Microsoft have announced the next batch of games coming to Game Pass, and just like the last line-up, indie gems are carrying this fortnight’s offerings. August begins with venerated A Short Hike, which crosses paths with fellow hiker Death Stranding on its way off the Game Pass mega mountain.
]]>It's been a hot minute since we last gathered round the RPS Time Capsule vault (thanks, Gamescom), but at long last we have returned with another cracking year of PC games to preserve: 2011. In hindsight, it's a bit of an interesting year for Time Capsuling purposes, as we're now getting to the point where games from this era are getting their own remakes and remasters, or fancier, super duper director's cut special editions. We've included the original 2011 release of one of these games in this month's Time Capsule, but there's another notable exception we've decided to save for further down the line. I mean, seriously, would you really recommend vanilla Skyrim from 2011 over 2016's Special Edition?
]]>I couldn't believe nobody had done a HYP on Limbo before, and to be honest I'm still not convinced that there isn't a duplicate somewhere. But anyway. Limbo. It's that black and white, side-scrolling puzzle platform thingy, with the small boy.
]]>Spooky-ooky puzzle-platformer Limbo, the game our former Kieron (RPS in pieces) dismissed as "Rick Dangerous for Goths", is the latest giveaway on the Epic Games Store. Playdead's tale of an oft-eviscerated kid searching for his sister was very much part of the early-tensies contemporary canon. It's a game one could hardly help but own through some bundle or freebie, though now I imagine a fair few newcomers will have missed it and be curious, especially after playing Playdead's follow-up, Inside. So hey, if you want it, it's currently free.
]]>I worry about Geralt. The Witcher series may be over for now, but this hasn't stopped Geralt from taking odd jobs here and there, slaying beasts in Monster Hunter: World, or stabbing folks in Soul Calibur VI. Is Geralt getting adequate retirement benefits? Have witchers unionized yet? I hope he can get some rest, or at least find more contract work that doesn't involve exterminating monsters all the time. Freelancing is tiring.
Here are seven games that need to be blessed by Geralt’s presence.
]]>Playdead is working on their follow-up to the bleak puzzle nightmare Inside, and while the wait will certainly be worth our time, the desire to know terrible delights are coming our way is certainly eating away at us. The team has released two images so far, giving us a glimpse at a snowy world that doesn't have our best interests in mind. Also, maybe we're not a little boy this time? Playdead is stepping way outside their comfort zone on this one.
]]>In development for quite a while, Black The Fall [official site] meandered through Early Access (then removed), Kickstarter, and Square Enix's Collective indie publishing label. And today it's finally out. But can it survive its inevitable comparisons to Limbo and Inside? Here's wot I think:
]]>Playdead, the Danish studio behind grimdark puzzle-platformers Limbo and Inside, have shared a sneaky image from their next game. It seems to show a pilot or spaceman wearing a deployed parachute watching a fiery crash and, well, I won't assumptively declare the game will following the Limside model but with a picture like that I could certainly believe it.
]]>There's been a lot of talk about INSIDE's [official site] beauty and poignancy, and I don't disagree with any of that, but my own appreciation of it was for another reason. I thought it was bloody funny, in the malevolent manner of Evil Dead 2 or Braindead. Inside is a horror videogame, yes, but it's also an extremely cheeky videogame. N.B. here be FULL SPOILERS.
]]>Limbo [official site] is a gloomy platform game with giant spiders and sparks of electricity haunting the night. It led to my favourite RPS phrase, when John and Kieron shouted at each other about the game. That phrase is "Rick Dangerous for Goths". I'm on the fence when it comes to Limbo (being on the fence is a bit like being in Limbo) but I'd definitely recommend you try it for yourself. It's free on Steam today and tomorrow, to celebrate the upcoming release of the studio's follow-up, Inside.
]]>Every Sunday, we reach deep into Rock, Paper, Shotgun's 141-year history to pull out one of the best moments from the archive. This week, we revisit August 4th 2011 to find John and Kieron bickering about influential platformer Limbo.
Having played and reviewed Limbo, John found himself at the end of Kieron's (particularly sweary) disagreement gun, and as is always the case the two of them argued about it. An argument that can only be shared with the world. Whose side are you on? FIGHT! (This contains significant spoilers, folks.)
]]>Limbo was a darkly atmospheric platform game which, depending on who you ask, was either a playfully morbid exploratory adventure or cruelly-designed Rick Dangerous for Goths. (I didn't mind the trial and error). If you were a fan though, you might be excited to know that developers Playdead Games have announced their new game, Inside, and it seems to be similarly about putting a small child in desaturated peril.
Here's the morbid part: it's currently only confirmed for XBox.
]]>140 won the Excellence in Audio award at IGF 2013. It was created by Jeppe Carlsen in his spare time, because Carlsen works for Playdead during the day, where he was the lead designer on morbid, monochrome platformer Limbo. 140 is another sidescrolling platformer, but it's the antithesis of that game. Let me tell you Wot I Think.
]]>Welcome to RPS' first (and probably only) edition of Box News, an attempt at providing fair and balanced coverage of that most marginalized of objects in this digital age - the box - on the first day to conveniently feature more than one box-based news item in 437 years. On today's show, we'll be bringing you up-to-the-minute analysis of the developing Portal Lego set situation and having Limbo's lavish new Special Edition box set live in the studio. So then, let's dive right in.
]]>There's a new Humble Bundle, wouldn't you believe it. And blimey, it's a good-un. I'm not in charge of deciding what's best, but this looks to me like one of the best bundles I've ever seen. Just look at this list: Amnesia, Limbo, Sword & Sworcery, Bastion, and Psychonauts. Seriously. And it has an absolutely brilliant video to promote it.
]]>Having played and reviewed Limbo yesterday, John found himself at the end of Kieron's (particularly sweary) disagreement gun, and as is always the case the two of them argued about it. An argument that can only be shared with the world. Whose side are you on? FIGHT! (This contains significant spoilers, folks.)
]]>COMPETITION CLOSED, PRIZES SENT.
]]>Limbo came out for PC yesterday, available via Steam for £7. Having never played the 360 version (despite paying for it - I'm an idiot) I've played it through for the first time and am ready to tell you just exactly Wot it is that I Think.
]]>Right, well we'll have to get to writing about that very soon, eh? Apologies for the supashort post: just thought you should know, in case you didn't have evening plans (or morning plans. Or whatever o'clock it is near you plans). The wildly-acclaimed XBLA tale of horror, puzzles, platforming and silhouettes is out right now on PC at last, via Steam. It'll cost you £6.99 or $9.99, and if you're unsure we'll hopefully be telling you what we think very soon.
Trailer below, in case you're unfamiliar with its sombre, haunting, unsettling work, plus you can read our recent interview with the devs here.
]]>Did you hear? After having been stuck in an undetermined state for a long time, Limbo is now PC-bound, releasing via Steam on August 2nd. I caught up with Dino Patti, CEO & Co-founder of Playdead, to ask him some questions about it. He was kind enough answer them all, so I thought I'd share his responses with you:
]]>The Limbo folks have sent word that the spooky silhouetted platformer (and one of the prettiest side-scrollers on the playboxes) will be turning up on Steam on August 2nd. That's about it really, but we'll probably WIT it or something before it hits.
Hey look, here comes a video! It's actually one of my favourite trailers ever. Grim.
]]>IndieGames has, thanks to NeoGaf's wily residents, picked up the scent of spooky silhouetted platformer Limbo making its way to PC. Although the project has not been confirmed for PC, this link takes you to the Limbo trailer on your Steam client. I'd expect an official announcement on this fairly soon!
]]>Limbo is the definition of a Dark Horse, both obviously in its striking visual style and because the scarcity of details about how you actually play the thing. It's a puzzle platformer, and that's about all we know. However, it's impressed the hell out of the IGF judges who've played it, leading to it being shortlisted for both the Technical and Visual Arts awards. Our interview with Lead Designer Jeppe Carlsen and footage of this enigmatic game follow...
]]>Limbo looks amazing. We're all certain we've posted this video before, but there's no evidence of that on the site. Indeed, the short clip is three years old, but Limbo is up for the Technical Excellence award at this year's IGF, and the trailer is haunting and brilliant. So throwing caution to the wind, risking that snorted comment, below you can see why it's been nominated, and join us in wanting to see whether the game is able to pull of such seemingly natural movement. I mean, when he jumps, he jumps like he doesn't have springs in his shoes and isn't made of floaty polystyrene. That alone makes this game stand out.
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