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Outbuddies Available Today!

Get Ready for an Awesome Metroidvania-styled Challenge

15 October 2019

Today, the PC version of Outbuddies will be unleashed on Steam and GOG. 

The game, developed by Julian Laufer, features elements of the popular “metroidvania” genre, where players will, with the help of their robot sidekick Buddy, dash, dodge, and blast their way through danger-filled 2D side-scrolling levels, all packed with deadly features — from roving enemies to lethal security systems. Never fear, however, as the player is armed with a variety of weapons and equipment to help them bypass and battle through these dangers. Outbuddies will be available today at 8pm BST for Windows PC. Due to a 15% release discount, the initial price on Steam and GOG will be €15.29, $15.29 and £12.74. 

 


In Outbuddies, players enter Bahlam, a sunken city of the Old Gods, located deep in the South Atlantic Ocean. Following a shipwreck, adventurer and maritime archaeologist Nikolay Bernstein regains consciousness 36,000 feet under the sea. He's severely wounded and unwillingly connected to a supernatural Buddy-unit. Searching for answers about his displacement, the main protagonist digs deep into the lost Undercity, gradually realizing an ominous presence hiding in its shadowed caverns.

On your journey home you will share your fate with a friendly tribe of mining creatures, the Wozan, who fear the Old Gods and strive to release themselves from 5,000 years of enslavement. Some of them were able to flee and founded secret colonies deep inside the sunken ruins, while others are still exploited by the hostile creatures that have overtaken the city since the Old Gods suddenly disappeared.

Outbuddies features a highly skill- and mechanics-based progression system, both in terms of combat and platforming abilities. Each of the game's four upgradeable weapon systems is also an essential survival tool, that has to be chosen wisely in order to stand a chance against Bahlam's various traps and unforgiving foes. Bosses require split-second reflexes and profound memorization of attack patterns to stand a chance.

The local Co-Op option invites a second player to explore and experience Outbuddies together by taking control over the invincible "Buddy" unit. In this mode, players support each other on the journey home, solve puzzles and overcome Bahlam's hostile maze. The cooperative mode is perfect for fans of speedrunning style play, too.


 


Outbuddies keeps you on your toes with relentless enemies as you explore the deep, dark classic pixel-style world. Take on four cruel mini-bosses and five loathsome, hideous beyond description Old God bosses and learn their unique attack patterns, some forcing you to decipher challenging puzzle elements in the dead heat of battle!

Grow your mobility and skills with upgraded gear found throughout the many deadly areas. Make friends with the woeful Wozan, because when the chips are down, you’re newly freed friends will show up to help you defeat the tremours of the deep. Just be sure to watch out for the lethal hidden rooms that trap you in for the fight of your life as hoards of Old Ones do their best to make sure you won’t leave alive!

Outbuddies will be available for PC via Steam on October 15 and will also come to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2020.


To learn more about mechanics, co-op mode, the developer's background, its 16-bit music or more, check out Outbuddies' specific Expedition Logs:


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In Between Available Today for PlayStation®4

Explore the breathtaking journey of a man In Between life and death

02 October 2019 October 2nd, 2019 – In Between, the unique puzzle platformer from Gentlymad and Headup, will be available today on PlayStation™4 for €11.99.
 
Use your chance to experience this award-winning masterpiece, wherein you explore a father's mind who has just learned of his impending death. The game’s challenging gravity puzzles reflect the man’s state of mind and his memories, as he slowly moves towards his inevitable end.

On this unusual emotional journey, you will indulge in hand-painted visuals and physics-defying puzzles will challenge you time and again while reflecting upon the meaning of life and death. Unveil the story of a man who struggles for existence and help him come to terms with his own mortality and finiteness.

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Dead End Job hit Apple Arcade

Be the best at putting pests to rest!

19 September 2019 September 19th, 2019 - After a long period of silence, we’re delighted to announce Dead End Job to be included as one of the first games available only on Apple Arcade!
 
The game subscription service has launched today, offering an all-new way to enjoy more than 100+ games created by visionary and innovative developers like Ant Workshop, the studio founded by ex-Rockstar Games Lead Designer Tony Gowland.
 
Dead End Job sends you into a madcap, whacky world to bust up ghosts. It’s a procedurally generated twin-stick shooter that straps a vacuum pack to your back, and puts a plasma blaster in your hand. For you, it’s just another day in the office. Check out your new job’s tasks in this short trailer.

You take on the role of Hector Plasm, a worker at Ghoul-B-Gone – ‘the Number One experts in paranormal pest control’ – as you’re tasked with heading to haunted offices, restaurants, and other everyday buildings before freeing them of unwanted guests.

Do you love 90's cartoons? Yeah, so do we, and we grew up on their stretchy squishy gross-out laughs. Our love for them spills over into the game like so much ectoplasm. See every nose hair in wacky, vibrant art that brings everyday items to life as screwball spooks to suck up.

In the upcoming tvOS® release, you'll be able to bust ghosts together with a buddy in drop in / drop out sofa co-op that works seamlessly within the main adventure. Have you got what it takes to be the best at putting pests to rest?

Find it on Arcade

Dead End Job is now available on Apple Arcade first and will be available at a later stage also on PC and all major consoles.

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Outbuddies' Soundtrack Available on BandCamp

Feel this classic vibe already now

13 September 2019 This is a very exciting day for project Outbuddies! The game's musician OGRE, formally known as Mr. Robin Edwin James Ogden, just released the game’s original soundtrack on Bandcamp!
 
The soundtrack was already recorded in January and February 2018, following the game’s Kickstarter campaign in 2017. "We got a total runtime of 37:46 and I’m damn proud to be part of this. Having a soundtrack composed by a musician that skilled has by far been my smartest decision I made on my six-years journey to produce this game and I hope you’ll all enjoy listening!", adds Outbuddies' developer Julian Laufer.
 
"You can stream the Outbuddies’ soundtrack on Bandcamp for free, and I am really taking a break and listening to the awesome discography Robin has crafted over the course of many years dedicated to music!"

 
For checking out one of Robin's live performances, please check out this video:
 

Outbuddies Soundtrack on Bandcamp | OGRE on Bandcamp
 
Robin Ogden adds: "We wanted any retro audio touches to be an oblique suggestion rather than an obvious throwback, but I definitely wanted to keep a clandestine 16bit flavour throughout Outbuddies. Most of the synth sounds you hear are generated from an old Yamaha TX81Z FM synthesizer, which is notorious to program, but has a lot in common with the old sound chips from the Megadrive/Genesis era. It was my go-to secret sauce. I wanted to splice in some of that time period's DNA on some level, so the soundtrack is a deep-sea pressure fusion of ancient analog and dawn of digital synthesizers mixed with organic and real acoustic instrumentation. 
 
Outbuddies is an exciting new chapter in the metroidvania tradition, and I wanted to reflect the ethos of these types of games with my Berlin school influences (Tangerine DreamKlaus SchulzeMichael Hoenig etc.): sequences, repetition, and evolution. Prior to composing the soundtrack, I was reading Steve Reich's collected Writings On Music, which I'd argue has similar ideas to Berlin school composition. It seemed natural to employ some of these aesthetic choices when working on Outbuddies' soundtrack, namely thematic sequences which evolve, distort and change as you dive deeper and traverse the game's levels. Mantras and repetition have so many spiritual connotations, which seemed to me a perfect fit for a game about Old Gods stirring in the deep." 


Please find more in-depth information about Outbuddies in here: Run, gun and explore an open undercity in this otherworldly non-linear Metroidvania adventure about the Old Gods, strange creatures and the remnants of a lost world!

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Award-Wining Platformer

Explore the breathtaking journey of a man In Between life and death

05 September 2019 In Between, the unique puzzle platformer from Gentlymad and Headup, is set to be released for PlayStation®4 on September 18th. The price will be at €11.99 / $11.99 /  £8.99.

This will be your chance to experience this award-winning masterpiece, wherein you indulge in hand-painted visuals as you embark on an emotional and psychological journey. Physics-defying puzzles which will challenge you time and again while reflecting upon the meaning of life and death. Unveil the story of a man who struggles for existence and help him come to terms with his own mortality and finiteness.

In the game the player reflects on the life of a dying family father, living through his lost fight against cancer and his inevitable struggle for existence. In Between is more than just a physics platformer, it challenges players to immerse themselves in a thoughtful story that is at times sad and joyful. In addition it proved one more time that games can be a true form or art.
 


About In Between 

In Between is an atmospheric, award-winning platformer where you solve mind bending puzzles by manipulating your surroundings and gravity itself. Dive into the dense atmosphere of this hand painted game while exploring the reason why you are here. Welcome to a world In Between!


Key features:

•  A highly emotional interactive story about the last phases of life
•  Gameplay mechanics derived from thanatology, the scientific study of death
•  A story-focused puzzle platformer
•  Challenging four-way gravity alteration gameplay


Awards:
  • Best Upcoming Game Design @ German Video Games Awards 2015
  • Best of the Best @ RedDot Award 2014
  • Nominated @ German Design Award 2016
  • 2nd Place @ MB21 Festival 2013
  • Finalist @ FEFFS Indie Game Contest 2014

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Play five upcoming Indie Gems from Headup at PAX West 2019!

Also, don't miss the chance to talk to the developers of Vambrace: Cold Soul

29 August 2019 In a few days, PAX West 2019 will finally open its gates in Seattle and the German game publisher Headup will attend as well to show you what they will soon have in store for you. Five great indie games available to play, and in addition the chance to personally talk to the devs of Vambrace: Cold Soul. 

Stop by at their Booth #7216, 6th floor!
 

You're welcome to check out the following titles:

  • Colt Canyon - Shoot your bloody way through The West to rescue your kidnapped partner in this unique looking pixelated roguelike twin-stick shooter. Coming to PC and consoles.
     
  • Outbuddies - Run, gun and explore an open underground city in this otherworldly non-linear Metroidvania adventure about the Old Gods, strange creatures and the remnants of a lost world. Coming to PC and consoles.
     
  • Silver Chains - Try not get your pants scared off (that would be awkward) while checking out what spooky things are happening in this first person horror game for PC and consoles.
     
  • Vambrace: Cold Soul - Prepare and execute tough exploration trips in a mashup of tactical roguelike RPG and story-rich fantasy adventure. PC version is out already, console versions following this very week. (Developer interviews possible.)
     
  • Everreach: Project Eden - Explore this vast alien world and descend into the planet’s depths to discover the ancient secrets of a long-forgotten civilization in this beautiful 3rd Person Sci-Fi Shooter. Coming to PC, Xbox One and PlayStation®4.

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Vambrace: Cold Soul - Devespresso’s Gorgeous Roguelike Fantasy Adventure to Launch on PlayStation®4 Tomorrow

Rich narrative, roguelike strategy elements and major gameplay improvements await to please adventure gamers and strategists

28 August 2019 Headup and Devespresso Games are pleased to announce tomorrow’s release of their roguelike fantasy adventure Vambrace: Cold Soul, available digitally for PlayStation®4 and Nintendo Switch on August 29th for £19.99 / €24.99 / $24.99. You will find the game on the PlayStation@Store tomorrow. Vambrace: Cold Soul was released for Xbox One today, with Chorus Worldwide as the publisher and is also coming to Nintendo Switch tomorrow, by Headup.

Originally launched on Steam for PC and Mac earlier in 2019, Vambrace: Cold Soul is the second game of Devespresso Games, who created the indie cult classic The Coma: Recut, now with a major departure from the survival-horror mechanics and features a new focus on rich narrative and deep strategy. Weaving a tale of gothic horror from the minds of Minho Kim and T.L. Riven, the gameplay features multi-class party building mechanics, punishing roguelike expeditions, and an immersive story with high replayability. Vambrace also boasts Minho's signature hand-illustrated graphics that is sure to please 2D and retro game enthusiasts.
 
Players take on the role of Evelia Lyric as they embark on a series of expeditions that will truly test their leadership capabilities. Assemble a team of unique characters all with different strengths, abilities and fighting styles in order to defeat the evil that awaits. Craft new items from old loot to ensure the team is properly equipped to face new challenges and threats. The path will be fraught with difficulties and the unexpected, each of the game’s seven chapters will require a perfectly balanced but different team in order for the player to progress.

Since the release on Steam, Devespresso have listened carefully to player feedback and implemented a wide variety of new updates which has garnered a very positive Steam rating for the game’s most recent patch. The console version will include all significant updates and improvements.

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Play five upcoming Indie Gems from Headup at the Indie Mega Booth!

Also, don't miss the chance to talk to the great developers of Fromto, Colt Canyon and Vambrace, they are eager to receive some constructive feedback!

19 August 2019 Tomorrow, gamescom 2019 will finally open its gates in Cologne and the German game publisher Headup will attend as well to show you what they will soon have in store for you. Five great indie games available to play, and in addition the chance to personally talk to the developers of FromtoColt Canyon and Vambrace: Cold Soul. Stop by at the Indie Arena Booth in Hall 10.2!


 

You're welcome to check out the following titles:

  • Colt Canyon - Shoot your bloody way through The West to rescue your kidnapped partner in this unique looking pixelated roguelike twin-stick shooter. Coming to PC and consoles.
     
  • Outbuddies - Run, gun and explore an open underground city in this otherworldly non-linear Metroidvania adventure about the Old Gods, strange creatures and the remnants of a lost world. Coming to PC and consoles.
     
  • Fromto - Enjoy this chaotic, childish 2D sandbox racing game including on-the-fly track building options with up to four players. To be released on PC and Nintendo Switch. (Developer interviews possible.)
     
  • Silver Chains - Try not get your pants scared off (that would be awkward) while checking out what spooky things are happening in this first person horror game for PC and consoles.
     
  • Vambrace: Cold Soul - Prepare and execute tough exploration trips in a mashup of tactical roguelike RPG and story-rich fantasy adventure. PC version is out already, consoles upcoming. (Developer interviews possible.)