New Releases: May 21st-27th, 2020

Beyond Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen’s agreeable mix of visual novel-style storytelling and SRPG battling, and fault milestone one’s tale of a princess and guardian mysterious transported to a strange landscape, this week sees the return of a number of notable properties with both Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Kollection and Saints Row: The Third Remastered offering new iterations.

Header image: YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story, PC

PlayStation 4
fault milestone one (digital, $14.99)
Gunman Clive HD Collection (digital, $3.99)
Minecraft Dungeons (digital, $19.99)
Monstrum (digital, $29.99)
Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Expansion (digital, $59.99)
Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Kollection (physical & digital, $59.99)
Saints Row: The Third Remastered (physical & digital, $39.99)
Slime Rancher: Deluxe Edition (physical, $34.99)
The Persistence (digital, $26.99)
Trailmakers (digital, $TBA)
Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen (physical & digital, $59.99)
Wizards: Wand of Epicosity (digital, $TBA)

Switch
Ailment (digital, $7.99)
Aqua Lungers (digital, $14.99)
Animal Up! (digital, $1.49)
Arrest of a Stone Buddha (digital, $14.99)
Chess (digital, $9.99)
Concept Destruction (digital, $4.99)
Fluxteria (digital, $6.99)
Lost Artifacts: Time Machine (digital, $9.99)
Luxar (digital, $7.90)
Minecraft Dungeons (digital, $19.99)
Missile Command: Recharged (digital, $2.99)
Monster Prom: XXL (digital, $15.99)
Monstrum (digital, $29.99)
Ninjala (digital, $TBA)
Pushy and Pully in Blockland (digital, $7.99)
realMyst: Masterpiece Edition (digital, $15.99)
Red Wings: Aces of the Sky (digital, $17.99)
Skelly Selest & Straimium Immortaly Double Pack (digital, $19.99)
Steel Rain (digital, $14.99)
The Persistence (digital, $26.99)
WHAT THE GOLF? (digital, $14.99)

Xbox One
Maneater (physical & digital, $39.99)
Minecraft Dungeons (digital, $19.99)
Monstrum (digital, $29.99)
Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Expansion (digital, $59.99)
Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Kollection (physical & digital, $59.99)
Saints Row: The Third Remastered (physical & digital, $39.99)
Slime Rancher: Deluxe Edition (physical, $34.99)
The Persistence (digital, $26.99)

Evercade
Atari Collection 1 (physical, $19.99)
Atari Collection 2 (physical, $19.99)
Data East Collection 1 (physical, $19.99)
Interplay Collection 1 (physical, $19.99)
Interplay Collection 2 (physical, $19.99)
Mega Cat Studios Collection 1 (physical, $19.99)
Namco Museum Collection 1 (physical, $19.99)
Namco Museum Collection 2 (physical, $19.99)
Piko Interactive Collection 1 (physical, $19.99)
Technōs Collection 1 (physical, $19.99)

PC
Bishoujo Battle Mahjong Solitaire ($2.54)
Blood Rage: Digital Edition ($17.99)
Crucible (free to play)
Cyber Ops ($12.74)
Embr ($15.99)
Family Man ($17.99)
I, Dracula: Genesis ($13.59)
Kinda Heroes: The cutest RPG ever! (free to play)
Mechstermination Force ($11.99)
Minecraft Dungeons ($19.99)
Monster Train ($22.49)
Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath ($39.99)
Observation ($12.49)
Sakura Stars ($2.99)
ShellShock Live ($6.99)
The Persistence ($26.99)
Timelie ($17.09)
Wildfire ($TBA)
YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story ($TBA)

Robert’s Pick: For the last few months, I’ve watched the Evercade struggle to arrive to market. Between the delays due to the pandemic and an Amazon listing that looked like it was posted by a hungover intern, it’s been a rocky road. But the hardware seems solid, offering skillful emulation, a well-designed d-pad, and a 480×272 display a bit low-res but quite vibrant. And it’s covered in a sturdy plastic shell that exhibits a bit more durability than something like the GPD XD. It’s selling for a fair price too. As someone who still appreciates collecting physical media, I thought I’d support the system. Hopefully, it arrives this week. (And if it doesn’t, I have the PC Engine Mini on the way).

A decade ago, I dabbled with Minecraft, in part because of my appreciation for voxel-based visuals. But soon the game exploded. Then Microsoft bought it up and licensed the living hell out of it. Next thing you knew, those creeper plushies and pixelated swords were everywhere and the property became a visual virus, invading retailers.

But now, I’ve had a break from the look, and I think I’m ready to jump back in for some low-poly dungeon crawling. Even though Gauntlet/Diablo type games have a mixed track record (for every Champions of Norrath, there’s at least one Hellgate: London), I have a deep-rooted weakness for procedural loot-grabbing. I just hope there’s no dabbing.

Ryan’s Pick: Twin-stick shooters are one of my go-to grinding games, and this week I’m putting my money down on I: Dracula Genesis. There’s no shortage of roguelikes anymore and it’s been really great to see this genre become more and more mainstream. One of my all-time favorites was ZHP: Unlosing Ranger Versus Darkdeath Evilman on the PSP, and the art/camera perspective for this particular game reminds me a lot of Zettai Hero Project. To its benefit however, I: Dracula Genesis allows free-movement, which was what could have made ZHP a lot more fun in my opinion. The level maps as well seem to give you a lot less space to work with, which forces you to change your approach with bosses and how you attack enemies.

One of the playable hunters in the game has a hand for a head. I live for quirky characters and absurdity, so this is another driving factor as to why this game is my pick. The enemy animation also seems to be pretty well done, and with lots of random weapons and projectiles going on in a small confined space, I smell carnage. I suppose that’s what makes roguelikes/roguelites so much fun, is all the pinches the players get into when you are just overloaded with enemies and no health powerups to be seen (of course). I can’t let the week slip away without also mentioning Embr.  It’s a 1st-person cartoony firefighter simulator where you have to attempt to save people in burning buildings. Things don’t always work out too well – on purpose at times it seems. You need to throw these people down onto mattresses, and this is where the hilarious moments occur. Mid-air they go full ragdoll and if they don’t land on the mattress, they immediately become a skeleton. Sounds like my kind of game.

Matt C’s Pick (editor, Shindig): If there are three things I love, they’re pixel art, stealth games, and witches. So, Wildfire—a pixel art, witch-themed stealth game—is basically made for me personally, and I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Sneaky Bastards for their kindness and support at this time.

Wildfire is all about using your various elemental powers to sneakily navigate the platformer-style environment. Throw a ball of fire to create a distraction; summon some vines to use as a ladder; freeze a pool of water so that you can safely cross. The best stealth games are those that let you get really creative with how you use the tools available to you and the surrounding level design to give yourself the upper hand, and that looks like a focus for Wildfire.

I’m always going to be here for stories about outcasts fighting back against their oppressors. Wildfire casts you as a witch in a world where witches are seen as heretics and hunted by the armies of a villainous Arch Duchess. Turning the enemies’ superstitions and prejudices against them as you fight to rescue your people and reclaim your homeland is a premise I can really get behind.

Matt’s Pick (Editor, DigitallyDownloaded): Hi everyone! I’m last to the party this week with getting my pick in, and so I’ve had the good fortune to read everyone else’s picks first. There are some very fine choices for games up there indeed and it’s a good week for a wide range of promising releases, but at the same time… what in the hell, people? Where are the Utawarerumono: Prelude to The Fallen mentions?

It’s a new Utawarerumono game. Releasing this week. One of the very few games out there to be inspired by Ainu (native Japanese) culture and aesthetics. An opportunity to immerse yourself in a blissful merging of culture, visual novel and tactics JRPG. And I know you all love true Japanese-ness, visual novels, and tactics JRPGs, so I just don’t get the absence of this game from my other peep’s picks.

Well, fine then. FINE. I’ll sit here in the corner by myself and enjoy Utawarerumono on my lonesome. I spent so long learning how to actually say the name that I’m invested anyway, but even if that wasn’t the case, I really do find this series, its storytelling, and the culture that it’s based on to all be truly beautiful bits of art, and as it is the prelude (i.e. a remake of the very first game, previously unavailable in English) I have been looking forward to finally seeing where the legend all began.

Also, I have awesome snacks in my corner and now I’m not sharing them with any of you. That’ll teach you for snubbing something this good.