March 15 - 21

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

Welcome folks, and happy Ides of March! This, of course, is the famous date on which Julius Caesar was stabby-stabbed by a cabal of Roman senators. Of the 23 stab wounds, only 2 were deemed to be fatal. Rumours that, in the following weeks, gladiators in the Colosseum adopted a new taunt—“you stab like a senator”—are unconfirmed. You may all celebrate by playing a game with bad hitboxes.

Carrier Battles WW2: Admiral of the Fleet looks like it was made on Windows 95. However, it offers a faithful rendition of naval tactics using aircraft carriers and planes. If you’re a history nerd/strategy buff who wants to get a sense of what happens when you can put planes on boats, but without satellites to make everything visible before you launch your birds, check out this RTS. It recreates scenarios from the early Pacific campaign in WW2. These were some of the largest naval battles in history, and some of them finished without the ships in either fleet actually seeing each other.

The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos is an expansion for Obsidian’s “Fallout in space” RPG. Like the previous expansion, it’s a chunky 10 or so hours’ worth of DLC. There’s a murder mystery to solve on a new planet, with the freedom to blame who you like, and even sidequests to boot. The modular, planet-by-planet structure of The Outer Worlds means that Obsidian could potentially keep adding planets with quest hubs and adventures, but sadly this is the last planned expansion.

Borderlands 3: Director's Cut is on the list but has actually been delayed to early April. Gearbox is located in Texas, and the recent cold snap and power outages did not do its production schedule any favours.

Many indie games tout a hand-drawn art style, so much so that “hand-drawn” is actually a search tag for games on Steam. But how many games boast a hand-PENCILLED art style? Mundaun looks like it was all done with a trusty 2B, with all the accompanying shades of grey. Forget ray-tracing on PS5, this has actual tracing. It’s a horror game though, which gets a big nope from scaredy ol’ me.

Marvel’s Avengers finally hits the newer consoles this week. I haven’t been tracking it since its rocky launch last year. Is it good now, like No Man’s Sky ended up? Or is it more like Anthem, on the slow, downward spiral to server shutdown? A franchise like the Avengers would be too big to fail, surely. What’s that, I should find out for myself? Hey, let’s see what’s on the Switch.

It’s another week of ports on the Switch. Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Deluxe Edition is the all-ages, third-person shooter based on the Plants v Zombies franchise. I remember when my kids were into the original Plants v Zombies games, before the Roblox juggernaut steamrolled their attention spans—it seems a lifetime ago. This is actually the third game in the series of shooters, and there’s an open world connecting all the PvE and PvP areas, which makes it more of a MMORPG. The bright, cartoony graphics make it a good fit for the Switch.

Sumatra: Fate of Yandi is an old-school, point’n’click adventure game in a realistic, modern day setting. You play a logging worker trapped in the Sumatran jungle after a landslide.

Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse is a throwback from the Xbox era. It’s a rerelease of a 2005 game made in the Halo engine. I don’t think it’s been remastered or updated. This was a comedy-action game where you play a Depression-era zombie going around eating brains in the 1950s. If you ever wanted to play a ghoul in Fallout, this could be the game for you.

It’s another week of lean pickings. I’ll give the GOTW to The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos. The Outer Worlds was the GWJ community’s #2 game of 2019. With both expansions added, you’ve got an estimated 33% of extra game, giving you a great excuse to jump back in.

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

PC

  • 03-15

  • Ballistic M.A.D.ness
  • Carrier Battles WW2: Admiral of the Fleet
  • Cartoon Magic World
  • Colorful Trip
  • Concealment
  • Destroy The Hexons - Minimalist Puzzle
  • Dichotomy (Cody Wren)
  • Dream of Hakugyokurou
  • Dungeon Delver
  • Faircroft's Antiques: The Heir of Glen Kinnoch
  • Forza Yang
  • HarmonEy
  • Hero's everyday life
  • Hunter 1
  • Legacy Bites
  • Maya Treasures
  • One Shot (Wolf of War)
  • Outcasts of Orion
  • Project Blue Book: Hidden Mysteries
  • Rangok Skies
  • Role Player: Full Immersion
  • Saiko no sutoka
  • Starvoly
  • Survival RPG Alisa x Desperate City
  • Systematic Insanity
  • The Help Desk
  • The Last Town
  • VR Prison Escape
  • 03-16

  • Burning Ball
  • Cat's Life Jigsaw Puzzles
  • Combat Cycle
  • Contrast Tunnel
  • Destroyer of Worlds
  • Disco Ball
  • Ecosystem
  • EZ2ON REBOOT : R
  • FALCO AXE
  • Gladio and Glory
  • Goddess Of War Ashley
  • Jewel Match Atlantis Solitaire 2 - Collector's Edition
  • Mundaun
  • Offroad Driving Simulator 4x4
  • ORKANA CONFLICT VR
  • Penguin Climbing
  • Ponk's Jam
  • R.B.I. Baseball 21
  • Rotate To Find The Difference
  • Seeds of Friendship
  • Star Dynasties
  • SunSenSim
  • Survive The Dark
  • The Last Act
  • The Trivial Dead
  • TOOTHY HISTORY
  • Zedfest
  • 03-17

  • Beam Car Crash Derby
  • Bibou Quest
  • BlackChain
  • Dark Confrontation
  • Droplet: States of Matter
  • Dryad
  • Hyperspace : Andy's Adventure
  • Karma - Chapter 1
  • Kulan
  • Laser Attraction
  • Let's Learn Xiangqi
  • LIRE
  • Midnight is Lost
  • Red Ronin
  • Road Flash
  • Syndication Cyberpunk
  • The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos
  • TrackDayR
  • Vaccine Hunter
  • ViruZ
  • Wisdom
  • 03-18

  • All That Remains: Part 1
  • BLIND QUEST - The Frost Demon
  • Borderlands 3: Director's Cut
  • Cartel Tycoon
  • DARK WATER
  • Derelict Void
  • Dogworld
  • Emergency Call 112 - The Fire Fighting Simulation 2
  • Gun Skaters
  • Hook Only
  • Landlord of the Woods
  • MECHA AND TANK FIGHTING
  • Meteoroids 3D
  • Mini Car Racing - Tiny Split Screen Tournament
  • Mr. Prepper
  • Neurodeck : Psychological Deckbuilder
  • Pile Up! Box by Box
  • Pirate Story
  • QV
  • Rogue State Revolution
  • Space Otter Charlie
  • The Lost Game: Royal Game Of Ur

Xbox Series X

  • 03-16

  • Monster Truck Championship
  • Mundaun
  • R.B.I. Baseball 21
  • Samurai Shodown
  • 03-17

  • Dungeon Defenders: Awakened
  • 03-18

  • Borderlands 3: Director's Cut
  • Marvel's Avengers

Xbox One

  • 03-16

  • Mundaun
  • R.B.I. Baseball 21
  • Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse
  • 03-17

  • Adios
  • Beach Buggy Racing 2: Island Adventure
  • Dungeon Defenders: Awakened
  • In Rays of the Light
  • The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos
  • 03-18

  • Borderlands 3: Director's Cut
  • Explosionade DX
  • 03-19

  • Angry Video Game Nerd I & II Deluxe
  • Can't Drive This
  • Signs of the Sojourner

PlayStation 5

  • 03-16

  • Monster Truck Championship
  • Mundaun
  • 03-17

  • In Rays of the Light
  • 03-18

  • Borderlands 3: Director's Cut
  • Marvel's Avengers
  • 03-19

  • Can't Drive This

PlayStation 4

  • 03-16

  • Mundaun
  • R.B.I. Baseball 21
  • Signs of the Sojourner
  • Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse
  • 03-17

  • In Rays of the Light
  • The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos
  • 03-18

  • Borderlands 3: Director's Cut
  • 03-19

  • Can't Drive This
  • Root Film

Switch

  • 03-16

  • Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
  • Later Alligator
  • R.B.I. Baseball 21
  • Saviors of Sapphire Wings & Stranger of Sword City Revisited
  • Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse
  • 03-17

  • Beach Buggy Racing 2: Island Adventure
  • In Rays of the Light
  • Under: Depths of Fear
  • 03-18

  • DARQ: Complete Edition
  • Explosionade DX
  • Fantasy Tavern Sextet ~ Vol. 3 Postlude Days ~
  • Gun Skaters
  • Magic Twins
  • Minute of Islands
  • Osyaberi! Puzzle Chigatan ~ Spot the Differences with Everyone ~
  • Raiders Of The Lost Island
  • Signs of the Sojourner
  • Space Otter Charlie
  • Synergia
  • Uchu Shinshuchu
  • Unblock Brick
  • 03-19

  • Can't Drive This
  • Cargo Crew Driver
  • Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville - Complete Edition
  • Root Film
  • Sumatra: Fate of Yandi
  • 03-20

  • Olympic Boxing

Comments

2021 is starting to heat up. None of these releases will majorly move the needle, seeing as they're dlc and re-releases, but I like to think the breadth on display is the industry slowly shedding the 2020 slowdown off and getting back into gear.

I still can't believe Battle for Neighborville is able to be on Switch, though it's incredibly welcome as the PvZ games are hella good.

Explosionade is goofy silly fun.