From the trailer I clearly see the inspiration from Betrayal at Krondor and the open world and classless per-use skill-based character development just screams Elder Scrolls. But I'm not quite sure where Realms of Arkania fits in there. And I would so love to have another game like those, complete with the Dark Eye ruleset.

Edit: In this interview [External Link], the developer says the game "is 90% Betrayal at Krondor inspired, but you may find a bit of the old Realms of Arkania trilogy in there, as well as Microprose’s Darklands, Might and Magic VI and other games of the ’90s.". But no specifics given.

Quoting: slaapliedjeEdit: Realms of Arkania was an asshole of a game, and fit as well into the 'survival' genre as RPG!

I assume that's meant as a compliment :-). If I think back on the series, its one of the aspects I remember fondly. Traveling the wilderness or entering a dungeon required a bit of preparation, lest you run out of arrows or, god forbid, your boots fell apart. You also wanted some blankets and camping gear or resting wouldn't restore much health / astral energy. It mostly came down to a one-time investment and some blocked inventory space, but it helped reinforce the feeling of leaving the safety of civilization behind and going out on an adventure.

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As I'm mostly interested in narrative games, I'd rather not play a demo before release.

But I'll gladly use the opportunity to check if a particular game will work with Wine, even if there's the chance that the demo runs whereas the full game won't.

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July 2012 for me, and only because a game on DVD used it as DRM. To this day, I guess I've more physical games activated than bought directly, Humankind being the latest of those. What's the point of owning something if it can't collect dust on a shelf!? ;-)

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That's actually a failed Kickstarter from 2016. Quite happy to see it being released regardless, and with support for Linux no less! Was really disappointed that it didn't get much attention back then (though I guess I would have been even less happy had it taken 5 years to make after a successful campaign).

So what a nice surprise! Wishlisted and marked for purchase-on-release-day.

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If anyone is even remotely interested into card based RPGs I highly recommend the Black Book demo. I'm over 10 hours into the game proper and am totally hooked. Reminds me a bit of Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, but with a strong focus on Russian folklore.

It's still a bit rough around the edges and could definitely do with a bit more polish, but in some ways being not perfect also adds to its charm.

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I already had UW1 and 2 as a gift for some Kickstarter campaign or other, and I also have the Amiga version of Syndicate. So I think I'm set, but nice anyway!

That said, I'll take Ultima VII any time over Underworld. As revolutionary as latter might have been back then, I somehow never really got into it. Maybe it would have been different had it been a fresh IP. But to me it always felt tacked on to the Ultima franchise, at a time when that had finally started to get a bit more coherent. (But why should things have been different 30 years back: if there's something that sells, just stick its name everywhere!)

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I had already given up on that one, so here's a positive surprise :-).

Though even without AI opponents I had quite the good time playing already; I always find it deeply relaxing to map out a city and see it come to life. (That's why currently I spend a lot of time with Mini Motorways).

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If this card would actually be available for close to its MSRP, I guess I would be able to put together an upgrade of my PC for just under €1000.

That's still 250€ above my comfort zone, but with the ongoing GPU shortage, I don't see a low to medium end model available in the 200,- to 250,- price range any time soon. And even then I would have to compromise on 16GB RAM instead of 32 to get down to what I would spend without second thought. And I'd rather not.

So I'll keep my eye out on this, because I'm really itching to replace my GTX950 and this one combined with a Ryzen 5600X would neatly fit with my current PSU and also offer a big enough leap in performance to be worthwhile. They're even still making mainboards with PS/2 connectors, so I can keep my trusty keyboard as well :-D. Wonder why that is ... because USB doesn't support n-key rollover?

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I've been on the fence about whether to get myself a Switch for a long time now. The prospect of sitting comfortably on the couch and playing some decent games on a tablet-sized device sounds quite appealing. But then again, I'm not a big fan of Nintendo or consoles in general. But this could be the very thing I've been waiting for all along.

Not going to pre-order, or pre-register for pre-ordering, though. But once it's generally available and living up to my expectations, I wouldn't mind getting one. Possibly even the high-end model for the non-glare display. Which at this point is really my one and only gripe. Why are glossy displays still a thing!? Otherwise the 250GB model would also do nicely.

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Played Overboard!, inkle's newest creation and found it short, but sweet. Like with most of their previous titles, I enjoyed the freedom it offers to players, with the narrative adapting to the choices you make instead of forcing you down a specific path.

Also had a go at the backer beta of Arcadian Atlas. So far it's Windows-only, and has the issue common to many Unity-based titles that it requires native Windows Media Foundation for video playback. But from the communication it seems like they might provide a native version at a later date. Keeping my fingers crossed.

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