New Releases: April 4th-10th, 2024

Don’t let the lack of big-budget blockbusters from this week’s new releases dishearten you. There’s plenty of noteworthy indies arriving across the next seven days. Freedom Planet 2 continues to veer farther from Sonic’s breakneck platforming, forging its own identity. Meanwhile, Children of the Sun blends puzzling, sniping action, and even a bit of stealth into its tale of vengeance. Finally, The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty (pictured) offers a dark visual novel with themes that range from human trafficking to cannibalism.

PlayStation 4
Broken Roads (digital, $39.99)
Construction Simulator – Gold Edition (digital, $49.99)
Freedom Planet 2 (digital, $24.99)
Gigantic: Rampage Edition (digital, $19.99)

PlayStation 5
Turbo Golf Racing (digital, $9.99)

Switch
Botany Manor (digital, $24.99)
Cats Organized Neatly (digital, $2.99)
Colony Defense – The Ultimate Minimalist Tower Base Defense Game (digital, $9.98)
Cosmic Hare (digital, $3.99)
CrashOut Xtreme (digital, $9.99)
Deadland Chronicles (digital, $7.99)
Devil’s Calling (digital, $3.99)
Doll Explorer (digital, $10.99)
Erogods: Mirage (digital, $7.30)
Find Room 96 (digital, $4.29)
Fire Race (digital, $4.99)
Freedom Planet 2 (digital, $22.49)
Hair Dye (digital, $4.99)
Heisting (digital, $4.99)
Hole io & Paper io 2 (digital, $7.99)
Kitchen Crisis (digital, $14.99)
Korean Rail Driving Tour – LRT Uijeongbu (digital, $29.99)
Kudzu (digital, $4.99)
Last Bloody Snack (digital, $9.99)
Leafy Trails Collection (digital, $9.99)
Life of Slime (digital, $3.99)
Make it! Ikayaki (digital, $3.00)
Mars Assault: 3D Shooter (digital, $7.99)
No Umbrellas Allowed (digital, $19.99)
Offroad Jeep Quest: Mountain Trails (digital, $7.99)
Savage Age (digital, $11.99)
Spy Guy Hidden Objects Deluxe Edition (digital, $8.99)
Storyblocks: The King (digital, $4.99)
Stunt Scooter Simulator (digital, $12.99)
Sugar Tanks 2 (digital, $6.99)
Sushi Soul Universe (digital, $6.99)
Tengoku Struggle -Strayside- (digital, $49.99)
The Brazil (digital, $3.99)
The Gap (digital, $17.99)
WWII Airplane Fight – Battle War Squad (digital, $12.99)

Xbox One
Botany Manor (digital, $24.99)
Broken Roads (digital, $35.99)
Cafeteria Nipponica (digital, $10.79)
Construction Simulator – Gold Edition (digital, $49.99)
Dreamland Solitaire: Dark Prophecy (digital, $5.99)
Freedom Planet 2 (digital, $22.49)
Gigantic: Rampage Edition (digital, $19.99)
Ninja Village (digital, $10.79)
Turbo Golf Racing (digital, $7.49)

PC
Beat Slayer ($17.99)
Biomorph ($TBA)
BMX Streets ($TBA)
Botany Manor ($24.99)
Broken Roads ($35.99)
Buckshot Roulette ($2.69)
Children of the Sun ($TBA)
Desolatium ($TBA)
Ereban: Shadow Legacy ($TBA)
Final Factory ($TBA)
Gigantic: Rampage Edition ($19.99)
Madhouse Madness: Streamer’s Fate ($TBA)
Monsters Domain ($TBA)
Sheba: A New Dawn ($TBA)
Sons of Valhalla ($TBA)
Spirit City: Lofi Sessions ($TBA)
The Devil Within: Satgat ($TBA)
The Hungry Lamb : Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty ($TBA)
Throne of Bone ($TBA)
Turbo Kid ($TBA)
Underspace ($TBA)
Victory at Sea Atlantic – World War II Naval Warfare ($TBA)
Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom ($TBA)
Yet Another Fantasy Title (YAFT)

Rob’s pick: With a low-poly look that evokes the PlayStation One/Nintendo 64 era, Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom might seem an unlikely choice. But I’ve always enjoyed titles built around a single, savvy mechanic. Certainly, steering a tiny wind-up cab to collect coins has potential, and Yellow Taxi’s hook is a spin-dash that replaces the traditional ability to jump. As such this collect-a-thon will have you scouring the environment for ramps that can catapult your little toy car to elevated areas.

I’ve also been playing a bit of Freedom Planet 2, which like the original, feels like Sonic the Hedgehog with layers of new navigational capabilities. I’ll need a bit more time to see if they collectively contribute to a feeling of immersion or whether they veer toward bloat- but I’m leaning toward the former at this point. Lastly, The Gap shows storytelling potential. I know we’re all burned out on walking sims at this point, but a blunt exploration of psyches and the repercussions of obsession set this one apart.

Ryan’s pick: Bullet-time has always been one of my favorite mechanics in games ever since Max Payne. Children of the Sun employs this mechanic with an interesting twist, where you take the role of the bullet as you fly through levels. I think this opens up some pretty fun ideas for puzzles, and in general, I can see a lot of FPS players enjoying this one. The art and aesthetic also have some horror undertones to them, so I think this could be worth a peek on Steam this week.

Continuing the motif of firearms, I think that Buckshot Roulette looks like a lot of fun. The game has been on Itch.io since late December but will be released this upcoming week on Steam. Games typically take about 15 to 20 minutes and are a mix of Russian Roulette with a spin, and include some tabletop gaming mechanics mixed in. The subject matter of the game is of course grisly, so it may only be the right choice for certain audiences.

Matt S’ pick (editor, DigitallyDownloaded): It seems amazing that after a couple of weeks when there seemed to be a massive, high-profile game releasing every day, we come to this week, and it’s… well, there are a lot of games releasing, but very little of any meaningful profile. Why not space these things out better, game developers and publishers?

Anyway, regarding what is releasing, Botany Manor intrigues me, thanks to its lovely art style and the promise of some traditional, classically enjoyable puzzling action. So, I’m going to go with that one. Otherwise, I’ve got more than enough other games that have been released over the past month, so I’m going to just appreciate the breather.