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Upgraded visuals and all previous content will be included in the PC-only release.

Separated from all else by a great storm that ripped the land asunder, Alec and Adam huddle on a fragile, knife-shaped peninsula to watch the world freeze and die. They dream of old gods, they think of roads not taken, they mourn for the lost. And they have a right old natter about Stoic’s recently released, uncommonly beautiful, Viking-inspired roleplaying/strategy/giants’n'conversation game The Banner Saga.(more…)

Sure, we already have Game of Thrones, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and countless other epic fantasies in which to get lost - but there's always room for more. There's especially always room for an epic, hand-painted, Viking fantasy RPG with music by Austin Wintory and turn-based strategy gameplay. There's always room for The Banner Saga.

The Banner Saga comes from Stoic Studio, a team comprised of ex-BioWare employees. In 2012, Stoic over-Kickstarted The Banner Saga, asking for $100,000 and earning $723,886. The game launched on PC and Mac on January 14, and now it's hitting the big time: Joystiq's live stream.

Journey with us through mead halls and giant-infested battlefields at 4PM ET on the Joystiq Twitch channel, hosted by Richard Mitchell and with gameplay by yours truly, Jessica Conditt. Skål!

2014 is going to be the real Year Of Kickstarter. While the phenomenon became enormous in 2012, and saw continued enormous successes in 2013, it’s this year that’s really going to count. This is the year that so many of those multi-million dollar projects are due to appear. It’s going to prove, I would like to argue, the year that we are going to change their understanding of what a Kickstarter pledge really is.

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During a Steam Dev Days talk last week, Valve Research and Development leader Michael Abrash said he expects virtual reality to hit big in the coming years, and that it "could transform the entire entertainment industry," USA Today reported.

"Compelling consumer-priced VR hardware is coming, probably within two years," Abrash said. With Oculus VR leading the way, virtual reality headsets aren't anything new to those that have been watching their growth in recent years. The key words here are "compelling consumer-priced VR hardware" then, which Abrash thinks can be built to the following specs in 2015, per a slide (PDF) in his presentation: 110-degree field of vision, 95 Hz refresh rate, 1K x 1K resolution per eye, three millisecond pixel persistence and 20 millisecond latency.

Abrash said a VR headset with those specs is "doable with relatively minor tweaks of existing technology; no breakthroughs or miracles are needed, just solid engineering." In fact, Valve has built prototypes of head-mounted displays with those specifications already, and will "share what we've found with PC companies that want to develop VR hardware."

Valve has already built a working relationship with VR hardware manufacturers, working directly with Oculus VR on consumer-level virtual reality options and launched its SteamVR beta just ahead of its Steam Dev Days conference. We went hands-on with Oculus VR's latest internal prototype hardware "Crystal Cove" at CES 2014.

With official C&C games staggering dazedly around development limbo at the moment, our need for a tasty bit of NOD must instead be sated by the fan community. Renegade-X is a modders’ ambitious and apparently impressive attempt to redo EA’s ill-fated FPS-RTS spin-off Renegade, and it’s been in the works for quite a while now. Last November brought news that a version 1 release would arrive on February 26th; today brings news that a version 1 release will arrive on February 26th. Er. Well, I suppose someone meeting a projected release date, especially in oft-unpredictable modland, is news of a sort. Anyway, it’s a handy reminder for your diaries, plus there’s an extensive new trailer to look at, showing plenty of in-game shootybangery.(more…)

Alienware has revealed it plans to release fresh Steam Machines every year, though you won't be able to customise the box you buy.

Do you remember CrossFire? John wrote about it back in 2008, when shortly before its western release some players noticed that the Counter-Strikey free-to-play shooter seemed to drop all pretense and include de_dust2 outright. John investigated, and its western publisher confirmed the map was included in the original release, but also that it would be removed before reaching our shores.

Anyway, that was back in 2008. Now CrossFire is the highest grossing free-to-play game in the world, according to a report by SuperData.(more…)

Do you want to compete against your friends at Spelunky, the randomly generated platforming roguelike? That’s what the Daily Challenge is for; each day, a single set of levels is generated which is the same for everyone and which can be played only once.

But if once isn’t enough to satisfy your competitive urges, there’s now Seedlunky HD. The user-created tool lets you set a custom seed from which to generate levels, which you can then share with your friends while you continue to compare your adventures.(more…)

Ernesto RPG is a "quick RPG" played entirely in clicks on a field populated by pixelated icons. Start at a cave and form a path to another cave by clicking on icons right next to each other, such as medkits, poisonous spiders, weapons, tunnels that may or may not be insta-death traps, and enemies; level up, make it to the exit cave and proceed to the next level. It's shockingly addictive (and free).

It's also from Storyteller developer Daniel Benmergui - Storyteller won the Nuovo award at IGF 2012, and it's still a work in progress. It asks players to put scenes of a comic strip in order to complete the requested actions. Now it's on hold while Benmergui tries to turn Ernesto into a full, commercial game.

"I love Storyteller, I think it's an important game and I want it to be released soon, but I've been working on it for three years now and I am starting to feel creatively numb from always dealing with the same project," Benmergui writes. "There are a few important things to work out before I am able to release it, so there's no way I can rush it to completion. Storyteller still needs time and more hard work to be a great game."

Benmergui says developing Ernesto will give him much-needed perspective on Storyteller and experience in launching a full game. He plans to be done with Ernesto in less than three months and he emphasizes that this does not mean Storyteller is canceled.

Twine games come in many forms, from the autobiographical confessional to the surrealist equine Bildungsroman. I’ve never seen one quite like The Domovoi though, which takes on the role of a storyteller communicating directly with the player/listener. This particular tale is plucked from Slavic folklore and the actors are new to me, which made playing through the brief encounter a pleasant educational experience. It helps that the story is delightfully – if sparsely – illustrated, flickering with a glow that fits the setting and mood. And if your interest in Slavic folklore is minimal, you could always supply the most inappropriate suggestions possible to derail the storyteller’s flow.

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While the joys of Candy Crush Saga have only reached the PC in the form of a Facebook app, the implications of one of the worst decisions by the US trademark office affect developers on all platforms. They have, as of last week, decided it’s perfectly reasonable for owners King to trademark the word “candy”. And they’re trying to get “saga” too.

So it is that Gamezebo reports developers are now receiving threats that they must remove their apps or games if they have had the temerity to use this oh-so rare word in their product name. It’s the “edge” fiasco all over again, except this time with actual legal muscle behind it.

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Look! Up in the sky, among the glorious particle effects and shrieking survivors of some form of terrible space disaster! Is it an Oids, is it a Thrust, is it a Lunar Lander? No, gentlethings and roughhousers, although it may be distantly related to those greats, the device streaking toward tomorrow’s horizon is Retrobooster. It’s a game in which spaceships cruise between giant cogs, dodging and corkscrewing. Explosions look like the aftermath of a firework shipment crashing into a burning peacock farm. With four player splitscreen support for both co-op and deathmatch play, Retrobooster should entertain you at least as much as Russell Crowe in a sandpit. It’s out February 21st and seeking votes on Greenlight.

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It’s been a long time since I checked in on Catapult For Hire, which looks to be one of the most promising hybrid games in development. With less buzz to its name or around it than a square-jawed space-toy or the cover star of various honey-based cereal loops, it’s been on my radar for a good while but doesn’t seem to have gained a great deal of media attention. That’s a shame because the blend of 3d artillery accuracy, an action-adventure structure and (newly added) movable vehicles all look to be exactly the sort of thing we should all be keeping at least one of our good eyes on. Take a look at the latest video, incorporating those vehicles, below.

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Garry Newman never expected Rust to sell so well.

Sword & Sworcery EP from developers Superbrothers, Capybara, and musician Jim Guthrie is Steam's featured "Daily Deal," slashing the indie darling's price down 80 percent to $1.59. The promotion will conclude on Wednesday, January 22 at 10am Pacific.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP is the million unit-selling adventure title that first launched for iPad in March 2011. Sword & Sworcery has since launched for other iOS devices, Android, as well as (and included with a purchase on Steam) PC, Mac and Linux.

The award-winning indie title follows the courageous adventures of The Scythian as she attempts to vanquish a ghost terrorizing a mountain top. The game is presented in multiple sections, venturing from the start of The Scythian's journey to the dreams of those affected by the ghost's presence. Also, it's gorgeous.Steam Daily Deal: Sword & Sworcery for less than a cup of coffee

Users are theorizing that the UK anti-porn filter is blocking a couple of URLs that inadvertently spell out a prohibited word.

The success of Garry's Mod established Facepunch Studios, but the developer's latest effort, Rust, appears to be an even bigger hit.

Though Rust, a survival game that pits players against an unforgiving, mysterious wilderness, is currently incomplete, the game's release on Steam Early Access has managed to attract more than 250,000 players since its December 11 debut. According to a GamesIndustry interview with Facepunch founder (and Garry's Mod namesake) Garry Newman, that rapid influx of customers has generated "about 40 percent" of the income Garry's Mod has attracted in its nine years of availability, all in little more than a month.

With Rust well on its way to success, Newman's development team is focused on adding content to the game, and removing certain ideas such as the game's undead denizens. "[W]e really wanted to get rid of [the zombies] before we launched on Steam, but kind of failed, because we didn't want people reviewing it as just another zombie survival game," Newman said. "We want to remove them, though - we'll probably end up removing them and replacing them with nothing, first, then working something else in eventually."

Newman also makes mention of a backstory for the world seen in Rust, though he wisely avoids any specifics. "We don't really want to tell anyone about it just yet, though, because if we talk about it before we do it they'll get angry at us!"

Welcome, Joystiqers, to the inaugural entry in Joystiq Tiny Streams, a new series of small streams featuring the Joystiq crew playing their current favorites. They play the game for the duration of our usual Joystiq Streams-which air from 4p.m. EST to 5p.m. EST every Tuesday and Thursday-and then our crack team of editors fashion it into a tinier highlight reel to tell you about the game with speed, efficiency, and humor.

This first Joystiq Tiny Stream is of the recently released Risk of Rain, which our own Richard Mitchell liked a whole lot. As much as he liked it, though, he's still not a master of the game's hilarious, sadistic difficulty. Just watch what happens when the giant pig and its family arrive.

If you want to play a board game, one of the most essential ingredients is someone to play against. I found this out the hard way as a first-time parent, house bound by the demands of a baby and drained of energy but not my feverish appetite for gaming.

That’s when I discovered VASSAL. It’s a freeware, open source Java program that lets you play boardgames over the internet, either live or via email. And not a narrow selection, either: each game requires that you download a specific module, and the official site alone lists over 1,300 of them. There are more out there in the wilds.

At the point of succumbing to child-induced cabin fever, I was suddenly free to choose from this bewildering library of brilliance and play games as slowly as I wanted without ever leaving the house. There were games I already owned, games I wanted to try, games I’d never heard of but sounded superb; all at my fingertips alongside an army of eager opponents.(more…)

I thought I could let this pass without posting about it. It’s just a bit of character DLC for Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed, a kart racing game few people other than me seem to love. But… it’s too good. It’s Shenmue’s Ryo Hazuki driving a transforming car/boat/plane modelled to look like an OutRun arcade cabinet. It’s beautiful. It’s the Sega singularity. I’ve recorded a video of me racing that OutRun arcade cabinet around an OutRun track while the game’s announcer calls out phrases like “Football Manager has gone All-Star!” and “Stickers unlocked!”(more…)

You wake up on the shore of a mysterious land with nothing but the clothes on your back and a flashlight. You have no idea what to do, no objectives, and there isn't another soul in sight. No, this isn't a bad dream; you finally decided to buy DayZ.

Playing DayZ is a unique experience, but it can also be confusing and can be frustrating if you're not sure what to do. It would be impossible to go over every strategy, item, weapon, and location in the game without forcing you to read a novel-length walkthrough, but here are some basics that will get you started.

Initially, I only stuck with the lethargic trailer for Wayward Terran Frontier because I was enjoying the soothing warp of the guitar strings that serenade its spacefarers. It’s a top-down combat and exploration game set on that most final of frontiers, but it was only when the viewpoint shifted to a ship’s interior that my attention was entirely captured by the pull of the attractor beams. Wayward Terran is a complex project and while there’s a free multiplayer alpha, a visit to the Kickstarter page is required dig out all of the enticing promises and secrets.

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A game’s name can imply a lot. The name Rambo: The Video Game gives me some very clear first impressions. The most striking of all being it has nothing to say of its own. I’ve no idea if that’s fair at all – I’ve never played it. But The Straight Game Of The Film has yet to prove a good idea (with the colossal exception of Lego and GoldenEye), and the footage of this one isn’t promising an exception. The latest, incredibly clumsy trailer is below.

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Is it worth playing DayZ Standalone in its current alpha condition? Probably not. But anecdotes of scary charcoal-eating clowns, wiggle cultists, forced axe fights, and slow death from disease and dehydration, make it hard to resist.

Still I’m a little sad the changelog for the next experimental patch doesn’t contain more basic fixes, like maybe ‘Removed the invisible sodding zombies‘, or ‘Zombies can no longer run through walls and floors‘, or even ‘Doorways are now easier to manoeuver through‘. Instead I have to settle for the likes of “Balanced stomach capacity”, as outlined in a post by Dean Hall over on the official forums.(more…)

Back in the day, people built children like we now build war criminals. Tiny tykes weren’t coddled or babied with cheery tales about the world and all its wonders. From the day they sloughed out of the dark prison that was their mother’s womb, kids were weened on a steady diet of gruesome fairy tales and sawblades. But it’s time for a new generation – our generation – to rise up and claim the mantle of Most Powerful Child. That’s why everyone’s making fairy tales more *crag*ed up than ever before. American McGee has made a career out of it, and now a small Belgian studio called GRIN (no, not that one) is taking up its own axe with Woolfe: The Red Riding Hood Diaries. It looks rather stunning, no? I am, however, worried that it could end up a bog standard platformer with a macabre coat of red paint.

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You can play Probably Archery right now, or try to at least. The intentionally harrowing control scheme might prevent you from fully engaging with the sizeable demo for half an hour or so, as you flail and windmill your arms in an attempt to notch an arrow onto a bowstring. Recently Greenlit, Probably Archery is William Tell* by way of Surgeon Simulator and the demo contains various scenarios, ably showcasing the blend of QWOP-like mechanics with a dollop of Serious Sam and a pinch of Magritte. The full version, we’re now told, will contain extensive multiplayer shenanigans, which should provide tension and hilarity. One mode even takes inspiration from DayZ. Don’t eat any rotten apple-heads.

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There’s an awful lot of money floating around out there. Richard Garriott’s determined return to the world of RPGs with Shroud Of The Avatar: Forsaken Virtues has now raised over $3m, with an epic $1.1m having been tacked on after the successful Kickstartering of $1.9m. (Spotted by Massively.) Would anyone like to crowdfund a holiday for me?

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Following on from last week's reveals of the Assault, Trapper and Support classes, we've finally got a look at Evolve's Medic.

Game jams are marvelous things, truly. Constraints breed creativity, and the end result is a flood of (mostly interesting) games. Only problem is, even the standouts are typically itsy bitsy bundles of bits and bytes, mewling baby concepts rather than fully grown experiences. But some go on to do greater things. The most well-known recent example is Ludum Dare 26 darling Gods Will Be Watching, and now Ludum Dare 28 winner One Take is looking to follow in its footsteps. Adam quite liked the original version, and having played it I can see why.

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