Nov 27, 2019
There are two things happening on Steam right now and that’s the Steam Autumn Sale running from November 26th, 2019 to December 3rd, 2019, which kicks off the start of the Steam Awards 2019. The sale includes games like Stardew Valley (10% off), which is perfect timing with the new 1.4 update. From now until the sale ends, you can nominate your game of choice that released in 2019 for each category listed below! The Labour of Love category can be your favorite game no matter when it was released.
The Game of the Year Award
Maybe it was its immersive gameplay, or its gripping story… its well-crafted characters, immaculate design, or addictive multiplayer. Whatever the reason, the winner of 2019’s Game of the Year Award is an instant classic.
The VR Game of the Year Award
When it comes to breaking new ground in games, there is no greater pace of advancement than in VR. If we had our way, all VR devs would get an award for building the future of immersive games and experiences unparalleled by any other medium. But since there’s only one trophy, it’s up to you, Steam Awards Selection Committee member, to crown just one as the best of 2019.
The Labor of Love Award
This game has been out for a while. The team is well past the first unveiling of their creative baby, but being the good parents they are, these devs continue to nurture and support their creation. This game, to this day, is still getting new content after all these years.
The Better With Friends Award
There are some games out there that just aren’t the same when you play by yourself. Maybe you need to have a friend to watch your back. Maybe you need to have a friend that you can stab in their back. Either way, mirth is awaiting those who gather friends to play these games.
The Most Innovative Gameplay Award
This game is at the front lines of experimentation, pushing the boundaries of the medium with exciting, novel interactions and brain-breaking surprises. This game thinks outside the box, and pulls you out with it!
The Outstanding Story-Rich Game Award
Some days, only a narrative-heavy game will hit the spot, and this one packs a wallop. It’s as gripping as any soap opera, and as well-tuned as a prestige-TV screenplay. Bravissimo — for making us feel things!
The Best Game You Suck At Award
Games have a way of pushing us past any limits we thought we had. Like a montage sequence, we put in work, training our fingers to be quick and nimble, mastering timing and placement over weeks and weeks. At the end of the gauntlet, we’re rewarded with profound beauty and a deep sense of personal growth. Unless you hurled your monitor through a plate-glass window on the first day.
The Outstanding Visual Style Award
These devs are the Willy Wonka of eye candy. Visual style doesn’t aspire to real-world graphical fidelity (though a noble goal in itself)… it describes a distinctive look and feel that suffuses an entire game. This game displays visual cohesion and expression that not only fit the game’s world, but make our world look paltry by comparison.
All you have to do to nominate a game is to go to their Steam Store page and click on “Nominate this Game for an Award”. The voting period will happen sometime in December during the Steam Winter Sale. The winners of the awards will be announced on December 31st, 2019! By participating, you’ll also earn badges (and XP) for accomplishing the following tasks: Nominate at least 1 game, nominate a game in each category, play a game you’ve nominated, and review (or update your review) for a game you’ve nominated.
- Nov 27, 2019
As I mentioned earlier today, the 1.4 update of Stardew Valley is out now (November 26th, 2019) on Steam with the consoles update not too far behind. Creator ConcernedApe has posted a full Changelog here that includes many improvements, bug fixes, better controller support, some multiplayer changes and so much more! Let’s take a closer look at the biggest changes!
New End Game Mystery
While there are tons of new changes that can be enjoyed at any point in the game, there is a new end game mystery for players who have been playing on the same farm for now… well years!
I don’t know exactly what the end game mystery entails but rumors have it that it involves an abandoned building! How exciting!
New Fish Ponds
These have been teased for some time now! the new fish ponds can be build on your own farm and populated with fish! This is a wonderful addition to any fishing fan as you can now cast your rod right in your front yard and reel in some fish!
181 New Shirts, Hairstyles and More!
To further express your creativity and own personality ConcernedApe somehow managed to add a whopping 181 new Shirts, 35 hats, 14 pants and 24 new hairstyles. This will let you style your character with an almost unlimited set of possibilities.
Of course there are also new decoration items for your farm and your home. Eric added a more than 50 new decorative items including floors and other little things to make your farm even more beautiful!
New to Stardew Valley?
If you haven’t already played Stardew Valley and this new update piques your interest, you may want to hop over to Steam now and get in on that 10% discount that ends December 3rd, 2019! Moreover, Stardew Valley is part of Steam’s Remote Play Together due to its multiplayer function. Download the Steam Link App for your mobile device and play together online!
More Farming Games!
If you are a fan of relaxing farming simulation games then you should take a look at this list of the most fun and wholesome farming games currently available!
- Nov 26, 2019
The Wild Area and online options become accessible early on in Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. If you don’t like spoiling new 8th generation Pokemon or like to catch as many Pokemon on your own before trading, I recommend getting all of your badges in the main game to fully enjoy everything the online multiplayer feature has to offer. You must have all 7 Gym Badges (last one is the Dragon Badge) in order to find Gigantamax Pokemon in the Wild Area. I go into more details and which select few Pokemon have Gigantamax forms here. See below for more information about playing with other players and ongoing official competitions by Nintendo for rewards and bragging rights!
Link Battles and Link Codes
Link Battles are between you and other players online. If you only want to play with your friends specifically, you can set up a Link Code. A Link Code is a 4-digit password that your friends will have to input in order to join. This is set up this way because everything you do is broadcast live via Stamps (more on that later). Link Battles allow you to choose Single Battle for one-on-one battling and Double Battle where two players can send out 2 Pokemon at one time. Finally, there’s Multi Battle which is similar to a Double Battle but four players are involved and get to control one Pokemon each.
Link Trades and Surprise Trades
Link Trades are the way to go if you have a certain Pokemon in mind that you want to trade with a friend. You can also connect with someone randomly online and both come to an agreement for a trade. If there’s a Pokemon you know you don’t need anymore, Surprise Trades can be really fun! Select the Pokemon that you want traded and go about your business in-game until your Y-Comm alerts you that they found you someone and the trade is complete. As adorable as Skwovet is (the pudgy-cheeked squirrel), you’ll probably come across it often in Surprise Trades as it is the new Ratata. Other times you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what players send out there!
The Victory Station
Go to your menu and click on VS (Victory Station) which displays stats such as whether Shield players or Sword players are winning in categories like “Hatched the most eggs” and “Cooked the most while camping” by comparing numbers with 100 players online. From there, you can select either Battle Stadium for various online competition options or Live Competition to host or participate in battles via LAN.
Battle Stadium
- Casual Battles: Anything goes in single and double battles and it’s all just for good fun or to just test your skills as a Trainer.
- Ranked Battles: Compete for the highest rank with other players around the world. You’ll be matched up with others in your tier so that the battles are fair. At the end of each season you’ll get in-game rewards based on your position in the Leaderboards.
- Online Competitions: These are limited live and official ongoing competitions. Check out the announcement here for details on the very first competition, Galar Beginnings. You’ll want to sign up now for the period between December 6th-8th, 2019. All players will receive a Participation Gift after completing at least one battle.
- Rental Teams: This new feature allows you to share your Battle Team for the public to use, or “borrow” someone else’s to play around with in battles.
Ranked Battles
Nintendo just announced that Ranked Battle Season 1 is now under way until the end of December 2019. During this time, the rules listed will remain the same with restrictions to Pokemon that you can use. Another season will be starting on January 1st, 2020. For this time around, you’ll be entering in Double Battles, using only 4 Pokemon from your team, and all of your Pokemon will be at Lv. 50. At the end of the season, if you’ve competed in at least one match, you can get the following rewards from the Mystery Gift menu.
- Master Ball Tier: 3 Gold Bottle Caps and 600 Battle Points.
- Ultra Ball Tier: 1 Gold Bottle Cap and 300 Battle Points.
- Great Ball Tier: 3 Bottle Caps, 1 Ability Capsule, 1 Jolly Mint, 1 Timid Mint, and 100 Battles Points.
- Poke Ball Tier & Beginner Tier: 1 Ability Capsule, 1 Jolly Mint, 1 Timid Mint, and 50 Battle Points.
Battle Points, or BP, can be spent by talking to an NPC in the Pokemon Center in Hammerlocke in exchange for special items.
Y-Comm and Searching Stamps
Going to your Y-Comm and changing your Local Communication to Internet will allow you to see what everyone online is currently up to by displaying Stamps at all times on the bottom left of your screen. This includes Link Trades, Surprise Trades, Link Battles, and Max Raid Battles. In your Y-Comm menu, it is possible to filter your Stamps if you are looking for specific battles to join or only want to see the Stamps of your friends. I usually set mine to Max Raid Battles and pay attention to the specific red ones as they are the “incredibly/massively strong Pokemon” ones. If someone else found a rare Gigantamax Pokemon, you can join in with a total of 4 players. You’ll want to act fast as this can fill up quickly.
If you find your own Gigantamax Pokemon, I recommend Inviting Others as it’s a very tough battle to fight alone or the three other NPCs given at random can be pretty terrible. You’ll come across a few Magikarp that will often faint and then come back after a few turns at full health, only to faint again.
In every Max Raid Battle, any Pokemon can faint up to 4 times before you lose and get kicked out of the den. You also lose if you go over 10 total turns. Therefore, either set up a Link Code for your friends, or wait the full 3 minutes to give players the chance to join. It is possible to have a mixture of players and NPCs if you can’t fill out all four slots.
Playing with Others Keeps Things Interesting for a Long Time to Come
Even if you have finished the main game of Pokemon Sword and Shield, there are still competitions to enter for rewards and your Pokemon to show-off. If you want to fill out your Pokedex, you’ll need to spend some time in the Wild Area, and to trade for version exclusive Pokemon. Hosting or joining others in Max Raid Battles and Dynamaxing Pokemon is also another fun way to share in the experience and to get the most out of your game.
Of course to do all that you’ll need a Nintendo Switch Online account. You can find the pricing plans here, however, I recommend getting an Amazon Prime account now as you get Twitch Prime and 12 months of Nintendo Switch Online at no extra cost. Find out more about that amazing limited time offer here.
- Nov 26, 2019
Described as a ‘humorous light platformer’, fans of felines will be delighted to know that a platform game with RPG and puzzle elements featuring cats is coming to Nintendo Switch this week. Developed by DeqafStudio and published by No Gravity Games, the game will be playable in 13 different languages including, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Turkish, Polish, Romanian, Ukrainian, and Hungarian.
Not dissimilar to Mario and Zelda games, the aim of Strike Force Kitty is to train a team of four kitties to save a princess. The concept of the game might sound all too familiar, (you have to fight bosses along your journey). However, the game is unique and appealing due to its cute and humourous nature.
Features of the game include:
- 350 unlockable costumes for your kitties
- Multiple big bosses to battle
- Cute graphics with RPG and puzzle features
- Over 30 different artifacts
- Bespoke art, music and animation to provide hours of entertainment
- Funny and easy to play
- Cats. ?
The game’s usual price is very affordable at just USD$4.99. However, if ‘pre-purrchased’, it can be obtained for the bargain price of USD$3.99 here.
- Nov 26, 2019
ConcernedApe revealed that the next major Stardew Valley update will be coming to PC on Tuesday, November 26th. Console players will have to wait a little longer with a release shortly after. Stardew Valley Update 1.4 will touch every aspect of the game so prepare your farm!
The next major update to be released for Stardew Valley will once again be free and brings tons of new content and enhancements to the beloved farming simulator. Fish Ponds, improved baits and plenty of changes across the entire game will be included in the latest update.
Stardew Valley 1.4 PC and Console Release
The Update will be available to download starting today, Tuesday, November 26th. Eric said “I would like the delay between PC and console release to be as short as possible.” He also mentioned that essentially he would like for updates to come out on PC and console simultaneously. While the update will come to PC first he anticipates that console players won’t have to wait much longer.
1.4 Update Out Now!
Stardew Valley 1.4 Update is out now on Steam! Simply start your game and download the latest update and enjoy the many new features and improvements the update has to offer!
Stardew Valley Fish Ponds Coming with the 1.4 Update You are not required to start a new farm to enjoy the many new features and improvements the update will bring but I will start a new game and prepare my farm to be ready when the update hits! I will be sure to have some gold on my account, and be ready to enjoy Stardew Valley again with a fresh breeze, Will you start a new farm? Or continue a ongoing save game?
What’s New in Stardew Valley 1.4?
In his latest blog Eric gave an example of how the game will be improved “One small example is the Wild Bait…which used to be essentially worthless… but now gives you a chance to catch double fish.” Smaller enhancements like this can have a huge impact on the overall game experience and I can’t wait to play and start over in Stardew Valley once again when the update hits!
Eric also said “There is more end-game stuff like that to keep things going a little further after you’ve completed everything. ” which is great for players who have been enjoying the game for several years and completed most or even everything the game has to offer. Exciting to see what this will entail!
More Farming Games!
If you are on the hunt for a new farming game or would like to explore what other games have to offer, check out this list of available and most wholesome farming games!
All the Animal Crossing fans should check out this adorable stocking stuffer gift!
- Nov 26, 2019
The exciting Zelda-like RPG game, Decay of Logos, releases for the Nintendo Switch in just two days.
Decay of Logos is a stunning open world adventure games much like Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Players will embark on a journey through a beautifully crafted and extremely immersive world. The game is currently available on pretty much all other platforms, but is finally coming to the one that really matters.
For those that missed it, Decay of Logos is a very well received open world game, that is often compared to Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Decay of Logos is an immersive action role-playing game inspired by European folklore, high fantasy fiction, and archetypal classic third-person action-RPG videogames.
Decay of Logos will become available through the Nintendo Eshop on November 28th. For more information, you can view my coverage of the game here.
Decay of Logos Official Trailer
- Nov 26, 2019
Animal Crossing Pocket Camp is still going strong and recently received a new subscription model awarding players with monthly “freebies” Today the popular mobile games gets a brand new and stunningly beautiful new terrain.
Just in time for the holidays as the first snow flakes are landing on the ground, Animal Crossing Pocket Camp receives a beautiful new terrain to celebrate the holidays. Take a look at the new addition below.
New Christmas Fortune Cookies
Of course it wouldn’t be completed without a new fortune cookie! Timmy and Tommy have taken some time to put together a video to introduce the new cookie. It features several holiday themed items including a beautiful candle lid path. Check out the video from the new official Animal Crossing Pocket Camp twitter below.
Pocket Camp Holiday Event Leaked?
With the festive season fast approaching, it was inevitable that Pocket Camp would create festive-themed content for the app. Yet hardly anything festive for the game has been announced until now. Pocket Camp fans needn’t worry however, as a recent data-mine/leak suggests that there is plenty of festive fun in store for fans of the game. Take a look at the recent leak here!
More Animal Crossing Related News
Nintendo has been quietly updating and launching the official Animal Crossing New Horizons website pointing an incoming wave of news regarding the upcoming game!
There is also still time to grab the official Animal Crossing Pocket Camp paper bag that Nintendo is currently giving away for free!
And don’t forget to take a look at this adorable personalized Animal Crossing Stocking stuffer gift! I am giving away sticker packs on my Patreon this month as well!
- Nov 26, 2019
Time to add another awesome RPG to my Switch games library since Pine released today.
Pine is one chill RPG that I’ve been keeping an eye out for some time now. This game was pretty well received upon release, despite some remaining bugs. With a fun story to play and many different chores to do for the different factions, Pine is reputed as definitely being worth the price. Starting today, it is available on Nintendo Switch and costs only $24.99.
If you’d like a little more information about the game before you make a purchase, you can check out my original coverage here. You can also visit the games Steam page. If you’d like to get yourself a copy for the Switch right now, then just visit the official Nintendo website.
Pine Official Gameplay Trailer
