Reporting on the games made in Canada and the creators behind them
I've mentioned on the podcast numerous times my love for Guacamelee and DrinkBox Studios. Chris and I decided to play a bit of the coop and discuss my love for it. Check it out below, and subscribe on Youtube!
Chris and I are back! This time talking about Guacamelee and the impact it had on TorontoGameDevs.com - check out the coop gameplay from the first 15 or so minutes from the game. Remember to subscribe and leave a comment! Website: http://www.torontogamedevs.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/torontogamedevs Patreon: patreon.com/torontogamedevs Store: designbyhumans.com/shop/TorontoGameDevs/
Alone With You came out last year on PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation 4. It hit Number 7 on our Game of the Year voting, and was a personal favourite of mine as well. As hinted by Benjamin Rivers on Twitter, it looks like we'll be getting some news next week on the sci-fi adventure:
Stay tuned for some fun Alone With You news next week! This romance ain't over yet... #indiegame #gamedev #pixelart #AWYgame pic.twitter.com/3gk2ERJSpj
— Benjamin Rivers (@BenjaminRivers) January 11, 2017
Could we be in for a rerelease on a new platform? Some DLC? Something else? We'll have to wait and see, but make sure to follow Ben on Twitter in the meantime.
For Honor, the action hack-n-slash from Ubisoft, is going to be one of the first big releases of 2017, and now Ubisoft has opened up registration for the Beta.
Watch the new For Honor™ trailer and learn more about the single-player or co-op experience in the story campaign. Three legendary warrior factions - The noble Knights of the Iron Legion, the deadly Samurai of the Dawn Empire, and ferocious Vikings of the Warborn clans - are under threat from a mysterious and bloodthirsty warlord named Apollyon.
The Beta is set to take place January 26th-29th, and players can register for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC right here. For Honor will be out for everyone February 14th for those platforms. Our good friends at Ubisoft Toronto is assistant developer on the game.
Our statement on the site’s future Ubisoft coverage and why we won’t be nominating any Ubisoft games for our game of the year voting this year.
Ubisoft announced Ubisoft Collegiate Esports, their first-ever proprietary collegiate esports league, premiering with Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, that will kick off this month as part of the new North American ecosystem.
During ongoing sexual assault and harassment investigations, Ubisoft Montréal (@UbisoftMTL) announced a new FPS battle royale Hyper Scape this week as well as a technical test which began immediately.
Ubisoft has announced that a new North American League (@R6esportsNA) League for Rainbow Six Siege (@R6esports) is rolling out this year featuring a Canadian division for the first time in Rainbow Six Siege eSports history.
Ubisoft has announced a new game aimed at teaching kids how to code their own video games. Ubisoft Montreal released Rabbids Coding, a free educational game that you can get on UPlay.
Ubisoft is having a special Halloween event for For Honor - live now until November 1st the “Fans of the Otherworld” in-game event is free for all players. It comes with a new game mode, exclusive Halloween-themed loot, and new executions
Ubisoft Montreals epic Assassin’s Creed Odyssey got the final piece of DLC earlier last month. Titled Judgement of Atlantic, the final episode The Fate of Atlantic is now out Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC.
Ubisoft announced that Season 3 of their third year for For Honor on August 1st will introduce new Viking Hero ‘Jormungandr’, as well as a new Breach map, and various quality of life and balance changes. Check out the full trailer below.
Another Wednesday, another video. Subscribe on Youtube today!
Hey! We're back with another video on gameplay for Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime, consider this a review/preview sort of thing. But we also talk about Nintendo Switch, since the event is coming up. What we want from it, what we don't want from it.
Another Friday, another video. This time we played Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime. Check it out, and make sure to subscribe!
We're back talking about indie games, this time diving in Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime from AsteroidBase. It's a great co-op game, and is avaliable on PS4, Xbox One, and PC! Remember to subscribe and leave a comment! Website: http://www.torontogamedevs.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/torontogamedevs Patreon: patreon.com/torontogamedevs Store: designbyhumans.com/shop/TorontoGameDevs/
Another video of Chris and I playing N++. Check it out below, and remember to subscribe on Youtube!
We're back with another video, this time playing more N++ competitive multiplayer. We also talk about this Kotaku article: http://kotaku.com/nearly-40-of-all-steam-games-were-released-in-2016-1789535450 - where almost 40% of all Steam games were released in 2016. Remember to subscribe and leave a comment! Website: http://www.torontogamedevs.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/torontogamedevs Patreon: patreon.com/torontogamedevs Store: designbyhumans.com/shop/TorontoGameDevs/
Well, it was a solid 2016, and there were a lot of great games that were created in Toronto and Southern Ontario. Just like last year, supporters and fans of local content took part in the 2nd Annual Game of the Year voting, and here are the results!
10) Maize - Finish Line Games
9) Kapsul Infinite - Luke O'Connor
8) Far Cry Primal - Ubisoft Toronto
7) Alone With You - Benjamin Rivers
6) Watch Dogs 2 - Ubisoft Toronto
5) Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander - Massive Damage Inc
Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander had a huge Kickstarter. After a successful funding thank to Square Enix Collective, the game came out in Early Access, followed by a full release later in the year. The developers are still updating the game, so make sure you head over to Steam to pick it up.
4) Runbow: Satura's Space Adventure - 13AM Games
Back-to-back Years of placing 4th in voting, 13AM Games released a healthy chunk of DLC for its party platformer. Satura's Space Adventure gives players more single, and multiplayer content - while also releasing the game on Steam, and 3DS.
3) Severed - DrinkBox Studios
The first-person hack-n-slash found eventual homes on 3DS, iOS, and Wii U, but it was made from the ground up for the little Sony portable that could. Probably one of the last "exclusive" Vita games, Severed has you playing as a daughter trying to find out what happened to her family. Now I'll be praying for a Guacamelee 2.
2) Hard Vacuum Lullaby - One More Story Games
Friends of the site, One More Story Games claims our top two spots in this years Game of the Year voting, first with Hard Vacuum Lullaby. "After a savage battle in deep space, the 2nd Yagoshan Expeditionary Fleet Battlecruiser #6 retreats to the orbit of a gas giant with other damaged vessels to undergo repairs by the fleets logistics and repair corvettes."
1) Mandatory Upgrade X Marks The Spot - One More Story Games
Joining the ranks of N++, this years winner is Mandatory Upgrade: X Marks The Spot from One More Story Games. The story based game was written by Chris Tihor from Ironic Iconic Studios, and tells the tale of Special Agent Rachel Varley who has to investigate the death of a runaway cybernetic exosuit on her first day back to work. You can pick it up here for $3.99, which includes a demo as well.
Thanks to everyone for voting, and congratulations to everyone who released a game in 2016. Onwards to 2017!
Canadian indie game studio Red Meat Games have released their episodic, narrative-driven audio game Project Dark on Steam and Nintendo Switch.
As part of the Mix Showcase last month, Toronto developer Kitten Cup Studio showed off some gameplay from their 2022 game Pekoe.
Quebec developer Norsfell have announced their 10-player co-op action-RPG Tribes of Midgard will be out on PlayStation, and Steam on July 27th - the game is also available for pre-order on both platforms.
Triversal, the puzzle game from Toronto developer Phantom Compass has a release date, and thankfully we won’t have to wait that long. The game comes out on July 13th, and you can wishlist it on Steam here.
BOMBING!!: A Graffiti Sandbox, the graffiti sandbox simulation game from indie dev (and friend of the site) Devon Wiersma, is out now on Steam, and itch.io.
After launching on Steam last year, St Catharines based Rocketship Park will be porting their puzzle story-driven adventure game LOVE to Nintendo Switch “soon”.
PixelNAUTS Games, who last released Lost Orbit: Terminal Velocity on various platforms have released a new trailer for their upcoming space-racing brawler Rocket Rumble. You can wishlist the game on Steam right now which is scheduled for sometime this year.
Mad Devils, the twin-stick shooter from Itzy Interactive got a new gameplay trailer ahead of its May 10th release date. Mad Devils is an arcade co-op shooter set during World War 2 but has Allied special forces hunting down Nazi occultists resurrected as demons
I wrote about Use Your Words earlier this year, and now there is an official trailer for the upcoming party game. You can check it out after the jump.
Read MoreContinuing the tradition of original content, Chris and myself sat down to play some N++ and talk about Metanet Software (in the first video), Nintendo Switch, Mario Run (in the second video). Check it out below and subscribe on Youtube!
We're back with another episode! This time, we talk about N++ and a little bit about the history, and our thoughts on the gameplay. Remember to subscribe and leave a comment! Website: http://www.torontogamedevs.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/torontogamedevs Patreon: patreon.com/torontogamedevs Store: designbyhumans.com/shop/TorontoGameDevs/
We're back with another episode! We continue playing N++, this time diving into the 2-player coop. While doing that, we also talk about Nintendo Switch, our general thoughts on it, and my review on Mario Run. Remember to subscribe and leave a comment!
The new studio founded by ex-BioWare devs Humanoid Origin is looking to fill multiple roles.
Last year, N++ won the Game of the Year voting. Who will be the winner this year? Vote below, and in the new year I'll post the winners!
Only one vote per person, but you can vote for as many games as you want. If I missed any there is a Write In feature at the bottom, or let me know on Twitter.
Note: Ports didn't count (sorry Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, and N++), but DLC, and extra episodes do. Feel free to use the search on the right hand side to find out more about that game.
Toronto developer Metanet Software have announced N++ Ultimate Edition, which is described as so large or an update "it might as well be a sequel."
We’ve been working on this since the PS4 version of N++ shipped in mid-2015, and the great news is that we’re almost done. N++ Ultimate Edition will be a HUGE addition to the game — roughly doubling the size of the original version, with new levels as well as new colour schemes to funlock — *and* N++ Ultimate Edition will feature a new singleplayer game mode designed for veteran players!
N++ is set to release early 2017 for both PlayStation 4 and Steam, though we'll have to wait a little bit longer on the finer details. On a possible Xbox One version, Metanet Software said "We’re trying to make that work"
Solo indie dev expert and longtime friend-of-the-site Devon Wiersma joins us to talk their latest release Centauri Dark, working across AAA, mid-sized and solo indie dev and how to fix this goshdarn industry.
David B joins us from the west coast best coast to talk about the upcoming Quiver Games Incubator!
Bizdev extraordinaire Eric Beer joins us to give his Hades II impressions and chat v-bucks subsidized game preservation.
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 many more!
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.
Alto's Adventure's developer Snowman have announced another partnership (readers may remember they have Where Cards Fall in the works). They've announced a new partnership with Slingshot & Satchel and released a trailer for their first game: DISTANT.
A wondrous voyage through pastel dreamscapes. www.builtbysnowman.com/distant
DISTANT takes you on a wondrous voyage through pastel dreamscapes, to prevent a calamity from consuming the world you once knew. Along the way, you’ll confront an inescapable past, and learn how much you're willing to sacrifice in your search for solace.
DISTANT will be coming to PC, Mac, Consoles, and Apple TV, though we'll have to wait a little longer for a release timeframe, and price. In the meantime, you can check out the official Alto's Adventure Store and pick up some swag for the holidays.
Toronto-based developer Snowman will be releasing their currently Apple-Arcade-only Skate City to Steam, Epic Game Store, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, and Xbox on May 6th.
Well, we were late on this one! With Snowman announcing Skate City coming to Consoles soon it seems like their other Apple Arcade game Where Cards Falls is also coming to PC, and Switch in “early 2021”.
Skate City, the previous Apple Arcade exclusive published by Snowman, is heading to pretty much every other platform. Snowman confirmed today the game will come to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, Epic, and Steam “soon”.
Where Cards Fall wasn’t the only Snowman-developed game to launch on Apple Arcade yesterday - their 2D Skateboarding game titled Skate City also launched alongside the subscription service.
Apple has released its subscription service Apple Arcade on iOS this week and there are a few Canadian-developed games as part of the launch. First up is Where Cards Fall from Los Angeles developer The Game Band and published by Snowman, developers of Alto Adventure.
Some of our favourite Toronto developers were at PSX this weekend, and they tweeted about their games and experiences. Check it out!
Read MoreBack in July Jason Canam, a vet from DrinkBox Studios, went his own way and created his own studio - Household Games. They promised an announcement soon for their new IP. In an interview with me they talked about working on the new IP.
This week, the gang announced via the PlayStation Blog their new IP is titled Way of the Passive Fist, and will be an action beat-em up with a twist:
"In Way of the Passive Fist you play as The Wanderer, a mysterious figure of unknown origin who has mastered the art of the Passive Fist and fights enemies defensively to wear down even the mightiest of opponents. Unlike most arcade-style brawlers, The Wanderer doesn’t have a basic attack like a punch or a kick, instead you have an array of parries, deflections and dodges at your disposal."
Way of the Passive Fist is the licensed arcade brawler for the 90's cartoon you wish existed. http://www.wayofthepassivefist.com Fight defensively by using an array of parries, deflections and dodges to wear down even the mightiest of opponents. By mastering the Passive Fist technique, The Wanderer continues to endure in the face of desert raiders, mad scientists and fantaical sun worshippers.
From the very beginning, we set out to create a licensed game for the 90’s cartoon we wish existed. A lot of my favorite games are the licensed brawlers based on popular cartoons and comic books, and I wanted Way of the Passive Fist to have the same level of exuberance and flair. That feeling when you get to a boss fight and you come face-to-face with one of the villains from the show, that’s a feeling I’d like to create in the game.
The game’s setting is Planet Eiectus, a world ruled by its volatile and overwhelming sun. Everything on this world is solar powered, but the harsh conditions also make survival extremely difficult. Exhausting oneself is a death sentence. By mastering the Passive Fist technique, The Wanderer continues to endure in the face of desert raiders, mad scientists and fanatical sun worshippers.
Make sure to check out the gang over on Twitter, something else important to Way of the Passive Fist accessible, and working with @halfcoordinated.
What I've been working on with @HHGamesInc as an accessibility and design consultant has been revealed! So excited! https://t.co/gWdfz4q4rt
— halfcoordinated (@halfcoordinated) November 28, 2016
The game is expected to hit the PlayStation 4 in 2017. If you're at PSX this weekend you'll be able to play the game.
I'm back with another Let's Talk! This time I talk about Jazzpunk which is a game I played over Extra Life - I'd give it a shot either on PlayStation or on Steam!
Jazzpunk Director's Cut is currently out on PlayStation 4 (with the normal version being out on Steam). It's a fun, and confusing game so I give my thoughts on it! Make sure to check out www.torontogamedevs.com for the latest!
