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

This week, tomb raiders, ghost hunters and pirates!

This is more like it. After a couple of weeks of minimal releases, things have picked up dramatically this week, with an avalanche of mostly smaller titles. There’s some interesting stuff going on this week; Islands of Insight and Lysfanga have some interesting mechanics and Ultros has a unique art style. Also News Tower would be a strong candidate for Game of the Week if it wasn’t Early Access.

Also, Tomb Raider is back, so I’m happy.

New Releases

In re-releases, Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox) is a collection of the original trilogy of Tomb Raider games from the 90s. Anyone who knows me knows how much I adore this series, so I will advise everyone to buy this. The games are the same as they were back in the 90s, only now with a fresh coat of paint. However, you can switch back to the original visuals with the tap of a button. Plus all the original PC expansions are included, making it a worthwhile package if you never got to play them (like me).

While it is a remake, Mario vs Donkey Kong (Switch) is a such a faithful remake of the original GBA game that it feels like a remaster. If you’re unaware of the game, it’s a simple puzzle platformer where Mario has to collect tiny Mario toys and defeat Donkey Kong, who stole them in the first place. Not the deepest game, but it’s good to see Nintendo keeping some older games alive like this.

Releasing in Early Access for Steam this week, we have News Tower. This management game places you in charge of a newspaper empire around the Great Depression. You have to report news on topics your audience wants to read, while also satisfying the needs of various factions you owe a debt to. If you want an indicator of how fun this is, I played the demo and instantly wishlisted it. News Tower balances typical management mechanics with the seedy narratives of New York newspapers and a smoky noir vibe. This could have made Game of the Week if it wasn’t in Early Access. Definitely worth checking out.

Another Early Access release, Helskate feels like it should be the kind of game I love, as it’s a combination of combo-heavy action and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and yet the demo left me cold. I’m not sure the combat and skating systems gel that well, and the environments feel lifeless. Hopefully it’s an issue with it being Early Access because I’d love to see this realise its potential.

Airhead (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S) is a puzzle platformer about a body and an inflatable head teaming up to survive in a world of bizarre tech. It’s an odd concept so I’m curious to see how it pans out for the full game.

Recolit (PC) is a curious little point and click about an astronaut boy travelling around a city helping out the ghosts he encounters. The demo didn’t reveal a lot but the concept is certainly interesting.

Ultros (PC, PlayStation) is a trippy Metroidvania from the artist behind Hotline Miami, set in a strange biomechanical world. The art style is possibly an acquired taste, as it’s extremely in-your-face and gaudy. That said, what I played was intriguing enough, with an organ harvesting and consuming mechanic that allows you to unlock upgrades. It was gross in an intriguing way and I wonder how that will pan out in terms of the game’s story.

Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior (PC) is an action game centred on time powers. You play a soldier in an ancient kingdom besieged by danger. However, you are blessed with powers from the Goddess of Time, allowing you to create multiple versions of yourself via a time loop, allowing you to become your own army. There are some really cool ideas on show in this one, and the demo I played showed promise if the mechanics are fleshed out in increasingly complex ways as the game goes on.

Islands of Insight (PC) is a strange puzzle game set in a shared world of floating islands. You are an ethereal being on the search for knowledge, which you obtain by solving challenges across the islands. There’s a substantial demo on Steam right now, so substantial I didn’t finish it all because I had to get to other stuff. It’s an intriguing concept, although I’m not sure how necessary the presence of other players is, and while the puzzle designs are interesting, a lot of it feels disconnected. Maybe the full version is a little more involved story-wise, but the puzzles mechanics are fascinating.

After ten years of development, Skull & Bones (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S) is somehow a real game. The game that was originally billed as Black Flag without the Assassin’s Creed stuff is now a game where you play a pirate ship and all the cool pirate stuff is in cutscenes. Wait, what? That sounds terrible. God damn it, Ubisoft.

Game of the Week

Game of the Week is Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S), an action RPG from Life is Strange and Vampyr developers Don’t Nod.

You play as Red, a Banisher in colonial America, whose job is to appease the restless spirits of the land. He is accompanied by the ghost of his wife and the two of them work together to rid the land of ghosts, all while grappling with the dilemma of keeping his wife as a ghost.

Banishers is such a cool concept for a game, set in a period you don’t tend to see much of. Don’t Nod are usually excellent at strong narrative games, usually driven by complex choices, so I’m expecting a lot from this one. Combat may not be as brilliant as it’s never their strong point, but this looks like a genuinely intriguing experience.