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

This week, fantasy Persona, a return to Silent Hill and at least 20 Gokus.

New Releases

Kind Words was an experimental indie game from 2019 about sending encouraging letters in a cosy space. You sent anonymous letters to other players and responded to each other, in an effort to build connection when times are tough. Kind Words 2 (Lo-Fi City Pop) (PC) is the sequel, one that aims to extend that sense of community. While the letter writing remains, you can now explore a virtual community where you can chat with random people, share recommendations and build your own little world. It’s a sweet little idea and the first game was already praised for its mental health benefits, so hopefully this second game can build on that.

Developed by Popcannibal.

Phoenix Springs (PC) is a moody detective game that aims to take the point-and-click genre into new experimental places. You are an investigator seeking answers to a family mystery, and you must gather clues and leads that you can use with different parts of the environment. The tone is sombre, a little surreal and extremely compelling.

Developed by independent art collective Calligram Studio.

Europa (PC) is an open world adventure game designed by a former environment artist whose previous credits include Overwatch and Crysis 2. You play as an android named Zee living on a terraformed moon of Jupiter, setting out to uncover some mysteries at the heart of the ruins that litter the landscape. It’s a peaceful game about exploration and puzzle solving.

Developed by Helder Pinto and published by Future Friends Games (Exo One, Gourdlets, Laysara: Summit Kingdom).

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S) is the fourth game in the Budokai Tenkaichi series of fighting games based on Akira Toriyama’s iconic manga and anime. It features 182 playable characters, only 20 of which are Goku. I don’t know much about Dragon Ball but I know people love these games, and the reviews are looking great. A good time all round then.

Developed by Spike Chunsoft (One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows, Danganronpa series, Shiren the Wanderer series) and published by Bandai Namco.

They said it couldn’t be done. And yet, somehow, Silent Hill 2 Remake (PC, PS5) might be…good? Developed by controversial Polish team Bloober Team, this takes possibly the greatest horror game of all time and reworks it for modern systems. Lots of cynicism around this one, but now it’s out in the wild the consensus is that this is an aggressively faithful reworking that’s worth the effort.

Developed by Bloober Team (Layers of Fear, The Medium, Observer) and published by Konami.

Game of the Week

Game of the Week is Metaphor: ReFantazio (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S), the latest Atlus RPG.

You play as an unnamed protagonist in a fantasy world known as the United Kingdom of Euchronia. The king has been assassinated and the prince has been incapacitated, as different factions attempt to gain control. However, a competition is launched, and whoever can win over enough of the population becomes the new King. The protagonist and his friends set out on a mission to win the throne on behalf of the prince, should he ever wake again.

I’m gonna be blunt here. This is fantasy Persona. It’s much of the same team, including director Katsura Hashino, character designer Shigenori Soejima and composer Shoji Meguro. As a result, the game follows many of the same mechanics, including time management, the use of creatures to do battle and social mechanics to build up relationships with your allies. However, there are enough weird twists to make this a very different experience. Reviews are also extremely positive, which makes me excited to play it when I have the time.

Developed and published by Atlus.