New Game Releases: January 31st-February 7th, 2014

After several weeks of micro-sized release lists, the arrival of February seems to signal an increase in publishing efforts. Bolstered by The LEGO Movie Videogame’s appearance on eight different platforms, the hefty itinerary of new releases contains a number of notable titles. From Dustforce’s objective to clean up PlayStation 3 and PS Vita screens, Outlast’s journey to the PlayStation 4, and even Aqua Kitty – Milk Mine Defender shift to PC, ports abound. For gamers seeking a quasi-new experience, Bravely Default might just fit the bill. Although the game evokes many of the sensibilities of ‘90s-era Squaresoft, the title also offers an indulging amount of innovation. 3DS owners will likely want to read our dual review to see if the game matches their tastes.

PlayStation 3
Adam’s Venture Chronicles (PSN, $11.99, $9.59 PS+)
Castlestorm Complete Edition (PSN, $14.99)
Dustforce (PSN, $9.99, $7.99 PS+)
Furmins + Stardrone Extreme Bundle (PSN, $8.99)
Gex: Enter the Gecko (PSN, PSOne Classic, $5.99)
Hyper Crazy Climber (PSN, $5.99) Delayed
The LEGO Movie Videogame
Trapt (PSN, PS2 Classic $9.99)
Truck Racer (PSN, $39.99)

PlayStation 4
Outlast (PSN, $19.99, Free to PS+ subscribers)
The LEGO Movie Videogame (Also on PSN, $59.99)

Xbox 360
The LEGO Movie Videogame

Xbox One
The LEGO Movie Videogame (Also on XBL, $59.99)

Wii U
The LEGO Movie Videogame

3DS
Bravely Default (Also on eShop, $39.99)
Bravely Default Collector’s Edition
The LEGO Movie Videogame

PSP
Hyper Crazy Climber (PSN, $5.99) Delayed

PS Vita
Dustforce (PSN, $9.99, $7.99 PS+)
King Oddball (PSN, $5.99)
Surge Deluxe (PSN, $4.99)
The LEGO Movie Videogame (Also on PSN, $29.99)

PC
Aqua Kitty – Milk Mine Defender (Steam, $TBA)
Double Dragon: Neon (Steam, $TBA)
Jazzpunk
Little Racers STREET (Steam, $TBA)
The LEGO Movie Videogame
The Sun at Night
WRC Powerslide (Steam, $TBA)

Robert’s Pick: If you read my take on Bravely Default, you’ll know that Silicon Studio delivered an exceptional role-playing experience. That said, I have to mention one other title:

In 1957, a stray dog named Laika (Russian for “Barker”) was launched into space aboard the Sputnik II, becoming the first living being to orbit the Earth. Sadly, the canine cosmonaut became an early casualty in the space race, perishing from overheating. This week’s The Sun at Night reimages Laika returning to earth unharmed, returning as a cyborg with the gift of speech. While early trailers reveal some stilted animations and the integration of a Deus Ex-style character progression can be a hard trick to pull off, I’m enamored by the game’s imaginative storyline. In a perfect world, games about dogs like Laika (and Hachikō) would be prevalent across the digital marketplaces, honoring the unconditional love and sense of duty exhibited by man’s best friend.

Gonçalo’s Pick: You know what I miss? A good ol’ fashioned JRPG. Oh don’t get me wrong- still get plenty of quality titles these days, but the genre has changed and I do long for the days of Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger and Phantasy Star 4 . Developer Silicon Studio did a great job in re-creating the sense of wonder and joy that came with playing the old Legend of Zelda games with their excellent 3D Dot Game Heroes. Now they seek to do the same with the old 16-bit/32-bit era JRPG and I’m all for it! Bravely Default it is.

Eric’s Pick: As if Robert and I’s mostly-glowing review of Bravely Default wasn’t enough, I’m going to give it my pick-of-the-week honor, as well. For information on the game itself, please check out our review. Instead, I’ll mention a few release details about the game. The first of which being that I highly recommend pre-ordering the Collectors Edition. It’s only $10 (or so) more than the standard edition and has a soundtrack CD, 34 AR (augmented reality) cards, an art book, and the game. As of writing this, Best Buy is the only major retailer still accepting online pre-orders on the Collectors Edition, so if you’re thinking about getting it, do so as soon as possible. Lastly, I’ll mention for those that will be going digital that Bravely Default takes up over 26,000 blocks on the 3DS’ SD card, so make doubly sure you have enough space in the fridge. Regardless of which way you decide to go, play Bravely Default.