Hello! Welcome to the latest Geeky Brummie Gaming Roundup!

This week, Cyberpunk gets too real and adaptation news, plus the latest releases.

Cyberpunk Cyberattack

CDPR have not had a good week. However, this week is not a PR disaster for the company around Cyberpunk 2077, instead it’s a ransomware attack targeted at the company.

The developers posted a notice on Twitter this week confirming they had been targeted in an attack, with their files dumped to an external location and the servers being encrypted. These files included source codes from Cyberpunk, The Witcher 3 and Gwent, as well as legal documents, HR files and accounts.

The hackers have offered to restore the servers if the company “come to an agreement” with them, or else files will be leaked or sold online, and the sensitive documents sent to “contacts in gaming journalism”. CDPR, however, are not responding to these demands, instead working with authorities and trying to mitigate any potential damage.

Regardless of your opinion on Cyberpunk 2077 and its troubled launch, this is a terrible thing to happen. Especially as documents involving personal information of staff have been compromised. Tech experts have praised CDPR for their response, however, with their refusal to work with the hacker being refreshing and a step towards combating this issue across the board.

Hopefully all this will lead to a positive outcome, and that no personal information becomes public.

Adaptation News

Two bits of video game adaptation news emerged this week.

First up, the second Sonic movie has a title and a release date. Accompanied by a remix of the iconic Emerald Hill Zone tune, a teaser revealed the sequel will be called (surprise!) Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The teaser also confirms that Tails will be part of the movie and will be released in April next year. And that’s all for now.

The HBO Last of Us adaptation is moving forward too, with leads Joel and Ellie cast. Ellie will be played by Bella Ramsey, the 17-year-old actress best known for Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones, while Joel will be played by the Mandalorian himself, Pedro Pascal. I can’t speak for their acting abilities myself, but this seems to be good casting. The series, as previously reported, will be written by Craig Mazin, writer of Chernobyl, and Neil Druckmann, who is best known for…uh…creating The Last of Us.

New Releases

Releasing in Early Access for Steam, Becastled is a city builder crossed with tower defence, as you build a castle that can withstand nightly attacks from the Moon Warriors. It’s got a bold colour scheme and looks to be a fun concept, so could be worth looking into.

Also launching in Early Access, Doors of Insanity is a deck-building roguelike set in a realm of madness. It’s pretty standard fare as deck-builders go, but if that’s your jam, might be worth taking a look.

Launching on Switch, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is a port/remaster of the Wii U’s sole 3D Mario platformer with added stuff. The sequel to the 3DS’s Super Mario 3D Land, 3D World features co-op play with Luigi, Peach and Toad, and the ability to turn into a cat. This Switch release also features a new adventure – Bowser’s Fury – which is an Odyssey-style free-roaming adventure featuring Bowser Jr and a Godzilla-sized Bowser raging up the place. As you’d expect from Mario titles, it’s getting some great reviews so if you missed the game on the Wii U (likely), then now’s your chance!

Game of the Week

Game of the Week this week is Little Nightmares II (PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One), the sequel to 2017’s horror-themed platformer from Bandai Namco and LittleBigPlanet assistant developers Tarsier Studios.

I adored the first game, which saw you play as a little girl in a raincoat trapped on a giant ship full of creepy characters who wanted to do her harm. It had a gruesome yet cartoony aesthetic that looked like some horrible stop-motion production.

The sequel offers more of the same as you play as new character Mono, assisted by original protagonist Six. It looks to offer more of the tense hide-and-seek gameplay of the original with more of the messed-up visuals the first game did so well.

I’ve been trying to keep information about this game hidden from myself to avoid spoilers, so I can’t say much more than this, but I am ready to play this.