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Welcome back! This week, the team shares their Game of the Year-So-Far selections, and highlight news from the Annapurna showcase.

Stuff We Talked About

• Hunter’s Arena: Legends
• Destruction AllStars
• Life Is Strange: True Colors
• Stray
• The Outer Wilds
• Returnal
• It Takes Two
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Going Under

The Cast

Sid Shuman – Senior Director of Content Communications, SIE

Kristen Zitani – Senior Content Communications Specialist, SIE

Thanks to Cory Schmitz

Last week, we asked you to keep out of the shadows in the dangerous world of A Plague Tale: Innocence. While avoiding plague-infesting supernatural rats, you shared Amicia and Hugo’s best moments using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: 

RyoppyGamePhoto shares Amicia carrying Hugo as he grows weak.

DKANG0316 shares Hugo’s connection to the rats growing.

justinphotomode shares a lovely portrait of Amicia.

ISAchan_97 got up close and personal with the rats.

kuanpunchman stays in the light.

crisg_art shares an emotional shot of Hugo.

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? 

THEME: Bosses

SUBMIT BY: Wednesday 9 AM PT on August 4

Next week, we’re facing our toughest enemies. Share epic moments confronting bosses from your favorite games using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

Mobius Games is very excited to finally talk about our first (and only) expansion to Outer Wilds! Echoes of the Eye adds a mysterious new location to the solar system, packed with secrets to uncover. We designed the expansion as if it was always lurking within the world of Outer Wilds but hadn’t been discovered yet. When Echoes of the Eye launches, check out the new museum exhibit on Timber Hearth which marks the trailhead for one last journey into the deepest, darkest part of the solar system.

Play Video

You might be wondering why we chose to add content when Outer Wilds is already a complete experience. As a relatively small and un-established studio we needed a project to immediately follow Outer Wilds that wasn’t too big or crazy, while still allowing us to grow as developers and hopefully deliver something that would appeal to fans of Outer Wilds. Internally we had been tossing around various, more conventional, ideas for Outer Wilds DLC. Ultimately we realized that we wouldn’t be comfortable expanding on the existing game unless it gave players something new and substantial to explore while also adding something meaningful to the narrative. While Echoes of the Eye doesn’t match the breadth of the base game by itself, it does have more depth than any existing location in the solar system. Our playtesters have been pleasantly surprised by how deep the rabbit hole goes! 

As you might guess, adding something substantial to the existing game was a rabbit hole of its own. Making Outer Wilds content is an involved process, and it wasn’t long before the DLC became an expansion. Because it needed to work equally well for both new and returning players, the structure of Echoes of the Eye wound up resembling a microcosm of the original game as a whole. That being said, don’t expect Echoes of the Eye to be the base game in miniature. We took some risks with the method of storytelling and added plenty of new mechanics. Outer Wilds has always had light horror elements to it, but this expansion really leans into the spooky side of things (don’t worry, we’ve added a “reduced frights” option to the menu if you find it too intense!)

As with Outer Wilds, Echoes of the Eye will play best the less you know about it, so we’re trying to avoid spoili

Hello, everyone! After a long period of intense work with the team, we are delighted to finally be able to show more about our game Stray with this just-released gameplay trailer. But we wanted to add a bit more context to what you’ve hopefully just enjoyed.

Play Video

At its core, Stray is an adventure game. It tells the story of a cat who accidentally falls into a weird, mysterious city and his journey to return to his family. Exploration is a key element and as we love to add lots of details to our environments, we hope players will enjoy looking for all the little bits of hidden lore that we’ve added across each level.

There’s quite a lot to find and learn about this forgotten city and the surprising characters who live in it! Not everything will be explained clearly, so it will be up to the most attentive and insightful players to figure out what exactly this place is, who these inhabitants and creatures are, and the story and purpose of this beguiling world in which we are immersed.

The cat is definitely the star of the show in the game though, and it was important for us to show a glimpse of all the playful interactions that he can have with his environment. Some of them are useful and will help solve puzzles as you progress, and some are just here because cats will be cats — and as most cat owners know painfully well, no sofa can be left unscratched.

The unique perspective of playing as a cat also creates interesting opportunities in terms of level design. Some of the usual tropes of videogames can be twisted in funny and interesting ways: a grid blocking the way for humans? Not for a cat! A decorative rain pipe spiraling along a building? Perfect platforming sequence for a feline!

A Memoir Blue is an atmospheric journey featuring a champion swimmer named Miriam who, on the day of her greatest achievement, begins to reflect on long forgotten memories.

Play Video

The story of the game is based on a childhood journey I took with my mom. My recollection as a child was that we had taken a wonderful day trip to the neighboring seaside city, but when I became older I realized my mother had taken me with her as she ran away from home.

Although the game was built around this personal story, it quickly expanded into a larger scale world that players could explore in greater detail. True events are still at the core of the game with some creative additions to help our players understand what Miriam is feeling as she progresses along her journey.

Some of the scenes depicted are taken directly from my memories as a six year old. One of the things I remember vividly was the train my mom and I took during the beginning of our trip. 

We also visited a scenic lake where my mom rented a boat for just the two of us to enjoy the views as the breeze swept through our hair.

Eventually, after our fateful day trip, we moved into a small apartment that was so small we could only fit a single reading chair in it. But as a child I had fond memories of that place and was happy to call it home.

Sadness

Sadness is expressed with a blue aura that is fluid and consuming. Inside a sadness nova, the world takes on a gray-blue pallor. It may seem as if a rain cloud has blocked out the sun. Everything looks and sounds heavier, darker, duller. You can witness this first-hand as Alex watches Steph as she mourns Gabe’s death.

Fear

Fear is expressed with a purple aura that jumps and spikes, like an EKG monitor. Inside a fear nova, the world is all jagged lines and dark shadows. The player can hear her heartbeat in her ears. There are jump scares around every corner. As she looks down into a dark abyss, she may even see monsters staring back at her. Alex first gets a glimpse of this fear in Haven Springs as Mac is overwhelmed about the situation behind Gabe’s death while at his wake.

Anger

Anger is expressed with a violent red that flickers like a flame. Inside an anger nova, the world is intense and hot. Lights and sounds are amped up, movements are sharp and staggered. The player can hear short, shallow breaths. The world seems to pulse with adrenaline and clench like a fist. This Anger washes over Alex during her witnessing Steph having a tense

You can’t throw an entirely-made-in-Dreams convention one year and not do it the next, can you? With DreamsCom ’21 opening its virtual doors today, here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect over the next four days from the Dreams coMmunity and us here at Media Molecule!

The DreamsCom show floor

Of course, everything you see at DreamsCom has been made with the Dreams tools, from the opening Media Molecule hall to the incredible coMmunity-created booths that populate over 40 halls throughout the show. This year, we really went for it when it came to the presentation of the show, and our amazing team of Molecules have really exceeded any and all expectations (as they always do, the talented bunch that they are). If you thought last year’s show was amazing, just wait until you step out of the DreamsCom monorail. Yes, really.

The livestreams

Last year we kicked the festivities off with an hour-long showcase of some upcoming coMmunity creations, as well as announcing our VR update for Dreams. This year will look slightly different, but is still full of exciting announcements from our coMmunity – as well as sneak peeks at some upcoming games from us at Mm.

Kicking off DreamsCom ‘21 on July 27, we’ll be live on Twitch at 9am PST / 5pm BST / 6pm CEST with some of that previously-mentioned Mm sneak-peekage, as well as a preview of what’s to come throughout DreamsCom, leading up to the moment the doors open to the DreamsCom show floor in-game! From then on, tune in at 9am PST – 11am PST / 5pm BST – 7pm BST / 6pm CEST – 8pm CEST each day for coMmunity interviews, trailers, demos and everything in between.

And hey, if you’re a Dreams streamer checking out the show floor on your channel, let us know! We’d love to pop by your stream and check out your reaction!

The Impsider coverage

This year, we revealed The Impsider – Dreams’ first and official publication! As well as hosting all our streams, it’ll be covering #DreamsCom21 in full force – daily news roundups, a virtual DreamsCom magazine featuring tonnes of articles and fun activities, and even a handful of recipes to keep you fed while you explore the show. It’ll be the one-stop destination for anyone and everyone attending DreamsCom, as well as those who may miss a day or two!

Download The Impsider’s free DreamsCom companion magazine here.

We’ve got one great week ahead of us, don’t we? As always, you can get involved on social media with the hashtags #DreamsCom21 and #MadeInDreams! If you’re visiting the show, make sure to let us know on Twitter, and share your favourite booths and demos with us! 

Welcome to the brightest Ragnarök you’ve ever seen! Tomorrow, we launch Tribes of Midgard, and while many of you are already in the game chasing down our big boss, Fenrir, we thought it’d be helpful to give some quick tips and tricks, as well as break down some of the enemies you’ll encounter along your journey. 

Many mighty creatures stand between you and stopping Ragnarök, but first here are some tips & tricks for survival in general!

Survival Tips

• First up, let’s get you some clothes, Einherjar! While some Vikings did indeed fight in their underpants (it’s true, look it up!), it’s probably not going to be the best way to take down the Jötnar, Fenrir and all the other creatures in our game. To get started, you’ll want to immediately grab some Flint and Branches – this will get you an axe to chop wood and a pickaxe to mine stone. After you’ve picked up a few resources, go make some clothes! 

• Midgard is a well-trodden world, with numerous beaten paths that mark the journeys of past Vikings. If you stay on the path, you’ll move much faster. This is key for both the early game and for when you need to venture forth to find an approaching Jötunn. Apparently, the Jötnar prefer paths, too, so you can almost always find them by sticking to these existing roadways. 

• Every enemy in Tribes of Midgard has their own special set of attacks and skills. We won’t bore you with all of them, because there are a lot. But, and this is especially helpful for the early game, all these special attacks will knock down trees, break stones and leave resources just hanging out on the ground, ready for you to grab. It’s kind of like how you can Viking-kick down a tree, but more “beastly.”

• As you explore Midgard, you’ll see notifications pop up that tell you about all the new biomes and environments you’re entering. If you see red text, it’s probably best to stop! This indicator is telling you that your Einherjar is probably not strong enough to defeat the enemies you’ll encounter here (I mean, sure it’s possible…but it’s gonna take a while!) You can also always check your Power Level in the inventory window, and mix and match gear to make sure you’re putting your strongest foot forward. 

• Your village is populated by several useful crafters. These folks aren’t just great when you need a new axe; they’ll assist you in fending off the nightly Helthing invasion. Level them up by depositing the Souls you’ve collected and you’ll not only have access to better gear, but they’ll be stronger fighters when it’s time to beat back the darkness.

With the basics under your belt, it is time to bring on the baddies! While we can’t explain every enemy you’ll face in Tribes of Midgard, we wanted to break down some of them that you should approach with caution.

Enemies

The Varúlfur

Roaming the edges of the Bright Forest, Varúlfur are wolf-like warriors who got a little too into their wild side. Once Vikings like you and me (at least when we’re playing the game), they drank elixirs made from forbidden plants found in meadows. Seriously, who leaves that stuff lying around for someone to make elixirs out of?

• If you hear their howl, be on gua