May 17, 2020Indie Highlight
Hokko Life is desribed as a ‘cosy, creativity filled community sim game’. The game is being developed by Robert Tatnell who runs his own indie game dev company, Wonderscope. Initially Wonderscope intended to both develop and publish Hokko Life. However, this is an understandably big feat for one person. Therefore in April 2020, it was revealed that Wonderscope had ‘teamed’ up with Team 17, who will now publish the game. Team 17 are notorious for publishing games such as My Time at Portia, Overcooked, and Yooka-Laylee. Hokko Life will hopefully release for PC via Steam at some point this year. The price of the game is not yet known.
Hokko Life begins with your player stepping off of a train. Having taken over your very own (albeit a little dusty and old) workshop, you are free to craft and create to your heart’s content.
The quiet village which you now call home needs your design expertise. Help create an endearing town for its inhabitants. Armed with paint and tools, you can design, build and decorate new homes for your new furry friends.
Players can craft materials and combine them how they wish. This allows you to create a variety of cool new furniture and items for the town. By collecting flowers and mixing paints, you can use them to design wallpapers, flooring and even clothing!
Given plenty of design choices, you could design a bright flowery wallpaper set, or instead create an urban-industrial furniture collection. Whatever your taste, with a workshop at hand, you have complete freedom in designing a beautiful town for the townsfolk.
The latest Devlog from the creator of Hokko Life appeared on Steam on May 6th BST. In it, featured some exciting little updates about the game’s progress.
Now working with Team 17, Wonderscope have stated that ‘epic updates to Hokko Life’ have apparently already been made! The ones mentioned in the Devlog include:
In April, Robert started work on allowing players to edit the design of objects in the world, by simply interacting with them. Until that point, players had to return all the way to their workshop in order to edit a design. They would also need that object in their backpack to do this. (Sound familiar to Animal Crossing: New Horizons crafting and customization peeves? 😂). Now, however, if players spot something that they want to edit, they can do so from anywhere in the world.
Robert says in the Devlog that he will continue to think of ways to make the game more convenient and fun to play. He wishes to remove anything that might be a hassle to players in order to improve their gaming exprience. (Take notes, Nintendo 😂).
Another small change could possibly be the ability to evolve your players avatar. The information about this is in a recent Hokko Life Patreon post from May 15th. However the post is only accessible to the game’s Patreon supporters (which is totally fair btw!). If you are a supporter of the game on Patreon though, and know what this post is about, feel free to enlighten us! We’re curious!
You can check out an exclusive interview with the game’s solo developer, Robert Tatnell here.
And to get a more in-depth insight into the game, you should check out this article here.
You can visit the game’s website for info here and visit their Steam page and read their Devlogs here. Additionally, you can follow them on Twitter, and/or join their Discord server here.
Dec 10, 2019News
Thanks to Nintendo’s live-stream today of Indie World Showcase, we got to see some pretty exciting indie games coming in 2020. My favorite announcement was a new survival game set in the Escapists Universe: The Survivalists, created by Team17. You can play alone or in co-op with up to three friends and explore, build, and craft together! Survive the island, a procedurally generated sandbox world, on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and Steam in 2020.
The best part about The Survivalists is that you can tame monkeys and have them help you with building or fighting off enemies! Managing these adorable monkey employees working for bananas properly will make all the difference in braving the wilderness! Also, look at the little monkeys with their little spears and coconuts. Look at ’em!
The island is alive! Your newfound home will change with day/night cycles as you explore and uncover its secrets. Hunt (or be hunted by!) animals for food and meet the local inhabitants, who aren’t necessarily pleased to see you. Get quests from a Mysterious Stranger or find them washed up on the shore. Prepare to trek into a procedurally generated wilderness, with a variety of biomes, for an adventure that’s unique to every player.
Finding the perils of island life too much or just looking to share your building expertise with friends? The Survivalists has you covered! Complete joint adventures, gain loot, trade and ultimately survive together and as you and up to three fellow castaways explore an island paradise.
If you’re in need of a builder, a lumberjack or even a soldier, the monkeys on the island can be tamed and trained to help you with everyday tasks or back you up on raids to a fanatic camp! The Mimic System means a wide variety of functions can be performed by your banana loving friends, with monkey management becoming key to surviving the island’s challenges.
The secret to survival is to make the most of the resources around you. Whether that’s piecing together a primitive axe to chop wood or mixing up a refreshing fruit smoothie to keep the hunger at bay, you can discover recipes and expand your options across food, item or structure crafting trees.
Looking for an epic sword to hang on your hut wall or want to lay waste to encroaching hostiles? What you seek could be in one of the many temples scattered around the island. However, getting your hands on the loot won’t be easy so any would-be raiders will need to prepare for their treasure hunting crusade.
Nov 21, 2019News
It’s been one month since Valve launched their beta for Steam Remote Play Together, and now they have announced that it is officially released to all Steam users! Moreover, they’ve added the feature to iOS and Android devices! Meaning, cross-platform now extends to Windows, Linux, Mac, and mobile!
Steam’s Remote Play Together is a new feature that allows one player to own and host a local multi-player Steam game and share it with up to four friends over the internet for free! To find out more about how it works, you can go here.
In celebration of this, Steam is hosting a Remote Play Together Sale & Streaming Event featuring streamers from around the world sharing games using Remote Play Together. In addition, hundreds of games that leverage the new feature are on sale through November 25th, 2019! Below are some wholesome multiplayer Steam games I think you’d be interested in!
Two of the most delicious games ever made, in one savory bundle! This explosion of flavors pair greatly together, whether you’re in the mood for an incredibly challenging escalation of skill to the alternate Zen campaign mode of the sequel and leisurely pace of the original, these games have you covered! Buying the pack here with Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2 and Cook, Serve, Delicious! will only cost you $4.98 CDN (80% off)!
Unrailed! is a chaotic online and couch co-op multiplayer railroad construction game where you work together with your friends as a team to build a train track across endless procedurally generated worlds. Master encounters with its inhabitants, upgrade your train and keep it from derailing! You can purchase the game here for $17.24 CDN (25% off).
Pikuniku is an absurdly wonderful puzzle-exploration game that takes place in a strange but playful world where not everything is as happy as it seems. Help peculiar characters overcome struggles, uncover a deep state conspiracy, and start a fun little revolution in this delightful dystopian adventure! You can purchase the game here for $12.54 CDN (50% off).
Here’s your chance to get these awesome family friendly games with a little extra discount on top of your discount. Whether it the frantic coop kitchen action of Overcooked, or exploring the vast open levels of Yooka-Laylee there’s fun here for everyone. Get the 3 games here for a total of $65.27 CDN (25% off).
It’s about TIME! Join your favorite Super Heroes and Super Villains from different eras and realities as they go head-to-head with the time-traveling Kang the Conqueror in the all-new, original adventure, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2! Buy the game here for $11.99 CDN (60% off). Most LEGO games on Steam are on sale if you want to check your particular favorite!
Nov 16, 2019Quick Bits
Team17 is one of the best game publishers when it comes to cute and wholesome games. With such wonderful titles as My Time at Portia and Overcooked, Team17 is always delivering the goods that I love. Now, they are having a sale of up to 75% off, and it lasts until November 20th. So if you have been waiting to try any of these great games, now is the time.
Automachef – $11.24 (was $14.99) – more info here
Mugsters – $5.09 (was $14.99)
My Time at Portia – $17.99 (was $29.99) – more info here
Overcooked 2 – $14.99 (was $24.99). – more info here
Overcooked Special Edition – $6.79 (was $19.99)
Planet Alpha – $4.99 (was $19.99)
Raging Justice – $4.49 (was $14.99)
Sheltered – $3.74 (was $14.99)
The Escapists 2 – $6.79 (was $19.99)
The Escapists: Complete Edition – $5.99 (was $14.99)
The Room – $3.39 (was $9.99)
Worms W.M.D – $10.19 (was $29.99)
Yoku’s Island Express – $6.79 (was $19.99) – more info here
Yooka-Laylee – $13.59 (was $39.99) – more info here
Aug 27, 2019News
One of the greatest multiplayer cooking simulation games, Overcooked 2, probably needs no introduction. The developers Ghost Town Games and the publishers at Team17 have revealed the 3rd and final DLC of their Season Pass. Each DLC can be purchased separately but the DLC so far included in The Season Pass are priced at £14.99/€16.99/$19.99 and include Night of the Hangry Horde and Campfire Cook Off. Now that pack also includes Carnival of Chaos which will be coming to Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4 and Xbox One on September 12th, 2019!
As per usual, this DLC will include new chefs, new kitchens, and new recipes! This time the theme is that of a literal and figurative circus which includes carnival foods such as hot-dogs, doughnuts, and maybe popcorn. In the reveal trailer we see a strong-man and jugglers, as well as one of the players blasting out of a cannon! This game will probably have us all breathing fire! Get it, fire-eaters? We here at myPotatoGames are also loving the adorable pupper Kevin in the corner hanging out with a balloon animal.
For all of our articles pertaining to Overcooked, you can click here. To purchase the Season Pass on Steam or to learn more about it, go here.
Apr 15, 2019News
My Time At Portia has officially been released on PS4, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch! In this article, we are going to look at the key differences between the PC and Console versions as of the initial launch. Even though the two versions are very similar, there are some very noticeable differences on the console.
This review is based on an early Playstation 4 Version of My Time At Portia.
When I first sat down with My Time At Portia for PS4, I noticed a HUGE difference between the two games – NO voice acting. When you go into the character creation on PC, there is an option to choose your voice/accent but on console there is none. None of the characters have voices in the console version which is an interesting change.
Having played the game for over 40 hours on PC, I ended up reading everything in the voices I know and love. Even though I noticed no voice acting, I honestly preferred it. In the PC version, the voice acting isn’t complete and whenever a text box isn’t voiced, I feel like it takes me out of the game. With not having to worry about switching between the two and just sticking with no voices, I felt like this was a very good decision made my the developers.
In the PC version of My Time At Portia, there is major fog filter. I personally ended up modding the game to get rid of this fog which made the game a lot more crisp, colorful, and beautiful. The great thing about the console version of My Time At Portia is that there is LESS FOG! When I started up the game, I noticed that the colors on PS4 are way more vibrant than the PC.
As with any game switching from PC to console, there are major differences in the controls. Even though the controls were confusing at first, I quickly became familiar with them.
As of right now you are not able to change the key bindings on the controller. Jumping being “Circle” takes a little time to get used to as it doesn’t feel natural. It would be nice to change some of the keys as they were a little different than what I’m used to in games.
Unlike the PC version, the game on console has extremely long loading times whenever you enter/leave a building. These loading times can take you out of the game. However, as of last week the developers announced improved loading times on Nintendo Switch which may help. Hopefully they will be announcing the same for PS4 in the future.
As of right now, the PC version doesn’t come with the Housewarming gift set that came as a pre-order bonus for the console versions. The developers have mentioned adding something similar into the game so everyone can have access to the items in the future but there is no further information as of now.
Overall, I was very impressed with the PC to console port of My Time At Portia. They made some really great decisions on eliminating voice acting and lightening the fog filter. These few differences have made such a big impact in the game that I would highly recommend switching to the console version.
My Time At Portia is available to purchase on the PS4, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch e-shops. It is also available for purchase on Steam for those that want to stick with the PC version. Have fun exploring the beautiful world of Portia and Happy Gaming!
Mar 27, 2019News
Team17, the publishers of Overcooked 2, have just announced one of the 3 DLC packs that will be included in their new season pass. The pass will be available on Steam, PS4, Xbox One and the Nintendo Switch on April 18th, 2019. Campfire Cookoff, and the other two unnamed DLC packs, will be purchasable together for $18.99.
Campfire Cookoff will feature 12 new kitchens (including forests and rivers), 4 new chefs and 2 new recipes! The new trailer, in this article, is a nice reminder that summer is on its way soon. We at myPotatoGames are definitely excited to make some virtual s’mores!
If you missed our last update on Overcooked 2, check this out here, as we talk about the free Chinese New Year DLC.
Mar 21, 2019News
On February 5th, 2019, Ghost Town Games, the developers of Overcooked 2, just added another update and it’s completely free! To celebrate the Chinese New Year, they’ve added two new traditional recipes of the festival; the fruit platter (cutting up mangoes, grapes and oranges) and a hot pot (meat, bok choy, prawn and noodles)! They’ve also added two new chefs; a traditional Chinese dragon and a pig as 2019 is the Year of the Pig!
Go under “Story”, then “Extras” and select “Seasonal Updates”. There you will find the previous Christmas special, Kevin’s Christmas Cracker, and the 7 brand-new levels to play through from the Chinese New Year special! You start off in what looks like a hub world where you can see portals to enter both holiday updates so it looks like they might be planning on adding even more!
For more added features with the latest Overcooked 2 update, go here. For a more in-depth look at the levels, you can view Team17’s hour-long livestream at the top of this article!