October 11 - 17

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IMAGE(https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/files/pictures/pictures/picture-13445.jpg)   Felix “Felicity Treacle Kendall” Threepaper

Welcome folks, and happy “53rd Anniversary of the Apollo 7 mission launch” week! The Apollo program to put men on the moon got off to a rocky start when the crew of Apollo 1 was killed in a launchpad fire. Apollo 7 was the first launch since then, and the stakes were high. While in orbit, the crew developed head colds, which are extra nasty when there’s no gravity to draw the excess mucus from your head. NASA was keen to transmit images from Apollo 7 live to TV to show that the space program was back on the horse, but the sick and cranky crew were none too keen, nearly sparking the first space mutiny. The crew also got in trouble for not wearing their helmets on re-entry. You may all celebrate by playing a game that deals with the germier side of space travel.

Back 4 Blood is the blockbuster release that kicks off the week. This is a successor to the 2008 and 2009 Left 4 Dead games, which were the number 1 co-op games of their time. It’s not strictly a sequel, because the characters and zombie types are different, but it’s the same basic formula: you co-operatively kill zombies who are controlled by a complex, reactive AI that can switch things up to make the same level play out vastly differently over different runs.

Back 4 Blood offers more complex scenarios than Left 4 Dead. It also updates the formula to reflect the current gaming zeitgeist, with a deck-building component and roguelite elements. The AI will play a card at the start of a level that sets a flavour, like a bonus objective, new enemy type, or environmental effect. You can collect cards that provide more lasting benefits for your character. There’s also coins you can find to spend in-level, that you’re unable to keep between levels. There’s also a single player mode, but it looks like the stuff you collect in single player mode doesn’t transfer over to multiplayer. And there’s a PvP mode.

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles is a fighting game based on the blockbuster manga/anime series. It’s by CyberConnect2, who made the Naruto and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure games, so it’s carving out a niche for itself as anime-to-videogame adaptors.

The Good Life is the latest murder mystery game from Swery, the dev behind cult, Twin Peaks-alike, Deadly Premonition. You are a debt-ridden photographer, stuck in a quaint English village known as the “Happiest Town in the World.” But all is not as it seems. You wander around the open world, meeting the townsfolk and getting to the bottom of mysterious goings-on, all while trying to make money from your photos. At night, everyone (including you) turns into a cat or dog, which unlocks a different set of traversal and exploration mechanics, like jumping, digging, or just peeing on stuff. What else would you expect from a Swery game?

The Riftbreaker is an action-RPG mashed up with a base-building survival game. You explore an alien world in your mech suit, collecting materials and looking for a spot to plonk down your base. While you can hack’n’slash small groups of mobs with your mech suit, eventually waves and waves will appear, and they can only be dealt with by the walls and turrets that bases provide. There’s a push-me-pull-you between exploring for resources to expand your base and getting back to improve the base before the hordes come. The hordes get very big: there can be hundreds of critters on screen at one time. The visuals are very vibrant and colourful so you can see what’s going on among the mayhem. It has ray-tracing, for the machines that support it. Eventually you will be zipping between multiple bases, as numerous hordes attack at once and you decide where you are needed most.

Dungeon Encounters is a very generically-named title from Square Enix that will take you back to the days when you were mapping out dungeons on graph paper, one square at a time. It’s a tactical JRPG where the map is presented as a grid of squares, and when your party hits a square with a number on it, an event happens, be it a battle or treasure. The director of the game previously worked on Final Fantasy games, and the battle system is redolent of FF’s active battle system. This game has eschewed flashy graphics for engrossing systems and will live or die based on how engaging you find those systems across 99 floors of dungeon.

The Jackbox Party Pack 8 contains 5 party games based on popular games you know, but with a twist. There’s a Pictionary-alike that lets you do brief animations, a “guess what answer your friend gave” type game and more. Up to 10 players can join in with a phone or tablet.

Meanwhile, the Switch gets Disco Elysium: The Final Cut and Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality comes out of VR and onto 2D screens, featuring voicework by the 2 of the 13 Doctors and famous enemies from the show.

It’s another hard week to pick a GOTW: there’s plenty of quality games, just not directly in my wheelhouse. I can see them from my wheelhouse, sitting out there on the prow. Back 4 Blood looks good on paper but had a rocky early access period, plus I am a notorious multiplayer-avoider. I’m always interested when a game mashes two genres together, like The Riftbreaker has, but it looks more like a game I’d watch than play. I’ll give the GOTW to The Good Life because it’s Swery and I’m in the mood for oddity. Plus, its reference to the title of a 1970s UK TV show that was lampooned by The Young Ones is well within my frame.

Here's the list, now in release-date AND alphabetical order!

PC

  • 10-11

  • Book of Travels
  • Crazy Invader ShootEm Down
  • Eronoctosis: Put Yourself Together
  • Eternium
  • Evolution: Moon Warfare
  • Faylinn's Quest
  • Forest adventure
  • Ghost Tokyo
  • Gladiator of sparta
  • Hoop the Loop
  • Killer Worm 2
  • Matching Cats
  • Mira's Workshop
  • Monkey King Simulator -- Chapter Huaguo Mountain
  • Niiikotopia: Sky Fall
  • Purify
  • REKKR: Sunken Land
  • Seditionis Crutarch Royale
  • Settlement Survival
  • Soundodger 2
  • The Ghost Cage
  • Wingsuit Dream
  • 10-12

  • Back 4 Blood
  • Back again
  • Blood Red Fists
  • Bubble POP IT ASMR
  • Changes (Et Al Games)
  • Codename: TIARAS
  • Conquest!
  • Dungeon Color
  • Edgar's Room
  • Fengshen Bang Fu Mo Third Prince
  • Grim Nights 2
  • No Tyrant
  • Not It: Spookiest Edition
  • Occult Crime Police
  • Ooze Redux
  • Raccoon Arrival
  • Starry Moon Island 2
  • tERRORbane: an INTRODUCTION, mostly
  • The Fortress of Varnolis
  • The Graffiti Creator
  • The Last One Month
  • Toolnich Village
  • Ultimate Racing 2D 2
  • Zleepy
  • 10-13

  • 25 Layers of Pain
  • Alien Dawn
  • Animals Fight
  • Can You Escape
  • Critadel
  • Dead Tunnel
  • Death in the Family
  • Draft Day Sports: Pro Football 2022
  • GB Rober
  • Gladiator Guild Manager
  • Heliopedia
  • Increlution
  • Junkyard Simulator
  • King of the Universe
  • League Of Enthusiastic Losers
  • Lumione
  • Midnight Protocol
  • Nadir
  • Old Stories: Fireheart
  • QUIZxRPG
  • Savior of Light
  • Songs of Armageddopolis
  • Starlight Alliance
  • The Northern Gate
  • thEiAoLoGy
  • UEBERNATURAL: The Video Game
  • We are Blacksmith
  • 10-14

  • A Little Golf Journey
  • Aeon Must Die!
  • Alien Accident
  • Amazing Superhero Squad
  • Assembly
  • Blade and Ham
  • Chasing Static
  • Connect the Dots (beans rolls)
  • Deep Rune
  • Despot's Game
  • Dire Vengeance
  • Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality
  • Dungeon Encounters
  • ElecHead
  • Evil Tonight
  • Eye of the Temple
  • Get Together
  • Gravity Runner
  • Growing Up
  • Henchman Story
  • If You Go Down In The Woods Today
  • Into the Loop
  • Laruaville 10 Match 3 Puzzle
  • Mon Amour
  • My Cute Succubus
  • Negative Nancy
  • Now Boarding
  • Occult
  • Ragdoll Kanojo
  • Rain Puzzle
  • Retro Three Kingdoms
  • Ruin Raiders
  • satryn deluxe
  • SAVED
  • Second to Nun
  • Shadow Killer
  • Silicon City
  • Sphere: Flying Cities
  • Spirit and Katana
  • super egg 2020
  • Tactical Combat Department
  • The Alien Cube
  • The Hidden Room
  • The Jackbox Party Pack 8
  • The Riftbreaker
  • Time's Up in Tiny Town
  • TimeLock VR 2
  • Track & Burn
  • Universe Treasure Hunter
  • 10-15

  • 100 hidden dogs
  • All To Race
  • Ark Mobius
  • Astero Inc.
  • Battle tops
  • Bear Adventures
  • Bigger Trucks
  • Blocks Must Fall!
  • Bloody Everybody
  • Bounty Below
  • Click and Slay
  • Consolation: Board Meeting - Jam Edition
  • Crazy Ludo
  • Crazy Truck
  • Crysis Remastered Trilogy
  • Cursed Dungeon
  • DARK MAGIC 2
  • Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles
  • Digital Janitors
  • Dracula Is Coming
  • Ecchi Beauties
  • Echo of Ayllu
  • Emi & The Super Boba
  • Fish and Bubbles
  • Funny Card
  • GunWorld VR
  • Haunted Shores
  • InfraSpace
  • INVERT
  • IRMAO Grande & Brasileiro 2
  • Klomanager - Hochgewurgt
  • KSTG
  • M2K
  • Mad Streets
  • N1L (No1Lives)
  • Pathological Tires
  • Pilie Pals
  • Plague Doctor- Contagion: 430 BCE-2020 AD
  • Poly Memory: Furries
  • Red Button
  • Roxy Raccoon
  • Sailwind
  • Sakura Hime
  • Sandfall
  • SOUNDXWORLD
  • SpacePOM
  • Tales of the Black Death
  • The Crow King
  • The Edge Of
  • The End of Dyeus
  • The Good Life
  • The Last Shot
  • Typomancer in the Feather's Way
  • Winter Wonderland (Adult)
  • Wreckdigger
  • 10-16

  • #tacticalunderground arcade
  • Find the heart
  • Hidden Town
  • Hidden Water
  • QontoWars
  • SEARCH ALL - ANIMALS
  • 10-17

  • Christmas Slots - Casino Game
  • Kill Spree
  • World of Motors

Xbox Series X

  • 10-12

  • Back 4 Blood
    [+]NHL 22
  • 10-13

  • Catty & Batty: The Spirit Guide
  • Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles
  • 10-14

  • The Riftbreaker

Xbox One

  • 10-12

  • Back 4 Blood
  • Monster Crown
  • NHL 22
  • 10-13

  • Catty & Batty: The Spirit Guide
  • Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles
  • 10-14

  • Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality
  • Godstrike
  • Murder House
  • Ring of Pain
  • The Jackbox Party Pack 8
  • The Riftbreaker
  • 10-15

  • Ancient Stories: Gods of Egypt
  • Crysis Remastered Trilogy
  • Gleylancer
  • The Good Life

PlayStation 5

  • 10-12

  • Back 4 Blood
  • NHL 22
  • 10-13

  • Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles
  • 10-14

  • The Riftbreaker

PlayStation 4

  • 10-12

  • Back 4 Blood
  • Monster Crown
  • 10-14

  • Arcade Archives: Rally-X
  • Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality
  • Dungeon Encounters
  • Godstrike
  • The Jackbox Party Pack 8
  • 10-15

  • Crysis Remastered Trilogy
  • Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles
  • Gleylancer
  • NHL 22
  • The Good Life

Switch

  • 10-12

  • Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
  • Gang Beasts
  • Monster Crown
  • 10-13

  • Catty & Batty: The Spirit Guide
  • Critadel
  • Immortus Temporus
  • Lumione
  • Starlight Alliance
  • 10-14

  • A Little Golf Journey
  • Aeon Must Die!
  • Aliens Drive Me Crazy
  • Arcade Archives: Rally-X
  • Bonito Days
  • Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality
  • Dungeon Encounters
  • Evil Tonight
  • Fight of Animals: Arena
  • Henchman Story
  • Hextones
  • Inspector Waffles
  • Mon Amour
  • Nira
  • Red Ronin
  • Ruin Raiders
  • Tears of Avia
  • The Jackbox Party Pack 8
  • The Sundew
  • Zumania - Magic Casual Puzzle
  • 10-15

  • Ancient Stories: Gods of Egypt
  • Crysis Remastered Trilogy
  • Gleylancer
  • Puzzle 9
  • The Good Life
  • Wild & Horror Pinball
  • 10-16

  • Extreme Race

Comments

I'm curious about The Good Life, but only after many reviews and personal reports on it.

Back 4 Blood will be installed at some point due to it being on Gamepass.

After the horrific transphobic bullsh*t in DP2, and then his petty doubling down when called out on it , Swery and his games can get in the bin , to be honest.

pyxistyx wrote:

After the horrific transphobic bullsh*t in DP2, and then his petty doubling down when called out on it , Swery and his games can get in the bin , to be honest.

I had no idea about that… I haven’t played DP. That doesn’t sound good though and would be enough to put me off.

There's a 'fruity gay, sensitive cookie baking' stereotype character in the first game who he pulls the "shock reveal that they turns out to be a transvestite and also a VILLAIN! (then is promptly murdered), which was bad enough.

But THEN, in the second game the 'campy' main villain is actually Trans and immediately after the main character does a cringe performative "Trans lives matter" speech the game then proceeds to misgender and deadname them constantly for the rest of the game. And if memory serves that's just scratching the surface.

I think if memory serves he went back and sulkily removed a single line (the worst one) from the game when he got called out of it and then had a big huff about how his artistic integrity was being cancelled/censored.

Oh also the main character occasionally makes fun of black characters in the game by speaking in a mock jamaican accent. So...there's that too.

Ewww. OK, no The Good Life for me then.

EDIT: thanks pyxistyx for providing the background, too. It highlights an issue with TWA: with such a big list of releases every week, I go wide rather than deep and can miss a lot of context or red flags -- especially because previews and other promotional stuff is usually putting a game's best foot forward rather than presenting the warts'n'all view. As such, I always appreciate a more knowledgeable GWJer commenting with more context and detail on a game or dev.