Hello! Welcome to the latest Geeky Brummie Games Release Roundup!
This week, anime racing, time travel melodrama and huge open worlds.
I’m back after a week away, based purely on the fact that I felt like a break last week, which was a relatively quiet week where I struggled to pick a Game of the Week. In fact, I’ve only really carried one game over from last week, and that’s mostly because it’s just a big game (in many senses of the word) that I feel I can’t just skip over it. It’s even right there in the header! This week’s a bit more interesting though, thankfully. A ton of ports, some interesting indies and a major release I have some Thoughts about.
It’s a big week for Switch 2 ports this week. First up, Claymation spooky game The Midnight Walk is no longer a PS5 console exclusive (although this version obviously lacks the VR support). Another former Sony exclusive, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, is also releasing, bringing the adorable action adventure to Nintendo’s system (I highly recommend this one, if for nothing else it has some of the best animation in the business). Finally, Nintendo themselves have given us a Switch 2 version of Super Mario Bros Wonder, complete with a multiplayer-focused expansion called Meetup in Bellabel Park.
Marvel Maximum Collection (PC, PS5, Switch 1, Xbox X/S) sees Limited Run Games bring together a whole bunch of Marvel tie-in games from the late 80s/early 90s into a single collection. The highlight is Konami’s X-Men: The Arcade Game from 1992, since this has been largely unavailable since its delisting from PS3, 360 and mobile stores in 2013. But there is also Data East’s 1991 Captain America and the Avengers, with the arcade, Mega Drive and NES versions included, the SNES and Mega Drive versions of Acclaim’s Spider-Man & Venom: Maximum Carnage, its sequel, Separation Anxiety, and Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge (the latter also featuring the rare Game Boy and Game Gear versions), and finally, the 1990 Silver Surfer NES game from Software Creations, most notable for its Follin Brothers soundtrack. One for the completionists though, as several of these are not considered great.
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection (PC, PlayStation, Switch 1, Xbox) brings together the entire Mega Man Star Force series into a single collection, with three versions of the first game (Leo, Dragon, Pegasus), and two versions each of both MMSF2 (Zerker x Ninja, Zerker x Saurian) and MMSF3 (Black Ace, Red Joker). These are action RPGs with a combat system revolving around a card battle system, which all originally released for the DS.
Roombattle (PC) is a multiplayer party game about Roombas with weapons fighting each other. Imagine Robot Wars but cuter and in your living room. Developed by Dust Games.
The Wide Open Sky is Running Out of Catfish (PC) is a weird little photography game where you live on the back of a giant flying catfish that I mostly included for having the most unusual title of the week. You take pictures of the surroundings and turn clouds into fish to bring life back to the skies. Very trippy and low poly. Developed by ZIPIT! Games.
In GridBeat! (PC, Switch 1), you play as a hacker who has successfully infiltrated the systems of the world’s largest corporation. Problem is, you need to get out with your stolen data intact, and the system is now doing everything it can to stop you. Move with the beat to solve puzzle and defeat enemies. Developed by Ridiculous Games and published by Acclaim.
Project Songbird (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S) is a short horror game built as a passion project by developer Conner Rush and his team at Fyre Games. You play a musician who heads out to a secluded cabin in the woods for a quiet place to record their new album. But, surprise, there’s something in the woods and it’s not friendly.
Etrange Overlord (PC, PlayStation, Switch 1) is a tactical RPG from the creator of Disgaea that looks set to continue that game’s goofy sense of humour. You play as Etrange von Rosenburg, a noblewoman who is executed for the (false) crimes of assassinating the king. Now in the afterlife, she is determined to resume her cushy noble existence by taking the throne of Hell by force. Features musical numbers, because of course it does. Developed by SuperNiche, Broccoli and Gemdrops, and published by NIS America.
Ariana and the Elder Codex (PlayStation, Switch 1) is an anime Metroidvania set in a magical world governed by powerful books known as the Seven Hero Codices. However, these Codices have been damaged and it is up to one person, a Librarian called Ariana, to venture into the worlds of these books and repair them. Developed by Hyde, Compile Heart and Idea Factory. A PC version is coming next month.
Damon and Baby (PC, PS5, Switch 1) is an action-adventure from Arc System Works, a studio mostly known for 2D fighting games. You play as a demon who has somehow managed to get stuck with a human child he must now care for. The game sees you venturing across the world, engaging in puzzles and twin-stick shooting.
Released last week, Crimson Desert (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S) is an expansive open world game from Pearl Abyss, developers of MMO Black Desert Online. You play as a knight named Kliff who is trying to rebuild his clan and take the land back from a deadly threat. However, that may be a lengthy task as this game is the poster child for maximalist design, since you can do basically anything here except experience an interesting story.
Life is Strange: Reunion (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S) is the game I alluded to in the intro that have Thoughts about. Namely, it’s the latest game in the Life is Strange series, and a direct sequel to Double Exposure from a couple of years ago. This time, not only has Max Caulfield returned again, but so has her doomed BFF Chloe Price (no relation). Due to Max’s meddling with alternate timelines in the previous game, Chloe has become both alive and dead, making the original Life is Strange’s endings both canon, and the two must figure out how that even begins to make sense. With all the usual tough choices and melodrama the series is known for, obviously.
Or to describe what’s happening here more accurately, the Save the Bae folks complained so much about Chloe’s absence from Double Exposure that developer Deck Nine (and likely publisher Square Enix too) is desperately trying to appease them. As part of the Save the Bay group, I do not think this is a smart writing decision and I have doubts about whether this will be good. Reviews are coming late too, which doesn’t bode well. Should have kept it an anthology series, guys! Just saying!
Game of the Week is Screamer (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S), an arcade racing game with its own anime storyline.
Five teams enter a ruthless racing tournament, some for revenge, some for truth, some to maintain their power, but all of them are determined to win at any cost. Set in cityscapes inspired by 90s Tokyo, you must drift, boost and crash your way through a series of arcade-style races to reach the top. In between races, you’ll get to see the personal stories of the teams and their rivalries, all told through a bold anime art style.
It’s not often we get an honest-to-goodness classic arcade racer these days, let alone one dripping in this much style. No licensed cars, no attempts to replicate real-world handling, just a drift mechanic and high speeds and some cool ass scenery. The fact it’s all wrapped up in an overdramatic anime presentation is merely a cherry on top of an already delicious cake. Developers Milestone also have some decent experience with the genre too, as their Hot Wheels Unleashed games reviewed well.
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