New Game Releases: April 16th-22nd, 2015

From Shovel Knight, Joe Danger and even Donkey Kong, familiar faces fill this week’s schedule of new releases. Luckily, for those yearning for novelty, there are a few titles offering freshness- whether through the two new premium games to hit the StreetPass Mii Plaza or by way of the A-Train franchise’s expedition onto 3DS screens.

Image: Sayonara Umihara Kawase+

PlayStation 3
Odddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty (PS, $19.99, 3-Way Cross-Buy)
Shovel Knight (PSN, $14.99, $13.49 PS+, Cross-buy)

PlayStation 4
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China (PS, $9.99, Free for Unity Season Pass owners)
Infinity Runner (PS, $9.99)
LA Cops (PS, 414.99)
Shovel Knight (PSN, $14.99, $13.49 PS+, Cross-buy)
Ziggurat (PS, $14.99)

Xbox One
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China (XGS, $9.99, Free for Unity Season Pass owners)
Infinity Runner (XGS, $6.99)

OUYA
Joe Danger ($TBA)

Wii U
Donkey Kong 64 (eShop, $9.99)
Tilelicious: Delicious Tiles (eShop, $5.99)

3DS
3D Fantasy Zone II W (eShop, $5.99)
A-Train 3D: City Simulator (eShop, $29.99)
Battleground Z (StreetPass Mii Plaza, $4.99)
DOOORS (eShop, $4.99)
Pazuru (eShop, $5.99)
Ultimate Angler (StreetPass Mii Plaza, $4.99)

PS Vita
Sayonara Umihara Kawase+ (PS, $19.99)
Shovel Knight (PSN, $14.99, $13.49 PS+, Cross-buy)

PC
404Sight (Steam, Free to play)
Agricultural Simulator 2012: Deluxe Edition (Steam, $TBA)
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China (Uplay, $9.99, Free for Unity Season Pass owners)
Bloodbath Kavkaz (Steam, $TBA)
Convoy (Steam, $TBA) (Steam, $TBA)
Crystal Rift (Steam, $TBA)
Fair Strike (Steam, $3.19)
Fermi’s Path (Steam, $TBA)
GameLoading: Rise of the Indies (Steam, $9.99)
Halo: Spartan Strike (Steam, $5.99)
Highlands (Steam, $TBA)
Kiai Resonance (Steam, $4.49)
Light Bound (Steam, $9.99)
ManaCollect (Steam, $TBA)
Moonchild (Steam, $TBA)
Nimble Winter (Steam, $TBA)
Ogrest (Steam, $2.99)
Slow Down, Bull (Steam, $TBA)
Telepath Tactics (Steam, $13.49)
The Charnel House Trilogy (Steam, $4.79)
The Emptiness Deluxe Edition
The Sheltered (Steam, $1.99)
Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power
Uncanny Valley (Steam, $8.99)
We are Doomed (Steam, $TBA)
Westerado: Double Barreled (Steam, $11.99)
Wild Frontera (Steam, $TBA)

Robert’s Pick: Most games are familiar with meticulously-modeled recreations of real-world movement, whether through Just Cause 2’s simulation of wanton destruction or Dead or Alive’s breast physics. But likely many might be unacquainted with the Umihara Kawase series’ exhibition of fishing line physics. Think Bionic Commando with less of an emphasis on offensive weaponry and a large dose of monofilament elasticity, and you might get a good sense of the game’s quirky mechanics. While twenty dollars might seem a bit pricey for a wildly unconventional experience, ask yourself this: when was the last time you confronted near-photorealistic fish with a set of legs?