Sleeper Hit Action-RPG Astilbra Revision Sets Forth on Switch - Hardcore Gamer

We wouldn't blame you for forgetting all about Arad Chronicle: Khazan — the action RPG that was announced over a year ago, back in November 2022. Developed by South Korean outfit Neople, the game takes place in the world of Dungeon Fighter Online — a popular PC title in Asian territories. And, well… we've heard nothing about the project since its reveal.

Ok, we knew this was coming but it was supposed to be tomorrow.  Then the trailer leaked, Rockstar decided that sticking to a plan that didn’t survive first contact with the enemy was a terrible idea, and here we are with the first trailer for the biggest, most anticipated game of, as it turns out, 2025.  It wasn’t supposed to go like this, but-  Surprise!  On the plus side it’s scored to Tom Petty’s Love is a Long Road, and any day with more Tom Petty is a good one.

Epic combat, fantastical spells, nail-bitingly tense stealth: these are all fine, I guess, but I want to hear about your RPG's fishing minigame. Thankfully, in the upcoming, solo-developed action RPG Mortal Crux, you get all of the above and then some. We got a peek at fishing and some of Mortal Crux's other new features in a fresh trailer at the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted showcase. Mortal Crux is a weird gem of a game I've been looking forward to for almost two years now, ever since its Resident Evil-style fixed camera interiors and Soulslike take on overhead, hack 'n slash combat first caught my eye. Solo developer Jesse Walker has only shown more and more since that time, and Mortal Crux is shaping up to be quite the kitchen sink RPG. There's a real Larian quality to its attention to detail and focus on systems: fire propagates in a realistic manner, frozen enemies can be shattered for an instant kill, and you can even block spells in midair with a well-timed thrown weapon (and vice versa). Mortal Crux's addition of fishing is definitely a crowd pleaser, but I felt a real sick thrill at the reveal of a stealth system in this new trailer. I'm a big fan of being a sneak-bastard in an RPG, but only when it's fun, and Walker seems committed to getting the feel right, telling me that «Those who are careful will often be able to remain undetected while eliminating entire camps of enemies if they stake out patrol routes and patiently take them down one at a time.» Stealth won't just be an appetizer to combat, and to that end Mortal Crux's system is almost entirely sound and line of sight based⁠—it won't be like The Elder Scrolls where you get spotted from a mile away when you've got ten points in sneaking, but can literally bump into people without them noticing at 100. Investing in a stealthy character will mean faster crouched movement and the ability to sneak past enemies with superhuman senses, all with ample reward: «Whether it's the first goblin you encounter on the journey or a powerful archmage 40 hours in,» Walker asserts, «if you can get a dagger to their throat, each die in a single slice.»

Baldur's Gate 3 is aiming to fix Astarion's much-maligned kissing animation this week, and it sounds like there's a lot more in store besides that.

Developer Youyuan has announced Arisen Force: Vonimir, a fantasy action RPG coming to PC via Steam in Q4 2024, followed by PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch in 2025. A demo is available now via Steam. A Kickstarter campaign seeking approximately $15,000 in funding is also live.

The original Jurassic Park was something of a cultural marvel 30 years ago and it’s held up quite well in many ways. The logo itself may be one of the greatest logos ever and hasn’t aged a day in that time, while the film’s effects are remarkable in scale, scope and execution. While licensed games aren’t as big a deal today as they were for most major films then, the Jurassic Park games did stand out for many reasons because they were largely pretty good games and also quite diverse i terms of the kinds of gameplay offered up in them. Both the SNES and Genesis got their own completely different games, with the SNES getting an overhead action game with some first-person sections and the Genesis getting a fantastic side-scrolling action game.

Most life has evolved to live on the surface of the Earth, with even the aerial creatures needing to land sometime while the marine life swims in the water covering the sand below.  There’s enough space for everyone but that’s also a bit of a problem, in that all there is is space.  Under the surface, though, is buried wealth beyond all imagining, from minerals and ores to rare gems, enough to make a stoic dwarf’s eyes glow with excitement.  With pickaxe in hand and a good-natured greed in their hearts, the dwarves will face any lurking danger or hostile creature in their vast underground kingdom because there’s gold down there they haven’t mined yet.

The latest and greatest for the Digimon Card Game is here with Blast Ace meaning players will be able to check out the brand new mechanics, Digimon and more that this set has brought to the table! The biggest new inclusion to this set is the new Ace Digimon who made their debut in the two starter decks released just last month featuring WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. This mechanic allows players to counter during an opponent’s attack and digivolve for no cost if they have an appropriate Digimon and give themselves the opportunity to turn the tide of battle in their favor. The drawback being if that particular Ace card leaves the field the owner takes a hefty memory loss the moment it leaves. The Blast Ace set in particular focuses on four tamers from the original Digimon Adventure series including Mimi with Palmon, Tai with Agumon, Joe with Gomamon and T.K. With Patamon. All of these Digimon have received level 5 Ace Digimon making them dangerous early contenders to get out to sway the game.

It’s hard to believe it’s the back half of November already, but that’s indeed where we are. Just as important, we are officially on the day that the last significant AAA title of 2023 arrives. We speak, of course, of the Super Mario RPG Remake that Nintendo has launched on the Switch, complete with a launch trailer to highlight some of the adventures you’ll be on today. The title is a remake of one of the all-time classic RPGs. One that was born in the SNES era and helped set a tone for Mario that would lead to many other RPG games in the future across both handhelds and consoles.

A new trailer for Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince draws near. This newest trailer emphasizes the monsters that Psaro will be wrangling and synthesizing in the upcoming monster catching game. The showcased monsters include some rather strange and food themed creatures, but anyone who has been following Dragon Quest is aware the numerous dreadful puns that are used in coming up with names for the bestiary. Some of these include the Goonache Goodie which appears to be a chocolate slime, Vegan Dragora, Croc-a-Bugle-Doo, King Jester Slime and the Sugar Baddie. These new and strange creatures will also be joined several of the more iconic Dragon Quest monsters that occupy the majority of the games such as the Great Sabrecub, Dracky, Funghoul and of course Slimes.

The latest update to the massive MMORPG, Lost Ark, is finally upon us. This was laid out during Amazon Game Studios’ road map a couple months ago, arguably being the most anticipated even more so than the Akkan tier. The reason of course is that the Assassin class is getting a new character to their roster in the form of Souleater, a fast paced, flashy vixen. Amazon Game Studios has released the full patch notes for the newest update, and it comes with a couple surprises:

Prepare for cosmic chaos as MultiversalME Studios unleashes their intergalactic multiplayer action arcade, Space Battle Royale, on Steam Early Access. This cosmic clash is set to kick off with a launch tournament on November 16th, offering top space aces the chance to snag a share of the $1500 prize pool.