Welcome to the Nano Gaming News Weekly Rewind for May 8, 2021 where we cover gaming news stories and events that we missed out on covering over this past week.
This past week was a week of game release announcements like Hell Architect heading for a summer release. Two other games, dark age colony sim Going Medieval, and already out on PC and now heading to console hack and slash Demon Skin, made for more release announcements.
Court is now in session for Epic Game’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple and after Friday the world learned a bit about what Apple’s lawyers thinks of Itch.io.
Elsewhere in the gaming world several titles were released over the past week. Buff Studio’s choices matter text adventure 7Days Origins is out on PC. Solo indie project Awaken The Time from Gajda Cristian Vasile is also out on PC in alpha. After much uncertainty with the original publisher vanishing, Brainwash Gang partnered up with Digerati for the remastered release of Nongunz: Doppelganger on PC and popular consoles. Lastly, Chroma Quaternion from KEMCO and Exe-Create takes players on a high-quality pixel art journey through four kingdoms where the seasons color the kingdoms in the games release on PC, mobile, and Xbox console family.
Going Medieval Colony Sim Early Access in June
The Irregular Corporation and Foxy Voxel announced that their colony building sim, Going Medieval, is heading to an early access launch on June 1, 2021. The game will be available on the Epic Games Store, Steam, and GOG.com for $24.99 USD with a 10% launch discount.
Going Medieval promises a unique blend of building, management, and survival that transports players back to the Dark Ages. The story takes place as the world is recovering from a plague and now that the survivors have emerged it is up to the player to help them settle in dangerous lands reclaimed by nature.
Ahead of the June early access release a final beta testing phase will take place from May 21 until May 24. Would-be settlers will have one more chance to prepare for launch day. Players can access the Beta by visiting the Epic Games Store or by signing up on Steam during the Beta period.
Demon Skin Coming to Consoles in September
Buka Entertainment and developer LUDUS FUTURE previously released their brutal 2D hack and slash game, Demon Skin, on PC and now console versions are coming this September. The game is a hard-slicing dark fantasy, that combines elements of both tactical stance-based brawlers and the dangers of platforming.
When Demon Skin arrives on the PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on September 30, 2021, console players will experience a deeper, richer adventure with the addition of a new playable chapter. This bonus addition is accessible party-way through the main adventure. PC players will be able to access the new chapter for free near the end of June.
Demon Skin is available on Windows PC through Steam for $14.99 USD. For more information about Demon Skin visit the game’s website at demonskin.com.
Apple and Epic Games Trial Takes a Swipe at Itch.io
Both Apple and Epic Games are now in court having one of the biggest tech trials in decades. Presiding over the trial is U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers where not only will the fate of Fortnite on iOS devices be decided, but future direction of the App Store itself.
On the fifth day of court, things took an interesting twist as Apple took a swipe at Itch.io and in turn is attempting to use it as a liability for Epic Games. Shortly before the May 3, 2021 trial date, Epic Games had announced that the indie Itch.io storefront would be available on the Epic Games Store. This move would allow Epic Games to show that they are willing to open up their store in the same way they want Apple to open up the App Store.
However, on Friday, Apple went on to talk about adult games on the Itch.io platform that were so offensive that they could not be spoken about in court. Apple’s attorney even listed some games that don’t fit Apple’s standard with one such title on this list being single out. The game is called Sisterly Lust and includes fetishes with many words that are “not appropriate” to speak about in federal courts according to Apple’s attorney.
Itch.io has nearly 200,000 titles that span the entirety of the indie game development scene. With Apple’s restrictive rules on even the topics a game can discuss such as criticizing religion or describing sex, there are games in the Itch.io community that would be of concern. When Apple pushed the issues that this could force sexualized content on the App Store, the judge did appear to take the concern seriously. Epic Games did respond back explaining that Itch.io is an open platform and have different moderation standards.
While there are big stakes at hand for Epic Games and Apple, Itch.io couldn’t help, but take a swipe at Apple in a tweet making fun of Apple’s lawyers and “Games Are Now ILLEGAL” in a call.
Elsewhere, Epic Games is currently taking legal action in Australia against Apple plus the filing of a complaint in the UK.
Thank you for reading the May 8, 2021 Edition of the Nano Gaming News Weekly Rewind. Be sure to check back next Saturday for a brand new edition of Nano Gaming News Weekly Rewind and until then, keep on gaming.
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