Author: Cheri Faulkner

NME

A mod for popular VR game Half-Life: Alyx, called Levitation, has revealed a new, uninterrupted seven minutes of footage at The PC Gaming Show.

• READ MORE: Should gamers be “nervous” about video game subscription services, too?

Fan-made mod Levitation will give Half-Life: Alyx players a four to five hour campaign, building on Valve’s successful VR game.

CS:GO map creator Shawn Snelling (FMPONE) and animator Corey Laddo are developing a mod for Half-Life: Alyx that will be free of charge on the Steam Workshop for owners of the game, and adds a brand new four to five hours of gameplay through a campaign. It’s expected to be released in Q3 of 2022. At The PC Gaming Show, a new gameplay trailer was revealed for Levitation.

The mod sees protagonist Alyx exploring and searching for a pair of rebels gone rogue. They’ve discovered a strange floating building in Sector X and decided to investigate it against orders. Starting in a deep underground tunnel, the player is cautiously guided to a control room somewhere outside the building.

You can check out the almost ten minutes of footage below:

Whilst Half-Life 3 remains frustratingly unconfirmed, this new player-made mod for Half-Life: Alyx gives 7 uncut minutes of footage, making the wait for the next installment of Alyx Vance’s official adventures slightly more bearable.

The mod is impressively made, with features, graphics and mechanics that would make it easily passable as an official DLC from Valve. From the interactions with the world elements through to the impressive voice acting impressions, Levitation is set to provide Half-Life: Alyx players with another good few hours of unofficial bonus campaign material.

The mod will be releasing into the Steam Workshop, but as of yet doesn’t have an official release date further than the vague iteration of Q3 of 2022. However, with that time period creeping up quickly, it shouldn’t be too long before fans of the game get to reprise the role of Alyx Vance once again.

In other news, Stealth horror-shooter Gloomwood announced a release date at The PC Gaming Show.

From a campaign reveal for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to a slew of indie games revealed at Day Of The Devs 2022, it’s been a busy week for announcements in gaming. To catch up on any trailers, announcements and surprise launches you may have missed, be sure to keep an eye on our Summer Of Games 2022 roundup.

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Gloomwood is a stealth horror FPS from the publisher of Dusk, Amid Evil, Ultrakill and Faith, and is set to release into Early Access on August 16 2022.

• READ MORE: Watched ‘Stranger Things’? Here’s how you can start playing ‘Dungeons & Dragons’

Describing the game as a “frightening, gothic immersive sim full of haunted streets, dark tunnels and decadent mansions”, the Steam page for Gloomwood has been showing a “Soon” release date, but in The PC Gaming Show it was announced the game would enter early access August 16.

Freeform exploration through an eerie, intricate city allows the player to make their own decisions about their route. Tread carefully or prepare to get very loud, as stealth is key in Gloomwood.

Scavenging for materials and weapons can provide customisation to optimise your capabilities of survival against ghastly hordes of enemies and foes with impressively precise specialist skills, like the cadaver-seeking Corpse Duster.

Since its announcement in 2020, Gloomwood has seen a variety of updates along the development road. Back in 2021, Developers Dillon Rogers and David Szymanski announced a physical inventory system, where players can click and drag objects from the game world to be able to carry them. A new silenced pistol, the Undertaker, was also added to the game which fires specialty ammunition such as incendiary rounds. Lights were also said to be destructible, allowing players to double-down on stealth and creep along in total darkness.

Players can wishlist Gloomwood on Steam now ahead of its early access release on August 16.

From a campaign reveal for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to a slew of indie games revealed at Day Of The Devs 2022, it’s been a busy week for announcements in gaming. To catch up on any trailers, announcements and surprise launches you may have missed, be sure to keep an eye on our Summer Of Games 2022 roundup.

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Shiro Unlimited is an indie games publisher from the Shiro Games team, and at The PC Gaming Show they have announced two new titles.

• READ MORE: Geoff Keighley talks Summer Game Fest and where gaming’s going next

The first reveal is Abyssals, a survival city builder set in the deepest depths of an inhospitable ocean planet. Players will need to build an underwater colony whilst navigating the deepness of the waters to obtain difficult to find resources. Danger lies in the deep, and survival will prove difficult.

The animated trailer proves that players are right to fear the deepest oceans as they navigate and attempt to endure the threats and challenges it brings.

The second announcement coming from Shiro Unlimited and Atelier QDB is Decarnation, a 2D animated adventure throughout the worst nightmares, riddled with demons. This will be the first game published under the new Shiro Unlimited umbrella.

Players will be expected to solve challenging puzzles, fight disturbing and nightmarish enemies whilst exploring a phantasmagorical world of terrifying monsters from the depths of their own soul.

You play as Gloria, a Parisian cabaret dancer plagued by the thoughts from her own soul. As you progress through the game, you’ll utilise the things you learn about her life to help defeat her worst nightmares.

From a campaign reveal for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to a slew of indie games revealed at Day Of The Devs 2022, it’s been a busy week for announcements in gaming. To catch up on any trailers, announcements and surprise launches you may have missed, be sure to keep an eye on our Summer Of Games 2022 roundup.

 

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A world premiere of the new game from 11 Bit Studios, The Alters, has been revealed at The PC Gaming Show.

• READ MORE: ‘Golfie’ adds a fun roguelike twist to the worst sport ever created

We see Jan, our main character, waking up in a futuristic circular spacecraft with tens of shipping containers aboard. He’s travelling with alternative versions of himself, also known as The Alters, going through a distant alien space. You are a space builder trying to find a way back home. Players will need to create alters as they have different skills and character traits necessary for survival and finding a way back home.

Tonally, this could easily be a horror, thriller or mystery game. According to Tomasz Kisilewicz, Lead Artist at 11 Bit Studios, there is a mystery looking into the soul of the character but what you find can be scary, so the psychological horror and drama beats are many. There’s a thick surrealist layer, waking up next to an alternative version of yourself.

The main theme of the game relates to us, as people, shaping ourselves with every decision we make daily. In the game, Yan has a unique possibility of not only shaping himself but reshaping himself numerous times with each alter he creates. The Alters takes a relatable topic and uses the sci-fi setting to put it up to a magnifying glass. This is a very contemporary game that takes advantage of gaming as a medium to make the player think.

11 Bit Studios have used their knowledge gained from developing the likes of This War of Mine and Frostpunk to elevate the possibilities for The Alters, including a big focus on storytelling and narrative.

The Alters is available to be wishlisted on Steam, Epic Games Store or Gog Galaxy and more information can be found on their website.

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Klei Entertainment has revealed a trailer for their forthcoming game, Rotwood. Klei has become one of the biggest names in indie titles, with games like Don’t Starve Together, Shank and Mark of the Ninja among their roster already.

• READ MORE: ‘Thirsty Suitors’ hands-off preview: get excited for this stylish stunner

Klei has been busy with Klei Fest in full swing, and has announced the formation of Klei Publishing as well as all of its games news.

Their newest title Rotwood is garnering a lot of attention and at the PC Gaming Show 2022, it made an appearance. Prior to this, only the title had been revealed so the official teaser trailer will be a welcome reveal for fans of the indie developer.

The animated game shows multi-enemy combat, veering on an all-out brawl. The co-op hack and slash showed corrupted enemies being defeated and players being given the option to wear parts which dropped, with one character donning a pumpkin helmet from a fallen frog enemy. In the dungeon-crawler format, Rotwood shows magic-themed spells as special attacks and abilities.

Alongside Rotwood, Klei are currently working on updates for their back catalogue, including the Cawnival update for Don’t Starve Together and the Fast Friends update for Oxygen Not Included.

In other news, ‘Starfield’ received an in-depth gameplay trailer at the Xbox and Bethesda showcase, and brings Bethesda’s “most flexible character creation yet”.

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After showcasing a vast amount of gameplay including worlds, weapons, combat and much more at the 2022 Xbox and Bethesda showcase, Starfield has also been revealed to provide “the most flexible character creation yet” in a Bethesda game.

• READ MORE: ‘Stray’ hands-off preview: a brilliant glimpse at summer’s most exciting game

The choices the player makes and who they decide to be will affect the stories experienced throughout Starfield, Bethesda’s first brand new IP in 25 years. Players can pick a background for their character which gives three starting skills and will have an effect in-game, offering up new routes and conversations for different backgrounds.

The skill system combines the best from Bethesda’s previous games and allows skill ranking by using the skills and completing in-game challenges. Crafting is expansive and allows players to build their own outposts that act as a home away from home for survival and resource generation. Players decide everything, from where and how to build each outpost, through to hiring characters they’ve met throughout the game to keep things ticking along.

Along with outpost crafting, spaceship crafting will be a feature in Starfield. There are a multitude of different modules, ship manufacturers and more variables to enable the player to craft their dream spaceship to navigate the game. The aesthetics of the spaceship are decided, but so too is the way it performs. Flying the crafted spaceship once you’re happy with the build shows a glorious space environment, along with intergalactic combat. Crimson Fleet Ghosts are the enemies shown in the gameplay trailer, falling victim to the weapons chosen by the player. Locking on to enemies is another shown feature as well as the procedure for safely docking your custom spaceship once the destination had been reached.

After originally being delayed along with Bethesda’s other current project, Redfall, Starfield will release for consoles and PC in 2023.

We also got a look at Redfall tonight, with the vamp slaying shooter showing off a new trailer with some in-game footage.

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Bethesda has teased extensive new Starfield footage at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase 2022.

• READ MORE: ‘Starfield’ release date, latest news and everything we know

Todd Howard took to the stage to reveal Bethesda’s “most ambitious game ever” in the form of Starfield, the first brand new IP from Bethesda in 25 years.

The trailer shows the player landing down on a planet called Kreet, in the year 2330. Along with the help of a robotic companion, they navigate to a seemingly abandoned research facility – though it’s not long until they’re fighting the pirates who call it home.

Besides an extensive look at how Starfield’s gunplay will work, the trailer also showcased several other features such as the ability to gather a range of crafting materials, Bethesda’s sci-fi take on the studio’s usual lockpicking mechanic, and how exploration in zero-gravity will work.

Once the battle on Kreet is wrapped up, Howard explains that players are invited to attend a meeting with likeminded explorers who want to discover what other mysteries the universe holds. Though the trailer teases that “whatever lies at the end of this road will change humanity,” it won’t be an easy path – as players will need to deal with rival factions who are more than happy to disrupt the interstellar quest.

Toward the end of Bethesda’s presentation, Howard then demonstrated the scope of Starfield: players will be able to land anywhere on each of the game’s planets, of which there are over 1000 to explore.

Following a delay, Starfield is expected to launch in “the first half of 2023”.

It’s been a massive week for gaming: from a campaign reveal for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to a slew of indie games revealed at Day Of The Devs 2022, it would be easy for some announcements to slip through your notice – so be sure to keep an eye on our Summer Of Games 2022 roundup.

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Obsidian Entertainment first released Grounded in early access for a limited time period back in 2020, but at today’s Xbox and Bethesda showcase, after two years of development and over 10 million players on Xbox Game Pass, the 1.0 release arrives in September 2022.

• READ MORE: Moving away from E3 is better for games, gamers, and the people who make them

Grounded is a game in which players are shrunken down to a minuscule scale and must battle their way through challenges, surviving a garden overrun by bugs and other hazards.

Whilst in Early Access it has had a multitude of updates, including the recent sandbox and dungeon update from October 2021. September’s full release will see the introduction of a new area in the form of The Upper Yard, new armor and weapon recipes, secrets and a new boss, The Mantis as well as the completion of the main story.

At the Xbox and Bethesda showcase, a full release date of September 2022 has been given to Grounded along with a mass of new gameplay footage. For those gamers that prefer to hold off on games until the full version is available, it’s been a long wait for Obsidian Entertainment’s Grounded and that wait now comes to an end.

From a campaign reveal for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to a slew of indie games revealed at Day Of The Devs 2022, this week has seen so many games announcements. To catch up on all the trailers, announcements and surprise launches, be sure to keep an eye on our Summer Of Games 2022 roundup.

 

 

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Shown at the Xbox and Bethesda showcase, Blizzard has provided a release date for Overwatch 2, as well as an animated short for a new character, the Junker Queen.

• READ MORE: Overwatch 2 release date, delay, trailer and everything we know so far

Overwatch 2 will be released in early access on 4 October 2022 and will be free to play, Blizzard has confirmed at the Xbox and Bethesda showcase.

The Junker Queen has been long rumoured to be joining the Overwatch cast of heroes, but a new animated short trailer confirmed her arrival to the team-based FPS later in the year.

During the animated short, Mason Howl aka The Junker King was introduced to us as an undefeated battle king for over 13 years, positioned in his massive mech.

The sequel to Overwatch will also reveal with a new game mode called Push, a variety of hero reworks and at least two new maps, in New York City and Toronto.

New character designs and cosmetics for most of the cast were revealed in Blizzard’s announcement trailer, including previously unseen adjustments to D.Va and Symmetra. There will be more details revealed in a separate stream on June 16.

Overwatch 2 comes to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X upon its launch on October 4 2022. Cross-platform play and progression will be supported.

Ranging from the campaign reveal for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to a slew of indie games revealed at Day Of The Devs 2022, it’s been an almost overwhelming supply of games announcements. To catch up on everything revealed during this year’s announcements, be sure to keep an eye on our Summer Of Games 2022 roundup.

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After a long wait, Hollow Knight: Silksong has Hollow Knight Silksong has finally been seen once more. The sequel to the popular 2017 Metroidvania action-adventure hit Hollow Knight has had its first reveal since its announcement in 2019.

Fans were treated to some more gameplay from Silksong after three years of eager anticipation. Team Cherry showed the main character, Hornet, exploring a lava-filled world with familiar mechanics and battling their way through enemies.

After the initial excitement of Silksong’s announcement in 2017, fans were left disappointed in 2021 when Team Cherry announced they did “not have any announcements/blogs scheduled for E3 this year”, confirming that Silksong would not be seen again during that time period.

Silksong was originally announced in February 2019 as a sequel to Hollow Knight but hadn’t been seen since. Whilst there is no specific release date, it has been confirmed to be available as a Day One Xbox Games Pass release for PC and consoles. Combine this with the fact that Xbox exec Sarah Bond stated during the showcase that all games shown will be available within the next 12 months, we at least have more of a window for the game’s arrival than previously.

From a campaign reveal for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to a slew of indie games revealed at Day Of The Devs 2022, announcements from this week have been coming in thick and fast. To keep up to date with trailers, announcements and surprise launches you may have missed, make sure to keep an eye on our Summer Of Games 2022 roundup.

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