New Game Releases: March 8th-14th, 2018

From Dante’s journey to high definition in the Devil May Cry HD Collection, fighting alongside the Shinsengumi in Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms, and maneuvering through bullet hell in Danmaku Unlimited 3, this week a number of notable titles will be arriving on console and PC.

Header image: Hatsune Miku VR, PC

PlayStation 4
Armello Special Edition (retail $29.99)
3D Billiards: Billiards & Snooker (retail and digital, $19.99)
3D Mini Golf (retail and digital, $19.99)
Beast Quest (retail and digital, $39.99)
Devil May Cry HD Collection (retail and digital, $29.99)
Island Flight Simulator (retail and digital, $19.99)
One Eyed Kutkh (digital, $4.99)
Pure Farming 2018 (retail and digital, $39.99)
The 25th Ward: The Silver Case Standard Edition (retail and digital, $29.99)
The Raven Remastered (retail and digital, $29.99)

Switch
A Hole New World (digital, $9.99)
ACA NeoGeo: Real Bout Fatal Fury (digital, $7.99)
Bit Dungeon+ (digital, $8.99)
Bleed 2 (digital, $14.99)
Coffin Dodgers (digital, $12.99)
Danmaku Unlimited 3 (digital, $9.99)
Earthlock (digital, $29.90)
Flinthook (digital, $14.99)
I, Zombie (digital, $4.99)
Midnight Deluxe (digital, $3.99)
One Eyed Kutkh (digital, $4.99)
Spiral Splatter (digital, $4.99)
Spy Chameleon (digital, $7.99)
Steredenn: Binary Stars (digital, $12.99)
The Men of Yoshiwara: Ohgiya (digital, $14.99)
The Trail: Frontier Challenge (digital, $14.99)
TurtlePop: Journey to Freedom (digital, $19.99)
World Conqueror X (digital, $9.99)

Xbox One
Beast Quest (retail and digital, $39.99)
Devil May Cry HD Collection (retail and digital, $29.99)

PS Vita
Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms (retail and digital, $39.99)
One Eyed Kutkh (digital, $4.99)

3DS
Brick Thru (digital, $1.49, New 3DS only)

PC
Chessaria: The Tactical Adventure ($TBA)
Demolish & Build 2018 ($TBA)
Devil May Cry HD Collection ($29.99)
Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms ($TBA)
Hatsune Miku VR ($TBA)
Lost in the Dungeon ($TBA)
Mariko: Hot Nightlife ($TBA)
Senran Kagura Peach Beach Splash ($35.99)
Steel Arena: Robot War ($TBA)
Tropical Liquor ($TBA)

Robert’s Pick: Perhaps you’re weary of mechanics like permadeath, procedurally-generated environments, and meta-progress. That’s understandable, the concepts are almost ubiquitous in contemporary gaming. And while they’re all woven into Flinthook, none of these tenets dominate the experience.

Instead, the focus is on responsive controls, as you use your hookshot and pistol to subdue screens of interstellar pirates and collect as much coin as possible. Imagine Bionic Commando with slow-motion capabilities and you’ll have a fair idea of what Flinthook’s protagonist is capable of.  While things can get a bit repetitive, as you work your way toward the bosses of each stage, Flinkhook is marvelous in short doses, making it a advisable addition on your Nintendo Switch.


Jeremy’s Pick: Video games share a lot of DNA with their low-tech older siblings, board games. When a video game combines elements from board games, very occasionally you end up with something pretty special. Armello: Special Edition is the all-DLC re-release of the 2015 anthropomorphized-medieval-animal-fantasy board game, and constitutes a pretty solid pickup for this week. With support for up to four players, this dungeons-and-dice tale of politics, intrigue, swords, and sorcery couched in a Redwall-esque animal kingdom is a great way to spend an afternoon or two with your animal avatar of choice saving (or subverting) the kingdom of Armello.

Matt’s Pick (Editor, DigitallyDownloaded): What a difficult week to pick just one game! Armello is the greatest game ever developed in Australia (and as an Australian, this makes me proud indeed), 25th Ward is a masterpiece of surrealist noir storytelling by my favourite game developer, Goichi Suda, and Devil May Cry is and forever will be Devil May Cry.

But I can’t not recommend Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms. The second chapter in the Hakuoki story that we have waited for in the west for many, many years now, it has been a delight to finally play it. Without the original Hakuoki and the success it enjoyed, we may have never had otome visual novels in the west at all, and to continue the stories of the incredible characters that the game offered has been a real treat. Beautiful art and a basis in real history also really help to make this game something special. Dust off those PlayStation Vitas yet one more time!

Zack’s Pick (Senior Editor, RPG Site): As a fighting game aficionado (okay, I love fighting games even if I’m terrible at them, ACA NeoGeo: Real Bout Fatal Fury on the Nintendo Switch is an easy pick for me. Sure, it’s been available on PS4 for several months now, but there’s just something really appealing of being able to play this classic on the go with the real estate the Switch display offers.

Hamster has done some incredible work resurrecting these old titles and bringing them over in arcade-perfect form for modern platforms and offer them up individually. From its refined fighting system to the introduction of the Power Gauge (basically the special move bar seen in other fighting games), this is definitely one of the best Fatal Fury games ever.


Ryan’s Pick: Minor key djents and double bass drums have made Danmaku Unlimited 3 for the Switch my choice for the week. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m hot garbage at bullet hell games. However, this does not stop me from appreciating and respecting the shmup genre as a whole.  I still remember the unbridled rage of getting creamed by those turd ships that flew in from behind you in Truxton on Genesis.

Danmaku Unlimited 3 is pretty accessible to new players that are unfamiliar with the genre, has really vibrant visuals, and still retains the intensity that seasoned players look for. Granted it has already been released on mobile and PC, but feel like it’s a welcome addition to the Switch as you can take it with you on the go, and can enjoy it with an arcade stick at home. Lastly, I really like the soundtrack by the one-man Touhou doujin circle from Japan called BLANKFIELD. The song choices seem to match the levels/bosses pretty well, and overall helps to enhance the experience. For $9.99 it’s a solid buy for your Switch.

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

12 comments

  1. The dirtiest game title of the week goes to “One Eyed Kutkh”.

    I though Kirby for Switch came out this week, but it’s next week. That’s my next purchase.

  2. Zack pick is dead on. Real Bout Fatal Fury is a hell of a lot of fun for $8, especially if you have a separate controller. and Hamster has done some great work with the emulation.

  3. I have to warn everyone: Coffin Dodgers was pretty weak on PC. I don’t expect miracles with the Switch version.

    Building on Zack. What’s everyone’s favorite SNK fighter?

  4. LOLed at Truxton’s turd ships. Once you’d clear a few stages in Galaga, those little insectoid space bastards would do the same, sneaking up from behind. I even punched the side of an arcade cabinet once in frustration, resulting in a week long suspension from the bowling alley.

    I served hard time and came out a reformed man though.

  5. I’m kind of interested in the Devil May Cry HD Collection even if the second one disappointed, but I saw the free version they are giving Twitch Prime members isn’t even running at the right speed. I might have to wait until they get things sorted out.

  6. Armello looks fun and I like video game versions of board games, but $30 seems a bit too expensive.

  7. Leaning toward Danmaku Unlimited 3. I have it on my phone and really like it.

    (Paid $1.99 for it, too.)

  8. I liked reading everyone’s pick. Mine’s Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms for PC.

  9. I picked up Flinthook, it is really fun. Feels like a classic game just with some rogue-like things.