News involving the games developed in Canada, and the people who make them. Indie Games, AAA Games, and in between featured and reported on.
Well I was a little off when I thought 13AM Games would be releasing some DLC, since today they announced that Runbow will be coming to Steam later this month.
Huge news Runbow Fans! RUNBOW IS COMING TO STEAM ON NOVEMBER 18TH! Retweet & tell your friends to get ready! #Bowvember #gamedev #indiedev pic.twitter.com/CEvRAUbxgT
— 13AM Games (@13amgames) November 7, 2016
The store page doesn't appear to be up yet, but make sure to check out 13AM Games on Twitter. The game will release on Steam November 18th, but can be picked up on Wii U right now, and new 3DS later this year.
I'm a little late on this one, but Dan did discuss it on the podcast this week. Pirate Pop Plus is now out on Steam, which you can get here. A few weeks ago it was released on Wii U, and 3DS as cross-buy.
The Japan developed puzzle game was published 13AM Games, who released Runbow last year for Wii U. You can pick it up on Steam for $5.49 CAD.
Get ready for the bubble-popping, gravity-defying, retro-arcade action game Pirate Pop Plus! Join Pete Jr on his quest to defeat the nefarious Bubble Pirate, an evil villain who has trapped the innocent townsfolk in bubbles! Dodge and pop bubbles with your anchor while collecting power-ups and managing Bubble Pirate's constant gravity-switching mischief!
Additionally, it looks like we won't have to wait long for the next piece of 13AM Games news. They tweeted today to look forward to Monday (tomorrow) for something, which looks to be maybe secret characters? Perhaps some Pirate Pop Plus DLC isn't to far away. We'll find out together, tomorrow.
#gamedev #indiedev #teaser #monday pic.twitter.com/oO0RFfRD7a
— 13AM Games (@13amgames) November 6, 2016
We break down Baldur Gate 3's unprecedented success & the knock-on effects it'll have on the industry and how we make games moving forward. We also speak to Ontario-based indie game devs Twinolli about their upcoming action-puzzler Highlighters which just got a (Dad Deck-verified) Steam demo!
We speak to Québécois game dev Dragon Slumber, creator of Tech Support, Aethernaut and other games.
We reveal the winners of our ‘23 Community Awards poll and discuss Drinkbox’s latest teaser for their next project- and more!
This week thousands more game developers join Stephan in the "terminated by evil, stupid people" camp as layoffs hit tons of studios all over Canada and the world. We discuss Sonic as well. Sonic supports Unionizing your Workplace!
Stephan got terminated but that’s okay he just has more time to cover Canadian games now.
After a (ginormous) hiatus, Steve and Stephan are BACK to discuss some Canadian Games Industry news from the past few months but just catch up and talk about games and big game thoughts, man… and launch our end of 2023 Community Awards Polls! Nominate now!!
KEIGH THREEEEEE! New Compulsion Games’ game, Thunder Lotus goes multiplayer, age-old game development questions pondered and Zelda hierarchy debated.
In Stephan's last recorded and produced episode in Halifax, NS, we dive into a bunch of Canadian games from Fire Station to Super Animal Royale to Project Dark. We also talk new Canadian Nindies announcements and more news!
A few updates on everything Runbow. First, the Shantae DLC is now avaliable as a free download. Additionally, Runbow Deluxe, the retail version that comes with the main game, all DLC and soundtrack has been pushed to November 1st:
Due to an unforeseen error at the magical video game factory, Runbow Deluxe’s official ship / street date is being moved to November 1st. We’re sorry if this caused any inconvenience but some wishes not even an all powerful half-genie can grant.
With all this fun, there is also a patch for Runbow which can be downloaded on Wii U. You can check out the patch notes on their official tumblr.
While it is certainly fun for a while, it suffers from the same problem other mobile games on Steam do: Cube Samurai: RUN!’s price tag of $5:49 feels a little steep for the amount of time you might ultimately get from it, so I’d recommend installing the mobile version and giving it a go on the commute to work or on the toilet and see if it’s the sort of experience you’d enjoy on the PC. This aside, it certainly does seems like it would make for an equally fun mobile experience, but it doesn’t do anything exceptionally different than what most people have seen in an infinite runner before.
Overall, Kapsul Infinite’s $4.49 price point on Steam doesn’t quite feel worth it to me. There simply isn’t enough to keep me invested in the gameplay for very long, and without any integration of achievements or leaderboards of any kind it just falls a little flat. It is, however, a game that would be perfect for a mobile device where one play session consists of a few levels on the bus or while waiting out an unpleasant family reunion on the toilet. While the PC is not the platform to play it on, I’d definitely recommend giving it a try on mobile devices.
We live in an age where it’s easy to get bogged down in new features, and developers often seem to push for complex mechanic after complex mechanic. N++, however, sends itself off with a warm reminder that the series has always been created around one sole value: fun.
Despite flaws such as these, I honestly do myself blown away by the potential the game has down the road. It features a robust level editing tool that allows for the creation of scenarios and huge, complex maps. It has Steam Workshop support for user-generated content and (if the patch notes and Longbow Game's Facebook page are any indication) it's still being improved and updated tirelessly by the team at Longbow so many issues described here could very well be patched and improved in future updates.
Alone With You gives you an exceptional story about love, and loneliness, with gameplay that gives you a little more than your traditional visual novel.
There was once a girl named Cally, who was an ordinary girl who lived an ordinary life. One day she found her parents kidnapped by Herbert, a mad scientist seeking revenge for a tragic past. Cally, deciding it was in her best interests to not have her parents in distress and doing what any respectable young woman would do in this situation, grabbed her semi-automatic pistol and medieval bastard sword and made chase, filling anything that got in her way full of lead before tearing it asunder.
Lost Orbit is a 2D top down, action-arcade game with a focus on quick reflexes and the age-old struggle to beat a stage faster than you did two minutes ago. It features a time trial mode devoted to achieving exactly that speedy time as well as a campaign mode geared towards a more laid back experience for casual players.
Far Cry Primal has players controlling Takkar, a Wenja tribesman who is stranded in the fictitious world of Oros. The story comes down to pretty much "I hate that other tribe, so let's go kill them" but over the course of 20 or so hours players will hunt and control animals, craft and improve weapons, and gather your people to rebuild the Wenja tribe.
As previously announced, Pirate Pop Plus the game from Tokyo developer Dadako, and published by 13AM Games is out now on Wii U and 3DS. The title is cross-buy between the two platforms, which you can picked up right here.
Get ready for the bubble-popping, gravity-defying, retro-arcade action game Pirate Pop Plus! Join Pete Jr on his quest to defeat the nefarious Bubble Pirate, an evil villain who has trapped the innocent townsfolk in bubbles! Dodge and pop bubbles with your anchor while collecting power-ups and managing Bubble Pirate's constant gravity-switching mischief!
#SEVERED is now available on Nintendo 3DS In North America! pic.twitter.com/4yaLtg25li
— DrinkBox Studios (@DrinkBoxStudios) October 13, 2016
You can pick up Severed directly on 3DS, or on Nintendo's website. We'll probably have to wait a little bit to see what DrinkBox Studios is working on next, but we'll have it on TorontoGameDevs.com when its official.
Developer 13AM Games took to their Tumblr today to give us some updates on the upcoming 3DS game Runbow Pocket, and retail version Runbow Deluxe. Do you want the good news, or the bad news first?
Good News: Runbow Deluxe will be available release October 25th in North America. It will be $29.99, and you get access to Runbow, all of Runbow's DLC, and the Runbow Soundtrack Volume 1 and 2. Shantae will also be available as free DLC to the existing Runbow game in time for the Deluxe release.
Runbow Pocket will also include online play on new Nintendo 3DS when it releases.
Bad News: Runbow Pocket, and Runbow Pocket Deluxe has been delayed into Q1 2017.
Development on Runbow Pocket, especially the online functionality, took a few turns we didn’t quite expect. Rather than rush out a game that we didn’t feel was up to our standards, we decided a delay would be better if it meant we could focus on improving the quality of the game itself
Runbow Pocket will also not feature any sort of local multiplayer.
Now, making this system a reality meant focusing on Online connectivity over the New Nintendo 3DS’ Local connectivity. While this now means no Streetpass or local multiplayer, focusing on Online Multiplayer will allow players to have more options about where to play, when to play, and who to play with. It was important to us that Runbow Pocket players still have the option to play this crazy multiplayer game with other New Nintendo 3DS owners anywhere in the world, whenever they want.
Hopefully we won't have to wait long for Runbow Pocket, but until then you can always pick up Runbow on Wii U.
Toronto-based 13AM Games have announced a new paid expansion for their 2022 co-operative kaiju beat ‘em up Dawn of Monsters releasing in 2023.
Toronto-based 13AM Games have announced their side-scrolling, kaiju beat-'em-up game will be releasing on pretty much every platformer later this month on March 15th. Limited Run Games also has a physical edition for all platforms you can check out here.
After announcing they'll be publishing their first game, 13AM Games have announced that the retro arcade game Pirate Pop Plus, is coming to Wii U and 3DS October 10th, and Steam November 4th. You can check out the full trailer below:
Get ready for the bubble-popping, gravity-defying, retro-arcade action game Pirate Pop Plus! Join Pete Jr on his quest to defeat the nefarious Bubble Pirate, an evil villain who has trapped the innocent townsfolk in bubbles! Dodge and pop bubbles with your anchor while collecting power-ups and managing Bubble Pirate's constant gravity-switching mischief!
Dodge and pop bubbles with your anchor while collecting power-ups and managing Bubble Pirate’s constant gravity-switching mischief! When you feel at your Piratey-est, test your skill in the ultra-challenging Hyper Mode... The game may be faster and harder, but you'll find treasures beyond your wildest dreams. Coins as far as the eye can see!
The game will be cross-buy on 3DS and Wii U, and you can add the game to your Steam wish-list by checking out the games page. Make sure to follow the Japanese developer Dadako Studios on Twitter.
Following its release on PlayStation Vita, and then iOS, Drinkbox Studios have released Severed for Nintendo Wii U today. You can pick up the game for $13.49 right here, or on Wii U.
Take control of a one-armed warrior named Sasha, wielding a living sword on her journey through a nightmare world in search of her family. Swipe-based touch controls will let you solve puzzles, find secrets, and do battle with a host of disturbing monsters. As the journey goes on, you’ll unlock new abilities, ascend an RPG-style upgrade tree, and tease apart the mysteries of the dark fantasy universe Sasha finds herself in.
#SEVERED is now officially available on #WiiU! pic.twitter.com/weh9lsnGTd
— DrinkBox Studios (@DrinkBoxStudios) September 22, 2016
We're still waiting on the 3DS version of the game, which is expected to hit this year.
Hey everyone! It's another Week In Review! Our videos which basically summarizes what happened this week for Toronto developed games. Remember to subscribe on Youtube!
Another week in review! This week N++ , Alone With You, Valley released, and we know have a release date for Severed on Wii U.
First it was released on PlayStation Vita, then it was announced it was coming to iOS, Wii U, and 3DS. The iOS version is out for players to enjoy and now we know when the Wii U version comes out.
Nintendo announced the Nindies Summer Jam, and Severed is part of it and will be out September 22nd for Wii U, with the 3DS version coming out sometime in the Fall.
Get ready for #Nindies Summer Jam! Every Thursday in September, a new digital release for Wii U, Nintendo 3DS or both, will hit the Nintendo eShop at 10% of listing price for the first week! Check out these participating #Nindies Summer Jam titles, as well as a variety of upcoming Nindie games for the rest of 2016 and beyond!
You can check out the video below of what I thought of the iOS version against the Vita version as well:
I chat about Severed, and my thoughts on how the PlayStation Vita game plays on iOS. Check out more at www.torontogamedevs.com
Part of the same video showed Runbow Pocket coming to 3DS in Q4, so we'll have more on that and Severed 3DS as it becomes available.
