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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/DragonPup on 2025-09-14 12:04:53+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/samredfern on 2025-09-14 10:33:46+00:00.

The Necromancer’s Tale is a story-rich CRPG focused on the experience of becoming a necromancer. The story centres on social intrigue, secrecy, blackmail, and a creeping insanity - all wrapped into a gothic tragedy. 

I was lead-developer over the 5.5 year development process, and the team involved 8 writers (including me) - with the narrative finally coming in at 400,000 words. The game released nearly 2 months ago (July 17).

In this post I will discuss the game’s release and the intervening period until now.

[Trailer]** [Steam Page]**

Reviewing Strongly

Although we had a hunch (from the demo and beta testing) that players liked the writing, we really had no idea how the narrative would resonate with the wider player-base once we hit full release. Therefore it was (and is) amazing to see almost-universal acclaim for the narrative, its progression/arcs, and the writing generally. It’s so cool to see so many players really *get* what we were trying to achieve with aspects such as the slow slide into depravity, and the lengths that one might go to in order to gain knowledge, power and revenge. As an English-lit graduate who majored in gothic literature (many years ago!), this really means a lot to me.

Our game is currently at 93% positive on Steam, with nearly all reviews citing narrative and writing as its key strengths.

One reviewer referred to the game as a Gothic Masterpiece:

https://expertgamereviews.com/the-necromancers-tale-review-a-gothic-masterpiece-that-dares-to-be-different/amp/

We have also been shortlisted as a finalist in the TIGA 2025 game awards, in the Narrative & Storytelling category.

Hard Work Post-Release!

I have released quite a few games before, and as lead developer I was prepared for a few weeks of hard work patching niggles and bugs, and adding quality-of-life features. It’s important to be super-responsive to players in the period following a game’s release, because you want their experience to be as good as possible, and you *really* want to avoid frustrating them with bugs and soft-locks.

What I hadn’t anticipated was the amount of work required for hint-support. My previous games had all been smaller or systems-based (rather than narrative, puzzle-oriented), so the deluge of questions and comments about the story/puzzle content was a bit overwhelming. Since I was the central developer, integrating the work from the other 7 writers, I was the only person with complete and in-depth knowledge about how everything fits together.

So I had to single-handedly run the hint-support (mostly on Discord and Steam forums) as well as single-handedly do the debugging, patching, and feature additions. It was pretty hard going for a few weeks. At one point, about three days after release, and with very little sleep, I was up at 5am helping a player milk a cow… that pretty much sums up the work of an indie-dev.  :-)

One of the first things  I added was a mechanism for players to easily upload their save-game files along with bug reports (from right inside the game) and this helped a lot when diagnosing the exact combination of narrative states causing issues.

Key additions post-release have included:

• Some improved sequencing and narrative in a couple of places where players found the story jarring or the MC’s motivations unclear
• Some new narrative content in places where there was a clear opportunity to extend/strengthen things- especially where these things leaned into the core themes and plot
• Some extended romance options (hey, this is a fantasy, right?)
• A wilderness map with fast travel
• Improved minion control (this work is still ongoing, by the way - the main criticisms of the game have been around minion control and combat, so I’m still working hard to improve these aspects while staying true to the game’s core design)
• Steam Deck verification. Yay!

GamesCom

My wife and I brought the game to GamesCom (Cologne) in late August, and spent a full week running our booth there between us (11 hours per day). This would have been grueling enough already, but following the few weeks I had just had, it was doubly so.

GamesCom was a great experience- we met lots of other devs (which is always lovely) and lots of enthusiastic players (some of whom had already played our game!). We also made some good industry contacts, which is what these events are also about.  From a personal point of view, though, it was stressful being away from my development PC for over a week– it meant I couldn’t accurately diagnose certain bugs and couldn’t patch the game if anything game-breaking came to light. Luckily, everything was okay– but if our launch date had been any closer, I think it could have been damaging to the game’s reception to have been away from the office for so long.

Anyhow… if you got this far, thanks for reading, and thank you so much for all the fantastic support, feedback and suggestions over the past couple of years. Indiesunday is an awesome event, and r/games is full of positive, thoughtful players.

The Necromancer’s Tale is on Steam.

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/binogure on 2025-09-14 03:30:34+00:00.

Hello r/games!

I'm Xavier (aka Binogure), the solo developer behind City Game Studio, and I'm thrilled to share my latest massive update with you today. If you've ever dreamed of running your own game development empire and experiencing true competition, this one's definitely for you!

What is City Game Studio?

City Game Studio is a deep management tycoon game that takes the classic game dev simulation to an entirely new level. You start in 1976 with a tiny office and big dreams, then expand across an entire city as you build your gaming empire from the ground up.

Check out the gameplay trailer here

What's New in v1.24.0 (Just Released!)

The latest update completely transforms the competitive landscape:

• Competitors Create Consoles: Your rivals now design and manufacture their own gaming hardware, creating a truly dynamic market

• Enhanced Competition: AI competitors buy each other out, snowball their growth, and can even dethrone classic consoles like the Wataggi 2600

• Smarter Studio Directors: Now handle game renaming and automatic updates, reducing micro-management significantly

• Advanced Financial Tracking: New panels show exact earnings per game engine and detailed company statistics

• Performance Optimizations: Smoother gameplay when managing dozens of simultaneous projects

Key Features:

• Multiple Studio Management: Buy and manage buildings across the entire city, each with unique advantages

• Complete Ecosystem Control: Create your own game engines, consoles, digital stores, and publishing contracts

• Real Gaming History: Experience authentic industry evolution from the 70s through modern times with accurate console lifecycles

• Competitive Warfare: Spy on rivals, steal employees, crack games, or execute hostile takeovers

• Console Manufacturing: Design custom hardware with detailed component selection and pricing strategies

• Studio Automation: Studio Directors handle routine development while you focus on empire building

• Rich Customization: From company logos to studio layouts, everything can be tailored to your vision

What Makes It Truly Unique?

City Game Studio is the only game dev tycoon that combines deep studio management with full city exploration and ecosystem control. Unlike other titles in the genre, you're not limited to a single studio - you're building an entire gaming empire across multiple locations.

The addition of console creation by competitors in v1.24.0 creates unprecedented dynamic gameplay. Your rivals aren't just passive entities anymore - they actively reshape the market, forcing you to adapt your strategy constantly.

With Studio Directors managing day-to-day operations, you can focus on the big picture: Should you enter a price war with that new console? Time to acquire that struggling competitor? Maybe crack their latest hit game? The strategic depth is unmatched.

The Technical Side

Built entirely with open-source tools (Godot Engine), City Game Studio represents years of passionate solo development. The game receives major updates every 3 months, each one shaped by community feedback and adding substantial new content.

The latest update includes complete interface redesigns, advanced mod support with balance analysis, and optimization work that keeps the game running smoothly even when managing massive gaming empires.

Details & Availability

• Release Status: Available now with frequent major updates!

• Price: $19.99

• Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux

Links

• Steam Page

• GOG Page

• Official Website

• Discord Community

The v1.24.0 update has honestly been a game-changer. After 9+ years of development, seeing competitors create their own consoles and truly compete feels like the vision I always had for this game finally coming together.

I'm excited to hear your thoughts and answer any questions about City Game Studio! Thanks for checking out my Indie Sunday post, and I hope you'll give my gaming empire simulator a try.

Happy gaming! Xavier aka Binogure

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/Romulus_Novus on 2025-09-13 07:49:59+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/Turbostrider27 on 2025-09-13 13:28:32+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/Gorotheninja on 2025-09-13 01:28:46+00:00.

Original Title: “Greed Is Going to Kill You, Bungie,” Say Destiny 2 Players as Ash & Iron Update Adds 12 Flasy New Eververse Armor Sets While Iron Banner Gets 7-Year-Old Reskin That Devs Described As "Incredibly Cool New Set of Armor"

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/BlueAladdin on 2025-09-12 20:26:30+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/Turbostrider27 on 2025-09-12 13:17:41+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/CrossXhunteR on 2025-09-12 14:52:33+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/Turbostrider27 on 2025-09-12 14:01:39+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/Turbostrider27 on 2025-09-12 13:56:40+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/Turbostrider27 on 2025-09-12 13:53:54+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/Turbostrider27 on 2025-09-12 13:48:05+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/Turbostrider27 on 2025-09-12 13:46:09+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/Gorotheninja on 2025-09-12 13:45:41+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/games by /u/Turbostrider27 on 2025-09-12 13:40:49+00:00.