- Announcing: Manahex - 21 May 2024
Hi, dear players! Just a quick heads-up that Erik (the designer, writer and lead programmer behind Else Heart.Break()) will release a new game on 5 June – Manahex. Here's a screen shot of it: Manahex is a digital hybrid card / board game. You control a mage that can move around and take control the hexes on the board – this gives you mana which you then use to pay for your cards. You can build your own decks (all cards are unlocked from the start!) and play against friends and strangers in 2-4 player online matches. Both live games and asynchronous play is supported. If this sounds like something up your alley, please check it out and wishlist it if you like what you see! Here's the trailer: And here's one of the over 100 pieces of water color art made for the game: This one is called 'Infamous Dryad' and is a small and inexpensive creature that likes the forest and is resistant to enem…
- As Cyberpunk 2077 is running late, here's a broad spread of cyberpunky fun - 19 November 2020
Now that Cyberpunk 2077 is delayed again until December 10th , what are you to do? You’ve grown a lurid blue mohawk, your leather jacket is almost worn in, and your prescription mirrorshades are ready for collection at Specsavers – but for what? You might as well use this time to explore all games cyberpunky, from edgy and nihilistic griping about how the future sucks to wacky cyberjapes that make you wanna jump up and shout HACK THE PLANET. I have some recommendations. (more…)
- The 12 most useful inventions in PC games - 15 May 2020
One Off The List is our weekly list feature. Is there something you think doesn’t deserve to be on this list? Comment with your reasons why, and next week it may be struck off. If you plumb the depths of human ingenuity you will resurface with a wet box of penicillin and 100 million bits of different-coloured plastic. We people are very good at making useful things, and then killing ourselves with them. But videogames, my friends. Videogames hold the solution to our self-destructive ways. That tech utopia your pal Start-up Stan is always talking about is in reach, we just need to find a way to make these 12 practical devices from videogames appear in real life. (more…)
- As Cyberpunk 2077 is running late, here's a broad spread of cyberpunky fun - 29 January 2020
Now that Cyberpunk 2077 is delayed from April to September , what are you to do? You’ve grown a lurid blue mohawk, your leather jacket is almost worn in, and your prescription mirrorshades are ready for collection at Specsavers – but for what? You might as well use this time to explore all games cyberpunky, from edgy and nihilistic griping about how the future sucks to wacky cyberjapes that make you wanna jump up and shout HACK THE PLANET. I have some recommendations. (more…)
- Game DNA: Making yourself a home - 24 October 2019
Game DNA is a series where we take a single concept from games, strip it to its essence, and look at how it — and we — have developed over time. I was homeless when I discovered Minecraft — not homeless in the street-sleeping sense, thankfully. Only in the sofa-surfing sense. I had a bed, even. The creaking cabin bed of two friends who took pity on me and let me crash for a few months in their house, while I sullied my fingertips with sambuca in a dank Yorkshire nightclub for part-time pound coins. My chin-scratching uni days had just ended, but I stubbornly refused to go back to my family house in Northern Ireland. I could do this, I reasoned, I just needed time. Then my friend showed me how to punch a tree, and I found a new home. (more…)
- Podcast: The best game cities, from Dunwall to Kamurocho - 18 July 2019
Rural life is disgusting. All those shrubs and trees, how awful. You should pack your checkered pouch and head into the big smoke. The shining cities of videogameland are calling to you, and the team of the RPS podcast, the Electronic Wireless Show , will be there to help you get settled in to your disgusting, overpriced flat no matter which giant urban maze you choose. Trust us, life is so much better in the city. Ignore the rats. You’ll get used to them. (more…)
- It's time for cyberpunk games to remember how to be punk - 15 February 2017
At the start of the 1988 adventure game based on William Gibson's genre-defining cyberpunk novel Neuromancer, you wake up face down in a plate of spaghetti. Well, it's synth-spaghetti because this is the future, but that doesn't make it any more comfortable. Like the book's protagonist Case you're a down-and-out former console cowboy who has lost the ability to hack, though in your case it's not due to traumatic surgery but simple poverty. You can't afford a new computer. Hell, you can't even afford to pay for the spaghetti. Author Bruce Sterling summed up the cyberpunk genre as a combination of “low-life and high-tech,” and that's a perfect description of both versions of Neuromancer. Later in the game you have the option to sell your internal organs for cash, and hack a computer at Cheap Hotel—its actual name—to…
- Outlast, Sunless Sea, Door Kickers and more in Humble Indie Bundle 16 - 24 February 2016
Else Heart.Break() I was burned out on Humble Bundles after the first couple. In part it was because my cup runneth over with games I've never installed and bundles contribute to Steam library shame in a big way. But there's also the fact that the quality is highly variable from one bundle to the next. Humble Indie Bundle 16 is obscenely well endowed. You can pay what you want for Retro City Rampage DX, Never Alone (a lesson in Inuit folklore) and horror spectacular Outlast along with 80% off its Whistleblower DLC . For paying above the average ($6.17 at time of writing), you'll unlock Trine 3 and Door Kickers , which was one of 2014's tactical surprises. The bundle comes just as Door Kickers 2 has been announced . Coincidence? Well, no, not at all, but it's still a great opportunity to see what the series is all about. Door Kickers It's $2 above the average price that the bundle goes f…
- 1.0.8 is live on Steam now - 22 January 2016
(Coming to Humble and GOG soon too.) ADDED: GetTypeOfThing() function added to some computers ADDED: Not operator in Sprak (i.e. if !hungry) ADDED: NPC:s with modifiers will fix doors that have been modified TWEAK: Can't teleport when in a conversation (prevents quite a lot of buggy situations) TWEAK: Can't fall asleep when in a conversation (hopefully prevents several buggy situations) TWEAK: Upgraded Unity to version 4.7 FIXED: Bug where the soda salesman got messed up at Plaza FIXED: Crash bug that could happen when pressing the button on a vending machine FIXED: Made sure Felix doesn't get stuck after the party at his place FIXED: Prevented getting stuck at warehouse corner in the harbor
- 1.0.8 is live on Steam now - 22 January 2016
(Coming to Humble and GOG soon too.) ADDED: GetTypeOfThing() function added to some computers ADDED: Not operator in Sprak (i.e. if !hungry) ADDED: NPC:s with modifiers will fix doors that have been modified TWEAK: Can't teleport when in a conversation (prevents quite a lot of buggy situations) TWEAK: Can't fall asleep when in a conversation (hopefully prevents several buggy situations) TWEAK: Upgraded Unity to version 4.7 FIXED: Bug where the soda salesman got messed up at Plaza FIXED: Crash bug that could happen when pressing the button on a vending machine FIXED: Made sure Felix doesn't get stuck after the party at his place FIXED: Prevented getting stuck at warehouse corner in the harbor
- 2015 Personal Pick Else Heart.Break() - 24 December 2015
ANDY KELLY's 2015 personal pick Along with our group-selected 2015 Game of the Year Awards , each member of the PC Gamer staff has independently chosen one game to commend as one of the year's best. I ve always avoided games with hacking puzzles due to a lack of coding experience, and an unwillingness to learn to code. But I was given the task of reviewing Else Heart.Break() , and I m glad I stepped up to the challenge. In this world, bits have replaced atoms, and it s possible to hack into pretty much anything using a programming language called Spr k. If a security door is locked, you can tinker with the code to give you access. Or, to give a more outlandish example, if you re tired you can hack a glass of water to make it wake you up. Almost any object you see in the game can be manipulated in interesting ways, and the way the game threads this system into the story, puzzles, and wor…
- 1.0.7 is live on Steam now - 23 October 2015
ADDED: If you know a person the tooltip will reflect that by showing the actual name ADDED: SetLabel() and GetLabel() functions in the Extractor, can also be seen in the bag ADDED: HD() function for connecting to external hard drives ADDED: Support for page up and page down keys when using the modifier ADDED: Type() function in Sprak, returns the type of some data as a string TWEAK: The refining machine at the factory is more balanced FIXED: Indentation messes up when writing 'if else' statements (and in some other situations) FIXED: Game hangs when pressing ESC when slurping FIXED: CopyToClipboard() doesn't work on objects that are not in the same scene FIXED: Hank gets stuck during lecture FIXED: Version number is hard to see FIXED: Infinite dialogue loop when talking to the soda salesman FIXED: Can't use alternative keyboard layouts, selecting routes on the internet stops working
- 1.0.7 is live on Steam now - 23 October 2015
ADDED: If you know a person the tooltip will reflect that by showing the actual name ADDED: SetLabel() and GetLabel() functions in the Extractor, can also be seen in the bag ADDED: HD() function for connecting to external hard drives ADDED: Support for page up and page down keys when using the modifier ADDED: Type() function in Sprak, returns the type of some data as a string TWEAK: The refining machine at the factory is more balanced FIXED: Indentation messes up when writing 'if else' statements (and in some other situations) FIXED: Game hangs when pressing ESC when slurping FIXED: CopyToClipboard() doesn't work on objects that are not in the same scene FIXED: Hank gets stuck during lecture FIXED: Version number is hard to see FIXED: Infinite dialogue loop when talking to the soda salesman FIXED: Can't use alternative keyboard layouts, selecting routes on the internet stops working
- 1.0.6 is live on Steam - 6 October 2015
(Coming soon to Humble and GOG too) ADDED: Suitcases can be accesed as a separate inventory when carried around ADDED: A way to get off the finance computer "island" FIXED: Calling Unlock() on a door from a computer gives weird error about Int32 FIXED: It's possible to hack computers with security level above 0 by pressing the GUI button when using the computer. FIXED: Can't use Input() function when booting from floppy FIXED: A bureaucrat gets stuck in the radio station elevator FIXED: Dream sequence collides with radio station events FIXED: Nini gives different prices for new shoes FIXED: Mouse stops working (because of a glitch involving an in-game program) FIXED: Pixie not sleeping at home towards the end of the game FIXED: Dialogue glitch in the final scene MAYBE FIXED: Options menu crashes on some systems when the resolution has been set to high
- 1.0.6 is live on Steam - 6 October 2015
(Coming soon to Humble and GOG too) ADDED: Suitcases can be accesed as a separate inventory when carried around ADDED: A way to get off the finance computer "island" FIXED: Calling Unlock() on a door from a computer gives weird error about Int32 FIXED: It's possible to hack computers with security level above 0 by pressing the GUI button when using the computer. FIXED: Can't use Input() function when booting from floppy FIXED: A bureaucrat gets stuck in the radio station elevator FIXED: Dream sequence collides with radio station events FIXED: Nini gives different prices for new shoes FIXED: Mouse stops working (because of a glitch involving an in-game program) FIXED: Pixie not sleeping at home towards the end of the game FIXED: Dialogue glitch in the final scene MAYBE FIXED: Options menu crashes on some systems when the resolution has been set to high
- Version 1.0.5 is live on Steam - 2 October 2015
Camera will rotate to face north when looking at the map. The modifier has gotten the Connection API ;-) Option added for turning of the "change zoom automatically when moving to a new room / area" behaviour. The previous behaviour is default. Sleepiness is not increased when sitting down, makes it possible to go on the tram forever (it's a kinda nice screensaver?!) The refining computer at the factory can run indefinitely (which is useful...) Games and other programs that froze after 60 seconds of usage should not do that anymore, sorry about that. It's no longer possible to hack computers with security level above 0 by pressing the GUI button when using the computer. Fib's beautiful object is less loud- Computer by the soda storage has been moved down a bit for better looking usage. Bug when talking to a person on the tram is fixed. A bug with Hank the first night at the hotel is fixe…
- Version 1.0.5 is live on Steam - 2 October 2015
Camera will rotate to face north when looking at the map. The modifier has gotten the Connection API ;-) Option added for turning of the "change zoom automatically when moving to a new room / area" behaviour. The previous behaviour is default. Sleepiness is not increased when sitting down, makes it possible to go on the tram forever (it's a kinda nice screensaver?!) The refining computer at the factory can run indefinitely (which is useful...) Games and other programs that froze after 60 seconds of usage should not do that anymore, sorry about that. It's no longer possible to hack computers with security level above 0 by pressing the GUI button when using the computer. Fib's beautiful object is less loud- Computer by the soda storage has been moved down a bit for better looking usage. Bug when talking to a person on the tram is fixed. A bug with Hank the first night at the hotel is fixe…
- Else Heart.Break() review - 1 October 2015
NEED TO KNOW What is it? An open-world adventure game with hacking. Expect to pay 19/$25 Developer Erik Sved ng, et al. Publisher In-house Reviewed on GeForce GTX 970, Intel i5-3570K, 16GB RAM Link www.elseheartbreak.com The world of Else Heart.Break() is not like our own. In this strange place, bits have replaced atoms, allowing people to hack into, and alter, the very fabric of reality. With the right tools, you can dive into almost any object s code, edit it, and change its behaviour—to solve problems, cause mischief, or just for fun. It s also a game about love, friendship, and finding your place in the world—and it all starts with a chance encounter with a girl in a bar. You, Sebastian, arrive in the city of Dorisburg to work as a salesman for the Wellspring soda company, and you feel completely lost. Anyone who s ever left home and moved to a new city will know the fee…
- Version 1.0.4 is live on Steam - 28 September 2015
Changes Added 'HasFunction()' function on all objects. Doors without a code can be unlocked by any key. The SetPosition() function has been removed from the computers who had it, this will invalidate some ways to beat the game that were a bit too boring. These computer have gotten a new function though – GetThingsOfType(), have fun with it! EraseMemory() function for computers with a memory unit. The extractor now has a 'CopyToClipboard()' function. Can't teleport into inventories. Dialogue with the Bouncer in the park can't get stuck in infinite loop. Invariant culture is set by app, should fix bug for some Linux users. An error at Blå Knuten when talking to the bureaucrat in there has been removed. A bug where Pixie wouldn't come out to talk to you has been fixed. Pressing ESC when slurping should not make the game hang with a white screen. Boolean logic should work correctly in all c…
- Version 1.0.4 is live on Steam - 28 September 2015
Changes Added 'HasFunction()' function on all objects. Doors without a code can be unlocked by any key. The SetPosition() function has been removed from the computers who had it, this will invalidate some ways to beat the game that were a bit too boring. These computer have gotten a new function though – GetThingsOfType(), have fun with it! EraseMemory() function for computers with a memory unit. The extractor now has a 'CopyToClipboard()' function. Can't teleport into inventories. Dialogue with the Bouncer in the park can't get stuck in infinite loop. Invariant culture is set by app, should fix bug for some Linux users. An error at Blå Knuten when talking to the bureaucrat in there has been removed. A bug where Pixie wouldn't come out to talk to you has been fixed. Pressing ESC when slurping should not make the game hang with a white screen. Boolean logic should work correctly in all c…
