Gaming News Week 10 – LadiesGamers
Come on in, get yourself a nice cup of coffee or tea and pull up a chair.
What an unwelcome surprise when snow, hail and cold hit us this week. First week of March and the daffodils are out, but so is white blanket of snow! Has your winter already left?
Anyway, let me give you the news that caught my eye this week. I hope you enjoy it!
Island Cities New to Switch
Island Cities, a game we already gave our highest score for on Steam, has been released last week on Switch as well. A big deal for studio Mens Sana Interactive, as it’s the first self published on Nintendo Switch. And especially for the Switch, they have included gamepad controls for the TV or tabletop modes, in addition to the touch screen.
In this tiny fantasy building experience, cities are set up on islands over calm, clear water. You have to carefully observe the island, try to memorize it, and shuffle the blocks. Next step in Island Cities will be swapping blocks to the correct places until the desired island is reproduced and comes to life. There is no time limit, logic challenges, or resources to manage.
As you complete portions of the island, it will gradually become lively. Buildings and houses will grow, people will walk across the land, and cars will travel across it.
And if you’re quick, you can take part in our giveaway till tomorrow, Saturday March 11th. Find the details here. And even if you don’t win: the game has a discount of 20{f5ac61d6de3ce41dbc84aacfdb352f5c66627c6ee4a1c88b0642321258bd5462} for the first weeks after release, till March 28. It costs $2.39|£2.15|€ 2,39.
Cities: Skylines II is Coming!
On March 6th, Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive made every Cities: Skylines player extremely happy by announcing they are releasing Cities: Skylines II. Skylines II is the sequel to the original Cities: Skylines, released eight years ago this week. Cities: Skylines II will offer the most realistic city simulation ever created, a modern take on the city-building genre.
Cities: Skylines II lets players create and maintain cities that come to life like never before, complete with fully-realized transport and economy systems, a wealth of construction and customization options, and advanced modding capabilities. Players will be able to build any kind of city they can imagine and follow its growth from a humble village to a bustling metropolis. From individual households to the city’s economy and transportation system, Cities: Skylines II will offer a deep and immersive simulation that welcomes both new and veteran players.
Cities: Skylines II will be released later this year for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation5.
A Second Kickstarter for Farm Folks
This isn’t news exactly, as they did that quite some time ago. You see, Farm Folks started out as a Kickstarter campaign in 2018. I myself supported this kickstarter, in fact, I think it was my first ever one. Farm Folks just looked so good!
Things fell silent in 2020, and the original developer, Overgrown, was going through substantial hardships that stalled their progress and through time publisher Crytivo, who was involved in the project, became worried about the future of the project and decided to acquire it in 2021. Since then, they have been putting a lot of work and effort into developing Farm Folks.
They decided to launch another Kickstarter campaign that that can lead to an even more expansive game. The good thing for first time backers like me, is that Crytivo writes that “if you had previously backed the game with the original dev team, you will still receive your tier rewards or you can select a new tier equivalent for shiny new goodies from the new Kickstarter.”
We will have to see what this new upcoming Kickstarter entails then.
Rune Factory 3 Special Release Date
Marvelous has announced a release date for the remake of Rune Factory 3: it’s going to released on September 5th on Nintendo Switch and PC. The original, called Rune Factory 3: a Fantasy Harvest Moon, was available on DS in 2009 and a really good game too. So seeing it as a remake will be a treat.
Aside from the standard edition there will be a Limited Edition bundle. It includes a 140-page A5 notebook, character stickers, Micah themed pin badges, a woven patch, an A3 poster, plus access to the in-game “Swimsuit Mode” allowing for characters to appear in their swimsuits year-round, all housed in a custom outer box featuring an original Rune Factory 3 Special illustration inspired by the game’s anime opening.
Wargroove 2 Announced
Chucklefish and Robotality have announced Wargroove 2, the sequel to multi award-winning Wargroove. Wargroove 2 will be coming to PC and Nintendo Switch.
The action-packed strategy game will feature the same turn-based combat and charming pixel art fans loved from the first title, while keeping things fresh with a new campaign, new Commanders, and a new roguelike game mode called Conquest which will test player’s strategic abilities.
In 2019, Elena wrote down her impressions of the first Wargroove game hereand rest assured, Chucklefish implemented some patches since.
Fashion Dreamer
A couple of weeks ago, in the last Nintendo Direct, we saw a new fashion game. Now I love the Style Boutique series on the 3DS (called Styling Star in America) so a new fashion game is very much my cup of tea. Even though in this one I don’t think there’s managing a fashion store in it, still, I’m looking forward to it.
Fashion Dreamer is a creative-focused game where players can express their unique styles using their avatar, called a Muse. Players can create their own haute couture for their Muse, choosing from over a thousand available patterns that can be customized to be a truly one-of-a-kind look. Once players find their signature style, they can display their latest line of outfits in their customizable showroom to turn heads and elevate their brand to the next level.
Featuring asynchronous multiplayer, the world of Eve is inhabited by the Muses of players from around the world, allowing players to find inspiration or earn Likes for their most iconic fit virtually anywhere! And what’s more: it’s coming just to the Nintendo Switch in 2023!
TerraScape Combines City Building and Cards
Currently, TerraScape is in Early Access on Steam, with the full game coming on April 5th. The game caught our eye as it combines city building with board game cards. Using each pack of cards that has different buildings and various ways to expand you can build your own dream city. Placing your cards wisely in the game world you earn points and receive new cards as rewards. Turn by turn, round by round, you skilfully build and grow your city.
TerraScape offers several game modes, procedural maps, and exciting challenges. After Early Access, TerraScape will be expanded with more decks, maps, and game modes in the future. Want to know more about the game? Here’s the link to the Steam page.
WitchCrafty Makes the Jump to Xbox
When WitchCrafty was released on the Switch, James gave us his thoughts in this review. He wasn’t exactly bewitched, by this platformer with small metroidvania elements, but hopefully some of the kinks have been ironed out now the game makes the jump to Xbox. It’ll be available there on March 24th. Note that Xbox Series XIS and Xbox One get a 20{f5ac61d6de3ce41dbc84aacfdb352f5c66627c6ee4a1c88b0642321258bd5462} discount during the two weeks pre-order period.
Blocky Farm Soon on Switch
Farming Simulator Blocky Farm is coming to the Nintendo Switch on March 16th for $9.99|€ 9,99. It caught our attention, as lovers of the farming sim genre, and you can expect a review on the site. Looking at it, I can’t help but be reminded of HayDay.
Blocky Farm, made by a little Polish studio Jet Toast, is already available as a freemium game on Android and in the AppStore under a different name, Bricky Farm. The Switch version is made by Forever Entertainment SA. Here’s the trailer!
That’s it for this week. I hope you enjoyed our news, Let’s meet here for coffee (or tea) next week!