implemented mascots, in-game chants, student traditions, and more. There’s even a noise meter that shakes the screen and affects playcalling, giving home teams a distinct advantage in competitive situations. Small, moderately successful schools might trigger the needle a little, but big schools with bigger money programs will regularly reap the rewards of the home field.
It even showed for my alma mater, the University of Maryland, which may not be a top-tier football school among its peers in the Big Ten Conference, but we did have an original set of chants and music to accompany our team. Sure enough, when in a crucial in-game situation, the students reacted accordingly, elevating the atmosphere tenfold. All of it was flawlessly represented alongside the nuances that made our school stand apart. And no, this level of detail isn’t exclusive to bigger schools — even the smaller programs receive the same level of detail and unique presentation.
Of course, none of this matters if the on-field visuals are lackluster. Thankfully, EA Sports made the most of its 11-year respite — every player on the field demonstrates a unique look and feel. Linemen seem a little jumpier than their professional counterparts. Defensive secondaries find themselves scrambling a little more before the snap. Quarterbacks don’t appear quite as composed. In other words, they seem like young adults tasked with handling some immense, big-game pressure. Plus, the player models are (generally) a little smaller and less monstrous than professional players. These details are subtle but add so much in helping College Football 25 stand apart from its more established big brother.
Another exciting aspect of the college game is that not every player is awesome. Deep pass plays are riskier, and big running gains are more likely against suspect defenses. Where Madden has its handful of top-rated receivers who seem to have glue on their gloves, the college level reflects teams of players who are still learning as they go, and that means nothing is “automatic.” When big plays happen, they just seem to mean more to the player.
That said, CF25 acknowledges those who take time to learn. (This is a college game, after all.) While smaller programs might not see initial success against juggernauts and experience some initial frustration, growth is earned and learning how to maximize each player’s skill set is a rewarding experience from season to season.
My only complaint about College Football 25‘s gameplay is the same I’ve made for most football titles — there continue to be plays and moves that are simply too easy to spam. (Just check YouTube for some of the spin move “highlights.”) Good players will always find a way to adjust, but newcomers online might find themselves stopped before they even get started. I was fortunate to not see many people abusing these quirks, but over time, I anticipate steeper beginner learning curves.
Since launch, I’ve seen a lot of online chatter about College Football 25’s “thin” and “disappointing” selection of modes and features, but I see this as a positive because I think it was vital for the developers to focus more on developing unique, rewarding on-field gameplay, and it seems they agreed. Of course, it doesn’t exactly lack variety with a solid selection of the modes we’ve come to expect from EA Sports titles.
For those looking to spend significant time in the trenches, Dynasty mode is far more rewarding than its professional counterpart, mostly because the focus is on winning, player development, and team success, rather than keeping high-profile players satisfied season over season. Here, users can help a struggling program methodically improve and find intermittent successes along the way. Maybe it’s getting close to being ranked among the top 25. Maybe it’s knocking off a top-ranked opponent. Maybe it’s being considered for a coveted bowl game. Minor, moral victories seem to matter more at the collegiate level since there’s just so much more to aim for than one solitary trophy.
Unfortunately, the touted Road to Glory mode, while more streamlined than Dynasty, doesn’t give users enough to do over its shorter career span. At first, this exercise of allocating experience points to improve on-field performance seems enjoyable. But tasks like improving academics and resting injuries quickly become a week-to-week slog, more busywork than play. Likewise, the limited Road to the CFP mode will appeal to those who want bragging rights, but there’s little to do beyond seeing a name on leaderboards. With more attention, this could become a legitimate mode for those seeking to achieve online immortality, but there’s still room to expand it into something deeper than just a ranking.
As expected, College Football 25 features its own Ultimate Team mode, which is identical to the countless revisions we’ve seen in Madden over the years. For users into card collecting, trading, and yes, spending to build an unbeatable squad there are no surprises to be had, other than some moderate challenges to break up the grind. While I probably need to get with the times and accept these modes as part of gaming reality, here it seems redundant, rather than necessary.
Online, the game performed flawlessly during my testing, with no lag or latency. Lobbies were easy to navigate, and games started quickly. It allowed me to recreate my favorite college matchups, playing with my favorite college roommate. Only now, 1,300 miles separated us, even though the conversations and laughs remained the same.
And that perfectly illustrates the bigger point. To fans like me, College Football 25 is about as pure a gaming experience as there is. It wasn’t an online leaderboard or card-collecting mode that made fans beg EA Sports to bring back college football. It was the memories of trash talking on the couch, and recreating a rivalry. It was figuring out those spam plays and finally shutting them down. It was a throwback to gaming’s roots when higher scores were all people needed to enjoy themselves.
I could belabor this review with more examples, but in the end, there’s only one key takeaway — College Football 25 delivers on the memories I just listed, alongside countless others. And I can’t wait to see where the series goes from here.
Score: 9 out of 10
Disclosures: This game is published by EA Sports and developed by EA Orlando. It is available on XBX/S and PS5. This game copy was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the XBX. Approximately 15 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. Approximately 5 hours of play were devoted to online multiplayer.
Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E. This is a realistic representation of full-contact college football, and some tackling animations and injuries may concern some parents.
Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are available in the Game Settings menu.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: College Football 25 features subtitles, speech-to-text, and numerous tactile feedback features in all modes. The game is easily playable without sound and is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: No, the game’s controls are not remappable.
A new Goat Simulator game is on the way and this time it's a remaster that'll be releasing later this year. We got to see this announcement along with a trailer during Gamescom's Opening Night Live.
"The greatest simulation game known to man and goat returns with familiar caprine chaos, upgraded graphics and lighting, many intentional features that definitely aren't bugs, and fan-favourite DLC, all in one package," Coffee Stain Publishing says in a press release.
Other than the graphics there aren't a massive amount of changes, something that Coffee Stain pokes fun at in the trailer as it revolves around a prison named Cash Grab Penitentiary. After some generic suit gets led through the remasters ward, past Ralof from Skyrim along with a couple of other characters, we finally come across the goat Pilgor that's somehow broken out of a maximum security holding, just in time for its own remastered game and all the cash that'll come with it.
However, one difference players will see are reworked mutators. Instead of having to restart the game every time you want to change your look, the remaster will let you choose different "goats" whenever you want with an in-game menu. It's a small change but still a helpful one. Other than that, there's new access to DLCs that were previously exclusive to mobile such as GoatVile, Goat MMO, and Buck to School. These add new maps, characters and a fantasy adventure across unknown lands. But my favourite actually has to be the Payday DLC, because stealing loads of money as a goat is just as hilarious as it sounds.
None of this is particularly groundbreaking but if you're feeling particularly nostalgic then this Goat Simulator remaster could be some good fun: "Get ready to be transported back to 2014, where times were simpler and everyone just wanted to be a Goat," producer at Coffee Stain Publishing, Joal Rydholm says.
© Coffee Stain Publishing
Off-roading sims MudRunner and SnowRunner are poised to get a new sibling in the form of RoadCraft next year, which will once again see you veering off into unfriendly, slippery, boggy terrain with big vehicles. This time, it's to aid in the reconstruction efforts of areas devastated by natural disasters like floods and sandstorms—and that means it's time to play with some heavy machinery.
The reveal trailer shown off at Gamescom's Opening Night Live gives us a taste of the familiar (like getting stuck in the mud, again) alongside the use of construction vehicles and machinery, like bulldozers and cranes. You'll need to smash through debris, rebuild infrastructure like roads and bridges, reactivate dormant factories and effectively resurrect these ravaged regions through hard graft.
"We are constantly in search of new and fun types of gameplay experiences that complement our best selling titles such as SnowRunner and MudRunner," says Saber CEO Matthew Karch. "RoadCraft is our first foray into heavy equipment simulation. The game provides the best combination of off-road and construction simulations to create a new experience unlike anything that has preceded it.”
Saber hints at some management and logistics systems, too. You'll need to manage and collect resources and supplies to fuel the reconstruction effort, for instance, and we see some route planning and possible automation in the reveal trailer. Really, though, I just want to get into the driving seat of some of those beefy vehicles. I have a strange, primal urge to flatten things with a steamroller or chew through some fallen trees with those logging machines.
The trailer mostly focuses on an industrial area hit by a flood, full of mud and trees, but it also teases a more arid biome, presumably one struck by the aforementioned sandstorms, which will no doubt come with distinct terrain challenges and different vehicles.
RoadCraft is coming in 2025, but expect to see more of it as we get closer to the release date. In the meantime, check out the rest of our coverage of Gamescom 2024.
© Focus Entertainment
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NBA 2K24 runs on the new ProPLAY system, which translates real-life NBA footage into the game as animations. The smoothness and realism of the game that we have repeatedly praised in this review can be attributed to this change. The new animations we see from this system include dribble moves, jump shots, dunks, and even celebrations. This makes every single NBA player feel unique to use. Because 2K is ultimately a video game, the animations they used have generally been a lot more fast-paced when compared to its real-life counterpart to make it match with the programming. This time around, the animations are exactly how they are in real life, slowing the game down a little bit and further resembling real basketball games.
Despite being the best basketball game right now, NBA 2K24 is priced starting at $69.99. This is not the kind of title for players used to buy cheap PS5 games, however, some retailers manage to lower the price a little, so you can benefit from the reduction. It may seem like a reasonable price, and to most it is. However, players who enjoy online MyPlayer game modes are once again going to have to go through either a tedious grind or a 99OVR-sized hole in their pockets. It’s excellent value for the money for players who enjoy their quick-play games and MyLeagues, but there’s no doubt that the MyPlayer game modes are going to require big investments, whether it be time-wise or financially.
Despite the annual release pattern that 2K still implements, NBA 2K24 has succeeded in taking the right steps for the development of basketball games. Apart from improvements in terms of visuals, the gameplay here feels so authentic and fluid thanks to the responsive controls. Even though there are changes, veteran players will still feel familiar with the gameplay presented. If you are one of those people who buy annual games only when there are big changes, now is the time for you to buy NBA 2K24.
The NBA 2K24 Gameplay reveal is live, marking the first of many expected to arrive over the next three-plus weeks. As many fans know, gameplay is everything in video games and consists of the very essence each caters. In sports video games, this is especially the case, where the smallest of blemishes can stick out like a sore thumb and cause an unpleasant experience. NBA 2K24's soundtrack harmonizes seamlessly with the on-screen action, elevating the gaming experience to a sensory masterpiece that resonates with every pass and slam dunk. Everything works together to provide the best sports simulation possible.
Overall, I'll say NBA 2K24 delivers an enjoyable gameplay experience. Both casual and hardcore players will have fun (and some complaints) playing NBA 2K24. While it doesn't introduce drastic changes, this decision aligns with the incremental delivery philosophy, or in other words: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Maintaining the core gameplay experience seems to be the guiding idea, and it is a good one, guaranteeing a predictable result. As it is, NBA 2K24 is among the best sports video games today. However, a minor issue arises when players occasionally move too quickly into the paint, leading to turnovers with minimal input. While this doesn't happen frequently, it's worth noting.
Ah, the allure of RIDE 5, a siren's call to all those who crave the visceral sensation of hurtling down the asphalt at breakneck speeds. Whether it's the blinding rays of a scorching sun or the relentless barrage of raindrops, the visual spectacle is nothing short of jaw-dropping. In a game where every pixel matters, RIDE 5 delivers a sensory onslaught that's nothing short of breathtaking.
The thrill of jockeying for position, the satisfaction of overtaking a rival on that final lap—it's all here. If you like to buy cheap PS5 games, RIDE 5 is the best racing game you can find in that price bracket. Now, while RIDE 5 is undeniably a fantastic racing game, it's not without its share of challenges. Just like a daring rider on a hairpin turn, Milestone must navigate through some treacherous terrain to make this game truly flawless.
One area that calls for immediate attention is the difficulty balancing. At times, it feels like a rollercoaster with abrupt ups and downs. While a certain degree of challenge is expected and even welcome, RIDE 5 occasionally teeters on the precipice of frustration. Still, I was happy to buy RIDE 5 for PlayStation. The potential is clearly there, there is no doubt about it, and the game is already at a very high level, even if not yet the best. With a few tweaks and adjustments, I believe that RIDE 5 could shoot for the first position, or at least move up to even greater heights than now.
While they provide a decent challenge, there are moments when their behavior feels a tad too predictable. Racing against AI should be a dynamic and unpredictable experience, but in some races, it feels like I'm racing against a well-programmed script rather than sentient competitors. Injecting more variability and unpredictability into AI behavior would add a layer of excitement that's currently missing.
Imagine facing off against a formidable opponent in a head-to-head race, both of you pushing your bikes to the limit. Do you want to buy PS5 racing games and race against human opponents in multiplayer mode or against AI in single-player mode? The tension in the air is palpable as you jockey for position, each twist and turn a calculated move in this high-stakes ballet of speed and strategy. Single-player challenges, a plethora of them in RIDE 5, will push your skills to the edge, making every victory a sweet symphony of triumph.
As I progress through my virtual racing career in Ride 5, there's a sense of accomplishment that accompanies each victory. However, this triumph is somewhat dampened by the game's approach to career celebrations. Instead of immersive post-race celebrations or podium moments, Ride 5 opts for static images of your in-game character, robbing you of the visceral satisfaction that comes with a hard-earned victory.
Despite these minor hiccups, RIDE 5 is a testament to Milestone's commitment to delivering a top-tier motorcycle racing experience. Picture the thrill of crossing the finish line first, the crowd roaring in approval, and the taste of victory sweet on your lips. Unfortunately, Ride 5's career celebrations lack this sense of immersion and spectacle. With plenty of "pros" and a few "cons", this motorbike racing game should be on many players' radars. RIDE 5 is like a high-performance bike with a few scuffs that need buffing out. So, gear up, race on, and let the roar of the engine guide you through this high-speed journey.
HIGH That ‘aha!’ moment when the complex controls suddenly make sense.
LOW The crowds are so reminiscent of Xbox 360 graphics, I expected a red ring of death.
WTF John McEnroe sounds like he recorded after visiting a dispensary.
Despite some questionable market presence, there’s been no shortage of tennis titles for modern
consoles. That said, for die-hard enthusiasts of the sport, only one tennis series matters — Top Spin. Now, after a 13-year absence, the series has returned in the form of Top Spin 2K25.
Considering how long the series has been dormant, there was understandable enthusiasm for this
revival, but considerable pressure on 2K Sports to deliver on the hype and produce a truly “next-generation” tennis experience. For the most part, 2K25 is a welcome addition to any fan’s library
coming up just short of being essential.
Unlike most sports titles which want to overwhelm users with a litany of new modes, features, enhancements and eye candy, Top Spin 2K25 wants gamers to get right on the court. Within seconds of hitting the “A” button, I found myself in a fairly intense training regimen of baseline rallies, mid-court volleys, and some precision serving mechanics.
Despite voicework from a sleepwalking John McEnroe, the TopSpin Academy is a strong introduction to Top Spin’s refined control scheme and is essential for fans and newcomers alike since the series has always boasted unique mechanics that require some patience to learn and master.
At first, the controls seem overly complicated when compared to other titles. But when that “a-ha” moment clicks, there is a sense of fluidity and ease that transcends face buttons and analog sticks. At that point, the timing-based shots are powerful, intuitive, and more rewarding than the norm. Winners feel weighty and impactful, especially at the end of a long, well-played point.
One thing I’ve always admired about the Top Spin series is how it added depth and strategy, elevating tennis titles above “Prettier Pong.” Here, it adapts to a user’s strategy, letting them choose their preferred style. There is so much variety in gameplay, whether gamers choose to launch aggressive baseline shots, inject some serve-and-volley into the mix, or stay aggressive at the net through precision lobs, no match feels redundant. The physics of how different court surfaces affect shots only enhances the realism.
As mentioned above, the gameplay is largely excellent, if not perfect. Unfortunately, the AI is a bit suspect, varying from wonderful court knowledge to ridiculous shot selection in a matter of strokes. Likewise, as players work through the career mode, the AI jumps from fair to unbeatable in no time at all, leading to unwanted frustration.
Visually, Top Spin 2K25 is good from afar, meaning the stock (television-style) camera angle. However,close-up replays show some janky animations, poor facial renders, and some Xbox 360-quality crowds and NPCs. Maybe tennis doesn’t need to be the most visually arresting game in the library, but considering how long fans have waited, the graphics will need a lot of work if there’s a 2K26.
The audio is also a mixed bag. While on-court sounds, player grunts and the overall tennis atmosphere are true to life, the commentary would put golf announcers to sleep. The enthusiasm doesn’t rise during long rallies, nor do the repetitive phrases always match what happens on the court.As mentioned, tennis doesn’t lend itself to a slew of modes and features but Career Mode is a simple, no-frills addition that keeps gamers focused on earning upgrades and scoring upset victories in a wide range of tournaments. It might not be dynamic, or story-driven, but there is reward to be had from steady progress up the rankings.
A lot of Top Spin’s success is going to hinge on how fans like the multiplayer modes. The 2K Tour mode lets users challenge others using existing tennis stars, while the World Tour mode lets users take their created avatars and pit them against the world in a variety of weekly tournaments and challenges.Both modes are smooth and competitive, if not a little daunting for newcomers.
I found basic online multiplayer to be the biggest surprise, with a large, active community of tennis enthusiasts offering competitive play without pretense. I had no problem finding a quick exhibition match against friendly fans, with no lag, latency, or lobby concerns. This is a major win, and possibly my new preferred way to enjoy digital tennis.
Regardless of the drawbacks, fans should welcome Top Spin back into their lives thanks to the largely enjoyable 2K25. With some visual and audio enhancement, and maybe a slightly more accessible learning curve, this series could find a new generation of fans. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take another 13 years to do it.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Disclosures: This game is developed and published by 2K Sports. It is currently available on PC,PS4/5 and XBO/X/S. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on Xbox Series X. Approximately 10 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. Approximately 14 hours were devoted to multiplayer modes.
Parents: Top Spin 2K25 is rated E. This is a sports simulation game in which players compete in tennis matches. Players can engage in a variety of game modes (e.g., Career, Exhibition) to improve their skills and abilities. There is no questionable content.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game is fully accessible. There are adjustable settings for subtitles, and the game offers controller vibration during ball strikes. No audio cues are needed for successful play. The game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: The controls are not remappable.
This Sun Haven Lost Toy guide will explain what to do with the lost toy and how to complete the quest attached to it. This quest isn’t like others as it doesn’t outline what to do nor is it given to you by an NPC which has left some players confused. Sun Haven is a popular release from 2023 that continues to get updates over on Steam to improve or tweak the gameplay.
Read More: Sun Haven Golden Pomegranate Guide
The Losty Toy is a quest that you can complete at any time as it starts when you find the trigger item. This is found outside the Sun Haven mine, you can pick up a Lost Toy that looks like a dinosaur. This gets added to your inventory with a description that clearly states that the toy should be returned to its owner.
The game doesn’t tell you the owner though, and the quest never gets tracked like a regular one so you have to find the owner on your own.
If you’d rather not deduce who it is yourself I can send you in the right direction. The toy belongs to Emma and can be returned to her in exchange for a reward. You can get XP, coins, or tokens as your reward upon returning the lost toy.
Read More: Song of the Prairie Gift Guide
That is all for this Sun Haven Lost Toy guide. Did we omit anything? Is there any other Sun Haven content you’d like to see? Be sure to chime in and let us know.
Read More: Song of the Prairie Romance Guide
Check out the rest of our tips & guides to find our other builds and tips for games across all genres including NBA 2K, MLB: The Show, Smalland: Survive the Wilds, indie titles, steam hits, Demonologist, and a lot more.
Stay tuned to Last Word on Gaming for all the latest gaming news and reviews You can always count on LWOG to be on top of the major news in the gaming world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the world of video games.
The post Sun Haven Lost Toy Guide appeared first on Last Word On Gaming.
This Sun Haven Golden Pomegranate guide will detail how to find the golden item which spawns at random throughout the map after a certain point. Sun Haven is a popular release from 2023 that continues to get updates over on Steam to improve or tweak the gameplay.
Read More: Song of the Prairie Gift Guide
Note: The content in this article is accurate as of the time of writing and does not account for any future updates to the game
The first step to finding a Golden Pomegranate is to level up the correct skill. It requires you to get the Scavenger Hunt skill to its maximum level of 3. At this point, you’ll have the best chance of finding a spawned Golden Pomegranate. You can get them from Level 1 but it is less likely you’ll find one so Level 3 is recommended.
There are 24 set spots for the pomegranate to spawn in, at level 3 you’ll have three of them spawn in. Once you find one, the other two will disappear until the next day. As you can see, getting one of these is not an easy ask.
The 24 locations are as follows:
There are some other ways to get a Golden Pomegranate like the Withergate Spinning Wheel, from Golden Trees produced by golden tree seeds. There is also one other way.
Pigs. Pigs in your barn can produce this item as a “golden product” after unlocking the Golden Heart skill. You can have a maximum of 17 pigs, assuming you want no other animals, which would guarantee you at least 1 or 2 Golden Pomegranates a day.
There’s more than one way to get some Golden Pomegranate but the scavenging method is your most likely route to success, unless you want to stock your entire farm up with just pigs…
Read More: Song of the Prairie Romance Guide
That is all for this Sun Haven Golden Pomegranate guide. Did we omit anything? Is there any other Sun Haven content you’d like to see? Be sure to chime in and let us know.
Read More: Sword of Convallaria Reroll Guide
Check out the rest of our tips & guides to find our other builds and tips for games across all genres including NBA 2K, MLB: The Show, Smalland: Survive the Wilds, indie titles, steam hits, Demonologist, and a lot more.
Stay tuned to Last Word on Gaming for all the latest gaming news and reviews You can always count on LWOG to be on top of the major news in the gaming world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the world of video games.
The post Sun Haven Golden Pomegranate Guide appeared first on Last Word On Gaming.
This Song of the Prairie gift guide will focus on what to gift each character as you aim to increase their friendship level or romance them. I will also touch on preferred dating spots in case you happen to take someone out on a date. Song of the Prairie has released on Steam after a period in early access with most players leaving positive reviews.
Read More: Song of the Prairie Romance Guide
Note: The content in this article is accurate as of the time of writing and does not account for any future updates to the game
Likes:
Preferred dating spot: Mushroom House
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Preferred Dating Spot: Spring Lake
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Preferred Dating Spot: Spring Lake
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Dislikes: Boiled Artichokes
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Preferred Dating Spot: Garden
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Preferred Dating Spot: Sleeping Hill
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Preferred Dating Spot: Mushroom House
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Preferred Dating Spot: Sleeping Hill
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Preferred Dating Spot: Garden
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Preferred Dating Spot: Spring Lake
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Preferred Dating Spot: Garden
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Preferred Dating spot: Meadow of Memories
Loves:
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Preferred Dating Spot: Meadow of Memories
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Preferred Dating Spot: Sleeping Hill
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Preferred Dating Spot: Sleeping Hill
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Likes:
Loves:
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Dislikes:
Preferred Dating Spot: Mushroom House
Read More: Sword of Convallaria Reroll Guide
That is all for this Song of the Prairie Gift guide. Did we omit anything? Is there any other Song of the Prairie content you’d like to see? Be sure to chime in and let us know.
Read More: Sword of Convallaria Codes Guide
Check out the rest of our tips & guides to find our other builds and tips for games across all genres including NBA 2K, MLB: The Show, Smalland: Survive the Wilds, romance guides, Demonologist, and a lot more.
Stay tuned to Last Word on Gaming for all the latest gaming news and reviews You can always count on LWOG to be on top of the major news in the gaming world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the world of video games
The post Song of the Prairie Gift Guide + Preferred Dating Spots appeared first on Last Word On Gaming.
This Song of the Prairie romance guide will detail how to date the character of your choice. Romance mechanics are vital to life sims/farming sims so it’s one of the things you’ll need to focus on eventually. Song of the Prairie has released on Steam after a period in early access with most players leaving positive reviews.
Read More: Sword of Convallaria Reroll Guide
Note: The content in this article is accurate as of the time of writing and does not account for any future updates to the game
There’s an extensive list of characters who are open to dating:
All of these characters except Linde will date you no matter what your character’s chosen gender is so there’s no limits based on what your MC pick is.
To even get a date you’ll first have to build up your relationship with your chosen lover. The game has six different stages for relationships stretching from stranger to Best Friend/Lover. You can fill this by doing the usual stuff, interacting with characters, giving them gifts, completing missions, all of this will fill up your Friendship Points.
Once you’ve reached the friend stage, which requires 1500 FP you can ask the character on a date. They’ll accept presuming the next day isn’t an event day and you’ll be told to meet at the Goddess Statue at 10, if you arrive at 10 they usually spawn in by 10:30 and your date commences.
You get to choose where to go for a date which is important as each character has their own favoured date spots. Each spot has 5 activities available to you that can earn FP. After 3 activities you can use a prompt to end the date.
You can end the date any time by walking out but waiting until you’ve done 3 activities will five you post-date prompts like an offer to go out to eat which is another thing that can boost your FP.
After successfully dating someone it’s time to take things to the next level, once you reach Best Friend status you’ll be sent a letter teaching you how to craft Lover’s Gaze. Lover’s Gaze is a gifted item that confesses your feelings to another character.
If you’re advanced enough in their story and have a good enough friendship level they will accept and you’ll become lovers instead of Best Friends.
Read More: Sword of Convallaria Codes Guide
That is all for this Song of the Prairie Romance guide. Did we omit anything? Is there any other Song of the Prairie content you’d like to see? Be sure to chime in and let us know.
Read More: Gym Simulator 24 Achievements Guide
Check out the rest of our tips & guides to find our other builds and tips for games across all genres including NBA 2K, MLB: The Show, Smalland: Survive the Wilds, romance guides, Demonologist, and a lot more.
Stay tuned to Last Word on Gaming for all the latest gaming news and reviews You can always count on LWOG to be on top of the major news in the gaming world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the world of video games.
The post Song of the Prairie Romance Guide appeared first on Last Word On Gaming.
In need of a new simulator? AirportSim may not see you flying high, but it will scratch a simulator itch. And it'll let you do so on Xbox.
The post Beyond Flight: Immerse Yourself in Airport Operations with AirportSim on Xbox appeared first on TheXboxHub.
In Closer the Distance, you play as Angela, who observes the village of Yesterby from afar. Angela soon discovers there’s been a fatal car accident in which she perished. Mysteriously, Angela’s sister Conny hears Angela after her death and begins to follow her guiding voice to help the other villagers. Miraculously, the sisters are able to work together to mend the villager’s grief, bringing hope back to Yesterby. Over time, they discover other villagers are also connected to Angela who also guides them in their lives. However, this isn’t as simple as it sounds. The villagers of Yesterby have desires and dreams that are not easily achieved.
All of this combines to make Closer the Distance a slice of life-sim that combines a compelling dramatic narrative with fully simulated characters that act on their own – if you let them. Characters have “wishes,” big or small goals they want to achieve, and “needs,” which represent their physical and mental requirements. Fulfilling these Wishes and Needs is your main task in the game, but both vary greatly between characters.
Take Zek, for example: Zek is Angela’s boyfriend and a carpentry apprentice. He’d been fed up with Yesterby for a while and planned to leave, but stayed out of love for Angela. These desires are reflected in two of Zek’s core needs: “Achievement” and “Belonging.”
At the start of the game, Zek mourns Angela and wants nothing more than for her to be alive. His Belonging need is extremely high, making him feel directionless and lonely. We can try to fulfill his needs by looking at the overview that shows all interactions connected to any selected wish or need. From there, you the player can send Zek to play a song he wrote for Angela on the beach. Reminding him of Angela will partially fill his Belonging needs and stabilize his emotions. The better his needs are met overall, the better he will feel, which in turn affects his behavior and decisions throughout the game.
But just performing a song won’t make Zek’s grief magically disappear, nor will it quell his desire to leave Yesterby. Parts of his Belonging need will remain locked, so it can never be fully satisfied.
That’s where wishes come in. Wishes reflect things a character wants to achieve. With Angela gone, it’s no surprise that Zek eventually develops a wish to move to the city. Following the steps to complete this wish and helping Zek achieve this goal not only fulfills his needs but also affects his personality. When this happens, the limits on his Belonging and Achievement needs can change or be removed altogether, allowing Zek to feel happy again.
While Zek is mostly focused on himself, Galya is another story. Galya is the village doctor, a busy bee who feels responsible for everyone in Yesterby. She has a strong sense of loyalty to her best friend Pia, Angela’s mother, but also doesn’t want to neglect her partner, Leigh. Fulfilling her wishes and needs often hinges on social interactions and deciding whom to help or spend time with. On top of that, her “Diligence” need ensures that slacking off is not an option, as Galya will feel stressed quickly if she hasn’t been productive in a while. Luckily, Galya also has some emotional “Resilience,” which she can build up by working out, for example.
As you can see, no two characters are quite the same, and their wishes and needs shape personalities that feel and play differently. Often, there’s more than one way to tackle a wish or need, and sometimes wishes of characters will be intertwined with those of others or may even contradict them.
How you have them spend their days matters in Closer the Distance, as time progresses constantly. But if juggling multiple characters sounds stressful, don’t worry; the villagers are mostly pretty good at taking care of themselves, even if you’re not constantly looking after them. Still, the actions you choose for the characters will determine not only their own stories but the fate of Yesterby as a whole.
How will you guide the people of Yesterby? Will you have them overcome their grief and be able to feel happy again? Find out today, as Closer the Distance comes to Xbox Series X|S today.
The post Closer the Distance: The Complex Characters of This Slice-of-Life Sim appeared first on Xbox Wire.
After a successful landing on PC back in October, AirportSim, the advanced airport ground handling simulator, arrives on Xbox Today. For the past few months, Polish studio MS Games have been hard at work bringing their highly-detailed airport experience to console. With the release of AirportSim on Xbox now on the horizon, Iceberg Interactive’s Ben Kobs sat down with producer Krzysztof Stabryła to talk about their journey so far!
Can you tell us a little bit about the history of AirportSim? How long have you been working on it and how did the development go?
We’ve been working on AirportSim since late 2021. We’re all aviation fans at MS Games, but Mateusz, our CEO, has been a devoted aviation enthusiast since childhood. Not only does he have a pilot’s license, but he has also been creating software for flight simulators since 2008. The idea of developing a ground handling simulator has been floating around in his head for a long time and we felt like that area was generally unexplored in the sim space, so we were eager to get to work on a sim focussing on ground operations.
The development had its ups and downs, but it was a lot of fun. We had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people and collaborate with them to create our game. From actual ground handling companies to vehicle manufacturers, we were lucky to get access to meticulous technical documentation and first-hand insights into the intricacies of airport life, which made the development process a lot easier.
How exciting is it for you to be able to bring your game to a console like Xbox?
We are very excited to introduce AirportSim and the world of ground handling to Xbox. This will help us reach aviation enthusiasts who may not have access to the game otherwise. Bringing our game to a console like Xbox is a thrilling milestone for us, as it allows us to share our passion for aviation with a wider community!
What role does an active community play in the development of the game? How does fan feedback affect you?
During production, we received enormous amounts of support and feedback from our community. We launched a couple of demos for people to try out, and their feedback was invaluable in fine-tuning some features and fixing key issues before launch. The aviation community has always been a huge help in creating projects like this one, and their insights were crucial to our development process.
How important was it for you to give players a realistic experience in AirportSim? Can you elaborate on how realistic the game is compared to real-life ground handling?
It was important for us to deliver a realistic ground handling experience in AirportSim. We are proud to say that our mechanics are nearly identical to real life! We visited many airports and ground handling firms, and, during production, partnered with Welcome Airport Services, LS Airport Services, Warsaw Chopin Airport, and countless others. These partnerships provided us with enormous support.
Of course, some procedures can vary from country to country, airline to airline, and even city to city. This means there may be some discrepancies as certain tasks might be performed differently than what some players are used to. That’s why we decided to standardize these procedures. We wanted to keep things realistic, but also needed to ensure the game was cohesive and enjoyable for players.
What challenges have you faced in the design and execution?
Before we partnered with industry experts, one of the biggest challenges we faced was the lack of documentation and clear and detailed photos. Creating and recreating these models took a lot of time and effort and it was tough to start working on accurate models and representations. We dug through thousands of pages of documentation. It was a tedious and time-consuming task, but essential for the level of realism we were aiming for.
Sound recording was another big hurdle. Airports are incredibly loud places! It’s difficult to get clear audio recordings. But our sound designer, Łukasz, did an amazing job navigating this and made sure everything sounds just right in the game.
So, what’s next?
For now it’s focussing on Xbox! The game is out today and we’re stoked to see how it goes. We’re proud of how it turned out, so make sure to check out AirportSim on Xbox and enjoy the fulfilling experience of the duties of a ground crew member at various airports!
The post AirportSim Has Landed on Xbox: The Journey So Far appeared first on Xbox Wire.
This post was retrieved from freegamer.blogspot.com.
This post was retrieved from freegamer.blogspot.com.
House Flipper 2, a game for people who want to fix up rental properties on the weekend without engaging in problematic real world activities like buying real estate or inhaling black mold, got a big free update last week.
The new update, Summer in Old Pinnacove, adds a downtown area to explore and a new job that sees players helping out a guy named Simon, whose allergies are complicating his apartment glow-up. It's also got 150 new items, some of which really stuck out to me:
In case that wasn't enough to wet your whistle, there are also a number of quality of life changes. Curtains can now be opened and closed with the press of a button, items can be placed on gazebos and scaffolding, and selling expensive items will require a longer click so you don't scam yourself.
For the uninitiated, House Flipper 2 is about restoring shabby old properties to their former glory. Like PowerWash Simulator, it will appeal to those looking for a cozy experience that delivers the satisfaction of a floor well mopped (but without the vinegar smell). You can build houses from scratch, or take on a story mode where you move into a sleepy little village and help people out with home renovation projects.
If you want to see what's possible in the game, developer Frozen District has posted a video of the winners from their "Fairytale Contest," where they asked players to create their best enchanting fairy-themed houses in the sandbox mode.
The Summer in Old Pinnacove update is available now.
© Frozen District
In Closer the Distance, you play as Angela, who observes the village of Yesterby from afar. Angela soon discovers there’s been a fatal car accident in which she perished. Mysteriously, Angela’s sister Conny hears Angela after her death and begins to follow her guiding voice to help the other villagers. Miraculously, the sisters are able to work together to mend the villager’s grief, bringing hope back to Yesterby. Over time, they discover other villagers are also connected to Angela who also guides them in their lives. However, this isn’t as simple as it sounds. The villagers of Yesterby have desires and dreams that are not easily achieved.
All of this combines to make Closer the Distance a slice of life-sim that combines a compelling dramatic narrative with fully simulated characters that act on their own – if you let them. Characters have “wishes,” big or small goals they want to achieve, and “needs,” which represent their physical and mental requirements. Fulfilling these Wishes and Needs is your main task in the game, but both vary greatly between characters.
Take Zek, for example: Zek is Angela’s boyfriend and a carpentry apprentice. He’d been fed up with Yesterby for a while and planned to leave, but stayed out of love for Angela. These desires are reflected in two of Zek’s core needs: “Achievement” and “Belonging.”
At the start of the game, Zek mourns Angela and wants nothing more than for her to be alive. His Belonging need is extremely high, making him feel directionless and lonely. We can try to fulfill his needs by looking at the overview that shows all interactions connected to any selected wish or need. From there, you the player can send Zek to play a song he wrote for Angela on the beach. Reminding him of Angela will partially fill his Belonging needs and stabilize his emotions. The better his needs are met overall, the better he will feel, which in turn affects his behavior and decisions throughout the game.
But just performing a song won’t make Zek’s grief magically disappear, nor will it quell his desire to leave Yesterby. Parts of his Belonging need will remain locked, so it can never be fully satisfied.
That’s where wishes come in. Wishes reflect things a character wants to achieve. With Angela gone, it’s no surprise that Zek eventually develops a wish to move to the city. Following the steps to complete this wish and helping Zek achieve this goal not only fulfills his needs but also affects his personality. When this happens, the limits on his Belonging and Achievement needs can change or be removed altogether, allowing Zek to feel happy again.
While Zek is mostly focused on himself, Galya is another story. Galya is the village doctor, a busy bee who feels responsible for everyone in Yesterby. She has a strong sense of loyalty to her best friend Pia, Angela’s mother, but also doesn’t want to neglect her partner, Leigh. Fulfilling her wishes and needs often hinges on social interactions and deciding whom to help or spend time with. On top of that, her “Diligence” need ensures that slacking off is not an option, as Galya will feel stressed quickly if she hasn’t been productive in a while. Luckily, Galya also has some emotional “Resilience,” which she can build up by working out, for example.
As you can see, no two characters are quite the same, and their wishes and needs shape personalities that feel and play differently. Often, there’s more than one way to tackle a wish or need, and sometimes wishes of characters will be intertwined with those of others or may even contradict them.
How you have them spend their days matters in Closer the Distance, as time progresses constantly. But if juggling multiple characters sounds stressful, don’t worry; the villagers are mostly pretty good at taking care of themselves, even if you’re not constantly looking after them. Still, the actions you choose for the characters will determine not only their own stories but the fate of Yesterby as a whole.
How will you guide the people of Yesterby? Will you have them overcome their grief and be able to feel happy again? Find out today, as Closer the Distance comes to Xbox Series X|S today.
The post Closer the Distance: The Complex Characters of This Slice-of-Life Sim appeared first on Xbox Wire.
After a successful landing on PC back in October, AirportSim, the advanced airport ground handling simulator, arrives on Xbox Today. For the past few months, Polish studio MS Games have been hard at work bringing their highly-detailed airport experience to console. With the release of AirportSim on Xbox now on the horizon, Iceberg Interactive’s Ben Kobs sat down with producer Krzysztof Stabryła to talk about their journey so far!
Can you tell us a little bit about the history of AirportSim? How long have you been working on it and how did the development go?
We’ve been working on AirportSim since late 2021. We’re all aviation fans at MS Games, but Mateusz, our CEO, has been a devoted aviation enthusiast since childhood. Not only does he have a pilot’s license, but he has also been creating software for flight simulators since 2008. The idea of developing a ground handling simulator has been floating around in his head for a long time and we felt like that area was generally unexplored in the sim space, so we were eager to get to work on a sim focussing on ground operations.
The development had its ups and downs, but it was a lot of fun. We had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people and collaborate with them to create our game. From actual ground handling companies to vehicle manufacturers, we were lucky to get access to meticulous technical documentation and first-hand insights into the intricacies of airport life, which made the development process a lot easier.
How exciting is it for you to be able to bring your game to a console like Xbox?
We are very excited to introduce AirportSim and the world of ground handling to Xbox. This will help us reach aviation enthusiasts who may not have access to the game otherwise. Bringing our game to a console like Xbox is a thrilling milestone for us, as it allows us to share our passion for aviation with a wider community!
What role does an active community play in the development of the game? How does fan feedback affect you?
During production, we received enormous amounts of support and feedback from our community. We launched a couple of demos for people to try out, and their feedback was invaluable in fine-tuning some features and fixing key issues before launch. The aviation community has always been a huge help in creating projects like this one, and their insights were crucial to our development process.
How important was it for you to give players a realistic experience in AirportSim? Can you elaborate on how realistic the game is compared to real-life ground handling?
It was important for us to deliver a realistic ground handling experience in AirportSim. We are proud to say that our mechanics are nearly identical to real life! We visited many airports and ground handling firms, and, during production, partnered with Welcome Airport Services, LS Airport Services, Warsaw Chopin Airport, and countless others. These partnerships provided us with enormous support.
Of course, some procedures can vary from country to country, airline to airline, and even city to city. This means there may be some discrepancies as certain tasks might be performed differently than what some players are used to. That’s why we decided to standardize these procedures. We wanted to keep things realistic, but also needed to ensure the game was cohesive and enjoyable for players.
What challenges have you faced in the design and execution?
Before we partnered with industry experts, one of the biggest challenges we faced was the lack of documentation and clear and detailed photos. Creating and recreating these models took a lot of time and effort and it was tough to start working on accurate models and representations. We dug through thousands of pages of documentation. It was a tedious and time-consuming task, but essential for the level of realism we were aiming for.
Sound recording was another big hurdle. Airports are incredibly loud places! It’s difficult to get clear audio recordings. But our sound designer, Łukasz, did an amazing job navigating this and made sure everything sounds just right in the game.
So, what’s next?
For now it’s focussing on Xbox! The game is out today and we’re stoked to see how it goes. We’re proud of how it turned out, so make sure to check out AirportSim on Xbox and enjoy the fulfilling experience of the duties of a ground crew member at various airports!
The post AirportSim Has Landed on Xbox: The Journey So Far appeared first on Xbox Wire.
This post was retrieved from freegamer.blogspot.com.
This post was retrieved from freegamer.blogspot.com.
At ten past nine every evening he sends you out into the darkening world. He's the presenter of Krypta FM - pronounced with the chopped staccato of every good radio announcer as Kryp! Ta! FM! - and you are his eager listener and hopeful protege. Sniff the evening air. Breathe deep! The small town world that lies sleeping all around you is just teeming with cryptids, surely. Anyone seen a mothman lately? A werewolf? Grab a camera and get out there - but be safe, okay?
At ten past nine every evening he sends you out into the darkening world. He's the presenter of Krypta FM - pronounced with the chopped staccato of every good radio announcer as Kryp! Ta! FM! - and you are his eager listener and hopeful protege. Sniff the evening air. Breathe deep! The small town world that lies sleeping all around you is just teeming with cryptids, surely. Anyone seen a mothman lately? A werewolf? Grab a camera and get out there - but be safe, okay?
This post was retrieved from freegamer.blogspot.com.
This post was retrieved from freegamer.blogspot.com.
War Thunder by Gaijin Entertainment is a large-scale military simulation with an emphasis on realism, and the game's known for one thing in particular: a community that just cannot stop itself from leaking classified military documents to win forum arguments about virtual tanks. Well, that and having game footage used (without the studio's knowledge) in the background of Russian propaganda clips.
Usually it's Gaijin Entertainment that's mopping up the mess, sternly reminding players not to leak stuff with potentially severe real-world consequences. But now Gaijin itself has made a colossal and unforced error linked to a real world tragedy.
The latest War Thunder event titled "Seek & Destroy" comes with a new piece of key art featuring three separate images of aircraft in combat. Behind one can be seen a distinctively shaped debris cloud, which features individual debris trails. This unusual shape is one of the most distinctive debris clouds in history: the immediate aftermath of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
Challenger launched in January 1986. Shortly afterwards the shuttle disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean and broke apart, with all seven crew members killed. It was the first fatal accident involving an American spacecraft in flight, and saw the entire shuttle program put on hiatus during a government investigation. It is one of those tragedies that remains a scar on the American psyche.
Not the type of subject, in other words, that one should be incorporating into artwork for a military simulator. The particular cloud formed by Challenger is distinctive to the extent that there's no doubt the version in War Thunder is the same cloud, despite minor alterations you can tell with the naked eye, but Gaijin itself has at least come out and owned up.
"We have accidentally used the explosion from the Challenger disaster in one of our key art images," says community manager Magazine2. "Please accept our sincere apologies for this, the picture was part of an aerial explosion reference pack used by our artists and the context was lost.
"We’ll be altering this artwork as soon as we can and will take measures to ensure that this doesn’t repeat again in the future."
This is not the first nor will be the last time that unauthorised imagery accidentally finds its way into a videogame, though this easily ranks among the worst examples seen. The first episode of Telltale's Batman game (2017) showed an image of the body of Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, who was murdered in Ankara in 2016. Going even further back Law & Order: Double or Nothing (2003) was somehow released containing a still from CCTV footage of the murdered toddler James Bulger.
Having previously investigated the Telltale example, in that case the explanation from every industry professional I spoke to was the same: Someone in Telltale's art department had googled "assassination", taken a picture of Karlov from near the top of the results, and used it as a background placeholder while constructing the scene in question. That individual had never gotten around to replacing the placeholder (no doubt Telltale's infamously brutal schedules didn't help), and the other parts of the process that should've picked it up failed to do so before release.
At the time, the images of Karlov's assassination travelled the world: partly because the incident took place in an art gallery and the photographs are striking in that context. But the Challenger disaster, even almost four decades later, is globally infamous on another level. No-one would dream of implying that Gaijin's done this deliberately but, nevertheless, it has done it. At the very least this suggests a level of carelessness about key assets that must be addressed, lest it end up in this situation again.
I have contacted Gaijin's press office asking for comment and about what these "measures" to prevent a repeat may be. I'll update this article with any response.
© Gaijin Entertainment
Brand new details about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 are out, giving us some real detail about improvements we'd only guessed at after the trailer earlier this month. That includes the overhaul of the world modeling including the new 3D ground map, visual improvements to environments of all kinds, huge expansions to the scope of the world, and information about the new commercial aviation activities.
The biggest, immediate visual change is to the map of Earth itself. The landscape below your plane is now in full 3D, not just a texture on the ground. That includes procedurally generated vegetation on the world with 30 distinct biomes modelled. It's a huge visual difference, which was clear from comparisons of the same area in the 2020 and 2024 Flight Simulators.
There's also a level of detail coming to how the world itself is represented. AI-flown planes will be more detailed, complete with livery. There's also a bonanza of flight-related details incoming: Global ship traffic will be simulated, and every oil rig in the world has been added, all complete with helipads. In fact, they've also added every helipad in the world and every glider airport as well. That they know of, at least. There are also some 500,000 tall obstacles in MSFS 2024, including antennae, towers, turbines, masts, and cooling towers.
There'll also be new activities for commercial aviation, such as the ability to walk around your plane to accomplish pre-flight checklists. That'll go well with your airport models, since those will now include passengers moving around inside buildings, visible through windows, and embarking onto planes via jetways.
The physics simulation is also getting a boost. More points of contact on plane models will now exist, as well as better physics for things like cargo weight. That stuff will apparently be very simple for third parties and modders to upgrade on existing models.
None of this is to mention other visual improvements to clouds and shadows. Ray-traced ground shadows are all looking pretty impressive compared to the 2020 game. The new engine for clouds can also simulate cirrus clouds—the hair-like tufty stranded ones—with lighting and atmospheric scattering included.
Finally, at least for my summary, Flight Simulator 2024 will also have an in-game flight path planner and an in-game flight replay feature included.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will be the newest version of the venerable series. It was announced earlier this month with a trailer featuring hot air balloons, blimps, and even some deer photography. It's set to release on November 19 2024.
You can watch the entire presentation on Microsoft Flight Simulator's YouTube channel—there's also stuff in there about new planes and the Boeing 737 MAX coming with MSFS 2024.
© Microsoft
I worked as a bookseller for about half a decade. My favorite part of the job was when people asked me for recommendations. I like to think I got pretty good at it; even now I can still tell you some of the New York Times top lists from 2013. Whether I was helping a grandma trying to figure out the AP level of a six-year-old or a shy teenager preordering a Cassandra Clare book, while doing that job I felt like my positive influence on the world around me was easy to see.
So perhaps it’s no surprise my favorite trailer from the Wholesome Games stream last week was for Tiny Bookshop, a bookstore management game where you choose books for customers at your seaside micro-shop. In the demo available on Steam, you’re new in town and meet a kindly retired bookseller who shows you the ropes of moving copies, along with a newspaper reporter and a few other citizens.
I played through a couple days of bookselling, which was enough to get the hang of stocking inventory and dealing with difficult customers. Ahhh, home sweet home.
Tiny Bookshop combines two of the most potent ingredients of simulation games from the past few years: Running a small business, and interior design. You can customize your small green book wagon with items you buy with your day’s profits, which are decorations like ships’ buoys, plants, and a Billy Bass-like talking fish, as well as tables and stands to prop up even more books.
The heart of the game is selling books, which follows the same structure every in-game day. First, you choose a location to set up for the day. Then you open up your cart with a few clicks. Customers stream in automatically, and they pick their selections from the genres you have in stock. Each genre has a percentage chance to have the book they’re looking for, depending on how many books of that type you have in the store. If you have mostly fantasy novels, for example, the travel enthusiast is going to walk away disappointed. Every night you tally your profit, buy your decorations and reset your stock for the next day.
Your mobile bookstore can move around from place to place. In the demo there are just two locations, a waterfront area and a town square, each with unique clientele. In the first one a runner jogged up my ramp and asked me for classics. In the second, browsers came over from the nearby cafe. Every so often a customer can ask you for a recommendation, either to jog their memory or to find something new. You then have to look at your collection and guess from plot summaries whether your customer would like a book. These books are real, and some of them actually taught me about books I’d never heard of (did you know Kiki’s Delivery Service was a kids’ book before it was a Ghibli film?).
The process also felt relatively true to life, though maybe a little more punishing than in the real world. Helping a customer find the perfect book always comes with a risk, after all, that you might recommend something they absolutely hate. These customers are always ready to tell you if they don’t like what you offer—and follow it up by walking out of your store.
The art in this game is gorgeous, with a watercolor style that depicts the starting pier and the winding roads of the town in a soft, calming light. I imagine when I collect a few more decorations my bookstore will really start to feel like home. No matter how many cosmetics I add, though, the wall of books remains the centerpiece, and adding and selling books from it makes those I hold onto feel like a genuine collection. I lingered in-game at closing time, waiting to shut the bookstore’s doors and windows just to admire how it looked in the sunset. Tiny Bookshop really succeeds in giving me enough control over my store that it feels like it’s really mine, a shop but also a sanctuary.
Organizing my wares into tidy shelves reminded me of a game from last year called Book of Hours, where you manage a palatial library made of different types of books. That game was more mysterious, while Tiny Bookshop seems so far like more of an open book. I couldn’t sense any hidden darkness lurking under the surface, though the website hints at some small town drama. The writing in the demo stays light, and it never reads as too pretentious or too plain, which is important for a game about selling the written word.
There’s an in-universe newspaper that tracks your progress and where you can buy books from estate sales and literary fans. And there are plenty of literary jokes that never strain towards being stuck-up or annoying, like one about Sappho’s poems of passion (for women) or a summary of All’s Well that Ends Well (sometimes a happy ending can be a woman getting the man she wanted, even if he’s generally quite unpleasant).
But the center of the whole thing is bookselling and taking care of your store. While the demo never got challenging, the process of choosing what books to stock is a modest puzzle. I don’t see it getting much more complex than this, though I wish there were ways to sell someone on a book they never thought they wanted (as I remember doing with people who came in for a cookbook and left with a Donna Tartt novel). But ultimately I think simple, in this case, is fine. As with the plot, the overall impression of the game is made up of relatively simple parts—sales, interior design, and progressing the story—and none of them overpowers the others.
My favorite thing about Tiny Bookshop is that it creates a town where bookstores can exist on every corner. With the one-two punch of Barnes and Noble and Amazon, the last 20 years have been rough on independent bookstores. This game elides that difficulty, at least in the demo, creating a world where everyone reads and has money to spend on it. Similarly, being a bookstore employee can be tough; you spend hours on your feet, customers can be as rude as they are at any service job, and that rough market isn’t easy for employees either. But amid the romanticization that Tiny Bookshop is admittedly taking part in, there’s a kernel of truth—it feels good to make someone’s day by finding a book just for them.
Tiny Bookshop won’t be out until 2025, but I recommend holding yourself over by taking a trip to your local bookstore.
© neoludic games
I'm not generally a life-sim guy but I am very eager to dive into Nivalis. A big part of that arises from the strength of Cloudpunk, the previous game from developer Ion Lands, which I really liked, but Nivalis itself—based on the admittedly not-a-whole-lot we've seen of it so far—looks brilliant too.
Sadly, we're going to have to wait a little bit longer than expected to dive in, as it's been delayed until spring 2025.
"Ion Lands' highest priority is to ensure that Nivalis provides the best possible experience for the player and the team appreciates the patience and support they have received from the ever-growing community as Ion Lands navigate through this creative journey," publisher 505 Games said in a very non-specific explanation for the delay.
And fair enough, sometimes you just need more time to get things done, and I am more than happy to be patient for two reasons. One, the classic: "Suck is forever," and I'd rather wait to get a Nivalis that lives up to my hopes—which, frankly, are very high.
And two, the new trailer—the one embedded up top—has me breathing just a little more rapidly than usual. I've been in the business long enough to know that trailers are nothing more than a blend of aspirations and hype, concocted solely to get attention and, ideally, crank up excitement. Even so, sometimes a trailer hits just so, and I cast aside my game journo cynicism to let myself be caught up in it.
This is definitely one of those trailers: It's a powerful mood, with just enough of a glimpse at previously-unseen material to keep me hooked all the way through and a poetic denouement that lands perfectly. Will the game live up to the dream? No clue. Could I be setting my sights too high? Quite possibly. Am I concerned about that right now? Nope. Yes, I have been successfully marketed to, and I don't care.
This post was retrieved from freegamer.blogspot.com.
This post was retrieved from freegamer.blogspot.com.
I love a game that lets you collect creatures of all shapes and sizes, and as someone with an affinity for the more obscure a frog collector was bound to pique my interest. Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge blends farming sim elements with creature collection to create a heartwarming story of conservation for my new amphibious friends, and I fell in love from the second I hopped into its watercolour world. What came next was a feeling of pure joy I haven't had with a creature collector since I downloaded Cat Collector Neko Atsume in 2014.
Along with letting you design a frog sanctuary, Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge is a cutesy farming sim that encourages you to restore the biodiversity of the wetlands. Between digging ponds and farming crops, you'll use your harvest to create goods to sell and reinvest your profit into your sanctuary. Basically, everything you do is for the benefit of the wetlands, which makes the experience feel more fulfilling. Don't get me wrong, I love the satisfaction of restoring a derelict farm or an abandoned town, but there's something beautiful about watching life return to a natural habitat, which I sometimes miss in farming sims.
Once you've gone through Kamaeru's simple tutorial, you're left to your own devices, and you have a surprising amount of ground to cover within your sanctuary. This is a refreshing change of pace for someone like me who is used to a single phone screen worth of space in something like Neko Atsume. But this space can't be filled immediately. Because of the way you have to decorate and farm in equal balance, Kamaeru forces you to slow down. It's a very steady process which I'd usually get frustrated about, but once I started placing a few toys and the frogs started visiting I was able to appreciate the game's rhythm.
What I love about games like this, and the reason I loved Neko Atsume so much, is the excitement that comes each time you get new visitors to your site. Waiting for new frogs to appear gives me the same satisfaction as any gacha mechanic since you can never guarantee which variant or species you're about to encounter. There are certain items of furniture that attract specific species of frogs, but you have to learn this as you go along since the game gives few hints as to which frog likes what.
Once you've established yourself in the area and discovered a variety of frogs, you'll also start delving into the science of different species. From here, you'll learn all about breeding through a mini-game that shakes up the core gameplay. This feeds into completing the appropriately named Frogdex, where you log all the different species you encounter. I found that having this mini-game helped stop Kamareu from ever feeling repetitive, and it's another great way to spend more time among the frogs.
But even though a lot of my time with Kamaeru was spent fawning over the adorable amphibians I was responsible for, the story is what resonated with me the most. The wetlands you're restoring are more than just any old location. As the game introduces at the start, the wetlands were one of your favourite places to visit in your childhood, but over the years they've been abandoned. Paired with the excitement of getting new frogs to visit, this is all the motivation you need to pour hours of your time into Kamaeru.
This is what I found separated the love I hold dearly for Neko Atsume from the love I developed for Kamaeru. With Neko Atsume being a very simple mobile game to pick up, there isn't any story to sink its hooks into you. Kamaeru has far more depth, which makes it a lot easier to lose yourself in the restoration process. When you don't want to sit around waiting for frogs, you can switch back to farming, and by the time you've returned, you're bound to have new visitors. With Neko Atsume I would get impatient at how long it took cats to come and visit my garden, but luckily Kamaeru wastes no time in letting you welcome new friends.
Kamaeru is equal parts emotional and adorable, and it also spreads an important conservation message. If you want a cosy game that doesn't fit into the same mold as the bulk of farming sims, then I cannot recommend Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge enough.
© Humble Reeds
Fantasy farming simulator Tales of Seikyu strays from the traditional formula of raising cows, chickens, and sheep, and instead puts you into a world of yokai legends. Of course, you'll still have the perks of cultivating crops and collecting resources from livestock, but there's a lot more than meets the eye once you start to explore. From humanoid otters to sentient slimes that help around the farm, there are many quirks to get stuck into and creatures to befriend in what is scheduled to be a refreshing addition to the farming simulator space.
Our new endeavor into the farming realm takes place in the town of Seikyu. At a surface level, the location seems pretty normal. It's got all the enchantment of a stunning fantasy village brimming with natural beauty and plenty of nooks and crannies to explore. But, once you start looking a little closer, especially in the trailer for the game, you'll start to notice more oddities. Seikyu is home to the weird and wonderful, and it's our job to explore and befriend whatever we can.
The more critters you encounter, the more skills and abilities you unlock along the way. So not only will you be responsible for restoring and renovating a derelict farmland, you will also be tasked with learning about the abundant world of folklore around you. Tales of Seikyu is home to 30 characters with in-depth storylines that unfold as you develop relationships with them, spilling secrets about the world and assisting you on your adventure.
To make exploring all the more exciting, you'll also have the ability to shape-shift, which you gain through magical masks rewarded for puzzle-solving. As a crow tengu, you'll be free to soar through the skies and zip around quickly, or scale cliff faces as a nimble dryad. Gone is the need for horses as a faster way to get around the map, and these two skills appear to be just a taste of what we will be able to unlock the further we delve into Seikyu.
We've only seen a brief example of these skills in action, as shown in the most recent trailer released for Tales of Seikyu. As we get closer to a possible release, we're expecting more details on these skills and possibly a spotlight on what other skills we can unlock. For now, though, these modes of traversal are pretty exciting for those of us who have exhausted ourselves running around on-foot in the vast majority of farming simulators.
But with all that said, Tales of Seikyu currently only has a release window of 2024, so sadly we still have a little while to go before we can delve into the world of farming with yokai. But, you can wishlist the game on Steam now to keep up to date with any future updates or trailers that expose more of what is to come from the enchanting adventure that awaits.
© ACE Entertainment
This post was retrieved from freegamer.blogspot.com.
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