New Game Releases: April 27th-May 3rd, 2017

While late April isn’t traditionally a time for celebrated titles, a couple of releases are poised to upset that trend. For Switch owners, Friday brings Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a port of the Wii U version, equipped with faster load times and an assemblage of DLC. For PC players, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3^rd arrives on the Third, offering a bittersweet epilogue to one of the best role-playing series of the decade. The week also sees the simultaneous publishing of two Grisaia Phantom Trigger volumes, potentially pleasing visual novel fans.

Header image: Grisaia Phantom Trigger, PC

Nintendo Switch
ACA NeoGeo: Over Top (eShop, $7.99)
Kamiko (eShop, $4.99)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (retail and eShop, $59.99)
TumbleSeed (eShop, $14.99)

PlayStation 4
ACA NeoGeo Galaxy Fight: Universal Warriors (PSN, $7.99)
Little Nightmares (PSN, $19.99)
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series (retail, $29.99)
River City Melee: Battle Royal Special ($TBA)

Wii U
Absolutely Unstoppable MineRun (eShop, $3.99)
Use Your Words (eShop, $14.99)

Xbox One
Little Nightmares (XGS, $19.99)
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series (retail, $29.99)

3DS
Blasting Agent: Ultimate Edition (eShop, $2.99)
Parascientific Escape Cruise in the Distant Seas (eShop, $4.99)

PS Vita
Period: Cube ~Shackles of Amadeus~ (retail and PSN, $39.99)

PC (via Steam unless noted)
Attack Heroes ($8.99)
Battle Riders ($6.79)
Brawlerz: Nitro ($TBA)
Comet Strike ($9.99)
Corroded ($11.69)
de Blob ($14.99)
Expeditions: Viking ($TBA)
Feral Fury ($TBA)
Grisaia Phantom Trigger Vol.1 ($14.99)
Grisaia Phantom Trigger Vol.2 ($14.99)
Higurashi When They Cry Hou, Chapter 5: Meakashi ($TBA)
Little Nightmares ($19.99)
Slice, Dice & Roll ($7.99)
Super Red-Hot Hero ($TBA)
Tanzia ($9.99)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3^rd ($TBA)
Tiny Thor ($TBA)
Titan Slayer ($9.09)
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III ($59.99)

Robert’s Pick: Despite fervently playing every iteration of Mario Kart since the original 1992 release, I feel compelled to pick up the Switch version, just so I can sling shells on the way into work. But what my body is truly ready for is the final chapter in the Sora no Kiseki series, which is eluding the traditional journey to PSP and Vita screens and arriving on PCs. From the discursive dialog to a battle system that resists tedium throughout the game’s marathon journey, this week’s arrival of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3^rd has me giddy with excitement.