Hello! Welcome to the latest Geeky Brummie Games Release Roundup!

This week, ninjas, alchemists and mechs.

Also, quick note on this week. I was unable to get a roundup out last week due to a fairly busy schedule but there also weren’t that many games to cover. However, both Wanderstop and Expelled are interesting enough that they’re the only two I’ve carried over to this week.

Re-Releases and Ports

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition brings one of the few remaining Wii U exclusives to the Switch. This vast sprawling RPG is a side story to the Xenoblade series, as a set of space explorers crash landed on a far-off planet after escaping a dying Earth. You explore the expanse, fighting off the creatures threatening your time here and building up your outposts. Proof that a big-ass open world can run perfectly fine on Nintendo’s system.

Early Access

Releasing in Early Access via the Epic Store, 33 Immortals is a roguelike action game where you and up to 32 other players venture out into a harsh world seeking to kill a wrathful god.

New Releases

Reignbreaker (PC) is a roguelike similar to Hades, only instead of the Greek underworld, you’re infiltrating a vast fortress in a sci-fi world with medieval aesthetics. Wield javelins and take down mechs to topple the corrupt elites.

Expelled! (PC) is the latest game from Inkle, a team dedicated to complex narrative games with a ton of outcomes. After the success of Overboard!, where a wealthy socialite had to convince a cruise ship that she didn’t kill her husband (although she did), Expelled! follows a similar concept, as a private school girl attempts to prove her genuine innocence in the wake of a murder. Overboard! was excellent and this looks like it’s following exactly in its footsteps, which is great news.

Wanderstop (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S) is a game about running a tea shop with a difference. While all the usual trappings of the genre are here, the protagonist is a once-undefeated fighter who’s fallen on hard times after her first loss. This is a game less about tea and more learning to slow down and take in the scenery.

Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories and the Envisioned Land (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox) is the latest game in the unstoppable anime alchemist franchise which seems to release a new game at least once a year. This game sees an increased emphasis on combat, with its protagonist being an alchemist who’s not afraid to kick monsters in the face. If you like crafting, open worlds and anime women, this has everything you need. Plus it’s getting a Tekken collaboration for some reason, which comes with the goofiest trailer in the world.

Game of the Week

Game of the Week this week is Assassin’s Creed: Shadows (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S), where the series finally goes to Japan.

There is something very funny to me that in the same week that Keith has started his mission to promote more indie comics, I then turn around and hype up the latest AAA release for games. I get it, I also want to champion the indies, but this week nothing has really caught my eye, but I have been enjoying Assassin’s Creed quite a bit (I got a pre-release copy for my day job).

If you know the series to even a slight degree, you kind of know what to expect here. Big open world, emphasis on stealth tactics and lots of parkour. This time, the series has reached the highly requested setting of Sengoku-era Japan, where you play as Naoe, a shinobi out for revenge for the death of her father, and Yasuke, an African slave who became a samurai under Oda Nobunaga.

Yes, it’s a standard issue Assassin’s Creed, but it’s easy to forget that it’s a great series. And honestly, Shadows is one of the best, likely benefitting from a good few years of development. It’s a full-on ninja game wrapped in an Assassin’s Creed skin, and the leads are great characters. Admittedly, this is mostly Naoe’s story but Yasuke’s inclusion does add some interesting story elements. If you’ve been away from the series for a while (like I have) this is a great place to come back to it.