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Neko Odyssey Will Come Out in December 2024 Neko Odyssey is a game for cat lovers by cat lovers that’ll come out on December 16, 2024. The game will revolve around taking pictures of cats in a rural countryside. Aesthetics-wise, the game uses pixel art in 3D environments, which gives the game a slightly retro look. According to the trailer and the product description, you go around town taking pictures of cats and uploading them onto social media. As you gain more likes and grow your online presence, your followers will offer you tips. Some cats require you to meet certain conditions before you can take their picture. The game also has an overarching storyline, for those who want something more to the game than simply taking cat pictures. You can watch a trailer for Neko Odyssey here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tke32alC0BQ Considering how popular cats are among netizens and pet owners, it’s not surprising to see a game entirely focused on them. Neko Atsume , for example, was a very popular casual game that focuses on collecting cats. Cats & Soup is also an idle game that revolves around cats making soup. Stray was a highly popular game that revolves entirely around playing as a cat exploring a post-apocalyptic and hostile world. Neko Odyssey will come out on December 16, 2024 on Windows PC via Steam . A demo version is readily available for those who want to check it out. The post Neko Odyssey Will Come Out in December 2024 appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 23

Holocure Update 0.7 Expands the Holohouse Mode After taking a brief detour to create an entirely seperate game (as one does), Kay Yu and friends have returned with a new update for bullet heaven/Survivors-like Holocure . While the update adds another two whole generations of Hololive Vtubers as characters, the real meat of Holocure Version 0.7 is the many additions to the Holohouse side-game. But first, the new characters. Holocure Update 0.7 adds 9 vtubers from Hololive's 3rd and 4th generations, including now the now graduated Kiryu Coco (though not the terminated Uruha Rushia). Each character has their own personal weapon and set of 3 skills, some of which are fairly simple to understand while others encourage a very different style of play or build. Tsunomaki Watame's character, for example, lacks a lot of offensive power but one of her skill lets her defeat enemies by healing them. Or you could simply use her special, which fires an enormous laser, your choice. Screenshot by Siliconera There's also a new stage, a new hard mode, and a few new weapons. Holocure 's Stage 5, Fantasy Island , honestly took me a good while to crack even with a nearly maxed out upgrade collection. It's a continuous vertical level with cannons to avoid and a lot of very tough enemies, some of which have extra projectile attacks. There's also a really cool final boss at the end and the new Fan Letter system even incentivizes going back to fight it several times for a rare drop. The new weapons and items are a bit more subdued and situational, though. The new weapon especially isn't super powerful on its own, but combined into one of the new Collabs it can become really fearsome. The last big addition in Holocure 0.7 is the new support skills, which let players choose a utility ability to take in to the game like a heal or a net that catches experience. These are all really useful, however so far I've found the dodge to be far and away the most powerful so it will be interesting to see how the Holocure team balances and builds around the mechanic. Screenshot by Siliconera You might be forgiven for thinking that was all, but no, Holocure has more to give. Because multiple new areas have been added to the Holohouse mode, a chill sub-game added with the previous update . Instead of a small area with a house to decorate and small fishing and management minigames, there is now an expansive area to the south containing something like 10 or 11 new minigames. One is a simple crafter-gatherer game involving hitting things until resources fall out, then fashioning them into new tools or crafting items for commission via a different activity. Another is essentially a straight up remake of platformer Jump King , while a new Usada Pekora-themed casino has several games of both chance and skill. You can even train up your mascot workers to fight in the arena, for the most adorable bloodsport. If I had to criticize it, I'd say some of the minigames are fairly simple or a bit too self contained. There are some bonuses that can be taken into the main bullet heaven mode, but they're mostly quite small and not necessary if you want to skip them. But then that's also a positive, since if you're not as into the Holohouse side of the game you can safely ignore it. Screenshot by Siliconera I'd originally felt like the main game content felt a bit light, and that perhaps that was on account of how much was in the Holohouse side of the update, but checking back through previous patch notes and there's just as much content in Holocure update 0.7 as usually comes with these large patches. My perception got skewed by just how much side content we got on top. It feels like Kay Yu and the Holocure team are not just getting better and more productive, but also more inventive and ambitious with what they want to try building within the game. If I were a studio looking for fresh talent I'd snap up these developers right away, but I hope we'll get to see what else they can cook up with Holocure for just a little while longer. Holocure is immediately available for PC via Steam and itch.io . The post Holocure Update 0.7 Expands the Holohouse Mode appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 22

Palworld Mac Release Delayed to February 2025 Pocketpair announced that it has delayed the Mac release of Palworld . The game, which was originally scheduled for November 26, 2024, will now be available on Thursday, February 27, 2025. The company noted that it wants to release the Mac version with better quality as a reason for the delay. The Mac version is slated to make the full potential of a natively run game with the optimizations of Metal and Unreal Engine 5. It will also support HDR and MetalFX Upscaling. The game will be purchasable with a price tag of ¥3,400 in the Japanese store or $29.99 in the American store. Palworld has been available on numerous platforms—namely Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Windows PCs. However, its overall existence may be in jeopardy. This is because Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have sued Pocketpair for alleged infringements of patents from the Switch-exclusive title Pokemon Legends: Arceus . The companies are demanding an injunction of Palworld in addition to damage reparation payments caused by the infringements. The Mac version of Palworld will be available for purchase on February 27, 2025. The game is readily available for Windows PCs via Steam and Microsoft Store, as well as Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. The post Palworld Mac Release Delayed to February 2025 appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 22

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. Will Appear on PC via Steam Sega has announced that it will release a PC version of Virtua Fighter 5 . The new port will be known as Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. and it will be available worldwide on Steam "this Winter." In the Japanese press release, Sega noted that the PC release will be based on a new upgraded version of Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown —which is alternatively known in Japan as Virtua Fighter esports . The same game balance will appear as a Version 2.0 update for the existing arcade and PlayStation 4 releases in the 2024-2025 Winter season. The new PC release will also have more improvements like 4K graphics and rollback netcode—the latter of which has been popularly requested by the fighting game community. It will also have online League and Tournament modes that can support up to 16 players. The Steam page has indicated that the game will have Japanese and English voiceover options, with additional support for subtitles in French, Italian, German, Spanish, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. Sega has also published the opening movie for Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. which features the new opening song "Burning Soul" by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR68FP17Uwk Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. will be available on PC via Steam worldwide in the 2024-2025 Winter season. The post Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. Will Appear on PC via Steam appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 22

Sega’s iconic fighting series is set to return to the PC with Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.OThe fight is back on for PC players, as Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O is coming to the platform (via Steam) some time this winter. It’s the ultimate showdown No really, it is the “ultimate showdown”, as in Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown. Sega revealed today that Virtual Fighter, one of the publisher’s formerly biggest and … The post Sega’s iconic fighting series is set to return to the PC with Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O appeared first on BrutalGamer .

BrutalGamerNov 22

Steam gets Star Wars Outlaws as the game’s Wild Card DLC pack arrivesMaking its way to Steam today is Ubisoft’s recent title Star Wars Outlaws, which also has some fresh high-rolling DLC. Deal me in It’s probably not a stretch to say that Star Wars Outlaws hasn’t been the hit that Ubisoft thought it might be. The open-world action game received a fair amount of derision upon … The post Steam gets Star Wars Outlaws as the game’s Wild Card DLC pack arrives appeared first on BrutalGamer .

BrutalGamerNov 22

Shirogane Maid Club Visual Novel Launches With 40 Languages CyberStep has released a new visual novel titled Doki Doki Maid-Bu in Japanese and Shirogane Maid Club in English. The new title boasts support of around 40 languages. However, the company has also acknowledged the use of AI for the visual novel's translations and illustrations. The new visual novel is available on Nintendo Switch and the PC gaming platform Steam. The Switch version lists pretty much all languages Nintendo has formally supported; in addition to the common Western European (EFIGS) and Eastern Asian (CJK) languages, it also supports Dutch, Portuguese, and Russian. However, it is the Steam release that garners more attention, as it lists a whopping 40 languages that include the likes of Igbo, Xhosa, and Maori. There is an obvious catch to this, though. CyberStep's Japanese press release revealed that this game is part of the PandaShojo brand, which intends to make Japanese visual novels accessible to people worldwide by using automatic machine translations for over 50 languages. CyberStep is originally known for releasing online titles like Onigiri and CosmicBreak Universal . However, in more recent years, the company has been more frequently releasing visual novels on Steam . Earlier in November 2024, it released Nurse Call and Me and Gamer Girl with support for 15 languages. Translations are not the only activities CyberStep used machine programs to release these visual novels. The Steam pages also have an AI-generated content disclosure, where the company acknowledged that it used AI to produce some of the illustrations in the visual novels. Shirogane Maid Club is now available worldwide on Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. The post Shirogane Maid Club Visual Novel Launches With 40 Languages appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 21

Steam Has New Rules For DLC And Season Passes To Prevent Players From Getting ScrewedYou shouldn’t pre-order games , but people do it all the time anyway. Increasingly, people have gotten in the habit of pre-ordering DLC too, paying up front for content that won’t be delivered for months or even years, if ever. Valve’s now cracking down on the whole thing with stricter rules for companies selling… Read more...

KotakuNov 21

Mirthwood misses the Forest for the Trees I'm a sucker for most crafting-type games, be they cozy farm-sims or more survival focused, so Mirthwood should be right up my alley as it combines a bit of both with a charming art style and medieval setting. Unfortunately, by trying to jack several trades at once it fails to master any, and that results in a fairly middiling game that can't find a compelling focus. Mirthwood starts with a brief (and thankfully skippable) introductory segment, but honestly it feels unnecessary. There's a basic introduction to combat and picking up items, but it also for some reason establishes a family for your character rather than leaving your past blank to fill in. You don't spend more than a minute with these people and I have yet to see them become relevant again, so it just falls flat as a presumed attempt to add some stakes or a sense of desperation to the story. Screenshot by Siliconera From there you can begin your new life on an untamed continent. Well, mostly untamed. You actually start in a pre-built cabin right next to a quaint village pretty indistinguishable from the one you just left. You'll need to find your first tools, and there's a mysterious stranger with a quest for you, but otherwise it's business as usual for these sorts of farm-sim/crafter games. You can start gathering materials to upgrade your tools and craft better equipment, plant some crops and begin slowly building some capital, or you can explore around a bit for items and enemies to fight, perhaps even stumbling on some quests or caves to explore. Whatever you turn your hand to, you'll end up earning experience in a relevant skill where you'll eventually get equippable skill cards. Each card grants a bonus like a chance for extra resources or a slowed rate of hunger but you can only have a few at a time and it takes a day to swap them back again. It's actually kind of a nice system that lets you tailor your perks to whatever you feel like doing on a given day. Screenshot by Siliconera But actually grinding out those skill levels is significantly less compelling. There's precious few interesting new items to craft even as you progress to higher tiers, they mostly just give you flat upgrades or let you gather more uninteresting materials. There's no sprinklers or new types of tool that change the way you play. There's a Charisma skill and a fairly involved conversation system too, but since there's so little actual detail about the various village NPC's there's little reason to bother talking to them. And then there's the combat, which has a level of depth with dodges and parries but is so fast and imprecise as to become frustrating. It actually motivated me to craft better equipment just so I could brute force past those encounters easier. And it's here the art style actually starts to hurt the game. While it does bring a distinct, almost storybook-style aesthetic that reminds me of Wildermyth , it also makes the game world appear very flat which makes it difficult to judge distances for attacks and dodges. Combine that with a fairly close player camera, and the environment ends up feeling quite same-y and indistinct, as one small copse of trees blends into another when there's no roads or buildings to orient yourself around. Screenshot by Siliconera Ultimately, while inoffensive, Mirthwood fails to find its footing as either a crafting game or a lite, exploration-focused RPG. The uninspiring crafting and rudimentary combat don't manage to get that gameplay loop turning, and the lukewarm story can't cover for it either. While it might serve if you're craving a simple material grind, there are better games out there that do the same thing. Mirthwood is immediately available for PC via Steam . The post Mirthwood misses the Forest for the Trees appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 21

STALKER 2 shoots to the top of the Steam chart Horror fans have been waiting a long time for this, but GSC Game World finally released STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl unto the world yesterday. Amidst many setbacks – including the ongoing conflict in Ukraine – the team has had to push back development, partly to take care of themselves. Fortunately, it looks like the wait has been worth it. As of right now, STALKER 2 is rocking the Steam charts. It's currently dominating the Top Sellers list, coming in at number two just behind the Steam Deck. Of course, pretty much everything ends up behind the Deck. In terms of video games, GSC's newest release is number one. https://twitter.com/stalker_thegame/status/1859265478276894856 That puts it ahead of the likes of Disney Dreamlight Valley (which recently launched its Storybook Vale DLC) and Counter-Strike 2 , as well as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 , which fell a couple of places recently. The numbers speak for themselves The developer has expressed delight at STALKER 2 surpassing 100,000 concurrent players on PC. At the time of writing, SteamDB is showing 113,587 people logged into the game within the past 24 hours, with over 65,000 currently in a game. Of course, this is common for new releases, especially ones many have been looking forward to. Games that have been hyped typically find themselves atop the Steam Top Sellers list, which does take into account pre-orders. How long Heart of Chornobyl will stay up there is anyone's guess, but we have seen a bunch of launches recently which could knock it down fairly quickly, such as the aforementioned Disney Dreamlight Valley DLC, as well as Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 . No doubt STALKER 2 's biggest fans will stick around, though. In any case, GSC Game World has said it intends to stick around, and is proud of what's been accomplished so far in what the studio is describing as its biggest project to date. The post STALKER 2 shoots to the top of the Steam chart appeared first on Destructoid .

Steam Archives – DestructoidNov 21