Plus there’s heaps of new Warhammer games, game modes and DLCS on the way
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SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Courtney Borrett, Daniel Ang, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia for their support of SIFTER.
FIONA: Hi I’m Fiona Bartholomaeus
KYLE: and I’m Kyle Pauletto
FIONA: Welcome to Walkthrough, SIFTER’s weekly recap on the biggest news in video games.
KYLE: This week Warhammer Skulls reveals a bunch of new games, there is a new indie horror game set and made in Australia, and Sims-like Life By You is delayed indefinitely.
Here is the news for Sunday 26th of May. Let’s go!
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PROMO: Join the SIFTER community on Discord at sifter.com.au/discord
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FIONA: Whether you like the grim war of the 41st millennium or fantasy battles of the Age of Sigmar, this week’s Warhammer Skulls gave us a look at a bunch of new games.
Third person shooter Space Marine 2 got a big trailer featuring 6v6 multiplayer, that’s out on the 9th of September this year.
KYLE: And finally there were heaps of DLC announced for Darktide, Vermintide, Rogue Trader, so head to the show notes for more details!
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KYLE: Get ready to dive into Australia’s Snowy Mountains in a spooky new horror game.
Sydney based Weforge Studio has revealed more of Macabre, a co-op horror where you venture into an unstable time rift, trying to find out where the terrifying anomalies are coming from, all while upgrading your gear and learning new skills.
It looks incredibly spooky, with your friends getting picked off one by one as you fight to survive from horrifying creatures.
FIONA: The team said the biggest inspiration for the monster is Alien: Isolation where it’s constantly adapting and changing. So make sure you don’t hide in the same place constantly or it’ll find you.
The map layout is completely randomised as well, so each time you play it’ll be a completely different experience.
I love a good co-op horror like Phasmophobia and Forewarned, this might be a little too spooky for me but I want to give it a try.
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FIONA: Grab your keyblade and jump back into the world of Kingdom Hearts, as several titles are now coming to Steam.
Square Enix confirmed this week that Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind DLC, and Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece will be available on Steam from June 13.
KYLE: The games are currently available on PC via the Epic Games Store but it’s the first time they’ll be available on Steam.
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KYLE: And life sim fans, if you were hoping someone could come at the king Sims 4 anytime soon, you’ll be waiting a fair bit longer as Life by You is delayed indefinitely.
The game was due to launch in September last year, then it was delayed until March, again until June but now… well publisher Paradox says they aren’t going to commit to any specific date.
FIONA: Sims is such a dominant game, really the only one of its type in the genre, so it was hoped that Life by You and the indie Paralives could shake up this genre, but I guess we’ll be waiting a bit longer yet.
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FIONA: Fingers crossed, there may be more Nintendo ports on the way as they just announced the acquisition of the game port company Shiver Entertainment.
It’s the studio behind some of the recent Nintendo Switch ports like Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat 11, Mortal Kombat 1 and much more.
Shiver Entertainment was acquired by Embracer Group in 2021 but clearly was up for grabs during Embracer's recent layoffs and massive studio splits.
KYLE: In a press release Nintendo said its aims to secure high-level resources for porting and developing software titles, and Shiver will continue to develop ports and software for multiple platforms including the Switch.
Analysts reckon that with the upcoming Switch 2 this is a play at making those high profile AAA releases compatible on Nintendo’s hardware at launch.
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FIONA: That’s it for the big headlines, here are the games coming out this week.
KYLE: After a couple years of early access tweaking, MultiVersus, the Smash Bros clone featuring the weirdest collection of playable characters ever seen, is officially releasing. It’ll be available free to play for PC, PlayStation and Xbox on the 28th.
FIONA: Pull on the spandex because the Australian made Capes leaps onto PC on the 29th, it’s a tactical turn based strategy game with some cool team up mechanics. Keep an eye on our Lightmap podcast feed as Gianni spoke to the developers, find Lightmap on your podcast players now.
KYLE: Nine Sols is a side-scrolling Sekiro like focusing on counters and precision strikes. It’s got a gorgeous hand drawn art style so it’s worth seeing in motion. Pick it up on PC on the 29th of May.
FIONA: Out on the 30th is the high-speed arcade racer Horizon Chase 2. If you have the need for speed but hate getting bogged down in the realism of racing sims, this is the one for you. Pick it up on all platforms, including Apple Arcade, this Thursday.
KYLE: Also out Thursday is Umbraclaw. It’s a 2D action platformer starring a deceased housecat navigating the hand-drawn crayon-styled realm of the dead. Out on all platforms on the 30th.
FIONA: Out May 31st is F1 24, the seventeenth instalment in the Formula One sim series, broom broom. Is it more interesting playing F1 than watching it? Find out when it comes to PC, Xbox and PlayStation this Friday.
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PROMO: Articles to read, videos to watch and podcasts to listen to on sifter.com.au
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FIONA: This has been Walkthrough by SIFTER, my name is Fiona Bartholomaeus.
KYLE: And my name is Kyle Pauletto, thank you so much for listening.
FIONA: Have you listened to Drop Rate, SIFTER’s review podcast? Each episode Chris Button is joined by some of the best gaming journalists in the country as they dig into the best new games. Find Drop Rate in your podcast player right now, search for SIFTER and Drop Rate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever you like to listen.
KYLE: SIFTER is produced by Fiona Bartholomaeus, myself, Adam Christou, Courtney Borrett, Daniel Ang and Chris Button. The episode is edited by both Senior Producer Mitch Loh and Executive Producer Gianni Di Giovanni, who is also Walkthrough’s script editor.
FIONA: Thanks to Brian Fairbanks from Salty Dog Sounds for composing the Walkthrough theme tune, and Audio Technica Australia and Apple for their support of SIFTER’s podcasts.
KYLE: We’ll be back with more news next Sunday. See you then.