Warsaw, Poland – November 15th, 2023 — Mastering the mystic arts is an ambitious undertaking, and equally so is game development when you refuse to compromise on quality. With this in mind, 11 bit studios and Fool’s Theory have mutually decided to give The Thaumaturge some additional time in development to achieve the standards that players have come to expect from them.Recently announced for a December 5th release, The Thaumaturge will now launch on February 20th, 2024 on PC. As the finishing touches were put on the game over recent weeks, the team saw the opportunity to add more polish and quality, and given they have the comfort to allow themselves some extra time the decision was made to delay.In this narrative-focused RPG, players take on the role of Wiktor Szulski, a thaumaturge on a quest to make peace with his past. Unfolding in 1905 Warsaw, the story revolves around the complex theme of inner demons and how in this world that can mean more than just a mental burden. In The Thaumaturge, demons are known as Salutors who feed on one’s darkest secrets and only the titular thaumaturge has the ability to relieve someone of this burden.The Thaumaturge will be released on PC on February 20, 2024, followed by PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions at a later date.
Explore hills crisscrossed by routes—some well-trodden, others hidden away—that are filled with stories, lost things, echoes, and memories.
Climb peaks to orient yourself and plan your next steps. Then hop, slide, and jump through the valleys in time with the music.
This 2.5D side-scrolling adventure brings the Highlands to life with a blend of hand-drawn animation, impressionistic painted scenery, and dynamic lighting/weather effects.
The Story
Moira McKinnon has never seen the sea.
For fifteen years she’s lived with her mum in a small house on the edge of the Scottish Highlands—then one day she receives a letter from her Uncle Hamish urging her to come to the coast. If she can reach his lighthouse in time, a wonderful surprise will be waiting…
And so, Moira runs away.
The hills are full of secrets and stories, but what you find will depend on where you go. The narrative is not branching but weaving; a mesh of history, mythology and family secrets. What truths will you discover?
The World
In the Highlands, every peak has a story to tell and every valley echoes with song. Giants sleep, ghosts sing, crows carry messages, and eagles lift the dead.
But the Highlands’ crags are unforgiving and its summits are cold—Moira’s trek will not be easy.
Can you help her find a way across this winding wilderness in time?
The Music of The Highlands A Highland Song’s soundtrack is composed by Laurence Chapman alongside two multi-award-winning giants of the Scottish folk scene, Talisk and Fourth Moon. Royalty of the festival circuit, these two bands combine virtuosic instrumental playing with fast, inventive rhythms, to produce new tunes in traditional styles played with beauty, energy and swagger.
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Very excited for Rhys upcoming new album and love hearing the tracks from it.
A lot of cool stuff.
This strangely looks really amazing for being pedestrian.
Ear and eye candy.
Really hope that after the theatrical this seems a digitial or physical release.
If there is a red carpet for this it’ll be very interesting as the young cast has really grown up since.
It’s a musical. The trailer only hints at that but it is and the cast can SING!
I do hope the broach the subject of PSYCH taking over for Monk.
BMBBud Twitch recaps are always great, but his wife/editor Tori is OUTDOING her work here. Really amazing to relive if you were there live and fantastic if watching for the first time.
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Just in Time for the 10 Year Anniversary of The Novel’s Original Release, The Full-Color Graphic Novel Adaptation Features Action-Packed Art by Douglas Holgate, The Bestselling Illustrator of The Last Kids on Earth!
(November 6, 2023) Award-winning children’s author Chris Grabenstein’s novel Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Libraryhas charmed kids, parents, teachers, and librarians alike for a decade with its colorful characters, pithy puns, and unforgettable, imagination-filled library. Now, just in time for the novel’s ten year anniversary, Grabenstein — the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Mr. Lemoncello, Smartest Kid in the Universe, Dog Squad, and Welcome to Wonderland series — and Douglas Holgate — the #1 bestselling illustrator of The Last Kids on Earth graphic novels — are teaming up for Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library: The Graphic Novel, a full-color, action-packed adaptation of Grabenstein’s celebrated novel.
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library has been widely acclaimed. Booklist even compared Mr. Lemoncello to Willy Wonka. The novel spent over 100 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was nominated for 44 state awards. All told, the six books in the Lemoncello series have sold over two million copies. When he isn’t touring schools and inspiring the next generation of readers and writers, Grabenstein is currently hard at work on a seventh and final book for the series.
“Kids always tell me I write ‘movies for the mind,’” says Grabenstein. “So it was fun to translate this story into a graphic novel. It reminded me of the storyboards we used to create when I worked in advertising. I was very fortunate to have Douglas Holgate along for the ride. His artwork brings wonderfully vivid life to all the figments of my imagination.”
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library invites readers to find out if game-loving Kyle Keeley can escape from what James Patterson calls “the coolest library in all the world.” In the story, Kyle learns that the world’s most famous game maker, one Luigi Lemoncello, has designed the town’s new library and is having an invitation-only lock-in on opening night. Kyle’s determined to be there, but the tricky part isn’t getting into the library—it’s getting out. Because when morning comes, the doors stay locked. Kyle and the other kids must solve every clue and figure out every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route.
“Featuring fast pacing, lots of action, puzzles and codes the reader can solve, strong boy and girl characters, and a touch of mystery, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library is packed to the rafters with kid appeal,” said Shana Corey, Editorial Director, Random House Graphic. “It’s also perfect for librarians and teachers looking for graphic novels with positive messages and great themes for discussion.”
Working alongside colorist Marta Todeschini and designer and letterer Juliet Goodman, Grabenstein and Holgate are ready to charm a new generation. Random House Books for Young Readers will publish Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library: The Graphic Novel on November 7, 2023.
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A new adaptation of the classic James Clavell novel, with a brilliant actor in a role once played by the most famous Japanese actor of his time.
Screenwriter Drew Pearce has been behind some cool action stuff as has of course director Leitch. An escapism action flick is always welcome.
The BOOM comics for this version of Planet of the Apes were amazing, also explaning how these series are connected to the original films. This film also looks like it’s going in that direction.
A look at the recording of the theme for the 2023 return but also the creation of the song to begin with. A nice little featurette docu piece.
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I have a huge affinity for all things freak shows and circus. From Tod Browning’s Freaks to Alex Winter’s FREAKED, the 1947 and 2021 adaptations of Nightmare Alley, The Greatest Showman, the third season of American Horror Story and so much more. Not to mention my own personal experience of shows in Coney Island, falling in love with a bearded lady and being trained in pinhead and fire breathing. I’m not even bringing up books, comics, etc. Although one comic I will mention is 99 Girls by Terry Laban which has an amazing circus/sideshow scene for an erotic comic.
Taking that all into mind I absolutely loved the story and characters in the survival horror logic puzzle game Vlad Circus: Descend Into Madness. What writer Durgan A. Nallar has created in an original tale based on many legends and truths of the world genetic mutations, the world’s treatment, trauma, pain, psychiatric development and failure is intensely heart breaking, soul crushing and intriguingly mysterious as you meander through multiple tales of people’s lives. People just like me and you and yet nothing like me and you, unless you are like me and have been a circus person in a way.
I also love pixel art and this is not just pixel art, but crazy weird complicated and at times scarily horrific art. Yet also charming and giving these characters not just the words that built their personality but an image to how they could be perceived.
In gameplay your character moves as smoothly as pixel art can hacking and slashing and having stamina so low that you can’t run for half a screen without being out of breath. How this mechanic plays into the challenge version of the game I will never know, but in the story mode it was definitely excellent for immersion of being Ollie even in third person 2-D point and click fashion. Which any game should be capable of doing, make you feel outside while in as much as it can.
Not that one would really want to ever be immersed fully into a world full of hallucinogenic or are they? headless “zombies”, possibly insane barkers, alcoholic magicians with no legs, one armed snake charmers who caught off their own arm, ventriloquists whose puppet is more in control and more story spoiling extremeness. No, just on the crux of immersion, guiding Ollie through at some points really wracking the brain solutions that when you solve them are actually fully logical and in place that you’ll be kicking yourself.
Recently discussion of story and plot progression has been a hotbed discussion. And then, and then, and then only works for improv and as a silly joke in a stoner movie, but as a usage to tell a story it truly needs to be “this happened, therefore that happened but then” till conclusion and resolution and Vlad definitely follows this rule even if as a player you get lost, the game itself knows it is making sense even in insanity.
If I had to criticize one part of the game and a proper review really should always find something cause the perfect book, movie, game does not exist it’d be the game’s next to final section. Like many video games when you reach the final boss it takes a sudden switch and lots of what you’ve learned is now thrown out the window and you’re practically playing a different game. Where you were once using your brain, logic, management, reading comprehension and strategy, you are now relying fully on hand/eye coordination and while forgiving I could see some players getting frustrated… the pay off is worth it though especially when you’ve been on this “dark ride”.
Dark ride allows me to mention one more carnival scene that I adore despite it’s sickening portrayal but which also speaks to Vlad Circus and what it attempts and achieves fully and that’s from Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s Batman story The Killing Joke. Twisted, mind bending, leaving you feeling broken and yet wanting to return again and again. That fits Vlad Circus to a tee.
Vlad Circus is available NOW on Steam, GOG, Epic, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PS4 and PS5.
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A long delayed Nerd Notes of music videos and trailers that have caught the attention of PCS and its consituents recently. Coming soon on this site will be a review of the game VLAD Circus, posts with videos you would have missed if you don’t follow Reid Harris Cooper on Youtube from offsite NYCC 2023 events as well as footage from the show floor of NABShow 2023 and shortly after a review of The Invincible after embargo, as well as who knows what. Until then, here’s them videos.
MIKA is wonderful in any language.
Just sharing good eye and ear candy.
RHC volunteers by request as a moderator as well as a remote producer on their Monday Pop-culture for live programs on Perception Studios stuff. This 3 part Halloween Special is a pre-recorded YT exclusive and some of the most fun you might have. After watching go over to Part 2 and subsribe for more.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq38RBBE1rA
More MIKA!
I have read Matz and Luc Jacamon’s comic about 5 times since it first came out in English from Archaia in 2007. I am more than quite interested to see what long time creative partners Andrew Kevin Walker and David Fincher did with the material.
Mckenna Grace just gets better and better.
This strange movie looks excellent.
Sami Esmail adapted this 2020 wonderful but also dismal novel by Rumaan Alam into a movie and got a what could be called stunt casting cast.
Rally enjoy the videos Ghost Machine have been releasing to promote the new comics company.
Umfamiliar with the novel this is based on and it looks fascinating.
The Flames of Love AKA (Billy Avery & Leslie “Hydra” Butterscotch) haven’t posted a promo in 10 months. Before that it was 10 years. I hope this is just the start of something!
“It is so much more vast than you can even imagine”… this is just one of franchise expansions that are mindblowing.
Cooking sim and visual novel in the “Chicken Police” world? Yes please.
There are demos I will have played but will not be mentioning on my site. Mostly if I quit a demo it’s one of two reasons, it is not optomized well and can barely run or… the game even if amazingly beautiful has extreme control issues and needs to be reconfigured completely. Pop-Culture Spectrum makes efforts to only promote, discuss or speak of the positive unless recieving a key and putting in enough effort to mention the game and find the merit even if disliking it. That won’t happen here, but there have been at five demos I have played and chosen to not speak of because of gameplay design issues by the dev and I’m not a pro gamer, but a DEMO should NEVER cause you frustration and anger, so “buyer beware”. Now here’s demos I loved.
SIMPLER TIMES: What I could explore of the one room offered was excellent. Music was fun, the art is beautiful and exquisite. I love how simple it truly is. You can draw, take photos, play guitar, even bird watch… but I also can’t get a feel for what the rest would be. A dorm room? An apartment? Would it be like Unpacking but more elborate with more to do then unpack, but actually play with items and a paintered digital art look? I’m curiously interested for more. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1812210/Simpler_Times/
BELONGING: This feels like it’s still very much in development, but it is part of the Steam Next Fest and a first person point and click exploration it’s interesting. Discovering story elements through memories, videos, digital devices, etc. via a VR recreation of a crime scene (I think) feels wonderful. I don’t fully have the gist of what our mission is other than we are in the future, we’re cops of a sort and we’re exploring a cult that suddenly disappeared. I’ll be keeping my eye on this and so should you. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2081580/Belonging/
PROMENADE: Absolutely adorable platform puzzler. Not easy in the least. I have NO idea what the story is or what my motivation is from the demo, but the visuals are wonderful. I would watch the hell out of this as a cartoon although it is reminscent of Adventure Time meets a Boy and his Blob from both stylistically and gameplay. An alien like backpack that helps you grab enemies to jump higher cause your jump sucks while hunting down disc pieces for… I don’t know why. Again though, it’s adorable looking and super fun, even though I didn’t beat all the levels and I’m not even sure how to, I enjoyed my time and it is worth looking into. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1781260/Promenade/
THE THAUMATURGE: Traditionally I don’t enjoy isometric games or games with with rounded strategy combat yet those are two things this game are built heavily upon and I enjoyed them immensely. Mystical horror magic in the “olden times” (scarily not so LONG ago) of Rasputin (a character in this game) is definitely a good approach to make something feel different and original. Lovecraftian and/or Baba Yaga seems to be the go to a lot and instead Thaumaturge goes another approach. The investigation, keeping track of your skill management, discovering what is missing and solving the mystery on way to battle. I must admit at press time I did NOT finish this demo… I’m missing, something… but it is a marvel of an experience. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1684350/The_Thaumaturge/
AN ARCADE FULL OF CATS and A TOWER FULL OF CATS: Hidden cats are great. Super fun. Zen and yet also challenging. The story part of these both makes it even cooler and more fun. The demos only offer two hidden pictures, in the arcade the year 1995 with involves finding cats, but the other involved beating an arcade game to get cats an item so they can unlock other levels in the game if it was the final product. In Tower there were three levels and more objects to find as well, it’s a tower of time so it was prehistoric and egyptian These games were so fun it makes me wants to experience what Dev Cats did with Castle full of. 15/10 score. https://store.steampowered.com/developer/devcats
LOGIC PUZZLE: At first this escape room weirdness is something I can wrap my head around. Then it just gets way too much for me. It’s really well done though. If I had the patience to rteally think about the logic or not logic I think I would have a blast. The exploration is very well done, the puzzles are sound, but they just take a lot of mental power at a certain point. The kind of mental power where you’re like “Okay, that opens this, so that opens that, but… I can’t open that cause I need this and to get that I need to decode the morse code, but the morse code of what cause it’s a word but where’s the morse code itself? Oh I need to figure out this graph to figure out the code? Can I call a friend?”. That might be exactly what you’re looking for and if it… this is the game for you! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2513380/Logic_Escape/
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