Video Games
‘Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars’ Launches in Game Preview on Xbox One
Ahead of the game’s release later this Spring, Kalypso Media and developer Palindrome Interactive have released Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars onto Xbox One Game Preview. This follows the previous closed beta on PC, which is available for all pre-purchase customers on Steam.
Speaking of which, the 20% off pre-puchase option on Steam is available until March 20th, which should give you a clue as to when the game will eventually be released.
Both the Game Preview and Steam beta versions of the game have been updated with a bunch of enhancements and fixes that dramatically improve the gameplay experience:
- New battle maps for each biome, taking the total number of unique battlegrounds to 16
- New mechanic: battle status effects, which affect all armies on the battlefield. Eight different effects with three levels of strength each
- New mechanic: capture points, including watch towers and healing points
- Lords will now earn skills as they level up
- Upgradable buildings now have four different visual variations depending on which upgrades have been applied
- New province effects, such as mana regen when ending a turn on a library
- New camera options in kingdom mode and fullscreen 2D map
On top of the update and Xbox Game Preview release, Palindrome Interactive have also released a new trailer for the game. Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars will also be headed to the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
Kinetic Games has followed through with the 13 Willow Street map rework for Phasmophobia today, which is free across all platforms. Accompanying the map rework is the first of two major quality-of-life updates bringing hundreds of bug fixes and helping refine the gameplay experience.
Ghost hunters can prepare for a refreshed investigation experience with the reworked Willow map, adding a host of new paranormal interactions, objects, and hiding spaces. As with the most recent overhaul to 6 Tanglewood Drive, Willow retains an almost identical layout but features redesigned rooms, including a reconfigured basement layout, bringing the gameplay experience up to the team’s current development standards.
The reworked rooms include an art studio, home gym and entertainment room, replacing the bedroom, garage and basement previously featured in the haunted house. Alongside these visual updates, curious players will be able to uncover new lore hidden throughout Willow, piecing together a story waiting to be discovered.
“As part of the 13 Willow Street rework we’re continuing our approach to storytelling in Phasmophobia and developing the game’s narrative,” said Anastatia Dukakis, Senior Narrative Designer at Kinetic Games. “It’s always exciting to see the community make new discoveries together and we love seeing everyone share their theories and thoughts on the lore behind in-game locations.”
Players will also be tasked to correctly identify (and survive) 50 ghosts as part of map’s challenge, awarding the Sun Seeker ID set upon completion. Players can also unlock the Cool Cat ID card and badge for the first week after launch, by watching 2 hours of Phasmophobia streams.
Meanwhile, the major update accompanying the map rework is inspired by community feedback following the Player Character Update, and reflects Kinetic Games’ ongoing commitment to delivering the level of quality players expect before Phasmophobia leaves Early Access.
The update introduces a range of changes helping to refine the gameplay experience with refreshed animations allowing for smoother and quicker movements, and changes to evidence collection for a more seamless experience, and ghost hunters might also face a new presence lurking in the shadows…
New keybinds have also been added with players now able to use 1,2,3 and 4 for changing inventory slots alongside wider accessibility tweaks. For an overview of all the fixes landing in-game, you can check out the blog post here.
Phasmophobia is available in Early Access on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR2, and the Xbox Series.