New Releases: February 28th-March 6th, 2019

With titles like ToeJam & Earl and R.B.I. Baseball appearing on this week’s new release schedule, there’s a bit of SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive-era nostalgia in the air. But fortunately, these games complement a healthy number of contemporary games to energize players. For the sixth iteration in the Dead or Alive franchise to the stealthy action of The Occupation, there seems to be an array of experiences for any passion- even apparently naked butlers.

Header image: My Girlfriend is a Mermaid!?, PC

PlayStation 4
Awesome Pea (digital, $5.39)
Battlloon (digital, $6.99)
Blast Zone! Tournament (digital, $19.99)
Crash Dummy (digital, $29.99)
Dead or Alive 6 (physical or digital, $59.99)
Fimbul (digital, $26.99)
R.B.I. Baseball 19 (digital, $29.99)
The Occupation (physical and digital, $29.99)
ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove! (digital, $19.99)

Switch
12 is Better Than 6 (digital, $9.99)
ACA NeoGeo The King of Fighters 2003 (digital, $7.99)
Anodyne (digital, $9.99)
Ape Out (digital, $14.99)
Arcade Archives Ice Climber (digital, $7.99)
Awesome Pea (digital, $5.39)
Bard’s Gold – Nintendo Switch Edition (digital, $8.09)
Battlloon (digital, $6.99)
Beat Cop (digital, $14.99)
Constructor Plus (digital, $19.99)
Crash Dummy (digital, $29.99)
Croc’s World Run (digital, $5.99)
Dark Quest 2 (digital, $10.99)
Darkest Hunters (digital, $5.30)
Deltarune: Chapter 1 (digital, free)
Duck Hunting Challenge (digital, $9.99)
Elevator…to the Moon! Turbo Champion’s Edition ($14.99)
Fimbul (digital, $26.99)
History 2048 (digital, $4.99)
Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Super Real Darwin (digital, $7.99)
Klondike Solitaire (digital, $8.99)
Monster Dynamite (digital, $19.99)
My Girlfriend is a Mermaid!? (digital, $24.99)
Ninja Village (digital, $12.00)
Pillar (digital, $7.99)
Pirates Pinball (digital, $1.97)
Pixel Devil and the Broken Cartridge (digital, $9.99)
Queen’s Quest 2: Stories of Forgotten Past (digital, $14.99)
R.B.I. Baseball 19 (digital, $29.99)
Riddled Corpses EX (digital, $9.99)
Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon (digital, $12.74)
Shred! 2 – Freeride Mountainbiking (digital, $9.99)
Tardy (digital, $4.99)
ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove! (digital, $19.99)
Treasure Stack (digital, $17.99)
Unknown Fate (digital, $14.99)
V.O.I.D (digital, $3.99)
Warhammer Quest (digital, $29.99)
Treasure Stack (digital, $17.99)

Xbox One
Awesome Pea (digital, $5.39)
Dead or Alive 6 (physical or digital, $59.99)
Fimbul (digital, $26.99)
R.B.I. Baseball 19 (digital, $29.99)
ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove! (digital, $19.99)
Treasure Stack (digital, $17.99)

PC
Ape Out ($14.99)
Audica ($TBA)
Dead or Alive 6 ($59.99)
Fimbul ($17.99)
Flashback ($7.99)
Hadaka Shitsuji – Naked Butlers ($24.49)
MatchyGotchy Z ($TBA)
Pew Pew Rocket (digital, $1.39)
Primal Pursuit (13.49)
Remptomon ($4.24)
Road to Eden ($19.99)
Treasure Stack ($17.99)
ViSP- Virtual Space Port ($13.49)

Robert’s Pick: Can the loss of a single person devastate a studio? That certainly seemed like the case when Tomonobu Itagaki departed Team Ninja in 2008. In his absence, the developers’ once prodigious output was marked by a succession of middling titles like Ninja Gaiden 3, while partnerships produced misguided efforts like Metroid: Other M and Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. Later, the releases of Dead or Alive 5 and Nioh, demonstrated that a resurgence was underway. Now, with Dead or Alive 6, the Shinjuku-based team confirms their comeback.

Like many impulsive corporate decisions, the ‘core values’ controversy at this year’s Evo Japan Championship inadvertently showcased what franchise fans have known for a long time. Beyond deep but accessible movesets, remarkable responsive controls, and some of the best character models in the business, Dead or Alive understands that fun is just as important as fighting fundamentals. With the sixth iteration, I’m excited by the sizable roster, the additional of two new combatants, as well how nice the new character models look. This week I’ll plan to spend time with Kokoro, Honoko, and Hitomi, admiring the elegance and grace of each girls’ grappling arsenal, pausing the action at periodic intervals to admire those character models.

Ryan’s Pick: There are a handful of developers that really do 3D fighting games well and at the top of that list is the Dead or Alive series. Team Ninja has always emphasized attention to detail in their IPs and that is exactly what draws me into the games. The character models and animations for the fighting are fluid and done extremely well, but the thing that really impressed me was the implementation of the sweat and dirt system in Dead or Alive 5. It just felt like an out of the box idea to add to fighting game to add realism, and it worked.

Dead or Alive 6 continues with the sweat/dirt mechanic as well as shows some blood to the game. The new Break Gauge System seems like an interesting addition to their balanced Triangle System of strikes, holds, and throws. As a huge fan of character customization, I’ll definitely be playing around in DOA Central. I definitely cannot wait to check out Mr. Hayabusa’s Fatal Rush animations – he has always been my absolute favorite character. As a final fact, Team Ninja has posted personal data for all the characters on their website. I now know that Honoka’s favorite food is Whipped Cream Puffs!

Matt’s Pick (Editor, DigitallyDownloaded): Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie Rose Marie

Play Dead or Alive 6. For the story.

Matt’s Pick #2: Dead or Alive 6 is the latest in my favourite fighting game series. No, scratch that, it’s the latest in my favourite game series that doesn’t feature cute alchemists or even cuter twin tailed vocaloids. Dead or Alive is, singlehandedly, the series that made me realise I like fighting games, and I have been looking forward to a true next generation entry in the series for many years now.

Wow, has Koei Tecmo delivered. Not only is this a brilliantly accessible fighting game for newbies, while also offering plenty of depth for the competitive, but dear Miku is this game sexy. All those people who were getting upset that it was “toned down” because the boob wobble didn’t break every science law that Newton discovered are just being silly. The level of detail that has gone into every character model, to make each and every one of them as beautiful as possible is beyond anything we’ve seen in a game before. The way sweat drips off their faces and rolls over their chests and legs is incredibly sensual. Tecmo may had made the sexiness marginally more subtle in Dead or Alive 6, but it’s there, and it’s so good.

And yes, I really do think it’s great that there’s one or two games out there that have a genuinely sexy pin-up vibe to them. Dead or Alive 6 appeals to my sense of aesthetics, and delivers a wildly fast and entertaining game on top of that. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

(Actually, scratch that. The first DLC pack puts Marie Rose in a crisp, white, wedding dress. THEN I’ll have nothing more to ask for).