Hello! Welcome to the final Geeky Brummie Gaming Roundup of 2022!

This week, we finish the year with the last batch of releases.

New Releases

We start this week with a remaster of an old Super Famicom RPG that never reached Europe until now. Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered (PC, PlayStation, Switch) is specifically a remaster of the PlayStation 2 remake of Romancing SaGa, a Squaresoft JRPG about eight different protagonists, one that received a lot of accolades back in 1992.

It’s not the only remaster of a Square Enix RPG out this week though. Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox) brings back the PSP spin-off title Crisis Core, which tells the story of Zack Fair, a character important to Final Fantasy VII’s backstory. Crisis Core focuses on this backstory and acts as a prequel to the events of the main game, and is therefore a perfect filler while we wait for Rebirth, which continues the FF7 remake.

In indie games, we have Lil Gator Game (PC, Switch), a cutesy adventure starring a friendly croc boy doing craft and making friends. Aka (PC, Switch) continues the wholesome vibes with a chill open world game about a little raccoon who works to help out his local community while trying to deal with some tough troubles of his own. Cygnus Enterprises (PC) is an action game crossed with a management game as you manage an outpost on a faraway planet.

River City Girls 2 (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox) is the sequel to WayForward’s revival of the River City Ransom franchise, this time focusing on the female characters of the franchise as the main protagonists. It’s a good time for the classic beat-em-up genre, so here’s hoping this continues that trend.

High on Life (PC, Xbox) is the latest game from Rick & Morty creator Justin Roiland’s studio Squanch Games. It’s a first-person shooter where all the guns talk, and quite frankly your enjoyment of this game depends entirely on how much you can stand Rick & Morty style jokes and voices being yelled at you the entire time. I know that sounds like hell so I’ll be skipping this one, but I’m sure it has its fans out there.

Game of the Week

The final Game of the Week for 2022 is Blacktail (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S), an action-adventure based on Slavic mythology.

You play as Yaga, a young girl exiled from her village after being accused of witchcraft and forced to start a new life in the woods. As the game progresses, she has to fight off her demons which are taking literal form, and her actions help determine if Baba Yaga of legend becomes a benevolent spirit of the forest or a terrifying witch that the locals fear.

It looks like an absolutely superb game where you get to be a witch, and the use of Slavic mythology gives it an interesting edge, as it’s not something we see often in games outside of The Witcher. And for that I’m happy to make it Game of the Week.

And that is all for regular Gaming Roundups for 2022! There is one more, however, as next week I’ll be bringing you the annual Top 50 Most Notable Games Roundup so you know exactly which games were the most essential this year. See you then!