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Yooka-Laylee jumps past $1.5 million in pledges (and every stretch goal) after one day

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Playtonic’s Kickstarter campaign for Yooka-Laylee has smashed through all of its initial stretch goals after a single day. The platformer has received pledges totaling more than £1,000,000 (about $1.5 million) and there’s still 45 days to go.

Yooka-Laylee’s success means that the game will expand considerably beyond Playtonic’s original pitch. By hitting stretch goal after stretch goal, fans have ensured the game will include boss battles after each level, a Quiz Show level, a transformation powerup, a local co-op mode for two players, a local versus mode for four players, and a simultaneous October 2016 release on the PC, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One.

The developer has added more stretch goals to the campaign including an “N64 Shader” mode and a Playtonic-hosted Let’s Play of the game. Additional stretch goals will surely be added over the next few weeks as fans continue to fill Playtonic’s coffers.

Yooka the Chameleon and Laylee the Bat seem to have struck a chord with gamers across the world. In an update posted this morning, Playtonic offered their “sincere thanks” to everyone who believed in the project enough to back it.

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Yooka-Laylee Kickstarter campaign is fully-funded after 40 minutes

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Well that was unexpected.

Proving that the public’s hunger for a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie is currently going unfulfilled, the Kickstarter campaign for Playtonic Games’ Yooka-Laylee has already reached its funding goal… less than 40 minutes after it began. The development team, which is comprised of several former Rare employees, was seeking £175,000 ($270,041) to produce the game. Instead, they’ve blown past that mark and are well on their way to the first stretch goals. As of this writing, the game’s backers have already pledged £250,578 ($386,665).

With their goal reached, Playtonic Games has vowed to release Yooka-Laylee for the PC by October 2016. Console versions (including the PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U) will be released sometime later, but if the campaign reaches £1,000,000 ($1,511,565), Playtonic will release the game on all four platforms simultaneously.

More details about the game’s world, characters, music, and platforming mechanics can be found at the Kickstarter page. But odds are you’ve already looked at it and already emptied your wallet in Playtonic’s general direction.

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Dead Island 2 will now be released in 2016

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Deep Silver originally planned to unleash Dead Island 2 on the world in Spring 2015. But with the end of Spring rapidly approaching, that seemed less and less likely by the day. And today, the publisher made it official, announcing on Twitter that the game has been delayed into 2016.

Elaborating on their decision in a TwitLonger post, Deep Silver said: “We have been looking at the game long and hard, and we have decided we didn’t reach that goal we set out to achieve quite yet. This is why we have decided to delay Dead Island 2 to 2016. Right now we are focusing purely on development, and we will have more info to share at a later stage.”

Deep Silver also said they’ll share more about Dead Island 2, which is in development with Yager for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, at “a later stage.”

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged

White Night Review: This Old House

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I’m a real sucker for horror games. Ever since I played Shadowgate for the NES, scary and macabre games really struck a chord with me. One of the things I love most about horror games is that there is so much variety. I can paint a wall with zombie brains in one game, outrun a silent killer in the woods in another, and avoid an unstoppable space creature in a third. In the case of the recently-released downloadable title White Night, I found myself in one of my favorite horror settings: the haunted house. Nothing spooks me more than being stalked by an unseen entity. Add in a dark, decrepit mansion and an ever-dwindling supply of light, and you’ve got all the makings of a real fright fest. But where White Night shines in style, the substance makes you feel a bit like you’ve been left in the dark. (more…)

Posted in PC, PS4, Reviews, Top Story, Xbox One | Tagged

Playtonic’s Project Ukulele becomes Yooka-Laylee as Kickstarter launches tomorrow

Back in February, Playtonic Games announced they were developing Project Ukulele, a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie. The developer might just have the chops to back up its boast as many former members of Rare, including Steve Mayles, the Character Artist behind the bird-and-bear duo, now call Playtonic home.

Today, Playtonic revealed that Project Ukulele will officially be known as Yooka-Laylee. As expected, the ridiculously great pun hiding in the title is also proof that Yooka-Laylee will also star a pair of animal friends. Yooka is a chameleon with a grapple tongue, while Laylee is a bat with a sonar blast. Both characters will have to work together to traverse their massive world, which you can get a taste of in the gameplay trailer embedded above.

Playtonic wants to bring Yooka-Laylee to “your platform of choice,” but we don’t know yet where the duo will take their platforming act. However, Playtonic plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign for the game tomorrow, and presumably, it’ll reveal quite a bit more about the game.

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Overkill’s The Walking Dead is coming to the PC, PS4, Xbox One

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Overkill’s The Walking Dead, a cooperative shooter based on the popular comic series, was announced last year from the developers of Payday and Payday 2. Today, Overkill announced they’re partnering with 505 Games to publish the title for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Bo Andersson Klint, the CEO of Overkill’s parent company, Starbreeze Studios, said: “Partnering with 505 Games on the console publishing for Overkill’’s The Walking Dead will streamline the distribution and marketing of the title in the traditional space and on the digital console marketplace. Having worked together before on the successful Payday franchise, we are certain this will be a fruitful collaboration.”

Overkill’s The Walking Dead will be released sometime in 2016.

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Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor gets Game of the Year Edition next week

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Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor took home a truckload of Game of the Year awards from various publications, so WB Games has decided to capitalize on its reputation with the release of a special Game of the Year Edition of the game. Oh, and it’ll be released next week.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor – Game of the Year Edition will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 5. The Game of the Year Edition will include the main game as well as all previously-released downloadable content:

  • Every Mission – Including The Lord of the Hunt Mission, The Bright Lord Story Mission, Guardians of the Flaming Eye Warband Mission, The Berserks Warband Mission, and more!
  • Every Rune – Including the Hidden Blade Rune, the Deadly Archer Rune, the Flame of Anor Rune, and the Rising Storm Rune.
  • Every Skin – Including the Dark Ranger Skin and the Captain of the Watch Skin.
  • Every Challenge Mode – Including the Test of Power Challenge Mode, the Test of Speed Challenge Mode, the Test of Wisdom Challenge Mode, and the Endless Challenge Mode.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor was also released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 last November, but it looks like the previous-generation platforms won’t receive the Game of the Year Edition.

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged

Kickstart This! The Silent Roads, Dimension Drive, Wildfire

So it finally happened. Almost three years after discovering the weird and wonderful world of crowdfunding, and having backed several projects along the way, I have finally joined our Senior Editor Nicole Kline in going from backer to Kickstarter campaigner. I am trying to raise £15,000 to produce a series of three short films dubbed The Illuminant Midnight Project. It’s no easy task, and I am taking in all the lessons I have learned from the campaigns I have covered for Warp Zoned over the years. With a bit of luck, I just might make it.

With that ghastly piece of self-promotion firmly behind us, let us cast our eyes over three video game projects vying for your contributions. Up first we have post-apocalyptic adventure The Silent Roads, followed by space shooter Dimension Drive. Last, but not least, we have Wildfire, a stealth game where everything burns. (more…)

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