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NieR: Automata’s new footage is all bullet hell and deadly androids

The Drakengard action-RPG spin-off Nier (2010) wasn’t a critical or commercial smash when it was released six years ago. It was just kind of… there. Neither terrible, nor great, its wieldy story was praised, while its lackluster visuals and janky combat left a lot to be desired. Nonetheless, Nier became an unlikely cult classic, which steamrolled players’ desire for a sequel. And now that sequel, the PlatinumGames-helmed NieR: Automata, is nearly here. During E3 2016, a year after the project was first announced, a release window (early 2017) and extensive footage for NieR: Automata was showcased. A boss battle teaser and…

Soft Body
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Soft Body brings colorful elegance to bullet-dodging on May 17th

According to a new post over on the PlayStation Blog, bullet-dodging puzzle game Soft Body will be releasing on May 17th for both PlayStation 4 and Windows, with PS Vita and Mac versions to follow soon after. It’s also got a new trailer to go along with the announcement, as well as a sneak preview of some of the game’s levels from creator Zeke Virant, during which he discusses how the game’s soft presentation works together with its nonetheless hard challenges. For the uninitiated, Soft Body is about controlling two “beautiful, gooey” snakes in tandem with each other, all while…

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Kill ’em with kindness and love in Undertale, an RPG unlike most others

Sign up to receive each week’s Playlist e-mail here! Also check out our full, interactive Playlist section. Undertale (PC, Mac)  BY Toby Fox You might say Undertale is unique due to its passive battle system. Certainly, allowing you to choose whether to flirt or fight with every monster you encounter is unconventional for an RPG. But what makes Undertale a truly notable title is how it makes metaphors out of mechanics. Most videogames give you a sword, creatures to kill, and a reward for doing so. There’s not a lot of room for interpretation. Undertale, mimicking real life, renders conflict a puzzle to be finessed and solved…

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The garish psychotronic madness of Uriel’s Chasm nods to early Swans

The band Swans have two distinct phases. The first is grimy, industrial no-wave that churns and roils Tetsuo-like with dystopic paranoia and twisted sexuality. The second phase—their current one—is patient, unfurling twenty-minute art rock tapestries largely devoid of distorted guitars and far more expansive than the claustrophobia of their early work.  Also, when the songs aren’t firing on all cylinders, late Swans can feel a bit like homework—stentorian bandleader Michael Gira isn’t the most dynamic presence on the mic, and the arrangements on their longer tracks often collapse into the hit-everything cacophony of bored band members switching instruments. RAILSLAVEGAMES’ Uriel’s Chasm nods to…