Independent video game developer Sobaka Studio and publisher Buka Entertainment have announced to us here at STG their partnership on development of 9 Monkeys of Shaolin, a new multi-platform old-school beat ‘em up powered by Unreal Engine 4.

The studio behind Reedemer unveils announcement trailer (above) for 9 Monkeys of Shaolin, which sets the mood and universe of this unique IP and promises to offer a new deeply immersive steeped Brawler experience in Medieval China setting.

First console demo is already available on the Xbox Lobby Bar at GDC 2018. Studio team members were available at the stand and gamers and press joined them for an intense top-down, close-quarters action game where you will punch and hack your way through enemies using basics of ancient martial arts only mastered by legendary Shaolin monks.

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9 Monkeys of Shaolin marks a true rebirth of the iconic brawler genre in vein of old-school video games. If, as a kid you had hours of fun playing SNES or SEGA beat ’em up videogames crushing foes left and right then this new title from the creators of hardcore brawler Redeemer is definitely for you!

As a mere Chinese fisherman Wei Cheng you have to avenge the death of your friends and family slaughtered in a pirate raid at your peaceful village. Game protagonist is quite a tough nut to crack as he knows the basics of ancient martial arts only mastered by legendary Shaolin monks. Get your trusty battle staff ready for a challenging adventure in Medieval China and for merciless fights with hordes of various enemies. 

Action-packed battles, user friendly controls and incredible atmosphere of great kung-fu movies of 70s – all this makes 9 Monkeys of Shaolin a perfect choice for every true fan of really hardcore brawlers.

9 Monkeys of Shaolin will be released Fall 2018 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, macOS and Linux.

The post Experience Martial Arts in Medieval China appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Spark of Light, a casual fairy-tale VR game developed by the Dutch start-up, Pillow’s Willow VR Studios, has won the Award for Best Vivewave Game during the Vive Developer Award Ceremony at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.

This award is another sign of recognition from the industry that this beautiful game, with amazing visuals and gameplay, truly is a major achievement. Last November Spark of Light broke into the spotlight when it was chosen to be the launching game title for the Vive Focus, HTC’s new 6DoF VR device.

‘At the start of the development of this game we were unsure if it would be a success, even though we believed in it ourselves’, Creative Lead, Peter Kortenhoeven says, ‘We are totally excited with this award, and will work with even more positive flow and energy on our new games now’.

‘This award is especially important because we made a clear choice to avoid violence in our games and instead build the gamer’s confidence, which wasn’t the most common or safest route to take’, CEO, Andy Lürling mentions, ‘but we really wanted to show that it is possible to create positive impact with VR games and still offer the gamer a really awesome experience’.

Spark of Light is playable on the Daydream, Gear VR as well as on the new standalone Headsets like Vive Focus. Especially in China, the game is immensely popular with the public and they have really embraced the adorable main characters, Nerow and Willow, as VR heroes.

Currently the Dutch VR game developer is working on 2 new game titles. The first is for the mid and high-end devices called Reefquest and the other is an active eSports full body VR game for location based centres and event organizations. We foresee a bright future for this developer.

The post ‘Spark of Light’ Shines @ Vive Developer Awards appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

During the Epic Games’ “State of Unreal” keynote at GDC 2018, Studio Wildcard announced that ARK: Survival Evolved is coming to Nintendo Switch, launching to digital and retail in Fall 2018, and gave the audience its first look at the game running live on the Switch.

Created in conjunction with co-development studio Abstraction Games, the award-winning open-world survival adventure where you can tame dinosaurs, conquer enemies and create enormous structures, now allows you to take your tribe anywhere – at home or on the go.

ARK: Survival Evolved on Switch includes the complete contents and features of the original game; from the massive and mysterious ARK island, to the more than 100 prehistoric- and fantasy-inspired creatures such as the T-Rex, Giganotosaurus, Rock Drake and Reaper. Hundreds of hours of exploring, crafting, survival and combat await players as they go it alone, or group up with thousands of other Survivors to explore the island and solve the mysteries of the ARK.

“The Switch’s handheld mode provides a fantastic new capability for survivors who want to fully immerse themselves in the vast worlds of ARK,” said Jeremy Stieglitz, Studio Wildcard’s Lead Designer, Lead Programmer, Development Director, and Co-Creative Director. “With this new version, Switch players can go directly from hunting and taming while sitting on the couch, to forming online tribes and searching out new conquests when on the bus, waiting in line, or wherever they happen to be.”

Studio Wildcard also announced that its partner, War Drum Studios, creators of the ARK: Survival Evolved mobile experience, sent out its first wave of invitations to the Closed Beta for iOS players.

Prepare for the ultimate dinosaur-themed adventure! Stranded on a mysterious prehistoric island, you must explore its vast biomes as you begin to hunt, harvest, craft tools, grow crops and build shelters to survive. Use cunning and skill to kill, tame, breed, and even ride Dinosaurs and other primitive beasts living on The ARK. Advance your technology from primitive stone tools to T-Rex-mounted laser cannons, as you team up with hundreds of players online or enjoy a solo Jurassic experience.

Since ARK: Survival Evolved‘s launch into Steam’s early access program in June 2015, over 13 Million survivors have been stranded on the ARK island, wandering into an incredible land to discover how to tame, train, ride, and breed the 100+ dinosaurs and primeval creatures roaming the land.

The post ARK: Survival Evolved Coming to Nintendo Switch appeared first on Shane the Gamer.