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

This week, smiling men, space outlaws and magical visions.

Re-Releases and Ports

This week’s Nintendo Partner Showcase saw the announcement of two surprise ports. Both Goat Simulator 3 and Pizza Tower are now on the Switch. Goat Simulator 3 is a goofy physics-based open world game about wacky goats, while Pizza Tower is a platformer about a pizza chef inspired by Wario Land and Nickelodeon aesthetics.

The Castlevania Dominus Collection (PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox X/S) brings together three classic DS games in the beloved vampire hunting franchise. This collection, also revealed at Nintendo’s Partner Showcase, contains Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia. The collection also allows customisation of the two screens and provides alternate inputs for the touch controls. So now you can play almost every Castlevania game on modern systems! Rejoice!

Early Access

Memoriapolis is a city builder crossed with the central concept of Civilization. You must build a grand city of wonder, and keep it functioning across the ages. Essentially you’re making sure Rome doesn’t get burned down within a decade.

Developed by 5PM Studio.

Endzone 2 is a sequel to the post-apocalyptic city builder Endzone: A World Apart. However, instead of building a single settlement in this desolate world, this time you have a wider expanse to build multiple settlements.

Developed by Gentlymad Studios and published by Assemble Entertainment (Far: Lone Sails, Roadwarden, Sticky Business).

New Releases

Debtor’s Club (PC) sees you playing as a debt collector in a dodgy city hall. Whether it’s intimidation or persuasion, it’s your job to ensure that everyone is paying what they owe to the city, and decide what happens if they don’t. Expect a lot of moral dilemmas and difficult choices, all covered up with a cartoony veneer.

Developed by mecagames and published by indie.io (Vengeance of Mr Peppermint, Mail Time, 9 Years of Shadows).

The Land of the Magnates (PC) is an adventure game featuring a lot of Prince of Persia style parkour although this time it’s coming from a team within the Middle East (specifically Turkiye). As such, the story draws heavily from actual Middle Eastern folklore, as you play as Mailk Shahbaz, the prince of Land of the Sun. You journey to lift the curses that plague the land, using the power of music to restore light to the world.

Developed by Permanent Way Games and published by indie.io.

Bloodless (PC) is a highly stylised action game about a ronin confronting the ghosts of her past. The catch is that she has vowed to never take another life again, so all enemies must be defeated through disarms and non-lethal takedowns. The limited colour palette and unique story elements make this an interesting take on the many samurai games we’ve been getting lately.

Developed by Point N Sheep and published by 3D Realms (Wrath: Aeon of Ruin, Cultic, Graven).

Crypt Custodian (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox) sees you playing as a cat who has died and been sentenced to become janitor to the afterlife. This leads to a Metroidvania as you work your way through the underworld solving problems and defeating dangerous enemies. Has an absolutely adorable art style that contrasts with its darker themes.

Developed by Kyle Thompson and published by Top Hat Studios (Frogun, Kaichu, Tiny Life).

Speaking of cats taking on the world, Gori: Cuddly Carnage (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox) brings back the spirit of the 2000s by placing you in the shoes of a rad cat on a skateboard who tears through evil unicorns. It looks like complete nonsense, combining cute designs with massive amounts of gore in a fast-paced action combat game.

Developed by Angry Demon Studio (Apsulov, Unforgiving) and published by Wired Productions (Deliver Us the Moon, Arcade Paradise, Martha is Dead).

Gundam Breaker 4 (PC, PlayStation, Switch) is the ideal game for anyone who is super into Gunpla but also doesn’t have the money to spend on copious amounts of them, or indeed the space to display them. You can build and battle your perfect Gundam to your heart’s content, then pose and photograph them in cool scenes.

Developed by Crafts and Meister and published by Bandai Namco.

This week sees the release of the latest game in the Mana franchise, Visions of Mana (PC, PlayStation, Xbox). You play as Val and Hinna, who set out on a journey for the latter to become the Alm of Fire and save their village. It’s standard JRPG fare but fans of the genre are likely to go nuts for this one.

Developed by Ouka Studios and published by Square Enix.

Star Wars: Outlaws (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S) is probably one of the few Star Wars games I may consider playing. Sure, it’s basically a Ubisoft open world game, but it has the energy of an Uncharted game, and you get a cute alien companion riding on your shoulder. You play as Kay Vess, an outlaw who is seeking to build a crew to perform a huge heist. It’s really nice to see some Star Wars media that’s not fixated on Jedis and Skywalkers and instead is just a roguish romp through a galaxy far, far away.

Developed by Massive Entertainment (Tom Clancy’s The Division) and published by Ubisoft.

Game of the Week

Game of the Week is Emio The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club (Switch), a new visual novel detective game and one of Nintendo’s rare PEGI 18 titles.

The first original game in the Famicom Detective Club series since, well, the Famicom (or the NES to us Westerners). You are tasked with solving a gruesome murder of a high school student, where all the clues connect to cold cases from the past and a creepy urban legend.

I love a good mystery, especially a creepy one, so this is definitely up my alley. It’s a real surprise release from Nintendo too, as it got announced a few weeks ago with a cryptic, spooky trailer. It’s standard detective visual novel gameplay, but the premise is intriguing enough that I have to give it Game of the Week.

Developed by mages (Corpse Party, Steins;Gate, KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World! Love for This Tempting Attire) and published by Nintendo.