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

This week, psychosis, Mario and graffiti all over the establishment.

It’s another bumper week for game releases, because May has had absolutely no chill. There are more than enough interesting and unique games to keep you happy. I recommend RKGK, as well as my Game of the Week, but there’s plenty more to get excited about here!

Also, I will be absent for two weeks because of important “not working” related reasons. I did consider queuing up some roundups in advance, but the release list often changes so drastically during the week that they would almost certainly be inaccurate. I will release a bumper edition in three weeks though, covering everything I’ve missed. So stay tuned!

New Releases

Yolk Heroes: A Long Tamago (PC) is a Game Boy styled game about going on a grand adventure. But first, you must raise your hero from their egg, like a Tamagotchi.

Developed by and published by 14 Hours Productions.

Hauntii (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox) is a game about the afterlife. You play a little ghost being guided through their life’s memories. Has an adorable hand drawn art style.

Developed by Moonloop Games and published by Firestoke.

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami (PC, Switch, Xbox) is a point and click adventure about a duck who solves mysteries with the powers of de-duck-tion (don’t get mad at me, that’s in the official description). They mentioned Return of the Obra Dinn and a mystery involving lunch meats, so I’m in. Looks extremely silly.

Developed by German studio Happy Broccoli Games (Kraken Academy).

Venture to the Vile (PC) is a spooky Metroidvania starring a boy with a deer head seeking to save his friend and stop the spread of a corruption known as the Vile. Has some great character designs so this could be a fun experience if the gameplay follows suit.

Developed by Canadian studio Cut to Bits and published by Aniplex (RPG Time: The Legend of Wright)

Paper Trail (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox) is a cute little puzzle game. You play as Paige, a girl heading off to pastures new and learning how to be independent, all within a paper world that you can fold to help her on her way. Looks like a really sweet concept.

Developed by British studio Newfangled Games.

RKGK / Rakugaki (PC) is supremely My Jam, with Jet Set Radio, Hi-Fi Rush, Sonic, Splatoon and Mirror’s Edge shoved into a blender, resulting in this. It’s a platformer focused on parkour and fluid movement, built around gaining high scores and times. It’s also goddamn rad, as my 8/10 for Siliconera proves. A Game of the Week contender, based on how much I kept loading this up over the past two weeks, even when I didn’t need to.

The debut studio from Latin American studio Wabisabi Games and published by Gearbox Publishing.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Switch) gets a full remake this week, bringing the Gamecube classic to a modern system and making it so I can finally play the damn thing (I’m not spending what second hand copies of the original go for these days). Faithful to the original, right down to restoring elements of the original Japanese that were removed from the Gamecube English release, this is a welcome return for a beloved classic.

Developed by Japanese studio Intelligent Systems (Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, WarioWare) and published by Nintendo.

Game of the Week

Game of the Week is Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga (PC, Xbox X/S), the sequel to 2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

After her harrowing ordeal attempting to bring her lover back to life while battling her own demons, Senua returns as she charges into Iceland to battle the Vikings. However, her psychosis remains and presents another, less tangible foe on her journey.

I was a big fan of the original Hellblade. Admittedly, I was a little late to getting around to playing it, but it was worth the wait. It was a tense and challenging journey through puzzles and combat, all while the voices in Senua’s head whisper and shriek, taunting and degrading her. Getting more of that sounds like something I’d love to get into. Some mixed reviews on this one so I’m curious how I’ll feel about it once I’m done with it on Game Pass.

Developed by UK studio Ninja Theory (Heavenly Sword, DmC: Devil May Cry, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West) and published by Xbox Game Studios.