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(more…)Hi, I’m Daniel Thurman
Daniel reviews cyberpunk books, games, and more.
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NEONnoir Is a New Adventure Game for the Commodore Amiga
If you’re not someone who follows gaming you might not realize that homebrew is a big thing in the indie game development community. And has been for a number of years now. One of the most prolific platforms for homebrew development has been Commodore’s classic systems, namely the C64 and the Amiga. Now, we have a brand new game called NEONnoir for the latter. And it looks not only like a fine Amiga game but also a solid entry in the cyberpunk genre.
NEONnoir is a cyberpunk game developed by indie studio steamknight and it’s available right now over on Itch.io page. The game is a hybrid point-and-click adventure and visual novel that takes place in a rain-soaked and neon-lit city. The gameplay itself takes place in a particularly depraved district affectionately called The Gutter.
The acid rain washed the city’s neon blood into the Gutter; home for those who ran out of options. The Gutter wasn’t just a cliche metaphor, it was the city’s most ruthless and dangerous district. Few chose to live there willingly; when your credits ran dry, there was nowhere else to go. When Danni Ashton went missing, her worried father came to you for help. Can you find her before it’s too late?
-NEONnoir Itch.io PageIn NEONnoir you play as a private investigator hired by the father of Danni Ashton who went missing somewhere in The Gutter. You are asked with finding her and, presumably, bringing her home to safety. But obviously, as this is a cyberpunk game, you’re going to encounter all sorts of sketchy types during the course of your investigation which will undoubtedly make things very difficult for you.
I used to want a Commodore Amiga when I was a kid in the 90s. It looked so cool and had a whole bunch of interesting games. However like the Commodore 64 before it, the Amiga never really caught on in America. It was similarly far more popular in the UK and other parts of Europe. Had a game like NEONnoir been released for it back then I would have gone out of my way to get one.
NEONnoir looks visually stunning and I’m looking forward to diving into it. It looks a lot like Amiga games of the 90s except a lot better. This I attribute to the magic of homebew. Being a cyberpunk game helps too, of course. If you’d like to see more about this game, YouTuber Saberman has about twelve minutes of gameplay you can check out below.
If this is the kind of thing that seems like your jam, you can grab it now. You can name your own price too. And while you can make that zero, you can help this talented developer make more cool stuff like NEONnoir.
[Source: Indie Retro News]
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90s Arcade Title Osman Is Getting Ported to Switch and PS4
Osman is an arcade platformer developed by Mitchell Corporation and released in arcades in 1996. Since its release it has never seen any sort of re-release or port. It looks like that is going to change in 2023. It’s been announced that the game is going to be ported to both Switch and PS4 sometime in 2023. The port is going to be released by ININ Games who has also just released a trailer for the game. Check it out below.
Osman’s development team apparently consisted of several ex-Capcom staff. Among these was Kouichi Yotsui, who served as the games designer and director. Yotsui was the designer for the arcade version of Strider and Osman was designed as an unofficial sequel or spiritual successor to Strider.
Osman’s setting is a futuristic neon-lit Arabian world with a cyberpunk theme. This set the game apart from both its predecessor and just about any other arcade title at the time. Like Strider however the game is a 2D action platformer and shares many other gameplay characteristics introduced in Strider.
I’m honestly surprised Osman has remained as obscure as it has been all these years. Especially given the pedigree of those involved in its development and design. I have heard a lot about the game over the years but have never had a chance to play it. It looks like that’s going to change next year!
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Jack Move Is a Turn-Based RPG Coming this September
Indie game developer So Romantic and publisher HypeTrain Digital have announced that Jack Move is coming out this September. Jack Move is a turn based RPG inspired and influenced by classic Japanese RPGs and 80’s cyberpunk anime like Akira and Ghost in the Shell.
In Jack Move you take on the role of Noa Solares, a neophyte hacker whose father has been kidnapped by a mega-corporation known as Monomind. Her father was researching digital consciousness and Monomind seems to want whatever it is he discovered. Noa makes it her mission to get her father back along with some help from her best friend Ryder and her uncle Guin.
In addition to the glorious animated sequences as seen in the above trailer, Jack Move utilizes a turn-based battle system and a classic-looking pixel art style reminiscent of the 80’s media that has inspired it. Check out some of the beautiful pixel art in the screenshots below and tell me you’re not excited.
Jack Move has been in development for some time but we finally have a release date. The game is set to be released on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and Humble Store on September 8th. And for consoles (Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, and Xbox One) on September 20th.
Pixel art, anime, 80’s, and cyberpunk. Yeah, this ticks all the boxes for me. I’m definitely going to be checking this game out next month when it releases and hopefully come back here with a review at some point in the near future.
[Source: Finger Guns]
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Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Gets a Full Trailer
We’ve known for a while that we were getting a Cyberpunk 2077 anime at some point. We’ve since learned that it’s going to be called Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and it’s going to be created by Studio Trigger. The series is due to be released on Netflix in September. Last month we got the first teaser trailer for the show. Now, Netflix has released the first full length official trailer.
The trailer as seen above focuses on introducing some of the show’s main characters. Namely David, Maine, Dorio, Kiwi, Pilar, Rebecca, and Lucy. The show is going to be a 10-episode standalone story set in the game’s glorious Night City.
ABOUT CYBERPUNK: EDGERUNNERS
The series tells a standalone, 10-episode story about a street kid trying to survive in Night City — a technology and body modification-obsessed city of the future. Having everything to lose, he stays alive by becoming an edgerunner — a mercenary outlaw also known as a cyberpunk.
-NetflixStudio Trigger is best known for the series Kill La Kill and the film Promare. The studio was founded by Hiroyuki Imaishi, a former Gainax employee and director of the hit anime series Gurren Lagann. Many would argue that Studio Trigger’s unique style and attitude is perfect for a Cyberpunk 2077 show. Or any cyberpunk show, for that matter. We do not disagree one bit.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is of course based on the hugely successful Cyberpunk 2077 game by CD Projekt Red. The game released in 2020 and to date has sold over 18 million copies, even as its development and release were fraught with controversy and technical problems.
That won’t stop us from enjoying Cyberpunk: Edgerunners though. It looks incredible, which is to be expected from a Studio Trigger project. We can’t wait to watch this and talk about it in September when it gets released on Netflix.
