The first ever mobile game based on the hit anime series Bungo Stray Dogs has moved a step closer to launching in the West by kicking off its pre-registration campaign. Bungo Stray Dogs: Tales of the Lost is a puzzle-RPG hybrid for iOS and Android devices. The game features accessible, fling-based battle mechanics and gives anime fans the chance to build their own team comprised of characters from the comics and TV show. Publisher Ambition is giving away special prizes to players who sign up for Tales of the Lost early, every time it hits a sign-ups milestone. For instance, when the game reaches 10,000 subscribers, users will receive a Scout Ticket, which can be used to unlock new characters.
It's so close now you can almost taste it. In less than two hours James Gilmour is going to be taking to the Twitch airwaves to stream Asmodee's lastest board game adaptation, Lord of the Rings: Living Card Game. Not only that, he's going to be joined by Luke Walaszek, who works at Fantasy Flight Digital, the developers behind the game. There's going to be orcs, there's going to be elves, and there's going to be lots of swords and adventuring too. I know that's the sort of thing that's going to tickle your fancy, at 5PM UK time in order to join in with the fun.
With E3 over and done with, it's customary for all the devs who held back the launch of their games during the show to simultaneously release them onto the app stores. And this is how you find James, Em, and Ric this week: pummelled beneath a digital tidal wave comprised of Westworld, Suzy Cubes, Splatoon 2 DLC, and loads more portable games. But our buoyant hosts will not be sunk, not even by the Android launch of Gorogoa and a huge PUBG update. They will persist. Oh yes. Persist they will. Download episode 446: (right click to save-as, left click to play)
While we're getting excited for , it's a great time to take a look at a little bit of news regarding Nintendo's first mobile outing, Super Mario Run. You may not think it did crazily well, but recent reports say it's just surpassed $60 million in almost two years which isn't a figure to sniff at. If you've not been on the internet for the past couple of years, Super Mario Run is Ninty's first whack at mobile gaming. Playing as Mario you zip through a number of courses in this autorunner and can complete it with only one hand. When it launched it landed with a bang, but dropped to a fizzle and wheeze as players moved on. It's Ninty's only premium mobile title and though it launched on the App Store worldwide in December 2016 (and other areas before that) it took a little while to come to Google Play.
I don't know why I'm genuinely surprised by this news, but not only had Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy shot back to number one in the UK charts, it's the fastest selling Switch game so far in 2018. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is a remastering of the original three PlayStation titles from the 90s. Any 90s kids out there will know the kind of nostalgia these things bring back and, ho' boy, there's a lot. I mean, it doesn't include the Spyro demo in the menu, but we can just check out the Spyro Reignited trailer again. As reported by yesterday, the game pulled in some remarkable figures. While it's the game's eighth time in the UK's No. 1 spot, both the Xbox and Switch versions did extremely well. Xbox One only edged out the Switch edition by about 250 copies, but it's no surprise that players are buying. At a highly reasonable £30, it's an excellent deal.
It's been since we covered the news that PUBG Corp was taking Fortnite to court and ultimately, as anyone could've predicted, the studio has decided to drop its lawsuit. According , PUBG Corp. contacted Epic Games on Monday announcing their withdrawal and the case has hence been closed. Though the information has been confirmed, it's still not clear why the change of heart or what settlements were made, if any. I mean, I'm pretty sure anyone you speak to about the attempt will tell you it wasn't likely to succeed. Not only does Tencent have shares in Epic, but PUBG also uses Unreal Engine to create the game which Epic developed.
Yesterday marked the fourth birthday of World of Tanks Blitz and Wargaming has a celebration lined up from now until July 2nd. Those lucky tankers destined to snap up some nice rewards have several opportunities to do so. It's time to get your boogie shoes on. After winning a battle, Wargaming wants you to record your best victory move and post it on social media under #blitz4thewin. You may win a special birthday t-shirt, but those who enter will get these set rewards regardless:
Unique presents (pick any!): M3 Light, BT-7 artillery, LTP, or 3 days of Premium Account
x5 experience for your first victories and enhanced crew training
Oh me oh my do we ever have a treat for you tomorrow. The ever lovable James Gilmour is going to be streaming Lords of the Rings: Living Card Game live on Twitch from 5pm UK time tomorrow. Not just that, James will be joined by Luke Walaszek from Fantasy Flight Digital, one of the developers of the digital version of the classic game of cards, orcs, hobbit, and more. If you've not heard of LOTR:LCG (as we're going to be calling it from now on for brevity's sake), it's a game based on Tolkein's books that sees you teaming up with other players in order to play out some of the encounters and adventures we're all so familiar with. It's been out in physical form for quite a while now, but this is the first time it's ever come to a digital platform, and we're getting to play it for you with one of the people who makes it tick. Pretty sweet, right?
It's an island full of dinosaurs and you've got to survive. No, it's not Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and no, you are neither Chris Pratt nor Bryce Dallas Howard (condolences). It's Ark: Survival Evolved, out on iOS and Android right now. James and Ric find out if it's any good, and try to work out why Sony hates Switch Fortnite players so much. Download episode 445: (right click to save-as, left click to play)
Only a ago details were revealed regarding the upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog film, and they weren't quite what we'd expected from our favourite blue-spiked hero. However, recently we learnt there's another star joining the ranks and this time Jim Carrey isn't exactly an animal lover. As reported by , Jim Carrey is currently negotiating to join the cast of Sonic The Hedgehog, including James Marsden (Enchanted) and Tika Sumpter (Ride Along). If negotiations go well the actor will be playing Dr. 'Eggman' Robotnik who, if you've never played STH, is the game's main villain.
Alright, if you've read my previous coverage of Nintendo Labo you know I've been a little torn about it. I think it's a great idea, but I also firmly believe it's something I'd buy, build, play with for a day, and then forget. At least I did until Ninty decided to make the Variety Kit compatible with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Nintendo Labo offers up a whole host of creative possibilities outside of its basic uses, as Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, and Ariana Grande , but the 'game' side of things is what stopped me from purchasing one myself. I'd have a blast building the Labo bits and the fishing game would likely draw my attention for a few hours, but that was about it. It seemed the motorbike function was the weakest of the lot... until Mario Kart joined the fray.
It's hard to believe that it's been a year since snuck out on iOS. Whilst free to play mobile games have proven to be immensely profitable in the long run if they're correctly set up, premium games aren't dead yet as ustwo shows us. Over last night, ustwo published an article detailing how the first year of Monument Valley 2 compared to that of the game's predecessor. We knew it was coming at the time, but when MV2 dropped during Apple's WWDC 2017 keynote (against a revamped App Store) people were practically raving.
Earlier today in an interview with our sister site, , it was revealed that Asmodee Digital has some rather big plans for the next year across mobile, console, and PC. If you've played a digital board game on mobile, it's likely Asmodee either brought it to iOS and Android or picked up the reins. It's no secret that Pocket Gamer has a rather special relationship with Asmodee Digital. As well as supporting our fantastic board game section, TableTap, the publisher is also an ongoing presence in our regular .
Perhaps you've heard of Hole.io, a newly-released game on the App Store and Play Store. The premise is fairly simple, and similar to other .io games. You're a hole, you slide around eating things, and you want to eat things faster than the other players. Eating more things makes you bigger, and lets you eat larger objects, almost like Katamari Damacy... but with a hole. If the concept of a hole navigating around to swallow things up sounds familiar, that's because it's also the premise of , an indie game that's been in production for over five years. Esposito posted a message on his Twitter today, calling out Hole.io as a clone of his own game. He notes that there are some differences - Donut County has a strong focus on story and narrative, while Hole.io focuses on the multiplayer aspect familiar to .io games.
During this week's Nintendo Direct was headed to the Switch dropped and was quickly followed by its launch date - later that day/night. Even in just over a day the downloads have already reached 2 million and likely won't be slowing down anytime soon. Of course, that's not totally surprising news is it? As THE most popular game in the world at the moment, pulling in 125 million total players across its platforms, and by throwing it on the Switch - one of the most popular consoles - it's a recipe for success whatever way you look at it. .
We've got all the big mobile announcements from WWDC 2018 this week, with Em, Ric, and James wagging their tongues about Apple's waggly tongue tracking software (we're not joking). There's also coverage of new releases like Deep Space, Only When Howling, and the unfortunately named Slickpoo: The Clown. Plus, James chats to Ubisoft about last week's Might & Magic: Elemental Guardians. Download episode 444: (right click to save-as, left click to play)
WWDC was pretty intense . Not only for the ton of new software and software updates on the way, but also from how advanced and promising some of the bits were (I'm looking at you ARKit 2). However, let's not forget that the Apple Design Awards went on not too long afterwards and these winners are well worth screaming about. The games that walked away with an Apple Design Award are:
Alto's Odyssey - (£4.99/$4.99)
"A stunning looking, cathartic experience that builds subtly on what's come before. Just go and get it." - Pocket Gamer
It doesn't feel right to think it's been a year since Nintendo stopped its production of . If you missed out on grabbing the teeny tiny console before, here's your chance as it's back in stock in a few places.
Don’t miss your chance to play 30 of the best retro games ever with Edition, returning to stores this Friday, June 29! — Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica)