About Rainier

PC gamer, WorthPlaying EIC, globe-trotting couch potato, patriot, '80s headbanger, movie watcher, music lover, foodie and man in black -- squirrel!

Advertising

As an Amazon Associate, we earn commission from qualifying purchases.





'Amnesia: The Dark Descent' And 'Crashlands' Free On Epic Games Store, 'Death Coming' Next Week

by Rainier on April 30, 2020 @ 1:39 p.m. PDT

For the next week, the Epic Games Store is offering two titles for free: Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Crashlands.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a first person survival horror game set in the late 18th century, and will take the player on a thrill-ride through the depths of madness, exploring the dark side of the human emotions.

With "Amnesia: The Dark Descent" Frictional Games has started from the very beginning - creating a new game engine, development tools, re-thinking and improving the physics interaction, evaluated every little part of Penumbra as to figure out the best way to create the experience.

"Amnesia: The Dark Descent" is a first person survival horror game set in the 18th century. The player is caught in the middle of the unknown as he explores an old castle, dating back as far as the 14th century. With a "hands-on" physics interaction system the player can examine objects and control his surroundings in a way that is unique to the games developed by Frictional Games, for example it's possible to slowly drag drawers open to examine the inside in search for clues. To be careful is a must as the sanity of the player could quickly falter if inhabitants of the castle were to take notice of him. Different parts of the castle has widely different architecture, reflecting the centuries that has passed since the castle was initially built. Today's two screens, gives a peak of a more modern part of the castle as well as the older and decaying part of it.

Though the project will have a large focus on freedom, story will not be neglected. Frictional Games have been hard at work to develop a multitude of new ways to tell a story and yet allow for a dynamic gameplay. The goal is to make the story and gameplay converge and create a truly engaging and unique experience.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent uses an in-house developed HPL2 game engine which includes tools for testing, creating and editing levels - all of which have been used to create the level in the teaser. The tools are used during the production of the game and are also going to be part of the final release, allowing for end-user content creation.

Once Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Crashlands, the current free games on the Epic Games Store, have run their course, it will be up to Death Coming, which will be gratis starting May 7 until May 14, 2020.

Death Coming is a non-linear puzzle game that puts you into the role of a Grim Reaper who needs to collect souls through absurd Final Destination-esque scenarios.

Death Coming gives players many tools at their disposal as they evade angels who try to stop their naughty deeds. The response was positive towards the game thanks to its non-linear design, large levels, and cute pixel art.

The game begins with your death. Don't worry, this isn't a bad thing because you've been given the sweet gig of Reaper (even though you don't know why). You can't go around and kill people though, that's in bad taste! Instead, your main powers come through the world. From nudging a pot onto someone's head to messing with a UFO, Reapers have a multitude of wacky ways to do their job. 

As you do your job of taking souls to the afterlife, you are also on the lookout for any information that brought you to this otherworldly career. Why were you chosen? Why do angels want to stop you? Why is everything so cute in this world? All these answers and more can be found in Death Coming!

Key Features:

  • Isometric ‘God’ Perspective: View your hunting grounds from a top-down perspective. Follow the lives of your targets and those out to stop you.
  • Non-linear Design: Start with any character you want, and solve the puzzles in any order you like within the limits of the Death Traps and weather conditions.
  • Observe, Plan, Execute: Observe the victims to find out their behavior and idiosyncracies. Trigger death traps at the right moment to kill efficiently. The better you know their routines, the better you can prepare your death traps.
  • Reactive AI: Victims will hang around spots they like and will change their actions and behavior when something happens to them, such as seeing someone die.
  • A Morbid Sense of Humor: From suburbia to missile factories, there’s always a wacky way to wreak havoc. Don’t be afraid to laugh at someone’s demise. If you do what you love (in this case, harvesting souls), you'll never have to work a day in your life!

Crashlands is a crafting-adventure with RPG elements where you fight and tame alien beasts, craft resources into menacing weaponry, befriend the outlandish locals, and go toe-to-chin with a world-domineering maniac.

Flux’s day began like any intergalactic trucker’s: hurtlin’ through the stars with space-coffee in hand, ready to bring packages of joy to various worlds. Then some jerk named Hewgodooko teleported in, wrecked her ship in search of useful tech, and caused Flux and her robot assistant Juicebox to crash-land (wink wink) on Woanope.

Big baddies put the “nope” in Woanope, but Flux can carve out her own space to live while she prepares to get her tech back from Hewgodooko. Collect resources around the charming-yet-dangerous planet to build tools, structures, and weapons on a daring quest to save the entire galaxy…or just deliver your packages. For the first time you can bring a friend along; couch co-op lets your buddy play as Juicebox, helping with both combat and harvesting.

Crafting, taming creatures, and building a home becomes a meditative, chilled-out experience thanks to Crashlands' infinite auto-sorted inventory. Erecting walls is as simple as finger-painting. Want some fancy walls and floors there? Done. A stable for new alien friends? Easy. Butterscotch Shenanigans even included muzak for maximum relaxation.

Woanope’s inhabitants are not the type to unwind, so Flux will need arms. Craft swords, hammers, axes, and armor, then augment them with trinkets to find hidden combos. Ever wanted to set an enemy on fire with a flamethrower while berserking with an axe, causing them to leave trails of fire on the ground, damaging other foes? That’s Crashlands for ya. Dancing the furious waltz of death means recognizing each enemy’s custom patterns and avoiding telegraphed attacks.

Flux’s trip to Woanope is an adventure across three huge biomes containing a 40+ hour Story Mode, NPCs, tons of sidequests, and big nasty bosses - all in a whimsical hand-drawn style. There is even Creative and Hardcore Mode for those who like to change-up their experience. It’s also cross-play with saves from the PC and mobile versions via Butterscotch Shenanigan’s Rumpus system. Oh, and it was developed by a trio of brothers in response to a cancer diagnosis. What's not to love?

Key Features

  • Expansive Crafting System: Unlock over 500 craftable items as you explore the world and learn its secrets!
  • Self-managing, Infinite Inventory: In Crashlands, your inventory is infinite, manages itself, and retrieves your tools when you need them, so you can focus on adventuring, questing, and building. You'll never have dig through your bag or return to your base to free up inventory space!
  • RPG-Style Character Progression: Become more powerful through creating ever-more-amazing items! As you grow in power, you can venture to new regions of the world, meet strange characters, discover new stories, and encounter new and interesting enemies.
  • Skill-Based Combat: Learn the attacks of the enemies you encounter, and use your skill, agility, and wits to defeat them! You can even augment your fighting prowess with the power of the dozens of gadgets you can craft. Set your enemies on fire, stun them, slow down time, and more!
  • Intuitive Base Building: Building a base in Crashlands is so simple it feels like fingerpainting. You can create beautiful, sprawling bases in minutes!
  • Tameable Creatures: Every creature in Crashlands can become a trusty combat sidekick. Find an egg, incubate it, and hatch your very own adorable or hideous bundle of joy. You can even craft special items to grow and empower them!
  • Huge World... with Huge Problems: Four sentient races, three continents, an epic bid for the future of the planet, and you - trapped in the middle, trying to deliver your freakin' packages. Take your time to dive into the sidestories of the characters you meet or just rush headlong into making that special delivery. With hundreds upon hundreds of quests, there's a lot to do and discover on planet Woanope!
  • Crossplatforminess: Don't want the fun to stop? Crashlands is also available on mobile - the exact same game, with your cloud-synced progress - so you never have to stop!

Crashlands is available on iOS/Android ($6.99), PC (Steam and Epic Games Store) and Nintendo Switch (eShop) for $14.99 / €14.99.

blog comments powered by Disqus