Antichulius
Welcome folks, and happy “2,345th anniversary of the death of Alexander III of Macedon” week! Alexander rose to power at the age of 20 after the assassination of his father, Phillip II. Within a few years, he began a continuous military campaign to expand his empire into one of the largest in history, but neither the campaign nor the empire itself survived much beyond his death at 32. He never lost a battle, earning him a moniker I’ve purposefully not used here. Given the modern world’s experience with militaristic expansionist leaders, it’s just not an adjective I care to see associated with conquerors. You can all celebrate by playing a game that heavily features blue and yellow color schemes.
On to the games.
Neverwinter: Dragonslayer is the 23rd module for the free-to-play MMO. It adds dragon hunts in the form of five color-and-element based lairs and a culminating battle with a powerful dragon. You can play through solo or with a party, but this content is aimed at seasoned players with a character at the levelcap of 20.
Downpurr is a 2D platformer-shooter that boasts features such as: cats, magic cats, mooncats, moonkitties, boss cats, a fox, and “meow.” And there’s rain. Enough said.
Redout 2 makes the bold claim to be the fastest racing game in the universe. It appears to be just more Redout, with new maps, increased customization, and updated graphics for modern consoles. I always wanted to try the F-Zero-inspired original but never got around to it. Lacking a new-gen console or new-enough PC, I’ll be waiting for reviews on the Switch performance before I even consider this sequel.
After featuring in the Wholesome Games Direct last week, LumbearJack stealth-dropped already on Switch and Steam, and officially releases on Xbox this week. You play as an axe-wielding bear with the goal to reclaim nature from pesky, encroaching, wasteful humans. With cosmetics to wear and some light tool upgrading, you smash your way through construction sites, power plants, and even a minigolf course to restore fields, forests, and lakes to their natural state. The art style reminds me of Donut County, which is a clear point in its favor.
Zorro: The Chronicles is an action game based on the 2015 animated series of the same name (who knew?). Play as a teenage Diego de la Vega or his twin sister, Ines, as they each don the infamous cape and mask.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge is a nostalgic trip back to quarter-pumping arcade days. With up-to-6-player co-op multiplayer, side-scrolling beat-em-up action, and an 80s-era TMNT aesthetic (all for a mid-tier price), this could easily be the reboot fans have long waited for. The playable roster includes all 4 titular turtles, Master Splinter, and their allies April O’Neil and Casey Jones. The combat looks as challenging as ever, with an extra dose of frenetic enemies (Baxter Stockman’s Mousers, anyone?).
The Hand of Merlin is a turn-based roguelike that spent the last year in Early Access on Steam. This week, it releases basically everywhere else. You command an Arthurian-era squad through tactical battles and interactive encounters in order to collect fragments of Merlin’s soul scattered across alternate realities, each with unique characters and events. Combat appears challenging, with enemies ducking behind cover and coordinating their attacks, and it reminds me of Divinity: Original Sin. But are the synergies between abilities and characters as robust?
The look and feel of LumbearJack fits almost perfectly into the kind of gaming I’m able to do right now, and the theme is quite welcome, but TMNT: Shredder's Revenge gets my GOTW. As a kid, I was never able to spend as much time at the arcade as I wanted, and every preview I’ve seen hits on all that childhood longing, and not just for the TMNT arcade games. I mean, I still wish my parents would have taken me to the Coming out of their Shells stage tour. So, maybe it’s my pre-teen self as much as my adult self that’s hovering over the pre-order button and eagerly awaiting release. GOTW.
Here's the list, now in release-date AND alphabetical order!
PC
-
06-13
- Downpurr
- Equinox
- Pocket Academy
- Project Wunderwaffe
- PVNP
- Video Game Tutorial
-
06-14
- Ace Breakout
- Conditus
- Groove Fit Island!!
- Merry Domination
- Neodori Forever
- Neverwinter: Dragonslayer
- Othello: Daynight Time Clash
- Overlord: Escape from Nazarick
- Silverwing
- Spellslinger VR
- The First Odyssey
- Vector Elite
- West Hunt
- YinYuan
-
06-15
- American Theft 80s
- Batho[tel]
- Camp Palut
- Command Line Mazer
- Craterbound
- Dadish 3
- Dice Tribes: Ambitions
- Dnd Adventure: The Wizard's Choice
- Extraneum
- Fruit farmer
- It's Time
- Knightlife
- Nemesis: Distress
- Neura Mechanicus
- Penitence
- Rue la resistance
- Super Ember Kaboom
- Temporal Sprint
- The Valley
-
06-16
- Bounty
- Code 3: Police Response
- Contrast
- DEADCRAFT: It Came From the Junkyard
- Escape Memoirs: Mansion Heist
- Fruit Basket TV
- Karambola
- Mowing Heroes
- Neon White
- Nightmare Frames
- OmegaBot
- One Piece Arcade Idle
- Redout 2
- SDC2X
- Skeleton Crew
- Space Maxwell: Arcade
- Starship Troopers - Terran Command
- Surviving the Aftermath: New Alliances
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
- The Butcher
- Zorro: The Chronicles
-
06-17
- Animal Sanctuary
- Bargue
- Blitz in the Paper Kingdom
- Bocce Time! VR
- Born Punk
- Brave Builder Construct A Climb
- Byte The Bullet
- Charmareians
- DEEP 8
- Demon Sword: Incubus
- Dogs Cyberpuzzle
- Farmland Realm
- I Am 1
- Life on the Edge
- Lost Alone Ep.3 - Nonnina
- Masks Of Deception
- Moon Runner
- New Legend of the Condor Heroes
- Oxide Room 104
- PAIN
- PearPhone.io
- Plunder Dungeons
- Sirenhead: Southpoint
- Smithworks
- Story.
- StudioS Fighters: Climax Champions
- Super Stupid Game
- The Looker
- Tsuki ni Yorisou Otome no Sahou
- Walk to the Woods
- Welcome to Albion!
- Your Computer Might Be At Risk
-
06-18
- Flowers: Le volume sur hiver
- Fly By Knight
- Green Diver (Dnovel)
- HEN, CHICKS AND CATS
Xbox Series X
-
06-14
- LumbearJack
- The Hand of Merlin
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong
- Zorro: The Chronicles
-
06-16
- DEADCRAFT: It Came From the Junkyard
- Redout 2
-
06-17
- Oxide Room 104
PlayStation 5
-
06-14
- Crazy Chicken Xtreme
- The Hand of Merlin
- Zorro: The Chronicles
-
06-16
- DEADCRAFT: It Came From the Junkyard
- Redout 2
- The Gardens Between
PlayStation 4
-
06-14
- Crazy Chicken Xtreme
- Neverwinter: Dragonslayer
- The Hand of Merlin
- Zorro: The Chronicles
-
06-16
- Arcade Archives: Space Seeker
- DEADCRAFT: It Came From the Junkyard
- Redout 2
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
-
06-17
- Omori
- Zengeon
Xbox One
-
06-14
- LumbearJack
- Neverwinter: Dragonslayer
- The Hand of Merlin
-
06-16
- DEADCRAFT: It Came From the Junkyard
- Redout 2
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
-
06-17
- Deep Diving Adventures
- Final Vendetta
- Oxide Room 104
Switch
-
06-13
- Jumanji: The Curse Returns
-
06-14
- Crazy Chicken Xtreme
- The Hand of Merlin
- Zorro: The Chronicles
-
06-15
- Dadish 3
- OlliOlli World: VOID Riders
- Thunder Kid II: Null Mission
- Ye OLDE Cribbage Club: A Later Daters Game
-
06-16
- Arcade Archives: Space Seeker
- Autonauts
- Cloud Gardens
- DEADCRAFT: It Came From the Junkyard
- Horgihugh and Friends
- Neon White
- Overlord: Escape from Nazarick
- Redout 2
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
-
06-17
- Omori
- Oxide Room 104
- Plunder Dungeons
Comments
I'm very curious about Neon White, published by Annapurna. One of the weirdest genre mashups I can remember. It's supposed to combine deckbuilder roguelites with FPS speedrunning.
Madre de Dios! Es el pollo diablo!
Thanks for filling in again! Always happy to see an ancient history reference in the intro!
The TMNT game took me right back to arcade times and yes, never feeling I had enough coins to play. I often wonder how much of my later game-hoarding instincts are a subconscious reaction to that feeling of scarcity.
Defunk'd Bloggue
Bluesky: @lancecalhoon.bsky.social
Need to check reviews on TMNT but it looked promising
What Stele said ^ -mortalgroove
Switch: 6273-9936-5107
I hope you're extremely proud of "titular turtles."
Though it was the subtle pun for Zorro that I was most proud of.
Steam
GWJ Boss Key Master List
Blizzard: Antichulius#1897
Switch: 1632-3232-2634
Well ...
Digital Trends- 10/10
HardcoreGamer- 9/10
NWR- 9/10
Noisy Pixel- 9/10
ShackNews- 9/10
Nintendo Life- 9/10
GAMINGbible- 9/10
Comicbook- 9/10
Game Informer- 8.75/10
IGN- 8/10
Screen Rant- 8/10
GameSpot- 8/10
GamingTrend- 7/10
GameGrin- 9.5/10
PlayStation Lifestyle- 9.5/10
ZTGD- 9.5/10
Xbox Achievements- 9/10
PureXbox- 9/10
God is a Geek- 9/10
GameSkinny- 9/10
PlayStationUniverse- 9/10
Windows Central- 8/10
Siliconera- 8/10
Destructoid- 7.5/10
Metro GameCentral- 7/10
That's... pretty good.
What Stele said ^ -mortalgroove
Switch: 6273-9936-5107
Those are some good lookin scores. NintendoLife said there are some bugs in the prerelease version and an incoming day 1 patch, but still gave it a 9. That’s very promising.
Steam
GWJ Boss Key Master List
Blizzard: Antichulius#1897
Switch: 1632-3232-2634
Just got it and played the first 3 stages in arcade mode so far.
I've been smiling.
A lot!
Steam | Backloggery
Welp, I’m told TMNT is going to be my Father’s Day gift, so I’ve got a couple days yet—but I can’t wait.
Steam
GWJ Boss Key Master List
Blizzard: Antichulius#1897
Switch: 1632-3232-2634
Picked it up on Switch. Cowabunga!
What Stele said ^ -mortalgroove
Switch: 6273-9936-5107
TMNT is on GamePass for free; I downloaded it, and a friend of mine and I played it in couch coop mode. Finished it in a single play session. It was good fun, but free is the right price for the amount of content here; it played the nostalgic notes well.