Welcome to the premiere of “Friday Night Drives,” where I do a video recap of this week’s news from The Splintering. I’m hoping to make this a weekly trend, so please let me know what you like (or hate). In the meantime, give it a watch and thanks for reading! The Splintering’s Teespring store has items starting at just $4.99!
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Publisher XSeed Games has announced that Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed will be receiving a western release in summer 2021 for Steam PC, PS4 and Nintendo Switch, following the Japanese launch on 20 May 2021. Hellbound & Debriefed is an HD remake of the 2011 original on PSP. In addition to a standard release, there will also be a special
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On Tuesday, SNK announced that The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match is now available on PS4 for $14.99. While the original KOF 2002 has been available on PS4 for some time as a $7.99 Arcade Archives title, the new Unlimited Match release boasts several new features, which include: Graphical improvements Redesigned character abilities Remastered Soundtrack Rollback Netcode for Online
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Internet comedian Steve Inman has brought many laughs to what would normally be tragic situation. Whether he is voicing over politics, fist fights, or even violent riots, Inman’s sports announcer-type commentary is a great way to achieve cathartic release from otherwise distressing circumstances. While Inman’s comedic takes haven’t typically strayed into topics worth covering here on The Splintering, a couple
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Street Fighter II originally landed in arcades on 6 February 1991 (Yep, 30 years ago). To mark the occasion, let’s have some fun with one of the finer details of the game. Fans of Street Fighter II and other Japanese games may have noticed that a character’s blood type is often listed in their bio. There are some important cultural
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Publisher Electronic Arts finally unveiled the first official trailer for Mass Effect Legendary Edition, a remastered edition of the original Mass Effect trilogy that undoubtedly hopes to wash away the bad taste left behind by Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem. In a recent interview with Metro, members of the MELE development team discussed their approach to updating the games for
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As part of an interview held at the Computer Entertainment Developers Conference (CEDEC), Final Fantasy VII Remake co-director Naoki Hamaguchi and producer Yoshinori Kitase discussed their original vision for the project, as well as their plans for the upcoming sequel. During these talks, Kitase mentioned how he hoped to “deceive players in a positive way”, and that he intends for
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Despite a few delays along the way, the release of the retro clone console known as the Polymega is nearly upon us. However, the system’s manufacturer Playmaji is asking for Walmart customers to cancel their preorders with the retail giant. Why? Here’s the official statement from Playmaji: “Walmart.com went through a personel change sometime in Q3-Q4 of last year, and
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Today we’re saying goodbye to two Samus Aran toys from Nintendo’s Metroid series. The first is a Metroid Prime bobblehead Samus statue, and the second is a limited edition Samus Aran action figure by Joyride. Both are being sold off on eBay as we speak, so they are not long for my household. If you watch until the end, you’ll
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Game publisher G Choice and developer Studio Artdink have announced that Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World will launch for PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam PC on 22 April in Japan. For western gamers, Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is ambiguously scheduled to release in “early 2021” for the same platforms. If you can’t wait, the Japanese Switch release
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After a substantial delay, developer HuniePot has announced that their puzzle/dating-sim mashup game HuniePop 2: Double Date is scheduled to release on 8 February for both PC and Mac. HuniePop 2 will be fully uncensored on platforms such as the Humble Bundle Store and Manga Gamer. However, HuniePot has confirmed that the game will be censored on Steam, not because
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For several years, smaller game developers have tried to get more eyes on their games by offering steep discounts on the Nintendo eShop. Cost-conscious gamers could visit Nintendo’s digital storefront and regularly find several titles marked down to less than a buck, with some games priced below ten cents. But in recent months, these fire sale prices have all but
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Today we’re opening up our Shenmue III CD soundtrack and The Art of Shenmue III hardback book, both of which were perks from the game’s Kickstarter campaign. The art book came to those who backed at a $175 level or higher, while the soundtrack CD was reserved for backers at the $250 level or higher. Not much else to do
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Developer Jin Wave Studio has announced Jin Conception, described as a “social deduction fantasy thriller turn-based RPG” will be launching for Steam PC sometime in 2021. Details are scant at the moment, but here’s the official breakdown of Jin Conception from the game’s Steam page: Jin Conception is a social deduction fantasy thriller turn-based Japanese RPG. Eight playable characters’ stories
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Update 1 – This listing for a Nintendo Switch port of Kingdom Come: Deliverance Royal Edition has since been revealed to be an error, with no Switch version being planned at this time. Update 2 – Sike! As of June 2021, Warhorse Studios has confirmed that a Switch version of Kingdom Come: Deliverance is in development. Check out the latest
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Late last week, Hall of Fame baseball manager Tommy Lasorda passed away at the age of 93. While I wasn’t the biggest Dodger fan as a kid, there are two things that come to mind when I think about the legendary MLB icon: Ultra Slim Fast commercials and Tommy Lasorda Baseball for the SEGA Genesis. In that spirit, we decided
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Developer Suzaku has officially released Sense – 不祥的预感: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story on the Nintendo Switch eShop. Successfully crowdfunded in 2018, Suzaku’s Sense – 不祥的预感: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is inspired by retro horror classics Clock Tower and Fatal Frame, Sense is described as a 2.5D horror RPG that blends cyberpunk elements with Cantonese folklore. Here’s the full breakdown of
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Earlier this week, Groupees.com launched Holiday Helpings 7, the site’s annual fundraiser benefiting the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP). So how does it work? Game, music, comic and manga creators freely donate digital copies of their work to be bundled together and sold to support the charity. This year’s offerings include both a $3 and a $5 tier, which
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Welcome back to The Splintering’s Jolly Jinglings holiday event! Today we’re going to take a look at another lesser-known title from the Xbox Live Indie Game (XBLIG) catalogue, Hurdle Turtle: Celebrations! Developed by Adam “Holmfry” Holmes in 2013, Hurdle Turtle: Celebrations! is a sequel of sorts to 2010’s Hurtle Turtle. It’s an arcade-style endless runner game where players control their
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2020 has claimed yet another casualty! Sort of…. Publisher NEOWIZ and developer JellySnow Studio have announced that their roguelite action-platformer Metal Unit has been delayed until January 2021. Originally scheduled to launch before the end of December, the creators felt that Metal Unit needed more polish, tweaks, and additional content based on user feedback. “How’d they get the user feedback
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‘Tis the season, ya’ zombie bitches! Tripwire Interactive is once again bringing Christmas cheer to their multiplayer zombie shooter Killing Floor 2. The annual Christmas Crackdown event brings with it a festive community map as well as several holiday-themed cosmetic items, achievements, objectives, enemies, weapons (namely the HRG Vampire for the Field Medic, and the Frostfang for the Support and
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Once upon a mid-90s, the Mortal Kombat series is famous for two things: ultra violence and realistic graphics featuring fully digitized actors. One of the more notable personalities to lend their stunt-performing prowess to the MK series was model/actress Kerri Ann Reavis (formerly Hoskins). 25 years later, Mrs. Hoskins/Reavis has dusted off the green and white tights to show what
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Publisher Eastasiasoft and developer Lillymo Games have announced that retro-inspired shoot ’em up Habroxia 2 will be coming 3 February to PC and consoles. Despite its old school aesthetics, Habroxia 2 mixes up the formula by adding both vertical and side-scrolling stages, non-linear progression, and twin-stick aiming controls. There’s also options to upgrade and customize your ship and a New
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NergalGameDev has released the ver. 0.2 build of Kingdom of Subversion, a risqué dungeon crawling RPG set in a fantasy setting. Did I say risqué? Because I meant pornographic. Kingdom of Subversion is absolutely an “adults-only” experience, and it looks like it features all manner of debauchery. Having said that, I’m sure you want to know more. Here’s the official
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The physical release of risqué “strip ’em up” Waifu Uncovered is now available for Nintendo Switch thanks to Eastasiasoft. As we noted in September, the physical release of Waifu Uncovered is the only way gamers can get the fully uncensored experience on consoles. The physical version offers three “censor” modes which are unlockable through gameplay: censored, uncensored, and fully uncensored.
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Modus Games has unveiled gameplay of guest character Ultraman in their 3D mecha brawler, Override 2: Super Mech League. The “Ultraman Deluxe Edition” will be available at launch, and can be pre-ordered with the Ultraman Season Pass, which includes Ultraman, Bemular, Black King, and Dan Moroboshi. The retail version of Override 2 will also include Ultraman cosmetic items. Developed by Modus
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Game publisher Phoenixx and developer Alice in Dissonance have announced that their visual novel game fault – milestone two side: above will arrive on the Switch eShop on 3 December, with pre-load staring on 26 November. For those concerned about an English translation, fault will support Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, Korean, German, Spanish, and Russian language options (though it looks
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Developer Compile Heart has released a new trailer for Go! Go! 5 Jigen Game Neptune: re★Verse, which is described as its definitive edition of Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1+ for PS5. Yeesh, that’s a mouthful. Let’s get on with the trailer! This new version brings with it a number of new features, including: Enhanced game systems Updated UI A new tutorial
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Is there still a place for a one-man developer in games? Japanese developer Polygonomicon sure hopes so. The guy apparently does it all, and he is hard at work prepping Varvarion, a new sword combat action game inspired by the 80s and 90s anime. The game puts players in control of barbarians, orcs, and cat girls as they viciously attempt
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Today we’re opening up our Shenmue III capsule toy set, which was a perk from the game’s Kickstarter campaign, which came to those who backed at a $500 level or higher. Let’s jump straight to the video! For those out of the know, capsule toys have been a consistent time sink and virtual money pit in the Shenmue series since
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