Game release: “Irony Curtain: From Matryoshka with Love” (PC)

Artifex Mundi‘s comic point-and-click adventure game Irony Curtain: From Matryoshka with Love shows a different and funnier side of the Cold War.

Games that draw inspiration from real political events usually fall into the category of seriousness and often come across either too didactic or not historical enough. This title circumvents the problem by presenting a fictional Cold War era, an alternate reality that isn’t bound by historical accuracy. Of course it doesn’t mean that there aren’t parallels, but as humor is more prevalent, it works nicely. Telling the story about journalist Evan who accidentally finds himself entangled in a spy story, he sees the totalitarian Matryoshka in a different light.

Inspired by classic adventure games, especially LucasArts titles, puzzle solving becomes the most prominent gameplay aspect, although there shouldn’t be any dream-logic or pixel hunting, but non-linear puzzles that can be solved in various ways. With hand-drawn backgrounds and characters plus some great voice acting, it all looks and sounds like a great throwback to the good old times, and if the humor of the trailer is anything to go by, then this should be quite funny, too.

The game is out now on PC with a 10% launch discount that will last until tomorrow, May 23rd, 1pm UTC. There’s also a Revolutionary Edition which includes the original soundtrack and a digital artbook.

Buy the standard version for PC on
GOG
Steam

Buy the Revolutionary Edition for PC on
GOG
Steam

Official website

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Using the GOG links and buying the products also helps ;).

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Game release: “Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest” (PC)

Ctrl Alt Ninja’s tactical fantasy RPG Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest fuses RPG, JRPG, and tactical boardgame elements.

Despite being the company’s debut, it certainly helped that they were co-creators of the acclaimed Legend of Grimrock series. While these were first-person dungeon crawlers, this title uses an isometric perspective, but showcases the same sense of place and intricate gameplay one would expect. The story revolves around the Menhir Forest where the arch druid has disappeared and the growth of purple cysts results in corruption and sickness. So it’s hero time again.

In addition to a believable and beautiful-looking fantasy world, memorable characters can also be found, like the archdruid’s daughter Aava, warden Leonhard, whose past is shrouded in mystery, and the failed Red Priest Oiko. The strategic battle gameplay is turn-and tile-based, while upgrading the heroes’ abilities is as important as completing missions and being given upgrade gems. Unlike so many time-consuming RPGs, the total playtime is just 15-20 hours, with 35 missions lasting 15 to 45 minutes, so it should be more feasible to complete the game for everyone. The title certainly looks and sounds fantastic, especially the weather and physics effects, judging from the trailer, which is no small feat for an indie developer.

The game is out now on PC with a 5% launch discount that will last until tomorrow, May 22nd, 4pm UTC.

Buy the game for PC on
GOG
Steam

Official website

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Using the GOG link and buying the product also helps ;).

Game releases: “Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow” + “Disney’s Hercules” (PC)

The classic Disney platformer library just got a little bigger with the digital releases of Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow and Disney’s Hercules.

It’s been a while since I reviewed Disney’s The Lion King, Disney’s The Jungle Book, and Disney’s Aladdin, but despite their high difficulty modes and some technical issues, they were a lot of fun to play. Now two more games have made it to the digital platforms GOG and Steam, and they couldn’t be any different in gameplay.

Disney Interactive Studios’ 1996 Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow stars Donald Duck and his alter egos detective Maui Mallard and Cold Shadow, the latter of which is a ninja version of him. By trying to find the missing Shabuhm Shabuhm idol on a tropical island, one has to find all sorts of strange enemies, including Muddrakes, Rotting Pirates, Duck Zombies, and Amazon Warriors. Jumping and using ninja skills across 23 stages add to varied gameplay and scenarios, and it all looks very pretty indeed with the fluid animations one is used to in Disney cartoons.

Buy the game for PC on
GOG
Steam

Disney Interactive Studios’ 1997 Disney’s Hercules offers cinematic platforming fun for all fans of the original movie, which means that the dropback is ancient Greece with all sorts of mythological monsters that have to be challenged in 10 stages, like centaurs, harpies, titans, the Hydra, and of course Hades himself to save Hercules’ love Meg. Hidden areas, hero power-ups as well as magical weapons add to replayability, while original character voices, music and sequences from the movie should be exciting enough for fans, too. It goes without saying that everything looks and sounds lovely in motion.

Buy the game for PC on
GOG
Steam

The games are now available on PC with a 15% launch discount that will last until May 24th. GOG also has a Disney publisher sale that has all sorts of classic platformers for bargain prices, but a few other genre greats like the Indiana Jones or Monkey Island series. Be quick, because the sale already ends today, May 20th, 10PM UTC!

If you liked reading this article, make sure to LIKE it or comment on it on EMR’s Facebook page :). Or FOLLOW the blog on EMR’s Twitter page..
Using the GOG links and buying the products also helps ;).

Game release: “Swag and Sorcery” (PC)

Lazy Bear Games‘,Uroboros Games‘, and tinyBuild‘s pixel RPG adventure Swag and Sorcery brings back the silly fun in fantasy.

The developer certainly doesn’t do games as everyone else does, as can be seen with titles like Graveyard Keeper (see preview) or Punch Club (see news) that aren’t only strange genre mixes, but also have a weird sense of humor and a great pixel art style.

So it doesn’t come as a surprise that the newest game Swag and Sorcery is about an epic quest to find the king’s missing suit, a plot device as ingenious and silly as it can be. Gameplay-wise, one has to build a fantasy village, train and equip heroes, and send them out to collect lots of stuff (or swag). Making sure that they don’t die, they have to pulled back from dangerous fights, because otherwise they’ll lose the precious loot. It all sounds rather simple and grind-y, but that’s the whole point of this humorous take on the RPG adventure genre.

The game is out now on PC with a 25% launch discount on GOG that will last until tomorrow, May 20th, 1pm UTC. Owners of Graveyard Keeper, Punch Club, The Final Station, Party Hard, Party Hard 2, and Hello Neighbor receive it with an additional 10% off.

Buy the game for PC on
GOG
Steam

Official website

If you liked reading this article, make sure to LIKE it or comment on it on EMR’s Facebook page :). Or FOLLOW the blog on EMR’s Twitter page..
Using the GOG link and buying the product also helps ;).

Humble Bundle free game: “Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition”

Humble Bundle does it again and offers another free game to download, and it’s DrinkBox Studios‘ colorful metroidvania platformer-brawler Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition.

It’s been only a week since the Age of Wonders III giveaway, but of course one should embrace every Humble Bundle freebie. Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition was already featured in the Humble Weekly Bundle: Brawlers news, so I’ll keep it short. The Super Turbo Championship Edition is an updated version of the previously-released Guacamelee! Gold Edition, which means it has much more on offer. It’s one of those rare games that doesn’t only catch one’s attention because of its vibrant Mexican folklore graphics and excellent soundtrack, but also because of its over-the-top storyline about the kidnapping of El Presidente’s Daughter for sacrificing her to merge the World of the Living with the World of the Dead and the rescue attempt of an agave farmer who puts on a Legendary Luchador mask. What follows is a lot of fighting and platforming, plus parallel dimensions and same-screen co-op play.

The game can be claimed for free as a Steam code on the Humble Store website until tomorrow, May 19. The sequel is also available with a 60% discount, which is all part of the Spring Sale of the Humble Store.

Official website

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