New Releases: November 22nd-28th, 2018

The period around Black Friday is a windfall for publishers, accounting for an estimated 25% of all yearly software sales. While that means a few outstanding titles might make it to market before the shopping frenzy starts, in also means there’s a lot of eleventh-hour crap. So, while there’s titles like R-Type Dimensions EX, Super Hydorah, and This War of Mine, there’s also figuratively and literally, Kuso.

Header image: Touhou Big Big Battle, PC

PlayStation 4
Darksiders III (physical and digital, $59.99)
Floor Kids (digital, $TBA)
Spintires: Mudrunner – American Wilds Edition (physical and digital, $39.99)

Switch
99Vidas Definitive Edition (digital, $7.99)
ACA Neo Geo Stakes Winner 2 (digital, $7.99)
Adventures of Bertram Fiddle – Episode 2: A Bleaker Predicklement (digital, $9.99)
Arcade Achieves Atomic Robo-Kid (digital, $7.99)
ARK: Survival Evolved
ATV Drift & Tricks (physical, $34.99)
Battery Jam (digital, $14.99)
Bibi and Tina – Adventures with Horses (digital, $29.99)
Bibi Blocksberg: Big Broom Race 3 (digital, $29.99)
Coloring Book (digital, free)
Destruction (digital, $8.99)
Gem Crash (digital, $3.99)
Horizon Chase Turbo (digital, $19.99)
Kuso (digital, $4.99)
Ms. ‘Splosion Man (digital, $14.99)
Nidhogg II (digital, $14.99)
Panda Hero (digital, $29.99)
Party Hard (digital, $13.49)
Please, Don’t Touch Anything (digital, $9.99)
R-Type Dimensions EX (digital, $11.99)
Spintires: Mudrunner – American Wilds Edition (physical and digital, $39.99)
Steamburg (digital, $4.99)
Stump (digital, $2.29)
Super Hydorah (digital, $19.99)
Swamp Defense 2 (digital, $2.99)
Teddy the Wanderer: Kayaking (digital, $8.99)
This War of Mine: Complete Edition (digital, $39.99)
Waku Waku Sweets (digital, $39.99)
Word Sudoku By POWGI (digital, $7.99)
Zeus Quest Remastered (digital, $8.99)

Wii U
Crush Insects (digital, $0.99)

Xbox One
Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics (digital, $24.99)
Darksiders III (physical and digital, $59.99)
Horizon Chase Turbo (digital, $19.99)
Spintires: Mudrunner – American Wilds Edition (physical and digital, $39.99)
World of One (digital, $2.99)

3DS
Japanese Rail Sim 3D 5 Types of Trains (digital, $19.99)

PC
BattleRush 2: Ardennes Assault ($TBA)
Battletech: Flashpoint (DLC, $TBA)
Curfew ($TBA)
Darksiders III ($59.99)
Data Mining 3 ($0.74)
Hentai Yuri Wet Adventure ($TBA)
Incredible Mandy ($TBA)
R-Type Dimensions EX ($TBA)
Ridiculous Rugby ($TBA)
Spintires: Mudrunner – American Wilds Edition ($39.99)
Touhou Big Big Battle – Character Pack 2 (DLC, $TBA)
Toy Road Constructor ($TBA)

Robert’s Pick: This week’s clear highlight would seem to be Darksiders III, a title that was developed by Gunfire Games, a studio formed by ex-Vigil Games and Crytek US staff. But more than key personnel are missing for the third iteration; Gunfire has excised many of the things that made Darksiders II so gratifying. A lot of the role-playing stuff has been confiscated, as well as the excitement of opening treasure chests and finding new weapons. Both platforming and puzzling elements have been diminished, making this a post-apocalyptic bore poised for bargain bins.

Instead, this week’s release of Super Hydorah for the Switch is the title that’s persuading my finger to hover over the purchase button. Like designer Locomalito’s Maldita Castilla and The Curse of Issyos, this is old school homage done the correct way, with Hydorah drawing inspiration from Konami’s 1985 beloved shooter, Gradius. PC owners can play the freeware version here, and if you grow fond of the power-ups, bosses, and Gryzor87’s amazing score you might want to snag the Super iteration which adds five stages, two-player cooperative, and even more synth-based sorcery. With Konami in a state of limbo, it’s great to see people like Locomalito carrying the torch.

Ryan’s Pick: Truth be told I almost went for the yuri vixens jumping from iceberg to iceberg this week based solely on the premise (and Steam description) but for the sake of replay value I’m trading in the yuri this week for a Dobkeratops instead. To a xennial like myself, nothing says R-Type like the iconic visage of an orange Dobkeratops. This being said, I’ll be thwarting the Bydo in R-Type Dimensions EX on my Switch shortly.

Complete with two full games, R-Type Dimensions EX comes packed with the nostalgia of the iconic original R-Type and R-Type II shooters, and includes some welcome new additions as well. One noteworthy feature is the ability to switch the game between 2D and 3D mode on the fly. Accompanying the ability to switch up graphics is also the option of changing between the original retro soundtrack or a new reworked version. Lastly, one of my favorite additions is the ability to both slow down and speed up gameplay. R-Type and Life Force are my two favorite shooters from my youth, so I definitely cannot wait to jump into this one and play it on the go with my Switch.

Matt’s Pick (Editor, DigitallyDownloaded): I’m going to give Darksiders 3 a chance. For me, what’s most memorable about that franchise is the way it depicts Christian mythology around the book of Revelations in the bible. As a kid, I found the notion of the four horsemen and all that stuff to be endlessly fascinating, and the first two games in the Darksiders series delivered on that side of things. I realise that Darksiders 3 has significantly reworked gameplay and mechanics, but as long as it captures the same setting and narrative context, I’m going to be very happy indeed.

If Darksiders 3 does turn out to be a disappointment, then there’s not a whole lot else to recommend this week. If for some reason you haven’t yet played This War of Mine, the brutally effective and emotive look at the impact that war has on civilians, then the Nintendo Switch version, coming out this week, is a must-play. Given the recent release of the trash military hero worship in Battlefield V, having a game that reminds us that war is actually neither fun nor heroic is important.

Zack’s Pick (Senior Editor, RPG Site): I can’t say enough good things about This War of Mine: Complete Edition for the Nintendo Switch. It’s a bone-chilling survival strategy game inspired in part by the siege of Sarajevo, Bosnia in the ’90s that examines the impact of war not on the soldiers, but on the civilians themselves. You have to decide whether you can bring in that freezing family from the cold whose young child is starving, or turn them away because even one more hand to feed will throw your entire home of refugees in absolute jeopardy and will spell the doom of you all.

There are a lot of aspects to juggle, like figuring out who is going to protect the home base while you hurry out to gather supplies from a church guarded by a gang of armed thugs. The cost of war from the viewpoint of its people isn’t something that is really explored in the industry, but This War of Mine captures it in stark detail that makes it absolutely worth experiencing for yourself. Just be prepared to make hard decisions.