Hello! Welcome to the latest Geeky Brummie Games Roundup!

This week, we catch up on the last four weeks!

This is going to be a big one, folks. I was away for the last three weeks. Two of those were due to important “entertaining Americans” reasons and last week I had a deadline and was helping out with our presence at AnimeCon UK (our full coverage should be out soon!). But because there are plenty of games to go around, this week will cover as much as possible from not just this week, but the three weeks I missed. So buckle up, we’ve got a lot to cover.

I’m not going to even attempt to summarise some recommendations from this huge pile of games. So please feel free to dig through and see what immediately catches your attention from the trailers. Oh, but do check out all four (4!) Games of the Weeks. That’s important to do. Also, #BLUD is a fun time.

Re-Releases and Ports

Monster Hunter Stories is getting a remaster for PC, PS4 and Switch. Originally released for the 3DS, this game is Monster Hunter via Pokémon, where you not only hunt monsters but catch them and team up with them. So if you’d rather ride a Rathalos than kill one, now’s the best time to get into the series.

Developed and published by Capcom.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is an enhanced version of the original SMTV (not the Ant & Dec one), not only seeing a re-release on the Switch but also expanding to release on PC, PlayStation and Xbox. It features two routes through the game, which is your standard Shin Megami Tensei RPG, featuring a shadow world full of demons who the player must defeat.

Developed by Atlus and published by Sega.

Early Access

Quest Master is a Zelda-inspired adventure game where you can go dungeon crawling with your friends, beating up monsters, solving puzzles and gathering loot. But also, you can then build your own dungeons to challenge other players, clearly challenging Nintendo to make the Zelda Maker they’re too scared to make.

Developed by Las Vegas based studio SkyDevilPalm and published by Apogee (Bread & Fred).

Songs of Silence is a strategy game where you must manage a kingdom in a world plagued by a deadly force known as The Silence. You have to keep your kingdom happy while resisting attacks from rival kingdoms.

Developed by German studio Chimera Entertainment (XCOM Legends, Angry Birds Evolution).

Go Go Town! is a cosy game set in a little town that needs your help. As the new mayor, you must build up the infrastructure and make the town thrive once again. Think Animal Crossing crossed with a management sim and you’ve got the vibe of this one.

Developed by Australian studio Prideful Sloth (Grow: Song of the Evertree) and published by CULT Games.

Bodycam is one of two projects attempting to make a first-person shooter that looks eerily like real-world bodycam footage. This is a multiplayer game where you have to not only survive against your opponents but also tackle the limited view and digital artefacting of a bodycam.

Developed by French developers Reissad Studio.

The Rogue Prince of Persia is, somehow, the second Prince of Persia game to release in 2024, although admittedly this one is Early Access. Taking clear inspiration from both the original Apple II game and this year’s Lost Crown, The Rogue Prince of Persia also pulls some elements from its developer’s history of working with Motion Twin on Dead Cells. Which means that, yes, the “Rogue” part of the title is a hint, as it’s a roguelike. Curious to see how this does.

Developed by French studio Evil Empire (Dead Cells support) and published by Ubisoft.

New Releases

The Palace on the Hill (PC) is a cosy narrative game about living in rural India in the 90s. You play as Vir, who explores his home village and the palace ruins that overlook it. Make art, explore and learn about your history all at your own pace.

Developed by new Indian studio Niku Games.

Psychroma (PC) is a side-scrolling puzzle adventure about memory and identity. It takes place in a cybernetic house that stores the memories of its past inhabitants. You play as an amnesiac digital medium who must navigate these memories and uncover the secrets within, while also trying to piece together their own identity. There’s an intriguing mystery with this one.

Developed by Canadian studio Rocket Adrift (Raptor Boyfriend) and published by Gamma Space Collaborative Studio.

Times & Galaxy (PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox) sees you playing as a space reporter who follows a diverse range of stories around a galaxy full of oddball characters. Not only do you have to keep the stories coming in and make sure the paper holds together, you can also develop your relationships with your colleagues. A fun cartoony time, based on the all the trailers.

Developed by Canadian studio Copychaser Games (Speed Dating for Ghosts) and published by Fellow Traveller (Citizen Sleeper, 1000xResist, Paradise Killer).

Autopsy Simulator (PC) is a murder mystery game with a very specific focus – you are the doctor performing the autopsies on the victims. However, there is also a layer of horror here, as the cases investigated by our pathologist might have more of a personal connection than he first realises.

Developed by Polish studio Woodland Games (Hell Architect, I Wanna Fly) and published by Team17 (Worms, Overcooked!, Blasphemous).

In Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip (PC), you play as the titular Terry, a boy with a dream – to go into space. To do this, he intends to drive fast enough that he can ramp out of the Earth’s atmosphere. And so starts an adventure to help out local townsfolk in order to unlock upgrades until he can eventually reach his goal. This one seems brilliantly silly. I hope this boy gets to fulfil his space dreams.

Developed by Dutch develoepr snekflat (Wuppo) and published by Super Rare Originals (OTXO, Go Mecha Ball, Lone Ruin).

Tracks of Thought (PC) is a narrative adventure taking place on a big train full of forgetful bug passengers. You and your chosen companion set out to help people remember what’s important to them, while navigating difficult conversations through a card-based battle system.

Developed by two-woman Dutch studio Tidbits Play and published by indie.io, formerly Freedom Games (Mail Time, Airborne Kingdom, Symphony of War).

Tavern Talk (PC) is a visual novel clearly inspired by Coffee Talk, except instead of helping out supernatural beings in a modern setting while serving coffee, you’re now chatting to adventurers over ale. Expect a lot of heartfelt discussions and complex cocktail-based alchemy.

Developed by German studio Gentle Troll Entertainment (Grimm’s Curse).

Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge (PC, Switch, Xbox) is a game about restoring wetlands by attracting frogs to the area. You can meet up to 500 frogs by placing furniture and other items that they like, and gradually bring the wetlands back to their former glory.

Developed by French studio Humble Reeds and published by Armor Games (In Stars and Time, Bear & Breakfast, Baladins).

Astor: Blade of the Monolith (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox) is an action RPG about a warrior out to save his planet using the power of runic magic. You play as the titular Astor, who sets out on a journey to learn more about the precursors of his planet and save his people from an extraterrestrial threat. Has some charming visuals and for once, it’s an action RPG that isn’t a Soulslike.

Developed by Colombian team C2 Game Studio (Nitro Chimp) and published by tinyBuild (Hello Neighbor, Broken Roads, Tinykin).

Crab God (PC) is a strategy game about defending coral reefs in order to protect the egg of the next Crab God. You assign your Crablings tasks to keep the reef safe and properly managed while taking care of external threats. Looks extremely cute.

Developed by Australian studio Chaos Theory Games and published by Firesquid (Great Houses of Calderia, Blade Prince Academy).

Capes (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox) is a turn-based strategy game all about big superhero fights. You and your band of heroes must join forces to reclaim the city from a league of supervillains, as superhero teams tend to do. Perfect if you’re into that kind of thing, although I will note the conspicuous lack of actual capes among its cast.

Developed by Australian developers Spitfire Interactive and published by Daedalic Entertainment (Inkulinati, Unrailed, Children of Silentown).

Rolling Hills (PC, Xbox) is a cosy game about being a little robot who runs a sushi restaurant. Manage your supplies, update your menu and keep your customers happy in a peaceful town.

Developed by North Carolina based studio Catch & Release and published by Humble Games (A Hat in Time, Coral Island, #BLUD).

#BLUD (PC) is an action adventure that crosses Buffy the Vampire Slayer with EarthBound and delivers it with a Cartoon Network aesthetic. It’s a lot of fun, with a goofy horror adventure featuring a brash hockey-playing protagonist trying to navigate her school life and also becoming a badass vampire slayer. I had a lot more to say about this in my day job, so please read my full review. (Yes, this was the deadline I mentioned in the intro)

The debut game project from American animation studio Exit 73 Studios and published by Humble Games (A Hat in Time, Coral Island, Rolling Hills).

You know the asymmetric multiplayer genre is getting weird once the niche horror franchises start getting dragged out. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S) is based on the cult 80s comedy horror of the same name. One team plays as the titular clowns as they attempt to harvest the humans for sustenance while the other team are the humans attempting to sabotage the clowns.

Developed by Colombian studio Teravision Games (Captain Toonhead vs The Punks from Outer Space) and published by IllFonic (Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, Predator: Hunting Grounds).

Games of the Weeks

The first of our four Games of the Weeks is Skald: Against the Black Priory (PC), an extremely old school RPG.

There are a lot of RPGs out there claiming to be old school, but most of the time they draw from the Square RPGs of the SNES era. Skald: Against the Black Priory scoffs at that assertion, as its inspirations are much older. The game’s Steam page explicitly mentions the Commodore 64 as inspiration, so think the original Might & Magic games or Ultima. Lots of text, static images an crunchy TTRPG-inspired mechanics.

Skald really stood out to me from the releases of its week due to its highly detailed pixel art and commitment to its style. Plus it promises Lovecraftian horror along with its deep systems, so that’s won me over even more.

Developed by High North Studios and published by Raw Fury (American Arcadia, Norco, Kathy Rain).

The second Game of the Week is Simpler Times (PC), a game about, unsurprisingly, simpler times.

The game revolves around four periods in a girl’s life, exemplified by records that act as the soundtracks for each section. The game is laidback, focused on exploring and hanging out in a bedroom in each time period, occasionally doing some puzzles or basic activities. No pressure, just vibes.

Simpler Times seems like a relaxing time, the kind of game you throw on to chill with some nostalgic feelings. The use of music is an interesting concept, and the changing seasons offer plenty of variety. Not necessarily for everyone but seems like there are players who will resonate with this in a big way.

Developed by Romanian studio stoneskip and published by iam8bit Presents (Escape Academy).

Last week’s Game of the Week is SunnySide (PC) is a farming sim that’s attempting to modernise the genre.

You have moved out to the Japanese countryside where you are setting up your own homestead. In typical fashion for the genre, you gather resources and tend to your crops, all while building relationships with your neighbours and investigating a mystery around a friendly drone who’s helping you out.

SunnySide is notable as a farm sim simply because it’s trying to take some of the tedium out of the genre and make something more modern. For a start, there’s a hose instead of a watering can, and the setting is much larger and more involved than other games in the genre. This is showing a lot of potential to be the next big name in the genre after the success of Stardew Valley.

Developed by British-American studio RainyGames and published by Merge Games (Indika, Morbid: The Lords of Ire, Smalland).

Finally, this week’s Game of the Week is Still Wakes the Deep (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S), a horror game set on an oil rig.

You play as Cameron McLeary, an electrician working on a North Sea oil rig in 1975. However, something terrible happens and now the rig contains monsters that are a threat to anyone who lives there. You have to survive against these creatures while also battling harsh weather all in an isolated setting.

Still Wakes the Deep looks like an extremely cool concept, with the oil rig being an underutilised setting for horror games, so there’s a lot of potential here. Every trailer I’ve seen has been extremely atmospheric, which bodes well for the full game. Also, it’s aggressively Scottish and the monster looks like it slithered right out of Carrion, so it has that going for it too.

Developed by British studio The Chinese Room (Dear Esther, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture) and published by Secret Mode (A Little to the Left, Eternal Threads, Snake Pass).