Yesterday we brought you some unique insights into Xbox console games with new previews of Evil Within and Alien: Isolation for Xbox One and 360, FIFA 15 EA Access impressions, and an exclusive interview with the makers of TMNT: Danger of the Ooze. Now today is shaping up to be a day of not just reading about new games, but playing them…
Two new downloadable games have just launched on Xbox One! D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die from Access Games and Microsoft is now available for $14.99, and supports play with either the Kinect or a controller. Team17, maker of Worms Battlegrounds, has just published the lighthearted puzzle game Flockers for $24.99, or $18.49 for Xbox Live Gold members. Read on for links and impressions, plus a list of next week's releases!
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die
First announced at E3 last year, D4 is the latest game from Deadly Premonition helmer Hidetaka Suehiro (aka Swery). D4 stars a private investigator whose wife was brutally murdered. The protagonist has the unusual ability to travel back in time, which he does in order to investigate his wife's murder. Even though he can visit the past, he can't change it. But of course he'll try to find a way to save his beloved anyway.
D4 is an story-heavy adventure game somewhat reminiscent of Heavy Rain on Playstation 3. But this one features all kinds of weird touches such as the protagonist's roommate, Amanda. She wears cat ears all the time and eats her food from a cat bowl. The game has a very distinct sense of humor. Side objectives like eating as many different kinds of food as you can add some levity to the otherwise serious murder mystery.
Most uniquely, D4 can be played with either the Kinect or a controller. Using the Kinect, you'll interact with objects in the environment using naturalistic hand gestures such as grabbing, pulling, and rotating. You can also answer the NPC's questions with actual voice responses (from the three answers displayed on-screen). Alternately, the game works just fine with a controller as well. There are a few issues with the game switching to Kinect without being told to do so, but we'll detail those in our upcoming review.
D4 is described as the first season of an overall game, with two episodes included in this download. More episodes will follow in the months to come. Give the game a try and let us know your impressions!
- D4 – Xbox One – 9 GB – $14.99 – Xbox.com Link
Flockers
For the last ten years, all of Team17's games have been either sequels or remakes to past hits like Worms. Flockers marks the first new IP to come from the studio in all that time, although technically it's a spin-off of the Worms series. This one is a puzzle game with 60 levels to test players' wits.
The goal in Flockers is to safely herd a group of mindless sheep to each level's exit. You'll need to instill certain sheep with abilities like building walls or staircases in order to help the endlessly advancing profession avoid amusingly grim deaths (gore can be turned off in the options menu). If that sounds like the classic game Lemmings, it is! Sony owns the Lemmings property so we'll never have a true Lemmings on Xbox, but Team17 has given us the next best thing.
One interesting aspect of Flockers is its pricing scheme. Non-Gold members will pay $24.99 for the game, the same price as Worms Battlegrounds. Yes, those are basically PC prices, a little higher than console gamers are used to for downloadable titles. But Gold members can get the game for a 25 percent discount, making it only $18.49. If more games provide discounts like that, Xbox One users will have yet another strong incentive to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold.
- Flockers – Xbox One – 6 GB – $24.99/$18.49 – Xbox.com Link
Next week on Xbox One
Plenty more Xbox One games are in store for next week:
- Defense Grid 2 – September 23
- Disney Infinity: Marvel Superheroes (retail) – September 23
- CastleStorm: Definitive Edition – September 24
- Kickbeat Special Edition – September 26
Also, we'll be Twitch streaming an early look at Forza Horizon 2 for Xbox One on Monday, September 22. Check our site that day for the official streaming time!
