In V Rising, you're a fledgling vampire on a mission to become absolute bossferatu of a Gothic open world. You get a Diablo-ish combat system, the ability to shapeshift into a spider, and a whole castle to prance around in, crooning at the moon. I like this premise almost as much as I dislike the fact that V Rising is also a survival game, in which you must fell trees and master a crafting system like a common turnip farmer.
What do we hope for when our interest in a game is almost perfectly balanced by our disinterest? We hope that the developers will treat us to a free-to-play weekend, in which our perhaps-unfounded reservations might be strategically offset by the endorphin rush of not having paid any goddamn money. This, V Rising creators Stunlock have now done. The game is free to download and play on Steam from right now until Monday, 16th September at 5pm UK or 10am PST.
]]>You won't be surprised to know that after two years in early access, V Rising's 1.0 launch hasn't seen Stunlock Studios drastically change the V for "Vampire" to V for "Venetian Blinds" or "Vienna Sausage". From a top-down view, you still play as a newly awakened vampire on PVE, PVP, or private servers, and you're still tasked with becoming the most powerful bloodsucker around. It has, however, streamlined some things and added in an endgame zone. All of this combines to form a survival game that was great back then and is even better now, with thrilling MOBA-esque fights and little in the way of faff.
]]>Vampire survival game V Rising has been kicking around in early access for a couple of years now, so there’s a good chance you may have already picked it up. If you haven’t but are curious to give it a go, you might want to grab it sooner than later. Ahead of the game’s full 1.0 launch, its price tag will be permanently raised to almost twice its previous cost.
]]>V Rising confirmed it would reach 1.0 on May 8th just a couple of weeks ago, delivering changes to the survival action RPG's PvP and endgame.
There's an extra sweetener in 1.0 announced today, however: a Castlevania crossover where players can fight Simon Belmont and make off with his whip.
]]>After two years slumbering in the coffin of early access, vampire survival game V Rising is lifting off the lid and rising into a full 1.0 release. Having previously been announced with a somewhat vague Q2 launch window, we now know exactly when V Rising’s 1.0 release date will be: May 8th.
]]>V Rising remains on track to reach 1.0 in the second quarter of this year, in what finance people call Q2 but I like to call Aprilmayjune. The latest developer blog post goes into detail on some of the new features coming for the full release and in particular its changes to PvP, higher tier weapon and armour, and vampire fashion.
]]>Bloodsucking build 'em up V Rising got its first major Early Access update earlier this year. Its next major update will be its 1.0 release and it will arrive sometime in "the second quarter of 2024", according to a new developer post which also details underway engine upgrades and details features-to-come.
]]>Early access hit V Rising is getting its first major update next week with the Secrets Of Gloomrot, a Frankenstein-inspired package that offers a brand new region full of fresh-fanged beasties, and plenty more improvements. Secrets Of Gloomrot is set to join one of the best survival games - according to RPS readers and the RPS Hivemind - on May 17th as a free update. Lay your eyes on the first horrid gameplay trailer below:
]]>Update: this post originally said Gloomrot is coming "next week" because I don't know what month it is.
Frakenstein is often cited as the first science fiction thing, and now it can add to its honours because it's the inspiration for the first major update to V Rising. The info on Secrets Of Gloomrot doesn't actually use the F word anywhere, but it's a new biome "twisted by the tortured ambitions of a scientific genius and his legions of followers", so I feel pretty confident in the citation. This new free addition to the early access vampiric survival game - which won a few hearts here at RPS - is arriving on May 17th. That's in a month, that is, and boy, it's a biggun alright.
]]>Hot (weeks) off the back of Sons Of The Forest and the Resident Evil 4 remake coming out, we're celebrating your bestest best, most favourite survival games this month. Your votes have been counted and tallied, and your accompanying words of praise and affection matched accordingly. But which game has survived to make it to the top of the pile? Come and find out as we count down your 25 favourite survival games of all time.
]]>Vampiric survival game V Rising continues its early access with a free expansion coming in May. It's meaty, overhauling a few areas of the game including magic progression, spellcasting, and lair building in preparation for the endgame. But it’s also “giving you more of what you already love” with new weapons and spells, boss battles, areas, and factions. Quite a lot to sink your teeth into, then.
]]>Listen, I don't have much time. I enjoyed a lot of games this year, but Alice just told me that if I spend more than 1,500 words on this list then she's going to murder my whole family*. And that includes some people I like.
So without ado: here's a handful of the games I enjoyed the most this year which (crushingly) didn't quite make their way into our soft 'n' snuggly RPS Advent Calendar 2022.
]]>V Rising, the vampiric survival base builder and surprise hit of 2022 so far, has just got freshly minted Steam Deck Playable status - courtesy of an update to the Deck’s Proton compatibility software. As per Valve’s changelog for the Proton 7.0-3 update, V Rising is among several games (including Age of Chivalry and the original Vermintide) to gain sufficient compatibility with the Steam Deck for the second-highest rating of their review programme, just short of Verified.
Technically, V Rising has been lowercase P-playable on the Steam Deck since late May, when these software improvements appeared on the ‘Bleeding Edge’ branch of Proton Experimental. Now, though, the update has graduated to the main, stable Proton branch, so you don’t have to risk the potential wonkiness of a work-in-progress. I’ve given V Rising a try on the Steam Deck and it does indeed work, though it’s quick to show why it only got Playable status and not Verified.
]]>V Rising is an early access survival game with a big focus on crafting and a tinge of MMO. It's being developed by Stunlock Studios, the folks behind arena-brawler Battlerite that lifts the fights from MOBAs like Dota 2 or League Of Legends and cuts away all the tedious build-up. So quite the departure then? Yes and no. V Rising strikes out as its own thing, but Stunlock's back catalogue definitely bleeds into its combat and exploration and easygoing attitude. This is a game that'll sink its teeth into you, which in turn, will make you want to sink your teeth into it
]]>“I haven’t really had time to let it sink in yet, I don’t think,” says Jeremy Fielding, community manager for Stunlock Studios. When we spoke on Tuesday, their early access vampire sim survival game V Rising had just passed 1.5 million players, far beyond the team’s wildest expectations.
]]>Vampiric survival crafting game V Rising has been a runaway hit since it entered early access a couple of weeks ago. The developers over at Stunlock Studios have now laid out their current priorities for the game's progress, emphasising that it still has a "journey" before its full release.
]]>Want to know how to get Cotton Yarn in V Rising? If you are trying to raise your Gear Score in V Rising, you'll want to craft better armor. One of the best armor sets for the mid-game is the Hollowfang Battlegear, but you'll need Cotton Yarn to craft it. Cotton Yarn isn't a resource you can just find lying around though, so you'll need to craft that as well.
]]>Trying to find the best location for your new base in V Rising? A large part of survival and progression in V Rising involves building and expanding your very own gothic castle, where you can rest, craft, drink blood, and survey the passing of the poisonous sun across the sky before the time comes to start your next hunt.
]]>Looking for information on every V Rising blood type? There are 7 different blood types in V Rising, each offering different stat boosts and buffs to your character, who has a blood pool that will slowly diminish over time. If your blood pool is empty, you'll take damage until you fill it again. You can fill your blood pool by using the Feed ability ("F" key) on the various creatures and enemies in the world of Vardoran.
]]>Looking to find some Silver Ore in V Rising? Once you've tired of baser metal tools and implements in V Rising, you're going to need to start mining Silver Ore in large quantities to further increase your Gear Score. The downside to this is that Silver Ore is pretty hard to come by, only available in particular high-level areas of Vardoran.
]]>Offline servers are finally arriving for vampiric Steam sensation V Rising as part of a hotfix today. Developers Stunlock announced the changes on the V Rising Discord and Twitter this morning. It looks fairly straightforward to enable the new mode so I’ll run through that for you.
]]>Want to know how to set up your own V Rising server? There are a few very big benefits to running a dedicated server for V Rising, and thankfully the devs at Stunlock Studios have supplied us with a variety of options and tools when it comes to setting up our own multiplayer spaces.
]]>Vampiric survival sandbox V Rising has, according to Steam’s player counts, entranced itself quite a following. That includes RPS’ own Ed, whose otherwise glowing preview mentioned some performance issues on Nvidia GPUs.
I’m duty-bound to investigate any potential hardware hitches, though since V Rising is only in early access, this isn’t going to be the usual appraisal of how it performs on various PC hardware. That can wait until it’s had more of the spit ‘n’ polish treatment that typically comes with the status of actually being finished. That said, I have done a full sweep of V Rising’s graphics settings and their performance impact, so if your FPS count is melting like a Nosferatu on an ill-considered Corfu holiday, have a look below to see if you can make some fruitful tweaks.
]]>Trying to find the Putrid Rat boss in V Rising? Usually in V Rising you must take to the Blood Altar in order to track, find, and slaughter the formidable V Blood carriers dotted about Vardoran. It's an important part of the progression in Stunlock's new survival game, because the more bosses you slay, the stronger your vampire becomes.
]]>Want to know how to get Blood Essence in V Rising? Blood Essence is a key resource in V Rising, as you use it as fuel and upgrade your Castle Heart. If your Castle Heart runs out of Blood Essence, it will start to decay, stopping your various crafting structures from working and lowering your castle durability. With that in mind, you’ll want to know where to get every type of Blood Essence in V Rising.
Below, we’ll cover everything you need to know to get Blood Essence in V Rising, including the more powerful Greater Blood Essence and Primal Blood Essence variants.
]]>Want to know which is the best weapon in V Rising? Stunlock's new vampiric survival game takes a slightly unusual approach to weapon classes. In V Rising, every weapon gives you as much extra attack damage as every other weapon, which makes for a very level playing field that allows you to take whichever weapon best suits your playstyle into battle.
]]>Open-world vampire survival sim V Rising will be getting a much-demanded offline mode very soon, Stunlock Studios have confirmed. The announcement was made to players by community manager Jeremy Bearson on the game’s Discord yesterday. The bloodsucking gothic action game has been doing pretty well for itself on Steam since it launched on May 17th. It’s beating Destiny 2 for concurrent player numbers at the moment.
]]>Looking for Whetstones in V Rising? You may be an immortal capable of tracking the blood of your prey across whole continents, but when it comes to sniffing out the location of a small but annoyingly useful lump of stone, your supernatural powers really don't live up to the task.
]]>Looking for info about the V Rising map? Your opening hours in V Rising might be spent trudging around the Farbane Woods, but the world of Vardoran stretches much farther. If you want to become a powerful vampire in Stunlock Studios new survival MMO, you’ll need to understand the map so that you know where to find key resources.
In this guide, we’ll break down the V Rising map, covering each region that’s currently available in Early Access and what you can expect to find there.
]]>Want to know how to make explosives in V Rising? As you explore the gothic world of Stunlock Studios' vampire-themed survival MMO V Rising, you’ll find large deposits of rock and ore. However, when you go to whack them with your gear, you’ll discover that they require explosives.
]]>Looking for a beginner's guide to V Rising? It seems as though almost everyone who spends a bit of time with Stunlock Studios' vampiric survival and crafting game comes away extremely impressed. It may not look like much at first, but V Rising scratches the same itch as Valheim did before it. And, just like Valheim, there are an awful lot of overlapping systems in play in V Rising, which means there's a huge amount to learn before you can call yourself a master vampire.
]]>Want to know all of the boss locations in V Rising? V Rising currently has a total of 37 bosses in early access, but they're hidden across the world of Vardoran. Hunting down these bosses should be your main goal in V Rising, as they offer new vampiric powers and abilities that you can wield to wreak havoc and grow stronger. While you can track boss locations using your Blood Altar when you reach an appropriate level, V Rising bosses are always present in the world, meaning you can fight them at any time. If you're looking for a specific V Rising boss location and don't know where to find it, you're in the right place.
In this guide, we provide a full map of V Rising boss locations and some info on each of these fearsome foes. They're listed in level order, so you can work through this list as you progress through V Rising.
]]>Want to understand more about Gear Score in V Rising? Perhaps you're new to Stunlock's fantastic and blood-filled open-world survival game and want an introduction to the game's unusual levelling system. Or maybe you're a dozen hours into your latest playthrough and you'd like to know how far there is left to go until your vampire is as strong as can be?
]]>Want to know how to heal in V Rising? V Rising might make you a powerful vampire, but you’ll find yourself in a brutal world in which everything wants to kill you. From poison plants to savage sunlight, you’ll lose health constantly as you explore and build in this survival MMO from Stunlock Studios. If you die, you will lose almost all of your materials and items that you have in your inventory, which could mean hours are wasted on failed supply runs.
]]>Want to know how to get Leather in V Rising? V Rising is an MMO filled with vampires stalking their prey from the shadows, hunting under the dark night sky. That's just one side of the vampire life, though. Vampires aren't always vicious, and sometimes they just need to slow down, relax, and spend time fixing up a new set of clothes. However, your vampire lord won't get far as a tailor without a healthy supply of Leather.
]]>Want to know where to mine Iron Ore in V Rising? Stunlock's open-world survival and crafting game does a great job of dripfeeding you useful information at the beginning of a playthrough, but once you reach the end of the early game, that well of information starts to run dry. A great many players seem to get stuck around the same question, which is: where on earth do you have to go in order to find Iron?
Thankfully, there's a fairly simple answer. Below we'll walk you through how to get Iron Ore in V Rising, which is now out of early access after the release of the long-awaited 1.0 update, and what you should be prepared to find once you get there.
]]>How do you get a horse in V Rising? You'll likely have seen high-level players galloping down the roads of your V Rising server atop their noble steeds, and asked yourself when you'll be able to do the same. Horses are a great way to travel at high speed about the map, so it's a good idea to get one as soon as possible.
]]>Looking for bones in V Rising? You're not alone. Bones are the very first resource that you're required to collect in V Rising, and they form the basis for most of your starting weapons and armour. But their usefulness doesn't end there: you'll be required to spend time farming for bones throughout your entire playthrough in Stunlock Studios' survival game.
]]>Want to know how to fast travel in V Rising? The vast and densely populated world of V Rising is dotted with the occasional Vampire Waygate - a special structure which can be used to teleport instantly to other similar Waygates in the world. However, it's not quite as simple as just pressing a button in the survival RPG from Stunlock Studios. You may find yourself asking how fast travel actually works, and what you need in order to make full use of the fast travel system.
]]>Confused about how to use the Sawmill in V Rising? V Rising takes a rather different approach to crafting items and refining resources than most survival and crafting games you'll have come across. Much of the labour of crafting new items is done not by you, but by specialised resource-refining buildings which automatically break down the items you give them, and turn them into new items.
]]>Want to know how to make a roof in V Rising? It's a source of confusion for many a new V Rising player. Roofs are useful both for blocking out the deadly sunlight and for speeding up the production of your various resource-refining buildings. But while walls and floors are easy enough to place down, roofs just don't seem to exist at all. What gives? Do vampires not deserve a roof over their head just like humans do?
]]>What is Castle Heart Decay in V Rising, and how does it work? If you've played any V Rising at all, you've probably already placed down a Castle Heart somewhere in the Farbane Woods, without really knowing much about what it is or how it works. You just know that it's important. Well, it's also important to understand that you need to keep your Castle Heart fed, or it will start to decay over time. And if a Castle Heart is in decay, the whole castle is vulnerable to attacks and even takeovers by other players.
]]>How do you get Stone Bricks in V Rising? It's a very common question among players new to Stunlock Studios' new and excellent vampiric survival crafting game. The game does a decent job of explaining some things, but leaves you more or less on your own with other rather important details - including how to turn all that Stone in your inventory into more useful Stone Bricks for building.
]]>Want to know how to get Copper in V Rising? Usually in crafting and survival games, access to Copper marks a milestone in your progress, as it allows you to construct a wide variety of upgraded tools and structures. V Rising is no exception, and you'll find you can't get very far without a large quantity of Copper Ore to turn into Ingots.
]]>Look at V Rising's Steam store page and you'd wave it off in a heartbeat. Middling art sits atop a generic description that does its very best to not sell the game. "Hunt for blood in nearby settlements... conquer the land of the living." Alrighteyyy, then. Screenshots show what could be any other isometric RPG like Path Of Exile or something – anything.
So, you dive in expecting an average time. One characterised by little more than two palms on the knees once you've closed it down, then a big stand and a wordless stretch. But no! V Rising is the opposite of average; it should be renamed V-ERY GOOD Rising. Forget the art, the description, the screenshots. Just give it a shot.
]]>Battlerite developers Stunlock Studios have come up with a different take on the online survival genre. In V Rising, every player is a vampire. You start with nothing but a mothball ridden cloak and a broken fang dangling from your mouth (I assume), and build up from there. Every neck gnawed is a step on the goal to building your own castle and crafting a Dracula-like legacy.
]]>There's never been a better time to get into survival games on PC, as the recent revival of the genre means Steam is now awash in some truly great games, both in early access and in full release. There are more arriving every year, too, which is why we've done the hard work for you and ranked the very best survival games to dive into today. Fair warning - there are some early access games on this list, which mean they might be a little janky early on. Give them the time they deserve, though, and you'll find they often blossom into some truly great games over subsequent updates. We've only included the very best and most complete-feeling survival games on this list, though, so you can rest assured that every game here will leave you hungry for more. It's by no means exhaustive, but it should give you a nice selection of wolf-taming, base-building, carrot-picking action to choose from.
]]>Playing games with other people is one of the beloved traditions of liking video games at all, and if you're the friendly type like us at RPS, then you'll enjoy games where you work with others, rather than against them. That's why we've put together our list of the best co-op games on PC for you to find common ground with your besties. Whether you want to shoot monsters together, shoot robots together, or get a divorcing couple to work together as they run around their own home as tiny doll versions of themselves, then you can find something to enjoy on this list of co-op games.
]]>Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day, perhaps for all time.
I am partial to top-down wizards. It's a perspective that makes plans as important as reaction speeds, where every spell and step is clearly visible to everyone. Battling in Battlerite isn't about who gets the jump on who, it's about who can bait out a jump and counter it with their own wizard nonsense.
]]>The makers of Battlerite and its spin-off Battlerite Royale have announced plans to 'scale back' development of their free-to-play MOBA-ish multiplayer murderzones, saying the two simply aren't doing well enough to be their main focuses. Stunlock Studios reassure players that the games aren't shutting down and they might return to them, but right now they have no plans for more big updates after Season 3, which starts next week. Our Matt gushed praised in his Battlerite review and enjoyed his time with Royale but, alas, they've just not found the players they need.
]]>Oh, wee babby Battlerite Royale. You've gone and grown up, I see, emerging from early access with a big 1.0 update and a planned switch to free-to-play. I see you've got three new champions larking about on an overhauled map, decked out in cosmetic gubbins from the new premium battle passes. I know it was hard, growing up next to all those bigger battle royales with their guns and equally silly names. You were rather sweet though, back when I first saw you, with your top-down take on last-wizard standing. Has time been kind?
]]>Battlerite Royale is exactly what it sounds like – a BR spinoff of the MOBA Battlerite – and it’ll be launching out of early access and into free-to-play next Tuesday, the 19th of February.
With one or two other free-to-play battle royales floating around at the moment, developers Stunlock Studios will be hoping their arena brawler origins are enough to set them apart. If you’ve not played Battlerite before, you can get an idea of those influences from the launch trailer:
]]>Battlerite Royale - a last-man-standing spinoff from Stunlock Studios's arena brawler Battlerite - will eventually be free-to-play, but while it's in early access, you've got to pay to get in. Not today, or through the rest of the week - the game is free to try for the next four days, and a bit cheaper to buy in if it tickles your fancy. Our boy Matt dropped into the field last month and was enthralled by its blend of top-down, class-based combat and the multiplayer formula of the decade. Take a peek at the trailer below, then tag in to get in on the Halloween event while it's still live.
]]>The spookening draws near. That hallowed time of year where devs look at each other and go "oh we should do something for Halloween, right?" and people like me battlewrite about the consequences. Battlerite Royale has just finished pulling on its costume, chucking in a couple of creepy consumables as well as trick or treat shrines that may or may not turn you into a cat.
Update 0.2 has also landed alongside the "Curse of the Night" event, introducing private lobbies, a new champion and a sweep of balance changes.
]]>Gosh, Battlerite Royale is morish. In many ways that's not surprising. I've been a longtime (if intermittent) fan of Battlerite's brawling, and while half the games industry seems determined to wear away my patience for them: battle royale structures work for me. They thrust me into situations that other modes don't.
Does Battlerite's top-down MOBA-esque combat still work when transplanted from the fast-paced 3v3 matches it was built around? I rather think it does.
]]>Battle royale games are exciting, but assault rifles are dull - perhaps Battlerite Royale's fantasy fusion of top-down arcade shooter, MOBA, and battle royale will be the one to win me over? A spinoff from Stunlock Studios MOBA-ish arena fighter Battlerite, Battlerite Royale is out now as paid early access, although the final version will be free-to-play. Twenty characters (with their own abilities) dive into an open battlefield, and only one gets to walk out. Familiar in concept, but there's no sniping people from half a mile away in this magical murderworld.
]]>I've run out of ways to say I'm looking forward to Battlerite Royale, so it's good that we finally know its early access release date. The battle royale off-shoot to Battlerite, the MOBA without most MOBA bits, will land near the end of September as its own standalone game. I'm not wild about having to buy something I was originally told would be free, but at least I get a fifty percent discount and a ridable tiger.
]]>Last week Stunlock Studios announced that the upcoming Battlerite Royale, formerly a battle royale spin off mode in Battlerite, is actually going to be a standalone game. This week, they've shown off what the "Team Arena Brawler" looks like in its new form via the reveal trailer below. It looks almost exactly how I thought it would, except the flying wolf-wyrm that drops you off at the start is unexpectedly fabulous and there's an item that hides you in a barrel.
They've also kicked off the closed-beta signups, so keep reading if you want a chance to ride the marvellous creature above.
]]>I've spoken to multiple people who've assumed Battlerite's battle royale mode must be already out, so here's your first bit of news: Battlerite Royale isn't out yet! As developers Stunlock Studios announced yesterday, the battle baby isn't due until the end of September. They also announced that baby is getting a crib of its own, and you're going to have to pay for it: it's going to be a standalone game with an upfront cost. My feelings are mixed.
]]>I love the smell of updates in the morning - especially when they include sweeping changes that improve a game I already like. Patch 1.7 for Battlerite, the fighting man's MOBA, smells delicious. Round times have been shortened from two minutes to ninety seconds, which means the teal zone of death encloses sooner and encourages everyone to play less passively.
Today also marks the start of competitive season three, bringing with it a new cosmetic item and balance tweaks along with "broader changes to general systems and mechanics in the Arena".
]]>"If you're gonna battle," Wham sang, "battle right (right), battle with Battlerite." That's why young Matthew said in his Battlerite review that it "takes the team fights from MOBAs, strips out everything else and distils those fights into intricate ballets of timing, fast reactions and tactics." But if you're gonna battle royale? Battle royale right (right), battle royale with Battlerite Royale. Stunlock Studios today announced they're making a 20-player battle royale mode for their class-based arena brawler, see.
]]>Stunlock Studio's "team arena brawler" has done Battlerite by me. I've been dipping back into it with the release of every new champion, and each time I say to myself "ah yeah, this is the update that's going to get me properly get back into this". You know what though? I think this is the update that's going to get me properly back into this.
Today sees the launch of patch 1.4. Matchmaking has been improved, there's a new cosmetic rewards system and season 1 of competitive play has begun in earnest (we've just been in the "pre-season" up till now). More important than all that though is the new melee champion, Jamila the Shadowblade Assassin, whose skill set somehow includes everything I want from a hero in my MOBA-lite-likes.
]]>Battlerite has brought forth another champion into the arena, and she's an absolute beast. There's more than a touch of Samus to Destiny 'The Sky Ranger', with her massive arm cannon and ball transforming ways. You can see her in action in the trailer below.
I also spoke to Stunlock Studios about Battlerite's future as an e-sport, and what makes it "the fighting game of the MOBA world".
]]>Battlerite bills itself as a Team Arena Brawler. It takes the team fights from MOBAs, strips out everything else and distills those fights into intricate ballets of timing, fast reactions and tactics. I’m having a blast.
]]>Battlerite, the not-a-MOBA top down champion brawler, has been hazed in the battlefield of early access for long enough. The full version is out today in free-to-play form, though the release has been delayed until 3pm. I checked the game out last year, and it pushed all the right buttons.
To celebrate, Stunlock Studios are also launching a new bramble-based hero. You can see him in action in the trailer below.
]]>Battlerite [official site] is getting into the summer spirit (is that a thing?) with a big seasonal patch. The patch brings a new support character - Blossom, the Forest Mender - to the arena brawler along with a new campaign mode, a new game mode, a bunch of new outfits and a host of tweaks and changes. Let's start with a look at the newcomer:
]]>"Even if you wouldn’t touch a MOBA with a ten foot barge pole, this might still be for you," wee cherub Matthew Cox said about Battlerite [official site] when it hit early access last year. Because it's not a MOBA, okay. It's a team-based arena brawler which, sure, has heroes/champions/summoners/duelists/wizards throw down but it's not a MOBA, rite. I understand tone is difficult to assess in text, especially coming from a sarky prick like me, but I mean it: Battlerite is not a MOBA. You can see for yourself later today, as a week-long free trial is launching in a few hours.
]]>Battlerite [official site], the arena brawler presumably named after an all-night brainstorming session when a producer murmured "So you, like, er, battle, right?" and the room erupted into applause the exhausted producer couldn't understand, this week welcomes a new warrior. Raigon, The Exiled Prince is a chap swinging a honking great sword, and I'm led to believe he's another Battleriter based on a character (Reaver this time) from the game's spiritdad, Bloodline Champions. Stunlock Studios have also announced the first official tournament, coming later this month.
]]>Battlerite [official site] is called a "Team Arena Brawler" by its developers, which is a new one on me when it comes to the long list of attempts to name this genre about different kinds of wizards beating each other up. What they mean is: it's a MOBA in which some of the MOBA bits have been cut away, leaving behind just the teamfights and the skill shots. It's in early access, already frightfully popular, and it's getting a free weekend which begins this Thursday.
]]>The creators of arena brawler Battlerite [official site] are not content with adding two spooky champions just before Halloween, and so have revealed another champion that’ll be added in a patch tomorrow. What can this boyo do? Well, he can teleport a short distance, summon debilitating chains and read fire at you from a big book. His name is Ezmo The Mischievous and he can be seen in this preview trailer. He’s not from around these parts.
]]>Battlerite [official site] has got Hallowe'en all wrong. To celebrate The Big Spooky, the top-down team brawler is preparing to add two new characters tomorrow. That's not how Hallowe'en goes. You're supposed to menace players, Stunlock Studios. Force them to give you two new characters under threat of a good egging/spooking/kicking. Sure, I've heard that Battlerite - the spiritual successor to Bloodline Champions - is a lovely game, even in early access, but this seems wrong. We can only hope that Jumong, 'The Beast Hunter', and Ruh Kaan, 'The Crypt Warden', are cursed. Maybe everyone who plays them will melt into snakes and insects.
]]>If you’ve ever enjoyed a teamfight in a MOBA, I can guarantee you’ll get a kick out of Battlerite. That’s a bold opening statement, but Battlerite distills those clashes into tense, 10 – 15 minute matches where knowledge and reaction speeds are equally vital. Even if you wouldn’t touch a MOBA with a ten foot barge pole, this might still be for you.
]]>Fancy a new PvP arena brawler? Battlerite [official site] may be your cup of tea. Made by Bloodline Champions developers Stunlock Studios and billed as that game's "spiritual successor", it's got colorful heroes, things to shoot, and whatever "battlerites" are. That sounds like it might be fun!
]]>If you've missed word of Dead Island: Epidemic before today, it is - deep breath - a free-to-play multiplayer action hack and slash arena game. It's pursuing a cartoony look and feel and, from a trailer voiceover, it's making no bones about trying to be funny (although I hope the game itself aims a little higher than a silly voice).
There's a little more info on this kinda-sorta-maybe-MOBA in a post we ran all the way back in June, although details will have changed since then. Epidemic has just reached open beta and there's a new trailer to celebrate.
]]>I had not particularly noted Dead Island: Epidemic's passage into Early Access. I'd seen enough games chasing the dream of League of Legends and Dota 2's success with only a few small new idea. And it had the temerity to coin its own cutesy genre name, Zombie Online Multiplayer Battle Arena! However, after watching a new gameplay trailer explain what it's up to, I'm at the very least interested. Not enough to pay for the beta of a game that'll be free-to-play at launch, mind.
While the majority of MOBAs (do I still need to explain this dreadful name?) seem to mostly duplicate LoL or Dota, Dead Island: Epidemic takes their ideas of per-match progression and slap them into something a bit more like Diablo III with a sizeable PvE side.
]]>Same-y MOBAs that can't quite manage the raw mechanical majesty of League of Legends and Dota 2 are an epidemic. So how do we cure that pestilence of painful mediocrity? Well, Techland and Stunlock Studios are suggesting we fight an epidemic with an epidemic - a Dead Island: Epidemic, to be precise. It ups the ante with another of the gaming industry's more rampant diseases (zombies) but also puts some fresh meat on the genre's bones with a three-team dynamic and more open maps. Also ramshackle weapons galore, because that is - in the parlance of our time - how Dead Island do.
]]>My fingers still feel a deep sense of slithering, shivering wrong in the pits of their tiny finger souls when they type out the words "Dead Island MOBA," but here we are. Dead Island Epidemic is happening because Deep Silver's so obsessed with zombies on islands that I think it wants to create an actual, factual epidemic of Dead Island (and Dead-Island-like) games. If that is indeed the case, it's well on its way, and Epidemic is without a doubt furthest off the previously established map. On the upside, it's being developed by Stunlock Studios, the talented team behind the Quinns-approved Bloodline Champions. Also, there's crafting and you capture points all over the map instead of dragging your weary bones through countless base-busting wars of attrition. Other highly unexpected features include zombies, zombies, and also zombies.
]]>Out, and still doesn't have any good screenshots. STUNLOCK STUDIOS! Stop making my life difficult. I could make your life difficult, you know. "Stunlock Studios Celebrate Bloodline Champions Going Gold With Rare Nordic Tradition Of Eating Forty Kittens". That's a headline. I could do that. Actually I couldn't do that, it wouldn't fit on one of our posts. But you get the idea. I am a powerful man.
]]>Just like that, Bloodline Champions has entered open beta! Anyone interested in downloading and playing the skill-focused arena game can do so here. Good news indeed. BC is my favourite out of all the Defense of the Ancients-inspired games that I've tried. It streamlines each match into a minute of white-hot combat, and the way it's designed allows for displays of skill and cunning that make you want to stand up from your chair and salute. You can currently pre-order Bloodline Champions for £24.99 to get some special benefits when it comes out (whenever that is), so interested parties would be wise to try the game now. Thanks to Blues for the news. Open beta launch trailer follows...
]]>Sure, you remember the time last month when Quintin posted videos of Bloodline Champions, the DOTA-inspired arena multiplayer thingy. There was a profile of the Astronomer, Nomad and Thorn. And you thought you were satisfied. But now let me tell you there's a profile of the Blood Priest, Guardian and the Stalker. It's like finding out about the latest gadget - you didn't know you needed it until you found out about it. But I'm not the sort to leave you hanging. I am the sort to write any old shit to fill this gap at the top. But not to leave you hanging. So click on below and you can watch it with your left, right, or even both eyes.
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