Latest news with #CaptainBlood
Engadget
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Spreadsheet puzzles, metatextual platformers and other new indie games worth checking out
Welcome to our first weekly roundup of indie game releases, news and trailers. It's impossible to cover the indie scene completely comprehensively — dozens of games hit Steam alone every single day. There are so many indies we'd love to highlight, but we don't have the time to cover each individually. Our goal is to shine a spotlight on the games that grab our attention each week, one way or another. (Feel free to email me about your projects too!) This time around, we've got a spreadsheet-based puzzler, a pirate hack-and-slash title that was first announced 22 years ago, two solo-developed games and more. Comedy puzzle game SpreadCheat has an early '90s/Windows 3.11 vibe and a Clippy-style assistant that definitely won't get annoying. Along with trying to Excel (I'm so sorry) at bending the rules of spreadsheets to solve brainteasers, you can venture into side quests like cleaning up viruses. I'm not sure I'll try this one myself, as math has no place in my video games (except for you, Balatro , you're cool), but the concept is intriguing. SpreadCheat is out now on Steam. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. From solo developer Andrea Cavuoto, Spear sounds a little like the movie Free Guy in that it's up to a non-player character to save the day. After a critical error deletes the hero of his game and threatens the existence of his reality, an NPC named Default has to step up. Default uses a makeshift spear to solve puzzles, battle foes and traverse the environment in this action-platformer. Spear is out now on Steam. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Captain Blood is very much a throwback. It's a hack-and-slash game that looks straight out of the PS2 era (albeit with more refined visuals). Perhaps that shouldn't be a surprise, since the game was first announced in 2003. In fact, the original pitch was to make an old-school God of War, but with pirates. After several reboots, the game was canceled when the original publisher went bust. Legal issues prevented the developers from releasing the game themselves. SNEG later secured the rights to Captain Blood and over two decades since it was revealed, the game has formally been released. It's had mixed reviews, but I'd like to check it out all the same. That title is pretty great too. Captain Blood is out now on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC and macOS. We covered this one a few weeks ago, but here's a quick reminder that Geoguessr is now on Steam in early access. The Steam version was supposed to arrive in April, but it landed on May 8 instead. Nevertheless, it should now be easier for you to play the geography guessing game on Steam Deck. Elsewhere, Among Us 3D is out, while the super-charming Little Kitty, Big City has made its way to PS4 and PS5. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Another game from a solo developer, Zefyr: A Thief's Melody looks like a blend of The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker , '90s Final Fantasy and one of my favorite games of the last few years, Tchia . Mathias Fontmarty says it took 12 years to make this stealth adventure. Who wouldn't want to explore a world on the back of a giant turtle? Zefyr will hit Steam on June 2. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. It's always worth keeping an eye on whatever Devolver Digital is up to and this past week, the publisher revealed Botsu . It feels like another spin on Fall Guys , albeit with voxel-based robots. Botsu , which is from developer Peculiar Pixels, is slated to arrive between July and September. A Steam demo is available now. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. However you slice it, virtual reality is still a relatively niche market, so it's always welcome to see games make the transition from VR to 2D formats (still side-eyeing you, Half-Life: Alyx ) and perhaps find a wider audience. Survios is (Xeno)morphing Alien: Rogue Incursion into a PS5 and PC game. The studio says the flattened version, Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition, will have full HD, 60 fps gameplay. It's set to arrive on September 30.
IOL News
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
On this Day, May 9
1386 The Treaty of Windsor between Portugal and England is ratified at Windsor, England, cementing and strengthening ties between the two kingdoms. The treaty guarantees the mutual security of both nations and strengthens commercial ties. It is the oldest diplomatic alliance still in force. 1671 In London, Thomas Blood, an Irish adventurer better known as 'Captain Blood', is captured trying to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Quite the charmer, Blood wins over King Charles II and incredibly has the crown restore his estates in Ireland as well as make him a member of the royal court with an annual pension. 1945 The European phase of World War II officially ends at one minute past midnight. It is celebrated annually as Victory Day in Russia, commemorating the 20 million Russians who died during 'The Great Patriotic War'. 1962 A laser beam is bounced off the moon for the first time to accurately measure the distance between the earth and the moon in preparation for a manned flight to the moon. The distance is worked about by taking the round-trip time, dividing it by two and multiplying it by the speed of light to get the result. It ultimately helped lay the foundation decades later for GPS and other satellite-based technology that we're so dependent on today. 1994 Nelson Mandela is elected unopposed as first black president of South Africa. 2009 Jacob Zuma is elected president of South Africa. 2019 French adventurer Jean-Jacques Savin (72) drifts across the Atlantic Ocean in a barrel arriving in Martinique after leaving Morocco four months earlier. Three years later, the 75-year-old avid triathlete and former paratrooper is found dead near the Azores after trying to row across the Atlantic while 'laughing at old age'. 2022 Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa submits his resignation to his brother President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, amid continuing violent protests. 2023 George Harrison's Here Comes The Sun becomes 1st Beatles song and also the oldest one by any artist to register a billion streams on Spotify.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Captain Blood (PS5) Review: Pirate God of War
Originally a game in the Age of Pirates series, Captain Blood is an action game that was originally announced in 2003 and featured at E3 2004. Following a tumultuous development that saw the game restarted several times and then delayed indefinitely due to legal issues, it has now been miraculously rescued and released. While it'd be hyperbolic to say it was worth the 20-year wait, it's certainly an intriguing release that is worth checking out. It's weird to have nostalgia for a game you've never played before, but I was instantly transported back to the late PlayStation 2 and early Xbox 360 era of gaming after booting up Captain Blood. It's clear that the original God of War games were a major influence, as everything from execution kills and using the right stick to roll out of the way of attacks is similar. So is the bloody tone, as you kill in violent ways and can even murder any civilians you see just for kicks. While the combat isn't quite as great as God of War and its sequel, mainly due to how clunky it can be sometimes (foes can get you in a repeating combo if you're unlucky), it is enjoyable. You've got grenades and a gun that you can upgrade in order to sway things into your favor, plus the ability to pick up various weapons from enemies, such as a cutlass or hatchet. There's a good variety in the combat, which fleshes out over time as you use coins to buy more combos and finishing moves that give your character boosts. What keeps Captain Blood satisfying is its relatively brief length (players are asked to beat the game in under 2.5 hours for a trophy) and how much it embraces the pirate theme. There's a good amount of variety in the levels, as you will occasionally commandeer cannons and machine guns to take out enemy ships and other pirates. Throw in some fun island settings, and you have a game that knows what tone it is going for and is better off due to it having a clear vision. Levels culminate in boss fight battles, which are quite fun and the only truly challenging moments. They also feel very of an era due to their reliance on quick-time events that will automatically fail you should you miss an important button press. Thankfully, the checkpoints are surprisingly modern, so you won't have to replay the entire level again if you mess up. So, is Captain Blood more than a novelty release? I'd say so. While it is certainly a throwback, the game's visual style actually works in its favor as it is more interesting than if it were hyper-realistic. Plus, it's a fun adventure that can be completed in a few sittings, which is also refreshing in the day and age of games taking weeks to finish. While not every aspect of gaming was better back when this game was originally supposed to be released, it's certainly a fun time period to revisit. Captain Blood is such an interesting release, a true time capsule from a different era of gaming. From the static camera angles to the way it treats quick-time events, it is clear that the team was inspired by Resident Evil 4 and the PS2 God of War games during development. This simultaneously winds up being the game's greatest selling point and its limiting factor. Beyond a novelty, it's also just a fun swashbuckling time with plenty of action by taking full advantage of its pirate motif. Pirate theme works well Feels like a 2007 game Varied gameplay Combat can sometimes feel clunky Feels like a 2007 game 7 Disclosure: The publisher provided a PlayStation 5 copy for our Captain Blood (PS5) review. Reviewed on version 1.000.000. The post Captain Blood (PS5) Review: Pirate God of War appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
