Level 299.993, Returnal Hype, and Deja Vu

Does This Count as Rage Quitting?

Twitch streamer niru spent April 25 grinding to become the first level 300 player in MapleStory, a free-to-play online multiplayer roleplaying game, originally launched in 2003. This stream was promoted by the developer Nexon, and had over 20,000 viewers.

After nearly 17 hours into the stream, niru then launched into an hour-long rant about the game’s economy, and how the game’s worlds differ.

“Over here [in Heroic] it’s free-to-play friendly… Pay-to-win is accepted here [in Interactive World] but the free-to-play experience is awful and that’s what needs to be improved right now.” niru explained.

He then goes into detail about the number of servers available, the cash shop, as well as a number of other concerns, before ending the stream at level 299. It is estimated that he has spent over 10,000 hours before stopping at 99.993% of the way to level 300.

Niru booted up The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time the next day, apologising for the way the stream ended the day before, but he certainly doesn’t regret how it ended.

“I genuinely think that that game is not worth playing anymore in Interactive World, and if I just jump ship over to Heroic, then it’s GG. I’m running from the problem, and I’m not doing that. And nothing wrong with Heroic World at all, I have nothing against you.”

Returnal Returns

It’s the three-year anniversary since Returnal, a roguelike shooter that follows Selene Vassos, an astronaut looking for a mysterious signal on the planet Altropos. If you enjoyed this game, then you might look forward to Dark Horse Comics teaming up with Housemarque, as they revealed an animated version of the first issue of an upcoming graphic novel, Returnal: Fallen Asteria.

It’s due to be published on October 22, 2024, with 88 pages of psychological-thriller-goodness.

There has also been an artbook teased, but a release date for that has yet to be announced.

Game Changer Made A Game

Game Changer is a game show that combines puzzle solving, improv comedy, a bit of pranking, and a lot of competition, hosted by CollegeHumor CEO Sam Reich. For the most part, the premise of the show usually involves the contestants trying to figure out the game being played, and the rules associated with the game, throughout the episode.

And now one of those games is a video game you can play, for free, right now. Based off the game ‘Deja Vu’, it has players navigating a maze by choosing to go left or right at junctions. Make the wrong turn and you encounter a silly death.

Developed by Colin Watterson the game “works well on PC, badly on Mac”.

News Nibbles!

Starfield will be getting a big update in May, which will include new difficulty options for gameplay, ship-building customization options, and more quality of life improvements. Land vehicles were also announced to be in development, but we don’t know when those will join the game.

Roll7, responsible for Rollerdrome and OlliOllie World, and Intercept Games, responsible for Kerbal Space Program 2, will be closing down, as Take-Two Interactive announces its plans to lay off as much as 5% of its workforce in the coming months.

The Fallout TV show has hit 65 million viewers in two weeks.

And now for some upcoming games!

May 2nd – that’s today!

• Endless Ocean Luminous – Nintendo Switch

May 7th

• Prison Architect 2 – PC, PS5, XSX

May 8th

• Animal Well – PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch