HITMAN 3 is a new stealth game developed and published by ‘IO Interactive‘. HITMAN 3 is said to be coming out in January 2021 on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PlayStation 5 and PC. HITMAN 3 has been described as the conclusion to the assassination trilogy. Things are about to get real serious in the assassination world. Let’s take a look.

What’s the story in HITMAN 3? Well Agent 47, aka baldi, is back and this time he’s handling the most important contracts of his assassinating ‘career’. This time something is different. Sure he is being backed up by his agency handler Diana Burnwood… BUT!… he is working together with his long lost friend Lucas Grey. Teams overall are better than solo. The words “Death awaits” is a recurring thing and we are not sure why. Maybe HITMAN 3 is the game where agent 47 dies. Maybe not. After all will no one not notice and want revenge?  

Now this mission that agent 47 is on is suppose to be the most important ones yet. The goal is to wipe out the partners of Providence. When you make your target people like the partners of Providence then you know real trouble is coming your way. You don’t wipe out one important person and think nothing bad will happen to you. As you carry out your mission, things will get harder and harder. The action will become more intense.

Expect a lot of scenery and environment as your mission takes you across the world. Sandbox locations included. Now the theme of freedom is quite strong with this game. A good number of these  modern games especially lately and with next gen aim to have open world and more freedom for players. This is a quote from the developers website, “We’ve made sure that players will have unrivalled freedom to complete their objectives and the game world will react to everything they do. All of this is made possible by our award-winning Glacier technology, which powers HITMAN 3’s immersive game world to offer unparalleled player choice and replayability.”. Multiple gems have tried the whole consequence thing. We think HITMAN 3 has the world and setting to do it. Just don’t mess up developers. 

We were never fans of the HITMAN series but from our experience with the games like HITMAN Absolution we know they are good games overall. HITMAN 3 won’t function as one game. In HITMAN 3, players can play all three games and carry some content over. There’s a whole section explaining this on their website so we will just quote it here, “The World of Assassination trilogy is fully realised with HITMAN 3 and we are establishing our new game as the ultimate place to play all three games. Players of our previous HITMAN games will be pleased to know that it will be possible to ‘import’ locations that they own from the previous two HITMAN games into HITMAN 3, essentially putting all 20+ locations from the entire trilogy in one place. Playing the entire trilogy from beginning to end, from within HITMAN 3, also means that the progression systems in HITMAN 3 work across all locations. You can unlock an item in Dubai and take it with you to Paris, for example. We’re pleased to say that HITMAN 2 players will have the option to carry over their hard-earned unlocks and progression into HITMAN 3.”

We checked out some HITMAN 3 gameplay and it looks like another HITMAN game. The graphics are great, the environments are excellent. Same formula so far. You know what you got to do and you sneak around. You stay undetected, pay attention to routes, blind spots, hiding places,  using everything to your advantage. You have different disguises and stuff to wear but ultimately the prize is that kill. It’s HITMAN… what do you want from us? It’s not suddenly going to be Halo. Off course more information is going to come out. 

Overall HITMAN 3 just seems like another HITMAN game but obviously bigger, more action, more intense, consequences to your actions, allies, three games in one, carry over content, more freedom and whatever extra they be bringing. HITMAN 3 has a big opportunity here so don’t waste it. Now the developers ‘IO Interactive’ have done a very good job so far. We at X35 Earthwalker will leave an ear open for what HITMAN 3 be up to. Now HITMAN 3 may be sneaking up on gamers but one thing it can’t sneak up on is… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Skeletal Avenger is a rouge lite hack and slash game developed and published by ‘10tons‘. Skeletal Avenger is said to he coming out in late 2020 on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PlayStation 5 and PC. There is definitely some ‘boney’ action going on in this game. Let’s take a look.

The story in Skeletal Avenger isn’t much really. Basically there re a bunch of dead skeletons and they are waiting for their turn to get revenge. Here’s how the developers worded it, “Avenge a thousand wrongs in a reverse roguelite where the skeletal avengers ascend from the depths to demand a payment in blood!” So literally a bunch of angry salty skeletons who just want revenge but take turns to do it.

Now off course you aren’t just some skeleton, as in you get one slap and you crumble. No. You have a number of weapons to pick and use from like hammers, swords, daggers, spears and more. It gets even better. As you succeed and complete revenges you get new gears, weapons and tools. These will provide you with new perks and abilities. So make sure to get them and become powerful enough to face whatever comes your way. C’mon you are a skeleton, use your head… get it? No literally you can take off your head and throw it at your enemy in skeleton avenger.    

Remember that these revenges are always targeted against a certain being. Every run you do, you’ll need to choose who your enemy is. Then hunt them down and make them pay. Even so remember that they aren’t the only enemies around. As you make your way around you’ll face scorpions, hooded figures, worm monsters, fire traps and more. So far we haven’t seen anything unique or terrifying though. The enemies seem generic and nothing seems like a legitimate threat so we hope they step that up. The enemies in a game make all the difference. Look at Maze Time, they have numerous enemies with different levels of threats and some unique. 

Once again we are happy to hear that Skeletal Avenger has co-op gameplay. You can get revenge alone or work together with your friends. 4 player co-op. The more games that have room for co-op the better. Majority of the time it’s better to play with friends.  

We checked out some Skeletal Avenger gameplay and it’s what we imagined it would be. You are a skeleton and navigate around, attack enemies, avid damage and keep on rolling. There are area of effect attacks and you even have the ability to dash to avoid hazards, evade or just move around faster. We like that the items and gear you get is visible on your skeleton character. Not all games do this. 

Overall Skeletal Avenger just seems like another rouge lite hack and slash. This game needs more to be something special but definitely looks functional and good as it is right now. It’s style is traditional with the whole dark, stone, underground theme. It looks good too. The developers ’10tons’ have done a nice job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker will just have to hear what noise Skeletal Avenger makes. Now Skeletal Avenger may have salty skeletons who’s focus is revenge but they aren’t focused enough for… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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The Medium is a new horror game developed and published by ‘Bloober Team‘. The Medium is said to be coming out “Holiday 2020”. It’s an Xbox exclusive and it’s coming on the Xbox Series X and PC. The Medium aims to give a new meaning tithe word perspective here. We see what it is working but will it work? Let’s take a look.

The Medium is not just horror exactly but psychological horror. So expect the game to mess with your head and expect specific music. In the Medium players take control of a young lady, who is a medium by the way, who wants answers concerning the murder of a child. That same murder has been haunting you in visions. So you head to an abandoned hotel resort which is said to be the place where the event took place.

She isn’t ordinary. This medium is a fraud like mystic meg. This medium can have a perspective that one one else can have. She can travel between the natural and spiritual realm. Thanks to this ability she can see what others see too. In this world and with this ability, you’ll soon learn that everything has another side.

We checked out some The Medium gameplay. From what we have seen this is definitely going to be a psychological horror. There’s a lot of night time, at times silence, there’s also a lot of weird stuff in this game. Expect supernatural elements humanoid beings wearing masks and music. Yeah, a bit about the music. It has been declared that  The Medium has dual soundtrack Arkadiusz Reikowski from Bloober Team, and Akira Yamaoka, the composer guy for Silent Hill.  

The Medium’s advantage is being optimised for the Xbox Series X which means it’s using the development kit to “take advantage of the unique capabilities of the Xbox Series X. They will showcase unparalleled load-times, visuals, responsiveness, and framerates up to 120FPS.”

Overall The Medium looks like it’s going to be a good game but we haven’t seen enough to make us think wow yet. We have seen and written about many psychological horror games. Off course excellent graphics and details are excellent too. The Medium needs more. Are there real enemies? We will have to see. The developers ‘Bloober Team’ has does an alright job so far. We like the idea of world jumping but we need more info. Now The Medium may have music and spiritual realm but none of that is match… the ‘Earth walk!’

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Scorn is a new horror adventure game developed and published by ‘Ebb Software’. It is not clear when Scorn will be coming out. It is an xbox exclusive. It will come out on Xbox Series X and PC. The heavy themes here is horror and puzzles. Also, this is a weird game in case you couldn’t tell. Let’s take a look.

Scorn is set in a weird world. It’s been described as an open-ended world with different interconnected regions. That’s not the weird part but we will get to that. Each region is designed to be like a Maze. Various rooms and different paths. The weird part which you can tell just from looking is that this world is alive, literally and quite breathing. You see what looks like living organism entrails or whatever that grow along the walls like vines and plants. Some things bound to the wall are living things. Sort of like when the Gravemind from Halo with the flood takes over an area like the ship high charity. It becomes alive. Think of it like that.

There are no cutscenes Scorn. This means that everything concerning the story can be found and revealed in the game itself. So looking around and exploring is the responsibility of the player. Players have been given a warning though. The official website said, “the game won’t show you any sympathy if you miss something important on your uneasy travels”. This alone says quite a bit. This suggests that maybe Scorn can be beaten without doing everything but will result in a bad ending that doesn’t answer all your questions. 

Now it’s clear that this game wants to gross players out. This whole design, the character, the beings are all creepy, gross, sticky looking, you see what we mean when you look at gameplay. The game wants players to be fully aware of their character’s body and movement whatever that means. The developers also want players to have a realistic experience. As in you need to use your hands to pick up things (instead of just floating), also machines and certain instruments require the player to grab the levers, controls etc. 

Scorn isn’t some exploration game where you just walk and look around. There are threats in this world. Players will need to think things through and decide when to fight something and when to just hide. Not only that but we knew this game would also make your decisions have consequences as in effecting the world you’re in. You have an inventory to manage and it’s very limited space. So decide what you want and what you may need later etc.

We checked out some Scorn gameplay we can find and yep, there is definitely combat. We saw three different types of weapons which fire differently and all look alive-ish. They come apart and fleshy, with bits. They fire what looks like small pellets which through the organism gun makes deadly like a shotgun. Ammo must be very limited meaning players need to really decided whether to fight or not. The game looks icky and gross but very good. The visuals are very good and you know it’s improved from two years ago so must look better. The world is definitely alive, gross but very cool. It’s certainly atmospheric and we hope they pull of the horror well.Developers make sure not to forget terrifying enemies that you have to avoid. 

Overall Scorn does look like a good game just a very weird one that not everyone will be into. They will look at the game and get turned off. Yet there will always be gamers who will want to play it. We like how different this game is from other games. We like the risk the developers took and the game visuals and style. The developers ‘Ebb Software’ have done a good job wit this game. We at X35 Earthwalker will keep an ear and eye open for Scorn and what they do. Now Scorn may be risky and different but what’s not risky and hasn’t changed is… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Call of the Sea is a first person adventure puzzle game developed by ‘Out of the Blue‘ and published by ‘Raw Fury‘. Call of the Sea is said to be coming out on the Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PC. The release date isn’t known yet (maybe we do know but won’t tell you). Now this game has got our attention. It can’t be that mysterious right? It’s just a wife looking for her husband… normal stuff… right? Let’s take a look.

In Call of the Sea players take control of a woman called Nora. She is looking for her husband. Basically on his last expedition, he disappeared. He’s missing. Being a caring spouse she goes to look for him. Her search leads to an island. Now off course this isn’t a regular island. It’s said that loads of secret and mysteries are on this island. So take a look around I guess.

Now when you see a game like this you think about exploration games like Beyond Blue,Shape of the Worldand Abzu. Except Call of the Sea isn’t just exploration. It’s a full on adventure with a story, objective and mystery. The fact that it’s classed as a puzzle game means that players will need to be very observant, pay attention to detail and mentally link things together to progress. After all, finding your husband isn’t an easy thing.

The previous expedition here has left traces and clues around… but what happened to them? One of the main objectives in Call of the Sea is to find out what happened here and to them. This means there will be ships to explore. If there’s a voyage then there’s a ship. Check their equipment, their records, their writings, what they found. Sort of feels like detective work too.  

The graphic style and visuals is the main attractor for us concerning Call of the Sea. The whole game is very colourful and inviting. This whole island is very nice to look at with lovely design. There’s definitely lots to see here. There’s even ruins. Not all games have good ruin design. In case you couldn’t figure it out, Nora isn’t your average woman at all. Nora has got skills and will have to put them all to use on this South Pacific island. Some elements in this game is surreal. We already like Nora as a character but she does sound quite confused concerning her self discovery.  

Remember that Call of the Sea is coming on Xbox Series X. Xbox stated on their website, “Games built using the Xbox Series X development kit are designed to take advantage of the unique capabilities of the Xbox Series X. They will showcase unparalleled load-times, visuals, responsiveness, and framerates up to 120FPS”.

We checked out some Call of the Sea gameplay and it’s what we thought. The game looks calm from a violence perspective as in we saw no enemies and don’t think there is really any. Not much action at all which was expected as Call of the Sea is focused around mystery, exploration and puzzles. We even saw what looked like a transformation on what looks like Nora. She had webbed hands like a reptile and was traversing the water easily. There’s definitely stuff going on here. Simple looking controls and how you move about play this game.

Overall Call of the Sea looks like a good game. Not something huge but definitely packed. There’s more going on than simply a wife searching for her husband. We hope they don’t take the self discovery part too far and focus on the island and what it contains. We liking the graphics right now and style. The developers ‘Out of the Blue’ have done a good job wit this game so far. We at X35 Earthwalker hope to see more concerning this game. Now Call of the Sea may have mystery but one thing more mysterious is clearly… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Second Extinction is a new co-op first person shooter game developed and published by ‘Systemic Reaction‘. It’s stated exactly when this game will come out but we assume basically when the Xbox Series X comes out. Second Extinction is an Xbox exclusive and will come out on the Xbox Series X, Xbox One (X) and PC. We at X35 Earthwalker like dinosaurs and dinosaur games. Let’s take a look. 

Now just from looking at this game we can figure out what the story will be. Second Extinction is set in  a ruined world. Dinosaurs have taken over and mankind once again is in trouble. Your job is to wipe out these dinosaurs. This off course is easier said than done. Teamwork is essential, required, vital, needed. These dinosaurs don’t mess around. You’ll see.

If you couldn’t tell from the picture above, these aren’t regular dinosaurs. Mutations have taken place which have transformed these creatures into something more fierce. That’s right! Those Deinonychus have got an upgrade in Second Extinction. They are being called electric raptors. First things first, people mistake Deinonychus for velociraptor. Velociraptors are small. We could stomp them while the Deinonychus is the big ones you see in the movies that jump on you, hunt in packs and super dangerous. They are raptor dinosaurs still but there’s a difference. So not only are there electric raptors but also behemoth T-rexes who are basically bigger versions of T-rexes. More size means more power and more health. Expect dangerous mutated dinosaurs who will eat you.

Remember when we mentioned that Second Extinction is a ‘co-op’ first person shooter game. Co-op is the key word. That’s right. 3 player strikeforces. You as a team must take part in combat operations that are suppose to be short but intense. We will be the judges of that. If you’ve been around for a while then you know how we feel about co-op in big games. We need more of it and glad that more games are making their big action available for friends gameplay. A bunch of electric raptors would be  too much for one person, except X35 Earthwalker off course, so having a team where you can watch each others backs etc is excellent.

Now let’s talk about the squad… or should we say squads. You must put together a crew from a group of fighters. Each one has their own skills, weapon of choice and history. Create your desired squad to reclaim the earth… like a reclaimer… get it? Reclaimer… Master Chief… Halo… Xbox? Whatever you suck anyway. There’s three fighters that we know of right now. Ortega, Amir and Rosy. Now judging by their descriptions: Trooper, Enforcer and Operative we can figure out what they do. The trooper looks like your basic soldier, as in they are about combat and most likely balanced. Welding grenades and some combat utilities. The enforcer seems like they are the heavy firepower. With that chain gun or mini gun (we think chain gun though) they can mow down or do serious damage to enemies but lack mobility. The operative seems like the one all abut tech and support. Probably the one crucial to mission objectives like working with machinery or something. The official website also more is coming. This means more fighters/heroes. That’s a good thing. 

We checked out some Second Extinction gameplay. We like how you enter the missions through a drop pod thing. Halo ODST anyone. It’s a literal drop in. The weapons have heavy impact. Like the shots really land on the enemy. Definitely liking what looks like a high number of enemies. Raptors do work together after all. We just hope the missions have a good amount of variety and that they really make full use of what they can do with this game. Get creative and make sure the game is difficult. A game that anyone can beat is lame. e have’t had a good dinosaur game like this that has serious action in a long time. Do this right developers. We really hope there’s more than just snowy based or effected areas. Get creative. We hope for a bigger roster of dinosaur enemies too. If you ran out of ideas then contact us. 

Overall Second Extinction looks like a very good game. The graphics are looking good so far so imagine what it will look like complete and on the Xbox Series X. We are liking some of the environments so far and the effects like the mist and lights. The developers ‘Systemic Reaction’ have done a great job so far We at X35 Earthwalker are looking forward to this game. Now second extinction may have mutated dinosaurs but those are a complete joke compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Outriders is a new third person shooter role playing game developed by ‘People Can Fly‘ and published by ‘Square Enix‘. Outriders is said to be coming out in the fourth quarter of 2020 on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5 and PC. Outriders is one of those games that wants to come in hot with big stuff. Let’s take a look.

Outriders in set in a sci-fi universe. Definitely the future and it’s a dark and desperate times. This place is called Enoch (another inspiration from the Bible but no mention). Things are harsh, death seems to get around a lot. So don\’t expect any rainbows and sunshine (Escanor or not). Simply put humanity is in trouble. They have been described as “bleeding out”. The only lead players have is this weird signal. You need to know where it’s coming from, it’s source. So that’s the whole adventure. In outriders you are travelling across this dangerous world to find the source of that signal. So get walking.

Now yes the trailers and story show three Outriders but it’s confirmed that you can create your own Outrider. So character customisation is confirmed. How in depth is the customisation, we don’t know but it must be facial at least and probably like with most recent modern games, there could be skins and outfits. Now players get to choose from four classes for their Outrider. Each class off course has their own abilities and skill tree. 

Now Outriders is a shooter game so expect the guns. There are some standard guns as in machine gun fire and heavy rounds but there also a twist to some… after all it is the future. There’s even what looks like a chain gun so keep your head down… maybe. The more emphasis is on the powers. There’s many abilities out here. From straight up shooting flames from your hands, causing earth shockwaves, phasing, sort of teleport (become electricity dash forward and reform), blasts, ice freezing and more. Now when you think about Outriders altogether it should remind you of another futuristic game where humanity are also having a tough time but some specific people have powers… Destiny

Let’s address some smaller stuff. It’s been quoted “OUTRIDERS offers countless hours of gameplay from one of the finest shooter developers in the industry – People Can Fly.” First of all countless is a real big word and we at X35 Earthwalker take it seriously. They better deliver with countless hours worth of gameplay. Second ‘People can fly’ are good developers but not one of the finest. They made Gears of War Judgement which we really enjoyed and had the best weapons balancing of all the Gears of War games for multiplayer but made some big mistakes that are obvious even to a casual gamer. For example no locust in multiplayer and no ‘Down but not out’ which means no executions. So good yes but definitely not finest unless they have seriously improved over time.

Outriders is suppose to have a whole lot of stuff and places for players to see. You will come across, broken down places, slums, cities, deserts, some shanty towns and more. In big games like this, the environments make a big difference. Now best of all, it’s confirmed that Outriders is co-op. It’s drop in, drop out co-op so your friends can join and leave whenever they want. This is the most convenient and best way of doing co-op for the most part. Matter of fact co-op has been pushed and emphasised all over this game. We like this feature for sure. The game industry needs more awesome big co-op made games.  

We checked out some Outriders gameplay and it’s what we thought it would be. It does remind us of Destiny. Got a mission, get there and complete it while gunning down enemies of a variety sort. While using your powers and abilities that literally shake things up. You can roam as a team of three or with just one friend and dominate the enemies. Using cover effectively and probably melt enemies with your steady stream of melting flames. Also there are whole lots of gear and guns that can be modded for that extra kick, effects and boosts. So there are some layers to this game. Remember that Outriders all be one of those new games that will come out also on the Xbox Series X and Playstation 5. So already gamers have got expectations. 

Overall, Outriders has got a lot going on and looks like a very good game so far. The theme of ascension is heavy when it comes to the story. Leaving humanity behind and becoming something more. We know how these go. The graphics look very good too. The developers ‘People Can Fly’ have done a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker will have to see what Outriders truly brings to the gaming table. Now Outriders may have powers and guns in a dark universe but it’s still all children stuff when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Namco Museum Archives Vol 1 is a new game collection developed by ‘B.B Studio’ and published by ‘Bandai Namco‘. Namco Museum Archives Vol 1 is said to be coming out the 18th of June 2020 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PC. Now there isn’t much to say about a game collection like this. Let’s take a look.

Namco Museum Archives Vol 1 is a collection of games. 8-bit games like Pac-man and Dig Dug. Now there is a catch though. There’s 11 games in total with 1 of them being a 8 bit DEmastered version of Pac-Man Championship Edition. This is weird as we haven’t heard of that but it off course can be done. We truly enjoy Pacman Championship Edition 2 so to see a demasteeed version of the first one will be real interesting. It’s clear that this remastered game is the main star of the Namco Museum Archives Vol 1. 

Here’s a list of the game in Namco Museum Archives Vol 1: Pac-Man, Dragon Buster, Dig Dug, Xevious, Mappy, The Tower of Druaga, Sky Kid, Galaxian, Dragon Spirit: The New Legend, Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti. So you probably recognise some of these but not all. Some of these weren’t released in the west. So maybe here’s your chance.

Overall Namco Museum Archives Vol 1 is just another game collection. Take a look at it, se any games you like from the list and then decide if you want to get it or not. The only games that interest us this is Dig Dug, Pacman the remastered Championship Edition one and regular pac-man. The developers did alright with this but we think more is needed to make this an eye catcher. Now Namco Museum Archives Vol 1 may have 11 games in total but that not enough for… the ‘Earth Walk!

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Goosebumps: Dead of Night is a new action adventure game developed and published by ‘Cosmic Forces‘. Goosebumps: Dead of Night is said to be coming out the 12th of June 2020 on the Xbox One and PC. We heard that it’s coming out also on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. Slappy is back and he’s up to no good. Let’s take a look.

In Goosebumps: Dead of Night, Slappy is back. He escaped from the pages of goosebumps. Not only that but he has brought together his crew of monsters. The goal of the player is to trap Slappy back into the goosebumps book. Slappy has a plan and is up to no good. The player must solve puzzles and thwart Slappy’s plans. Off course his monster friend aren’t going to simply let you do that.

So as you are searching fir the missing pages of the book, the monsters will be about ready to mean you harm. Expect to encounter the Annihilator 3000, graveyard ghoul, werewolf of fever swamp, lawn gnomes and murder the clown are all here and ready to roll. They will stop the player and deliver a scare while they’re at it. We honestly hope these enemies are scary though because we feel like we can punch that clown in the face and it will be over with. 

We checked out some Goosebumps: Dead of Night gameplay and it’s sort of what we expected but we we believe it needs more. We get that it’s Slappy but this doesn’t seem scary in the slightest. We like that the werewolf crawls after you. We like that there are areas, in the three chapters that you play, that are recognisable, described as classic Goosebump locations. So fans of the Goosebump series will like this. It seems that the monsters function differently. The lawn gnomes seem to be more of a annoyance and distraction, running away and causing trouble while the clown and werewolf seem to come straight for you as a clear threat. This will mix things up as it should do. Simple enemies aren’t fun.

Overall Goosebumps: Dead of Night just seems like another indie game. It will be fun for some gamers as it’s quite simple, run away from enemies and search for pages, reminding some of Slender man. Youtubers will like it as it’s more fuel for views by screaming and running away. We honestly don’t see enough for this game to be a big deal for us. It just seems like simple fun and facing off against Slappy. The developers ‘Cosmic Forces’ have worked hard on this game. We at X35 Earthwalker always recognise work and effort. Some gamers will enjoy this. Now Goosebumps: Dead of Night may have Slappy but he’s a complete joke when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV is a 2D side scrolling action game that was developed and published by ‘Square Enix‘. A King’s Tale was released on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. We didn’t know this game existed when it launched. We heard about it last month and decided to give it a try. It’s Final Fantasy XV after all. To put it shortly, it’s an awesome game. Let’s take a look.

The story in A King’s Tale is very simple. It’s set in Final Fantasy XV (off course) and it’s King Regis telling a bedtime story to his son prince Noctis. Off course this takes place years before Final Fantasy XV because Noctis is clearly a child and Regis is looking younger and ‘clean wid it’ (looking good). Noctis has heard all the stories in the book and wants something new. So king Regis gives him a story based on his past adventures with his friends. Noctis says it’s fin for his dad to add, exaggerate and make it up as he goes along. So ‘A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV’ is literally a tale from king Regis to his son… in the world of Final Fantasy. Plot twist!!!

First things first, the controls. A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV has simple controls… not as simple as the controls in another amazing game called Maze Time but simple still. Not only that, the game effectively explains everything and throughout the game gives you reasons why you should use them. Some games fail to do that. Everything is incredibly responsive and the invincibility frames on your roll dodge is very generous. Everything has a purpose. Now even though the controls are simple, the game mechanics are quite deep. For example there are combos you can perform which have different amounts of damage, effects and even counters. Use the first few levels to practice and  try them all to see what feels good and works best. Now as an example strong slashes are great against master ronins, quick slashes work very well against goblins while shield bash is great coeurls. Use roll dodge to get out of any situation. Here’s your greatest piece of wisdom of 2020 for now from the great X35 Earthwalker… “When in doubt, just roll dodge.” You’re welcome. 

So run from left to right, defeating all the enemies that come your way until you can move on. It’s like Streets of Rage as a side scrolling action game. Simple to understand. So let’s talk about the enemies. Almost all the enemies have a stronger variation of themselves that normally has an extra ability or effect. For samples you will encounter the skeletons which will always block the third attack of your combo but the master skeletons will block strong slashes and will counter quick slashes. So if you strike with a quick slash, it will parry it and then hit you back too quick to dodge. A ronin can be hit with anything but a master ronin will block quick slashes and shield bashes so strong attacks are needed. A literal upgrade of previous enemies. The Midgardsormr will pop up from underground to strike you but can be stunned with a specific strike. You have to do strong, strong then shield bash from behind it. The iron giants are big and strong but wait for them to strike, get behind them and start swinging. Even the behemoth is in A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV. These guys have a tail attack that can hit both sides if you are too close. Be careful. Goblins attack in swarms and will try to use their knives. They aren’t difficult at all as there’s many ways to deal with them. There are explosive enemies called bombs that will explode if you stand near them. If you attack them with a slash they get knocked back and grow bigger but won’t explode. If you shield bash them though, you can send them flying towards enemies so they can get blown up. Believe it or not, there are more enemies and they have their own tricks too. A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV has many enemies and variety is a good thing.

The game isn’t long at all. A skilled player can beat it within 2 hours. It was never meant to be a big game. There is some deployability though. First of all we heard there is an alternate ending to the story so players got to beat it again to get that different ending. Also there is Dream Battles. Basically Noctis dreams the story he heard but with a slight twist to it. You play each level of the game again but there is a specific mission condition you must fulfil. It could be like defeat an army of flan enemies but use no magic. It could be to beat a frenzy of enemies within a time limit. It could be to finish a whole mission without the aid of your companions. So there’s still stuff to do. Oh and speaking of companions…

Probably our favourite thing about A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV is working with your companions to defeat the enemies. There’s a whole system to it. If you get 8 hits on enemies without  getting hit yourself you can call one of your companions to jump in and launch their attack. Each one is powerful and has their own use. The main man Weskham comes in with dual pistols firing at enemies in front and behind him dealing good damage. Cid jumps in and does a single powerful slash that travels across the ground with piercing effect. So line em up and ol Cid will knock them down. Clarus comes in and swings his dual blade three times damaging everything within his attacking circumference range. If you hit enemies a total of 24 times without getting hit you can use the Armiger. This ultimate attack allows Regis (the player) to use his Lucius family power of the king. He warps to an enemy, normally the one with the most health, levitates and uses four of his royal arms to smash an enemy dealing immense damage. Now listen up kids. If you use each of your companions attacks before using Armiger you, each on of them will come in and do a different more powerful focused attack on different enemies before you finish up with the royal arms. Very cool mechanic that promotes avoiding damage and playing flawlessly to get these abilities.    

A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV is a deep game with it’s mechanics, enemies and the combat. We mentioned it but didn’t explain that there’s lots of combos and moves. Simply you can do 3 quick slashes, 3 strong slashes and 3 shield bashes. There’s also quick quick shield, strong strong shield and then there’s quick quick strong which launches enemies into the air where you can then launch repeated strong or quick slashes or defend with shield. You can do quick quick strong to bring your enemy down with a strong descending strike. . You can do dodge roll to jump of your enemy and them either dash straight into an enemy on the ground with a strike with a quick slash or with shield after jumping to do a descending shield ground pound attack to knock back, or use a strong slash to do a big area of effect descending smash move. There’s lots you can do. So try them all out.

Overall A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV is an awesome game. It’s short like it was suppose to be but definitely awesome. It has simple controls but the mechanics surrounding enemies and attacks are deep. The final boss battle is epic. You have lots of dangerous enemies constantly coming for you while you target and deal with the boss at the same time. It’s a hectic battle with lots of opportunities for your companion attacks and Armiger. This game is difficult though as more enemy types like the Tonberry and Cactuar come in, things can get real crazy. The developers, ‘Square Enix’ have done an awesome job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker really enjoyed playing  A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV. If you haven’t played this game before, we recommend it. Now A King’s Tale might be set in the awesome world of Final Fantasy XV but even that doesn’t put it on the same level as… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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