#if silksong gets released this month it will be complete

[sleep-deprived-person]

The bank robbing clowns are back, and know how to use hostages

[silksongeveryday]

Drawing Hornet everyday until Silksong comes out - Day 365!

1 year! One whole year of daily doodles!!

Honestly?? Idk how to feel, so much has happened since I first started this blog.

I guess I’ll just write what I’m thinking right now??

(Everything under the cut, this thing is longer than I expected)

A lot of this text probably isn’t going to make sense. I’m writing this at 1 am. If there’s any mistakes or errors that’s why. I’ll fix them in the morning maybe.

So like. This whole thing kinda started as a joke, I wasn’t intending to actually draw for a year straight lmao. Like I even used a completely different art style from my regular one that was simple, quick and intentionally dumb. Not that I’m upset by it, I’m actually quite proud of myself that I managed to stick to something for an entire year. That’s pretty unusual for me believe it or not. My original intention was to stop at maybe 20 days because I really wasn’t expecting for this blog to get as much love as it did.

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so so much to everyone who has followed and supported this silly little idea I had, you guys are the biggest reason my experience has been so positive and worth it. (Sure it’s not original but I hope it’s at least been interesting!)

I’ve said this a few times now but I’ve mentioned wanting to take a break. I’ll admit that even though it’s been fun it’s still pretty tiring to keep up with this blog sometimes since some recent life events have made it so hard. After some thought, I’ve decided that I’ll likely take a break sometime in the coming months. Maybe toward day 400 or so. As of right now, things are at a lull so I’ve been okay enough mentally and physically to keep up this daily streak I think. Though this could change in an instant for whatever reason.

Overall I think my burnout has kind of gone away I think?? Or at least I’ve been reinvigorated recently after replaying a few runs of hk randomizer and steel soul. No promises it’ll stay away but I silly expect it to come in waves.

Ok but call me crazy or delusional or whatever, but my hopes are up that Silksong will release this year. (which means slowing down/not doing daily doodles yay) I genuinely believe big news is coming since I’ve been getting a lot of dreams lately about something happening with Silksong in March. Idk, I could be wrong but after doing this for a year I’m literally clinging onto anything right now lol

I’d obviously still make the occasional doodle or two when HKSS releases but not daily. This stuff is tough to keep up sometimes, I would never do daily posts like this again once it’s over

Oh yeah also I have an actual big drawing I’m still working on, expect that in sometime in the next few weeks I think!

Anyway, I can’t think of anything else to say right now so I guess that’s it for now!

Thanks so much and here’s to more doodles!

[whumpy-wyrms]

are u in any fandoms? what are ur interests besides whump? u don’t have to answer i’m just curious!!

someone’s asking me about my interests i can’t NOT answer

this got a bit long tho so i’m putting it under the read more for people who don’t care/are only here for the whump

OKOK. so i’m kinda in the starkid/nerdy prudes must die fandom rn but i know for a fact if i finished adventure time and started watching fiona and cake, that would quite literally become my entire personality for the next 3 months because simon and prismo (and marceline and princess bubblegum and all my other favorite characters) make me insane. but i haven’t done that because well. i’ve gotta write tllr yknow..

anyway, my absolute most favorite pieces of media of all time are undertale and deltarune guys. i cant put in words how much those games mean to me holy shit. as i’m writing this i’m sitting next to my jevil and sans and spamton plushie and they are saying hi. anywayyy yeah i was in the deltarune fandom for a bit it was fun. spamton is silly fucked up creature. jevil is my all time favorite tho

AND THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES… my favorite thing ever fr. y’all. LISTEN TO TMA SERIOUSLY YOU’LL PROBABLY LIKE IT!! it’s a horror podcast and it’s seriously the best fuckinf thing ever it’s so amazing seriously. it’s a bit hard to get into at first because season 1 is less story driven BUT HOLY SHIT. AHHHH ITS SO FUCKING GOOD. jon is one of my favorite blorbos ever and so is michael because he’s a silly distortion guy. just trust me and listen to TMA it will actually change your life.

also i love the amazing world of gumball so fucking much. i wasn’t allowed to watch cartoon network as a kid (idk why??) so i first watched tawog last year and holy shit holy shit it’s my favorite thing ever. rob. ROB!!!! ROB IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE CHARACTER. SO IS MR SMALL. AHHHH!!!! anyway i love tawog i’ve drawn a lot of fanart and even wrote a 60k word fanfiction (about what happens after The Inquisition because that ending fucked me up) that i’ve Never and will probably never show anyone because it’s probably Not that good. but it was sooo Important to me back then. tawog just means so much to me it :))) it changed me as a person. nobody’s a nobody and everybody is weird like you and me.

i also really like hollow knight! i haven’t played it in a while but i was at 111% completion on one of my playthroughs (CURSE YOU PANTHEON 4). i’m also super fucking excited for silksong obviously and i will say this now: WHEN SILKSONG FINALLY RELEASES… i will probably go on hiatus here LMAO. sorry but guys. SILKSONG…. honestly same for new deltarune chapters. the second chapters 3, 4, and 5 release it is sooo over for me. i probably won’t post much here for a few months during that. but that’s fine!! i’ll never abandon tllr but sometimes some things are more important to my silly little brain :3

gravity falls quite literally changed my life in 2018. like i can’t even explain it, but it’s how i was introduced to online fandoms and fanart in general. dipper LITERALLY made me trans (not literally but pretty much). it’s how i started watching other amazing cartoons and series i love, it’s literally what made me get into drawing art and writing and stuff. it’s what made me start making ocs. it literally made me an artist guys. which is how i started writing. without gravity falls and it’s effect it had on me, this account might have never existed?? i’m being super dramatic but wowww. i was so autistic about that silly cartoon

minecraft i love. i’ve been playing minecraft for over a decade and won’t stop because it’s like, probably a special interest of mine? i’ve watch minecraft youtubers forever too, hermitcraft and the life series are my favorite. i’m a huge grian fan too, been watching him since the evo days. anyway if u play minecraft and wanna play with me sometime, feel free to ask!!! :D i love making new friends and playing video games with people!!! let’s make a world together!!!

also i like terraria and stardew valley, and animal crossing new horizons but i haven’t played that in a few years. hmm other games i like are oneshot game, NITW, omori, celeste, cuphead, fnaf (although i’ve only played the first 5 games and am super super behind on the lore), ori, dead cells, untitled goose game (this is for u anon), and probably more i’m forgetting! feel free to recommend me some video games and we can even play together :3

other series i love are the umbrella academy. soooo autistic about this show it’s fucking AMAZING!!!!!! klaus is my favorite character. anyway i also like what we do in the shadows. it made me super autistic about vampires (before i watched this show i kinda thought vampires were cringe IDK WHY I’M SORRYY). the netflix show lucifer made me insane a few years ago and is what probably indirectly inspired me to give Dew wings. i also like our flag means death, breaking bad, moon knight, and camp here in there (another podcast i HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend, will wood made the soundtrack!)

i LOVEEE FINAL SPACE!! avocato has been my pfp on this account forever and now i feel like i can’t ever change it (i don’t want to). final space is seriously amazing!!! but it was cancelled and basically got fucked over by the networks- infinity train style. idk, stuff happened and it was removed from hbo max so there’s not really anywhere to watch it (legally) except for netflix international iirc? but it’s getting removed from that too i think. super fucking sad :( it ended on a huge cliffhanger too BUT there is a graphic novel being made!!!! super excited about that!

other cartoons i like are over the garden wall (dressed up as wirt for halloween last year), the owl house, adventure time, regular show, steven universe, infinity train, bojack horseman, rick and morty, mlp, the midnight gospel, and so much more i’m forgetting. OH anime i like are death note, demon slayer (haven’t caught up yet on the latest seasons tho), and MOB PSYCHO 100!! vampire in the garden on netflix is really amazing as well.

this is sooo long but now i gotta talk about my favorite music artists. WILL WOOD (AND THE TAPEWORMS) IS MY FAVORITEEE. I ALSO LOVEEE JHARIAH!!! AND HARLEY POE!!!!! top three of all time. i also like toby fox obviously, and glass beach (LITERALLY GOING TO SEE THEM IN MARCH AND I AM SOOO EXCITED!!!), mcr, shayfer james, weezer, mitski, lemon demon, set it off, tally hall, gerard way, and probably more i’m forgetting. i also like musicals!! (i was in the spongebob musical earlier this year for school! i was larry the lobster :))

so guys. GUYSSS. IF YOU LIKE MUSICALS, GO WATCH NERDY PRUDES MUST DIE!!!! OR JUST WATCH THE ENTIRE HATCHETFEILD TRILOGY!!! WHILE UR AT IT, WATCH ALL THE STARKID MUSICALS ACTUALLY!!! this is my current hyperfixation. the lords in black are amazing, npmd is amazing. i love everything about it. go watch it seriously, it’s fucking awesome and the soundtrack is AMAZING!!!

i think this is it. this got super long but i’m super passionate about my interests so yeah. this is pretty much everything. one very important thing (literally my special interest) that i didn’t mention are my other ocs. i have wayyy more ocs that are completely separate from the tllr ones. i don’t wanna post about them here though, cuz they’re not whump related and i want to keep my main account separate from this account. but they’re my favorite blorbos in existence so…

if u WANT to know about my other ocs, u can feel free to dm me for the username of my other fandom/oc account. that’s where i post other stuff that i don’t post here, like my fanart and my other oc stuff. i don’t post writing or anything like that there, so ur not missing out on that.

anyway those are most of my main interests! things i didn’t mention that im also really interested in are reptiles (snakes specifically), and animals in general. i have two leopard geckos named Lars and Alphys and i reallyyyy want a pet snake but my family hates snakes :(( anyway i’m rambling

thanks for the ask!!

[grollow]

Here's some Ashe deep lore. CW sexism, misogyny, some trauma, depression and over-all a stressful time. Read at your own convenience.

I used to work in the gaming industry for an indie company. Watching some of you react to no Silksong news brings back some horrors.

To preface: The company that I worked for was a very small independent gaming company based out of the Netherlands -- so it was a remote position. We made a few different titles, none of which were wildly successful, in large because of major design flaws (examples include: story not mattering, too much emphasis on PVP in poorly balanced titles [and making the game COMPLETELY DEPENDENT on pvp in some cases] and most egregiously, no real direction beyond 'it should be fun.')

I was hired as a Community Manager initially. My responsibilities for this job largely involved managing the forums, doing news updates, sending out (Not writing) press releases, hanging out in the chats of our games / playing the games sometimes with players, and coming up with fun events. My colleague/boss was senior community manager, and she ran a very successful gaming blog (more successful than most of our games initially -- until she closed it). Both of us were/are heavily involved in games. I am more of an RPG and horror title enthusiast and she was a big fan of RPGs as well as FPS games. We both have a pretty wide repertoire of experience combined. She was a world's top 50 raider in World of Warcraft at the time of this all going down.

I should preface: I am AFAB. I, unfortunately for me, have a very feminine voice. At the time of this all happening, I was also still using she/her pronouns. So was my colleague.

During our experience as Community Managers, we were forced to do marketing despite neither of us knowing how to do that (examples include understanding metrics, learning how Google algorithms worked, composing and distributing Press Releases as well as finding the sites to send those TO).

Here's some examples of the awful things that she and I endured under this company:

80+ hour work weeks, where we were required to detail out with time sheets daily everything we did and what the reasons were. I think I clocked in 16 hour days most days and I was required to work weekends.

On Christmas, our boss called and screamed at my colleague because she and I dared to want the day off to spend with our families (we were not allowed any holidays).

My colleague was forced to work -from the hospital- while her mom underwent life-saving surgery, under threat of being fired.

"You look like a crayon eating [r slur]" is an actual phrase that was used to describe her because of a picture she was using of herself.

We both got told, numerous times, that "girls can't make strategy games."

We were blamed for them releasing an RTS/Tower Defense title the same day as Left4Dead despite my colleague telling them numerous times that that was a mistake.

I later got promoted to Project Manager, but I was still making over $1000 a month less than my male colleague who I hired. In order to get me a raise, he had to take a pay cut. I put in more hours than he did, by his own admission, and worked twice as hard. He was questioned far less on whether or not his work was "efficient."

There are more stories but in truth, I have blocked a lot of it out of my mind. She and I both ran screaming from the gaming industry and have nothing to do with it now in our professions for a reason.

The worst part of all of this is that this is not at all uncommon. This is unfortunately very typical of the industry -- there are good companies, but you hear about these horrors lot less often than they actually occur.

Why do I share this? Because when I see you all screaming about wanting Silksong news, I want you to remember what indie developers go through. And maybe have a little empathy. Good things take time.

(No, I am not saying this is happening at a little 3man studio. I am just telling you, as someone who has worked in the gaming industry, that you should try to be a little more understanding of how hard it can be for some of us.)

[linuxgamenews]

Embark on an Epic Mission in BioGun: Save Dogs from the Dooper Virus

BioGun adventure platformer game releases into Early Access on Linux and Windows PC. All thanks to the skilled team at Dapper Dog Digital. Available now via Steam with 97% Positive reviews. Get ready to dive into a world smaller than anything you've seen before in BioGun. Due to fight to save dogs from a terrible virus. Join Bek, the hero of this story, on an epic mission inside our furry friends to defeat the Dooper Virus. All to prevent the extinction of dogs. In this Linux adventure platformer, you'll find yourself navigating through a world teeming with cells, germs, and viruses. All beautifully crafted in a unique, hand-drawn style. So, As you make your way through the microscopic landscapes of pets, you'll encounter various characters. Some helpful, others not so much. The BioGun journey won't be easy. You'll face many tough bosses, inspired by real-life diseases, in battles that will test your skills. But don’t worry, you won’t be alone. Along the way, you'll meet cells that will become your allies, so you'll gain new powers from the enemies you defeat. These powers will help you adapt and overcome the challenges that await.

BioGun - Early Access Out Now

Your main goal? To be the cure. As you travel through different organs, you’ll help strengthen the immune systems of dogs, giving them a chance to fight off the Dooper Virus. Explore each area thoroughly, as every organ hides secrets and rewards that will aid you in your quest. The BioGun action is non-stop, with fast-paced shooting that will keep you on your toes. You can customize your abilities with Nano-Chips, allowing you to tailor your approach to combat. There are also side missions where you can help out cells in need, adding depth and variety to your adventure. Expect a thrilling soundtrack to accompany your mission, enhancing the excitement of the gameplay and keeping your adrenaline pumping. The developers at Dapper Dog Digital are planning to have BioGun in Early Access for about three months, but this could change based on feedback and development needs. Their main focus is on delivering a polished final product that players will love.

The Reviews:

Players have found a delightful escape in BioGun, a game that's filling the void for those eagerly awaiting Silksong, and it's making quite the impression. The title draws players into a world that's both whimsical and engaging, reminiscent of Saturday morning cartoons. Fans appreciate the game's polished mechanics, impactful upgrades, and inventive boss battles, elements that are a staple in great metroidvania's. Moreover, the titles's unique premise of using a sentient pig vaccine to combat a pet-demic adds a relaxing twist that stays with players, keeping the mood upbeat. While there are some technical hiccups, the overall experience, complete with a compelling soundtrack and vibrant graphics, has received positive reviews. While earning it an average score of 8/10. BioGun is not just a game — it's a heartwarming journey full of humor, friendship, and the quirky quest to save man's best friend. So, grab your hazard suit and get ready to blast some viral enemies in this adventure platformer. BioGun is due to have you show you have what it takes to save man's best friend. The destiny of dogs is in your hands—are you ready? Available on Steam Early Access, priced at $17.99 USD / £13.49 / 17,55€ with the 10% discount. Along with support for Linux and Windows PC.

[joshay98]

Ok then, this is probably gonna be a bit rambly.

*deep inhale*

Hollow Knight is a game, in the metroidvania genre, from the development team "Team Cherry." The game is all about bugs and insects. The designs don't look like real life bugs but they are more bug-esque. So maybe not something for everyone who doesn't like them.

The game sees you, an unnamed character, traverse the ruined kingdom of Hallownest. Hallownest used to be a prime kingdom for bugs but has fallen from grace ever since. You have no real objective aside from exploring the kingdom, figuring out what happend to it and maybe find out where you yourself come from (ooooooh.) As you travel through the kingdom you will meet friends, that give you helpful tips and tools, and foes alike. The game prides itself by giving the player a lot of options on how you want to continue exploring the kingdom. As you do you will find new abilities that unlock new areas for you to explore.

The game has no real objective at the beginning and you will most likely just wander around a whole lot, not knowing where you even are. Exploration is the biggest part of the game and, aside from a few nudges into a direction sometimes, the game will not force your hand. You have free reign as long as you have the right abilities.

The visuals in the game are nothing short of gorgeous. I saw myself sometimes just stop in place and admire the scenery. You got everything from ruined cities, to crystal caves to lush forests. There is something for everyone. Same goes for the music that can range from calm atmospheric to pure adrenaline spike.

If you never played a metroidvania or a 2d sidescroller, the controls might feel a bit off at first but the game is very easy to get into. It's beginner friendly and not a game that just throws you into the fire.

Doesn't mean the game is completely easy though, far from it. The game has a whole bunch of bosses that require studying their attack patterns and finding openings. An entire free DLC was dedicated to refighting bosses and a boss rush.

The game goes cheap on sale for like 10 bucks. My first playthrough took me 80 hours and the average is around 60 - 80 hrs. Definitely worth it in my opinion considering you are likely going to play the game more than once.

I consider the game a genuine 10/10. It's nigh perfect and I really hope you get the game to witness it all yourself.

Also good timing for you to get interested since there is a second game already being made, Hollow Knight: Silksong. It's planned to be released this year. But the devs are known to just disappear for a lot of months and then give small drops of info on their game. So don't get too excited.

I really hope this convinced you to give the game a shot. ^^

Has anyone ever played Hollow Knight or seen it? I’ve been getting curious about it lately and wanna try something new.

[doessilksonghaveareleasedate]

About the Potential Release Date

As many of you know, Silksong has a potential release date. I highly recommend you watch this video by Fireborn talking about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X83L4ogQQlg

According to the video, the release date came from a leak that happened on, September 12th, 2021, which stated the earliest release date would be February 1st, 2022. There was a LOT of evidence pointing towards this, however, since it was not confirmed by Team Cherry yet (through a blog post, Nintendo Direct, etc), I'm marking it as a "potential" release date.

As much as I love making daily posts about Silksong's release, it definitely is difficult to figure out what is true and what isn't. I don't work for Team Cherry, so I only know as much as everyone else here does. I don't want to get everyone's hopes up too much, so I hope everyone can be aware that this is only a potential release date, not a confirmed one. Team Cherry is most likely stressed out with getting the game completed, so I don't want them to be rushed. After all, "A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad".

The release date could be February 1st but could be later depending on how things go. I hope everyone understands and respects the developers for their amazing work. Thank you all for your continuous support over the past month. I appreciate every single one of you. But for now...

127 Days Remain

[repentantsky]

6 Things I Want To See At The Nintendo Direct

After nearly a year and a half, we are finally getting another full on, Nintendo Direct. I am one among many who thought the Direct as we knew it was gone, but I am also so very happy to be wrong. While I’m also one to not put any expectations on a presentation like this, and please do not let this list hype you to the point where you are disappointed if they don’t happen, I can’t deny how fun it is to speculate. So, with only a little less than 12 hours to go before the show begins, let’s talk about 6 things that will hopefully be at the show. Please remember my lists are not ranked based on how much I want something or how popular it is, so much as how much I want to talk about it. That means your favorite possible thing can be in the first, or last spot of the list. Now let’s begin.

6. A Zelda Collection of some kind

There are a lot of important anniversary’s in 2021 for games, and none may be more important to many fans than Zelda itself. The series is turning 35 in four days if you can believe it. Mario got a lot for it’s recent anniversary and while it’s pretty likely something is planned for Zelda, getting a good idea of what that might be, would be nothing short of fantastic. Perhaps we’ll see Wind Waker HD, Twilight Princess HD, and something completely out of left field to round it up. Who can really say, but it is absolutely the perfect time to announce something, and something big at that. Nintendo does love to surprise people, so let’s hope something surprising pops in. 

5.  Falcom get’s some much needed attention

Falcom, one of the oldest developers in Japan, has been releasing hit after hit, after hit, but like many other fantastic developers making the best double A experiences, they’ve never really made it into the limelight like they deserve. With two games coming for the Switch YS IX: Monstrum Nox, and The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV set to come out in April and Summer respectively, and with so many eyes on Nintendo, it’s time they got a proper slot to be talked about. It would also be nice to see something new come from Falcom that isn’t previously announced, as even though the focus of the direct is seemingly about the next 4 months leading up to E3, hints of something more are always possible. Falcom is a brilliant developer, so hopefully, they manage to get their time to shine. 

4. A Sonic Collection of some kind

Sonic is yet another franchise that’s hitting a major anniversary, as it’s turning 30. With that kind of history behind it, Sonic has a lot of ups and downs. Surely more than enough to make an enticing collection. to be...sure. Perhaps a remake of Sonic Adventure 2, a remaster of Sonic generations and maybe a fixed version of Sonic ‘06? Wouldn’t count on that last one especially, but Sonic has such a rich history of games it could pull from that could get everyone hyped. There’s also rumors of another 2D Sonic game, which would also be nice, but what’s an anniversary if you don’t target nostalgia in more ways than one? Hopefully, we’ll find out soon. 

3. Something Indie

While Nintendo has had some...issues with quality checks with the Switch, there’s no denying that it’s absolutely got hundreds of amazing Indies, and that the Switch is a great source for them. A couple of possible exciting indies could be Windjammers 2, Atomic Heart, Mineko’s Night Market (please gawd let’s hear about that one) Sports Story, Hollow Knight Silksong, Eastward and Garden Story to name but a few. Indie games need love just as much as any other game out there, and with so many potential high quality indies coming our way so far as plans go for 2021, it would be a sad thing to miss out on some spectacular games that are headed for the Switch. 

2. The next Mainline Pokemon game

Rumors were abound a few weeks ago that Pokemon’s 4th gen was already set to be remade for release this fall, 2021, and while as I’ve said this direct is planned and meant to tide us over until Summer when E3 comes along, it doesn’t change the possibility that something coming out past that point, if not several somethings will still be given an update or announcement. I think it’s safe to say based on the hype of the rumor that for a lot of people, Pokemon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum are top tier games and in a lot of ways, and rightly so. Sure, they could use a good number of updates, but that’s what remakes are for, and while a Pokemon direct on Pokemon day itself would suit just fine, I feel if something is coming for Pokemon 25, this is the time to get it out there. Just please, don’t throw in any DLC Pokemon you get for buying a special item. 

1. Metroid/Bayonetta/Breath of the Wild 2, get something. 

Am I mashing a whole bunch of entries into one, yer damn right I am, otherwise I’d be here until the direct started, and where would the fun in that be? Jokes aside, these franchises all of have been lying kind of dormant in the mainline entry department at the very least, and while it’s like I said, something for Zelda is going to be announced mostly likely anyways, to see a continuation of that as we look to the future for the series would be amazing. It would also be nice to see Metroid Prime 4 get an update, or see the original trilogy hit the Switch. Bayonetta 3 is the Devil May Cry of Switch these days despite having DMC on it, and darn it all, it’s time we got SOMETHING for it. Sure, none of these games are coming out before the holiday season this year and that’s fine, but just to know they are on their way, would be good enough. 

And that’s my list, did I miss anything you’d like to see? I’m sure I did, especially since I left Smash on the table as that was confirmed. Let me know what else you want to see at the Nintendo Direct today, reblog this if it interested you, and feel free to leave a note. 

[clownkiwi]

my lengthy-ass post on game development and game release

yeaaaaa, ive been thinking about this for the past hour or so, and especially thinking about what my friends and other young people have talked about, i just decided to type out my feelings and thoughts about game development and game releases in terms of hyped up indie games (like silksong & deltarune chapter 2 + beyond)

but since this will be a huge post, im just gonna put it under a “read more” thing. if you wanna hear my thoughts on this, you can click the link below (this is basically comparable to a video essay ig)

but if you want a tldr, what my thoughts are is that dont give your hopes up on silksong, deltarune, & any other games releasing like very soon since you gotta take content implementation, bug testing/polishing, translations, porting, marketing, & announcements into consideration

with all that said, lets begin

so i remember talking to my friends a while ago about some of the most hyped up games release dates. you know, stuff like hollow knight: silksong or deltarune chapter 2+. especially after the updates given out by each developer/team recently, people are getting very excited to try out these games very soon this very year.

and by very soon, i mean like silksong (the full entire game) coming out THIS MONTH, and the entirety of deltarune (chapter 2 & however many chapters toby fox has planned) for THIS SUMMER IN ONE PACKAGE!!!

which, when i heard these, i thought they were all too good to be true! in fact, they’re all too good to be true. silksong DEFINITELY won’t come out this month, and i know for a Fact deltarune, the full package, won’t be out by this summer. and of course, that’s because of one thing that alot of us took for granted in terms of game development: the finalized touches.

before i go on, i just want to make this very clear: i am not a game design major. im not even in the industry. if anything, im an illustration major (currently), and all of what im gonna say is what i picked up from what other game devs have talked about and from other creative media industries (movie & tv show industry precisely). this is also really just speculation and opinionated, really the main point of this whole post is that you shouldn’t bet on silksong & deltarune coming out so soon from very easy theories and crazy misunderstandings on video game development, i am just giving out my own thoughts on when the game could possibly release (but tbf, i could be very wrong and we could get silksong out this month & the entirety of deltarune this summer. i don’t feel like we will, but it could be very possible and this whole post would be absolutely worthless)

now, i know tons of young people going into game development majors or want to be in the industry have tons of respect for the game development process. and thats good!!! im glad they have respect for the people actually making the content for the game and developing the full package. however, people usually take the finalized touches, imo, for granted more than the actual content development.

because how did people come to the conclusion about silksongs & deltarunes release date so soon???

from what i’ve heard from my friends and other people, silksong should come out this month to coincide with the anniversary of hollow knight, and because “team cherry is bad at marketing and releasing a game”

and with deltarune’s (the full package) release date, that was taking the whole game into consideration, and people’s speculation that deltarune would just be 4 chapters and that the whole thing will be released as one big package instead of episodic, despite the marketing of deltarune “chapter 1″

now, these sound a little bit reasonable. i mean, its been a while since we heard of them back in 2019 and 2018 respectively, and it makes perfect sense to release silksong on hollow knight’s anniversary and deltarune as a full game This Summer.

however, i still think that’s way too good to be true, and that’s because i took a few things into consideration: content implementation, bug fixing/polishing, translation, porting, and actually releasing the game (marketing/having the game up to a releasable state, and actually releasing the game). and to put this into my perspective, i thought about mario odyssey back in 2017

if you’re a nintendo fan like me and were hyped about the nintendo switch back in 2017, then you may remember mario odyssey and the hype around that game alone. when they revealed it back in 2017, they didn’t give a release date. a day after the reveal, mario odyssey devs came out straight and said they finished the game. the game was fully completed. however, they still didn’t give a release date, they just said that they’d spend this time polishing up the game.

and, i know it’s totally unfair to compare the polishing process between nintendo games & indie games since nintendo games are very well known for their polish, so they take more time to polish a game rather than. the next call of duty game.

however, this has given me a perspective as to how long developers spent on polishing the game. if we are to take nintendo at their word back then from when they announced they finished the game to release (which was late october 2017) then that means they spent 8-9 months alone on polish and bug fixing and maybe even translation. yes, you could have a finished game with all of the content in there, and you could feasibly release it as a switch launch title in march around the same time as breath of the wild; however, the developers didn’t feel mario odyssey was ready for release.

it wasn’t until e3 2017 when they felt proud to announce the release date for mario odyssey. this is important because that means that not only were the close to finishing the polishing & bug fixing state of the game, but that means they were done with translations and ready for marketing the game out to potential consumers. they spent who knows how long on polishing (probably anywhere between 6-9 months on polishing & bug testing alone) and they probably spent around the same amount of time on marketing the game.

now, like i said, its totally unfair to compare these two different design philosophies, as one is from a huge video game conglomerate that had years of game design vs small indie studios that only released their first game in the past decade, but let’s try to put this into perspective of silksong and deltarune

with silksong, team cherry had said they had gained new experience from hollow knight, both in terms of developing the actual games themselves and releasing them. this includes developing the game, implementing the content, and finalizing everything (from bug fixing and polishing, to marketing and releasing). and in terms of how they handled hollow knight’s original release, remember. that was their first game, they were very unsure as to how to market and release a game.

after hollow knight’s success, especially on switch, however, team cherry has gained experience as to how to finalize, market and release a game at a playable, releasable state. 

in my personal opinion, especially with what team cherrys marketing manager had said recently, the content is done. they’ve finished all the content for silksong (the base game) and are in the finalized state of implementing everything into the game. however, that doesn’t mean for sure the game will come out on february 24th, 2021 for steam, switch & ps4 & xbox one (maybe even ps5 & series x)

they still gotta add any finishing polish to the game, they still gotta find and fix any bugs in the game, and even when they’re confident on that regard, you still gotta take marketing into account and when’s the right time to release the game. and in that point of view, you can probably imagine it won’t be until another few months until we hear anything substantial about silksong

and especially seeing as how silksong is gonna be a switch exclusive at first, silksong could be as easily released as hollow knight’s switch port was released; as an announcement in a big event, and on that same day. which would mean we could get silksong out for the nintendo switch during e3 2021. however, i was only being easy, fair, and reasonably realistic with silksong. it could come out sooner than i thought, or even later than i thought.

now, with deltarune, i am definitely very unsure about how far that game is in development and when that game will release, especially since all we have to go off of is undertale, the demo (deltarune chapter 1), and what toby fox officially said for undertale’s 5th anniversary on famitsu & on his website.

first, let’s go off of the claims i’ve heard people say about how long this game will be. “deltarune will be 4 chapters long, because there are 4 seasons in a year like undertale and because delta is the greek number for 4.” while that sounds reasonable, why hasn’t toby fox given us a sure amount of chapters he has planned for the game?

especially considering that in his official update on his website he kept emphasizing “chapters” and “multiple chapters” and “chapters 3+”, and the fact he separated chapter 2 from chapter 3+. from his words alone, it sounds like chapter 2 will be released separately from the entire rest of the game??? but that could just be me, and people are most excited about chapter 2 more than anything, so really he could just be talking about the state of the whole game by including chapter 2 separately, especially considering the entirety of deltarune will be built off of chapter 2.

but besides my speculation on chapter 2, the fact he didn’t give a sure amount of chapter numbers, and he even specifically said on release readiness he put “0%”, that just doesn’t translate to “this game should be ready for release in the summer of 2021″, despite the fact that he said development on the game is going smoothly, even taking his physical state that hes in right now.

i personally think the game could be around 4-7 chapters long if he’s planning on implementing multiple chapters in the game, even though the first draft of the games story and dialogue has already been finished in september 2020. and even if we were to go off of deltarune being 4 chapters long, it still doesn’t feel right to say this game will be out this summer??

i personally think if the full game will be 4 chapters, i feel more confident in saying the full 4 chapter game will be out by this upcoming holiday season at the earliest, and if not then, the latest would be somewhere in the first half of 2022. and if it won’t be 4 chapters long like im guessing it would, then it could be released even later than expected. again, i’m basing this off of words taken straight from toby fox’s mouth in september 2020, things couldve obviously changed since then and i could be very wrong about when this game will come out.

but i know for a fact deltarune wont fully be released this summer, they still gotta develop the later chapters and put this game into a full package or release it episodically (even though people are confident that the game will be released in one package, i haven’t heard toby fox officially say anything about how the game will be released, just how the game has been developed so far), which of course is taking polishing/bug fixes into account, and marketing as well

i know for a fact polishing & bug fixes & even marketing wont take as long as nintendo games, but i do know they won’t be done very easily or quickly, and we still shouldn’t be too sure about when these games or any future game will come out

i guess that’s actually just the point of this whole post. unless its people with refuteable sources that have been spot on with predictions or it’s officially said from the mouths of these developers, then don’t bet on silksong or deltarune coming out so soon because of rumors or speculation

i could even be wrong about everythign that i’ve just said. im not a game major, like i said, so silksong could probably come out on february 24th, 2021, and maybe deltarune will come out this summer. i’m very sure it isn’t, but i could be wrong and know nothing about the game development process, and really toby fox’s team & team cherry are game development gods, and i’m surprised nintendo hasn’t bought them out by now so they could release splatoon 3, mario odyssey 2, mario galaxy 3, the diamond and pearl remakes, and metroid prime 4 right now /s

but yea, like i said, don’t count on silksong & deltarune coming out so soon, and maybe take the final stages of development and marketing and releasing more realistically rather than overlooking them and making unsubstantiated claims based off of speculation

[bmaxwell]

Best of 2020: Not the Top 10

Old Game of the Year: Final Fantasy XV

My feelings on Final Fantasy XV are similar to my feelings on last year’s Death Stranding: I can’t really argue that it’s a good game, and I can’t recommend it without a lot of asterisks. The combat is sloppy and just never felt right for me,  and the story meanders in places - but it’s also an experience that I cherished and it will stay with me for a long time.

The game’s setup of “4 buddies on a road trip before one of them gets married” feels inspired, and the early sections of the game are its best moments. It feels lighthearted, driving your car from site to site, camping, cooking, and fishing. One of your party members takes pictures throughout the game, and at the end of each day you are asked which ones you want to save. Over the course of the game, you can look back at these photos, and that really makes FFXV feel like a shared journey.

As it progresses, the story feels disjointed and incoherent at times, but the friendships built and memories forged in the early hours of the game were more than enough to carry me through, and the ending made me feel wistful in a way I did not expect. Final Fantasy XV became the first main series Final Fantasy game that I played to completion.

Also good old games: River City Girls, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Remnant: from the Ashes, Destiny 2  

Best Music: Hades

At this point I can pretty much say “It’s a SuperGiant game” and that’s enough to justify a Best Music nod. It’s smart, it’s catchy as hell, it’s moving, the music for Hades is what the music has been for every one of their games. It’s a crucial part of the game, and the experience would be poorer without its quality. And the end boss music got me pumped every single time. 

Atomicrops’ music is pretty goddamned neat though.

Also very good music: Atomicrops, Spiritfarer, As Far as the Eye, Monster Train, Calico, SINoALICE

Best Early Access game: Griftlands

It’s a good time to be a fan of deckbuilding card games. Griftlands takes the idea of dispatching enemies by force or negotiation that I first saw awkwardly introduced  in Renowned Explorers, and implements it into an excellent deckbuilding game. In Griftlands you choose from 3 characters (each with unique cards and playstyles) and try to survive in the wastelands by fighting, robbing, flattering, bullshitting, and whatever else you have to do to get by. 

Each character has one set of cards for combat, and a set for conversation. The world feels fresh and unique, and it has the visual charm and personality I’ve come to expect from Klei. If this had gone 1.0 this year, it would have certainly been in my top 10.

Also wonderful early access games: The Last Hex, Trial by Fire, Dreamscaper, Gordian Quest, Ooblets

The “It’s Not You, It’s Me” Award: Kentucky Route Zero

Every year there’s at least one excellent game that, for whatever reason, just does not work for me. Last year it was The Outer Wilds. The year before, it was The Return of the Obra Dinn. Try as I might, I just couldn’t get into them. This year, it was Kentucky Route Zero.

Part of the problem may be not only that the first of the game’s five acts was released 7 years ago in 2013, but I played the first 3 acts a couple of years ago. If you remember that post about discovery and why I play games that I made a draft of last month but never published or even finished, then you know that it’s hard for me to replay games in the discovery bucket. On paper, this game is 100% my shit - the music, the dreamlike atmosphere, it’s all so massively appealing to me. Every time I start to play it, part of my brain just clicks off. It’s the kind of early access game I should have avoided until it was all finished. 

Also better than I give credit for: Fae Tactics, Resident Evil 3

Most Disappointing: New Console Availability

No games were hugely disappointing for me this year. What was disappointing is the difficulty in find either a Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X at launch.

It’s not surprising, given the way the pandemic affected the supply chains console manufacturers source their parts from, that the new consoles were incredibly difficult to secure. Waiting to see a Tweet from Wario64, then trying to add them to a cart and checkout only to hit several errors along the way and come up empty is pretty frustrating. Not there’s a lot of reason to get one of these at launch anyway - the lineups are pretty thin. But hey, I’ve been a gamer all my life and never gotten a console at launch. I’d like to get in on that one time. 

I did get an Xbox Series X a few weeks after launch by way of Microsoft’s Xbox All Access program. If you’d told me a a couple of years ago that I’d be going after a next gen Xbox before a next gen Playstation, I’d never have believed it. Game Pass is such an incredible value, those Playstation exclusives (for me) pale in comparison. Plus the Playstation 5 looks goddamned ridiculous. But I’ll get one sooner or later - Final Fantasy 7 Remake 2 will be there at some point, and the pack-in Astrobot game looks real good. It’s the first time I can remember the 3 big console makers each doing distinctly different things. It’s a pretty exciting time for the industry.

Also disappointing I guess: Torchlight III 

Looking Forward To: Darkest Dungeon II 

Hey look. You know - you KNOW I like Hollow Knight. But a sequel to my favorite game ever is at the top of my wish list. Red Hook has been pretty hush about details for Darkest Dungeon II, but I’m perfectly fine waiting and trusting them. Also: Wayne June is onboard. Let’s fucking GO.

Also anticipating: Hollow Knight: Silksong, Final Fantasy VII Remake part 2

[thomasroach]

Top RPG News Of The Week: February 17th (Bloodstained Ritual of the Night, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Sekiro and More!)

The post Top RPG News Of The Week: February 17th (Bloodstained Ritual of the Night, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Sekiro and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

Happy weekend from Fextralife! If you’ve been too busy to keep up on the latest in the games we cover or are looking for a refresher we’ve got you covered! Here’s a bite-sized version of the Top RPG news of the week. Taste all the latest news across the Fextralife Wiki Network.

Check out the video above and read on for the text!

Cyberpunk 2077

Fans have been concerned whether Cyberpunk 2077 would be going down the route of an Epic Store exclusive which has been a trend with a few games recently. In a tweet from the developers themselves this doesn’t seem to be the case.

When a fan reached out to CD Projekt Red via Twitter to ask if they too were going down the exclusive digital store front path, their reply was a short but very effective “Yeaaaaaaaaah….Pass on that”.

Ever since the rdigital store Epic Games was revealed at The Game Awards last year, a few titles have decided to release on Epic Games first rather than Steam or even GOG which is owned by the developer’s parent company. This include titles such as the action-RPG shooter Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, which launches on Epic Games and Uplay next month.

Looking back on previous CD Projekt Red titles such as the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the game was made available across a number of different platforms including GOG, Origin and Steam. Currently the developer has yet to have any of their games on the Epic Games Store.

Cyberpunk 2077 will release on PC, PS4 and Xbox One with no confirmed release date as of yet.

To read more about this news find it here in Cyberpunk 2077 Won’t Be An Epic Games Store Exclusive.

Kingdom Come Deliverance

T rhe DLC for the highly acclaimed medieval action RPG Kingdom Come Deliverance has been released this week for all platforms. Featuring multiple endings and a cast of new characters to meet on a rambunctious new adventure.

The third DLC Band of Bastards for Warhorse Studios’ Kingdom Come Deliverance, begins with Henry setting off on a new journey to help Sir Radzig Kobyla the leader of the band of mercenaries. His aim is help to settle an ongoing feud between Radzig and a noble family who is trying to encroach upon his position. Of course this adventure has plenty of rivalry, bloodshed and choices to be made.

Combat focuses mainly on skirmishes and duels but newer aspects have been added to the game including stealth missions and new side-quests to explore.

The DLC will take approximately 5 hours to complete and will be accessible once players have completed the Baptism of Fire quest, which is available one third of the way through the Kingdom Come: Deliverance main quest line. The DLC is available now on PC, PS4 and Xbox One for $7.99.

This was not the the only news from developer Warhorse Studios. Marking the 1st anniversary of the release of their title, the developer has found a new home being acquired by THQ Nordic’s wholly owned subsidiary Koch Media.

Kingdom Come Deliverance was released a year ago and has since sold over 2 million copies.

To read more about this news find it here in Kingdom Come Deliverance Band Of Bastards DLC.

The Outer Worlds

Since its announcement at The Game Awards last year, fans of The Outer Worlds have been anticipating this to be the spiritual successor to the Fallout franchise. In an interview for GameInformer with co-director Tim Cain and Lead designer Charles Staples, we gain more insight into The Outer World’s combat.

Taking a leaf out of the Fallout book, Obsidian brings its own version of the VATS system to upcoming sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds, however in this game it is known as Tactical Time Dilation (TTD). We also touched upon some of the combat features in our The Outer Worlds: Everything We Know About Fallout’s Spiritual Successor article and video not too long ago.

In the video the Co-Director Tim Cain shares more of a breakdown about the feature and we also get to see some of it in action. Tactical Time Dilation allows players to slow down time in order to line up the perfect shot.

If shooting isn’t your thing, you can always opt for different abilities that help companions by using combat perks. The developers also explains how companion support is a key part of gameplay, as they are introducing a new type of role called Leadership, which means the player will “swap in and out companions to gain access to their skills”.

While the exact release date has not been shared, the title is set to release sometime this year 2019.

To read more about this news find it here in The Outer Worlds Version Of Fallout’s VATS Slows Down Time.

The Division 2

Ubisoft held their private beta last weekend for The Division 2, and will be holding an open beta closer to the launch. The open beta was announced via the official website, it will be on March 1st until March 4th and available across all platforms which includes Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC. This will be your last chance to test out the game before it launches next month. More details are expected to follow soon in terms of exact times for each platform.

The Division 2 follows the events of the The Division, its been some time since the virus outbreak and it’s Washington DC where most of the action takes place. Players will be able to choose their skills and specialise as a Survivalist, Demolitionist or Sharpshooter. As you bring justice back to the streets as The Division where anarchy currently rains supreme.

The Division 2 comes to PS4, Xbox One and PC on March 15th 2019 with the beta coming March 1st until March 4th.

To read more about this news find it here in Ubisoft Announces The Division 2 Open Beta For Early March.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

The wait is over to for the release window for Castlevania inspired side-scrolling RPG Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. It was back in August last year when we heard about the delay of it’s original release, however in a Nintendo Direct announcement we learn that the title will be coming out in Summer. While this isn’t the exact date or month, it’s more of a timeline than we had before.

The trailer shows off some of the combat as Igavania makes its return in this gothic action horror. We also get a peek at the crafting system, being able to create weapons from materials you loot or items you dismantle.

The foes are a mixture between mythical creatures, fantasy meets reality including a giant dog head or even a huge cat-like creature with horns that swipes at you. To say the least the visuals are rather trippy with some challenging enemies to best.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will launch on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in summer 2019.

To read more about this news find it here in Bloodstained Ritual Of The Night Releases Summer 2019.

Final Fantasy 7 & 9

A range of Final Fantasy titles were announced to be coming to the Switch since last year, two of those titles now have a release date.

In a Nintendo Direct we get a release date for the original Final Fantasy VII which will be arriving on the Switch and Xbox One on March 26th. This is the first time that FF7 comes to a Nintendo console. This is a great addition for those who want to relive the game, or for those who are playing for the first time. While we await more details from Tetsuya Nomura about the remake now that he’s wrapped up Kingdom Hearts 3, it’s a great time to delve into the original.

But this isn’t the only Final Fantasy announcement shared in the video, Final Fantasy IX is now available on the Nintendo eShop. Also Windows 10 and Xbox One can  now access FF9 as an anywhere title meaning you can get it both for PC and Xbox with cross platform saves as well.

To read more about this news find it here in Final Fantasy VII Comes To Switch In March And Final Fantasy IX Launched Today.

Hollow Knight

Team Cherry were teasing a new Hollow Knight character The Hornet, but now shared on Valentine’s day that it is a follow up sequel to the massively successful Metroidvania Hollow Knight.

Team Cherry shared on Twitter earlier this week about The Hornet and teased they would be revealing the first look on February 14th which lead us to believe that a new DLC would be revealed on Thursday. However, in a surprise announcement that was shared in a post on their website, a sequel called Hollow Knight: Silksong was unveiled.

While originally the Hornet’s narrative was suppose to be a DLC, Team Cherry quickly realised that it would be too big to be just a chapter and created a game of its own. Hollow Knight: Silksong will be available on Windows, Mac, Linux and Nintendo Switch when it launches.

The sequel will contain over 150 new foes to battle, new kingdom and a new Challenge Silk Soul mode for even more of a challenging experience.

Not only do those who backed the original Kickstarter campaign receive Hollow Knight but you will “be receiving your copy of Hollow Knight: Silksong 100% free” according to the post. No release window has been shared as of yet.

To read more about this news find it here in Hollow Knight Gets A Sequel Not DLC Launching On Switch And PC.

Oninaki

The developers Tokyo RPG Factory behind I Am Setsuna and Lost Sphear have revealed a new title, an action-RPG called Oninaki.

Publisher Square Enix shares the story of Kagachi, a so-called Watcher with the ability to move between the Living World and the Beyond. In a tale where the the Watcher must seek out wandering souls of the dead who are the Lost, to send them on their way onto the next world.

Tokyo RPG Factory are yet to unveil some of the gameplay details, but you can take a look at the released trailer to get a quick overview of what’s to come. The trailer shows what appears to be hack’n’slash action featuring some weapon choices including halberds and swords.

Oninaki will release on Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC this summer, with more details to follow.

To read more about this news find it here in Oninaki Is The New Action RPG From The Developers Of I Am Setsuna.

Sekiro

A new trailer has been released for upcoming FromSoftware title Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice featuring General Tenzen Yamauchi.

The latest trailer shows a short reveal of an epic battle between Sekiro and foe General Tenzen Yamauchi of the Ashina clan. The arena in which this fight takes place, is in the court yard of the snow covered Ashina Castle Grounds. The battle only shows us the General getting a few shots in before the trailer ends, but looks like it could be another worthy adversary for the Lone-Wolf, Sekiro.

As we draw nearer to the anticipated release of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, we are slowly gaining new trailers that are revealing more of the narrative and upcoming characters to face. While the title is veering away from a more souls structure, FromSoft fans will be happy to know they are still including elements such as the hub area known as the Dilapidated Temple, and Healing Gourd which acts similarly to Estus Flask used in the Dark Souls series.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will be releasing on March 22nd 2019 on Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC. Be sure to check out our Twitch channel as we’ll be streaming it upon release.

To read more about this news find it here in New Sekiro Trailer Features General Tenzen Yamauchi.

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The post Top RPG News Of The Week: February 17th (Bloodstained Ritual of the Night, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Sekiro and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

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