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Evercore Heroes applies League of Legends’ formula to a cooperative game

By Tomas Franzese October 11, 2022

Vela Games, an Irish game studio founded by former Riot Games developers in 2018, unveiled its first game at a digital prebrief event attended by Digital Trends. Titled Evercore Heroes, this game modifies themultiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) formula that League of Legends helped popularize into a competitive PvE dungeon-crawling experience.

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While the basics of gameplay and isometric view of Evercore Heroes are very similar to a game like League of Legends, players aren’t directly fighting each other. Instead, four teams of four compete against each other in a cooperative dungeon-crawling experience where players slowly level up their characters, charge the titular Evercore, and eventually win by taking down a large boss. MOBAs, both in terms of gameplay and their community, can be intimidating to get into, so co-founderounder Travis George hopes that the cooperative aspects of Evercore Heroes and other efforts by Vela Games will make this an approachable and friendly game to which platers return.

“We all know that games aren’t always known as the friendliest places in the world — and we’re not going to change human behavior on the internet — but what we can do is be really deliberate about the gameplay, the community, and even the technology choices we make to hopefully orient players to have a more positive experience online,” George says. “Hopefully, that keeps them coming back.”

Four heroes travel to an objective in Evercore Heroes.

So far, Vela Games has revealed eight playable heroes: Shade the assassin, the shield-wielding Fyn, Zari the archer, the creature with a community-voted design named Beko, the melee-focused boxer Blink, fire mage Cynder, tech medic Remy, and short-range healer Lotus. They each have distinct abilities, and most of them look like they could be League of Legends champions or Valorant agents, so Riot Games’ influence can really be felt in the design. Definitely keep an eye on this one if you’re a fan of Riot Games.

Evercore Heroes is currently in development for PC, and interested players can sign up for a player test that will run from October 13 until October 16.

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Gaming

Move over Zelda: Tchia is officially my most anticipated game of 2023

Tchia glides through the air.

There are many big-budget games to look forward to in 2023, like Starfield, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. But after going hands-on with a much smaller indie title, I have a new most anticipated title of 2023. The game in question is Tchia, a vibrant, cheerful, and free-flowing open-world game about a girl exploring a tropical archipelago in the Pacific Ocean.
Tchia - Commented Gameplay Walkthrough
Tchia first caught my attention in a hands-off preview of Kepler Interactive's Gamescom lineup last year, but it took me going hands-on to really understand the magic of Tchia. A freeing open-world game in the same vein as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring, or Sable, Tchia lets players loose on beautiful islands in the Pacific and gives them tools to explore by climbing, gliding, possessing animals and objects, and sailing wherever they want. Its deep understanding and respect for the culture it represents enhance the experience too. If you're wondering what indie darling will wind up becoming this year's critically acclaimed game of the year dark horse, you'll want to keep an eye on Tchia.
What is Tchia?
Tchia is an open-world game following a little girl (named Tchia) trying to find her missing father on an archipelago inspired by New Caledonia, a tropical archipelago in the Pacific Ocean where some of the game's developers are from. While players have the stamina to climb up buildings and trees, swing from them, and even swim, dive, and sail around these islands, they can also soul-jump into lots of different animals and objects. These each add even more gameplay gimmicks that enhance exploration and help Tchia solve puzzles.

I had the chance to play some main story missions during my preview where Tchia befriends a young girl and explores one of the game's biggest islands, completing various objectives and even hunting for treasure. The story was fairly light in what I played, but the gameplay really shined. Although I had some objectives, it was just as fun to climb up the trees near the starting town and fling Tchia into a glide to travel a longer distance.
I could then let go of that glide to do tricks in the air or soul-jump into an animal, allowing me to explore the world in a new way. Tchia makes exploration feel fantastic, as you'll immediately feel like you have all the tools to make this world your oyster.
Oh, and did I mention you can play the ukulele? Because Tchia features a fully playable ukulele.
At a couple of narrative beats during my preview, I encountered rhythm-game-like segments as Tchia performed specific songs, but I could also play the ukulele at any time while I was exploring if I wanted to. While you can play whatever you want, specific melodies have additional effects, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time style. The results of these tunes range from simply changing the time of day to giving Tchia a buff that allows her to breathe underwater infinitely.

Gaming

Riot Games Xbox Game Pass benefits: rewards in League of Legends, and more

Vi in Arcane: League of Legends.

Riot Games' League of Legends, Valorant, Legends of Runeterra, Teamfight Tactics, and Wild Rift are some of the most popular multiplayer games out there. Now, they are all a part of the Xbox Game Pass subscription. As those games are all free-to-play, the real benefit of this partnership between Microsoft and Riot Games is that Xbox Game Pass subscribers will receive lots of in-game bonuses that’ll save time and money.
As this partnership affects four games, each of which has its own rewards, it can be tough to fully digest all the benefits one can get in Riot Games' catalog of titles with an Xbox Game Pass subscription. To help, we’re breaking down all of the in-game bonuses players can see in League of Legends, Valorant, Legends of Runeterra, Teamfight Tactics, and Wild Rift after doing so.
Riot Games available with Xbox Game Pass - Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022
What are the League of Legends Xbox Game Pass benefits?

Being an Xbox Game Pass subscriber will save League of Legends players a lot of money as they'll immediately have access to all 162 Champions in the game. From Vi to K'Sante, you will no longer be limited when it comes to which League of Legends champion to use. Riot Games confirmed that this will apply to all future champions as well. While that alone is a massive boon for Xbox Game Pass subscribers that play League of Legends, connecting the accounts will also net players a 20% XP Boost as well as a Masterwork Chest and Key.
What are the Valorant Xbox Game Pass benefits?

Gaming

From The Last of Us to Immortality, these are 2022’s most innovative games

A video game character standing in front of text that says 2022 Most Innovative Games.

What makes the video game industry so exciting is that it’s still relatively young. Developers are still routinely discovering new ways to turn the medium on its head, redefining the idea of what a game is by bucking against trends. Though major productions like God of War Ragnarok are no doubt impressive, the most groundbreaking titles are often the less obvious ones.

That was the case in 2022, which saw developers entirely deconstructing some fundamentals about games. In some cases, that was expressed through new approaches to gameplay, creating experiences that are unlike anything I’ve ever seen from the medium. Others were even more high-level, challenging us to think about who certain projects are for. From a massive remake project to the tiniest action game, these were some of 2022’s most innovative games.
The Last of Us Part I