Podcast Episode 98 - The New Canadian GameDevs, Raptors-Spurs Trade, Assassin's Creed Origins

Bret and I sat down and talked about the new CanadianGameDevs, what we think of the recent Raptors-Spurs trade, and Bret gives his thoughts on Assassins Creed Origins. 

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on iTunesGoogle Play, or SoundCloud.

NVYVE Studios Announces Release Date For HYPERGUN

NVYVE Studios have announced the release date for their upcoming roguelite first person shooter HYPERGUN. Starting August 23rd, you'll be able to get the game on Steam.

Save the world as DevTech Labs' fearless intern, Dewey Owens in HYPERGUN! A fast-paced roguelite shooter centering around a procedural weapon of questionable effectiveness, it's up to Dewey to master the ultimate combat simulator. Fighting through waves of alien interlopers in a simulation designed to create the ultimate weapon, players will unlock exciting new classes all while gaining powerful abilities in their journey to create the HYPERGUN!

Party Game 'Guilt Battle Arena' Gets Updated With New Modes

Fun side note! This is the first non-Toronto (or Ontario) game we've written about since becoming CanadianGameDevs.com.

Vancouver based studio Invincible Cat updated their party-based shooter Guilt Battle Arena to 3.0. With the free update comes six new game modes, four modifiers, and sixteen costumes. You can check out the trailer below, and press release for all the details. Guilt Battle Arena is out now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam.

Buy the game today! Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/guilt-battle-arena-switch Playstation 4: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP3719-CUSA11249_00-8511197019790000 Xbox One: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/guilt-battle-arena/9nmkbmtk5l8m?rtc=1 Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/677520/Guilt_Battle_Arena Game Jolt: https://gamejolt.com/games/guiltbattlearena/357306 Follow us! Website: http://www.guiltbattlearena.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guiltbattlearena/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Guilt_B_Arena One bullet. Four friends. Infinite laughs. Guilt Battle Arena is a frantic one-bullet gunfight party game with local multiplayer for up to four people.

Free Update to Frantic One-Bullet Gunfight Party Game Guilt Battle Arena

Version 3.0 Coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC

VANCOUVER – August 2, 2018 – Guilt Battle Arena, the frantic one-bullet gunfight party game with local multiplayer for up to four people from publisher Forward XP and developer Invincible Cat, today receives version 3.0 as a free update to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam.

In this hyper-cute couch-competitive game, each player has a gun with only one bullet. After firing it, the only way to get it back is to go pick it up, dodging shots all the while. Guilt Battle Arena’s two-button controls make it accessible for anyone, and its heart-thumping action guarantees nonstop fun.

Guilt Battle Arena returns with six new game modes in version 3.0, bringing the total to 13 and offering twice the content for solo play and local multiplayer. Fight through a gauntlet in Cup mode – alone or with three friends – and try to unlock all the medals. Add insult to injury in Heart Stealer mode by taking enemies’ hearts to heal when they’re defeated. Battle alongside a pet in Alien Pet mode, where one character’s gun is swapped with a damage-dealing creature.

Each match in Guilt Battle Arena brings even more shenanigans thanks to four new modifiers – Short Range, Low Gravity, Fast Bullet, and Shoot Behind – bringing the total to 10! Combine multiple modifiers to shake up matches and add flair to kills. Use Low Gravity with Trampoline to simulate fighting in space! Take customization even further with up to 79 insanely adorable costumes for the cartoonish characters.

Those who want to take a breather from competition can set out to defeat the Dreadful Judge and his minions by unlocking levels in Horde mode. Up to two players battle increasingly chaotic streams of enemies to beat your high score and earn bragging rights.

"Guilt Battle Arena is a true learning experience for me, and I’ve loved hearing what people have to say about it," said Tim Verrouil, sole developer at Invincible Cat. "By implementing that feedback, I’ve made this new version into something I can’t wait to show everyone."

Guilt Battle Arena is available in English, French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Italian, Russian, Polish, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese on the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Network, Microsoft Store, and Steam for $9.99 USD. Version 3 releases as a free update for those who already own the game on August 2.

To learn more, please visit Invincible Cat’s official site, or follow the game on Twitter andFacebook.

Assets

Streaming Trailer

Screens, GIFs, Logos, and Trailer Downloads

About Invincible Cat

Invincible Cat is the alias of Tim Verrouil. He began developing Guilt Battle Arena in 2012 as a hobbyist prototype, working on it in Lyon, France, and Vancouver, Canada, sometimes on a laptop on the bus. After his prototype gained support and enthusiasm from Vancouver’s indie community, Tim started production in 2015 and founded Invincible Cat in 2016.

To learn more about Invincible Cat, please visit the studio’s official website.

Alto's Odyssey Out Now On Android

Alto's Odyssey, Snowman's follow up to Alto's Adventure, came out on iOS earlier this year and has no graced Android devices. It's a free download, but features in-app purchases - you can download it right here.

"Just beyond the horizon sits a majestic desert, vast and unexplored. 

Join Alto and his friends and set off on an endless sandboarding journey to discover its secrets.

Soar above windswept dunes, traverse thrilling canyons, and explore long-hidden temples in a fantastical place far from home.

Along the way, you’ll grind across vines, bounce atop hot air balloons, ride towering rock walls, and escape mischievous lemurs – all while uncovering the desert’s many mysteries. "

Download for Free Now! - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noodlecake.altosodyssey Just beyond the horizon sits a majestic desert, vast and unexplored. Join Alto and his friends and set off on an endless sandboarding journey to discover its secrets. Soar above windswept dunes, traverse thrilling canyons, and explore long-hidden temples in a fantastical place far from home.

For Honor Season VII: Storm and Fury Launches August 2

The seventh season of For Honor will start August 2nd. Titled Storm and Fury, the update comes with new map Secluded Keep, major hero reworks, and updating the ranking system.

For Honor released last year and has been getting plenty of updates since. The third person action game is actually on Xbox's Games with Gold list for August. You can check out the trailer and press release below.

Celebrate Marching Fire: Get the For Honor Starter Edition on PC Free: ForHonorGame.com/FreeStarter Watch to see the reveal of For Honor: Marching Fire, a major update that will see new heroes, a new PvP mode called Breach, an unlimited single player mode, and major graphical enhancements. Marching Fire is coming October 16th.

FOR HONOR® SEASON VII: STORM AND FURY LAUNCHES AUGUST 2

For Honor Welcomes All Xbox One Players via Games with Gold Promotion in August

Montreal — July 26, 2018 — Today, Ubisoft announced that For Honor® Season VII: Storm and Fury, will be released simultaneously on PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, the Xbox One family of devices including Xbox One X and Windows PC on August 2. Launching as a free update, For Honor Season VII: Storm and Fury will continue the development teams’ commitment to implementing community feedback and will bring a brand new map, major Hero reworks, an updated Ranking System, and more. Newcomers on Xbox One who have Xbox Live Gold memberships will also be able to download For Honor for free as part of August’s Games with Gold starting August 16. 

New content coming to For Honor in Season VII: Storm and Fury include:

New Map

One new map, Secluded Keep, will expand the battlefield. Once the personal retreat of a pious Lord surrounded by water, it is now a highly disputed outpost. Secluded Keep will be available in Tribute, Skirmish, Elimination, Brawl, and Duel.

Major Hero Reworks  

In the wake of the recent Hero updates and feedback from players, For Honor will continue to improve and balance the current roster, as two Heroes - the Warden and Valkyrie - will receive major gameplay updates to improve the versatility and efficiency of their respective move sets.

Ranking System Update

Introducing two new divisions in the Ranking System - Master and Grand Master, reserved for the fiercest warriors. Players will also be able to monitor their progress with the new Ranking Leaderboard. To focus the community on the new leaderboard and Master divisions, players will be able to join Ranked Duel matches outside Tournaments. Tournaments will instead be triggered on rotation, starting on a week-end basis. 

Coinciding with the beginning of the new Season, For Honor will apply a permanent 30% discount to all battle outfits. For Honor will also launch a new Hero Trial offer available from August 2-9, which will give players the opportunity to try any Hero they do not own and buy them at discounted Steel cost for a week.

Those looking for more details on For Honor Season VII: Storm and Fury can tune-in to For Honor’s Warrior’s Den livestream on August 2 at 9 a.m. PT/ 6 p.m. ET on twitch.tv/ForHonorGameand participate in Twitch Drops. Players are guaranteed one scavenger crate after a half hour of watching the stream and for every 10 minutes they will be entered for a chance to win 100,000 Steel*. 

For newcomers looking to test their might on the battlefield, For Honor will be part of Xbox’s Games with Gold and will be available for free to download for Xbox Live Gold members from August 16 to September 15. Those looking to get a head start on the battlefield can purchase For Honor for up to 80% off on the Microsoft Store through July 30. For more information, check out: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2018/07/26/new-games-with-gold-for-august-2018/ 

Following the introduction of dedicated servers and new training modes, For Honor will continue to grow with the release of the Marching Fire expansion on October 16, with the brand new Wu Lin faction joining the fray, a 4v4 castle siege mode “Breach”, unlimited PvE content and more.

Developed by Ubisoft Montreal in collaboration with other Ubisoft studios**, For Honor offers an engaging campaign and thrilling multiplayer modes. Players embody warriors of the three Great Factions – the bold Knights, the brutal Vikings and the deadly Samurai – fighting to the death on intense and believable melee battlefields. The Art of Battle, the game’s innovative combat system that puts players in total control of their warriors, allows them to utilize the unique skills and combat style of each hero to vanquish all enemies who stand in their way.

For more information about For Honor, please visit forhonorgame.com 

For the latest about For Honor and other Ubisoft games, please visit news.ubisoft.com.

*Viewers must link their Twitch account with their Ubisoft account to participate in Twitch Drops. The Twitch Drop program is only available during “Live Stream” and not “Video on Demand.”

**Associate Ubisoft studios include Quebec, Toronto and Blue Byte. Additional development from Studio Gobo.

About Ubisoft

Ubisoft is a leading creator, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and services, with a rich portfolio of world-renowned brands, including Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, Tom Clancy’s video game series, Rayman, Far Cry and Watch Dogs. The teams throughout Ubisoft’s worldwide network of studios and business offices are committed to delivering original and memorable gaming experiences across all popular platforms, including consoles, mobile phones, tablets and PCs. For the 2017–18 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of €1,732 million. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoft.com.

© 2017 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. The For Honor logo, Ubisoft, and the Ubisoft logo are registered or unregistered trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the US and/or other countries.

TorontoGameDevs is Now....CanadianGameDevs!

The philosophy behind TorontoGameDevs has always been about being proud of the local games coming out of Toronto. It's had mild success and now it's time to keep going and evolve a bit.

CanadianGameDevs.com will be the number one site for games developed in Canada, and it replaces TorontoGameDevs. From British Columbia, to Newfoundland, and everything in between we'll chat, learn and discover all the best games that Canada has to offer. Over the next couple of weeks I'll be "transitioning" the site to be easier to find posts on all games outside of the GTA and specific provinces look ups. I'll also have to move around social media posts and what not - as well as the new Patreon.

So you'll start seeing some changes, but the overall theme remains mostly intact. Let's chat and learn about the great games coming out of Canada, big and small.

Oh and follow us on Soundcloud!

Drinkbox Studios Announces Release Date For Guacamelee! 2

Praise the Gods for they have come and delivered. Guacamelee! 2 has a release date, as posted on the PlayStation blog, and Twitter.

On August 21st, gamers can download the metroidvania sequel on PlayStation 4 (which you can pre-order here and save 20%), and Steam (wishlist). The game was announced late last year, and said it would be coming "soon-ish" (which I guess worked out to be about 9 months). You can check out the announcement trailer below.

Guacamelee! 2 is coming to PS4 on August 21, 2018! Pre-order now! Seven years after defeating Carlos Calaca, Juan Aguacate is forced to don his luchador mask again to face a new threat - this time to the very fabric of space and time.

Breakfall Bringing Pizza Titan Ultra To PS4 Next Month

The Ottawa developer Breakfall who released Pizza Titan Ultra on PC earlier this year will now be giving PlayStation players their chance at the pizza delivering robot action game.  Can check out the trailer and a blurb from the PlayStation Blog below.

"This is how you “run a restaurant.”

It’s highly customizable with tons of rad looking parts, so you build your own sweet pizza delivering machine! You move through a destructible city, generally trying not to make too much of a mess. But you can basically destroy the entire city. As you run between delivery locations, you get more money and more time for each delivery. Always racing the clock and always delivering pizzas, story missions then add additional objectives."

Pizza, giant robots, and a cyborg mouse with a grudge. Join the crew of Ultra Pizza while they make their deliveries against all odds. Serve up hot and fresh pan pie to a cast of 90s throwback VIPs. Learn the truth behind Cheezborg and his army of cheezbots.

The game is up for pre-order right now which gives you a 20% discount, as well as a copy of the studios previous game: Starwahl. Pre-order link is right here, and the game will release August 21st.

Russian Subway Dogs Coming To Steam Next Month

Russian Subway Dogs (which may be the last Toronto developed Vita game) is coming to Steam, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Vita, and Steam. We now know the release date for one of those platforms: Steam.

Starting August 2nd, players can download the arcade game based on real-life stay dogs of the Moscow metro on Steam. You can add the game to your wishlist on Steam right now.  

Let's Add Quench To Our Steam Wishlist!

It looks like Axon Interactive's upcoming puzzle game Quench will be out sooner than later. The game now has a Steam page, so you can add the game to your wishlist now.

If you're unfamiliar with Quench, it is a story-driven puzzle game where you play as the Shepherd, an avatar of nature. You must help move animal tribes across the world using the elements of nature. It successfully got funded on Kickstarter in 2016 but we haven't heard much since. Once we have a clear release date I'll be sure to post it here - until then....wishlist!

 

Shnipers

Shnipers is a local multiplayer combat platformer that I got the chance to play at Bit Bazaar. It was originally made for TOJam #9 in 2014, and is planned to get a full release sometime in mid 2018. Shnipers is being developed by Brenden Cameron.

In Shnipers, you and up to 3 friends fight to the death in a battle arena. It features tight controls and a quirky aesthetic that really tie the experience together. You must kill your opponents and collect their cores to earn points. The player with the most points at the end of the time wins the round!

The gameplay is far more interesting than just pointing and shooting however. Bullets will bounce off the walls, platforms and other objects, so you always need to be paying attention to what's going on around you! Even your own bullets can kill you! The gameplay feels so good, with just the right amount of visual, audio and feel feedback to make firing bullets feel satisfying without being distracting.

I played several rounds with various people passing by and ended up sticking around far longer than I'd originally planned. This is definitely a game worth checking out!

Shnipers is currently available to purchase in development on itch.io, with a full release planned for later this year.

A Summer with the Shiba Inu

A Summer with the Shiba Inu is a mystery visual novel being developed by Quill Studios that I got to play at Bit Bazaar.

It's a mysterious narrative game that takes place in a world inhabited by dogs. You play as Syd the Shiba Inu as she reunites with her old friend Max and encounters a mysterious Labrador Retriever called Quei-Li.

From the short demo I played, it defies your expectations quite a bit. The game begins with a fairly traditional introduction to the characters and world, reminiscent of other "weird" visual novels such as Hatoful Boyfriend, but then it takes a mysterious turn that sets the story in motion. The demo ends as the mystery begins, and it left me craving more from the story and it's world.

While the writing is the true highlight of the game, it also features very pretty artwork from a variety of talented artists. It's a real treat for the eyes.

I look forward to seeing more of A Summer with the Shiba Inu as it continues development. For now though, a demo is available on the Quill Studios website.

My Summer with the Shiba Inu will be coming soon to Steam.

Far Cry 5: Lost On Mars Hype Video

Far Cry 5: Lost on Mars hits PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC tomorrow - to celebrate Ubisoft released a hype video going over the weapons, enemies and more. Check it out below!

Far Cry 5's Lost on Mars expansion, out July 17 in North America, takes players millions of miles away from the farms of Hope County to the red planet. This time around, you'll be playing as everyone's favorite fighter pilot, Nick Rye as you blast Martian arachnids, fly around Mars, and hangout with your old buddy Hurk in an effort to save the earth from a deadly alien invasion.

TorontoGameDevs Around The Web

Friendly reminder of all the places you can follow/subscribe/like etc everything with TorontoGameDevs.com. And of course, if you want to support the website financially and get some exclusive perks you become a Patron :)

See you online!