Only one thing to talk about in this weeks news…

Baldur’s Gate 3

This opening is absolutely stunning.

Larian Studios have been on the road recently, showing off Baldur’s Gate 3 for the very first time. Larian has been working alongside Wizards of the Coast to bring Baldur’s Gate to a new audience and finally they have revealed their next-generation turn-based RPG to the world.

From Larian Studios:

Forged with the new Divinity 4.0 engine, Baldur’s Gate 3 will give you unprecedented freedom to explore, experiment, and interact with a world that truly reacts to your choices. A grand, cinematic narrative brings you closer to your characters than ever before, as you venture through the Forgotten Realms of Dungeons & Dragons.

Mysterious abilities are awakening inside you, drawn from a Mind Flayer parasite planted in your brain. Resist, and turn darkness against itself. Or embrace corruption and become ultimate evil. Gather your party and return to the Forgotten Realms in a tale of fellowship and betrayal, sacrifice and survival, and the lure of absolute power.

Abducted, infected, lost. You are turning into a monster, but as the corruption inside you grows, so does your power. That power may help you to survive, but there will be a price to pay. More than any ability, the bonds of trust that you build within your party could be your greatest strength. Caught in a conflict between devils, deities, and sinister otherworldly forces, you will determine the fate of the Forgotten Realms together.

Choose from a wide selection of D&D races and classes or play as an origin character with a hand-crafted background. Adventure, loot, battle and romance as you journey through the Forgotten Realms and beyond. Play alone, and select your companions carefully, or as a party of up to four in multiplayer.

No two adventures will ever be the same. The Forgotten Realms are a vast, detailed and diverse world, and there are secrets to be discovered all around you – verticality is a vital part of exploration. Sneak, dip, shove, climb, and jump as you journey from the depths of the Underdark to the glittering rooftops of the Upper City. How you survive, and the mark you leave on the world, is up to you.

• Online multiplayer for up to four players allows you to combine your forces in combat and split your party to follow your own quests and agendas. Concoct the perfect plan together… or introduce an element of chaos when your friends least expect it.
• Origin Characters offer a hand-crafted experience, each with their own unique traits, agenda, and outlook on the world. Their stories intersect with the entire narrative, and your choices will determine whether those stories end in redemption, salvation, domination, or many other outcomes.
• Evolved turn-based combat based on the D&D 5e ruleset. Team-based initiative, advantage & disadvantage, and roll modifiers join combat cameras, expanded environmental interactions, and a new fluidity in combat that rewards strategy and foresight.
• Define the future of the Forgotten Realms through your choices, and the roll of the dice. No matter who you play, or what you roll, the world and its inhabitants will react to your story.
• Player-initiated turn-based mode allows you to pause the world around you at any time even outside of combat. Whether you see an opportunity for a tactical advantage before combat begins, want to pull off a heist with pin-point precision, or need to escape a fiendish trap. Split your party, prepare ambushes, sneak in the darkness – create your own luck!

CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Outriders

The new IP from Square Enix is looking pretty damn good too!

Outriders is an RPG shooter set in an original, dark and desperate sci-fi universe. As mankind bleeds out in the trenches of Enoch, you’ll create your own Outrider and embark on a journey across the hostile planet. You will leave behind the slums and shanty towns of the Human colonies and traverse forests, mountains and desert in the pursuit of a mysterious signal. In the 30 years that have passed since the Human colonists’ arrival, the once peaceful wildlife and environments of Enoch have hyper-evolved from exposure to the Anomaly, turning nearly every living creature into something designed to kill. The untamed frontiers of Enoch are filled with dangers that will push the Outriders’ fortitude to the limit.

Outriders combines intense gunplay with brutal powers, an arsenal of increasingly twisted weaponry and gear-sets and a compelling, personal story. It will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in Holiday 2020.

Sakura Wars

Another beautiful trailer.

Sakura Wars is a reboot that retains many of the features that made the genre-defining series such a hit in Japan, including a poetic vision, a strong cast, and a compelling story filled with intrigue, action, and romance.puts this portrayal of 1940s Tokyo front and center as it introduces your mission to restore your squad and the theater to prestige.

Monster Train

The closed beta is live!

Good Shepherd Entertainment and indie developer Shiny Shoe have kicked off the closed beta of Monster Train, the upcoming strategic roguelike deck-building game set on a train to Hell. Players can register at www.TheMonsterTrain.com for a chance at access to the beta, which will run until March 19 and features both solo and multiplayer game modes.

Hell has frozen over, and it’s up to you to protect the last Pyre from the forces of Heaven and make Hell burn once more. Monster Train adds an extra strategic element to roguelike deck-builders with three vertical playfields that must be defended at a time. Build a deck of spells and minions from over 200 cards, and position your champions on each level to protect the train and your Pyre from invaders. With five clans to combine and fight for, challenging enemies to balance your deck against, and multiple routes to take through Hell, no playthrough is ever the same.

Monster Train’s unique time-based online multiplayer mode “Hell Rush” lets up to eight players compete against one another in time-based challenges for an exciting experience under intense pressure. Create your own custom challenges and share them with the world to see who can top the leaderboards.

Monster Train is expected to officially launch on PC in Q2 2020.