Felix “Matt Daemon” Threepaper
Welcome folks, and happy “28th anniversary of the release of Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe” week! You may all celebrate by realising that just as George Lucas was heavily inspired by The Dambusters for the Death Star trench run in Star Wars, Lucasarts cut its aerial dogfighting chops on WW2 combat flight sims before putting out the X-Wing and TIE Fighter games that we know and love today.
This week’s award for “Most Incongruous Disconnect between Title and Gameplay” goes to Wetpants. It’s a VR archery game where you defend your fort from lumbering, Minecraft-lookin’ cows. I’m not sure why the devs think it’s a good idea to give their game a name that suggests you’ll pee yourself ... maybe it’s some weird psychological breakdown tactic, like they use in cults or reality TV shows. It got my attention, I guess. Pity I don’t have VR.
Oninaki is Squenix’s big title this week. It’s an action RPG: real time combat, no grids. There’s a bunch of different Daemons on your roster, and the idea is to switch between them for different enemies. It sounds functionally similar to God of War’s loadout-swapping system. Presumably there’s levelling up, loot and collectibles attached. The art style looks very Zelda, with an emo twist.
Remnant: From the Ashes is a 3rd-person survival shooter by the devs who made Darksiders 2 & 3. It’s post-apocalyptic with a big scoop of fantasy. Pick one of the 3 starting classes, then get out there and frag beasts, collect scrap and explore the 4 maps that randomly generate every time you change between them. I’ve also heard whispers that the combat can be punishing: Dark Souls and Bloodborne were brought up by comparison.
Life is Strange 2: Episode 4 is the penultimate episode for Life is Strange 2, with episode 5 due on 3 December. That means I can look forward to a Life is Strange 2 Complete Edition stuffed into my virtual Christmas stocking and find out what all the fuss was about with this game series that’s doing unique things with storytelling.
I don’t know why I keep getting surprised when arcade classics come to consoles. Part of me feels like it’s the ultimate cheat, to be able to endlessly play a game that I had previously only experienced in fits and starts relative to the bulge in my coin purse. Yes, I had a coin purse in the 80s. We all did. Anyhoo, I’m obviously not alone, and publishers know this, because there is a stampede to port all such games, trying to trigger our arcade nostalgia glands into opening our wallets. This week’s temptation is Sega Ages: Space Harrier.
Oninaki gets the GOTW. It’s the third time out for Tokyo RPG Factory (who previously did Lost Sphear and I Am Setsuna) and each game they make gets bigger in scope. The scenery looks amazing and combat sounds interesting, I just have no idea if the story is engaging or ridiculous (or both).
Here's the list, now in release-date order!
PC
-
08-19
- Rad
- Trollskog
- Incident Commander
- Use Your Brain!
- Buck Zombies
- Nigel: The Minuscule Adventure
- Strazeal
- Wandering Gem Jockeying
- Aimgod
- Block Dodge Challenge
- Sitting around the world on a hot air balloon
- Blood Magic
- The Pointless Car Chase
- Second Dimension RetroPak Vol. 1
- Bandit the game
- Remnant: From the Ashes
-
08-20
- UnderMine
- Power Brain Trainer
- Pest Control
- The Lost
- Puzzle Bear
- The Stars Between Us
- Gentleman
- Escape from Labyrinth
- Stones of Solace
- The Ai Games
- Immortal Wanna
- Dino Delivery
- Pentaball
- Power Punch II
- Gadget Twins
- SwitchBlade (1989)
- Tinhead
- Red Room
- Infinite Skyline: Superflight
- Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adventure
-
08-21
- Wellington's Victory
- Songs of Skydale
- The Misadventure Of Melon
- Time Break 2121
- Flip Polygon
- Forep Man
- Fire Pro Wrestling World - World Wonder Ring Stardom Collaboration DLC
- Achievement Simulator
- Ash Asylum
- The Tower Of TigerQiuQiu
- Perdition
- Zero Day
- Evil Robots
- XEYYEX
- Hero of Legend
-
08-22
- Life is Strange 2: Episode 4
- Afloat
- Gods of Havoc: Fall to Earth
- Bomb Bowling
- Climatic Survival: Northern Storm
- Nubla
- Super Dodgeball Beats
- Extreme Tactical Executioners
- DOWN MEANS UP
- Someone Cloned The President
- AREA 51 - DEFENCE
- Beyond
- Fowl Magic
- Merge
- Tractor Cargo Driving Simulator
-
08-23
- biorhythm
- A Summer with the Shiba Inu
- Chameleon Run: Deluxe Edition
- DarkSpace
- Light In The Dark
- Minesweep World
- Wetpants
- Forbidden Punch
- Luna Sanctus
- Building Killer
- Hypnocult
- Book Seeker
- Grid Clash VR
-
08-25
- The last of Trolls
- Zombie Golf
- Dodge Rocket
PS4
-
08-19
- Petoons Party
- Remnant: From the Ashes
-
08-20
- Rad
- Truck Racing Championship
- Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adventure
-
08-21
- Fire Pro Wrestling World - World Wonder Ring Stardom Collaboration DLC
-
08-22
- Oninaki
- Life is Strange 2: Episode 4
- Black Desert
- Doughlings: Invasion
Xbox One
-
08-20
- Remnant: From the Ashes
- Rad
-
08-21
- Smoots Summer Games
- Gift of Parthax
-
08-22
- Life is Strange 2: Episode 4
Switch
-
08-20
- Rad
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution
- Truck Racing Championship
- IN-VERT
- Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adventure
-
08-22
- Super Dodgeball Beats
- Oninaki
- Milkmaid of the Milky Way
- Sega Ages: Space Harrier
- Sega Ages: Puyo Puyo
- Everdark Tower
- Lines Infinite
- Invisigun Reloaded
- Path of Sin: Greed
-
08-23
- Snooker 19
- Gurgamoth
- Plunge
Comments
I fell for Oninaki, based on my experience with Tokyo RPG Factory's previous titles and the demo.
Now Playing: Crimson Shroud, Blood of Bahamut, SMT IV, RDR, SBCG4AP, Octopath Traveler, The Baconing, The Legend of Dragoon.
Switch Friend Code: SW-7025-5637-0902
Space Harrier was the coolest game in my local pizza+vidja establishments as a kid. I was awful at it, but I loved watching.
Words... are a big deal.
Jill Lapore wrote:Editing is one of the great inventions of civilization.
I love Space Harrier.
Did you ever play the big, sit-down version where the seat was on a pneumatic arm that moved with you. That sucker was like a camping trip for a whole family.
Jonman Wrote:
Yes, you can cancel Darksiders, but only by using your Sony Golds. Which, while pretty good, aren't a patch on Zelda.
I'm A Steam Curator!
Yup, loved that in the arcade. Would plunk many coins down. Only the 3DS version with 3D turned on came close to the same wow factor.
How did I live before digital distribution of old, cheap games?
MilkmanDanimal wrote:You did live before digital distribution of old, cheap games. Now you just play games.