New Game Releases: April 12th-18th, 2018

From Kazuma Kiryu’s last outing, Ys VIII’s oft-delayed PC port, and Don’t Starve’s trek on to consoles, this week’s itinerary of new game releases offers several highlights. And while the Nintendo’s Switch receives a healthy number of titles this week, oddly the platform won’t be receiving the Star Wars: The Last Jedi DLC for Pinball FX 3. Potentially, the omission is related to Zen Studio’s commitment for getting the game running at sixty frames-per second.

Header image: Supipara – Chapter 2 Spring Has Come!, PC

PlayStation 4
Don’t Starve Mega Pack (physical and digital, $29.99)
Dusty Raging Fist (digital, $14.99)
Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs – Royal Edition (digital, $24.99)
Rogue Aces (digital, $TBA)
Pinball FX3 – Star Wars: The Last Jedi (DLC, digital, $TBA)
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (physical and digital, $59.99)

Switch
ACA NeoGeo Gururin (digital, $7.99)
Asdivine Hearts (digital, $12.99)
#Breakforcist Battle (digital, $9.99)
Burly Men at Sea (digital, $9.99)
Don’t Starve Nintendo Switch Edition (digital, $19.99)
Dragon Blaze (digital, $7.99)
Drone Fight (digital, $4.99)
Eternal Edge (digital, $20.00)
It’s Spring Again (digital, $1.79)
Pirates: All Aboard! (digital, $5.99)
Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs – Royal Edition (digital, $24.99)
Rogue Aces (digital, $10.40)
Skies of Fury DX (digital, $19.99)
Streets of Red: Devil’s Dare Deluxe (digital, $7.19)
Word Search by POWGI (digital, $7.99)
Zotrix: Solar Division (digital, $14.99)

Wii U
Shadow Archery (digital, free)

Xbox One
Don’t Starve Mega Pack (physical and digital, $29.99)
Pinball FX3 – Star Wars: The Last Jedi (DLC, digital, $TBA)
Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs – Royal Edition (digital, $24.99)
Ys Origin (digital, $19.99)

PS Vita
Rogue Aces (digital, $TBA)

PC
Dead in Vinland ($17.99)
Double Turn ($9.99)
Pinball FX3 – Star Wars: The Last Jedi (DLC, digital, $TBA)
Super Saurio Fly ($TBA)
Supipara – Chapter 2 Spring Has Come! ($TBA)
The Road to Hades ($13.49)
The Wastes ($11.24)
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

Robert’s Pick: With the industry’s weakness for reboots that offer only marginal improvements on previous iterations, sequels motivated by profits rather than expression, the ubiquity of season passes, and those damn loot boxes, it’s easy to become jaded by the current state of gaming. But then there’s the Yakuza series, which in it’s sixth iteration, wraps up Kazuma Kiryu’s story. Twelve years and three generations of hardware later, Kamurocho is still a mesmerizing destination, offering a myriad of recreations that emulate the density and diversity of Tokyo’s legendary entertainment district. Complementing the urban sprawl is a trip to Hiroshima, which offers a pastoral complement to the bustling city. The appearance of Takeshi Kitano is the icing on the cake for me, making Yakuza 6: The Song of Life not just my pick, but an early game of the year contender, that offsets any sense of cynicism for its forty+ hour duration.


Ryan’s Pick: Yakuza 6: The Song of Life all the way. The Yakuza series is very aware of itself, which is what makes the games so memorable and fun. From serious aniki moments and hilarious fist fights, to singing karaoke by yourself, the Yakuza series understands how to entertain. I’m really excited to see that Tatsuya Fujiwara and a bunch of other famous Japanese actors will debut like in the previous games. Being able to go into Club Sega and play old games is also a welcome feature – I’m particularly stoked to see that one of my favorites Space Harrier is included! I remember playing it in the arcade and being scared of it when I was really young…yare yare.  Again, very excited that Kiryu is back!


Matt’s pick (Editor, DigitallyDownloaded): Yakuza’s the easy choice, but I reviewed that so long ago it feels like old news now. Ys VIII is a lovely game, but I’d recommend people wait for the Switch version. So what’s really left?

You know what? I’m going to go with Pinball. I’ve been playing Zen Pinball 2, and now Pinball FX3, for at least half a decade now. Probably longer. It’s not an everyday thing, but when I’ve got ten minutes here or there, I’ll boot it up. I’ve loved pinball as a kid, and these games do a great job of capturing the joy and excitement I’ve always got from pinball. Heck, I’ll probably end up spending more time playing this table than anything else on the list that I might end up playing. Yakuza is a play once and then, maybe, come back to it a few years later kind of thing. Pinball FX 3 tables are a commitment for life.

Zack’s Pick (Senior Editor, RPG Site): I’d love to say Yakuza 6 like some of the others, but I actually haven’t touched the series since I covered Yakuza 5 for my site a few years ago. With that in mind, I will have to give it to Ys Origin on the Xbox One, which marks the first time the Ys series has been seen on a Microsoft console.

While I wait to play Ys VIII on PC, I can wholeheartedly recommend my favorite entry in the series. Everything from its lightning-paced combat to its healthy dose of gameplay variety makes this one stand head and shoulders above many of its series’ brethren. That along with its stellar soundtrack makes it a mighty satisfying experience. Oh, and Epona. Epona is the best.

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

10 comments

  1. Where the hell is God of War????

  2. Microsoft: “We don’t have Ys VIII but we got Ys Origin! You’re excited, right???”

    Xbox One owners: ….

  3. The game title that best describes my sex life this week? Don’t Starve Mega Pack

  4. The wait for Yakuza 6 is finally over. I can’t wait!

  5. There’s something ugly and weird about that Pinball FX 3 screenshot. The walls look too high for one thing.

  6. Can someone tell me the true meaning of “yare yare” ?

  7. Pirates: All Aboard’s logo reminds me of Sid Meier’s Pirates

    Its like one of the rip off apps or Red Box movies.

  8. Yakuza for me. Robert are you and Ryan brothers?

  9. Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs looks like it might be worth checking out.