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

This week, Southern folklore, eccentric manors and sentient mascots.

Okay, last week was another quiet one so I skipped it, although I have brought two re-releases over, plus one additional game. However, this week is so packed full of excellent games that, for the first time, I have just given up and awarded two Games of the Week. Picking one over the other would be cruel and unacceptable. So here we are, breaking all the rules! No one can stop me!

Re-Releases and Ports

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox) is a remaster of the old PS1 platformer where you played a tiny crocodile going on an adventure to save his fluffball buddies, the Gobbos. It’s not one of the more essential 90s platformers, but it has some charm. The remaster has implemented some control improvements so hopefully that helps alleviate some of its flaws.

Because it’s been a few weeks since they last released it, it’s time for Sony to release The Last of Us again for two weeks in a row. I am not even kidding. The Last of Us Part II Remastered released for PC last week and this week, The Last of Us Complete released for PS5. I feel like we need to stage an intervention at this point because what are we doing here, Sony? You are aware there’s an entire catalogue of otherwise unplayable PS3 games you could be porting over, yes? But no, it’s The Last of Us. Again.

New Releases

Peppered: An Existential Platformer (PC) is a platformer about facing down a huge existential threat with the power of checkpoints and rad sliding. But be warned, every action has a consequence! This is mainly here because the game’s art director showed up in the recent Dames 4 Games Showcase in a sea of cosy farming sims and immediately went unhinged showing off the looming threats and horrors of the game (while also claiming the game was as cosy as the others). That’s how you get my attention.

Last year, Balatro was the unholy union of poker and a roguelike, but Japan took things even further by forcing poker to have a baby with Danganronpa. All in Abyss: Judge the Fake (PC, PS5, Switch) is a game about poker, where a master gambler takes on a group of powerful poker witches, all of whom have their own quirks and cheats you’ll need to overcome or risk death.

Released last week, Koira (PC, PS5) is an arty game about friendship. You play as a shadowy figure lost in the woods and accompanied by a similarly misplaced puppy. The two of you must work together to solve puzzles and avoid danger. Looks very cute.

Monaco 2 (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S) is a multiplayer stealth game about attempting heists. You and some friends must dive into procedurally generated levels must avoid being caught while making off with as much bounty as they can.

Star Overdrive (PC, Switch) is a stunning open world game built around hoverboarding. You play Bios, who is stranded on an alien world, trying to figure out the mystery behind the distress signal that led you here. Has a huge emphasis on fluid movement in a big open playground and looks incredibly stylish.

South of Midnight (PC, Xbox X/S) is a tale based on Southern US folklore. It stars Hazel, a girl who becomes a Weaver, capable of using magic to interact with the various creatures of the bayou. It’s a visually beautiful game, with its stop motion aesthetics giving it a unique look. One that’s definitely on my radar.

Games of the Week

Okay, two Games of the Week, just because it feels essential this week. There are two indie games that you absolutely need to be playing right now, and I will hear no excuses.

The first of my two Games of the Week is Blue Prince (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S), a roguelike puzzle game about house planning.

Blue Prince (the title is a pun) sees you inheriting your eccentric uncle’s manor, on the condition that you solve the building’s mysteries and reach the 46th room of his 45-room estate. This isn’t an easy task, as the manor has no consistent shape. Each day, you’ll need to navigate the estate by placing blueprints of different rooms from a random pool, manage your resources and plot your way to the antechamber that will lead you towards room 46.

I have made it clear that I adore puzzle games, especially ones with maddeningly obtuse ways of doing things. Blue Prince presents a mansion full of mysteries and a semi-random progression method. I loaded it up from PS Plus last night (it’s also on Game Pass, fyi) and ended up playing for significantly longer than I expected to. It pulls you in, and every time you unlock a new mystery it’s incredibly satisfying. The randomness can be a little frustrating, but it will get its hooks in you.

The second of my two Games of the Week is Promise Mascot Agency (PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox X/S), which sees a Yakuza side story escape containment and crossbreed with Paradise Killer.

You play as Michi, a yakuza who was part of a deal gone wrong that cost his family 12 billion yen. His punishment is to fake his death and hide in the cursed town of Kaso-Michi, where he’s put in charge of a failed agency for sentient mascots. The game sees you attempting to revitalise the business while also investing in the town to improve your business, armed only with a kei truck and the assistance of an aggressive severed finger mascot named Pinky.

Promise Mascot Agency is absurd in all the best ways. If you’ve played any of the side management games in the Yakuza series, then this is a lot like that, even down to the vocal talents of Takaya Kuroda as a yakuza seeking redemption. However, it’s so bizarre conceptually that it transcends the concept and becomes its own weird cosy life sim. You’ll spend most of your time driving around a town, meeting a bunch of oddball characters, seeing the town improve thanks to your efforts and even learn how to make your truck glide. Super chill but also super weird in the best way possible. Not really surprising, considering the developers were behind the equally bizarre and compelling Paradise Killer, but it’s brilliant.