New Releases: March 28th-April 3rd, 2024

This week, junior detective Mackenzie and her faithful sidekick Funghi make their English-language debut in Touch Detective 3 + The Complete Case Files (pictured). Meanwhile, OTXO offers some overhead ultraviolence with some roguelike qualities. If neither of those sound interesting, RichMan 11’s pursuit of material wealth might please board game enthusiasts.

PlayStation 4
Death Relives (digital, $TBA)
Felix the Cat (digital, $TBA)
Flashback 2 (digital, $39.99)
Gori: Cuddly Carnage (digital, $TBA)
Hero.EXE (digital, $TBA)
Mars 2120 (digital, $14.99)
One Last Breath (digital, $14.99)
Open Roads (digital, $19.99)
OTXO (digital, $14.99)
RichMan 11 (digital, $18.99)
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland (digital, $39.99)
Stasis: Bone Totem (digital, $19.99)

PlayStation 5
Ario (digital, $12.49)
Withering Rooms (digital, $24.99)

Switch
100 Doors – Escape from Prison (digital, $9.99)
3D Printer – PrintMaster Simulator (digital, $11.99)
Akatsuki: Lord of the Dawn (digital, $9.99)
Blind Shot (digital, $4.99)
Coffee, Plis (digital, $5.00)
Contraptions Collection (digital, $29.99)
Drift Force Xtreme: Ultimate Car Simulator 2024 (digital, $9.99)
EGGCONSOLE Xak PC-8801mkIISR (digital, $6.49)
Escape Fear: Hide And Seek Horror (digital, $4.99)
Escape Game The Kitty School (digital, $4.99)
Felix the Cat (digital, $21.24)
Forrader Hero (digital, $4.99)
Fruity Puzzler (digital, $8.99)
Girl Genius: Adventures In Castle Heterodyne (digital, $29.99)
Go Kart Mania (digital, $9.99)
House (digital, $14.99)
Jigsaw Puzzle Nature (digital, $4.99)
Junior Labyrinth (digital, $6.99)
Knowledge Keeper (digital, $3.99)
Labyrinthia Nightmares: The Journey of Little Fluffypoof (digital, $11.99)
Mad Experiments 2: Escape Room (digital, $12.99)
Missile Dancer 2 (digital, $13.49)
Monster Panic (digital, $11.99)
NightGhast (digital, $3.49)
Nyanzou & Kumakichi Bomb Cave (digital, $6.00)
nZen (digital, $9.99)
Old Coin Pusher Friends 2 (digital, $3.99)
One Last Breath (digital, $14.99)
Open Roads (digital, $19.99)
OTXO (digital, $14.99)
Outward Definitive Edition (digital, $39.99)
Pepper Grinder (digital, $14.99)
Re:Touring (digital, $7.99)
Saviorless (digital, $12.99)
Soul Dog TD (digital, $8.79)
Stasis: Bone Totem (digital, $19.99)
The World After (digital, $8.99)
Touch Detective 3 + The Complete Case Files (digital, $39.99)
Zombiewood: Survival Shooter (digital, $9.99)

Xbox One
Alchemist: The Potion Monger (digital, $19.99)
Gori: Cuddly Carnage (digital, $TBA)
Harold Halibut (digital, $TBA)
Hero.EXE (digital, $TBA)
Knowledge Keeper (digital, $3.99)
Mars 2120 (digital, $14.99)
Octopath Traveler II (digital, $TBA)
One Last Breath (digital, $14.99)
Open Roads (digital, $19.99)
Re:Touring (digital, $7.99)
RichMan 11 (digital, $18.99)

Xbox Series S/X
Ario (digital, $12.49)
Death Relives (digital, $TBA)

PC
Ario ($12.49)
Enlisted: Reinforced ($19.99)
Felvidek ($TBA)
Godsworn ($26.99)
Maniac ($4.49)
Minishoot’ Adventures ($TBA)
Omega Crafter ($TBA)
One Last Breath ($14.99)
Open Roads ($19.99)
Pathless Woods ($TBA)
Pepper Grinder ($14.99)
Shadow Corridor 2 ($TBA)
Vellum ($17.99)

Rob’s pick: When it comes to role-playing games, I lead toward tradition. Sure, flashy visuals or intricate combat mechanics are interesting. But what I really appreciate is engaging storytelling and the sense that I’m cultivating a well-built team of potent adventurers. With this week’s arrival of Octopath Traveler II on Xbox One, a new audience gets to experience the progression Square-Enix and Acquire made to their solid foundations, with new abilities for each class, an improved structure, and richer exposition.

And speaking of tradition, I’ll also be giving Missile Dancer 2 a go. Much like me, Terarin Games is infatuated with the PC-Engine era, with a body of work where a solitary player ship navigates scrolling playfields filled with projectiles. This time out, the reference point shifts from Blazing Lasers to Afterburner, offering a 2.5 shooter with scaling sprites and lock-on system. And just like the grand, old Summer Carnival days, there’s a caravan mode.

Ryan’s pick: Genre mashups are commonplace in games, but one mix you don’t see quite often is cuddly and gore. Gori: Cuddly Carnage gets my seal of approval this week as this 3D action game manages to weave the two together through some really impressive visuals. Employing the use of a hoverboard as your primary gore-dealing device seems pretty fun, and it also seems to really help with fluidity while smiting droves of the Adorable Army. The way the visual effects and combat in the game work together really sold me on it, and I think that if you are okay with some gore sprinkled in, this one could be worth a look.

Skipping multiple genres and going back to 2D, I’d like to also give a mention to the quirky Slovakian JPRG Felvidek on Steam. Visually, everything looks pretty dated, which I think is what caught my eye. This and the fact that they described the main protagonist knight Pavol as an alcoholic in the game description made me think this game is here to just have fun, and that’s what I’m expecting for this one. The first-person RPG elements give me a bit of nostalgia, and oddly there appears to be some 3D portions in the game as well which look to be a lot like models seen in the PS1 or PS2 era. In general, I’m expecting a pretty eclectic experience with this one, and that’s okay. Lastly, if you like gacha games there’s a Neon Genesis Evangelion collab going on right now in Tower of Fantasy on PS5. It’s pretty cool to play as Asuka wielding the Spear of Longinus, so lower your A.T. Field for a second and check it out.

Matt S’ pick (editor, DigitallyDownloaded): I am so much looking forward to Touch Detective 3 + The Complete Case Files. For those of you who aren’t familiar with that series, Touch Detective is a true point-and-click adventure series (and an often quite challenging one!) with a lovely art style and personality, and an excellent mascot. Nameko Funghi, the little mushroom that accompanies you around and is basically your sidekick on the adventure, became a minor mascot celebrity in Japan. There were stores dedicated entirely to Nameko, selling all kinds of fun merchandise. Touch Detective 3 is a “HD Remake,” but I really hope it’s an effort to kickstart the series again. I don’t think the world should be done with those excellent characters and gameplay.

I’m also very intrigued by Akatsuki: Lord of the Dawn. It seems to have all the qualities of a fun game – it’s got a delightful art style with all the pixel people. It’s got an intriguing premise as a real-time strategy game, and the card game mechanics seem to tie things off nicely. After all the massive game releases in recent weeks, having something chill and twee like this is just the antidote the doctor ordered.