Hello! Welcome to the latest Geeky Brummie Games Release Roundup!
This week, smugglers, mercenaries and witches.
Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition releases for Switch 2 this week, meaning you can play both the original Elden Ring and its expansive DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, on Nintendo’s system. Perfect for playing it on the go.
Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol 2 (PC, PS5, Switch 2, Xbox X/S) follows up on the previously released collection of Hideo Kojima’s classic stealth series with two games bundled together: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. MGS4 originally released in 2008 for the PS3, where it has exclusively remained until now, while Peace Walker was a PSP game set after Snake Eater that has seen a few releases over the years. No explanation why the collection lacks Metal Gear Rising, a game that is also locked to older systems at this point, and quite frankly that’s a criminal offence.
The big Early Access releases this week is 1666: Amsterdam. This is the new game from Panache Digital, a studio founded by Assassin’s Creed creator Patrice Desilets. True to that history, this sees you placed in the shoes of a vengeful character stalking targets from the shadows in a historical setting (guess when and where). You play as Noa, a witch on the hunt for demonic beings hiding in plain sight wearing human disguises. Has potential, although may not be in the best state in its current form.
Let’s rapid fire through some smaller releases first! Sludgineers (PC / Snickerdoodle Games, Funk Games) is a game about cleaning up the countryside from glowing radioactive waste, Ultrapool (PC, Mobile / Icedrop Games, Offbrand Games) is another Balatro-like which draws on pool as its basis, Box Knight (PC / We Made a Thing Studios) is a roguelike about office workers fighting off monsters while wearing cardboard helmets, Aggelos 2 (PC / Wonderboy Bobi, PQube) is a Metroidvania starring an angel that takes inspiration from the Wonder Boy series, and Shrimp Game: Overkrill (PC / GasGod Games, Gigatank 3000) is a low-poly third-person shooter where you play as a shrimp, with optional multiplayer.
Lou’s Lagoon (PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox X/S) is a cosy life sim about life on an island, which we’ve seen many times before. BUT WAIT, this one has a plane that you can fly between islands. Your uncle Lou has gone missing, so you travel to his home archipelago to fly around and collect resources. Use these resources to restore the islands to their former glory and hopefully find your uncle in the process. Developed by Tiny Roar and published by Megabit Publishing.
Blood Dungeon (PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox X/S) is the latest game from Messhof, the developers of bizarre fighting game Nidhogg. This time, they’ve turned their attention to a Spelunky style side-scroller starring a lil guy with twin pistols flailing around causing chaos.
Brigandine Abyss (PC, PS5, Switch 2, Xbox X/S) is the latest game in the Brigandine series which developer Happinet has been trying to bring back from PS1 obscurity in recent years. A tactical RPG, you follow the many stories of the factions and nations attempting to fight back against the nefarious ambitions of the Abyssloa Empire.
Captain Tsubasa 2: World Fighters (PC, PS5, Switch 1, Xbox X/S) is the latest game based on the football anime Captain Tsubasa. In other words, this is flashy, over-the-top anime football, played with the full intensity of a Dragon Ball Z fight. Developed by Tamsoft and published by Bandai Namco.
Star Wars: Zero Company (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S) is XCOM but set in a galaxy far, far away. Set during the Clone Wars, you play as a Hawks, a former Republic officer now recruited to take down a galaxy-ending threat. To defeat it, you must command a squad of mercenaries through a set of turn-based maps. Developed by Bit Reactor and published by EA.
Game of the Week is Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S), the latest game in the medieval rat-fighting series A Plague Tale from Asobo Studio and Focus Entertainment.
Resonance is a departure for the series. While Innocence and Requiem were stealth puzzle games that focused on the siblings Amicia and Hugo as they attempted to survive in plague-ridden France, Resonance is a more combat heavy game focused on a different character. Sophia is a smuggler, previously seen in Requiem as an ally to the De Runes, and now we control her in this prequel where she comes to terms with her familial connections to a previous plague. Gameplay swaps between the 1334 setting contemporary to the previous game and the Minoan period, all set on the Greek island of Crete.
The previous games in the series are some of my all-time favourites, telling a superb story about children struggling to survive in a world gone mad by plague and war. The shift to Sophia and the dual time period is an interesting change, but one that was set up by Requiem with its references to the Justinian Plague woven into the lore, so I’m curious where they’re going with this.
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