September 2 - 8

  Felix “Haptic Bliss” Threepaper

Welcome folks, and happy “42nd Anniversary of Keith Richards’ house burning down (again)” week!

When Keith Richards’ Sussex home burned down on 2 September 1982, it was not the first time that that house had caught on fire, nor would it be the last time that one of his abodes caught on fire. Turns out, always having a lit cigarette on hand can be hazardous to more than your lungs. You may all celebrate by playing a game with realistic fire physics.

NBA 2K25 is this year’s instalment of basketball. As with many annual sports games, the new features are for PC and this-gen consoles only; the Switch and previous-gen consoles will merely get roster updates. These new features are mostly included in the free-roam City mode, which is a bunch of challenges outside the NBA season and teams, like 3v3 pickup games. Otherwise, it’s the same general package as before, where you can play as one player, a team manager, or a whole basketball team. Apart from refining the player animations and basing them more on actual footage, it’s got its first new dribble engine in 15 years and some new shot mechanics, including being able to cancel a shot.

Elon and the Divine Proof is a 3D platformer by a Brazilian developer. It’s combat-free as a young boy called Elon jumps and paraglides around an obstacle-laden island, looking for burgers. The game looks cromulent enough, but its title reminds me that Elon isn’t a very common name in English, and the developer won’t be able to promote its game on Twitter in Brazil, because the only other Elon I have heard of is a massive knob.

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is a remaster of 2 games which do not feature Phoenix Wright as a defence attorney, but instead you assume the role of prosecutor, playing as Miles Edgeworth. In a first for the series, there’s 3rd person sections where you walk around with your little avatar of Miles. Each case still begins with an investigation stage, with a lot more focus on investigating crime scenes. On top of gathering evidence and talking to people, you have to make logical deductions by connecting two clues together. Then you enter the ‘rebuttal’ stage, which is about talking to people again about what happened and presenting evidence to contradict their version of events. As with a few of these games, the rebuttal can devolve into trial and error, but if you can’t get enough of the Phoenix Wrightaverse, here’s 2 more games for you.

Age of Mythology: Retold is a remaster of a venerated RTS game from a bygone age, before StarCraft turned the RTS genre into twitch gaming. Beyond a graphical overhaul, a few other tweaks have been made to make the micromanagement less fiddly. One is the ‘attack move’ command for when you are sending units on long journeys across the map to attack a building. ‘Attack move’ tells them to engage with any enemy units they meet along the way, rather than letting them get picked off before you realise what’s happening.

Astro’s Playroom was a free game that came with the PS5, and was a surprisingly enjoyable tech demo of the functionality and features of the DualSense controller. No game has implemented the DualSense features so thoroughly and imaginatively—there was even a part where you blow on the controller.

That changes this week with the arrival of Astro Bot, a much bigger game by the same devs that will have you using your DualSense in ways you’ve never even imagined (except THAT way … you freak). Where Astro’s Playroom was a sampler, featuring 5 levels that you could finish in a few hours, Astro Bot is fully-fledged, with around 80 levels to conquer. The references to other Sony IPs will still be there, but more diluted. One of the things that surprised me about Playroom was how easy it was to play—not as in a cakewalk to complete, but as in easy to keep playing. The controls were crisp, the checkpointing was generous and the levels were bite-sized enough that you always knew what you were trying to do and wanted to keep going. Astro Bot is more of that, so sign me up. It’s the GOTW by far ... mascot platforming is back!

GWJ Word of the Week

Twitch gaming: a type of video gameplay that tests the player’s response time or reflexes. While many modern shooters, fighting games and sports games can be so described, so can Pong, one of the first video games. Even Tetris contains twitch gameplay, as the blocks speed up as you progress. As a descriptor, it is often used to contrast with turn-based gaming. It is not to be confused with Twitch, the popular platform for monetising parasocial relationships by live-streaming games.

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

PC

• 09-03

• Back to the Fooker: Zombie Fooker 2
• BAKERU
• Blockhead
• Bootes
• Elon and the Divine Proof
• Galandrix
• Gym Nights
• Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions
• PERSEPHONE
• Pneumata
• PromptCrafter
• Realm's Crossing
• Spaceman
• Spectre Divide
• Star Trucker
• STARS COMMANDER
• SUPER SHAKING GIRL!!!
• The Casting of Frank Stone
• The Hidden Art of Innkeeping
• The Moon 2044
• Tragala
• Twilight Express
• Unfinished 2

• 09-04

• AMPBOUND Soccer
• Chronicles of Ultiria
• Grand Numbers Plus
• Island Survival: Escape from Paradise
• Necroking
• Nightgate
• Overlord (Overlord)
• Puffin Planes
• Son and Bone
• Submarine Terror
• Tales of Wind
• THE KEY RIDDLE
• Ticker
• Totomi trainer
• Warship

• 09-05

• Age of Mythology: Retold
• Ale & Tale Tavern
• Almost reversi
• Astana Story ~Who Made a Dakimakura!~
• Block Master 3D Puzzle
• Bookworm
• CATO: Buttered Cat
• Chaos in the harem
• Creepy Camping
• Date A Live: Ren Dystopia
• Demon's Mirror
• Elevatrix
• Final Knight: Prologue
• Forgotten Lands: Online
• GhoulScrapers
• Gimmick! 2
• Hard Glide
• Hit of Chernobyl
• Mansion Restorator
• Radiant Victorias
• Selfloss
• Skoof Simulator
• Stay Home It Rains Outside
• Team Of Titans
• Witch 4 Hotel
• Wizard Survivors
• Yez- The Dark Amulet

• 09-06

• 8 Ball Goal
• Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
• Ascend The Well
• Cat Clash
• Chuzzo
• Dine 'n Bash
• Drizzlepath: Picturae
• Epstein 2
• Escape Gaia
• Guntris
• Labyrinth Of Shadows
• Math Seeker
• Mirage Feathers
• Monica's Newlywed Life
• NBA 2K25
• Paper Dash - Las Vegas
• Perennial Order
• Rabbit in Dungeon
• Rush Heroes
• Sandy Planet - Season 1
• Shutter Stroll
• Smells Like a Mushroom
• Stigma-ARIA
• The Cool Guys Are Level 100
• The No No Man
• Thunder Jumper
• Traffic Race 3D 2
• VR NINJA DOJO

• 09-07

• Rocket Rush
• Virtual Training Ship

• 09-08

• 3D PUZZLE - Pizza Shop 2
• Abnormal1999:The Compass and the Sand
• ENDME
• Gravity Escape
• Pollution
• Private Military Manager: Prologue
• Rampage Rowing
• Restock
• Star Conqueror
• Surreal Farm
• The Knights Order
• The Lighting Ages

Xbox Series X

• 09-03

• Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions
• Prison Architect 2
• Star Trucker
• The Casting of Frank Stone

• 09-04

• 3XTINCTION
• Billy's Game Show
• Elon and the Divine Proof

• 09-05

• Age of Mythology: Retold
• Shogun Showdown

• 09-06

• Aero The Acro-Bat 2
• NBA 2K25
• Perennial Order
• SUNSOFT is Back! Retro Game Selection

Xbox One

• 09-03

• Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions

• 09-04

• 3XTINCTION
• Billy's Game Show
• Elon and the Divine Proof

• 09-05

• Paper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open
• Shogun Showdown

• 09-06

• Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
• Aero The Acro-Bat 2
• NBA 2K25

PlayStation 5

• 09-03

• Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions
• Prison Architect 2
• The Casting of Frank Stone

• 09-05

• Girl Genius: Adventures in Castle Heterodyne
• Let's Play! Oink Games
• Paper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open
• Shogun Showdown

• 09-06

• Aero The Acro-Bat 2
• Astro Bot
• NBA 2K25
• Perennial Order
• SUNSOFT is Back! Retro Game Selection

PlayStation 4

• 09-03

• Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions
• My Time at Sandrock

• 09-05

• Flashback 2
• Girl Genius: Adventures in Castle Heterodyne
• Shogun Showdown

• 09-06

• Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
• Aero The Acro-Bat 2
• NBA 2K25

Nintendo Switch

• 09-03

• BAKERU
• HOLYHUNT
• Shashingo: Learn Japanese with Photography

• 09-04

• Billy's Game Show
• Mining Mechs
• Mining Mechs - Magnetic Mystery

• 09-05

• Animal Water Pang!
• Badminton Time
• Fitness Boxing feat. Hatsune Miku
• Flashback 2
• Flick Erasers Battle Royale
• Gimmick! 2
• Hydlide
• Kurukuru Mawasou! Houkou Maku Collection for Nintendo Switch - Kinki Nihon Tetsudou-hen part 1 Kintetsu Narasen - Tetsudou Houkou Maku Simulator -
• Paper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open
• Scotland Yard - Hunting Mister X
• Shield King
• Shogun Showdown
• SUPER SHAKING GIRL!!!
• The 257th Element
• Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost
• Ukiyoe Machigai Sagashi Fugaku Sanjuurokkei
• V-Hunter Puzzler Dx

• 09-06

• Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
• Aero The Acro-Bat 2
• Buffet Boss
• NBA 2K25
• SUNSOFT is Back! Retro Game Selection
• Ultimate Holidays
• What Happened - Through Worlds

• 09-08

• Gold Digger: The Simulator