October 23 - 29

  Felix “Darkplace” Threepaper

Welcome folks, and happy “1,598th Anniversary of Valentinian III being appointed Emperor of Rome” week!

On 24 October 425, Valentinian III was made Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. He was 6 years old. His 30-year rule was marked by the further decline of the Western Roman Empire. He was around when Attila the Hun was gathering in power, and originally paid Attila to go and harass provinces in the Eastern Roman Empire. Attila always had his eyes on the West, though. In 449, Valentinian’s sister wrote to Attila, unhappy with a marriage that Valentinian was arranging for her. She promised Attila half the Western Empire and her undying love if he would invade Rome to get her out of the marriage. That was all the excuse Attila needed and thus began a 3-year war of invasion of Italian provinces, which only ended when Attila died in 453. You may all celebrate by playing a game where your sister gets you into trouble.

Alan Wake II is going to be most folks’ Halloween game this year. It’s been over a decade and two console generations since cult classic Alan Wake came out. Since then, Remedy put out Quantum Break and Control, which only served to build hype for Alan Wake II. It looks great, and the combat has been tuned to be less monotonous. It’s still based on using light sources and your torch to weaken enemies before hitting them with a gun, but there’s more of it, including more weapons to pick up.

There’s now 2 playable characters: Alan and a woman named Saga, each with their own levels with combat, puzzles and a clue board. The Alan Wake sections really lean into him being a writer. His clue board is a plot board, where he is putting the clues together as a story, and reality can change based on how he sequences things. Also, when Alan dies and reloads, it’s framed as Alan rewriting the narrative. Add in a freaky lantern that switches reality with a button press, moody live-action sequences and super spooky lighting throughout, and you got a cerebral survival horror game.

There’s a bunch of Metal Gear Solid ports out this week. The full package is the first 5 Metal Gear games from PS1 and PS2, up to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. They are not remasters, though: the graphics have had a facelift, but the controls and gameplay are the same. Essentially, they’re ports of the HD versions that came out for PS3 in 2011. Long story short, they’re selling us the same games again but on all the systems now. I’d be more interested in remasters, as those controls sorely need updating.

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is another entry in Embracer Group’s mission to monetise The Lord of the Rings into the world’s biggest IP. It’s survival crafting with dwarves, as you dig your way through the titular mines, building out your base, managing your hunger, sleep and willpower, and mining the hell out of stuff to progress your tech and build list. There’s also orcses and plenty of other critters to fight along the way. For the loreheads out there, it’s set in the Fourth Age, which is after Frodo sails off in his boat.

The levels are procedurally-generated. The demos only show early-stage gameplay: quiet traversal through dark mines, going ever lower, sometimes building platforms or other items to help to get across gaps and such. It gets more complicated as you unlock more things to build and discover more secrets, and there’s base defence elements, but these have been kept under wraps.

Although you can play solo or in teams of up to 4 (or 8 on PC or Xbox), it definitely seems better to play in a group. One of the things you can do in a group, that you can’t do solo, is sing together to make the mining or exploring easier.

Ghostrunner 2 is a sequel to the cyberpunk first-person slasher that adds more katana moves, destructible bits of environment to use in fights, motorbike sequences and more synthwave to make the carnage feel smooth.

There’s also a bunch of other games for Halloween: spooky games like Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, horror games like Stray Souls or The Inheritance of Crimson Manor and ones that have “Halloween” in the title but are actually puzzle games, like Buddy and Friends on Halloween.

Alan Wake II looks most interesting this week. I’ve never played Alan Wake, but I like Remedy as a developer and it does mindbending stories very well. I also like that it runs with the “Writeriness” of it all. GOTW.

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

PC

• 10-24

• Al Bassel
• Aria and the Crystal Kingdom
• Buddy and Friends on Halloween
• Builderment
• Cities: Skylines II
• CRYMACHINA
• Dark Envoy
• Exquisite Fishing
• Genie Gym
• Hardhat Wombat
• Hayazaki no Black Yuri
• L-ROOM
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty HD Edition
• Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1
• Myrcella the Meandering Mage
• Nephilim
• Open Wheel Manager 2
• Palia
• Park Up - Car
• Pickleball Smash
• Pudding
• Scene Investigators
• The Guest
• The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria
• Three Kingdoms: Battle of Generals

• 10-25

• Affectionate Annie
• ALEON's Nightmare 2
• Another Bar Game
• BattleCakes
• Cold Ground
• GeneWars
• GINKA
• Haunted House Builder
• i Pick Skills
• Insanias
• Maeldor: Quest Of The Artifact
• Midnight Acres
• Midnight Heist
• Mystic Valley Battleground
• Outbreak: Devious Beginnings
• REPLAY BOYS
• Stone Guardian
• Stray Souls
• The Green Room Experiment (Episode 2)
• Vampire Slayer: New Blood
• Woman Communication

• 10-26

• Abscission
• Birch Simulator
• Costa Verde Transport Department
• FINIS
• Flight 666
• Forgotten Hill The Third Axis
• Ghostrunner 2
• Hamster on Rails
• Heroes Of Drakerealm
• HideNProp
• Intruders
• Kickback Slug: Cosmic Courier
• Lights e Shades: Safina
• MY DAUGHTER IS A CULTIST! SE
• Paradise Road
• The Rings of Powder
• The Unliving

Xbox Series X

• 10-24

• Just Dance 2024 Edition
• Metal Gear Solid
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
• Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1
• Pickleball Smash

• 10-25

• Regular Factory: Escape Room
• Stray Souls
• Swapshot
• The Inheritance of Crimson Manor

• 10-26

• Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery
• Ghostrunner 2
• Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty

• 10-27

• Alan Wake II
• Desolatium
• DreamWorks Trolls Remix Rescue
• EA SPORTS UFC 5
• Halloween Pinball
• Hero Survival
• Terminator: Resistance - Complete Edition

Xbox One

• 10-24

• Pickleball Smash

• 10-25

• Horror Tale 2: Samantha
• Regular Factory: Escape Room
• Stray Souls
• Swapshot
• The Inheritance of Crimson Manor

• 10-26

• Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery
• Mineko's Night Market
• Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty

• 10-27

• Desolatium
• Halloween Pinball
• Hero Survival

PlayStation 5

• 10-24

• Archetype Arcadia
• Cities: Skylines II
• Coffee Talk
• Coffee Talk + Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly - Double Shot Bundle
• CRYMACHINA
• Just Dance 2024 Edition
• Metal Gear Solid
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
• Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1
• Pickleball Smash
• The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria
• Vertigo 2

• 10-25

• POSTAL: Brain Damaged
• Stray Souls
• Swapshot

• 10-26

• Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery
• Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord
• Ghostrunner 2
• Journey to Foundation
• Mineko's Night Market
• Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty
• World of Horror

• 10-27

• Akka Arrh
• Alan Wake II
• Desolatium
• DreamWorks Trolls Remix Rescue
• EA SPORTS UFC 5
• Hero Survival
• Star Trek: Resurgence

PlayStation 4

• 10-24

• Archetype Arcadia
• Coffee Talk + Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly - Double Shot Bundle
• CRYMACHINA
• Metal Gear Solid
• Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1
• Pickleball Smash

• 10-25

• POSTAL: Brain Damaged
• Stray Souls
• Swapshot

• 10-26

• DINOSAURS: Mission Dino Camp
• Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery
• Mineko's Night Market
• Shiraha Kirameku Koi Shirabe
• Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty
• Sudama Relation
• World of Horror
• Yumeiro Yuram

• 10-27

• Desolatium
• DreamWorks Trolls Remix Rescue
• Hero Survival

Nintendo Switch

• 10-24

• Archetype Arcadia
• Car for Sale Simulator 2023 - Car Mechanic, Wash, Car Flipper
• Coffee Talk + Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly - Double Shot Bundle
• CRYMACHINA
• Dreams of a Geisha
• Enchanted Portals
• Golf: Hole in Two
• Just Dance 2024 Edition
• Metal Gear & Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
• Metal Gear Solid
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD Edition
• Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1
• Pickleball Smash
• Springtime Hike

• 10-25

• A Perfect Day
• Composer World
• Swapshot

• 10-26

• Akete Onegai
• Animal Kart Racer 2
• DAVE THE DIVER
• even if TEMPEST Dawning Connections
• Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery
• Get Me Out, Please
• Great Ambition of the SLIMES
• Hana Awase New Moon
• Hana Awase Tsuitachi
• Hana Awase Tsuitachi Complete Set
• Hello Kitty and Friends: Happiness Parade
• HHG Double Pack
• HHG: Megami no Shuuen
• Horror Gallery
• Horror Tale 1: Kidnapper 2
• Horror Tale 2: Samantha
• Idol Mahjong Final Romance 4 Remaster
• Paintball 3 - Candy Match Factory
• Shiraha Kirameku Koi Shirabe
• SPACE STORESHIP
• Spin Rhythm XD
• Sudama Relation
• Trip World DX
• Varenje - Don't Touch The Berries
• Wet steps
• Wetory
• Yatzi
• Yumeiro Yuram

• 10-27

• 30 Sport Games in 1
• Alive Paint
• Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures
• Desolatium
• Disney Dreamlight Valley
• DreamWorks Trolls Remix Rescue
• Grotto
• Hero Survival
• Kraken Odyssey
• Murder Is Game Over
• Save The World