Multi Upcoming Releases: Week 23 (06/10~06/16)

[Raine]

New Releases in 2024: Week 24 (06/10~06/16)​

Evenin', folks! We're in the middle of not-E3 season, which has shockingly been fairly bereft of shadowdrops. But there's still time so if nothing on this week's list catches your fancy (how dare you!), then it's possible something else will crop up between now and next Sunday.


As for what is here, this Friday sees the release of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance - an updated version, as Atlus is wont to do, of 2021's Switch exclusive. Including a new storyline branch as well as a selection of tweaks, changes, and new Demons, Vengeance has a variety of things for folks that already played the original game to sink their teeth into.

If you don't know what a Shin Megami Tensei is, then: This is the effective parent series of Persona, amongst a slew of others. Turn-based combat that is similar enough to Persona 3/4/5 that you'll feel right at home, but Persona focuses more on characters and narrative (and the social sim aspect) whereas SMT proper is typically a bit more focused and streamlined, with basic/trope-y characters and a stronger focus on the combat and Demon mechanics (with higher difficulty to facilitate that).




If that's not quite your speed, then V Rising comes to PS5 this Tuesday. It's a stylish Action-RPG with a three-quarter overhead view; if you've played anything from Diablo to Bastion you have some semblance of an idea of what you're getting here. Plus, you play as a vampire and it has a Castlevania crossover! If you're not already sold watch the trailer and try again.




And for a bit of something different plus a nice dose of nostalgia, Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked also launches on Tuesday. This is a collection/compilation of three games in the Sparkster/Rocket Knight series: Sparkster (SNES), Rocket Knight Adventures (GEN) and Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 (GEN). Notably, Rocket Knight (PS3/X360) is not included. Still, if some platforming is what you've got an itch for then this might be for you.

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
6/11​	ARK: Survival Ascended (Physical)			✔​			67*
6/11​	Backpack Hero	~​	✔​	✔​	✔​		76
6/11​	CityDriver			~​		✔​	TBD
6/11​	Crossfire: Sierra Squad (Physical)			✔​			71
6/11​	Hubris (Physical)			✔​			TBD
6/11​	Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked	✔​	✔​	✔​			TBD
6/11​	Sunrise GP	~​			✔​		40*
6/11​	V Rising			✔​			83
6/12​	Draconic Resurgence					✔​	TBD
6/12​	Lost Chiko 2				✔​		TBD
6/12​	Prison of Illusion					✔​	TBD
6/12​	Roxy Raccoon's Pinball Panic	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​		TBD
6/13​	Dead Station 2		✔​		✔​		TBD
6/13​	Detective - Minerva Case			~​	✔​		TBD
6/13​	Hidden Cats in Paris	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​		TBD
6/13​	Panzer Paladin	~​			✔​		77
6/13​	Willy's Wonderland - The Game	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
6/14​	Astrune Academy	✔​			✔​		TBD
6/14​	Froggy Bouncing Adventures	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
6/14​	Magical Drop VI	~​	✔​		✔​		77*
6/14​	Monster Hunter Stories	✔​	✔​				79
6/14​	Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin	~​	✔​				81
6/14​	Monster Hunter Stories Collection	✔​	✔​
6/14​	Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​		TBD

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
6/11​	Boardwalk Arcade 2 (Boardwalk Edition)
6/12​	Clue: The Classic Mystery Game - Whispering Pines Retreat Crime Scene
6/12​	Lesson Learned
6/13​	DUNGEON SLASHER
6/13​	EGGCONSOLE Sorcerian PC-8801mkIISR
6/13​	Forest Fantasy
6/13​	Monolith
6/13​	Path to Purge
6/14​	Bumper Kitty
6/14​	Cozy Jigsaw Puzzle
6/14​	Cyberpunk City Tycoon
6/14​	Fit My Zoo
6/14​	Neon Noir
6/14​	Railbreak
6/14​	Railway Islands 2
6/15​	Anime vs Evil: Apocalypse
6/15​	Chopper Strike
6/15​	Tiny Little Farm
6/16​	Urban Trace: Parkour Simulator Pursuit

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases (7/03~7/09)​

Pretty sparse week, and I would imagine many are still working through Final Fantasy XVI, Tears of the Kingdom and Diablo IV if they picked those up.

Still, a couple of noteworthy releases. GYLT finally escapes the clutches of Stadia and lands on both PlayStation and Xbox. Falcom's Trails series officially gets its next installment into the hands of English speakers on everything not Xbox. Pinball FX lands on Switch, and a new MX vs ATV game lands on the current-gen consoles.

Any of these smaller/indie games worth looking up? Full list below.

Spoiler: Show list

Date	Name	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX
7/3​	Silent Paws	✔​
7/4​	Garlic	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/4​	MX vs ATV Legends (Season One)	✔​	✔​
7/4​	Synapse	✔​
7/5​	EchoBlade	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/6​	Bunker 21 Extended Edition	✔​
7/6​	Calculator Maker : My Calculator	✔​
7/6​	City Limits	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/6​	Family Jigsaw Puzzle: Classic Mosaic Puzzles	✔​
7/6​	Gimmick! Special Edition	✔​	✔​
7/6​	GYLT	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/6​	Illusion	✔​
7/6​	Medal of Guardians	✔​
7/6​	Mountain Climb Driver: Real Physics Arcade Racing	✔​
7/6​	Necrosmith	✔​	✔​
7/6​	Pinball FX	✔​
7/6​	Rainbow Snake	✔​
7/6​	RichMan 4 Fun	✔​
7/6​	Sandream	✔​
7/6​	Scarf	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/6​	Sentimental Death Loop	✔​
7/6​	Stuck With Naughty Housewives	✔​
7/6​	The Past Within	✔​
7/7​	Button Button Up!	✔​
7/7​	Feeble Light	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/7​	Full Quiet	✔​	✔​
7/7​	Metaverse Keeper	✔​
7/7​	Safari Pinball	✔​	✔​
7/7​	Super Box Delivery: Beyond the Horizon	✔​
7/7​	Swords & Bones 2	✔​
7/7​	Tad the Lost Explorer	✔​
7/7​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie	✔​	✔​	✔​

---

Upcoming [Console] Releases (7/10~7/16)​

Yet another slow week for releases, with another ridiculously large dump of Switch games. On the one hand I feel like I should split those out, but on the other that's a great way to overlook actually noteworthy games. Decisions, decisions...

At any rate, a couple of things catch my eye here. Oxenfree 2 releases on Switch (and PC) Wednesday. I haven't played the first myself, and didn't see all of the story, but watching my partner play that for an hour or two a few years back piqued my interest. Atelier Marie Remake is out for all non-Xbox platforms on Thursday. I bought so many of those on PS2/3 and (3)DS, but never actually sat down to even try one out. Naraka: Bladepoint will finally hit PS5, after being a timed Xbox console exclusive. And Exoprimal, which was seemingly adopted by Dino Crisis fans as a coping mechanism, releases for all PS and Xbox platforms

Spoiler: Show list

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX
7/10​	Colormitation	✔​
7/10​	Toadomination	✔​
7/11​	Common'hood					✔​
7/11​	Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach	✔​
7/11​	Greyhill Incident (Abducted Edition)			✔​
7/11​	Rain World				✔​	✔​
7/11​	Rain World: Downpour	✔​	✔​	✔​		✔​
7/11​	The Valiant			✔​		✔​
7/12​	Dead Man's Diary				✔​	✔​
7/12​	Death or Treat	✔​
7/12​	EarthX	✔​
7/12​	MORDHAU				✔​	✔​
7/12​	Oxenfree II: Lost Signals	✔​
7/12​	Sea Horizon		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/13​	Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/13​	Car Detailing Simulator	✔​
7/13​	Chaos Galaxy	✔​
7/13​	Crafting Block World: Magic Dungeons Adventure	✔​
7/13​	DYSCHRONIA: Chronos Alternate Episode III			✔​
7/13​	Ed-0: Zombie Uprising			✔​		✔​
7/13​	Elder Sister's Love Training	✔​
7/13​	Football Cup 2023	✔​
7/13​	Gravity Circuit	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/13​	Manic Mechanics	✔​
7/13​	Naraka: Bladepoint			✔​
7/13​	Needy Princess Nerd Club	✔​
7/13​	Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission VR			✔​
7/13​	Risky Woods: QUByte Classics	✔​
7/13​	Robot VS	✔​
7/13​	Sacred Zodongga Defense	✔​
7/13​	Strike Team Gladius	✔​
7/13​	Touhou: New World	✔​
7/13​	Unsouled	✔​
7/14​	Crime O'Clock	✔​
7/14​	Eroblast: Waifu Dating Sim	✔​
7/14​	Exoprimal		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/14​	Farm Together (Deluxe Edition)	✔​	✔​
7/14​	Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE (Mysteriful Limited Edition)	✔​
7/14​	Race Boat Simulator - 3D Stunt Racing Driving Ship in Ocean	✔​
7/14​	Subway Simulator - Underground Train Ride Station Ultimate Driving Games	✔​
7/14​	UltraGoodness	✔​
7/14​	Words of Wisdom				✔​
7/15​	EarthNight	✔​

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases (7/17~7/23)​

Tossing Switch-exclusive games into their own section, barring games I immediately recognize. See below.

This week we have the first major game release since GWF launched in the form of Pikmin 4 for the Switch. I've yet to actually play a Pikmin game, but I'm grabbing this one and tossing it into the backlog for a rainy day. Anyone excited for it?

Other notable games include Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes - Definitive Edition for Switch and PS4. I cannot fathom why this isn't coming to Xbox, but I'm beginning to suspect Microsoft has a dumb policy in place that's interfering with Remasters/Ports that don't offer new content if the original version is available through backwards compatibility. The first two Twisted Metal games are getting the PS1 emulation treatment for PS4 and PS5, Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening arrives for Switch and PS4, and Remnant II drops on PS5 and XSX.

As an oddity, Antstream Arcade is coming to Xbox this Friday. It's a streaming service that only has very old arcade, PC and console games, and I simply cannot wrap my head around wanting to stream games whose file size would be eclipsed by the streaming bandwidth in under a second.

Spoiler: Show list.

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX
7/18​	Gravity Crash		✔​	✔​
7/18​	LISA: Definitive Edition	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/18​	LISA: The Joyful - Definitive Edition	✔​			✔​	✔​
7/18​	LISA: The Painful - Definitive Edition	✔​			✔​	✔​
7/18​	REMEDIUM: Sentinels	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/18​	Tchia (Oleti Edition)		✔​	✔​
7/18​	Twisted Metal		✔​	✔​
7/18​	Twisted Metal 2		✔​	✔​
7/18​	Viewfinder			✔​
7/19​	Agriculture	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/19​	Maquette				✔​	✔​
7/19​	Skullgirls: 2nd Encore				✔​
7/19​	Spirit Hunters: Infinite Horde	✔​			✔​	✔​
7/20​	Cross Tails	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/20​	Killsquad		✔​	✔​
7/20​	Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes - Definitive Edition	✔​	✔​
7/20​	Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening	✔​	✔​
7/20​	Oaken	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/20​	Punch Club 2: Fast Forward				✔​
7/20​	Strategic Mind: Fight for Dominance				✔​	✔​
7/20​	The Sims 4: Horse Ranch		✔​		✔​	✔​
7/21​	Antstream Arcade				✔​	✔​
7/21​	Celeste (Deluxe Edition)	✔​	✔​
7/21​	Mercenaries Rebirth: Call of the Wild Lynx	✔​	✔​
7/21​	Pikmin 4	✔​
7/21​	Remnant II (Ultimate Edition)			✔​		✔​
7/21​	Sephonie	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/21​	The Snow Fable: Mystery of the Flame	✔​			✔​

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
7/17​	Moto Racer Simulator GT Games
7/18​	BLEED: Arcade Arena Shooter
7/18​	Madshot
7/18​	Wood Cube Block: Classic Casual Puzzle
7/19​	Cramped Room of Death
7/19​	Unidentified Falling Objects
7/20​	Aery - Heaven & Hell
7/20​	Armored Lab Force VULVEHICLES
7/20​	Crowded Mysteries
7/20​	Doomsday Hunters
7/20​	Forest Fire
7/20​	Frank and Drake
7/20​	Haunted Hell House
7/20​	Legends of the Eternal Flame
7/20​	Lucy Got Problems
7/20​	Masquerade Kiss
7/20​	MetaDude
7/20​	NightmareScape
7/20​	OMNIMUS
7/20​	Punch a Bunch
7/20​	Sailing Era
7/20​	Sweets Pusher Friends
7/20​	Takoyaki Party Survival
7/20​	THE KITTY in The Spaceship
7/20​	Wathitdew Record Game Studio BATTLEFIELD
7/20​	Whispike Survivors - Sword of the Necromancer
7/21​	D-Corp
7/21​	Otoko Cross: Pretty Boys Breakup!
7/21​	Ramp Car Racing
7/21​	Ring Racer
7/21​	Super Dinoblasters
7/21​	Sword of Glory
7/21​	Words Of Wisdom
7/22​	Hospital Doctor - Fix me up for KIDS (Boys & Girls)

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases (7/24~7/30)​

Probably going to need a better source for this. Remnant 2 was listed previously, and I had to scrub Return to Monkey Island from this one because that's a September release.

And back to nothing this week. Remnant II is actually coming out this week, for PS5 and XSX. Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is coming to all platforms and PixelJunk Scrappers is coming to Switch and PlayStation to round out the things that stand out.

More obscure, the Switch (and PC!) port of GBA/PSP RPG Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone is finally releasing outside of Japan.

Spoiler: Show list.

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX
7/25​	41 Hours		✔​	✔​
7/25​	Magic Exposure - Yuri Visual Novel	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/25​	Mr. Run and Jump	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/25​	Remnant II			✔​		✔​
7/26​	Patrick's Parabox	✔​		✔​
7/26​	The Gravity Trickster		✔​
7/27​	Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/27​	F1 Manager 2023			✔​	✔​	✔​
7/27​	Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/27​	PixelJunk Scrappers Deluxe	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/27​	The Expanse: A Telltale Series - Episode 1		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/27​	Venice 2089	✔​		✔​
7/27​	Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone	✔​
7/28​	Demonic Supremacy				✔​
7/28​	Fight'N Rage			✔​
7/28​	Ghost Song	✔​	✔​	✔​
7/28​	Tunic	✔​	✔​

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
7/27​	3 minutes Mystery
7/27​	ALIEN WAR 2 DOGFIGHT
7/28​	Disney Illusion Island
7/27​	Ducky's Delivery Service
7/27​	Eden's Last Sunrise
7/25​	Heist Force
7/27​	HYPER METEOR
7/29​	Last Mage Survivors
7/27​	Luna & Monsters Tower Defense -The deprived magical kingdom-
7/27​	Operate Now: Hospital
7/27​	Pixel Game Maker Series Angel's Gear
7/27​	Psychic 5 Eternal
7/28​	Raccoon Adventure: Animal City Simulator 3D Farm Super Deluxe
7/27​	Radiant Tale
7/25​	Skeljump
7/26​	Super Intern Story
7/27​	Sword and Fairy Inn 2
7/28​	The Master's Pupil
7/25​	This Way Madness Lies
7/27​	Watch
7/28​	Working Hard Collection
7/27​	Zombie Hunter: D-Day
7/27​	Zoo Park Story

 

[TD]

I really want Remnant 2 but I'm broke enough that I can't justify $100 on a brand new game. Last new release I bought was Elden Ring.

The first one came out of nowhere for me. Never heard of it, it came out on PS Plus, and I had a great time playing through with a friend.

This one seems better in every way.

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases (7/31~8/06)​

And we're back, now with (hopefully!) more accurate lists - and Metacritic scores if available near time of posting. Asterisks are generally if the game was available on another platform previously and has at least one review visible on Metacritic, but not enough to have an aggregate score listed.

This week sees us moving into August, and August means two things: The release of Madden NFL, and the official start of the industry's Holiday push. Which means there's almost nothing to talk about this week! F1 Manager 2023 seems to be the only game of particular note in terms of name recognition, however a variety of indie games that have launched elsewhere previously are getting new ports. Most are seemingly not great, but Xbox in particular seems to be getting love with There Is No Light. Billed as a "brutal" Action-RPG and looking maybe vaguely similar to something like a Hades, it was released on PC last year following a successful KickStarter campaign. Switch and PlayStation ports are seemingly in development as well, but are not releasing this week - or anytime soon - as far as I can tell.

...I mean, yes, it's the "Console" release list for a reason. And that reason is ain't nobody got time for taming that beast of a list. But it's also just silly to not mention/remind everyone that Baldur's Gate III officially releases on PC this week. PlayStation 5 release is scheduled for September, Xbox Series release has been announced but will not happen anytime soon.

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
7/31​	F1 Manager 2023		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	78
7/31​	Venba	✔​		✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/1​	There Is No Light				✔​		80*
8/2​	Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm			✔​		✔​	71
8/2​	Potata: fairy flower					✔​	66
8/2​	Save Koch				✔​		63
8/2​	The Red Exile - Survival Horror	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/3​	Adore	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/3​	Whispike Survivors - Sword of the Necromancer				✔​	✔​	TBD
8/4​	Astralojia: Season 1				✔​		TBD
8/4​	Sclash	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/4​	Strange Horticulture				✔​	✔​	83
8/4​	WildTrax Racing				✔​	✔​	40*

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
7/31​	A Short Tale
7/31​	Ferris Mueller's Day Off
7/31​	The Forgotten Room
7/31​	Veritas
8/1​	Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed Director's Cut
8/1​	Barony
8/1​	Barony: Myths & Outcasts
8/1​	Leafy Trails
8/2​	Mirrored Souls
8/3​	A Guidebook of Babel
8/3​	Alchemy POIPOI SS
8/3​	Black Skylands
8/3​	DELTAZEAL
8/3​	Flutter Away
8/3​	GigaBash: Godzilla 4 Kaiju Pack
8/3​	LOST EGG 3: The Final
8/3​	MistWorld the after
8/3​	Secret Summoner
8/3​	Side Decide
8/3​	Tiny Thor
8/3​	TRAPPED in The Kanal
8/3​	Wizardry School: Escape Room
8/3​	Would you like to run an idol cafe? 3
8/4​	Cooking Arena
8/4​	Death Becomes You
8/4​	GigaBash
8/4​	Slime Girl Smoothies
8/5​	Puzzle Boys
8/5​	X-Force Under Attack

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases (8/07~8/13)​

Fan of indies? This first week of August has you covered!

Broforce is a Run & Gun/Platformer originally released on PC back in 2015, followed by a PS4 port in 2016 and a Switch port in 2018. Broforce Forever is a final, free update coming to all current platforms while also releasing for the first time on Xbox One this Tuesday.

30XX is the follow-up to 2016's 20XX, both Roguelike/Action-Platformers paying homage to older Mega Man games. Releasing only on PC and Switch for now, though PlayStation and Xbox releases seem inevitable.

If the name Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical doesn't at least catch your interest, we probably can't be friends. I'm pretty sure the title explains itself well enough, but this isn't an RPG - it's in the vein of a Telltale Game (Walking Dead, et al) with, y'know, musical bits thrown in. Seems pretty interesting and one of the Dragon Age writers is helming it, so it managed to become an insta-buy for my partner while whipping up the list.

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
8/8​	Broforce Forever	(✔)​	(✔)​		✔​		83
8/8​	Sword and Fairy: Together Forever (Physical)		✔​	✔​			73
8/8​	Tower of Fantasy		✔​	✔​			TBD
8/8​	WrestleQuest (Delayed!)	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/9​	30XX	✔​					80*
8/9​	Fluffy Milo	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/9​	Legend Bowl	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/9​	Running Fable	✔​			✔​	✔​	TBD
8/10​	Atlas Fallen			✔​		✔​	TBD
8/10​	Stray				✔​	✔​	83
8/10​	Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/10​	The Dragoness: Command of the Flame		✔​	✔​		✔​	59
8/10​	Zombie Soup	✔​	✔​	✔​			TBD
8/11​	Bright Lights of Svetlov	✔​			✔​	✔​	TBD
8/11​	Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Edition (Physical)	✔​	✔​	✔​			92
8/11​	World Soccer Pinball				✔​	✔​	50*

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
8/8​	Anthology of Fear
8/8​	Chickenoidz Super Party
8/9​	Mondealy
8/9​	Skabma - Snowfall
8/9​	Unidentified Falling Objects
8/10​	BOKURA
8/10​	Female Nation Takeover
8/10​	Mysterious Adventure of Michael
8/10​	Neon Blight
8/10​	Pipe Dream
8/10​	Pups & Purrs Pet Shop
8/10​	Sonar Beat
8/10​	Sven - Completely Screwed
8/10​	The Rewinder
8/10​	Wild Legion
8/10​	Witch's Garden
8/10​	World Spin
8/10​	Xtreme Sports
8/11​	Acceptance
8/11​	Prison Life Simulator Jail - Gangster Escape Games Scary Architect Battle
8/11​	Rainbow Skies

 

[Crystal]

We have got to get you a badge like Mistress of Scheduling, love the weekly threads!

 

[Raine]

It's certainly been an interesting experience, doing these again! Some things never change though, like Nintendo's platform - Wii back then, Switch now - having just insane amounts of shovelware.

Like without Googling it, "Prison Life Simulator Jail - Gangster Escape Games Scary Architect Battle" absolutely screams asset flip with AI-generated name. And if it's not... they may wish to consume fewer illicit substances.

 

[Crystal]

Nintendo loves their little trinkety games, lol. It'll never end

 

[Crystal]

Had to give you the Mistress of Scheduling badge @Warp, had to

 

[Raine]

Aw, thank you!

I'm totally, definitely not going to abuse this Listress badge. Especially not around Christmas.

 

[Crystal]

Aw, thank you!

I'm totally, definitely not going to abuse this Listress badge. Especially not around Christmas.

You are 100% officially GWFs listress

 

[Raine]

Goddamn industry changing their dates all willy-nilly!

Strange choice waiting until night before/day of release to announce a delay. Game could be up my alley since it's a turn-based RPG with nostalgia bomb WCW/WWE wrestlers, but, eh.

WrestleQuest delayed to August 22

Publisher Skybound Games and developer Mega Cat Studios have delayed wrestling RPG WrestleQuest from its previously planned August 8 release date to August 22. It will be available for PlayStation …

www.gematsu.com

 

[Crystal]

It does look interesting, that's for sure!

 

[TD]

If there's anyone here with an Xbox that has never played Stray, I highly recommend it. Its short but it was one of my top two games of the year in 2022.

 

[Raine]

As with Bugsnax, that was one of the games my partner was shocked and thrilled to learn was coming to Xbox. Video games + cat = instabuy, apparently obviously!

Great to hear it's a good experience, too. I missed the public and critical reception after the PlayStation release and didn't really remember hearing anything about it since.


Edit: Even though I loathe Twitter, I still have to post this now that I've mentioned the game and been reminded of it.

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases (8/14~8/20)​

Howdy folks, and welcome to Madden Week! We can now officially start counting the minutes to more solid Triple A goodness after a brief dry spe--what's that? Baldur's Gate? That comes out next mo--97 Metacritic? One of the best games in recent years and maybe of all time?! Listen here, time traveler, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Next. Month!

This week, obviously, we have Madden NFL 24. I presume this is similar to Madden NFL 23 and hasn't gone and changed genres, but one can never be too certain. As is standard practice the official release date is this Friday, the 18th. Those who preorder the Deluxe Edition can start playing on Tuesday the 15th instead. ...No I wasn't paid to write that but I sort of feel like maybe I should have been.

If injury simulation isn't your forte, the freshly announced - and still highly controversial - PS4 and Switch port of Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare is due out digitally on Thursday. Physical copies are set to arrive a couple weeks from now. If portability and/or platform isn't a concern, I'm literally being held at gunpoint here to remind everyone that an Xbox 360 copy can be had for around half the price and is compatible with both Xbox One and Xbox Series, with the latter supporting both 4K and 60 FPS enhancements.

The indie darling Vampire Survivor is coming to Switch on Thursday as well. This release seemingly doesn't include its DLC, Legacy of the Moonspell and Tides of the Foscari, but both will be available for purchase the same day.

As maybe a possible anomaly - I don't follow the PlayStation ecosystem particularly closely these days - the names Ape Escape: On the Loose and MediEvil: Resurrection stand out to me. Those are PSP games, a "remake" of the original Ape Escape and "reimagining" of the first MediEvil the internet tells me, and I wasn't aware Sony was actively porting/emulating the handheld games for the consoles. Outside of collection entries like God of War, and third-party efforts such as Metal Gear or Kingdom Hearts. So I guess that's a thing? Kind of nifty, though I also can't ascertain whether these are genuinely new releases or are just noteworthy for being added to the PlayStation Plus service.

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
8/15​	Ape Escape: On the Loose		✔​	✔​			66
8/15​	Astro Flame Starfighter	✔​			✔​	✔​	TBD
8/15​	Black Skylands	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​		TBD
8/15​	EVERSPACE 2			✔​		✔​	81
8/15​	Farworld Pioneers		✔​	✔​			65*
8/15​	Madden NFL 24 (Deluxe Edition)		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/15​	MediEvil: Resurrection		✔​	✔​			66
8/15​	Moving Out 2	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	83
8/15​	Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice		✔​	✔​			73
8/16​	Boxville				✔​		70*
8/16​	Creepy Tale: Ingrid Penance	✔​			✔​	✔​	75
8/16​	Rayland 2	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/17​	Dust & Neon			✔​			74
8/17​	Gord			✔​		✔​	TBD
8/17​	Hello Engineer	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/17​	Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition			✔​		✔​	88
8/17​	Marble It Up! Ultra	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	82
8/17​	Quantum: Recharged	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/17​	Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare	✔​	✔​				97
8/17​	Shinobi non Grata	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
8/17​	Vampire Survivors	✔​					87
8/18​	Aery - Flow of Time	✔​			✔​		TBD
8/18​	Chrome Wolf	✔​			✔​	✔​	70*
8/18​	Human: Fall Flat - Dream Collection (Physical)	✔​					70
8/18​	Madden NFL 24		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/18​	Neko Journey	✔​	✔​	✔​			TBD
8/18​	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
8/17​	A Castle Full of Cats
8/18​	Airplane Race Simulator - 2 Player Game
8/18​	Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
8/18​	Cat's Cosmic Atlas
8/17​	Die After Sunset
8/17​	Duck Race
8/18​	Embraced By Autumn
8/17​	Gauntler
8/17​	Hidden Shapes: Cat Realm + Trick or Cats
8/18​	Sable's Grimoire: Man And Elf
8/17​	Satay Shop Tycoon
8/15​	Summer Valley Hike
8/16​	The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood

 

[Crystal]

Thank you, oh Listress, for your continued excellence!

 

[Spiner202]

Madden 23 was my first one in a few years, and most of the previous problems with the game were somehow... worse? I don't think I'll be picking this one up.

I'm glad RDR came out so soon after its announcement. Now the waiting game for a big sale begins

 

[TD]

I used to be obsessed with Madden.
Played 23 a bit cause of EA Play, it just feels like it's gone so downhill.

I used to love franchise mode but this whole MUT takeover was the start of the end for me.

Excited to try Moving Out 2 with a friend.

 

[Raine]

Madden 23 was my first one in a few years, and most of the previous problems with the game were somehow... worse? I don't think I'll be picking this one up.

As a completely disinterested, outside observer of the genre for like twenty years - I feel this has been a common theme with most annual sports releases whenever I stumble upon talk regarding them. Which isn't often to be fair, but still. Cut features, re-prioritization towards microtransactions, endless bugs and glitches, unsatisfying multiplayer efforts. Now with an extra $10 on the price.

Considering how many are the only game in town, I get it. But also, that didn't really save WWE and Yukes when folks finally had enough.

 

[Spiner202]

WWE games are fundamentally different from Madden. The single biggest driving factor for people buying sports games (whether they'll admit it or not) is playing with a current roster. With WWE games, rosters don't follow an annual schedule, and even when there are changes, the Create-A-Wrestler features are so deep, that you could create any new wrestlers if you absolutely had to.

With Madden, you could theoretically download a roster that someone else created with updates for every team, but it's not quite the same. Franchise mode will still start off season 1 with the wrong schedule, and there's no way to get the correct one for future years. People tend to joke that they're buying Madden for a roster update because there are no new features, but they actually are buying Madden for a roster update because they want a roster update.

 

[Mark]

With Madden, you could theoretically download a roster that someone else created with updates for every team, but it's not quite the same. Franchise mode will still start off season 1 with the wrong schedule, and there's no way to get the correct one for future years. People tend to joke that they're buying Madden for a roster update because there are no new features, but they actually are buying Madden for a roster update because they want a roster update.

My buddy downloaded Madden, since I’m logged into his account I downloaded it.

Here’s what I’ve noticed after playing one pre-season game last night:

- The play clock is smaller than ever. Good luck reading it with 20/20 vision.

- Color splash transitions based on team colors. Oooh. Fancy.

- Some UI tweaks. Smooth edges. Oooh. Cool. Neat.

- The soundtrack sucks.

 

[Spiner202]

- The soundtrack sucks.

One of the reasons that Madden games have been my favourite for years is because you can mute the game and toss on your own music.

 

[Mark]

One of the reasons that Madden games have been my favourite for years is because you can mute the game and toss on your own music.

Exactly. Spotify stays on.

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases (8/21~8/27)​

A little late again this week, but that's fine. All of this week's releases were canceled anyway to make room for the only truly viable GOTY candidate. Please act accordingly and make tribute at your preferred game retailer/shop this Friday so Warp can have Armored Core more than once a decade to avoid eternal damnation. Thank you for your understanding.

...

Oh, fine. Before we begin, special shoutout to Whisker Squadron: Survivor! It's PC only (for now? someone get Phil Spencer on the phone for a Game Pass deal, stat!), but it's been developed by @Lunar Kreskents's partner's indie studio! She has a thread right here that you've probably already seen, but... oh well, go look at it again! Here have a(n older) gameplay video too!

​

So this week sees the release of Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. The series basically took off the entirety of this previous generation, with the last console release being Verdict Day back in September 2013. I've seen exactly 0 seconds of footage and no screenshots, but I can assure you the game is amazing and you should buy it. If you don't have a romantic partner and happen to stumble upon someone else that's single, and they're into hardcore mech bullshit like this, allow me to save you some trouble: They're awesome, put a ring on them. You're welcome!

I've heard this game will be more action-y than the PS1 and PS2 entries, and at least similar to For Answer. So, that's probably good - the GOAT mech game, in my humble opinion, would be some bastard child of Armored Core's deep stat wankery and Zone of the Enders's stylish, J-Action-y anime nonsense.

...What? Fiiine.

After a slight delay, WrestleQuest actually probably comes out this week. It's a tongue-in-cheek homage to old-school WWE/WCW, but in turn-based RPG form. Looks positively dumb, which is a compliment. Consider trying it out if that strikes your fancy, I have more impor--

Virgo Versus The Zodiac is another indie RPG, this one taking cues from Super Mario RPG in at least the reaction/timing-based attack department. Humor to be determined. The game released on PC/Steam a couple years ago, and definitely lands on Switch this Wednesday, but not entirely clear what's going on with the PS4 and Xbox One versions. There are some articles out there on niche websites saying they're coming out at the same time, but the official PlayStation and Xbox webstores have no listed dates which is typically not a great sign. So, YMMV if you're interested.

Rounding out the list of also-rans that catch my eye, Blasphemous 2 is another side-scrolling Metroidvania. It's reviewing pretty solidly so far and I know a lot of people loved the first game a couple years back, so definitely something to keep an eye on if you're not otherwise engaged and you're into that subgenre. It's dropping on all platforms simultaneously as far as I can tell.

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
8/22​	Fort Solis			✔​			TBD
8/22​	Immortals of Aveum			✔​		✔​	TBD
8/22​	Smurfs Kart		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	66
8/22​	WrestleQuest	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	71
8/23​	RedRaptor	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/23​	Virgo Versus The Zodiac	✔​	✔?​		✔?​		80
8/24​	Blasphemous 2	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	87
8/24​	Firewall Ultra			✔​			TBD
8/24​	LogiKing		✔​				TBD
8/24​	RIDE 5			✔​		✔​	TBD
8/24​	Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	76*
8/25​	Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	(TBD)
8/25​	Ashina: The Red Witch	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/25​	Desperate: Vladivostok		✔​				TBD
8/25​	Hitman: World of Assassination (Physical)			✔​			82*
8/25​	Metal Tales: Overkill (Physical)		✔​				55
8/25​	Overdriven Evolution				✔​		TBD
8/25​	Tanky Tanks 2				✔​		TBD
8/25​	Truth					✔​	TBD

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
8/22​	Brave Bow Archer: Princess Rescue Simulator!
8/22​	Lost Forest
8/24​	Alice Escaped!
8/24​	Curse Crackers: For Whom the Belle Toils
8/24​	GINSHA
8/24​	King of the Hat
8/24​	Norn9: Last Era
8/24​	Pinball FX - Williams Pinball: Star Trek: The Next Generation
8/24​	Retro Mystery Club Vol. 1: The Ise-Shima Case
8/24​	Retro Revengers
8/24​	Word Search Puzzle: Find the Words!
8/25​	Giant Wishes
8/25​	Little Devil: Foster Mayhem
8/25​	Loop Hero
8/25​	Rocket Car : Ultimate Ball League Machines
8/25​	Wildagotchi: Virtual Pet

 

[Raposuh]

My friend has been streaming Curse Crackers and my god, there is so much to do in that game. Also the head dev showed up in her stream and she was gushing about how good the game was to them without realizing, which was funny.

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases (8/28~9/03)​

Sorry can't post still sitting in front of the door like a lost puppy waiting for Armored Core VI to arrive because I'm too lazy to pick up a copy and too cheap to not do free shipping.

There is an incredible disturbance in the force this week. The anger and the vitriol can be felt from way over here in our peaceful non-hellscape! For those in a hurry, the Deluxe Edition of Starfield becomes available to play as early as Thursday night. We... don't need to say too much about Starfield, I think? Everyone knows what this is whether they want to or not.

Less controversially, Sea of Stars drops onto everything this Tuesday. This is the first release we'll see over the next year or two of games (by different people and publishers) that were brought to life thanks to Kickstarter, hearkening back to - or literally being a spiritual successor to - classic JRPGs. Sea of Stars, specifically, cites inspiration from Super Mario RPG, Illusion of Gaia and Chrono Trigger. The spritework reminds me, personally, of something like Breath of Fire. Musician Yasunori Mitsuda, known for his work on titles like Chrono Trigger and series such as Xeno and Shadow Hearts, was one of the bigger selling points for the Kickstarter.

Goodbye Volcano High is a game I will highlight because I do want to root for it. But it's not the type of game I'm personally interested in, it's going to get decimated by the above releases, and it will never escape the controversy of its original lead(?) writer posting an extraordinarily ill-advised sex-centric discussion article on Kotaku that... also featured Pokemon porn.... for some reason... It's worth noting she hasn't been involved since basically the time that article went live and, by all accounts, the writing got a redo following the departure. Still, best of luck to them. And never read internet comment sections about this game.

Oddities for this week: I won't normally do this, but wanted to highlight that TMNT: Shredder's Revenge is getting DLC this week, including 2 new playable characters, titled Dimension Shellshock. The game is quite good, and I'm sure the DLC will similarly be a treat. On the flip side of this, Microsoft is functionally increasing the price of the Xbox Series S with this week's launch of a black variant that sports a 1TB drive. I can't imagine this selling particularly well, especially with the recent news that Baldur's Gate III will arrive on Xbox within 2023, but Series S will not have couch co-op (at launch, maybe ever).

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
8/29	Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The London Case	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/29	Crossfire: Sierra Squad			✔​			TBD
8/29	Goodbye Volcano High		✔​	✔​			TBD
8/29	Noob: The Factionless (Physical)	✔​	✔​	✔​	(✔)​	(✔)​	60*
8/29	Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles	✔​		✔​			70*
8/29	Samba de Amigo: Party Central	✔​					TBD
8/29	Sea of Stars	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/29	The Making of Karateka	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/29	Under The Waves		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/30	Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/30	Lapin					✔​	TBD
8/31	Gourmet Warriors	✔​	(✔)​		(✔)​		TBD
8/31	How 2 Escape	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/31	Somerville		✔​	✔​			71
8/31	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - Dimension Shellshock	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	-
8/31	Tenebris Pictura		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/31	Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
8/31	War Hospital			✔​		✔​	TBD
9/1	Bomb Rush Cyberfunk	(✔)​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	73
9/1	Cats and the Other Lives				✔​		80
9/1	DREAMERS				✔​	✔​	TBD
9/1	Hexapoda				✔​		TBD
9/1	No Place Like Home			✔​		✔​	63*
9/1	Starfield (Deluxe Edition)					✔​	TBD
9/1	The Last Worker (Physical)	✔​		✔​			69
9/1	Xbox Series S (1TB Carbon Black)					✔​	$349.99

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
8/28​	Garden In!
8/28​	Heart Chain Kitty: All Screwed Up
8/29​	Golf: Hole in One
8/29​	Sphereout
8/30​	Hyperforma Lost Archives - Fragment I
8/30​	Hyperforma Lost Archives - Fragment II
8/30​	The Bridge Curse Road to Salvation
8/31​	1997
8/31​	Baseball Club
8/31​	Buggy Racer
8/31​	Catlord
8/31​	Elasto Mania II
8/31​	Eventide 2: The Sorcerer's Mirror
8/31​	High Sea Saga DX
8/31​	It's a Wrap!
8/31​	Jelly Fruits Adventure: Magic Match 3 Puzzle
8/31​	Masala Drive
8/31​	NecroBoy : Path to Evilship
8/31​	Norn9: Last Era
8/31​	OU
8/31​	Sakura Fox Adventure
8/31​	Taito Milestones 2
8/31​	The Shape of Things
8/31​	TRAPPED in The Dim Mansion
8/31​	Trip World DX
8/31​	Yakiniku Simulator
9/1​	Aquapark io
9/1​	Big Farm Story
9/1​	Gastro Force
9/1​	Hole.io
9/1​	Otoko Cross: Pretty Boys Dropout!
9/1​	Paper.io 2
9/1​	Ralph and the Blue Ball

 

[Raposuh]

Sea of starfield week wooo woo wooo wooooo

 

[Raposuh]

@Raine do you know if there are any drill weapons in AC6?

 

[TD]

I'm so damn excited for Sea of Stars.

 

[Raine]

@Raine do you know if there are any drill weapons in AC6?

Aw, shit, this is torture. *F5's BestBuy* IT STILL SAYS FRIDAY?! Physical Xbox is cursed.

Mod support would fix this in a jiffy, but assorted melee options have not traditionally been something AC does. Usually always a laser/beam saber option or two available, sometimes a pile bunker which may be the best/closest drill-like option?

 

[Raposuh]

If only we could mod out fromsoft games like we do Bethesda.

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases (9/04~9/10)​

How to get timely tables: Tell Raine she's not allowed to mecha pewpew until she does her chores.

This is the week where PC enthusiasts point and laugh at us. And if you're not a PC enthusiast, this is the week where you point and laugh at the young folk while pretending you weren't a little console warrior yourself at their age.

If you've got yourself a nice, beefy PC then you've potentially been playing Baldur's Gate III for nearly a month now. It is, without question, a controversial game - for all of the right reasons. Metacritic/Opencritic scores are a time a dozen, usually, but scoring a 96? There's probably some small fire at least for all this smoke, and if it's remotely within your wheelhouse it's probably something to check out. PS5 owners get to join the fun this Wednesday. Xbox owners got some good news in that BG3 will release within 2023, but if you've got the Series S then no local coop for you unfortunately.

On the subject of Xbox, Starfield's official release date is also this Wednesday. Everybody loves a good bloodbath, and warranted or not the commentary surrounding this early launch weekend has been... entertaining. If $70 for an ambitious Bethesda game week/month 1 is a little steep for you, there are certainly still GamePass deals and offers out in the wild for both console and PC to dip your toes in for a relatively minor cost. Or even free, depending.

For people that aren't into massive games and just want their annual late summer comfort foods, NBA 2K24 drops Friday for a relaxing weekend. Shame it couldn't coincide with Labor Day weekend for full effect, but alas. And if you get sweaty looking at digital people getting sweaty, we can relax even further with Rune Factory 3 Special on Switch starting Tuesday.

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
9/5​	Chants of Sennaar	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
9/5​	Crime Boss: Rockay City (Physical)			✔​		✔​	49
9/5​	Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten		✔​	✔​			68
9/5​	Rune Factory 3 Special	✔​					TBD
9/5​	Totally Accurate Battle Simulator		✔​				TBD
9/6​	Baldur's Gate 3			✔​			96
9/6​	Bloons TD 6				✔​		71*
9/6​	Enchanted Portals	✔​		✔​		✔​	TBD
9/6​	Escape from Terror City	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/6​	Starfield					✔​	88
9/7​	Alchemy Garden	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/7​	Lempo			✔​			TBD
9/7​	The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/7​	Warstride Challenges			✔​		✔​	TBD
9/8​	Anonymous;Code	✔​	✔​				TBD
9/8​	Into The Sky	✔​			✔​		TBD
9/8​	NBA 2K24	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/8​	RUNNER HEROES: Enhanced Edition			✔​			TBD

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
9/5​	Bear and Breakfast
9/5​	Kovox Pitch
9/5​	True Virus
9/5​	Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
9/6​	No Son Of Mine
9/7​	Color Sense Challenge
9/7​	Colorful Boi
9/7​	Hentai Project
9/7​	Pipe Line Puzzle
9/7​	Redeemer's Run
9/7​	Shepherd's Crossing
9/7​	Strike Force 3
9/7​	The Dragoness: Command of the Flame
9/8​	Crowd City
9/8​	Elderand
9/8​	Fae Farm
9/8​	Night at the Gates of Hell
9/8​	Seduce Me: The Complete Story
9/8​	Sprout Valley
9/8​	Troopers
9/8​	Whitestone

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases (9/11~9/17)​

Sorry parents, this thread was a trap. You're now forever doomed to having Baby Shark stuck in your head, again (still?), because Baby Shark: Sing & Swim Party is on this list. Whoops!

While doing these lists, I've noticed more and more of those Switch shovelware games and old smartphone games, of varying but mostly dubious quality, making their way to Xbox and PlayStation. This week, especially, sees a glut of that and I'm not really certain what's driving it. Surely no one notices/cares and they aren't profitable? Although, having said that, indie darling Game Dev Story (from 1997/2010) is coming to Xbox... so that's a nice little treat! Hot Springs Story as well, though I confess to not having heard of that one (or just not remembering) until now.

For major releases, there's not much here. Mortal Kombat 1 (12) releases on Thursday for current generation platforms and, strangely enough, Switch but no PS4 or Xbone. It's a $70 fighting game with a plethora of already announced and planned DLC, including characters, so... I trust you already know if this is on your list or not and we'll just move on.

Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster comes to Switch this Thursday as well, finally releasing these games from the clutches of the GameCube. While not as feverishly worshipped and begged for as your Skies of Arcadias or Xenosagas, the collective RPG community has always spoken fondly of the games. There will not be English voice acting, regretfully, so if that's not your jam you'll probably still want to stick with or otherwise pick up some GCN discs. They're still relatively inexpensive, all things considered.

Rounding out the list of immediately noticeable non-repeats is Super Bomberman R 2, a third "R" game in the ancient and (almost) always-lovable Bomberman series. While R Online shut down after a paltry ~18 months of service, I believe all that was in R itself is still intact and ongoing. R 2, then, just looks to provide even more of the same classic gameplay with some remixed bells, whistles and various cosmetics to dress your bomber up in. If you're just looking for a casual game to tinker with alongside a child, partner or friend it's honestly pretty hard to go wrong with these.

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
9/11​	The Crew Motorfest (Gold Edition)		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/12​	Eternights		✔​	✔​			TBD
9/12​	F1 Manager 2023 (Physical)		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	79
9/12​	Full Void	✔​			✔​		68
9/12​	MythForce	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/12​	Nour: Play With Your Food		✔​	✔​			TBD
9/12​	Pixel Ripped 1995			✔​			82
9/12​	Smurfs Kart				✔​	✔​	66
9/12​	The Isle Tide Hotel	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/12​	Touhou: New World		✔​	✔​			62
9/13​	Gravity Oddity	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
9/13​	Mystic Gate		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/13​	Super Bomberman R 2	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/14​	Ad Infinitum			✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/14​	AK-xolotl	✔​	✔​	✔​			TBD
9/14​	Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster	✔​					TBD (80 & 75)
9/14​	Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery VR			✔​			73
9/14​	Heavy Duty Challenge			✔​		✔​	TBD
9/14​	Inspector Gadget: Mad Time Party	✔​	✔​	✔​			TBD
9/14​	Isekai Rondo	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/14​	Mortal Kombat 1 (Kollector's Edition)	✔​		✔​		✔​	TBD
9/14​	Mugen Souls Z	✔​					57
9/14​	Solar Ash	✔​				✔​	78
9/14​	Summum Aeterna	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/14​	The Crew Motorfest		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/14​	Ugly	✔​			✔​		TBD
9/15​	Another Crusade	✔​			✔​		TBD
9/15​	Baby Shark: Sing & Swim Party	✔​			✔​	✔​	TBD
9/15​	Blasphemous 2 (Physical)	✔​		✔​		✔​	85
9/15​	Dream House Days DX				✔​	✔​	TBD
9/15​	Dungeon Village				✔​	✔​	70*
9/15​	Game Dev Story				✔​	✔​	86
9/15​	Hot Springs Story				✔​	✔​	83
9/15​	NASCAR Arcade Rush	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/15​	Neon White (Physical)	✔​		✔​			88
9/15​	Persona 5 Royal (1 More Edition) [Physical]	✔​		✔​		✔​	94
9/15​	Station Manager				✔​	✔​	TBD
9/15​	Werewolf Pinball				✔​	✔​	TBD

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
9/11​	Adventures of Ben: Rabbit Run
9/13​	Gunbrella
9/14​	City of Beats
9/14​	Dynablaster
9/14​	Enraged Red Ogre
9/14​	Labyrinth
9/14​	Lies as a Starting Point
9/14​	Love Love School Days
9/14​	Retro Mystery Club Vol. 1: The Ise-Shima Case
9/14​	Retro Revengers
9/14​	Skyhook
9/14​	Teocida + Estigma
9/14​	Thunder Ray
9/14​	Yummy Jewels
9/15​	Anime Sexy Girl Puzzle - Hentai Game History Adventure
9/15​	Corbid! A Colorful Adventure
9/15​	HexaWars
9/15​	League Of Champions Soccer 2024
9/15​	qrth-phyl
9/15​	Sakura MMO Extra
9/15​	Super Brawl Rush
9/18​	Gloomhaven

 

[Smacktard]

Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster comes to Switch this Thursday as well, finally releasing these games from the clutches of the GameCube. While not as feverishly worshipped and begged for as your Skies of Arcadias or Xenosagas, the collective RPG community has always spoken fondly of the games. There will not be English voice acting, regretfully, so if that's not your jam you'll probably still want to stick with or otherwise pick up some GCN discs. They're still relatively inexpensive, all things considered.

I bought this and a few other games on PlayAsia. Should receive them in a couple weeks. I have the GameCube originals, but I've never played them. As much as I love cringe dialogue and voice acting, I tend to skip through a lot of spoken dialogue since I read it much faster. I think the QoL improvements on Switch make it worthwhile.

 

[TD]

I would love to get MK1 but I just can't justify it when I don't play the online modes with other players.

 

[Raine]

I bought this and a few other games on PlayAsia. Should receive them in a couple weeks. I have the GameCube originals, but I've never played them. As much as I love cringe dialogue and voice acting, I tend to skip through a lot of spoken dialogue since I read it much faster. I think the QoL improvements on Switch make it worthwhile.

Likewise on having but not having touched the GCN releases. Yet more casualties of the backlog.

I'm generally hit or miss on pushing ahead once I've read what's on screen. My partner 100% does it (though she insists on Japanese VA for everything), but I find a lot of games do irksome things in the backgrounds or with additional dialogue that isn't in the textbox that can be missed.

I would love to get MK1 but I just can't justify it when I don't play the online modes with other players.

Yeah. I mean I don't really know much about MK1, but at face value they're asking for an extra $10 to have fewer (23) characters and a re-re-rebooted narrative that's still probably going to follow the same beats as MK01~3/MK9~11?

I miss games like SoulCalibur II that had fairly robust singleplayer elements. I never really liked 3D MK, but even Deadly Alliance had that sprawling Krypt you could unlock things in while playing solo stuff. I just can't help but feel that if the online/multiplayer is they key draw, that maybe Killer Instinct made the right call. But, we'll see.

 

[TD]

Yeah. I mean I don't really know much about MK1, but at face value they're asking for an extra $10 to have fewer (23) characters and a re-re-rebooted narrative that's still probably going to follow the same beats as MK01~3/MK9~11?

That's more or less it. There's a new game mode but it really isn't anything groundbreaking. They have the whole concept of cameo characters (fighters you can't actually fight with but are tagged in almost like item usage) which I don't like. I'd rather just have them as playable fighters.

That plus the fact they already announced DLC Kombat Packs for more fighters I just have a hard time supporting that.

I miss games like SoulCalibur II that had fairly robust singleplayer elements.

That was the one with Link right? Good times. Or I guess it depends on the console.

MK11 added the augment system and towers of time which at least added some depth to single player finally but yeah, on the surface MK1 feels like it's going backwards.

 

[VashTheStampede]

I'm still pretty excited for MK1 even though they got rid of my favorite part (the Krypt).

But the new mode looks like their take on the single player mode from Smash Ultimate so I'm cautiously optimistic.

I unironically love the trash TV storylines and relationships of the MK world that they've developed over the last several games so the reboot changes and twists are pretty much tailored for me.

Also I've always wanted to try Baiten Kaitos but that might have to wait for a sale...

Baby Shark do do do do-do-do raine you will burn for this

 

[TD]

But the new mode looks like their take on the single player mode from Smash Ultimate so I'm cautiously optimistic.

Is it more like Smash or more like Mario Party where each tile is a different fight to unlock more.

 

[VashTheStampede]

Is it more like Smash or more like Mario Party where each tile is a different fight to unlock more.

from the preview i saw a few weeks ago it seemed like a little of column A and a little of column B

the game is likely a day 1 buy for me so i'll report back

 

[Raine]

That was the one with Link right? Good times. Or I guess it depends on the console.

Yup, that's the one! Link on GameCube, Spawn on Xbox (lol?), Heihachi on PS2.

It's probably not saying much considering SC3 is basically lost to time, SC4 is a bit mediocre and SC5 (& 6?) is hot garbo, but... still my favorite in the series.

I unironically love the trash TV storylines and relationships of the MK world that they've developed over the last several games so the reboot changes and twists are pretty much tailored for me.

That's always been my favorite part of fighting games as well, MK or otherwise. I've legitimately never tried to get actually good at any fighting game, so if I'm going to sit and play I require a way to care about the characters and why they're suddenly throwing haymakers at their sibling.

The MK lore is always fun to read up on every couple years or so to see what lunacy has occurred!

raine you will burn for this

 

[TD]

the game is likely a day 1 buy for me so i'll report back

Oooh yes. Please do. Main reason I'm not getting it (or BG3) is my current level of broke af.

 

[VashTheStampede]

That's always been my favorite part of fighting games as well, MK or otherwise. I've legitimately never tried to get actually good at any fighting game, so if I'm going to sit and play I require a way to care about the characters and why they're suddenly throwing haymakers at their sibling.

Yeah one of my good friends is a serious fighting game player and travels to the big tournaments and stuff.

That's friggin work.

I just wanna see Sub-Zero and Scorpion be bros.

 

[TD]

It's probably not saying much considering SC3 is basically lost to time, SC4 is a bit mediocre and SC5 (& 6?) is hot garbo, but... still my favorite in the series.

None of the others have stuck with me either so, fair point? lol. I tried whichever one had Geralt for a whopping 15 minutes.

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases (9/18~9/24)​

So, Metacritic completely redesigned their website. It's god awful. Back to the drawing board with this shit again next week! Until then, potentially huge grain of salt how accurate any of these platform listings are.

Speaking of inaccuracies, last week I apparently missed where Warner Bros. was also taking a page from EA's dumb playbook with Mortal Kombat 1 (12). So the standard, non-special early release is this week. ...This is such a dumb practice, why do they make finding out when their games release such a chore? But, I mean, apparently and unfortunately it's just the norm now. Payday 3 is playable starting Monday (tomorrow!) if you do the Gold Edition, otherwise that drops on Thursday. The aforementioned Metacritic failed to realize this, because they still have Payday 3 listed as being a canceled game. Whoops!

This week also sees the release of Lies of P, a Soulslike from relative newcomer Round8 Studio. They only have a reboot of an MMO, Bless Unleashed, under their belt so far. So it'll be interesting to see how this ultimately fares relative something like The Callisto Protocol, which was also a considerably anticipated game from a studio with little to no track record. The PS5 version is sitting at an 81 on Metacritic with 45 reviews right now.

Rounding out the list is the supremely questionably named The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails. This is actually one of the games in Nihon Falcom's Trails subseries of The Legend of Heroes lineage, albeit a spinoff. Did I mention the name is dumb? Atlus just slapped "Shin Megami Tensei" on things that weren't technically MegaTen and that went just fine - it's called branding, NISA!

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
9/18​	Gloomhaven	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	82
9/18​	Payday 3 (Gold Edition)			✔​		✔​	TBD
9/19​	Broken Edge			✔​			TBD
9/19​	Death or Treat (Physical)	✔​	✔​	✔​			57
9/19​	Lies of P		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	81
9/19​	Mortal Kombat 1	✔​		✔​		✔​	85
9/19​	Persha and the Magic Labyrinth: Arabian Nyaights	✔​		✔​			TBD
9/19​	RUINSMAGUS: Complete			✔​			TBD
9/19​	The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails	✔​	✔​				84
9/19​	You Suck at Parking: Complete Edition	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	74
9/20​	Party Animals				✔​	✔​	78
9/21​	Days of Doom	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/21​	Hellsweeper VR			✔​			TBD
9/21​	Paperman: Adventure Delivered	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/21​	Payday 3			✔​		✔​	TBD
9/21​	RIN: The Last Child	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/21​	Train Sim World 4 (Deluxe Edition)		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/22​	Avatar: The Last Airbender - Quest for Balance	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/22​	Bud Spencer & Terence Hill - Slaps and Beans 2	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/22​	Cyber Citizen Shockman 2: A New Menace	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/22​	EA Sports FC 24 (Ultimate Edition)	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/22​	House Flipper (Pets Edition) [Physical]	✔​	✔​				67
9/22​	Pikmin 1 + 2 (Physical)	✔​					80
9/22​	Rainbow High: Runway Rush	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/22​	Shuyan Saga	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/22​	Super Snake Block DX				✔​	✔​	TBD

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
9/18​	Ugly
9/19​	Lost Crystals
9/20​	Rayland 2
9/21​	Aireo FlightSimulator
9/21​	Bro Falls DELUXE
9/21​	Earthshine
9/21​	Evil Wizard
9/21​	Evolings
9/21​	FRAG Pro Shooter
9/21​	Fragment's Note2+
9/21​	HammerHelm
9/21​	Kind Heart Defenders
9/21​	Livestream 2: Escape from Togaezuka Happy Place
9/21​	Magic Donut Adventure: Line Match Three Puzzle
9/21​	Mon-Yu: Defeat Monsters And Gain Strong Weapons And Armor. You May Be Defeated, But Don't Give Up. Become Stronger. I Believe There Will Be A Day When The Heroes Defeat The Devil King
9/21​	Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission
9/21​	Osyaberi! Horijyo! Gekihori: Anna Holinski saves the universe, alright?!
9/21​	Retro Kart Rush
9/21​	Sugar Tanks
9/21​	Super Adventure Hand
9/21​	Tick Tack Puppet
9/21​	Warriors of the Nile 2
9/22​	Construction Machine Simulator 2023 : Hard Truck Work Job
9/22​	Cry Babies Magic Tears: The Big Game
9/22​	Farm Land
9/22​	Mermaid Castle 2
9/22​	Whateverland

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases (9/25~10/01)​

We now find ourselves moving into October - time flies, right? - which can only mean two things: Continued deluge of game releases, and immediate regret for buying anything come Black Friday. This week would have two games that we could reasonably call tentpole, otherwise it's a lot of licensed stuff for younger people and niche games.

For people that are into FIFA, but not enough to pay through the nose, EA Sports FC 24's official release date is this Friday. Review scores and aggregates aren't terribly helpful for traditional sports games, but I can't help but look at that 77 and think that maybe EA is continuing to phone things in. Will be curious to see how that and the lack of the FIFA branding will affect sales numbers.

Thursday sees the release of Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest the Adventure of Dai, which is an Action-RPG spinoff of Square Enix's less adventurous JRPG series. It's mostly interesting in that it doesn't seem to be, or want to be, a Musou/Warriors-style game. It's coming to all platforms simultaneously, which is hopefully a trend that can extend to the mainline series - and more of Square's releases in general, to be honest.

Other names that catch my eye are Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 4: Bush Rescue Returns, which is apparently a remaster of a game I (and probably everybody else?) didn't even know existed from back in 2015. Another FATE game is coming out in the form of FATE/Samurai Remnant, which does appear to be a Musou/Warrior if Dragon Quest has left you hanging. And finally, Gothic Classic is coming to Switch - which is seemingly exactly what it sounds like, a straight and simple port of the 2001 game.

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
9/26​	El Paso, Elsewhere				✔​	✔​	TBD
9/26​	Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/26​	Paleo Pines	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/26​	Terraformers		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	80
9/26​	Train Sim World 4		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/26​	Truck Driver: The American Dream			✔​		✔​	TBD
9/26​	Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 4: Bush Rescue Returns	✔​					TBD
9/27​	Lord of the Click: Interstellar Wars	✔​			✔​		TBD
9/27​	Paper Beast: Enhanced Edition			✔​			79*
9/27​	Tested on Humans: Escape Room				✔​	✔​	TBD
9/27​	The Crackpet Show: Happy Tree Friends Edition	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/28​	Abomi Nation	✔​			✔​		TBD
9/28​	Afterdream	✔​		✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/28​	Chipmonk!	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/28​	CyberTD	✔​			✔​	✔​	TBD
9/28​	Disney Speedstorm	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	74
9/28​	Dolphin Spirit: Ocean Mission	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/28​	Everhood Eternity Edition		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	81
9/28​	Firefighting Simulator - The Squad (Physical)	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	60
9/28​	Gothic Classic	✔​					81*
9/28​	Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/28​	Mechs V Kaijus	✔​			✔​		TBD
9/28​	My Hero Ultra Rumble	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
9/28​	Pizza Possum	✔​		✔​		✔​	TBD
9/28​	Shark! Shark!	✔​			✔​	✔​	TBD
9/28​	Wildmender			✔​		✔​	TBD
9/29​	Cocoon	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/29​	EA Sports FC 24	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	77
9/29​	Fate/Samurai Remnant	✔​	✔​	✔​			TBD
9/29​	Gimmick! Special Edition (Physical)	✔​	✔​				77
9/29​	Indoor Kickball	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/29​	Ninja Kidz: Time Masters	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/29​	Park Beyond: Beyond eXtreme			✔​		✔​	TBD
9/29​	PAW Patrol World	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
9/29​	Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition	✔​			✔​		67*

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
9/25​	RoboDunk
9/26​	Autumn Hike
9/26​	Mineko's Night Market
9/27​	Betomis
9/28​	ANGEL WHISPER - The Suspense Visual Novel Left Behind by a Game Creator.
9/28​	Anime Poly Puzzle - Sci-Fi Maidens
9/28​	Before The Night
9/28​	Boaty Tanks
9/28​	CounterAttack: Uprising
9/28​	Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit
9/28​	Encore Rally
9/28​	Faerie Afterlight
9/28​	Firefighting Simulator - The Squad
9/28​	Forgive me Father
9/28​	Freak Crossing
9/28​	Games Advent Calendar - 25 Days - 25 Surprises
9/28​	Kumakichi's Birth * Destruction God
9/28​	Sentry City
9/28​	Tiny Whaley
9/29​	Ancient Mahjong
9/29​	Deflector
9/29​	Digitris
9/29​	Foot Clinic
9/29​	Humans vs Tigers
9/29​	Love Kuesuto
9/29​	My Heart Grows Fonder
9/30​	Super Sports Blast 3-1
9/30​	Supfly Delivery Simulator

 

[Raine]

Normally wouldn't, but... game is 1) getting bodied and 2) it's Square, so... yeah. From what I'm reading the game does not cover the entire story; a stray comment specified that it covers up to Episode 41 (of 100!). The rest as DLC, perhaps? Or a second game just being left as-is?

Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai

Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai allows players to live through the story of the exhilarating anime series, The Adventure of Dai, first-hand in an action role-playing game that combines stunning visuals with art from the anime and manga. Infinity Strash: DRAGON QUEST The...

www.metacritic.com

Score: 50
The only aspects I really enjoyed from Infinity Strash were its visuals, music, and spamming Popp’s spells because the game allowed me to shorten his cooldowns. Every other aspect was either lackluster, subpar, or in a few instances, downright terribly designed. I am extremely bummed out because I consider myself a big fan of The Adventure of Dai and Infinity Strash feels like it’s absurdly hamstrung because of how closely it had to be tied to the show. Hell, I even liked how well the game marked locations on the overworld map to provide Dai fans with a better look at where things occurred throughout the story. Regardless, I wouldn’t say that Infinity Strash is infinitely trash… but sometimes I got real tempted to.

Highest score:

Score: 75
Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai is a good game adapting an anime, but a relatively shallow Action RPG. Although there is a lot of content here (especially if you are a fan of the franchise), the game only recreates the anime's narrative, the combat is too simple and its most unique mode ends up tiring due to its repetitiveness.

Lowest score:

Score: 40
Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai is not an experience I recommend to anyone. Regardless of your familiarity with the series, I can promise you that this is not worth the time. Even fans who love the source material will get nothing positive from this title, as the miserable gameplay loop and surface-level storytelling will do nothing to initiate or enhance anybody’s love for the IP. What is here is more representative of a mobile game’s structure, with a console coating that’s mostly deceitful above all else.