New Releases: November 11th-17th, 2021

As evidenced by the re-releases of the Grand Theft Auto trilogy, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, it’s that time of year when publishers bring out their perennial properties. But if you’re not interested in replaying one of these games, new offerings like Shin Megami Tensei V to Synthetik 2 are arriving this week.

Header: Bunny e-Shop, PC

PlayStation 4
American Hero (digital, $14.99)
Epic Chef (digital, $24.99)
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition (digital, $59.99)
Grow: Song of the Evertree (digital, $24.99)
Gynoug (digital, $6.99)
Kingdom: Two Crowns – Norse Lands (DLC, $TBA)
Klang 2 (digital, $14.99)
Marsupilami: Hoobadventure (physical & digital, $29.99)
Orcs Must Die! 3 – Cold as Eyes (DLC, $TBA)
Surviving the Aftermath (physical & digital, $29.99)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition (digital $49.99, $19.99 for Special Edition owners)
The Smurfs – Mission Vileaf (digital, $39.99)
The Wild at Heart (digital, $24.99)
Treasures of the Aegean (digital, $19.99)

Switch
A Pretty Odd Bunny (digital, $4.49)
American Hero (digital, $14.99)
Beyond Blue (digital, $19.99)
Epic Chef (digital, $24.99)
FishWitch Halloween (digital, $14.99)
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition (digital, $59.99)
Gynoug (digital, $6.99)
Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story (digital, $9.99)
Hoplegs (digital, $6.29)
Instant Sports Winter Games (physical, $34.99)
Island Farmer (digital, $2.99)
Joojee’s Journey (digital, $8.99)
Klang 2 (digital, $14.99)
Mastho is Together (digital, $4.99)
Pukan, Bye-Bye! (digital, $4.99)
Panmorphia: Enchanted (digital, $3.99)
Pups & Purrs Animal Hospital (physical & digital, $39.99)
Retro Highway (digital, $5.99)
Shin Megami Tensei V (physical & digital, $59.99)
Star Wars Jedi Knight Collection (physical, $29.99)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (digital, $14.99)
The Smurfs – Mission Vileaf (physical & digital, $39.99)
The Wild at Heart (digital, $24.99)
TIMINGooo! (digital, $12.00)
Treasures of the Aegean (digital, $19.99)
Venus: Improbable Dream (digital, $9.99)
X-Force Genesis (digital, $3.50)

Xbox One
American Hero (digital, $14.99)
Battlefield 2042 (physical & digital, $59.99-$119.99)
Chef’s Tail (digital, $9.76)
Epic Chef (digital, $24.99)
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition (digital, $59.99)
Grow: Song of the Evertree (digital, $24.99)
Gynoug (digital, $6.99)
Kingdom: Two Crowns – Norse Lands (DLC, $TBA)
Klang 2 (digital, $14.99)
Marsupilami: Hoobadventure (physical & digital, $29.99)
Next Space Rebels (digital, $TBA)
Orcs Must Die! 3 – Cold as Eyes (DLC, $TBA)
Surviving the Aftermath (physical & digital, $29.99)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition (digital $49.99, $19.99 for Special Edition owners)
The Smurfs – Mission Vileaf (digital, $39.99)
Them Bombs (digital, $8.69)
Treasures of the Aegean (digital, $19.99)
Whiskey Mafia: Leo’s Family (digital, $4.99)

PC
Alchemic Cutie ($TBA)
Ancient Gods ($TBA)
Breakwaters ($TBA)
Bright Memory: Infinite ($TBA)
Bunny e-Shop ($TBA)
Epic Chef ($24.99)
Fox Girls Never Play Dirty ($TBA)
Grow: Song of the Evertree ($24.99)
Kainga: Seeds of Civilization ($15.99)
Kingdom: Two Crowns – Norse Lands (DLC, $TBA)
Last Devil ($TBA)
Marsupilami: Hoobadventure ($29.99)
Punk Wars ($17.99)
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One ($44.99)
Siege the Day ($10.39)
Synthetik 2 ($17.99)
War and Roses

Rob’s Pick: Pity, Shin Megami Tensei V. Although the title will undoubtedly sell briskly in the West, it isn’t going to be helped by many of the stateside write-ups. From crass descriptions about the setting to reductionist comparisons to Persona 5 and Pokémon, most reviewers overlooked the game’s evocative subtexts, just like they did with The Caligula Effect 2. Sure, mechanics are important. But the clinical breakdowns of combat and demon negotiation don’t do the game justice. Pro-tip for industry writers: yes, SMT V’s exposition doesn’t spell every detail out for you. Like every mildly sophisticated text, you’ll have to read into things a bit.

At the risk of scorn from at least one of my peers, I’m also looking forward to Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. I know that GTA seems to be pigeonholed as one of those mega-budget, unnecessarily violent games with little to say, but I’d argue that the games offer one of the better critiques of life in the US. From racial inequity, the fascination with firearms, to an obsession with superficiality, few developers portray America as perceptively (and as satirically) as Dan and Sam Houser. I’ve spent hours screwing around, exploring how each world works and I still don’t feel that I’ve explored it all. Let’s hope the fixed the janky missions.

And speaking of violence, Synthetik 2’s combination of taut gun play and roguelike randomness will get some play time this week, too. I loved the original and can’t wait to see what Flow Fire has been cooking up. Although I persistently enjoy the twin-stick, rogue-like subgenre, Synthetik rewarded a more methodical approach. I really enjoyed that distinction.

Ryan’s Pick: I’m going to be really honest and say that I have not been the biggest Shin Megami Tensei fan in the past, however that doesn’t mean that I’m not open to giving the latest version a try. I find the fact that Shin Megami Tensei V was created in the Unreal Engine really interesting. It seems as if this is a definite trend with Japanese developers in the past five years or so when they feel that a franchise may need a visual rebrand, but in my opinion it is a welcome change in that it visually makes the battles and character models look great. I also really am enjoying the soundtrack from what I’ve heard so far as well. Each of the Shin Megami Tensei games that I have played have had some really interesting almost industrial  progressions to epic guitar leads, so I am eagerly awaiting to hear the entire OST.

Synthetik 2 may be just the game to help bring me a bit more immediate action when I hit the inevitable turn-based wall with SMTV above. Isometric shooters are always fun and semi-stressful, but I think that is part of their allure. Any 3D game with physics also gets my interest solely because when I think of isometric physics I think of slain demons fantastically flying here and there as you destroy them in Diablo III. The roguelike factor always adds a bit more of a replayability to games in that no run through is the same, but in the same vein it puts a heavy burden on the developer to make sure that the game is not punishing up front before players can get the means to survive. Lastly, I must give a quick cordial nod to the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. I think that if you haven’t played one of the games in the trilogy, it may be worth picking it up to play, but if you finished each to 100% completion like me it may make sense to pass on it. I mainly say this specifically in regard to those remote controlled plane missions in San Andreas. I really don’t want to do those again. Although, it was really cool to unlock that harrier jet…

Matt S’ pick (Editor, DigitallyDownloaded): I was all set to talk up Shin Megami Tensei V. Especially since, as Robert noted, a bunch of people have got absolutely batpoop insane of that game, and it is one of the better examples of how totally ill-equipped this entire industry (not only the critics, but the gamers too) are at handling anything that falls outside of the boundaries of neat, convenient content product. But since everyone else has already covered that game just fine, let me talk to you a bit about Star Wars.

Once upon a time, BioWare was a good developer. It was a simpler time back then, where EA and Microsoft and Sony weren’t in the process of buying up every halfway decent developer in order to gut their creative edge and turn them into literal content factories. Back then BioWare landed the Star Wars license and, by applying Baldur’s Gate-style RPG mechanics to it, was able to make the perfect Star Wars game. There is no exaggeration in that statement: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic is the perfect game, and while EA would never touch something so non-blockbuster-looking today, other developers and publishers retain the rights to this BioWare effort, and because of that they’re dropping it on the Nintendo Switch, which is the perfect platform for it. The last time I played Old Republic was on my iPhone. I am very much looking forward to the button version of it here.

Finally, I’m rather intrigued with the game about an American hero. No, I don’t mean GTA, though while we’re on the subject, while Robert insists those games are subversive I find them to be a more of a winking, self-aware idolisation of American culture. I mean American Hero, an unreleased, 25 year-old FMV game that is meant to be this silly action-satire thing. I only discovered aesthetic stablemate, Night Trap, courtesy of the Nintendo Switch re-release, and as silly as these games are, they’re also a delight, so sign me up for some old-school VHSing.