No Place for Bravery Out on PC and Nintendo Switch!

BRASÍLIA, BRAZIL — September 22, 2022 — No Place For Bravery, the story-driven action-RPG from Glitch Factory and Ysbryd Games exploring the lengths we’d go to recapture that which we hold dear, begins a breathtaking adventure on Nintendo Switch and Steam for PC today.

A calamitous battle between almighty giants and dragons devastated the world of Dewr countless generations ago, and warring factions have arisen amidst the world’s ashes. Thorn, a former soldier, spends his days contemplating the scars and corpses piled up in his past. But when word of his long-lost daughter cuts through the voices he cannot silence, Thorn sets out on a vengeful quest to find her, convinced his blade is the answer.

Embark on a mythic journey across Dewr, a blood-soaked land of roving bandits and ruinous beauty. Deadly archers, nimble warriors, and colossal bosses stand in Thorn’s away, and a single mistimed move can spell doom. Master demanding yet rewarding stamina-based combat where decisive action can overcome Thorn’s fragile humanity. Make pixel-perfect dodges, split-second parries, and targeted strikes to satisfy Thorn’s bid for redemption.

Discover new instruments of war with weapons and items scattered across Dewr’s hand-crafted, pixel-art landscape. Survive combat arenas carved into the corpses of decaying titans. Emerge from sprawling deserts to lush grasslands where reed stalks jut forth like gravestones. Feel the weight of Thorn’s dilemmas and make dialogue choices to further stoke his blade of vengeance or bring his emotional odyssey to a very different conclusion.

“Inspired by our own experiences with parents and father figures, and as parents ourselves, Thorn’s complex and thought-provoking journey examines where protection and redemption become obsession,” said Matheus Queiroz, developer at Glitch Factory. “We’re thrilled to infuse the simple-yet-deep Soulslike genre, famous for testing your mettle and reflexes, with an equally challenging narrative straight from our hearts.”

No Place For Bravery is available now on Nintendo Switch and Steam for PC for USD 19.99, with support for English, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese text at launch.

For more, join the Discord servers for developer Glitch Factory and publisher Ysbryd Games, visit the No Place For Bravery website, follow Glitch Factory on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Keep up with Ysbryd Games on the official website and Twitter.

About Glitch Factory Games

Making games in the heart of Brazil since 2012, Glitch Factory’s founders dreamed of working in games, but finding few opportunities in their home country, they started their own company. Working both with clients and on their own titles, Glitch Factory operates with a horizontal structure where everyone has a voice in the decision-making process.

About Ysbryd Games

Publisher Ysbryd Games delivers games with stories that have the heart and soul to stay with players for a lifetime, underlined by captivating gameplay and striking aesthetics.

Article by: Susan N.

Read More

Announcing Demonschool by Necrosoft Games Releasing in 2023!

OAKLAND — June 12, 2022 — Demonschool, the school-life tactics RPG with hints of Persona, Shin Megami Tensei, and Italian horror cinema, summons fast-paced, streamlined combat on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Steam Deck in 2023.

Developer Necrosoft Games and publisher Ysbryd Games (WORLD OF HORROR, VA-11 HALL-A) invite fresh-faced students to a colorful island and its "prestigious" university, where exciting sports clubs, a world-class education, and the impending doom of a demonic apocalypse await!

For freshman Faye, the last living heir to a long-forgotten family of demon hunters, school is nothing like it looks on the brochures. While her peers get to flirt through Freud and dabble in Dante, Faye and her new band of misfit friends get shunted toward supernatural investigations. A woman who lost her face? A summoning ritual in the cemetery? Mailer Daemons!? The underworld inches ever closer to the world of humanity… college is hell!

Demonschool is a streamlined tactics game where movement equals action, decisions can be rewound, and speedy mechanics remove the genre’s traditional cruft. Plan each student’s moves at your leisure, then hit the action button and watch it all play out in devastating, character-based combos. Destin, a hot-blooded fighter, can knock foes forward into Namako’s debuffing dash, and damage dealers like Faye benefit from shrine keeper Knute’s helpful wards. Adjust strategies for monolithic bosses and unusual battlefields, bucking genre conventions. Unleash tide-turning special moves to keep the demons at bay—if they reach the back line, the human world is lost.

Each surreal encounter brings Faye and their friends closer to a dark conspiracy beyond their imagining, but thankfully, student life isn’t all bloodstained butterflies and dolls from hell. Live out an entire school semester, choosing what to study, who to befriend, and how much trust to share. Plan your team's class schedule to develop their skills and acquire over a dozen new allies through myriad side quests in a vibrant world of giallo colors and lighting. Foster friendships or fiery romances between them all, strengthening combo attacks and elemental affinities and uncovering new endings. Explore extracurriculars in and around town with a darkly comedic cast of eccentrics.

View trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_aaE_vmSx0

Demonschool worships at the ritual altar of classic Italian horror films of the ‘60s and ‘70s, drenched in strange visuals and hellish grotesquery driven by a funky bassline that renders even the most horrific scenario irreverent. Its tactical battles evoke genre giants like Into the Breach, but fluid mechanics with fewer clicks and a generous planning phase make starting this class a cakewalk.

“We wanted to create a game with complete transparency while still allowing for mystery. You'll never have to guess at numbers or what does what,” said Brandon Sheffield, creative director of Necrosoft Games. “We hope the story carries you through to a positive vision for the future, and what is possible when like-minded individuals work together against a larger evil.”

Demonschool opens enrollment on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Steam Deck in 2023. Take notes from Ysbryd Games on the official website, research the studio on Twitter and Facebook, and join the official club on Discord. Catch Necrosoft Games after school on the official website, Twitter, and Discord.

About Ysbryd Games

Publisher Ysbryd Games delivers games with stories that have the heart and soul to stay with players for a lifetime, underlined by captivating gameplay and striking aesthetics.

About Necrosoft Games

Necrosoft Games is an Oakland, California-based game developer with members all over the world. Founded by Game Developer Magazine and Gamasutra alum Brandon Sheffield after he left journalism, the studio now numbers six strong after developing a string of cult indie gems like Gunhouse, Oh, Deer!, and the upcoming Hyper Gunsport.

Article by: Susan N.

Read More

No Place for Bravery Coming to Nintendo Switch and PC

BRASÍLIA, BRAZIL – JUNE 13, 2020 – No Place For Bravery, a top-down action-RPG that explores the lengths a parent would go to find their child in a war torn world, will release in Q1 2021 on Nintendo Switch and Steam for Windows PC with the help of publisher Ysbryd Games.

Developer Glitch Factory will leverage Ysbryd Games’ years of experience on beloved narrative-driven experiences like cyberpunk bartending sim VA-11 HALL-A and cosmic horror roguelike WORLD OF HORROR to help bring the gripping story and pixel art landscapes of No Place for Bravery to immersive life.

An old soldier dedicated to the advancement of his people, Thorn reassesses his priorities and prepares to lay down his sword, until discovering his long-lost daughter Leaf still lives. In a bid to expunge the nightmares which plague him, Thorn sets out with his disabled foster son Phid to find Leaf, and endures a painful quest that forces him to confront the decisions made in his ambitious past.

No Place For Bravery places equal emphasis on narrative and action, with fast-paced movement paired with swift strikes and tactical parries during combat encounters. Progression is not about leveling up and increasing stat numbers, but earning upgrades discovered from significant encounters and uncovering the secrets laying in wait within the beautiful world of Dewr.

No Place For Bravery’s art conveys the goals of its gameplay by featuring an incredibly detailed pixel world, a stirring soundtrack and hand-painted textures. Characters feature fluid animation, all created in a style drawing inspiration from medieval, high fantasy and apocalyptic fiction.

Originally conceived of as a roguelike in 2016, Glitch Factory overhauled No Place For Bravery in the years since to deliver an experience that more closely follows their vision and inspirations, with a narrative-driven campaign influenced by the difficult experiences of its creators.

“Multiple members of the team had to deal with toxic relationships and absent parents,” said Matheus Queiroz, developer at Glitch Factory. “Through the trials and tribulations of our lives, including the long road of development, we have persevered, and we hope our shared experiences will be heartfelt by the PC and Nintendo Switch communities in 2021.”

No Place For Bravery releases in Q1 2021 for $19.99 for Nintendo Switch and Steam for Windows PC, with support for English and Brazilian Portuguese language text at launch and more languages to follow.

For more information, visit the No Place For Bravery website, like the game’s Facebook page, join the Discord server, and follow Glitch Factory on Twitter and Instagram. For more on Ysbryd Games, please visit the Ysbryd website and follow @YsbrydGames on Twitter.

About Glitch Factory Games

Making games in the heart of Brazil since 2012, Glitch Factory’s founders dreamed of working in games, but finding few opportunities in their home country, they started their own company. Working both with clients and on their own titles, Glitch Factory operates with a horizontal structure where everyone has a voice in the decision-making process.

About Ysbryd Games

Publisher Ysbryd Games delivers games with stories that have the heart and soul to stay with players for a lifetime, underlined by captivating gameplay and striking aesthetics.

Read More

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows - Switch Review

I love masquerade parties, dressing up and hiding ones true identity behind nothing more then a face mask decorated with jewels, fancy ribbons, lace and plumage galore. But this game has more than just music and rich aristocrats parading around, for in the shadow lurks danger that will strike to kill you if you aren't careful.

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows is a pause-for-tactics RPG style game set in a dark Venetian Renaissance inspired tale for the ages. Released back in 2016 for Steam by the development team of Witching Hour Studios and produced by Ysbryd Games, originally green lit from a Kickstarter, it is now available for the Nintendo Switch. If the hand-drawn art style doesn't tickle your fancy, then maybe its rich lore and careful storytelling, fully voiced, will intrigue you.

The story opens up to our protagonist, Cicero Gavar, who is summoned from exile to help solve a kidnapping that could derail the Citte Della Ombre's and drive it into the chaos of war. During your daring adventure you will gain allies that each wield the elemental power of these mysterious masks, giving your heroes magical ability to match with their fighting style. Will they unveil the deep scars that hide in the shadows of the city.

I've never played a game quite like this. My first impression of the game trailer left me uncertain by its new style of gaming. But it was its unique look that drove me to explore this style of combat and adventure. Almost as if it was made from a coloring book each chapter opens up into brilliantly detailed backgrounds and character construction, making everything pop out in each scene.

The music is also no laughing matter. If you feel like you're being pulled into medieval Europe, then you're not wrong. I honestly felt like I was dipped into a Spanish painting crafted to take me through time, a time of war and religion. The music does a great job in guiding you through each moment, never letting you forget that you may be killed at any given opportunity.

The game tends to follow the traditional tactical approach. You choose every step your party makes, at your own pace, from position, to planning which element to cast, giving you the power to customize your AI's behavior. There is always a default option if you find that customizing your individual party members gets to be to much. As you fight your way through waves of enemies you will earn Skill Points and these points can be used to upgrade your parties abilities by either learning new spells or enhancing them.

Each member of your team also has something called a Focus. Think of it as your magic shield that gives you an extra layer of protection. As enemies attack you this shield will diminish and can only be recovered with certain skills or when a battle has ended.

Being a band of powered individuals you have an Ultimate Ability. Through the power of the Mask you can unleash a powerful attack upon your foes. It will require that you charge it through combat, but once it is full you can retaliate with force. This is the only action that can not be activated when controlling your party members moves.

If an ally falls in battle you can help them back onto their feet by standing near them and holding your action button. This will stop you from doing anything else and can only be done by the player, your AI companion will not provide support. As you help your fallen companion this will leave you open for attacks and if the enemy hits you it will cause you to restart your recovery action.

As a user of elemental power you have these effects known as Tags. These tags allow you to combine another element with another member to inflict status on your enemies. Such as Air + Earth creates Blindness or Water + Air to freeze your opponents movement speed. The combinations are many with the four elements at your disposal.

Even with talented teammates Cicero, the fearless leader, is not someone you'd want a one-on-one with. The Inspettores of Ombré is skilled at fighting in more than one style. In the mist of battle he can change into one of the three stances that he has mastered, which gives you advantages in fighting your enemies.

Sicario: In which he becomes more vulnerable to attacks, but gains an advantage on speed and agility. This gives him the ability to run behind and backstab his foes for double the damage.

Pavisierre: Gaining extra defense on his Focus and charging his Mask Charge faster, though his attack power will be cut in half.

Dirge: Most of his abilities are in the moderate rate of damage, but he does gain an advantage to dealing ranged damage from a distance.

This game has done nothing but surprise me. I never would have thought I would find myself so immersed in this historical, war ridden adventure. The story is deep and the characters are engaging, with a fantastic script we are gifted with the talented voices of Mathew Mercer, Robbie Daymond, Jennifer Hale and Crispin Freeman. The combat is fun and easy enough to follow and can also provide a challenge to keep the gears in your mind turning, but in a way that allows you to customize the outcome of a battle. Maquerada: Songs and Shadow is definitely a RPG game I would recommend to anyone who can get their hands on it. 10 out of 10 in my books.

To everyone who worked so hard and tirelessly on this piece of art... Well done!

Game Information

Platform:
Nintendo Switch
Developer(s):
Witching Hour Studios
Publisher(s):
Ysbryd Games
Genre(s):
Action
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
Sony PlayStation 4
Microsoft Xbox One
PC

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Natasha

Read More

VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action - Switch Review

Va11ha11a is an interesting little game, touted as a “booze ‘em up”, adventure into a dystopic futuristic society where crime and villainy abound. So it’s up to you to make things right! Quite literally, as you work as a bartender in the eponymous Va11ha11a bar.

In case you were curious, no, you don’t go out fighting crime or cleaning the streets. You are a simple bartender, named Jill, who’s main goal is to make enough to cover her rent. You make drinks and interact with customers. Maybe even visit the store to purchase some fancy retro arcade machines if you have enough cash. Va11ha11a, despite having all the set-up for what could be pretty much any sort of action game, is actually closer to a visual novel in nature. The only thing you do is make drinks for customers. Sometimes this is what they ask for, and sometimes it’s what they need.

Va11ha11a has the primary focus on interacting with the, sometimes less than reputable, populace while mixing them drinks. If I had to describe Va11ha11a in one word, it would be “cathartic”. Jill is essentially a listener/improve psychologist for the majority of the patrons, which is a position I tend to find myself filling surprisingly often myself. Despite the fact I have the emotional range of a beige brick wall, I tend to get a lot of those late night calls saying “I need to talk to someone”. But I digress. Va11ha11a is a weirdly “real” chat with some fictional people. While the specifics of the patrons problems might not be realistic, I found a lot of the conversation to draw from some very real ranges of concerns and worries anchored in real life.

It also helps that Va11ha11a really draws up some interesting people as well. You know all those RPGs where there’s a character that pops up occasionally that you really like seeing? Maybe they’re funny, or weird, or badass, or maybe they just have a really interesting air about them? Well, all of the above are pretty much the cast of Va11ha11a, to one extent or another. The characters felt like those people you always wanted to hear the story of, despite not being main characters. And hear their stories you will.

Despite the fact most of the game is simply listening to, or reading, about the locals’ stories, you do in fact make the drinks yourself, and it’s actually a little bit unintuitive to a certain point, although that’s a bit of the charm of things. You have a list of drink recipes to draw from, and you have as long as it needs to make them, although failing a drink isn’t exactly going to make the customer very happy. You toss some ingredients into a shaker, either add ice or age it if called for, and then shake or blend, and voila, drink for monsieur.

The unintuitive part is the shaking/blending. If you want to shake, you start shaking, but have to stop just before your shake turns into a blend. There’s a bit of trial and error for this, but thankfully you can cover this in the tutorial without taking a hit to the wallet. As you continue with your shifts, the regulars will drop by asking for the usual, so you better learn their preferences. Sometimes they’ll ask for a general description of a drink, like asking for something “sweet”, or “classy”. You get to choose for this, and can add extra alcohol for a bit of an extra kick, if you think it would do the one sitting at your bar some good.

Va11ha11a is a really odd game. Not because it’s bad, or particularly weird per se, but because I have nothing to really draw a parallel to for comparison. Yes, there are visual novels with gimmicks, but those normally culminate in something, whether it be snagging a girl or unraveling a magical conspiracy by fighting with giant mechs using anthropomorphic books (yes that’s an actual example). Va11ha11a, on the other hand, is perfectly content to just be as it is, which is something I can say is rather novel to find. You aren’t going to find much action here, but the company certainly kept me coming back for more.

Game Information

Platform:
Nintendo Switch
Developer(s):
Sukeban Games
Publisher(s):
Ysbryd Games
Genre(s):
Visual Novel
Bartending
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
Sony PlayStation 4
Sony PlayStation Vita
PC

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Richard

Read More

VA-11 HALL-A Comes to Switch and PlayStation 4 on May 2nd!

CARACAS, VENEZUELA – April 8, 2019 – VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, the booze em’up about waifus, technology, and post-dystopia life which has sold more than 300,000 copies on Steam, will regale bartenders with more drunken stories on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 when publisher Ysbryd Games and developer Sukeban Games start pouring drinks on May 2.

Ysbryd Games and Sukeban Games will partner with Limited Run Games to produce physical editions for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, as well as a special Collector’s Edition boxset for Nintendo Switch. Further details on these physical editions will be announced later this year.

In a cyberpunk future, capitalist forces drive the corrupt government of Glitch City, a place known for both rapid advancements in technology and a disregard for the ethical quandaries of nanomachine experiments on the general public. Enter VA-11 HALL-A: a hole-in-the-wall dive bar providing solace for lonely souls facing the brutality of daily dystopia.


Bartender Jill listens to everyone’s tales while mixing drinks for strangers and regulars alike. Engage in lively conversations with a humanoid robot popstar, the editor-in-chief of a prominent magazine, a boy-crazy hacker and others to unveil the society of Glitch City as seen through the eyes of its citizens. Jill pours libations, but her patrons pour out their souls.

VA-11 HALL-A puts a shaken-not-stirred spin on point-and-click games with mixology: characters react differently depending on the drinks served and how much alcohol they’ve had. Learn more about Glitch City through the lens of a resident doing her best to maintain a somewhat ordinary life in an extraordinary metropolis.

Enhance the atmosphere of this futuristic experience by curating different electronic playlists on the jukebox to listen throughout the night. Infectious synthpop, ambient electronic music and a dark pixelated anime art style frame the gloomy but laid back experience.

“We wanted players to feel a sense of humanity in VA-11 HALL-A,” said Christopher “Kiririn51” Ortiz, co-founder, Sukeban Games. “Oftentimes we get so stuck staring at screens that we forget what it means to be human. Jill gets to hear all sorts of stories every night, from crazy to serious, and every single one of them is equally important to each teller. This influences the direction players take with the drinks they serve, making it a story-driven experience that’s personal to the player.”

VA-11 HALL-A will be available on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 for the regular price of $14.99 USD and is currently available on Steam and PS Vita. It will support English and Japanese at launch with other localizations to be added to all versions later.

For more information, please visit the official website, follow @YsbrydGames and @SukebanGames on Twitter, join the Ysbryd Games Discord or check out the Ysbryd Games Twitch channel.

About Ysbryd Games

Publisher Ysbryd Games delivers games with stories that have the heart and soul to stay with players for a lifetime, underlined by captivating gameplay and striking aesthetics.

About Sukeban Games

Based in Venezuela, Sukeban Games is a team of four people aiming to push the narrative limits of what video games are expected to deliver. Sukeban Games’ first commercial outing, VA-11 HALL-A, has sold more than 300,000 copies on Steam.


Article by Susan N.

Read More

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows - PS4 Review

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows in an interesting game. On one hand, we have a title that could have made a beautiful point-and-click or even a visual novel. On the other, we have the amazing adventure RPG that sees an unlikely group follow through an investigation that leads ever further down the rabbit hole.

I know what you’re probably thinking by this point. Unlikely group? Again? While the answer is “yes” it takes a different spin compared to the normal grouping of a ragtag bunch. Firstly, they are not ragtag. Your main character and protagonist Cicero is an exile called back in order to search for missing members of the society that he was cast out from.

Tagging along and using one another are characters such as Kalden who’s looking for his brother that happens to be at the center of Cicero’s investigation and Tiziana who’s openly spying on Cicero for her master and prepared to do what is needed to further their ambitions. They are all playing politics and keeping their cards close to the chest while still trying to figure out how to work together to find out what is really going on.

With the stage set and gameplay in hand, Masquerada uses a few elements that it probably could have done without. For the most part, Cicero will get to walk through shallow environments that have little or nothing to do other than move over to the spot that will take him and the party to the next location. Sometimes lore can be found lying about and if it’s in a crowded city then the conversations are worth listening to but otherwise it’s on a rail and you simply follow the points onto the next dialog and story segment.

It’s not a bad approach by any means as a lot of titles follow suit, but sometimes I felt like it could have been done without especially with no combat present in order to get your fingers moving. With the amount of dialog that is present the characters could have walked and talked instead of standing still which could have still have showcased the beautiful environments and their soft colors without making you needless have to move through corridors or streets with nothing in them.

When there are enemies and the swords are unsheathed from their scabbards however these environments are worth knowing. Masquerada uses a real-time system that has characters able to either auto-attack or have their skills set up to use in specific instances not unlike FFXII’s Gambit System. If that isn’t enough, direct control of a character can be taken can moving them behind that wall in order to evade an attack is sometimes much better than getting the hits in.

Combat is fun and it doesn’t feel out of place especially since you already know that getting your hands dirty is going to happen because some people don’t want you finding out what you need to. As mentioned above each character has access to standard attacking or skills that can be used on cooldowns. The cooldowns themselves aren’t ridiculous but neither are the power of these skills making them useful to use but not the be all end alls. From that perspective there’s a good balance to the system and as time goes on it requires more hands on and less letting the characters do what they want if you want to survive.

After each combat each party members receives points that can be used to either unlock new skills or upgrade existing ones. There’s no progression per say as you’re free to choose which skills you want and if you like them enough you can level them further. It was nice not to be locked in and forced to waste points on ones that you didn’t want. It adds a bit of flavour and a more personal touch to how you wish to fight your enemies.

If the stylistic approach of Masquerada wasn’t enough, the voice acting is top notch with VAs such as Matt Mercer, Jennifer Hale, Robbie Daymond and a personal favorite Yuri Lowenthal (Full List). With the amount of dialog that is to be had, this cast brings about an experience that could not have been done otherwise having simply gone with text or a half voiced approach. I personally have a bad habit of simply reading ahead and skipping most of the time but these combinations had me taking the slow way and enjoying every moment of it.

It is with these elements that everything comes together and the “empty” corridors can be forgotten because everything else is made more full through the unfolding experience. Also helping to alleviate this is the sheer amount of lore that is unlocked through characters speaking or through the odd node that can be found while exploring an area. Each entry is lengthy enough and helps develop both this world and Cicero’s past for a better understanding of what someone could have meant with the tone in their voice.

Finally adding to it all is an optional tutorial that can be accessed from the main menu. Optional. Words I really like to see as often tutorials could be covered with no more than a few sentences. In Masquerada’s case however this tutorial should be done as it acts as a prelude to the main event and is often enough referenced. You don’t have to but it helps to have seen it alongside the journal entries to give a more complete experience.

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows comes together to offer a wonderfully artistic experience. The visual art as well as the well crafted character dialog and their voice overs combine to create an experience that would have been less without the efforts put into each.

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Witching Hour Studios
Publisher(s):
Ysbryd Games
Genre(s):
Action
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
Microsoft Xbox One
PC

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

Read More