Simulation News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Escape From Tarkov, the extraction FPS from developer Battlestate, recently put up a new Unheard edition of the game for pre-order, and tarkov escapers aren't happy about it. The price for this bundle - which includes a new mode, a bigger stash, and assorted gubbins - comes in at $250, or around two actual hundred actual pounds, but the price alone isn’t necessarily what’s got a section of the player base so tarked-off that a few of them are even loudly considering a lawsuit.

Dungeons of Hinterberg’s alpine mix of dungeon-crawling and relationship-tending will be upon us this summer, with the fetching cel-shaded blend of Zelda and Persona now having a fresh release date announcement for July. Before then, though, we’ll all be able to spend a couple of days socialising and monster-slaying in the Alps next month thanks to a public playtest.

The Escape From Tarkov developers' efforts to escape from a DLC paywall quagmire of their own quagmiring continue with an update and apology from Battlestate chief operational officer Nikita Buyanov, who says he "did not foresee" the adverse reaction to selling a new PvE mode as part of a new special edition, after telling purchasers of a previous edition they'd get "all subsequent DLC" for free.

Escape From Tarkov's developer has responded to players having conniptions due to the release of a new $250 Unheard edition of the game. In an update shared on Reddit, Battlestate Games studio head doubled down on their view that a new co-op PvE mode is not DLC, but does say that other players can have it when Escape From Tarkov is finished... whenever that is.

The creators of Escape from Tarkov may be looking for their own escape at the moment, after enraging the extraction shooter’s community with a new top-tier edition of the game that’s come under fire for its extortionate cost, “pay-to-win” offerings and for U-turning on the promise of free DLC for buyers of a previous bundle.

A collection of five Phoenix Wright games - including some of the greatest visual novels of all time, in my opinion - is about to be discontinued on Steam, making it slightly less convenient to pick up the original Ace Attorney trilogy and its recent prequel games. That’s the bad news. The good news is you’ve got a month’s notice - and it’s on sale for the next week or so.

Lego has announced two new Lego Animal Crossing sets.

Eco-conscious village builder The Wandering Village sees you raising a settlement on the back of a huge wandering creature called Onbu. For the most part, you live in a symbiotic relationship with this gentle giant, as your villagers keep the gargantuan trundlesaur healthy while being ferried about on its back. Awww. Well, the wholesome city-builder now lets you feed villagers to the creature and start a cult in the great devourer's name. Okay. Why not?

Alien-infested submarine sim Barotrauma has received a chunky update, bringing two new-ish monsters into its lethal aquatic world. The shrimp-looking Mantis may be recognisable to veterans (it once appeared in pre-Steam builds). And the Viperling is a venomous variant of the existing Spineling (a thorny seaworm with hull-piercing porcupine-like spikes). But don't worry, the medical systems have also seen a "mini-rework", which means drugs like morphine are "less of a 'solution for everything'". Wait. What?

In a rare case of a wild Nintendo being spotted having somewhat of a point, actually, in regards to being protective over their IP, Facepunch announced yesterday that they’re removing all “Nintendo stuff” from Garry’s Mod’s Steam workshop, following takedown orders sent straight from ninty themselves.

Armadillos, the grumpy pistachio nuts of the animal kingdom, have been added to Minecraft in a recent mob update. You can brush them to harvest "scutes", the boney armour plating of the animal's back, which you can then use to craft armour for pet wolves. Speaking of wolves, this update also sees an explosion in canine diversity, with eight varieties of the wolf now appearing across different biomes. Awoooooo!

Hotel construction and tycoon game Hotel Architect will launch in Early Access for PC via Steam in 2024, publisher Wired Productions and developer Pathos Interactive announced.

Publisher Wired Productions and developer Just Add Water have announced virtual reality construction game DIG VR for Quest 2 and Quest 3. Wishlisting is available now via Meta Store.

Against The Storm's latest update adds a a River Kelpie, a "legendary water demon" that can mesmerise villagers in your rain-slick settlements. I've been mesmerised myself by another part of the update, however: the ability to zoom out 66% further than before.

Afternoon, conveyor belt fans! Good news, I think I may have discovered the first genuinely cosy automation game. Attempts have been made at cosy automation and automated cosiness in the past – Satisfactory is on the sunnier side, providing you enable the right settings, and Shapez 2 has lots of rounded edges. But IDK, there’s something about the ravages of mass industry that doesn’t quite gel with zoomorphic raccoon baristas and other such wholesome trappings. Have you ever encountered a cuddly smokestack? How about a cuddly just-in-time network?

It seems that Prison Architect 2 is going method in its approach to launching the 3D sequel to the jailhouse management game, as - like its inmates - it just can’t seem to secure a solid release. Originally due to arrive in March, before being pushed into May, developers Double Eleven have now shunted it all the way back to September.

Prison Architect 2 has been delayed once again. The upcoming jail sim sequel will now arrive this autumn, following the discovery of «unexpected issues occurring too often».

While Cities: Skylines 2 has made progress on the performance front, not everything about the troubled citybuilder is on the up. In fact, player reception to the recently released Beach Properties DLC has proven so un-sunny that both developers Colossal Order and publishers Paradox Interactive have issued a joint statement apologising for the state it launched in.

Booty called, and boy did we answer. Earlier this week, the Sea of Thieves team revealed that 40 million of us had embraced our inner pirate and set sail since the game's debut across Xbox and PC. We seas-ed the day, if you will.

Cities Skylines 2 publisher Paradox Interactive and developer Colossal Order have issued a stark apology for the state of the game and the release of its recent DLC, admitting to fans: «We let you down».

Friends, I have officially discovered another game I can play with my life partner, who regards most games with enormous suspicion and fatigue. That game is Morels: The Hunt 2, released this week, and as you might guess, it is about finding and identifying various species of mushroom in lush, photorealistic wilderness locations. There are also unicorns, crystal skulls and robot parts. Slightly confused by the unicorns, crystal skulls and robot parts, if I'm honest. It feels a bit like developers Abrams Studios are unconvinced as to the popular appeal of mushroom hunting, and have garlanded the concept with random mythology so as to widen the Venn diagram overlap between "fungi fans" and "people who want to live in cyberpunk Narnia".

Dwarf Fortress — the hugely influential, dizzyingly expansive colony sim that's been in development for over 20 years — has just released its roguelike Adventure Mode over on Steam, albeit initially in public beta form.

The Switch version of open-world sailing simulation RPG Sagres is now available via Nintendo eShop for $19.99, publisher Kakehashi Games and developer ooze announced. It is available at a 10 percent off launch discount price of $17.99 until May 1.

Publisher Assemble Entertainment and developer Spellgarden Games have released sticker shop simulation game Sticky Business for Switch via Nintendo eShop for $9.99 as a timed console exclusive, the companies announced. The downloadable content “Plan with Me” is also available for $3.99. Both are currently available at 10 percent off launch discount prices.

First-person climbing simulation game Valley Peaks will launch for Switch alongside its previously announced PC (Steam) version in 2024, publisher Graffiti Games and developer Tub Club announced.

FACEMINER is a clicker/puzzle game where you work from your CRT monitor to analyse packets of facial surveillance data for a mysterious company. It describes itself as a ‘hardcore thriller clicker set in 1999’. As a connoisseur of unusual word combinations - as well as a believer in the satirical power of clicker games since playing Universal Paperclips - I immediately set about downloading the free Steam demo.

Publisher Humble Games and developer Catch & Release, LLC have announced cozy sushi restaurant life simulation game Rolling Hills for Xbox One and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store). It will launch on June 4. It will also be available via Xbox Game Pass.

Here is something to warm the soul on a rather chilly April afternoon (at least, where I am). One creative game developer has used Playdate — the palm-sized, crank-operated console — to propose to his girlfriend.

It looks like PS5 players can't wait to don tricornes and raise anchor; Sea of Thieves is currently experiencing «longer wait times that normal», according to developer Rare, thanks to a «high volume» of new players joining the game as part of today's freshly launched PS5 Closed Beta.

Farming and life simulation game SunnySide will launch for PC via Steam on May 24, followed by PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series on July 10, publisher Merge Games and developer RainyGames announced. A physical edition will be available for PlayStation 5. A demo is available now for PC.

After a lot of speculation and a few rumours, the Five Nights at Freddy's movie adaptation is officially getting a sequel.

City builder game Laysara: Summit Kingdom is now available in Early Access for PC via Steam, developer Quite OK Games announced. It is available at a 20 percent-off launch discount price of $15.99 until April 24, after which it will cost $19.99.

Laysara: Summit Kingdom, the promising mountain-themed city builder from developer Quite OK Games and publisher Future Friends Games, has surprise launched on Steam, where it's expected to remain in early access for between six and 12 months.

Among your obvious blockbuster video games ripe for similarly blockbuster film and TV adaptations like Fallout, Borderlands and The Last of Us, it seems there’s room for some of the smaller gems to be fished out and brought to the big screen, too.

Laysara: Summit Kingdom, a breathtakingly gorgeous city builder set in a fantasy world inspired by the Himalayan region, is out now in Steam early access. The meditative mountain environments are the sort of tranquil backdrop I’d happily stare out for hours, possibly with a Bonobo album and some incense, which is helpful, because the actual game is aiming to be quite a challenge.

Cosmic horror fishing game Dredge is getting a live-action film adaptation.

Rebecca (RPS in peace) was our resident monsterfucenjoyer for a while, and she was well up for Sucker For Love: First Date, but was slightly disappointed that as a horror-themed dating sim it leaned away from the dating and well into the horror. Now the sequel, Sucker For Love: Date To Die For has revealed a release date of April 23rd, and seems to be leaning into horror even more, while also still being a dating sim featuring an eldritch goat god with massive cans. Yet the presser also says "no scares this time". I am confused, which is why it's probably good there's a demo on Steam to sort of give you a taster.

Publisher Team17 and developer Ambertail Games have announced Amber Isle, a dinosaur-themed shop management game coming to Switch and PC via Steam. A release date was not announced.

Physics-based roguelite Noita has received a second Epilogue update that adds a whole host of new features, tweaks, and modding capabilities.

The Splintered Sea is an upcoming expansion for beloved battlements blasting building game Besiege, taking its so far decisively land-based action to the high seas for some aquatic anarchy. You’ll be able to pit your custom war machines rudder to fin with enemy fleets and underwater nemeses when it launches May 24th on Steam.

Noita! A wizardly 2D dungeon crawler without compare, in both good and deranging ways. Man, it feels like only yesterday I equipped something without looking and suddenly everything that damaged me caused me to teleport at random. I flew through entire levels this way like a Tardis set to shuffle, bumbling into one enemy posse after another, granted a few seconds at a time to assess my surroundings before the sorcery swept me deeper.

Yesterday, 8th April, saw the end of an era. Nintendo closed down the online services for its 3DS and Wii U consoles.

This War of Mine developer 11 bit studios has revealed Frostpunk 2's beta will be live from 15th April until 22nd April, 2024.

Chilly survival citybuilder Frostpunk 2 is due to release on July 25th, but you technically don't have to wait that long to get your fingers cold. There's a beta coming later this month, playable between April 15th and the 22nd, if only you're willing to pre-order the digital deluxe edition.

Relic Entertainment, the freshly-independent developers of Company of Heroes, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Age of Empires IV, have confirmed a number of job losses. The layoffs come just a week after the studio announced their sale from former owners Sega, returning them to independence after two decades.

Classic management sim series RollerCoaster Tycoon will now be published solely by Atari, making the reborn retro video game company the new stewards for the theme park franchise as it marks its 25th anniversary.

Video game publisher Atari has bought the rights to Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 from developer Frontier for $7m.

Cozy farming simulation game Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge will launch for Switch alongside its previously announced PC (Steam) version in mid 2024, publisher Armor Games Studios and developer Humble Reeds announced.

Do you remember the noughties fan warz over which game had the best terrain destruction physics? The victors of that particular forum skirmish were probably DICE's Battlefield games, with their woozy Frostbitten cinematography and dependable multiplayer tactic of having a whole team focus fire on a single capture point, gradually reducing it to stumps of foundation. But leftier souls may have preferred Volition's (RIP) Red Faction series, the third of which, Red Faction: Guerrilla, featured a granular demolition engine that you bash apart whole bases with a sledgehammer.

Nippon Columbia has announced training battle simulation game Dragon Saikyou Ou Zukan: Battle Colosseum for Switch. It will launch on July 4 in Japan for 6,380 yen.

RPS was on holiday yesterday, which is fortuitous timing because it was April 1st and it meant we missed all the "jokes" (lies) the games industry likes to spread on that day each year.

This is just a quick reminder that Nintendo 3DS and Wii U online services will be discontinued next Monday, 8th April.

Publisher Spiral Up Games and developer AniYa Games Studio have released the Early Access launch trailer for Pathless Woods, a cozy open-world survival game inspired by ancient China culture and Byron’s poetry, which is due out for PC via Steam on April 3. A demo is available now.

I was scrolling on TikTok the other night when I discovered a new thing to worry about. Is Wordle about to run out words? Well, it's complicated. And also: no. But it's also interesting!

Publisher Kakehashi Games and developer ooze will release open-world sailing simulation RPG Sagres for Switch, the companies announced. A release date was not announced.

You can now explore one of Ukraine’s most iconic natural landmarks - and the largest salt mine in Europe - in Minecraft. The virtual replica of the Soledar salt mines and their surrounding town, occupied by Russia troops for the past year in real life, has been led by the wartorn country’s government in an effort to help rebuild a school destroyed during the conflict.

After delaying the launch of Homeworld 3 by two months to address criticism of the spacefleet shoot-o-strategy game's demo, developers Blackbird Interactive have now laid out what they're changing. Improved controls, tougher ships, more useful formations, better Attack Move command, more HUD options, and more types of War Games mode objectives are among the tweaks and improvements detailed by game director Lance Mueller in a 3000-word blogblast. "This past month, everyone was heads down discussing every post we saw from Steam, social, Reddit, Discord and beyond," he explained. They have plans.

Tomas Sala's Falconeer series will be a trilogy, the developer has announced.

I approve of the recent trend towards making building games as relaxing as possible (e.g. Summerhouse). Today sees the release of a new one on Steam, this one a teeny medieval city builder called Le Château that gives you strict limitations for building a castle. You can have a go of the demo for free - I like it a bunch.

Xbox head Phil Spencer wants to see more digital storefronts such as Epic and Itch.io on Microsoft's consoles.

Troubled city building game Cities: Skylines 2 is getting a little less troubled, as new patch 1.1.0f1 adds various performance and bug fixes alongside the main event: much requested mod support and tools in the form a nifty editor. We got a first look at the new editor tools last October, which looks to simplify the process by combining what was previously several different separate editors into a single application. It was later available only to some closed beta testers, but is now released for everyone. Emphasis on everyone, actually, since the tool looks refreshingly approachable, even for those with basically no modding experience.

Palia, a cute-looking life sim MMO inspired by e.g. Stardew Valley, has been in beta since last year, but now it's officially out on Steam, where many more people can download and play it. With this launch comes a pretty substantial update - Patch 0.178, full notes here - which adds a new questline and Temple to explore, new furniture, and a bunch of new spring flowers and trees to grow in your garden. There is also a giant plushi frog, listed under 'Adjustments'. The patch notes say simply "What does he want? Does he come in peace?" which makes him sound way more sinister than I think he is, but as you can see from the screenshot, he isn't not sinister.

Here’s one for all you connoisseurs of the horrific consequences of your own actions. Regicide-em-up visual novel Slay the Princess’ new update brings with it new dialogue and music, fleshing out the game with additional choices, expanded scenes, and orchestral renditions of some choice tracks. The new content takes the form of new animations and “more than 3,000 words of additional and restructured dialogue choices and conversations.” That is easily enough words to tell the Stanley Parable-esque narrator that you’re on to him and whatever mind games he’s playing, with enough left over for the other voices in your head to make you doubt your own morality with alarming frequency.

Grab a pencil and start respooling, as tape-based Pokémon 'em up Cassette Beasts today revealed that the previously announced free update adding multiplayer will arrive on the 20th of May. Up to eight players will be able to explore together, as well as take part in two-player cooperative "raids" and duel each other. Also launching alongside this will be a collaboration with another Poké 'em up, Moonstone Island. Have a peek at all this in the video below.

Pathless Woods, a cozy open-world survival game inspired by ancient China culture and Byron’s poetry, will launch in Early Access for PC via Steam on April 3, publisher Spiral Up Games and developer AniYa Games Studio announced. A demo is currently available, and will be updated on March 23 to remove the online multiplayer feature that currently exists.

Dating simulation adventure game Bunny Garden will launch for Switch on April 18 and PC via Steam this spring for $22.99 / 2,980 yen, qureate announced.

Despite months in Steam Early Access and hundreds of positive player reviews, Stellaris Nexus is no more. Instead, the spin-off is taking the rare step of rebranding itself — dropping its Stellaris branding entirely — to launch with a new name.

Crazy Goat Games has announced Cthulhu-themed city builder Worshippers of Cthulhu for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. It will launch in Early Access for PC via Steam in Q2 / Q3 2024, followed by a full release across all platforms in Q1 2025.

The developers behind the wonderful tile puzzler Dorfromantik have revealed the first teaser trailer for their next game. Currently known as Project Mango, the game will be made in collaboration with the German animation and edutainment YouTube channel Kurzgesagt - In A Nutshell, releasing in 2025. Not much is known about it right now, but come and have a watch of its teaser reveal below.

Mention Lionhead's '05 management sim about running a film studio and someone will crash through the wall, Kool-Aid Man style, to say they really liked it and there should be a remake or a sequel. In recent years there have been a few attempts to make a game like The Movies, with games like Moviehouse and Filmmaker Tycoon sitting pretty at 'mostly negative' status on Steam because they are not, in fact, like The Movies beyond the basic premise. But Blockbuster Inc. has shouldered its way into the conversation, wearing big puffy trousers, shouting through an old-timey megaphone, and openly billing itself as a "spiritual successor" to The Movies. It's launching on June 6th this year, but you can play the prologue on Steam for free right now.

Before a month of my life vanished into customising cards and rigging decks in Balatro, my desire to conquer dungeons by fixing gambling tools came from playing Slice & Dice. First released in 2020, it's a gauntlet of fantasy turn-based battles where most attacks, abilities, buffs, debuffs, and items are very cleverly handled by mapping them onto the faces of dice. Oh, you're going to make your dice so much better! Now Slice & Dice has finally arrived on Steam in search of a wider audience, accompanied by an update adding oodles of new heroes, enemies, items, and more. For newcomers, hey, it has a demo.

Arkane Studios co-founder Raphaël Colantonio has teased his next game at Wolfeye Studios.

The winners of the 2024 Independant Games Festival were announced at GDC last night, and it was Visai Games' Venba that came home with the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. The cooking adventure was up for four IGF awards in total, including nominations for Excellence in Audio, Narrative and Visual Art. But there was no runaway winner at this year's IGF Awards, with all prizes going to completely different indie games. Come and celebrate the full list of winners below.

Sea of Thieves is celebrating its sixth anniversary today, 20th March, and to celebrate, Rare has given an unprecedented look at the year ahead for its multiplayer pirate game, with 2024 bringing the likes of windy horns, roaming warships, and portable grappling guns that let you whizz around the place with giddy abandon.

Publisher Playtonic Friends and developer Canteen will release corporate management simulation game CorpoNation: The Sorting Process will for Xbox Series, Xbox One, and Switch on May 9, the companies announced.

Procedurally-generated voxel factory-building and automation sandbox game FOUNDRY will launch in Early Access for PC via Steam on May 2, publisher Paradox Interactive and developer Channel 3 announced.

Digital pet RPG adventure game Yolk Heroes: A Long Tamago will launch for PC via Steam and itch.io, iOS, and Android on April 30, publisher Astrolabe Games and developer 14 Hours Productions announced. It will support English, Japanese, and Chinese language options.