Tag Archives: Beta

Songbringer Preview – An Epic, Pixelated Adventure

Giga Geek Magazine was gifted with access to an early build of the game. All of the opinions in this article are for that early version, some things are subject to change as more is developed.

Independent developers never cease to amaze me. Some of my favorite games of all time have come from these smaller studios, which is refreshing in an age of micro-transactions, always online checks, and broken releases. Songbringer comes from humble folks—inspired by the top down days of Legend of Zelda—and is shaping up to be a memorable classic.

Weiss' pixel skills are impressive. Check out the Nano Sword!
Weiss’ pixel skills are impressive. Check out the Nano Sword!

Songbringer is a procedurally generated adventure through mysterious locales, slashing baddies with a nano-sword or tossing a boomerang top hat. Created by a single man with ambition beyond mortals, Nathan Weis is crafting a science fiction love letter to Zelda. Not only is Weis making this one solo, after twenty years or so of being a developer, but he’s also been streaming daily on Twitch. Keeping it simple, Songbringer won’t have A-list actors doing voice overs, or music played by an orchestra; however, that gives it charm.

Primarily, there are two ways to play Songbringer: normal mode will let the hero die to respawn like a normal adventure game, and permanent death mode, which is exactly what it sounds like, turning the whole game into a rogue-like game similar to Binding of Isaac.

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Playing around with the build sent to me by Weis, there is a lot to love already. Combat is simple and familiar, using items assigned to buttons and swinging a sword. While combat is essential to survive, there is a heavier focus on exploration. The system generates a fairly large overworld, with areas that require specific items before you can explore.

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One of the few criticisms I have for the game is the lack of music. Of course this is bound to come in later builds, but it made the world eerily silent. Overall the sound design is interesting with droning pulses and bit-crushed attack effects, but that lack of music made me realize just how important it is in games like this. Imagine Hyrule Field without that iconic score; it would feel wrong. Once again, the build I played was an early one, so music is probably in the works.

Songbringer is an incredibly ambitious project for a single creator. That alone, the game deserves a large amount of praise. As a game amidst a sea of others, Songbringer does stand out as more than a simple tribute. Its themes and style are excellent and the gameplay is familiar enough to understand in seconds, while building on that framework.

In short, there is a mass amount of potential for this project. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for future builds and the inevitable release of Songbringer. Beyond that, Weis will be a developer to watch for his creativity and sheer willpower.

To see the game in action, check out my preview below.

Bethesda Softworks Lets Out Its BATTLECRY

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Image from Battlecry Studio’s Website

The Free-To-Play trend in gaming is an interesting paradigm. These games usually have a business model involving smaller but more frequent transactions,  with the purchase of items or other game content. Most gamers fear Free-to-Play will turn into three dreaded words: Pay-To-Win. Unfortunately, several games fit into this taboo, causing many gamers to drop these games at the slightest mention. However, it seems with every month another Free-To-Play game appears. It’s strange to see big name companies attempting this model, but a few have become industry giants with the right implementation. Stepping up to the batting plate is one of those giants, Bethesda Softworks.

Bethesda is most known for the Elder Scrolls series of PC centered games. Most recently, Elder Scrolls Online has entered the MMO world, a no-brainer for the fantasy series. Together with the newly developed BattleCry Studios, Bethesda seeks to create a Free-To-Play game like no other called BATTLECRY. How exactly they will do that has yet to be detailed, but given the company’s track record there can be great things in the works.

Image from Battlecry Studio's Website
Image from BattleCry Studio’s Website

Beginning the ripple effect with an awesome trailer, BATTLECRY immediately puts one in the mind of Team Fortress 2. The characters each have their own distinct look: the Brawler sports a massive metal fist, while the Duelist wields two slender blades and a sweet hat. The amount of care put into these characters is obvious and the setting shows the same care. In a nut shell, nations have deemed gunpowder too barbaric and instead build teams to kill each other with big swords and arrows to determine political debates. What results is a bloodbath on a smaller scale, with less innocents being killed in the process.
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Image from Battlecry Studio's Website
Image from BattleCry Studio’s Website

At the end of the trailer, it’s revealed that the game will be in its beta phase in 2015. Whether this will be an open or closed beta is still in the air. I do recommend signing up for their newsletter, as this may put one ahead for access to the beta. Personally, I can’t wait. BATTLECRY looks like a page straight out of Full Metal Alchemist and I couldn’t be more excited.

Get your PCs ready to enter the WarZone sometime in 2015.