New Releases: Oct. 31st-Nov. 6th, 2024

With entries in the Metal Slug (pictured), Raiden, and Dragon Age franchises, there are plenty of notable new titles arriving this week. Elsewhere, Death Note has been turned into a social deduction title while S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Shadows of the Damned get new ports. Here’s the full list of what’s arriving:

PlayStation 4

Aero The Acro-Bat: Rascal Rival Revenge (digital, $5.99)
Albatroz (digital, $39.99)
Death Note: Killer Within (digital, $TBA)
Let’s Sing 2025 (physical $59.99, digital, $TBA)
Metal Slug Tactics (digital, $24.99)
Raiden Nova (digital, $26.99)
Redacted (digital, $24.99)
Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered (digital, $24.99)
SlavicPunk: Oldtimer (digital, $24.99)
Slime 3K: Rise Against Despot (digital, $4.99)
Totally Spies! – Cyber Mission (digital, $39.99)
Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade (digital, $TBA)
Wolf Fang / Skull Fang Saturn Tribute Boosted (digital, $29.99)

PlayStation 5

Amerzone – The Explorer’s Legacy (physical & digital, $39.99)
CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~ REMASTERED (digital, $15.99)
Dragon Age: The Veilguard (physical & digital, $69.99)
Empire of the Ants (physical & digital, $49.99)
Farmagia (physical & digital, $59.99)
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered (digital, $49.99, $9.99 upgrade)
Monospaced Lovers (digital, $19.99)
Pixelshire (physical & digital, $29.99)
Poppy Playtime Triple Pack (physical & digital, $29.99)
Starship Troopers: Continuum (digital, $19.99, $17.99 PS+, PS VR2)
The Heirloom (digital, $TBA)
Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate (digital, $TBA)

Switch

A Walk with Yiayia (digital, $7.99)
Aero The Acro-Bat: Rascal Rival Revenge (digital, $5.99)
Astral Flux (digital, $14.99)
BODYCAM Shooter (digital, $9.99)
CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~ REMASTERED (digital, $15.99)
Coffee Pack (digital, $4.99)
Coloring Pixels: Collection 5 (digital, $7.59)
Ecchi Oppai (digital, $4.69)
Farmagia (digital, $49.99)
Giant Rush (digital, $4.99)
Ghost Assassin – Stealth Strike (digital, $8.99)
Legends of Heropolis DX (digital, $10.80)
Let’s Sing 2025 (physical $59.99, digital, $TBA)
Magic Cats Pots (digital, $9.99)
Mars Survivor (digital, $2.99)
Metal Slug Tactics (digital, $24.99)
Monarchy (digital, $14.99)
Monospaced Lovers (digital, $19.99)
O.W.L Projekt (digital, $4.99)
Poppy Playtime: Chapter 2 (digital, $9.99)
Poppy Playtime: Chapter 3 (digital, $14.99)
Raiden Nova (digital, $26.99)
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next (digital, $29.99)
SankakkuDoku (digital, $1.99)
Santa’s Spot It (digital, $5.29)
Self-Delusion (digital, $14.99)
Shadow Corridor 2 (digital, $13.42)
Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered (digital, $24.99)
Shanghai Mahjong Solitaire Deluxe (digital, $5.99)
Skater Bunny Simulator (digital, $7.99)
Space Planet Invader – Cosmic Power (digital, $7.99)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Prypiat (digital, $19.99)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky (digital, $19.99)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl (digital, $19.99)
Street Survival: Homeless Simulator (digital, $9.99)
Synaxarion Christian Stories: Great Martyr Christina of Tyre (digital, $0.99)
The Beast Inside (digital, $24.99)
The Bunny Graveyard (digital, $9.99)
Tinkertown (digital, $19.99)
Tobla – Divine Path (digital, $7.99)
Totally Spies! – Cyber Mission (digital, $39.99)
Wings of Njord (digital, $5.29)
Wormhole (digital, $8.99)
Zombies Crusher (digital, $5.99)

Xbox One

Aero The Acro-Bat: Rascal Rival Revenge (digital, $5.99)
CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~ REMASTERED (digital, $15.99)
Let’s Sing 2025 (physical $59.99, digital, $TBA)
Metal Slug Tactics (digital, $24.99)
Pancho’s Mission (digital, $4.99)
Self-Delusion (digital, $14.99)
Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered (digital, $24.99)
SlavicPunk: Oldtimer (digital, $24.99)
Slime 3K: Rise Against Despot (digital, $4.99)
Totally Spies! – Cyber Mission (digital, $39.99)
Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade (digital, $TBA)
Wolf Fang / Skull Fang Saturn Tribute Boosted (digital, $29.99)

Xbox Series S/X

Dragon Age: The Veilguard (physical & digital, $69.99)

PC

Albatroz ($TBA)
Behemoth ($3.59)
Boss Breaker ($8.49)
Dragon Age: The Veilguard ($59.99)
Elin ($TBA)
Double Barrel Desperado ($4.99)
Farmagia ($TBA)
Hell Survivors ($TBA)
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered ($49.99, $9.99 upgrade)
Metal Geat Tactics ($24.99)
Land of Mushrooms ($1.79)
Monospaced Lovers ($19.99)
Munch ($TBA)
Raiden Nova ($26.99)
Ritual Night ($TBA)
Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered ($24.99)
Slime 3K: Rise Against Despot ($4.99)
Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival ($49.99)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate ($24.99)
Tlatoani: Aztec Cities ($15.99)
Totally Spies! – Cyber Mission ($39.99)
Underworld Overseer ($16.99)
Widget Inc. ($4.49)
Zero Orders Tactics ($TBA)

Rob’s pick: While I have an aversion to in-game subscriptions, Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival’s music pass can be circumvented. The base game comes with 76 tunes, with notable anthems like “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” and Yoasobi’s, “Into the Night”. Of course, you can avoid the need for a subscription. Thankfully, they haven’t jettisoned individual packs, in case Miku’s siren song proves irresistible. Hopefully, with a bit of tinkering, you can get the Switch and PlayStation 4 Hori taiko controllers to get recognized on Windows machines.

As a tireless tactics devotee, I’ll also be playing Metal Slug Tactics. From capturing the feel of rescuing, ammo-hoarding POWs to the laborious destruction of The Rebel Army’s mechanized monstrosities, there’s a lot of nuances in the Nazca property. I hope Leikir Studio can pull it off. Finally, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is Hades with the sewer squad and worth checking out.

Ryan’s pick: Hajimaruton! Taiko no Tatsujin has been around for quite some time, as I distinctly recall playing it in Japan in the early 2000’s and also on the PS2. My vote this week goes to  Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival on Steam because I’m a huge X Japan fan and think it would be awesome to jam along with Hide and Yoshiki in Kurenai on the Steam Deck. There’s definitely some additional good songs in the set list as well, including Zenzenzense by Radwimps from Your Name. I know I may not get the exact same tactile gratification using button presses compared to being able to whack a gigantic drum, but I think that it could still be a blast to play on the go while working on perfect clears.

There’s not a year that goes by where I don’t mention Garcia Hotspur in talking about video games. Shadows of the Damned lives rent-free in my brain as being a super unique and hilarious experience, so if you have never played this game, I think Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered should be a consideration. The game is the perfect mix of action, puzzle solving, and middle-schooler crass humor. I wasn’t a huge fan of some of the chase sequences, but I quickly was able to overlook it as soon as Johnson started talking again.

Matt S’ pick (editor, DigitallyDownloaded): Of all the games releasing this week, I reckon I’m looking forward to Shadow of the Damned Remaster the most. It’s been a long time since I last played it, and of course, I like the game a lot. It’s got the grindhouse aesthetic going for it in spades, and I love grindhouse. Coming off the back of the Lollipop Chainsaw RePop, it’s been a pretty darned good time for fans of Goichi Suda’s Finest Hour.

I’m also going to check out Dragon Age Veilgard. I don’t expect that I’ll love it as much as the original Dragon Age trilogy, but as a critic, I do need to see it for myself. Unfortunately the discourse around the game has been destroyed by the worst people so it’s impossible to get a gauge on what the game’s actually like, other than to roll up the sleeves and get sucked in for yourself.