Get Your Game On: The Last of Us 2, Spider-Man, Sea of Solitude, Fortnite on Switch

Happy Wednesday! Have you recovered from E3 announcements? What E3 news were you most excited about? Let us know on Twitter or in the comments!

I just started playing VA-11 Hall-A, a cyberpunk bartender simulator, on PS Vita (it’s also available on PC). It’s more dialogue heavy than I expected, but if you like very random conversations with strange characters late at night and/or mixing drinks, check it out. I’ve seen players of this game praise its queer main character and her backstory, so I’m waiting for more of her story to unfold.

Here’s a closer look at some E3 announcements as well as other recent gaming news and links:

The Last of Us Part II Gameplay Trailer and Explosive Arrows

As noted in last week’s GYGO, The Last of Us Part II released an eagerly anticipated gameplay trailer at E3:

Obviously many of us are most thrilled about Ellie’s interaction with Dina. Also noteworthy: Jesse’s reference to “your old man” hints at Joel being alive and present. Another pleasant surprise is explosive arrows! The first game only offered one type of arrow.

The Lack of Women Protagonists in Games Shown at E3

Feminist Frequency reported that of games shown at E3, only 9 games, or roughly 8%, featured female protagonists.

EA’s Sea of Solitude Announcement and Mental Health

One game that many didn’t know EA would reveal more details about during E3 is Sea of Solitude. The game follows Kay, a woman who transforms into a monster, and it explores the subject of loneliness. It will release in early 2019. Cornelia Geppert, the CEO of the game’s developer, Jo-Mei, noted that the game is being written in consultation with a mental health organization:

Here’s another tweet from Geppert that offers glimpses at the game’s art:

Ooblets Dance Battles

Ooblets, a colorful and fun game that will release this year, revealed a new trailer at E3. We finally found out its combat system of choice: dance-offs!

Fortnite on Switch

Fortnite released on Nintendo Switch on June 12th. If you’re a PS4 Fortnite player hoping to play on Switch using the same Fortnite account, or hoping to play cross-platform with those on Switch, you’re out of luck. Fortnite accounts linked to a PlayStation account are not able to use that same account to play Fortnite on Switch, nor cross-play with Switch players.

Some mind-boggling numbers: there are 125 million Fortnite players since the game first launched, and 2 million Switch users downloaded Fortnite in its first 24 hours of release.

Life is Strange on Android, Finally!

Life is Strange is coming to Android in July 2018. I may never look up from my phone again.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 DLC

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4‘s DLC content will be distributed throughout the year via a season pass format instead of map packs. Apparently some players have concerns about this.

Cyberpunk 2077 and Tabletop Game Cyberpunk 2020

It’s interesting to see video games inspired by tabletop games, and Cyberpunk 2077, which was shown at E3, is the latest high-profile example. The game is linked in its lore to Cyberpunk 2020, a tabletop game which has existed for quite a while. Here’s a look at how the new upcoming game pays tribute to its tabletop roots.

Spider-Man for PS4 Trailer and Release Date

At E3, Sony announced that Spider-Man for PS4 will release on September 7th of this year. Spider-Man as a franchise is enjoying a good year, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version enjoying popularity recently with Infinity War as well as Miles Morales, Peter, and Spider-Gwen appearing in the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse trailer.

Here’s more info on the upcoming game, including impressions from playing the gameplay demo.

Check out this gameplay footage from the demo that was available at E3:

Here’s another video of gameplay that includes more cut scenes from the demo.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Gameplay Mechanics

The trailer for Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the upcoming Fire Emblem game for Switch, released at E3. Here’s an analysis of how its mechanics differ from Awakening and Fates.

More Game News

• Devil May Cry 5 releases in 2019
• LEGO DC Super-Villains releases on October 16 for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One

Finally, check out this comic by artist Maddie (@CritterOfHabit) based on The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC.

Games Bleat

Welcome to Games Bleat! I’m Kael, your local gaming dryad, and I’ve been listening to the whispers of the trees to bring you this week’s hottest games and new releases!

Starting off this week’s tender young seeds is Pode, a really cute game about teamwork, cooperation, and puzzle solving. It follows a tiny rock who helps a fallen star find its way home, and can be played alone or with friends—locally.

Next is Manasu’s Journey. It’s a platforming journey of self discovery through mountainous forests and temples beautifully rendered in pixelated blues and greens.

Now onto the deals!

PC Caveblazers $4.99 Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition $1.99 Reus $1.99 Paranautical Activity $1.49	PlayStation Zenith $8.99 Sonic the Hedgehog $1.99 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 $1.99
Xbox Slime-san: Superslime Edition $11.99 Tales from the Borderlands: Complete Season $4.50 Wolf Among Us $6.25	Nintendo Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle $29.99 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D $14.99

And that’s it for this week’s bleat! I have to return to my tree to slumber for another seven years—hopefully by then Cyberpunk 2077 will finally be out. Catch you next time!