Welcome to the latest edition of 'Out Now', where we round-up the week's new __game releases. A time-bending puzzle, mildly interesting strategy game, some new awesome for Android users, and a whole bunch of interactive fiction await you in today's top picks.
Causality (iOS / Android)
Time travel and the paradoxes therein have fueled science-fiction offerings since humans first conceived of slipping through time. Casuality is a puzzle __game based on these tried-and-true ideas. You play as a group of astronauts stranded on a strange alien world and have to travel through time and work with prior versions of yourselves to get through a series of increasingly complicated levels. Gameplay occurs TiVo style, with a finger-sliding mechanic that rewinds and fast forwards time. It's a fun and unique way to interact with a puzzle game and the complexity lies in picking a path for each astronaut to their color-coded exit spot in a certain amount of time. You have to make sure astronauts don't play spoiler for each other and the difficulty really ramps up as new perils are introduced, including avoiding the dreaded time paradox where two versions of the same astronaut would converge. Casuality has a ton of levels and some of them feature killer complexity. If you're into puzzle games you'll probably dig this one.
Mildly Interesting RTS (iOS)
You gotta love it when a game's name tells you pretty much all you need to know about it. Mildly Interesting RTS is a minimalistic real-time-strategy game where you control an army of orbs and use them to seize and hold a number of bases. There are five different game modes and you can pick number of starting units and game speed for each. You can play the AI, a human (over Wifi), or just spectate a game. The game is free as a preview and the developer may add "non-scummy IAP such as skins/map packs in the future... or just make the game premium (not sure yet)." I played several games and enjoyed myself. I think it's interesting, not just mildly so, though "Interesting RTS" is not nearly as good of a name. Grab it while it's free.
Ink Spotters 1: The Art of Detection (iOS)
If you've ever wanted to play the role of Sherlock Holmes and analyze a scene to pick up clues, Ink Spotters has you covered. The Art of Detection is the first issue in a new interactive-fiction series that reads like a comic. You start with all but one panel of the comic hidden and must find and type in clues to reveal more on the way to solving the comic and uncovering the rest of the story. In this first story Holmes and Watson are on the case of the disappearance of a fashionable young man. You move through a series of witnesses, both human and bird, before things get real with the abduction of Watson. If you're into interactive fiction and the adventures of Sherlock and Watson this makes for a unique way to engage in their world. You might say picking it up is elementary.
Mage the Ascension: Refuge (iOS and Android)
Asmodee Digital released two games this week. Mage the Ascension: Refuge is an interactive-fiction title based on the popular RPG setting. The story is centered on social issues and, of course, magic, and offers you a choice of how you want to use your gifts. I wasn't able to play this one first, but there's more than enough fodder for a story-based game in the setting.
Vampire: Prelude (iOS and Android)
The second Asmodee launch is also an interactive-fiction game, this time based on the Vampire the Masquerade setting. It is told entirely through a mobile-messaging mechanic and looks super creepy based on the trailer (again, I have not taken this one for a spin yet). You find yourself newly be-fanged and must decide the extent to which you will try to control your new and growing hunger and retain some semblance of your mortality and morality.
Demon's Rise 1 and 2 (Android)
Demon's Rise feature in-depth and tactically challenging combat encounters and Demon's Rise 2 won our RPG game-of-the-year award for 2016. Android gamers, I've got good news for you, both Demon's Rise 1 and 2 are out now in the Google Play store. I recommend both without reservation to fans of turn-based, squad-oriented, tactical combat. Go get some.
That's it for this week's new releases - tune in next Friday for some more top picks on new games. As always, if you want to get a mention do tweet us or comment! Enjoy your weekends!
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