New Releases: October 5th-11th, 2023

Beyond reuniting with Kirito in Sword Art Online: Last Recollection (pictured) and Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s Basim Ibn Ishaq (who played a supporting role in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla) this week bring a number of notable new releases, from Forza Motorsport to Wargroove 2. Read on for the complete list of what’s due across the next seven days.

PlayStation 4
Assassin’s Creed Mirage (physical & digital, $59.99)
Bang-On Balls: Chronicles (digital, $24.99)
Builder Simulator (digital, $24.99)
Lil Gator Game (digital, $19.99)
Lord Winklebottom Investigates (physical $34.99, digital, $18.99)
NHL 24 (physical & digital, $59.99)
Sunshine Manor (digital, $7.99)
Sword Art Online: Last Recollection (physical & digital, $59.99)
The Sisters 2 – Road to Fame (digital, $29.99)
Wild Card Football (digital, $39.99)

PlayStation 5
Assassin’s Creed Mirage (physical & digital, $59.99)
Horizon Forbidden West: Complete Edition (physical & digital, $59.99)
NHL 24 (physical & digital, $69.99)
Sword Art Online: Last Recollection (physical & digital, $59.99)

Switch 
Airship Defender (digital, $2.49)
Aquarium Land (digital, $4.99)
Asterix & Obelix: Heroes (digital, $29.99)
Bang-On Balls: Chronicles (digital, $24.99)
Black Witchcraft (digital, $9.99)
Block Buster Billy (digital, $9.99)
Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition (digital, $59.99)
Cafe Master Story (digital, $10.80)
Detective Pikachu Returns (digital, $49.99)
Fabled Lands (digital, $22.99)
Freaky Trip (digital, $16.99)
Front Mission 2: Remake (digital, $31.49)
Hyper Gym Life 3D – Tough Guys (digital, $7.99)
Knight vs Giant: The Broken Excalibur (digital, $19.99)
Lost Dream: Overgrown (digital, $4.99)
Long Gone Days (digital, $19.99)
Merge Master (digital, $4.99)
My Little Universe (digital, $13.49)
Park Racer (digital, $4.99)
Pirates on Target (digital, $4.99)
Project Blue (digital, $9.99)
RedRaptor (digital, $4.99)
Schleich Puzzles FARM WORLD (digital, $24.99)
Shy Cats Hidden Orchestra
Sunshine Manor (digital, $7.99)
Supreme Car Parking Simulator 2024 (digital, $4.99)
Terra Alia: The Language Discovery RPG (digital, $14.99)
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope (digital, $19.99)
The Pale Beyond (digital, $13.99)
The Sisters 2 – Road to Fame (digital, $29.99)
Two Sedans Driving Simulator (digital, $7.99)
Viki Spotter: Complete Bundle (digital, $24.99)
Wargroove 2 (digital, $15.99)
Wild Card Football (digital, $39.99)

Xbox One
Assassin’s Creed Mirage (physical & digital, $59.99)
Builder Simulator (digital, $24.99)
Lil Gator Game (digital, $19.99)
NHL 24 (physical & digital, $59.99)
Project Blue (digital, $9.99)
Sunshine Manor (digital, $7.99)
Sword Art Online: Last Recollection (physical & digital, $59.99)
The Sisters 2 – Road to Fame (digital, $29.99)
Torn Away  (digital, $12.99)
Wild Card Football (digital, $39.99)

Xbox Series S/X
Assassin’s Creed Mirage (physical & digital, $59.99)
Forza Motorsport (physical $69.99, digital $69.99-$99.99)
NHL 24 (physical & digital, $69.99)
Sword Art Online: Last Recollection (physical & digital, $59.99)

PC
Assassin’s Creed Mirage ($59.99)
Forza Motorsport ($69.99-$99.99)
Harvest Island ($TBA)
Heads Will Roll: Reforged ($12.74)
Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic ($11.69)
Kingdom Shell ($14.39)
Midnight Girl ($TBA)
My Little Universe ($13.49)
Ooblets ($17.99)
River City: Rival Showdown ($24.99)
Stop Dead ($10.49)
Sword Art Online: Last Recollection ($59.99)
Tagline ($17.99)
The Bloodline ($13.39)
The Fabulous Fear Machine ($15.29)
The Front ($TBA)
Thief Simulator 2 ($17.99)
Total War: Pharoah ($59.99)
Wargroove 2 ($19.99)
Wild Card Football ($39.99)

Rob’s pick: A few years ago, I was blissfully obliviousto countryballs, where memes depicted nations as colorful little spheres. But that all changed when a code for Bang-On Balls: Chronicles ended up in my inbox. Within minutes, I was entranced by one of the best open-world experiences of the past few years. Once again, a diminutive Polish indie developer was outshining the industry’s biggest studios.

If you enjoy the feeling of exploration, Chronicles shouldn’t be missed – provided you have some solid hardware (I played the game on Steam Deck and the fluidity was missing; I’d expect Switch to perform similarly). But pick this up on PlayStation 5 and prepare for a dopamine drip as you scour immense stages, bursting with cool like recesses like gladiatorial arenas, hideouts, and throne rooms – all while the game’s draw distance allows for panoramic views. There’s complete freedom, so you can chase quests or just screw around, picking fights with your fellow countryballs. And while that kind of autonomy can feel tedious, Bang-On Balls’ stage design is delightfully dense, pulling you toward some intriguing environmental element.

I’m also looking forward to Wargroove 2, since I can’t seem to snub any Advance Wars clones. And given my fond memories of NFL Blitz, I’m sure I’ll give Wild Card Football a try. I miss the whole comically violent sports game genre.

Matt S’ pick (editor, DigitallyDownloaded): I can’t help myself: I’m looking forward to digging into Assassin’s Creed: Mirage. As much as Ubisoft’s open world excesses and content-driven approach to game development annoy the ever-living bejeebus out of me, I’m such a nerd for historical fiction, and Assassin’s Creed is, at least, that. As far as AAA goes, that’s my indulgence, and I am looking forward to heading back to the roots of the series and the word assassin.

I’m also fully expecting that Detective Pikachu is a hoot. I loved the last one on the 3DS, and I loved the nonsense film. It’s not the first approach to a Pokémon spin-off that you might think of, but whatever mad genius came up with it absolutely nailed a quality of Pokémon that makes Detective Pikachu work.

Finally, Asterix & Obelix: Heroes. A deck building card game from my favouite comic as a kid? Yes please. As long as this game is competent, I’m going to have a good laugh with it. It doesn’t need to be spectacular. Just a by-the-book take on the genre, but with piffing Romans for funsies, thanks.

Ryan’s pick: This bancho is siding with Kunio-Kun this week, and it’s time to go back to basics with the newest addition to the Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari series. Titled River City: Rival Showdown, Kunio-Kun returns in a re-tooled version of the extremely nostalgic River City Ransom series for more delinquent brawling. Nostalgia-wise, I can absolutely remember where I was when I was playing the original on the NES in 1989, and while it was difficult, the fun-factor definitely rivaled Double Dragon. There’s a lot offered in this new version, including updated visuals, online coop, and even a 2D fighting game mode. If you like pixel art 2D beat-em-ups, then definitely put this one on your list.

It wouldn’t be a weekly pic from me without suggesting at least one FPS game, so here it is! Stop Dead really looks like it’s a blast, and I think the part about it I like the most is how fast and fluid it looks. Granted it looks like things can get a bit hectic as you will apparently die if you stop moving, but with a bunch of superhuman powers you can probably make things work out. Being able to manipulate environment objects as weapons is always fun as well, so I think that if you are ready for some chaos and serious sensory input then give this one a look on Steam this week.

Matt R’s pick (editor, Shindig): In a week with a new Assassin’s Creed and a new Forza Motorsport, the thing that jumps out to me most is Wild Card Football. The same studio behind NBA Playgrounds brings that sort of over-the-top arcade style to American football. It’s not a licensed NFL game, so don’t expect any familiar team branding, but an NFLPA agreement means a roster stacked with star players and familiar names both past and present. I’m not necessarily expecting Wild Card Football to be a great game, but it certainly looks like a fun one, and any attempt to offer something a bit different to the annual Madden repackaging is welcome.

I almost want to recommend Supreme Car Parking Simulator 2024, too. Not because it’s good—it looks terrible, really—but because there are too many drivers out there who need all the help they can get. Maybe playing this can be a new form of parking infringement penalty.