New Releases: October 29th-November 4th, 2020

With Halloween just a few days away, it’s not surprising to find frightening titles like The Dark Pictures – Little Hope, Visage, and Clea among this week’s new releases (alongside slightly scary titles like My Universe: School Teacher and Autobahn Police Simulator 2). But for those uninterested in spooky software, there’s a multitude of titles with no inclusion of the paranormal. From DIRT 5 and Pacer‘s controller-clenching racing action, Pikmin 3 Deluxe‘s spirited search for fruit seeds, as well as The Language of Love‘s romantic pursuits, scares aren’t the only sensation you’ll feel this week.

Header image: Sweet Witches, Xbox One

PlayStation 4
Auto Chess (digital, $9.99)
Cube Raiders (digital, $TBA)
DIRT 5 (physical & digital, $59.99)
Faeria (digital, $19.99)
Legends of Ethernal (digital, $19.99)
Mad Rat Dead (digital, $39.99)
My Universe: School Teacher (physical & digital, $29.99)
NHL 94 Rewind (digital, $TBA, free with NHL 21 pre-purchase)
Pacer (digital, $39.99)
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Volume 1 (digital, $49.99)
The Dark Pictures – Little Hope (physical & digital, $29.99)
Umihara Kawase BaZooKa! (digital, $29.99)
Umihara Kawase Fresh! (digital, $TBA)
Visage (digital, $34.99)
Watch Dogs: Legion (physical & digital, $59.99)
Xuan-Yuan Sword VII (digital, $34.99)

Switch
#Halloween, Super Puzzles Dream (digital, $5.99)
Angry Video Game Nerd 1 & 2 Deluxe (digital, $14.99)
Bakugan: Champions of Vestroia (digital, $49.99)
Bakugan: Champions of Vestroia Deluxe Edition (digital, $TBA)
Barbearian (digital, $11.99)
Boss Rush: Mythology (digital, $8.99)
Brew & Brawl – Gnomes vs. Dwarves ($12.99)
CASE 2: Animatronics Survival (digital, $29.99)
Clea (digital, $14.99)
Crimzon Clover – World Explosion (digital, $19.99)
De: Yabatanien (digital, $13.99)
Demong Hunter (digital, $7.99)
Detective Puz (digital, $5.99)
Diamond Girl ★An Earnest Education in Love★ (digital, $19.99)
Esports Life Tycoon (digital, $19.99)
Eyes: The Horror Game (digital, $2.49)
Family Mysteries 2: Echoes of Tomorrow (digital, $14.99)
Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator (digital, $7.99)
Gunslugs (digital, $7.99)
Haunted: Poppy’s Nightmare (digital, $4.99)
Hunting Simulator 2 (digital, $39.99)
Jurassic World Evolution: Complete Edition (digital, $59.99)
Legends of Ethernal (digital, $19.99)
Mad Rat Dead (digital, $39.99)
My Universe – School Teacher (digital, $29.99)
PHOGS! (digital, $TBA)
PICK ME UP! – Rescue Rangers – (digital, $9.59)
Pikmin 3 Deluxe (digital, $59.99)
Pixel Puzzle Makeout League (digital, $14.99)
Red Rope: Don’t Fall Behind+ (digital, $12.99)
Roah (digital, $24.99)
Slither Loop (digital, $4.99)
Stirring Abyss (digital, $21.24)
Super Puzzle Pack (digital, $29.99)
TAURONOS (digital, $6.99)
The Language of Love (digital, $11.99)
The Long Return (digital, $TBA)
Umihara Kawase BaZooKa! (digital, $29.99)
Wallachia: Reign of Dracula (digital, $11.99)
WINGSPAN (digital, $TBA)
Wonder Blade (digital, $14.99)
Yuppie Psycho: Executive Edition (digital, $14.99)

Xbox One
Autobahn Police Simulator 2 (digital, $29.99)
Cube Raiders (digital, $TBA)
Day of the Tentacle Remastered (digital, $14.99)
DIRT 5 (physical & digital, $59.99)
Full Throttle Remastered (digital, $14.99)
Grim Fandango Remastered (digital, $14.99)
Legends of Ethernal (digital, $19.99)
My Universe: School Teacher (physical & digital, $29.99)
NHL 94 Rewind (digital, $TBA, free with NHL 21 pre-purchase)
Pacer (digital, $TBA)
Sweet Witches (digital, $7.99)
Switch ‘N’ Shoot (digital, $4.99)
The Dark Pictures – Little Hope (physical & digital, $29.99)
Visage (digital, $34.99)
Watch Dogs: Legion (physical & digital, $59.99)
Xuan-Yuan Sword VII (digital, $34.99)

PC
Cube Raiders ($TBA)
Kingdoms Reborn (Early Access, $TBA)
Legends of Ethernal ($19.99)
Maitetsu:Last Run!! ($TBA)
Pacer ($33.99)
Polyforce WW2 ($TBA)
SpellForce 3: Fallen God ($TBA)
Teardown ($TBA)
The Dark Pictures – Little Hope ($29.99)
TramSim ($TBA)
Watch Dogs: Legion ($59.99)
Xuan-Yuan Sword VII ($34.99)

Robert’s Pick: Two of my favorite racing sub-genres are represented this week. Muck and truck off-road racing is found in the release of DIRT 5. As long as Codemasters doesn’t go wild on the microtransactions, their latest looks convincing, with the habitually assortment of outlandish vehicles like trophy trucks to skeletal dune buggies. With DIRT, variety is key, and the developers toss a shifting succession of races at players, keeping them from growing too comfortable in any single style. While inaugural attempts at construction sets often lack depth and breadth, I’m excited by the possibility of making and sharing my own Gymkhana courses. Another addition this year is the voice work of Troy Baker and Nolan North, so I expect to have Transformers, Saints Row IV, or Uncharted 4 flashbacks while tearing across the wild terrain.

On the other end of the spectrum in anti-grav racing, which doesn’t have the grime of off-roading, but has the same propensity for controlled drifting as you careen across the corners. Like countless others, I became infatuated with Wipeout and am always seeking an experience that rekindles that first time. Hopes became diminished when Sony shuttered Psygnosis/ SCE Studio Liverpool (who also closed Evolution Studios, who created MotorStorm). But hopefully a plucky indie studio can assemble some retina-searing, anti-grav goodness. As such, I’ll take a chance with Pacer, and urge developer R8 Games to eschew the lure of short-sighted publishers with wads of cash. It Rare-ly seems to end well.

Ryan’s Pick: Continuing with the theme of doom and horror from a few weeks back with the new addition to the Amnesia series, this week I’m going with the psychological horror/thriller Visage. Heavily inspired by Kojima Productions’ P.T., this first-person horror game built in the Unreal engine forces you to confront the various faces of death as you attempt to escape from a house. I used to have a friend that would put on Faces of Death VHS tapes in the background when he would have parties. These are the types of things you never forget. I digress, originally starting as a Kickstarter in 2016 and then moving to Early Access in 2018, many thought this game would not ever officially release, so I’m glad to see that it’s finally here. Another chapter has also been added to this release version, so if you happened to play this earlier it could be a good reason to give it another try.

In the same vein, Yuppie Pyscho: Executive Edition is also launching on Switch, so if you prefer a more retro appeal when experiencing corporate horror and distress then definitely pick this one up. This was previously released on Steam, but I feel like it’s worth it if you haven’t picked it up yet. It tackles a different type of fear, but one that many can relate to if they work in a corporate environment. There is no better time than Halloween to play these types of games so if you have the stomach for extra stress and adrenaline then by all means please give either of these a spin.

Matt S’ pick (Editor, DigitallyDownloaded): It’s got to be Xuan-Yuan Sword VII for me this week. I love Chinese history and storytelling, and we’re only just starting to see Chinese studios breaking out to bring these kinds of games worldwide. Xuan-Yuan Sword VII is one that I’ve had my eyes on for a while, since it seems to blend some tight action RPG mechanics with some stylishly traditional storytelling elements. My big problem with a lot of games from China recently (see also Banner of the Maid and The Heroic Legend of Eagarlnia) has been that the quality of localisation has been so low as to be detrimental to the game, so I am concerned that this will happen with Xuan-Yuan Sword VII too, but otherwise I’m pretty confident that this one will be worthwhile.

Otherwise I’m quite interested in Mad Rat Dead. It’s not really my aesthetic, but the talent behind the game is there (it’s the Yomawari creator), and I’m certainly interested in a rhythm platform action blend. We also don’t get enough games where rats get to be the heroes, so let’s all keep an eye on Mad Rad Dead.

Matt C’s pick (editor, Shindig): Switch is quickly growing into shoot-’em-up powerhouse second only to PC, and that continues with the addition of a new version of Crimzon Clover, one of the better doujin shmups, to its library. Crimzon Clover: World Explosion brings all the chaos of the original game to Switch, alongside a new arrange mode designed around a power-up gauge that lets you collect different power-ups based on how full the gauge is when you cash in, and tweaks to other game modes. It supports vertical screen orientation, which is always nice in a vertical-scrolling shmup, and even lets you play the vertical mode Game Boy style, with the Joy Con still connected, instead of requiring you to play with the controllers detached or a Flip Grip-style contraption.

For visual novel fans, The Language of Love is one to look out for. It’s a kinetic story (in other words, no choices or story branches) from ebi-hime, the talented author of the likes of A Winter’s Daydream and Strawberry Vinegar. This time, it’s a cute, sexy story about a blossoming romance between a new university student who finds himself outcast because, at 23, he’s much older than everyone else in his classes, and a cute single mother who lives in his apartment block.

And finally, a nod to Xuan-Yuan Sword VII, for all the reasons Matt S. already mentioned. It’s wonderful seeing so many games from China lately, and this one looks especially impressive.