The Metal Slug series has been around for a long time, and
despite its age, the titles tend to stand the test of time. They have a fun,
colorful visual style that ages gracefully...
In this open-world game you are challenged with turning a hostile planet into a habitable haven for all of human kind. You have the ability and equipment to temper the climate, and to create a breathable atmosphere!
Memoriapolis is an intriguing colony builder that feels similar to others in its genre like Civilization or Cities: Skylines, although it has its own uniqueness. You get to decide what type of civilization you want and...
Ahro is an interesting introspective on what it's like to deal with anxiety and/or depression portrayed in a 2D adventure style gameplay. Exploring against a timer that keeps ticking until your next breakdown...
Come one! Come All! Listen as we regale you with details of a vampire game that fully released on May 8th with more content, bosses, and just loads of fun!
Going into Natsu-Mon I wasn't sure what to expect. I watched the trailer and knew it was about a ten-year-old boy on summer vacation and from what I saw it looked like a mix of Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing...
8-Bit Adventures 2: The Adventures of Squishy, is finally here on consoles! Who's Squishy you ask? Squishy is your robot and totally the main protagonist.
MechWarrior 5: Clans is a return to the Clans of MechWarrior, the first time in 30 years! Lead your Star of MechWarriors in an expansive 30-hour+ campaign across multiple diverse planets and a wide range of mission types.
Paris, France – October 29, 2024 – Microids and Savage Level are thrilled are excited to unveil a new exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming tactical RPG, Flint: Treasure of Oblivion. The video offers over 4 minutes of commented gameplay, giving players a detailed look at the game’s mechanics, pirate-themed world, and role-playing depth.
In Flint: Treasure of Oblivion, players will explore immersive environments by interacting with local inhabitants to progress through the story and unlock additional quests. Throughout the exploration, players will have to collect cards with items linked to the story as well as Tactics. These cards allow Flint and his crew to level up, gain new weapons, and improve their dice rolls and attributes like defence, dexterity and health. Through this gameplay system, players will be able to use accessories, skills and attributes in combat phases.
Before setting out on adventures, players will need to assemble a diverse team by choosing from the pirates they have recruited in the various classes each with their own specific skills set including Surgeon, Freebooter or Helmsman. Different sailors can complement each other and combos can be performed by pairing two members of the same class, creating situations that can change the course of a fight.
Battles in Flint: Treasure of Oblivion emphasizes strategy. Players can take advantage of the environment by using verticality to fall on an opponent from a high point, or push a barrel to topple an enemy and take the advantage.
The game incorporates a strong tabletop role-playing dimension, with success in combat based in part on the results of dice rolls. These can be mitigated by the skills of team members and strategies adopted in combat, enhancing players' chances of success. This luck factor also applies to exploration phases, such as opening chests or certain narrative sequences
About Flint: Treasure of Oblivion
Get ready to embark alongside Captain Flint, his first mate Billy Bones, and his crew of sea wolves in search of a legendary treasure promising freedom and fortune. With its original narrative using traditional comic book expression, Flint: Treasure of Oblivion invites players to immerse themselves in a historically documented pirate adventure sprinkled with fantasy elements.
The game will be available on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 14, 2024.
About Microids
Microids is a French video game publisher. Founded in 1985, Microids’ editorial strategy now focuses on 4 major areas: adventure games, racing games, retro gaming and games inspired by iconic titles. By collaborating with renowned studios and authors (Revolution Software, Sloclap, Oddworld Inhabitants, Pendulo Studios, Eden Studios, Go Nagai, Charles Cecil, Benoît Sokal, Paul Cuisset…), Microids has become a major player in international video games. Taking inspiration from legendary titles, Microids reaches a wide audience and creates original adventures which give gamers the chance to play as some of their most beloved characters.
Founded by two brothers Aurélien and Maxime Josse, seasoned veterans in the video game industry, Savage Level develops games that focus on immersing players in rich universes with profound but accessible gameplays while emphasizing on artistic direction deeply rooted in traditional arts.
Hamza: Music is a constant in my life. My interest in other mediums come and go,
but my deep interest in music remains. I don’t often finish a video game
100%, but I make it a point to go through its soundtrack at-least once.
About half the songs on my Spotify playlist are tunes from video games; the
numerous articles I’ve written for our Memorable Music in Gaming
series is testament to that.
To me memorable music is just that: memorable, within or without context.
It makes you smile when you hear it elsewhere, i.e., the Fallout 3 theme in
that ONE
scene from the 2024 Fallout TV series. I know I’m talking about the same
property in two different mediums… but wow, that moment was a kick in the
head. The second Lucy unfurled the NCR flag and the theme kicked in, I got
crazy goosebumps.
For this entry you’ll find a lot of love for RPG and RTS soundtracks from
my colleagues, which is completely justifiable. They are, after all, crucial
in maintaining the precise mood for the next 100+ hours you’ll be spending
traveling in those fantastical, sprawling worlds. For my entry I’ll go a
rather different route and talk about a genre I’m most familiar with: the
humble point and click genre.
Most of the games that fall under this genre have an otherworldly,
dreamlike quality to them. They stand out like intellectual conversations
and good dreams. Who can forget the hypnotic soundtrack of the original 1993
Myst, especially the Main Theme
and Selenitic Mystgate Theme? They’re at-once an open palm invitation to an unforgettable experience.
The sleepy and ethereal Valadilene Theme
from 2002’s Syberia is as pretty as the cursive, handwritten logo of the
game. The very underrated 1996 Gene Machine also has a commendable soundtrack, including this catchy England Theme.
Discworld Noir. Gabriel Knight. Oxenfree. Monkey Island. Beneath a Steel
Sky. They all carry with them excellent music, but if I had to cut this
admittedly long preamble short and cut to the chase, I’d go with Broken
Sword: Shadow of the Templars.
The original Broken Sword is my all-time favorite video game. This is about as flawless a video game can be, every aspect a fabulous diamond facet. Two pieces of dialogue - “I was being indifferent” and “What I say and what I know are two different things” - are part of my daily conversation.
Talking about the soundtrack, it is the ne plus ultra of the point and click genre. Calling an album 100% perfect is dubious, but there exist a few contenders: X-Ray Spec’s Germfree Adolescents, The Velvet Underground & Nico, and Barrington Pheloung’s Broken Sword soundtrack.
The main theme is a wonderful work of art. I swear I automatically start doing a mental flyby of all the major locations in the game, from Paris to Ireland to Spain to Syria to the UK. It is a wonderful start to a brilliant adventure. The diegetic Hotel Ubu theme makes this one-off location arguably the most memorable from the game. This is something Hitchcock would be proud of.
It would be most remiss of me if I didn’t mention all the tracks associated with Nico. Whenever you visit Rue Jarry - a major location where Nico lives - a short scherzo plays upon your arrival every time. When I played the game for the first time back in 2013, these 30 seconds had me convinced that this game and this soundtrack are the finest in the industry. When you enter Nico’s apartment, her theme is a literal breeze of fresh, autumn air. The sophisticated, dulcet tone captures Nico perfectly. Another major theme that plays is when you open the manuscript on her table, aptly named Conspiracy of the Neo-Templars. The hollow, foreboding sounding notes only add to the conspiratorial nature of the discovery.
I think you get the picture by now of how much I love this soundtrack. Every track is a winner, within or without context. Do yourself a favor and play this game NOW!
Nick:
I could easily spend an hour or more just writing about several of my
favorite gaming soundtracks. The old school Bioware Dungeons & Dragons
games (especially Neverwinter Nights), the techno feel of the Mass Effect
series, almost anything from The Elder Scrolls or Final Fantasy titles - but
I have to narrow it down to just one. As such? I’m going to pull from that
last series I mentioned, Final Fantasy X.
More than two decades later, that’s my favorite Final Fantasy title for a
variety of reasons. I think it has the best combination of story,
characters, side content, combat, progression and of course, music. This is
one of the only video games I have on vinyl record (and it looks and sounds
amazing in this format):
As hard as it was trying to pick a favorite soundtrack? It’s just as hard
for me to settle on a favorite song from this one. Whether it is
Otherworld’s hard rocking introduction to the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWYwmM23Sqs
(which is to this day in my rock music feeds) or the more soulful To
Zanarkand piano piece, there’s dozens of songs that have an emotional impact
on me as soon as I hear them.
Susan: This could really be its own article because I tend to be long winded but
also because I love music. Music defines everything for me. So picking just
one favorite gaming soundtrack isn’t the easiest decision to make, and yet
there can really only be one. While one could argue that I love the Life is
Strange soundtrack the most because I’ve often talked about the music used
in the games, only one song truly gets to me. The one soundtrack that will
always live rent free in my head is Final Fantasy VIII.
Firstly, it should be noted that everything that Nobou Uematesu touches
turns to gold. And looking at this brilliant soundtrack, there are multiple
songs that I absolutely adore. Starting from the top is the famous Liberi Fatali
which was used as a backdrop song to many TTRPG sessions. It’s perfect for
combat music as it builds nicely and keeps a good enough tempo to feel like
you’re in an epic showdown. Another song that I love is Balamb Garden
which soothes your ears while you wander through the streets of Balamb.
Later down the list is Find Your Way
which keeps you on your guard while you adventure in areas that can spawn
random encounters. It’s both a haunting and beautiful piece that can be used
as a backdrop to several gaming situations.
One of the songs that always gets to me is The Landing. There is something about the song that begins with a simple heartbeat. It
adds a subtle baseline to the track while the brass instruments quietly
crescendo. Finally, it builds to a quick paced song that lights a fire under
your butt. Along those same lines, The Man with the Machine Gun
can’t be missed. It’s a track that forces you to keep your eyes on the
prize. Besides, who could resist the charm of this song? Also, in keeping
with the urgency, I love Only a Plank Between One and Perdition.
Sorceress Edea’s Parade stands out in my mind because of Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec. This is partly because it took a while to get the name of the song down.
It also lives rent free in my head because of a particularly brutal step
chart in In the Groove. (I think I’ve only passed it once or twice. PAIN.)
Needless to say, this track is incredibly memorable.
Many of the Chocobo songs are some of the most amusing tracks in history.
Although, there is one absolutely GARBAGE version of the Chocobo song found
in FF7 Remake that needs to be yeeted into the sun, but otherwise, most of
the Chocobo songs can do no wrong. In specific, the playful sound of Odeka Ke Chocobo
is great (albeit dated), and I love it.
Finally, I can’t end my section without talking about Eyes on Me sung by Faye Wong. Combined with the beautiful dancing between Rinoa and Squall, this song
really hits me hard. The memories associated with it are both endearing and
painful. That said, Faye’s soft voice as she sings the perfectly apt lyrics
are nothing short of breathtaking. It honestly makes me tear up when I hear
it. But this song doesn’t hit me just because of Rinoa and Squall, it makes
the entire soundtrack memorable because Final Fantasy 8 was the first game
in the series that actually grabbed my attention. I’m not sure if it was
because of the in-game events or the characters in particular, but Final
Fantasy 8’s soundtrack is my favorite.
Richard: Picking a favorite or most memorable soundtrack? Man, sometimes that’s
harder than a super hard bonus boss. When asked about some memorable pieces,
I usually end up with a list of at least twenty different tracks. To me,
music is a very important part of both my life, and my gaming experience. To
someone who plays multiple instruments, a game’s soundtrack can absolutely
ruin an experience if done poorly. On the other hand, if done well I find it
can turn a mediocre game into a good game for me.
So what would be the most memorable? Is it something from my early years of
gaming, such as Promised Pain
from Xenosaga III? Maybe the Man-eating Music Box
tune from Trapt? Do we also have any of the BossThemesfrom
Legend of Dragoon? Maybe some of the radio tracks from Cruisin’ USA, or the
character themes from Vigilante 8? These are all good tracks, but are they
the most memorable? Maybe, but there are others that are more memorable for
me at least.
It isn’t always the best songs that are the most memorable, but they do
certainly make an impact. Tracks like Edge of Green
from Radiant Historia certainly made a hell of an impact on me with just how
much I felt the impact of the song. Other tracks will hit you in the feels,
such as Moonlight
from Iconoclasts. That was a track that when played gave me one hell of a
gut punch. Or who could forget other classics such as the DK Rap
or Gangplank Galleon? Both are classics that most people won’t forget very easily. Say what you
want, I think these are more memorable to me in the Donkey Kong series than
the Stickerbush Symphony is.
Rather than that though, the songs that made the biggest impact on me
probably boil down to three, if we exclude the Final Fantasy series that my
colleagues have already sifted through. So, what is the most memorable for
me? What had the biggest impact? Well, let’s start with the third place: Star Wolf’s theme
from Starfox 64. This song was the boss theme of the first boss that ever
gave me serious trouble in a game. No, I don’t mean the first encounter, the
second “hidden” encounter where you have the revenge match? As a kid, that
fight was nearly impossible for me, so this song has stuck around a lot
because of that. Second up we have Atrocious Raid
from Trails of Cold Steel. This was one of the hardest cold opens I’ve seen
in a game in quite a while, and it opened with this track. It certainly pops
into my head every so often.
So what’s the most memorable track for me? Well, that would belong to the
first game I ever did 100% in. Or, maybe it would be 120%? Some of you
probably instantly guessed the game, but the track I’d have to choose is the credit’s theme from Spyro the Dragon. Perhaps you may think this is a weird pick for me, given my penchant for
boss and battle themes, but this is the track that’s most ingrained in my
childhood memories. A track that plays after completing one of my favorite
games, the one that kickstarted my 100% completion OCD, and the track that I
felt really wrapped up the game at the end. Listening to this as you get a
flyby through all the world’s you’ve visited while seeing the credits go by,
a sense that you’ve finally finished your journey and are headed home, but
still retaining that sense of adventure. The original Spyro trilogy had some
great music, but this right here is my most memorable track, and remember:
“No sheep were harmed during the making of this game. A few gnorcs, but no
sheep.”
Pierre-Yves:
Where to start? Nick, Susan and Richard all have solid pieces listed that
easily fit the top 10 to top 20. I find as I get older, and the more I play,
the more I like which makes lists like this that much harder.
Where I really wanted to go is in two directions, or stops along a track if
you will. The first is Xenoblade Chronicles X. Having originally released on
the Wii U where it was almost doomed from the start because of the lack of
console sales due to bad marketing, this was one JRPG that should not have
been missed. The opening of Uncontrollable (YouTube)
held so much emotion as we, the people of Earth, abandoned the planet in an
attempt to not be wiped out by an alien race.
Making it to another inhabitable planet, it wasn't all sunshine and
rainbows. If humanity wanted to survive? It had to fight both the alien
forces that followed and the often hostile wildlife. This is where Black Tar (YouTube)
comes in. Two parts. Heavy guitar. Solid drums. Rap like lyrics and rhythm,
it works. It works so well. And then it doubles down on a tone shift halfway
through. And this is just the normal battle music!!
The last stop for me on this musical train is Trails of Cold Steel 4.
Whether it be from the Trails series or the Ys series, the Falcom Sound Team
are incredible and this was very apparent in the Cold Steel subseries and
finale.
Merging various styles, there are three tracks in Cold Steel IV that I have
yet to stop listening to. Starting off with Synchronicity (YouTube), you have a Techno or EDM beat that opens up the last entry as you explore
the Geofront under the independent city state of Crossbell. It's light, it's
fun, it helps drop you back into the mix after the very heavy and
tear-inducing conclusion of Cold Steel III.
To the Future (YouTube)
continues this trend but adds in a bit more orchestra keeping with the
upwards trend that not everything is lost, there's still hope in continuing
the fight. I won't lie that because these two tracks were designed for
continuous play, they have often been on repeat one after the
other.
But the title to take it all is the Cold Steel IV rendition of The Atrocious Raid (YouTube). Richard mentioned this above, yes, and while the cold open of Cold Steel
and its more arranged version are often in my shuffle and my playlists, this
last version’s rework just hit all of the notes and the feels. Like its
original, once this track starts up, all of the emotions and dramatic
tensions rise up making this not only the best part of Cold Steel IV, but of
the series and my playlists.
There is rarely a time where I'll think to myself, not now. There is always
time for this track.
Hayden: I see a lot of RPG love here, so I’m going to go with a different
direction. While the genre has arguably fallen away from the limelight a
bit, RTS games are what I cut my teeth on and there’s a few gems in there
that I think will be instantly recognizable to many people. First and
foremost, I give you Hell March (YouTube)
by Frank Klepacki, from Command & Conquer Red Alert. The opening to this
one with the hugely distinct sound of military drill makes it hard to
confuse with anything else, and Red Alert really made a big impact at the
time of its release.
Marching on from there, there is the music that
launched a behemoth of a franchise - the first Human track from Warcraft 2 (YouTube). While not a technical tour de force like some of the epic tracks
underpinning the JRPGs, this is music that you’ll hear the themes from
reflected in later Warcraft titles and expansions, culminating in the
behemoth of World of Warcraft that reshaped the MMORPG world and still
echoes through almost 30 years after release.
Out of the RTS genre, I suppose it's time to build upwards with SimCity
3000! The energetic sound of Sim Broadway (YouTube)
by Jerry Martin is iconic for builders, but really the whole soundtrack (YouTube)
here is full of gems and little audio licks that will make players smile and
reminisce. Finally, I would be remiss to skip over Baba Yetu (YouTube)
by Christopher Tin. This one at least really stands up to the best of what
the JRPGs and really anything else in gaming has in terms of scope and
impact, and rightfully drives Civilization IV players forward through the
ages.
While RPG’s have already gotten a lot of love in here, there’s two that I
have to put forward as iconic. First, Dragonborn (YouTube)
by Jeremy Soule is the sound that defines Skyrim for me. The sweeping,
uplifting feel of this one really gives you a sense of scale and power to
the setting that captures the feel of the Elder Scrolls series, and keeps
being replicated on platform after platform. (Has it been ported to a smart
fridge yet? If not, expect it soon!) Also from Bethesda, the main theme from Fallout 4 (YouTube)
will apparently always live rent-free in my head. Something about the way
the first heavy chords hit always brings me back to the setting, the sun
rising above scorched cities and twisted, barren forests. For all the shade
that Bethesda gets for bugs and glitches in their games, I’ve frequently
found their soundtracks to be rock solid, and that’s a huge boost for me as
a player when I'm trying to get immersed into a game world.
Valerie:
Atmosphere. That's what music in gaming, theatre, movies and even your own
little worlds like home bring to my game playing and my life. Memorable music that leads
me along like the carrot in front of the rabbit. It pulls at your heart
strings, your tear ducts, heck even your muscles! That's what these tracks
do for me on all counts. Like everyone else who's contributed to this
article, I too, cannot, I just CAN'T choose just one! I can't even narrow it
down to one series either as I have played quite the range!
To start off my contribution I'm currently listening to a mix of Halo game
music tracks. There are quite a few good playlists around, but my two all
time fave tracks are: Spirit of Fire and The Scorpion Theme. The track
labeled Peril comes in third. The use of the full orchestra brings back
memories of me during the years that I was learning to play a few
instruments and my love of classical music. Those full orchestral sequences
can garner a laugh if I am watching reruns of M.A.S.H where Charles Emmerson
Winchester the third is nodding his head in time with the music and that
ferocious face at the percussion sequence! Man, what game was I playing that
that scene just bust giggles out of me that I lost the boss fight? I can't
remember, but man oh man, *funny!*.
Another of the many game series in my list is The Legend of Zelda. I had
come across a particular piece called Ballad of the Goddess where I could
feel the power of that mighty goddess. There is also a track called Molgera
Battle with its use of percussion and pipes that are really really catchy. A
good seat bouncer I shall call it like Towards the Pantheon battle track (Youtube). I actually get up and dance to that tune.
Music composed by Chris Perkins in Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen can elicit
awe and wonder as I start a new quest. It’s the feel of the ambience around
me as I walk the forest trail. The track that I am referring to is called 'Terminus' (Soundcloud). Even right down to the beginning of the game where the menu pops up I
have felt that sense of wonder. When I played Sands of Aura, the Main Menu Theme (Youtube)
literally drew me in and ignited my imagination as I chose my character
features and started the game.
With nods to my colleagues here, I am definitely an RPG player with
playtime bursts into FPS (think Unreal Tournament), sandbox builder games like Satisfactory, Space Engineers, and the MMOs
Guild Wars 1 & 2. Add in RTS of Starcraft II and I think I’m a pretty
rounded gamer. I’m not fantastic at the games, but I really do enjoy playing
them. As I play, the immersion with the music in each game coaxes me into
finding that next treasure, that forgotten cave, or the village where one
can rest until the next quest makes itself known.
I just want to say, with nods to Susan N. above, that a couple of tracks
that I play when I am gaming are from two games she also plays: Unreal &
Age of Wonders: Planetfall. Back when I was investigating how much it would
cost me to get electronic music equipment I was hooked because of my love of
the Unreal tracks. When Susan N. did the review for Age of Wonders:
Planetfall, bells rang again in the discovery that the same composer from
Unreal did the soundtrack for AOWP!! You can hear the soundtrack teaser trailer here
in her review. Thank you Michiel van den Bos!
So, when I say I can't choose just one favorite, you can see why above with
all that variety and tracks to feast upon! I will say though, that Nobuo
Uematsu is a favorite composer and I'll leave you in battle with the One Winged Angel (Youtube).
November 11th is a special day in North America as it is known as Veteran's Day in the United States, and it is known as Remembrance Day in Canada.
Instead of posting a press release about games coming out or games being delayed, we at Chalgyr felt that it would be a better idea to promote a charity or two in honor of today.
The most obvious of charities to take a look at is none other than Stackup.org. It started in 2015 to facilitate a strong community of friends, family, and brothers & sisters at arms through the love of video games. Captain Stephen Machuga posted the story of why he began Stackup and it is both terrifying that he was constantly fearful of his surroundings, but he found video games helped him readjust to everyday life.
Stackup has been integral in helping veterans get back on their feet after their time in the service with four different initiatives: Supply Drop, Air Assaults, Phalanx, and StOP. Learn more about these four initiatives and how to support the cause on the website.
Invictus Games Foundation was founded by Prince Harry (yes, that one) after he returned from deployment to Afghanistan. His time in the service opened his eyes to the realities of conflict and disabilities. Thus, Invictus Games Foundation was created as a way to celebrate the unconquered human spirit. Offering recovery for the international wounded, injured, and sick people in service, Invictus Gaming provides a support network and activities in sports, esports, adventurous challenges, and more!
Another great non-profit charity to support is Military & Veteran Gamers whose mission it is to create a safe environment through gaming and mental health peer support programs. It was founded in 2019 and has sent over 100 care packages since inception. On November 11th, they partner with Never Play Alone and Pizza Hut to Provide Pizza for Patriots where veterans, service members, and volunteers get to eat! There are plenty of other programs they offer, so be sure to check out the website for more information.
The Wounded Warrior Project is a livestreaming and gaming initiative designed to build a community of warriors and their families through Discord, gaming activities, and community work. They have over 6000 community members who've streamed video games and have raised $1.4 Million dollars since it began in 2003! This year, Wounded Warrior Project has earned the US Department of Labor HIRE Vets Gold Medallion Award and First Coast Worksite Wellness Council's Healthiest Companies Platinum Award.
There is also a Wounded Warriors Canada program which is a national mental health service provider that began in 2006. They serve professionals in the Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans, Police Officers, Firefighters, Paramedics, Corrections Officers, and more! Wounded Warriors Canada offers training in Trauma Resiliency, Core Trauma Concepts, Peer Support Fundamentals, and Before Operational Stress. The registered charity has provided over 330,000 hours of clinical treatment per year and has invested about $50 million dollars to their programs.
Beginning in 1941, the USO has been the nations leading organization to serve the US military and their families during their time in uniform. They offer around the clock hospitality to service members through a number of specialized programs. The USO is also known for their tours which send celebrities to entertain and convey the nations support of service members. In fact, there are over 250 centers in countries on each content which are operated by thousands of staff and volunteers. Check out the USO here for more details about the organization.
That's all of them for now. Be sure to check out the sites listed to support military veterans and their families whether they are gaming focused or not. And on behalf of Chalgyr's Game Room, have a good Veteran's Day/Remembrance Day.
Inspiring stuff, right? I mean, probably not in reality. It was just my
effort to get a Blogger (now Blogspot) blog post written before I lost interest (or more likely, lost my nerve to 'put myself out there'). Now, normally we don't post Sunday content, but hey - the date landed where it landed.
November 10th, 2009 is when I planted that
particular flag in the digital world to… well, I’d like to say great fanfare.
However, seriously I think my wife was the only one who saw that post at the
time. Maybe her aunt. Probably my dad. Tree falling in a forest when no one is
there to see it kind of stuff, right?
Again, it was just me writing for an audience of basically
me. I decided I just wanted to write my thoughts around games like no one was
reading them – because they weren’t. Except a funny thing started to happen. My
little blog started to get comments and joined several other similarly themed
gaming blogs in a sort of circle of sites where we read each other’s content,
supported one another, asked each other questions and frankly – we just helped
one another get better.
We started writing guest posts for one another, doing podcasts
with one another and in my case, writing reviews for other sites who seemed to
value my written words. I learned how to work with PR companies in the
background, saw my reviews start to show up on Metacritic through other sites
and most importantly – started to meet a lot of others who shared my passion
for video gaming and writing about it. This was what benefited CGR the most.
There was a lot of ‘me’ and “I’ in those first few
paragraphs, but Chalgyr’s Game Room only started with me – it grew with others
who started to join the team. It was a somewhat slow trickle early on, but as
more people began to write regularly for the site, a surprising thing started
to happen. Not only were we getting more content out, but we were getting more
readers as a result. We were also getting more people asking to participate.
What had begun as a solo passion project became a site that has seen dozens of
people come and go now over the last decade and a half as we have written
previews, reviews, random thoughts about gaming and more.
Video gaming has always been at the forefront of things, but
we’ve examined so much more than that. The team discussed game music, Games of
the Year, board games, music creation software, discussed tabletop roleplaying,
gaming hardware and so much more. Our third most popular article ever was one
written about Magic: The Gathering back in 2014.
Still, video game reviews have been what became the site’s
focus. So much so that when you view our review catalog here, if you scroll
down to the bottom of the page past the hundreds of linked reviews, you see we
have three more buckets of reviews at the bottom of the page. That’s a lot of words over
fifteen years. Quiz time: which review of ours has the most hits ever? TheElder Scrolls V: Skyrim – PC Review. This article went live on April 20, 2012
and has over 33.4 thousand views.
What has helped make Chalgyr’s Game Room such a special
place for me is how I just created a safe space to chat about what I enjoy
about gaming and found a lot of others who were already friends or became
friends who wanted to do the exact same thing. I don’t over-edit things and try
to create a ‘CGR voice’ – because everyone writing here has their own. I don’t
want to temper it down; I wanted to see it amplified. Sure, we all have our
various typos that get cleaned up, but we’ve never been interested in pushing
agendas. We love gaming, we just want to share those experiences with others
who also love gaming. We don’t always view things the same way – but that’s
fine. It’s expected even.
I want to take a moment to appreciate many of the cool things we've gotten to do on this site. Partnerships with big players in the industry allowed us to write about things (often times getting our hands on the game or product early), and providing us with opportunities we wouldn't have had otherwise. No money is being made by us if you click off to these sites, but when I first spun up that first blog post a decade and a half ago, I never imagined I'd be interacting with the companies that we have associated with since. Whether it was Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro sending us per-release Dungeons & Dragons tabletop supplies, Turtle Beach allowing us to review their headsets, Asmodee working with us on some table top game reviews, or big name publishers such as Microsoft, Koei Tecmo and Capcom to literally hundreds of smaller studies and indie developers that have brought their passions to digital life. It's been fantastic to be part of that journey.
We've had our reviews mentioned in accolade videos and images, had developers acknowledge our feedback in implementation of game improvements and graced numerous Steam pages over the years (as seen above).
It's not all flowers on these reviews, however. We've had more than our fair share of low scores given out over the years. We of course tend to lean towards games we think we'll enjoy, but since we like talking about gaming in general? We're willing to talk about some of the ones that didn't work for us as well. Heck, most of the time when we do our Games of the Year, we have multiple categories including our Biggest Disappointments. I don't want to dwell on these lower scores, because we generally want to celebrate having fun with gaming. We know a lot of work goes into these titles. But we have had our share of lower scores, such as PlataGo (which scored a 2 with our reviewer).
Chalgyr's Game Room is about the discourse. Sure, the majority of our articles are reviews, but it would be remiss of me not to bring up our Retro Reviews, Memorable Music, Jaggy's Corner, Gaming Thoughts, loads of News posts and so much more. We're a diverse team that love to talk about numerous aspects of a wide variety of games.
I’ve been asked before why the name Chalgyr’s Game Room
(CGR). It was a bit of a whim (keep in mind, I was writing for an audience of
me at the time). But some of my best memories involve the camaraderie and
competition of gaming over the decades, whether it was my friends as kids, or
as a father who played games with his wife and children. So, I wanted to make a
digital ‘game room’ where we could get together and share laughs, memories and more. This is why you see the couch in so many of our images - that throwback to the idea of couch co-op and just sitting around with friends with controllers in-hand.
I guess it only makes sense that CGR hit its stride when more people began to
participate, to fill that digital game room with their thoughts and feelings.
The amazing thing? The site’s just getting stronger. Here’s
a look at our page views over the last fifteen years. The last two years have
been particularly strong for us. With over 3.6 million unique lifetime views
and over 6 thousand comments? It’s clear we’ve found an audience. I made our
site’s tagline “Where it’s all about the games” – here I can say “It’s all
about the team”, past and current.
Over 5,600 posts later, Chalgyr’s Game Room is going stronger
than ever. Our best day ever? March 31, 2024 – so earlier this year with
171,709 views. I couldn’t have done it without a fantastic team, and we couldn’t
have done it without our amazing readers. Here’s to a great end of this year
for all of you, and to many more years of news, reviews and other gaming
thoughts to come.
York, UK - 31st October 2024 - Revolution Software is excited to confirm that the forthcoming release of long-celebrated adventure epic Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged on Nintendo Switch has now been confirmed for November 7th.
Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged made its debut on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox just x weeks ago and has already amassed praise from critics and gamers alike, with the game currently sitting with an enviable score of 84/100 on Metacritic.
Now Nintendo Switch owners will be able to join the party on November 7th, meaning fans will soon be able to take on George and Nico’s adventure of the streets of Paris in the Fall while, well, on the streets of Paris in the Fall!
As reviews to date attest, Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged represents a substantial enhancement of one of the most popular adventures of all time. The game stands as a completely revitalised and ‘reforged’ version of George and Nico’s original globe-trotting adventure, taking players from the atmospheric avenues of the French capital to the mystery-laden mountains of Syria, the sun-soaked coastline of Spain and a whole host of stunning locations in between.
Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged features backgrounds that have been repainted from the line art originally drawn by Don Bluth layout artists, as well as 30,000 redrawn and reanimated character sprites. The audio has also been enhanced to bring new levels of fidelity to the speech and the legendary soundtrack composed by the late great Barrington Pheloung.
Redefining adventure gameplay for the modern era, a new ‘story mode’ dynamically balances narrative and gameplay progression to offer a stunning gameplay experience for a whole new generation of adventure fans to enjoy.
“I am so excited to be able to bring Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged to Nintendo Switch,” says Charles Cecil, founder and CEO of Revolution Software. “The game looks so beautiful on the console, and can then be docked to play in stunning high resolution on TVs.”
Known for combining scripts laced with sharp wit and logical but challenging puzzles, Broken Sword is a celebrated franchise within the adventure genre, having first released on PC and PlayStation back in 1996. The original release became an instant classic, having sold half a million copies on PlayStation alone, and was voted one of the best PlayStation games ever by Official PlayStation Magazine readers. A re-released Director’s Cut of the original game went on to enjoy similar success 15 years later, amassing over 5 million downloads.
Broken Sword remains one of the genre’s most acclaimed series, featuring in top adventure game lists to this day.
In Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged, you can:
Step out onto the streets of Paris as American tourist George Stobbart finds himself embroiled in a mysterious journey of intrigue and jeopardy.
Enjoy a globe-spanning adventure, exploring exotic locations, solving ancient mysteries, and thwarting a dark conspiracy to reveal the secret truths of the Knights Templar.
Voyage through the game’s iconic locations illustrated in beautiful high definition on Nintendo Switch for the first time.
Listen to enhanced audio as Revolution delivers the finest, most stunning version of George and Nico’s original adventure to date.
Switch between the original 1996 version of the game and the new reforged visuals at the click of a button.
Play the game the way that you want to - choose between a ‘traditional mode’ for people who enjoy adventures the way they used to be, and a ‘story mode’ for those who want subtle hints to ensure they never get frustrated.
Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged launches digitally on Nintendo Switch on November 7th for €29.99/$29.99/£24.99. The game is also available on PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Series X|S, and PC (Windows, macOS, and Linux) today for the same price.
About Revolution Software:
Founded in 1990, Revolution is a world-leading developer/publisher of narrative-driven adventure video games with titles such as the Broken Sword series, Beneath a Steel Sky and numerous major licences. The company is a pioneer of digital self-publishing.
Having achieved sales of over $100 million and been played by over 10 million players, Revolution’s Broken Sword series is one of the world's best-loved adventure series. In 2011, Broken Sword: Director’s Cut went to #1 on the Apple App Store in every major European territory and achieved 5 million downloads, with ‘Broken Sword’ becoming one of the world’s top 10 most tweeted keywords. The game still has a Metacritic rating of 91% (iPhone). Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse, which was successfully crowdfunded in 2012, built on this rich heritage.
The Metal Slug series has been around for a long time, and
despite its age, the titles tend to stand the test of time. They have a fun,
colorful visual style that ages gracefully, and the core run and gun mechanics
were so well done that most of the time? Signs of age are easy to overlook. Now
the series takes its signature visuals and style to a turn-based tactics game,
and in many ways Metal Slug Tactics feels like something from the past the past
and not a game just released this month. However, Metal Slug Tactics does so
many core things well enough that it’s still a good deal of fun today and will
appeal to fans of the series and strategy games alike.
Metal Slug Tactics is ambitious. Taking the core of a
long-running franchise and changing it to a completely new genre is often
unsuccessful. Right off of the bat, the presentation drips Metal Slug style.
Great use of color, the familiar but unique character design and rocking
soundtrack all come together beautifully. The graphics won’t win any awards for
pushing technical boundaries, but they’re an enjoyable pixel style that feels
true to the series. For a series built around pulse-pounding sound and action,
it’s surprising how well that feeling carries over to a turn-based tactics game
here.
That feeling of ‘action’ in a turn-based game is assisted by
more than just the graphics and audio, but also the gameplay. How? There’s some
interesting concepts baked in here that don’t reinvent the tactics wheel, so to
speak, but give Metal Slug Tactics a bit of a unique feel. For one, it’s got a
rogue-lite structure to repeated runs and lots of randomized elements. This
feels like a genre that’s been showing up in a lot of spaces, especially card
battlers and action games, so while at first blush I found it a little
off-putting, the elements felt rather at home here. You earn experience and
level up your characters, but it’s not a proper RPG. These are temporary improvements;
incredibly important to your success but bound to the particular run you are
on. Metal Slug Tactics also scratches that “Just one more run!” itch, due to
this rogue-lite structure that almost guarantees failure… and the urge to do it
better the next time around.
There is also this idea of more movement means higher chance
of avoiding attacks. In a lot of turn-based tactics game, I tend to be
conservative with my movement. Not here. The more movement the better,
actually. Another cool mechanic that makes the game feel like bullets are
flying everywhere (again, similar to the core series which has a heavy emphasis
on shots being fired from all directions) is the Sync Attack system. It’s a
mechanic that sees a target that puts a heavy focus on lining up a single target
in front of multiple characters. That means if you get a shot in from a
character to the left, and then you get a follow-up shot from the right, the
first character will get a second attack. This means you can pile up loads of
damage fast – but at the cost of taking out your opponents in a more balanced approach
that has its own risks. There is also a timer aspect to the stages that create
a sense of pressure, especially during boss fights where I often felt like I
had to press the action instead of stalling to look for openings.
That being said, there is clearly thought required here.
Leveraging the environment to cut down damage and using movement to improve
your dodging ability gives Metal Slug Tactics an almost puzzle-like feel
sometimes. There’s also a strong element of resource management as you have to
weigh ammo consumption into your attacks.
There is quite the learning curve here, it should be noted.
While most of the ideas here are ones I’ve seen in one form or another in prior
games, the way they’re rolled together here and given their own unique flavors
does make Metal Slug Tactics a bit slow to pick up. Add the aforementioned
rogue-lite approach that will almost certainly see you get beaten up once you
plug through the tutorial, and the potential for frustration is real. Also at
higher levels of difficulty? Metal Slug Tactics can be pretty unforgiving.
However, the more I played and the more I experienced the
trial and error (lots of error, but that’s probably a ‘me thing’), the more the
disparate systems started to come together and really reveal Metal Slug Tactics
for what it is. The variety of characters, weapons, stages and systems gel to
create a game that at times looks and sounds like the original Metal Slug
games, but the ‘Tactics’ part of the name really shines through when it all comes together.
Metal Slug Tactics is a great twist on the venerable, bombastic action
series. It looks and sounds the part, even as it tickles the brain with clever
mechanics and an almost puzzle-like atmosphere. I’ll admit I had my doubts
about the rogue-lite approach at first, but it was undeniably easy to pick it
up for just ‘one more match’ – always a good sign. Even if you’re not familiar
with the run and gun Metal Slug series, as long as you like tactics games, you
should enjoy this entry. However, the Metal Slug DNA here just makes the
overall package that much more entertaining for longtime fans such as myself.
Warsaw, Poland - October 31 | Mars Survivor by Estoty, Published by QubicGames, Launches on Nintendo Switch, November 1.
Official Description:
Prepare for the ultimate challenge as Mars Survivor, the latest survival-adventure game from renowned developer Estoty and published by QubicGames, makes its debut on Nintendo Switch on November 1.
After a catastrophic asteroid impact leaves your rocket ship in ruins, you find yourself stranded on the unforgiving red planet. Your mission? Survive, explore, and find a way back home.
A New Survival Frontier
Mars is more than just a barren wasteland—it’s filled with hidden dangers, ancient mysteries, and alien creatures that make survival a fight for your life. The game challenges players to explore Mars’s vast, hazardous landscapes, unearth secret materials, and gather resources to build a shelter that will keep them safe from the planet’s harsh conditions.
Face the Unknown
One of Mars Survivor’s standout features is its heart-pounding expeditions. Players will embark on treacherous journeys to gather vital intel and resources while fending off relentless alien threats. It’s not just about staying alive—it’s about fighting back. You’ll be pushed to defend your base and rescue fellow survivors, each bringing unique skills to help strengthen your chances of survival.
Strategize, Build, Defend
From crafting tools and gear to scavenging oxygen and other essentials from wrecked rocket ships, Mars Survivor demands careful planning. You’ll need to strategize your way through fierce alien onslaughts and devise the perfect escape.
30 October 2024 | The Farm 51 and Untold Tales have announced that Chernobylite will be coming to Nintendo Switch!
Originally released in 2021, the game went on to garner substantial success on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox and will now soon be making its way to the Nintendo eShop.
Chernobylite is a science fiction survival horror RPG set in the wastelands of Chornobyl's Exclusion Zone. Play as Igor, a physicist and former employee of the infamous Chornobyl Power Plant, who returns to Pripyat to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée, 30 years after the catastrophic nuclear disaster. Face hostile military forces, other scavengers, mutated creatures, and the harsh irradiated environment. Experience a journey of survival, conspiracy, horror, and obsession, where your choices shape the unfolding story.
The game will be available in two forms. The Chernobylite Complete Edition comes with the full base game + all content updates to date, including extra story missions, new locations, additional weapons, unique game modes and more.
The Chernobylite Premium Edition comes with all the above plus digital downloads of the official Chernobylite Soundtrack and Artbook along with two cosmetic weapons and hideout
DLCs - The Seasoned Scavenger and Irradiated Hideout DLC.
Chernobylite is being ported to the Switch by PixelAnt Games, a co-development studio who have contributed to titles such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Forza Motorsport, Still Wakes the Deep, Nightingale, and Mortal Kombat 1, among others.
GAME FEATURES:
BASE BUILDING & CRAFTING
Build and customize your home base to serve all your operations and expeditions. Expand and upgrade to suit your needs and those of your companions. Use workstations to craft powerful gadgets, traps, and weapons, or fine-tune your existing gear to gain an edge in your excursions.
RESOURCE & TEAM MANAGEMENT
Recruit a diverse group of skilled companions to join you on your journey. Assign them to missions to gather resources, scout new areas, or eliminate threats. Manage your base to meet their needs and keep morale high, all while making tough story choices that will shape their loyalty to you.
STEALTH, SURVIVAL & COMBAT
Survival in The Exclusion Zone is tough, as each day brings fresh challenges and diminishing supplies. Venture out on supply runs, use stealth to evade detection, or engage in intense combat when necessary. Navigate through perilous environments and face formidable enemies, all while ensuring you extract back to base to keep your scavenged loot.
NON-LINEAR STORYTELLING & CHOICES
No playthrough is the same. Your choices and actions shape your story, but no decision will satisfy everyone. Choose carefully whom to trust, whether to prioritize resources for survival or research and when to face conflicts head-on or avoid them. Every decision carries weight and leads to different outcomes.
