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

[VashTheStampede]

Important update:

The new Turnip Boy is a roguelike.

I am in heaven.

 

[Raine]

Been watching the missus play Palworld for most of the afternoon into this evening. She's basically just running around with an axe, murdering little fake Pokemon - a white chicken, a pink totally-not-Meowth, a fluffier Eevee - while giggling like mad. The immediate draw of "that looks like Pokemon!" aside, I... don't see why they needed to steal and use AI to accomplish this. Would they have amassed 2 million sales in 24 hours? Perhaps not. But for what it is the game seems fun, and I don't think you need to literally steal Meowth and Eevee when "cute monster cat" is not a high bar to pass creatively.

So... yeah. Just super, super ridiculous and disappointing. Fully expect the game to be pulled and down not long into Monday morning as a precaution if nothing else. Microsoft is at least partially legally responsible for this, my non-lawyer ass feels, since they're partnered with and invested in the game with Pocketpair. And Nintendo is extraordinarily litigious and is willing to ruin people financially for life, and uh... Pocketpair is Japanese. They can't even hide.

 

[VashTheStampede]

The bright side of the whole debacle is that it may finally force the AI art issue to the legal forefront.

 

[Raine]

The bright side of the whole debacle is that it may finally force the AI art issue to the legal forefront.

Yeah, Japan(ese gaming companies) especially is still super gung-ho on AI and NFT/blockchain/Web3 shit. So it'll be interesting to see how the courts there weigh in.

Some level of assumption there that it even gets that far, I suppose, but given how blatant many elements are I don't think there's an out wherein 1) the AI wasn't fed copyrighted materials (Pokemon art/3D models) or 2) Pocketpair's modelers didn't effectively trace elements 1:1 for their end product.

 

[Smacktard]

I'll probably pick up the new PoP game and Another Code collection. PoP later, when Ubisoft inevitably drops its price, and Another Code ASAP because I don't see it being stocked for a super long time before it's off the shelves.

 

[VashTheStampede]

Holy smokes

 

[Raine]

Yeah it's apparently now broken 4 million sales in 3 days. Hard to say how much of this is the game itself being good versus FOMO versus curiosity because of the bad (and good) word-of-mouth.

Either way... it's causing people to dig up past grievances. Like for (at least parts of) Craftopia having stolen/"remixed" (inspired by lmfao) assets from Breath of the Wild, and also very much cribbing from small(er) studios too:

Spoiler: More Craftopia

Yes I'm just stealing these links from ResetEra

And also,


https://www.pocketpair.jp/guidelines-derivativework

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases: 2024 Week 4 (01/22~01/28)​

Well that was a bit of an interesting week, now wasn't it? Best to let nature take its course while enjoying some more good games. And this week should definitely have you covered on that front.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, otherwise known as Yakuza 8 9 (wait but the infinity sign...), gets top billing here. Per Wikipedia because certain people who shall remain unnamed only talk about games and never play them, Infinite Wealth is a sequel to both Yakuza: Like a Dragon from 2020 and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name from last year. Exact mileage may perhaps vary on how necessary completing both of those are two fully enjoying the narrative of Infinite Wealth, but it's too late to consider that now if you're jumping in!

The game is set to co-star Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu, the latter of which has... a decent amount of real world controversy surrounding the English VA. And Sega just dropped the bomb that New Game Plus is being locked behind the more expensive editions of the game (and probably premium DLC post-launch), so we'll see how much either of those impact enjoyment.




If the transition to RPG ain't quite your thing though, no worries: Tekken 8 launches this Friday and might scratch your insatiable itch for violence! It's been nearly seven years since Tekken 7 launched for consoles, so this one is definitely a long time coming. From the sounds of it the game is launching with 32 characters; 29 familiar faces, albeit several with extensive adjustments and a couple that haven't been seen in a while, and 3 new characters in the form of Victor Chevalier, Azucena and Reina.




And having learned my lesson on taking chances from last week, we're keeping highlight #3 nice, simple and safe. Capcom is once more giving the Ace Attorney series a chance (complete with a physical release on Switch!), so consider it your duty to at least entertain the idea of picking up Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy when it drops this Thursday. These are visual novel/point-and-click games with an emphasis on video game logic puzzle solving, so they're perfect for a more relaxed gaming session on an otherwise dreary day.

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
1/23​	Howl			✔​		✔​	70
1/23​	Immortality			✔​			87
1/23​	Lil' Guardsman	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
1/23​	Neptunia: Sisters vs. Sisters	✔​					65
1/23​	Stumble Guys				✔​	✔​	70*
1/24​	Anomaly Agent	✔​			✔​		TBD
1/24​	Climber: Sky is the Limit				✔​		TBD
1/24​	Remains				✔​		TBD
1/25​	Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy	✔​	✔​		✔​		78*
1/25​	Devil Inside Us: Roots of Evil	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
1/25​	Go Mecha Ball					✔​	TBD
1/25​	Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic	✔​		✔​		✔​	TBD
1/25​	Hitman: Blood Money - Reprisal	✔​					78*
1/25​	Jett Rider - Reduce, reuse and BLAST IT OFF!	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
1/25​	Phantom Abyss (Ver 1.0)					✔​	TBD
1/25​	Starward Rogue: AuGMENTED	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
1/25​	Touhou Luna Nights		✔​	✔​			84*
1/25​	Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes	✔​	✔​	✔​			TBD
1/26​	Dead Tomb	✔​			✔​		TBD
1/26​	Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth		✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
1/26​	Tekken 8			✔​		✔​	TBD

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
1/23​	The Legend of Steel Empire
1/24​	Saga of the Moon Priestess
1/25​	Arcade Tycoon
1/25​	Boaty Tanks 2
1/25​	Chip's Challenge
1/25​	EGGCONSOLE YOKAI TANTEI PC-8801
1/25​	Evil Nun: The Broken Mask
1/25​	GRIME Definitive Edition
1/25​	KOBOLOK
1/25​	Oops, I Said Yes?!
1/25​	PuzzlePet: Feed Your Cat
1/25​	Selling Souls
1/25​	Sweets Drop
1/25​	UFO: Henfield
1/26​	Brain Memory Training Academy
1/26​	Grotto
1/26​	Negligee
1/26​	SciFi Racer Simulator
1/26​	The Adventures of Panzer: Legacy Collection
1/27​	Counter Shooter Strike Zone

 

[Smacktard]

How is the Apollo Justice trilogy? I played the OG PW trilogy and it was a bit of a mixed bag. Really fun at times, other times frustrating. I have the Great Ace Chronicles but haven't started it yet.

 

[VashTheStampede]

Immortality hits PS5 this week

If you have not played it, I give it my absolute highest recommendation. It was my 2022 Game of the Year and is in my top 10 favorite games of all time.

In this game you are basically scrolling through footage from 3 different film productions, trying to piece together the mystery surrounding the female lead.

Caveats:
It is an FMV game, not exactly an action packed experience

You'll likely get a lot more out of the game if you're a huge movie nerd.

Do NOT look up a lot of information about the game going into it, as you can ruin the experience.

10/10, I wish I could erase all knowledge about it from my brain and do it again.

 

[TD]

Immortality hits PS5 this week

If you have not played it, I give it my absolute highest recommendation. It was my 2022 Game of the Year and is in my top 10 favorite games of all time.

In this game you are basically scrolling through footage from 3 different film productions, trying to piece together the mystery surrounding the female lead.

Caveats:
It is an FMV game, not exactly an action packed experience

You'll likely get a lot more out of the game if you're a huge movie nerd.

Do NOT look up a lot of information about the game going into it, as you can ruin the experience.

10/10, I wish I could erase all knowledge about it from my brain and do it again.

 

[TD]

@VashTheStampede
Any glaring trigger issues with the game?

 

[VashTheStampede]

@VashTheStampede
Any glaring trigger issues with the game?

In the third of the films there is implied sexual assault but the scenes shown are from the rehearsal archival footage and not the actual film, if that makes sense.

There is a good deal of nudity and sexual content however (the first of the films is basically an Italian giallo, and the second a 1980s erotic thriller), so be forewarned if playing around others.

 

[TD]

In the third of the films there is implied sexual assault but the scenes shown are from the rehearsal archival footage and not the actual film, if that makes sense.

There is a good deal of nudity and sexual content however (the first of the films is basically an Italian giallo, and the second a 1980s erotic thriller), so be forewarned if playing around others.

Appreciate it.

I tried to find it, is it the game by Netflix?

If so, it looks incredibly unique and I'm very intrigued.

Is it priced like a AAA, AA, or indie?

Can't seem to find the PSN price.

 

[VashTheStampede]

Appreciate it.

I tried to find it, is it the game by Netflix?

If so, it looks incredibly unique and I'm very intrigued.

Is it priced like a AAA, AA, or indie?

Can't seem to find the PSN price.

Should be like $20 I think. I played it on Game Pass but have been holding out hope on getting a physical copy at some point (unlikely).

 

[Raine]

Do you guys want me to include links to the Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft pages for the games? Assuming they're available at time of posting; a lot of indie things don't get store pages until they release for some reason and I end up having to figure out if they're coming via press releases. But I end up looking at all of the pages that are available anyway, so in theory adding links isn't too much extra effort.

Although it'd end up pointing to the US store so that may or may not really help.

How is the Apollo Justice trilogy? I played the OG PW trilogy and it was a bit of a mixed bag. Really fun at times, other times frustrating. I have the Great Ace Chronicles but haven't started it yet.

Haven't done much with them myself since I'm not a big handheld player, especially outside of RPGs. But I watched one of my nephews play parts of them, and I can definitely see where they could get frustrating. Hence the video game logic joke.

I think, generally, all of the Ace Attorney games are in the same boat. But I do know some people don't like Apollo as much as they liked Phoenix, and for a game series like this that can be a deal breaker all by itself. Aside from that it's just going to be YMMV on whether the narratives and characters (especially the rival attorneys) are your jam or written as well.

I'm far more partial to the spritework stuff compared to the 3D models too, but that's true of everything from 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors & Virtue's Last Reward (Zero Escape series) to freakin' Pokemon. So, yeah.

If you have not played it, I give it my absolute highest recommendation. It was my 2022 Game of the Year and is in my top 10 favorite games of all time.

Ohh! Thanks for the heads-up there, sounds like something I could experience in the living room together with my partner.

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases: 2024 Week 5 (01/29~02/04)​

Heading into Week 5, we have a relatively small list. But there are some hotly anticipated items on the list! I'll be your fashionably late Mistress of Scheduling once again, taking you on a brief tour. Now with links taking you to the (US) store pages! And no, there are no shady referral links or anything like that.

While it won't be the best selling game of the week, it should definitely be the most popular one here for GWF. I am of course talking about Persona 3 Reload, which drops this Friday for PlayStation and Xbox. It's on Game Pass as well, if the $70 price tag is a bit too daunting. Reload is a strange little thing; it's a "faithful" remake of the original vanilla PS2 release, with a couple of additions from the Festival/FES expansion re-release. Such as the inclusion of the Social Link for Aegis. Regretfully you will not have access to the Female Protagonist from Persona 3 Portable, nor the post-story epilogue "The Answer" from Persona 3 FES. However, that aside and especially if you've never played Persona 3 before, this should be the most approachable and accessible version of the game - even if it's not definitive.




For better or worse, then, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is one of the first AAA games to drop in the new year and is also releasing this Friday. Developed by Rocksteady and touted as both a spinoff and continuation of their Batman Arkham series, Suicide Squad is a very notable departure. The game is a fully open world, party-oriented multiplayer action game with an emphasis on shooting and over-the-top action. Also, in my very humble opinion, all of the trailers - gameplay or otherwise - have done a very poor job of trying to convey what you're actually doing in the game. Whether or not that's intentional remains to be seen, but I would like to have faith.




And for our third highlight, let's go ahead and do Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story. It's been out for a while on PC and Switch, but it's now coming to PlayStation and Xbox. Plus it's not another Action-RPG, nor multiplayer focused and, look, I don't know anything about League of Legends? But it's cute. Looks like it would be good for kids in that kind of novel, PS2-era character adventure/platforming jank kind of way. Plenty of reviews and gameplay out in the wild if it suits your fancy!

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
1/30​	Brotato		✔​	✔​	✔​		76
1/30​	Dark Light		✔​	✔​			TBD
1/30​	Teppo and The Secret Ancient City	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
1/31​	Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story	~​	✔​	✔​	✔​		75
1/31​	Speed Crew	~​	✔​		✔​		TBD
2/1​	Granblue Fantasy: Relink		✔​	✔​			TBD
2/1​	Knights of Braveland	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
2/1​	Piggy Gambit	✔​	✔​				TBD
2/2​	GINSHA	~​			✔​		TBD
2/2​	Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​		TBD
2/2​	Mighty Aphid 2		✔​		✔​		TBD
2/2​	Persona 3 Reload		✔​	✔​	✔​		TBD
2/2​	Project Downfall	✔​			✔​		TBD
2/2​	Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League			✔​		✔​	TBD

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
1/31​	Big Watermelon Match
1/31​	Eastward: Octopia
1/31​	KUBIC
1/31​	Miniland Adventure
1/31​	Seven
1/31​	Turret Rampage
2/1​	Candy Shake Cup
2/1​	CEIBA
2/1​	Defense Master
2/1​	Harpoon Shooter! Nozomi
2/1​	Japanese Escape Games The Police Office
2/2​	Dr. Frank's Build a Boyfriend
2/2​	Dreamcutter
2/2​	Farm Day Simulator 2024
2/2​	The Pigeon - Simulator
2/3​	Morto - Chapter 2
2/3​	Snow Moto - Racing Adventure
2/3​	Torn Away

 

[VashTheStampede]

I don't have a random other game to pimp this week. So instead I will request that you all go back a week and play Immortality.

but I'm gonna play Persona 3

Best Persona

Thank you game pass

 

[TD]

I don't know if it's because I'm...

But I kinda really wanna play Song of Nunu for some crazy fucking reason?

 

[Raine]

I don't know if it's because I'm...

But I kinda really wanna play Song of Nunu for some crazy fucking reason?

It really does remind me of that, like, Jak/Ratchet era of all ages, throw spaghetti at the wall kind of game.

Also it's cute! And colorful. What's not to love?

 

[Smacktard]

Immortality hits PS5 this week

If you have not played it, I give it my absolute highest recommendation. It was my 2022 Game of the Year and is in my top 10 favorite games of all time.

In this game you are basically scrolling through footage from 3 different film productions, trying to piece together the mystery surrounding the female lead.

Caveats:
It is an FMV game, not exactly an action packed experience

You'll likely get a lot more out of the game if you're a huge movie nerd.

Do NOT look up a lot of information about the game going into it, as you can ruin the experience.

10/10, I wish I could erase all knowledge about it from my brain and do it again.

This post's been on my mind for a bit. I just find it unbelievable. I've never heard of a good FMV game in my life. I can't fathom how one would even be good. What's the gameplay like? Why is it so good? I don't want to look any info up.

 

[VashTheStampede]

This post's been on my mind for a bit. I just find it unbelievable. I've never heard of a good FMV game in my life. I can't fathom how one would even be good. What's the gameplay like? Why is it so good? I don't want to look any info up.

So the object of the game is to uncover the mystery surrounding the actress Marissa Marcel, who acted in 3 movies (in 1968, 1970, and 1999) but were never released for...reasons.

No one has seen her since that last movie was filmed.

You are scrolling through archival footage from each of these movies (as well as behind the scenes footage, media appearances, and so on), trying to uncover the mystery (and other mysteries that you'll run into).

You start with one clip of each film (plus one talk show appearance I believe), and you can click on practically ANYTHING in those clips. When you click on an object or person, it will take you to another (likely brand new to you) clip that is somehow related to the item you clicked on.

Without getting into spoilers, as you get immersed into the routine, you'll eventually get an idea of what's really going on, and that takes things to another level. It happens at a different point for everyone, but when it happened for me, it was very memorable.

 

[VashTheStampede]

So yeah, the gameplay is basically just scrubbing back and forth through video clips and clicking on stuff.

 

[Smacktard]

Sounds very interesting though. I have a "making connections and solving mysteries like a paranoid schizophrenic" itch that hasn't been scratched since Tunic. I'll definitely check it out. Sounds fascinating.

 

[TD]

It really does remind me of that, like, Jak/Ratchet era of all ages, throw spaghetti at the wall kind of game.

Also it's cute! And colorful. What's not to love?

Well this makes me feel slightly less crazy for wanting to play it, see as this was your sales pitch.

Looks like it would be good for kids in that kind of novel, PS2-era character adventure/platforming jank kind of way.

good for kids

 

[VashTheStampede]

 

[Raine]

[synopsis]

I'm 100% positive I've never heard of Immortality before.

But at the same time, I've absolutely heard this exact overall description (sans details, like watching movies - I think they were surveillance tapes or interviews or something) for another game many, many years ago.

Now I'm wondering if there's a subgenre out there that sounds compelling but I'm completely sleeping on.

 

[TD]

hasn't been scratched since Tunic

Tunic has been on my radar for a while.

Do you think I'd like it?

 

[VashTheStampede]

I'm 100% positive I've never heard of Immortality before.

But at the same time, I've absolutely heard this exact overall description (sans details, like watching movies - I think they were surveillance tapes or interviews or something) for another game many, many years ago.

Now I'm wondering if there's a subgenre out there that sounds compelling but I'm completely sleeping on.

Sam Barlow, the game director, has made a couple other similar games. I played Telling Lies shortly before Immortality and it shares a lot of design concepts. It was also very entertaining, but I think Immortality is a cut above.

I hear Her Story is similar as well. I really need to play that.

 

[Raine]

Well this makes me feel slightly less crazy for wanting to play it, see as this was your sales pitch.

Yeah, well. Well! You know what I mean.

I definitely auto-filled that blank with "high."

 

[TD]

Post tax I'm looking at $30ish..

Hmmm.

 

[VashTheStampede]

I was really confused about the price and then I remembered. Loonies.

 

[TD]

I'm definitely intrigued so I've added it to my wish list so I get notified of sales.

 

[TD]

I definitely auto-filled that blank with "high."

...

 

[Raine]

I hear Her Story is similar as well. I really need to play that.

Yesss, this is the one I've heard about! Uh, broadly. I couldn't tell you anything I heard.

The video or whatever was praising it for being so enjoyable and creative (from a game design standpoint) though, so... I'll write this name down too! Before I forget again.

 

[Smacktard]

Tunic has been on my radar for a while.

Do you think I'd like it?

I think it is probably THE game you would most like. I legitimately think it could become one of your favorite games ever.

 

[TD]

I think it is probably THE game you would most like. I legitimately think it could become one of your favorite games ever.

Thanks Kelly - it's on my wishlist. Watching for a sale or maybe I'll get lucky and it'll come to plus.

 

[The Eye in the Sky!]

Busy week for me so far with games.

I was gifted Infinite Wealth on Friday last week, I won a football pool for $340 and just bought a Playstation Portal and preordered Persona 3 Reload.

All for no real money parted on my end. It's like Christmas came late.

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases: 2024 Week 6 (02/05~02/11)​

Good evening, folks! Moving into Week 6, we... don't really have much of anything to talk about. Which is probably good given Sega dropping two beefy RPGs in back-to-back weeks. That being said, we've got a baker's dozen on the list so let's do a little poking.

We'll start the week, loathe though I may be, highlighting Foamstars. This is very blatantly just Square Enix and developer Toylogic (Happy Wars, NieR Replicant 1.22~) riffing on Splatoon, but with (formerly/2018-esque) trendy Kpop idols instead of cute and sassy squid kids. By no means does that mean the game will be bad, but I would definitively say that if you're interested in trying it out that sooner is better. Square Enix's online-oriented games, MMOs aside, have a very clear and reliable tendency to get axed within a year. If you have a PlayStation Plus subscription you can try it out for free starting on Tuesday, which... is weird marketing? Because you need PlayStation Plus to play it anyway.




Two days later, this Thursday, Helldivers II drops on PS5 and is the actual online team game you should be playing this week if anything. The first game released back in 2015 as a top-down, team-based twinstick shooter sort of in the vein of a Total Carnage or, perhaps more aptly given Arrowhead Game Studios' release a year prior, Gauntlet. Helldiver II serves as a sort of departure from this, having the same general gameplay loop but now with a third-person camera. So you're now looking at something more akin to Capcom's Lost Planet or perhaps in some regards Earth Defense Force.




And while I could choose something else for our final highlight, I feel somewhat compelled to point out a game that 1) doesn't actually "release" this week and 2) can only be described as mediocre in the best of lights. That game is AeternoBlade II, a sidescrolling hack-and-slash first released in 2019 by Thailand-based Corecell Technology. So... why this game, you ask? Because in an industry that pumps and dumps shitty and forever unfinished products, Corecell genuinely seems to want to create a good game. AeternoBlade II was already leaps and bounds better than the first game, and the developer has continued to try and make improvements and address feedback for 4 years.

AeternoBlade II Infinity is the second "major" update that will drop alongside free PS5 and XSX upgrades, with the first being Director's Rewind that did the same with the game's PC/Steam release. Corecell allegedly had difficulties with their publisher PQube circa 2022, and by all accounts at this stage has lost most of its staff but still wishes to keep improving. And you know what? I admire that. I would never tell you to pay $20 for this game, or really to even play the damn thing - I'm only aware of the games because my partner is a masochist. But still, I feel like someone should at least acknowledge it.

Article:

“Despite facing numerous problems, only a few members have continued working with us. We have never given up on finding ways to improve our product.
That’s why we want to inform our fans that our efforts are unending, hence the name ‘Infinity.'”

Source: https://www.gematsu.com/2024/01/aeternoblade-ii-infinity-now-available-for-ps5-and-ps4-coming-to-xbox-series-xbox-one-switch-and-pc-on-february-6

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
2/6​	AeternoBlade II: Infinity	~​	~​	~​	~​		44*
2/6​	Alisa: Developer's Cut	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
2/6​	Foamstars		✔​	✔​			TBD
2/6​	Sydney Hunter And The Curse Of The Mayan	~​	~​		✔​		72
2/8​	Cannibal Abduction	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​		TBD
2/8​	Helldivers II			✔​			TBD
2/8​	KONOSUBA: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! Love for These Clothes of Desire!	✔​	✔​				TBD
2/8​	Legendary Tales			✔​			TBD
2/8​	Shanghai Summer	✔​	✔​				TBD
2/9​	Deathly Dangerous	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
2/9​	Jubilee	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​		TBD
2/9​	Resident Evil 4: Gold Edition		✔​	✔​		✔​	93
2/9​	Saga of Sins (Physical)	✔​		✔​			70

Spoiler: Switch exclusive

Date	Game Title
2/6​	CLeM
2/6​	Town Adventures
2/7​	Dungeonoid 2 Awakening
2/7​	HunterX: code name T
2/8​	Alpaca Wonders Why
2/8​	God of Light: Remastered
2/8​	Illang
2/8​	INVECTOR: RHYTHM GALAXY
2/8​	Mustache In Hell
2/8​	Neet Girl Rehabilitation Plan
2/8​	Pirates: Caribbean Chronicles
2/8​	Police Car Driver: City Parking Simulator
2/8​	West Hunt
2/9​	A Void Hope
2/9​	Borzoi Adventure
2/9​	Football Simulator 2024
2/9​	Forklift Simulator 2024
2/9​	Golfinite
2/9​	Prisonela DX
2/10​	MakOS new operating system

 

[Raine]

Upcoming [Console] Releases: 2024 Week 7 (02/12~02/18)​

Anyone like me, expecting the week of Valentine's Day to have some strange inserts, is going to be disappointed. There's one shovelware in the Switch exclusives spoiler, but otherwise - video games are slippin', man.

Dubious Triple A (no, Yves, I will not call it Tetra A) highlight this week goes to Ubisoft with the long-delayed Skull and Bones finally landing coming ashore this Friday. Reception has already been very negative following the Open Beta that started on the 7th, there's been a series of amusing PR misfires/miscommunications, and the whole thing might be more fun and amusing than the game itself if early impressions were anything to go by. Skull and Bones, in short, is a $70 Live Service game with a pirate theme that will have microtransactions and other assorted obligatory things associated with that model. Your call whether you want to compare it to Rare's Sea of Thieves, or just go the traditional route and say that it's Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag but in GaaS form.




If I have to explain what Mario vs. Donkey Kong is to you... uh, the game probably isn't for you then? Which is a shame because the series is pretty fun! But the long and short of it is that it's a little action-puzzle game with trappings of the original Donkey Kong arcade games, maybe a little Lemmings-style shenanigans thrown in every now and again, and of course it's all wrapped up in traditional Mario/Nintendo nostalgia. As usual, Nintendo's got their own little overview trailer at the ready to show it off - plus there's a demo available for folks to try out for themselves! Mario vs Donkey Kong launches this Friday.




Finally, not being one to miss an opportunity to simultaneously kick Square Enix and applaud what seems to be a faithful revival of a classic game (series), we have Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft dropping on all platforms this Wednesday. Coming just 18 months after Square sold nearly the entirety of Eidos and its IPs to Embracer Group, the original PS1 trilogy is receiving the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary treatment courtesy of game ports juggernaut Aspyr Media. Touted as being an accurate recreation of the games, including allowing players to switch between the original and remade graphics at will, this should prove an easy purchase for anyone with nostalgia for the old days. People looking for a more modern-feeling game, then, may need to look elsewhere for their exploration fix.

Date	Game Title	NSW	PS4	PS5	XBO	XSX	Metacritic
2/12​	Airhead		✔​	✔​		✔​	TBD
2/13​	Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore	✔​	✔​	✔​		✔​	TBD
2/13​	Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden			✔​		✔​	TBD
2/13​	Ultros		✔​	✔​			TBD
2/14​	Lords of Exile	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
2/14​	Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​		TBD
2/15​	A Little To The Left	~​	✔​	✔​	✔​		75
2/15​	GUNVOLT RECORDS: Cychronicle	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
2/15​	PlateUp!	✔​	✔​		✔​		TBD
2/15​	Smalland: Survive the Wilds			✔​		✔​	TBD
2/15​	Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II	✔​		✔​			90*
2/15​	Survivorman VR: The Descent			✔​			TBD
2/16​	Call of Heroes: Tower Defense				✔​		TBD
2/16​	Edge of Reality	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	✔​	TBD
2/16​	Genso Chronicles	✔​			✔​		TBD
2/16​	Mario vs. Donkey Kong	✔​					TBD
2/16​	SENSHI SOKOBAN QUEST				✔​		TBD
2/16​	Skull and Bones			✔​		✔​	TBD
2/16​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III & IV Deluxe Edition (Physical)			✔​			80*

Spoiler: Switch exclusives

Date	Game Title
2/12​	Dreamland Solitaire
2/12​	Throne of Egypt
2/14​	Meta Meet Cute!!!+
2/14​	My Name is Mayo 3
2/15​	BANCHOU TACTICS
2/15​	Birth
2/15​	EGGCONSOLE Ys PC-8801mkIISR
2/15​	Hex Cats
2/15​	Lake
2/15​	Maid of the Dead
2/15​	Party Party Time 2
2/15​	Pretty Girls Klondike Solitaire PLUS
2/15​	Swords & Adventures
2/15​	TOP Web Search 23
2/15​	Twilight Survivors
2/15​	Witch's Rhythm Puzzle
2/16​	Art of Glide
2/16​	Caveman Ransom
2/16​	Fit My Cat
2/16​	SCREAM AND STEEL - Horror Story Shooter
2/16​	Sea Port Tycoon 2024
2/16​	Skautfold Bloody Pack
2/16​	Your Majesty
2/16​	Z War Apocalypse Shooter
2/17​	Cyber Taxi Simulator
2/18​	Drift Master Simulator 2024 - Driving Sim

 

[TD]

Anyone like me, expecting the week of Valentine's Day to have some strange inserts, are going to be disappointed.

This is more what I was expecting too...

Nothing this week for me. Although one day I'll play a pirate game.

 

[Raine]

It's weird, AC4 was definitely better than AC3's naval combat stuff - I mean it had to be, otherwise the game would've been totally awful - but I've never understood why Ubisoft wanted to then spin that up and out into this full Skull and Bones concept. Like was Black Flag really that popular? 'Cause I feel like it wasn't, but by then I had already drifted away from the series...

Anyway Sea of Thieves is actually supposed to be pretty okay these days? And it's allegedly getting announced as coming to PlayStation and maybe Switch this week as part of Xbox's possible potential implosion. So... yeah, on top of all the problems and the monetization issues people have with S&B, it's just getting beaten up on all fronts.

 

[TD]

It's weird, AC4 was definitely better than AC3's naval combat stuff - I mean it had to be, otherwise the game would've been totally awful - but I've never understood why Ubisoft wanted to then spin that up and out into this full Skull and Bones concept. Like was Black Flag really that popular? 'Cause I feel like it wasn't, but by then I had already drifted away from the series...

I mean apparently it was popular enough for them to put a remake into development. I just don't know how it's aged and as I played Valhalla last year I've had my AC fix for the foreseeable future.

Anyway Sea of Thieves is actually supposed to be pretty okay these days?

I've.. never even heard of this but truthfully I don't really follow what exists out of PS5.

 

[Jon]

Like was Black Flag really that popular?

It was. And it's probably the second best game in the main series after AC2.

 

[Raine]

I mean apparently it was popular enough for them to put a remake into development. I just don't know how it's aged and as I played Valhalla last year I've had my AC fix for the foreseeable future.

I played AC4 for the first time, uhh... ~2 years ago, I think? It's actually a pretty chill game. I'm not super into the naval combat stuff, but like building up the ship, amassing a crew, singing jolly sea shanties - I can see the potential for something cool in there. Just don't think AC4 or from the sounds of it S&B hit that mark.

AC4 is also one of the last traditional AC games, so no RPG-lite nonsense. Campaign was pretty enjoyable, cast was likeable enough but certainly couldn't compare to Ezio in the time given. Modern era story basically doesn't exist since this is right after AC3 nuked that from orbit.

Probably worth the $10 or so you can pick up a copy for, whenever fatigue wears off. I think the game's only like ~25 hours long too, including getting sidetracked a bit.

I've.. never even heard of this but truthfully I don't really follow what exists out of PS5.

That's fair, yeah. Even Xbox people (like me!) barely paid the game much attention, especially back at launch where it had a lot of tuning and room for growth. It's basically the first "real" game from Rare since Banjo-with-Legos (Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts lol) back in like 2007 or so.

 

[Raine]

It was. And it's probably the second best game in the main series after AC2.

Hmm... I think I would go:

Brotherhood
2
1 (although I really loved the Hitman-esque infiltration/puzzle design of the targets)
4
Revelations
3
Unity

Need to play Rogue to finish out the non-RPG-lites. And then Syndicate, before going off to experience this most recent trilogy and see where I wind up landing on that enjoyment-wise. If they're even remotely like Unity it's not gonna end well.

 

[Jon]

Fair. I was also not counting Brotherhood or Revelations, as I consider them expansions of the Ezio story. Otherwise, I agree Brotherhood is the best. 1 got too redundant, so I have 4 ahead. I wanted the London game to be better sadly.

 

[TD]

singing jolly sea shanties

Is this real? ...and why is this the most appealing part?

RPG-lite nonsense

Hey - I just said I played Valhalla!

Probably worth the $10 or so you can pick up a copy for, whenever fatigue wears off.

Hmmm. I will wait until I'm ready to play it, if that day ever comes where I get through my backlog enough.

...lol.

It's basically the first "real" game from Rare since Banjo-with-Legos (Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts lol) back in like 2007 or so.

Oh wow, didn't even know Rare still made games as is.

 

[Raine]

Is this real? ...and why is this the most appealing part?

100%. And because it is the best part, of course!

Hmmm. I will wait until I'm ready to play it, if that day ever comes where I get through my backlog enough.

Yeah... lemme know those lotto numbers when you figure 'em out, y'hear?

Oh wow, didn't even know Rare still made games as is.

Mmhm. Easily one of the most tragic development studio stories out there; even now they're Rare in name only. However, it's a far sight removed from the decade or so Microsoft had them as a necro/zombie entity working exclusively on Xbox Avatars and random Kinect assets.

 

[TD]

100%. And because it is the best part, of course!

Okay well I guess I'll add it to the "maybe one day" pile.

working exclusively on Xbox Avatars and random Kinect assets.

...well that's a fall. Ooph.