May 22 - 28

Section: 

IMAGE(https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/files/pictures/pictures/picture-13445.jpg)   Felix “Rick O’Shea” Threepaper

Welcome folks, and happy “43rd Anniversary of Pac-Man” week!

Pac-Man debuted in Japanese arcades on May 22, 1980. The original name in Japan was “PuckMan”—this was changed for US release, because people with experience running arcades quickly foresaw how a cabinet with “PuckMan” painted on it could be vandalised. Pac-Man was an instant success which spawned many imitations. Namco concentrated on selling cabinets, and copyright laws were untested for software, so there was a race to release Pac-Man clones for the emerging home gaming market. The blatant idea theft and lack of scruples in making a game to resemble another game were similar to what we see in the modern App store of today. You may all celebrate by playing a game where you chew dots and avoid enemies. Y’know, classic beloved games, like Mighty Mouth, KC Munchkin! or Taxman.

It’s another week with no tentpole AAA releases, but plenty of smaller games and DLC.

The Lord of the Rings - Gollum is a 3D stealth game where you play as Gollum. Set sometime before the Fellowship of the Ring, Gollum will be sneaking, distracting and climbing his way through a series of levels. Gollum is notoriously puny and craven—any direct combat or being spotted means death. He even has limited stamina for stealth takedowns, so don’t expect to assassinate your way through a camp of nasty Orcses. There’s also some Smeagol/Gollum elements where you argue with yourself for story reasons. Usually, I’m all for stealth games like this, but who wants to play as miserable old Gollum? Press X to cough? Call me when there’s a Gandalf game.

Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust is an expansion. It’s kind of a prequel, as Frey goes back in time to a new map, to participate in the events that led to the state of the world in the main game. There’s new powers on offer, and a new companion to give you quests and fight alongside. If you stuck it out to finish the main game, this is a hefty dollop of more Forspoken.

One Piece Odyssey: Reunion of Memories is DLC for the game based on the anime. As with many licensed games, the challenge comes second to the fanservice.

Cassette Beasts is a monster-collecting-and-battling game that’s presented as a knock-off Pokemon game from the 1990s. The retro feel is reinforced by a cassette tape motif to the mechanics: your action choices are shown as buttons on a walkman. To capture a monster, you record it onto tape, and you play back the tape to use it. You make new monsters by fusing two together. It seems squarely aimed at nostalgia, rather than refining the Pokemon formula, and suffers the same pacing issues as old-school Pokegames did.

Hello Goodboy is a side-scrolling platform/adventure game about a boy and his dog who go around mending people’s problems in a wholesome and heartwarming way. It’s like if Ted Lasso made a videogame.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is Warhammer DOOM—original, 1990s DOOM. It’s a deliberately retro FPS with pixels and sprites.

Star Trek Resurgence is a narrative-driven game that will focus more on conversation and tough choices than combat and commanding the bridge. Sound like a Telltale-style game? Well, it’s made by a bunch of ex-Telltale devs. The storyline is set after TNG, with an all-new cast of characters and some cameos from legacy characters. There’s a severe lack of preview buzz on it, considering it’s a Star Trek game, which means they haven’t given out early codes or shown it off. Sometimes this means a bad game, sometimes this means a small marketing budget. The premise holds promise, but maybe wait for reviews to see how it’s executed.

Miasma Chronicles is from the devs who made Mutant Year Zero. It follows a similar template, where you explore an isometric post-apocalyptic world with periodical bouts of turn-based combat. However, the scope is bigger than in Mutant Year Zero: a deeper story, bigger maps, more complex stealth and combat. For example, the two main characters are a boy and his robot. The robot can be used as a shield during battles, but you can also ricochet bullets off the robot to get sneakier angles on enemies in cover.

TORINTO is a side-scrolling, 2D arcade shooter in a medieval setting, so you’re hurling daggers rather than firing bullets. All while dodging enemy daggers, spears, boulders, and whatnot.

Aeterna Noctis: Pits of the Damned is an expansion that’s free for owners of the main game, which is a fast-paced Castlevanioid from 2021.

My GOTW goes to Miasma Chronicles. Mutant Year Zero was a strong enough showing that I expected it would earn a sequel. But it’s been nearly 5 years since then, and I’ve forgotten most of the lore. A similar type of game in a different world is fine with me.

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

PC

  • 05-22

  • Aeterna Noctis: Pits of the Damned
  • Birds Aren't Real (JOX Studio)
  • Butterflies
  • Card RPG Orphan
  • Caveman Ransom
  • Dark Desire Mute 5
  • Dizzy Rogues
  • Enemies Defender
  • Gathering Our Childhoods
  • Glitch Busters: Stuck on You
  • Gun Knight All Day
  • Kortstrid
  • Milfvania Ep. 1
  • Nature Hunter
  • Shape Theory
  • Sinkhole
  • Star Defence
  • Trans Neuronica
  • You'll stay here forever
  • 05-23

  • 3D PUZZLE - LAST OF CITY
  • 3D PUZZLE - PORT
  • After Us
  • Annie and the AI
  • Blockade
  • Blooming Business: Casino
  • Bread & Fred
  • Cities: Skylines - Hotels & Retreats
  • CONV/RGENCE: A League of Legends Story
  • Cosmic Overdrive
  • Cubzh
  • Dream Job : Delivery Simulator
  • Dream Land
  • Edegard: Puqq
  • Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord
  • Kingmaker Academy: Warrior's Duels
  • Miasma Chronicles
  • Mr.T Survival
  • Planet of Lana
  • Star Trek Resurgence
  • The Druid
  • The Mage
  • Trials of Kokoro
  • Turbo Shell
  • Vikings Hnefatafl: Kings of the Dark Age
  • Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
  • 05-24

  • 98xx
  • Akai Ito HD Remaster
  • AngelStrike
  • Aoi Shiro HD Remaster
  • Astro Traveler
  • Big Sword Hero
  • Blue Man Adventure
  • Bounda Forever
  • Byakuya Museum
  • City of Cats
  • Cruise Ship Manager
  • Dojo Assault
  • Eclipse Survivors
  • FAKE SIGNALS
  • Five Nights at Tinky's
  • Halls of Torment
  • Hot Heat Reset
  • Metro Manager LA
  • Missing Critters
  • Oldowan
  • Only Up!
  • Pegafuerte el terrible
  • Picket Line
  • Sujeto 124: El hombre de traje
  • Sunshine Shuffle
  • Super Astrovade
  • 05-25

  • Above Snakes
  • Axe Me Down
  • Bailiff A Qi:Sick town
  • Bat Boy
  • Batsugun Saturn Tribute Boosted
  • Death From Above
  • DEMONIAC WORDS
  • Diluvian Winds
  • Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099
  • Dreamcutter
  • Dynopunk
  • Elsia War
  • Evil Wizard
  • Fifteen
  • Gaslamp Cases 5 - The dreadful City
  • GG Land
  • Hello Goodboy
  • Hello Neighbor VR: Search and Rescue
  • Idle: Multipliers
  • Iragon
  • Kizuna AI - Touch the Beat!
  • Knight Trail
  • Knightmares
  • Lan Ruoyi Tan
  • Lorena and the Land of Ruins
  • Memoryland Prelude
  • Mondrian 99
  • NejicomiSimulator Vol.5
  • Neon Fantasy: Furries
  • Nith Realms
  • Noitapeli
  • One Piece Odyssey: Reunion of Memories
  • Project Proxima
  • Project Romboid
  • Protodroid DeLTA
  • Puzzle Compound
  • Railway Empire 2
  • Rotten Apple
  • Santa's Monster Shootout
  • Starship 43 - The Last Astronaut VR
  • Summer Trip Cruise
  • Sweet Hut
  • TaskPals
  • Tennis Manager 2023
  • The Hopebringer
  • The Lord of the Rings - Gollum
  • Tower Tales
  • Tuk Tuk Race
  • Vaccine Rebirth
  • Xissai: the Snake Temple
  • 05-26

  • Abstract Driver
  • Atom grad
  • CARNAGE OFFERING TD
  • ChainSki
  • Chronicles of 2 Heroes: Amaterasu's Wrath
  • Cold Dead Hands
  • Crazy The Clown's Balloon Animal Massacre
  • Delusion (Silver Line Games)
  • Double Detective
  • Fairy Hunter
  • Familiar - Battle of the Labyrinth
  • Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust
  • Heroes of Spyria
  • Hijack Overdrive
  • How many deaths to clear?
  • International Secret Agent
  • Just Skill Shooter
  • Legendary Hoplite: Ajax's Trial
  • Need for Drifting
  • Onigo Hunter
  • Party Bots
  • Pirates Pinball
  • Projekt: Passion
  • Quick Thief
  • Rise of the Robots X
  • Shrommzzz
  • Spiral Dystopia
  • Sugar Sweet Temptation
  • Survivor's End
  • Tenders fight
  • The Baby in Yellow
  • The Ball 2
  • THE BUTTON
  • The Shape of Things
  • The Two Moons
  • Town of Salem 2
  • 05-28

  • Ballooni
  • Immersive Jurassic World Roller Coaster VR
  • Lord Of Terror
  • The Chronicles: Wasteland Assault
  • Uootoy 3671
  • Veriscape

Xbox Series X

  • 05-22

  • Aeterna Noctis: Pits of the Damned
  • Bus Simulator 21
  • 05-23

  • After Us
  • CONV/RGENCE: A League of Legends Story
  • Miasma Chronicles
  • Planet of Lana
  • Star Trek Resurgence
  • Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
  • 05-24

  • TORINTO
  • 05-25

  • Cassette Beasts
  • Evil Wizard
  • Massive Chalice
  • One Piece Odyssey: Reunion of Memories
  • Railway Empire 2
  • The Lord of the Rings - Gollum
  • 05-26

  • Chronicles of 2 Heroes: Amaterasu's Wrath
  • Home Sheep Home: Farmageddon Party Edition
  • Miracle Snack Shop
  • Onigo Hunter
  • Pirates Pinball

Xbox One

  • 05-22

  • Aeterna Noctis: Pits of the Damned
  • 05-23

  • CONV/RGENCE: A League of Legends Story
  • Planet of Lana
  • Star Trek Resurgence
  • Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
  • Wobbledogs: Console Edition
  • 05-24

  • Kingdom Rush Origins
  • TORINTO
  • 05-25

  • Bat Boy
  • Cassette Beasts
  • Evil Wizard
  • One Piece Odyssey: Reunion of Memories
  • Protodroid DeLTA
  • Railway Empire 2
  • The Lord of the Rings - Gollum
  • 05-26

  • Chronicles of 2 Heroes: Amaterasu's Wrath
  • Home Sheep Home: Farmageddon Party Edition
  • Miracle Snack Shop
  • Onigo Hunter
  • Pirates Pinball

PlayStation 5

  • 05-22

  • Aeterna Noctis: Pits of the Damned
  • Bus Simulator 21: Next Stop
  • 05-23

  • After Us
  • CONV/RGENCE: A League of Legends Story
  • Miasma Chronicles
  • Monster Menu: The Scavenger's Cookbook
  • Star Trek Resurgence
  • Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
  • 05-24

  • TORINTO
  • 05-25

  • Nock
  • One Piece Odyssey: Reunion of Memories
  • Railway Empire 2
  • The Lord of the Rings - Gollum
  • 05-26

  • Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust
  • Home Sheep Home: Farmageddon Party Edition
  • Onigo Hunter

PlayStation 4

  • 05-22

  • Aeterna Noctis: Pits of the Damned
  • 05-23

  • CONV/RGENCE: A League of Legends Story
  • Monster Menu: The Scavenger's Cookbook
  • Star Trek Resurgence
  • Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
  • Wobbledogs: Console Edition
  • 05-24

  • Fights in Tight Spaces
  • TORINTO
  • 05-25

  • Kizuna AI - Touch the Beat!
  • One Piece Odyssey: Reunion of Memories
  • Protodroid DeLTA
  • Railway Empire 2
  • The Lord of the Rings - Gollum
  • 05-26

  • Home Sheep Home: Farmageddon Party Edition
  • Onigo Hunter

Switch

  • 05-22

  • Aeterna Noctis: Pits of the Damned
  • 05-23

  • CONV/RGENCE: A League of Legends Story
  • Farming Simulator 23: Nintendo Switch Edition
  • ghostpia Season One
  • Glitch Busters: Stuck on You
  • Monster Menu: The Scavenger's Cookbook
  • Puzzle Bobble / Bust-a-Move: 16-Bit Console Version
  • Puzzle Bobble Everybubble!
  • Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
  • 05-24

  • Dark Quest 3
  • Sunshine Shuffle
  • TORINTO
  • 05-25

  • Akai Ito HD Remaster
  • Aoi Shiro HD Remaster
  • Bat Boy
  • Bee in The Valley
  • BlackSmith HIT
  • Cassette Beasts
  • Coloring Pixels: Collection 3
  • Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099
  • End of Lines
  • Fantasy Tower Defense
  • Fights in Tight Spaces
  • Finally, in Love Again
  • Fuyukara, Kururu.
  • Hello Goodboy
  • Hush Hush
  • Kizuna AI - Touch the Beat!
  • Maquette
  • Marlon's Mystery: The Darkside of Crime
  • Move The Pin: Classic Logic Puzzle
  • Onigo Hunter
  • Protodroid DeLTA
  • Pulling no Punches
  • RINA:RhythmERROR
  • Serene Hike
  • Spectrolite
  • Star Gagnant
  • Super Night Riders
  • TERRACOTTA
  • The Case of the Golden Idol
  • The Case of the Golden Idol - Golden Idol Mysteries: The Spider of Lanka
  • To The Rescue!
  • True Disc Golf
  • Vaccine Rebirth
  • Waifu Space Conquest
  • Welcome Kokuri-san
  • 05-26

  • Chronicles of 2 Heroes: Amaterasu's Wrath
  • Fitness Circuit
  • Johnny Trigger
  • Mystical Mixing
  • REPLIKATOR
  • Skye Tales
  • The Blind Prophet
  • 05-27

  • Home Sweet Home

Comments

I loved Mutant Year Zero so Miasma Chronicles will be high on my list however I am a bit trigger shy on a new game with Diablo approaching so fast....