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

This week, Moomins, last week’s Final Fantasy and a new game from Vanillaware.

I’m back! Sorry for the absence last week, it was entirely poor planning on my part. That said, it was a mostly quiet week with only one major release. A release that I have included as one of this week’s Game of the Week selections (along with an actual game from this week!).

Not a lot I’d openly recommend this week outside the Game of the Week section. Reveil and Chasing the Unseen have some good ideas but their success hinges on their execution. Haven’t been able to play anything of either so I can’t vouch for them. Did play a bit of the Unicorn Overlord demo but it wasn’t really for me, although it does have a lot of positive press elsewhere.

New Releases

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy was announced and released this week, bringing three S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games – Shadow of Chernobyl, Clear Sky, Call of Pripyat – to PlayStation and Xbox. This will allow console players to get caught up with the series ahead of the sequel’s release later this year. Developed by Ukranian studio GSC Game World

Releasing in Early Access, Time to Morp is a game about gathering cute little creatures and building a farm around them, allowing you to survive on a mysterious planet. Think Slime Rancher with…no, actually, it’s basically just Slime Rancher. Developed by Latvia studio Team HalfBeard and published by Yogscast. Yes, the YouTube guys.

More of a toy than a full-fledged game, Summerhouse (PC) lets you build little houses in idyllic locations. It’s a small sandbox that allows you to express your creativity and make the summer houses of your dreams. Developed by German solo dev Friedemann, who previously worked on Islanders and Pizza Possum, and published by Future Friends Games (Exo One, Omno).

Chasing the Unseen (PC) is a surreal reinterpretation of the Shadow of the Colossus formula. You venture across weird landscapes and climb giant creatures on your way to uncover some secrets. This is the debut title from Canadian solo dev and former VFX artist Strange Shift Studio.

Reveil (PC, PS5, Xbox) is a psychological horror game about a man lost in his memories, mostly centred around a spooky circus. Some striking imagery in the trailers, so might be worth a look if it lives up to the promise of that. Developed by German studio Pixelsplit (Indoorlands) and published by Daedelic (Inkulinati, Unrailed, The Suicide of Rachel Foster).

Based on the board game Calico and renamed for the video game due to a different game of that name existing, Quilts and Cats of Calico (PC) is a puzzle game about assembling quilts, adding patches and attracting cats that find the quilts comfy to sleep on. Developed by Polish studio Monster Couch (Wingspan).

The Outlast Trials (PC, PlayStation, Xbox) leaves Early Access this week. This co-op horror game set in the Outlast universe sees you and your friends attempt to escape a series of deadly human experiments during the Cold War. Developed by Candian studio Red Barrels (the Outlast series, unsurprisingly).

Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox) is a driving game all about taking tough vehicles across the wilderness, using winches to climb mountains and navigating harsh terrain. Developed by American studio Saber Interactive (Evil Dead: The Game, Mudrunner) and published by Focus Entertainment (A Plague Tale, Banishers, Aliens: Dark Descent).

Unicorn Overlord (PlayStation, Switch, Xbox) is a real-time strategy game set in a high fantasy kingdom overthrown by a merciless dictator, and you are the crown prince seeking to reclaim his throne with the help of his friends. Expect a lot of anime visuals, Shakespearian dialogue and plenty of dense strategy gameplay. Developed by famed Japanese studio Vanillaware (13 Sentinels, Dragon’s Crown, GrimGrimoire) and published by Atlus (Shin Megami Tensei/Persona, Trauma Center)

Game of the Week

Due to the absence of a roundup last week, I didn’t get to give Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5) its practically required Game of the Week nod. It released at the end of February, and continues the story of Final Fantasy VII Remake. This sets out to reimagine the middle portions of Final Fantasy VII, mostly covering the rest of the first disc after Midgar.

Already there’s a lot of positive chatter around the game and is a strong contender for Game of the Year. We’ll see if it that holds true in December, but for now, we have a massive open world RPG reworking one of the most beloved RPGs of all time, and that’s no bad thing.

Developed and published by Square Enix, as you’d expect.

This week’s Game of the Week is Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC, Switch), a cosy game set in the world of Tove Jansson’s beloved creations.

Admittedly, I know very little about the Moomins. I’m aware of them but I don’t believe I’ve ever watched or read anything in that universe. And yet, it took one quick playthrough of the demo of this game to know that I should give it Game of the Week.

You play as Snufkin, returning to Moominvalley after a long winter to find that parts of the wilderness are being unceremoniously turned into unsightly parks. The natural order of things is being disrupted so you must reclaim nature by ripping out the rules and strict order of these parks. Lots of befriending animals, musical puzzles and stealth sections focused on evading policemen make for a fun time. With music by Sigur Ros, surprisingly.

Developed by Norwegian developers Hyper Games, who previously made Morkredd, and published by Raw Fury, publishers of Cassette Beasts, Sable and Kathy Rain.