Hello! Welcome to the Geeky Brummie Games Release Roundup!
This week, time-bending platformers and the N64.
Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns (PC, PS5, Switch 1, Xbox Series X/S) is a fresh remaster of the pioneering Amiga strategy game Defender of the Crown. Originally released in 1986, the game was a visual spectacle compared to games of the time. You are a noble in 1149 England, battling for control of the nation after the death of the King. You amass an army capable of crushing your opponents until you seize full control.
Only one Early Access game this week worth mentioning. Pax Autocratica is a hybrid city builder and first-person shooter roguelike, and if that doesn’t make any sense, let me explain. You are a futuristic dictator building a space colony, where you construct buildings, gather resources and maintain order. Standard city builder stuff (with an autocratic twist), but then when the time comes to go to war, you can jump down on the battlefield with your troops and participate in boomer shooter action. Ambitious stuff; let’s see if developer Multiverse can pull it off.
Once again, we’re kicking off the smaller games list with the obligatory cosy game. Verde (PC / Antimeta Studio, Assemble Entertainment) is a casual city builder where you lay seeds to plant a thriving village.
If you want something a little more hectic, Pro Jank Footy (PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox Series X/S / Powerbomb Games, Tinker Town, Umbrella Games) takes Australian Rules Football and adds random mechanics, ridiculous power-ups and a bunch of comedy elements written by the creators of Danger 5 and Italian Spiderman, while Dino Party (PC / Studio Nachtwerk) is a brawler combining Smash Bros with Fall Guys while you play as assorted dinosaurs. While not quite as chaotic but in the same multiplayer sphere, Sente (PC / Oxobox Games Studios, Curveball Games) is a tactical board game with simultaneous turn-taking, set in a moody sci-fi world.
In horror, Security 51 (PC / Alawar) sees you working as a security guard for Area 51, determining who is allowed in or out based on whether or not they’re actually human, The Cave Diver (PC / Ovsko) is a physics-based game about crawling through caves and attempting to not get trapped and T.W.I.R.L. (PC / Genie Boy Games) is a mysterious low poly horror about a child doing something he shouldn’t.
In more RPG-style experiences, Hellbridge (PC / Dex Games Studio) combines Diablo with the bullet hell genre as you descend into Hell in rougelike fashion, Palm Sugar: A Village Story (PC / Mono Tusk Studios, 1312 Interactive) takes place in an Indian village as one lovesick man attempts to save his town (and his girl) from gang activity and Greedy Greedy Gnomes (PC / Nautlander, Future Friends Games) is an incremental game about optimising an RPG town into making huge profits.
There’s an up-and-coming Dutch skateboarder named Sterre Meijer who’s been doing big numbers on social media for a while now. This week, she gets her own game. Skatesterre (PC, PS5, Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S) is, essentially, an indie clone of the Tony Hawk series, where you skate around exclusively as Sterre, completing objectives, building up high scores and collecting customisation items. While I am always down for a good Tony Hawk clone, I’m not so sure about this one, as every trailer shows some incredibly stiff animations. Feel like this one could have done with more time in the oven. Developed by Goon Squad and published by Headup.
Memoirium (PC) is yet another Soulslike set in a grim, dying world and…wait, is that guy on the ceiling? Yes, thankfully, this one is doing something interesting, as it’s set in a world of dreams and uses that to its full advantage. Everything I’ve seen of this one has featured bizarre environments, spatial confusion (like the guy on the ceiling) and even a nice little corner which you can decorate. Developed by GoldenGratus and published by Outersloth.
Backpack Boy (PC) is a 2D platformer built around a magic torch mechanic. Each level exists in both the past and present, and the protagonist’s torch can be waved around to reveal or conceal platforms and mechanisms that aid your progression. The backpack in the title feels a bit less important though, so it’s a strange name. Developed by Chuck and Niles Games.
Ledgerbound (PC) is an RPG where you play as an insurance adjuster. No, you come back here and listen. Your job is to track down the monsters that killed the heroes whose claim has kicked in, specifically to defeat them and prove they’re undefeatable and therefore the insurance claim is invalid. Naturally, it’s a little bit silly as you engage in tactical battles and flirt with the entire office. Because of course it’s a dating sim too. Developed by OmniMegaSuperCorp.
The seemingly endless Rusty Lake series continues, with Servant of the Lake (PC) as the latest entry in the weird point and click puzzle series. If you’re unaware of Rusty Lake, it’s a collection of short puzzle games that feature a loosely connected narrative of strange things happening around the titular lake, usually aided by multiple ARGs that tie in with each game. In Servant of the Lake, you play the maid to the Vanderboom family, fulfilling your daily duties while the family engage in their alchemical pursuits. All fine and normal, I’m sure.
Hell Let Loose: Vietnam (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S) is a sequel to the WW2-based Hell Let Loose, only now set during the war between Vietnam and the US. The main draw here, much like the first game, is in its online multiplayer, which boasts massive 50v50 battles. Hopefully the queues won’t be too terrible. However, I didn’t hear Fortunate Son once in any of the trailers, so clearly they’re slacking on making a Vietnam project. Developed by Expression Games and published by Team17.
We already had the Star Fox remake earlier this year, but Wild Blue Skies (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S) looks set to challenge it. This is effectively an indie version of Star Fox 64, where a team of furries fight threats across the galaxy in tiny spacecraft. Although from my experience of the demo, I’m not quite sure it’s as well designed as the game it takes so much inspiration from. Developed by Chuhai Labs and published by Balor Games.
But the N64 nostalgia doesn’t stop there, as Agent 64: Spies Never Die (PC) takes us back to a different defining game for the system. If the name doesn’t give it away, this is an indie version of Goldeneye (and to a lesser extent, its sister game Perfect Dark). And after playing the demo (and having played PD back in the day), I can safely say this is a faithful recreation, with multiple objectives increasing on different difficulties, the goofy-looking scanned faces on low poly models, the auto aim and even a bit where you kill a guy in a toilet. Between this and First Light, it’s a good year for pretending to be James Bond in games. Developed by Replicant D6.
Game of the Week is Duskfade (PC, PS5, Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S), a 3D platformer from Spanish devs Weird Beluga and publisher Fireshine Games.
Set in a world shaped by the Master Clockmakers, you play as Zirian, a guy in search of his sister after the appearance of a mysterious clock tower that plunged the world into eternal darkness. You run around with a massive sword, leaping your way through platforming challenges and gaining new abilities as you progress through the various Clockmaker realms.
This week was a tough choice for Game of the Week as nothing immediately leapt out and slapped me in the face in the way that the goofy anime truck game or the one about kickflipping trains did. And then I played a bunch of demos for games that seemed to have potential and, man, Duskfade was some impressive work.
For a start, it looks incredible for an indie project, but the level of polish on show in its gameplay won me over. This is a serious platformer, one that’s refined its movement tech to perfection, to the point where every second of my time with the demo was a joy. Also feels a lot like a Ratchet & Clank game got lost in a Kingdom Hearts world, so anyone nostalgic for the PS2 has a lot to love here.
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