New Releases: February 10th-16th, 2022

From Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires’ revised adaptation of Three Kingdoms-era history, Breakout: Recharged’s revision of an Atari classic, and Grapple Dog’s new, yet familiar take on 2D platforming, this week brings several notable new releases.

Header: Dynasty Warriors 9, PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One

PlayStation 4
Breakout: Recharged (digital, $9.99)
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires (physical & digital, $59.99-109.99)
Edge of Eternity (physical & digital, $39.99)
Infernax (digital, $19.99)
Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD (digital, $19.99)
PowerSlave Exhumed (digital, $19.99)
Rise of the Third Power (digital, $19.99)
Skautfold: Shrouded in Sanity (digital, $9.99)

Switch
3 in 1 – Logical Bundle
About an Elf (digital, $11.99)
Blackberry Honey (digital, $12.99)
Blipz (digital, $9.99)
Breakout: Recharged (digital, $9.99)
Castle Morihisa (digital, $14.99)
Cellular Harvest (digital, $7.99)
Death Park (digital, $6.99)
Derpy Conga (digital, $16.99)
Dino Galaxy Tennis (digital, $9.99)
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires (digital, $59.99)
Egglia Rebirth (digital, $19.99
Grapple Dog (digital, $14.99)
Infernax (digital, $19.99)
Inua – A Story in Ice and Time (digital, $13.49)
Kingdom Hearts – HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX – Cloud Version (digital, $31.99)
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue Cloud Version (digital, $39.99)
Kingdom Hearts Intergrum Masterpiece for Cloud (digital, $71.99)
Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind (DLC) Cloud Version (digital, $39.99)
Kittens and Yarn (digital, $2.99)
KungFu Kickball (digital, $15.99)
Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp XXL (digital, $17.99)
Nape Retroverse Collection (digital, $6.99)
Noel the Mortal Fate (digital, $24.99)
Ocean’s Heart (digital, $14.99)
Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It’s Dark Outside (digital, $11.99)
Pajama Sam 2: Thunder and Lightning Aren’t So Frightening (digital, $11.99)
Pendula Swing – The Complete Journey (digital, $9.99)
Perpetuum Mobile (digital, $3.99)
Pinball Frenzy (digital, $3.99)
PowerSlave Exhumed (digital, $19.99)
Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo (digital, $11.99)
Retro Bowl (digital, $2.99)
Rise of the Third Power (digital, $19.99)
Skautfold: Shrouded in Sanity (digital, $9.99)
Smash Star (digital, $1.29)
Spy Fox in “Dry Cereal” (digital, $11.99)
Sword of Elpisia (digital, $13.49)
Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection (digital, $39.99)
Welcome to Elk (digital, $11.99)
Word Chef (digital, $5.99)

Xbox One
Ammo Pigs: Cocked and Loaded (digital, $4.99)
Breakout: Recharged (digital, $9.99)
Crossfire X (digital, free to play)
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires (physical & digital, $59.99-109.99)
Edge of Eternity (physical & digital, $39.99)
Infernax (digital, $19.99)
KungFu Kickball (digital, $15.99)
Nape Retroverse Collection (digital, $6.99)
Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD (digital, $19.99)
PowerSlave Exhumed (digital, $19.99)
Rise of the Third Power (digital, $19.99)
Skautfold: Shrouded in Sanity (digital, $9.99)
Spirit Roots (digital, $5.59)
Unbound: Worlds Apart (digital, $15.99)
Ziggurat 2 (digital, $24.99)

PC
Castle Morihisa ($13.49)
Die After Sunset ($TBA)
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires ($59.99-109.99)
Grapple Dog (14.99)
Infernax ($19.99)
Inua – A Story in Ice and Time ($13.49)
Kardboard Kings: Card Shop Simulator ($17.99)
Kingdom of the Dead ($TBA)
Know by Heart ($TBA)
Liberte ($TBA)
Nimbus INFINITY ($TBA)
Noah and Black Magician ($TBA)
Not Tonight 2 ($TBA)
PowerSlave Exhumed ($19.99)
Rise of the Third Power ($19.99)
Super Dungeon Maker ($TBA)

Rob’s Pick: The presence of slapdash, streaming only ports makes me nostalgic for simpler times. As such, I’ve been spending quite a bit of time with Grapple Dog. As the moniker implies, Medallion Games’ 2D platformer stars a canine with a grappling hook, tasked with traversing 33 rather spacious stages. While the visuals evoke the modesty of the Game Boy Advance era, the fluidity of play and level design are both top notches. Despite the bright colors and cartoonish protagonist, this title presents a fair amount of challenge as you swing from objects and are catapulted from objects, Donkey Kong Country style. If you enjoy old fashioned platformers that are tough but not punishing, you might want to adopt this dexterous little dog.

For those uninterested in retro titles, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires offers the sub-series’ signature blend of musou action and strategy. The former is elevated by new mechanics like trigger attacks, which let you do things like stun and air juggle opponents, adding a bit of wuxia beauty to the proceedings. And while you’re still pummeling peons, defensive tasks like scuttling catapults or thwarting the enemy from making secret plans, contribute some depth to the action. Pleasingly, Empires looks stunning, with hazy sun filtering through bamboo forests, a Great Wall that nails the scope of the massive structure, and a sense of speed that makes the action seem frenzied, just like it should.

Matt S’ pick (Editor, DigitallyDownloaded): Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires features Sun Shangxiang. Lady Sun. The waifu to end all waifu. Even Diaochan, one of the four great beauties of ancient China (no, really, it’s a thing – three of the four women brought kingdoms to their knees and I can’t emphasise enough how much I love these women for doing that) can’t hold a candle to Lady Sun. Lady Sun is feisty. I love that. It’s just a pity that she doesn’t have a swimsuit costume… or the school uniform costume like she does in Dynasty Warriors 9 proper. But there’s time yet for DLC.

Putting aside just how great the women of Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is, the game is exceptional too. I’ve always been partial to the blend of strategy and action that runs through this sub-series, and where you need to manage the resources of your empire, capture and defend territories, and focus the battlefield combat on capturing strategic positions rather than just hunting down the enemy leaders. It’s manic and dynamic, and also smart. It is, in my estimation, the most accurate adaptation of the classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel of all, because putting aside the outlandish costumes and weapons, this combination of empire-building epic and brutal battlefield heroics is exactly how that book reads.

In what is a particularly thirsty week for me, King of Fighters XV also launches this week (editor: February 17^th). On the one hand it is a continuation of one of the most celebrated hardcore fighters of all. It’s not really for the genre newbies, but the intricacies and flow of this tag-team brawler has always had a serious audience for a reason. But also, it’s got Athena, and have you seen Athena’s character model in this game?!? Dear Miku, those legs and hips.

Ryan’s Pick: I believe it was last week when I was mentioning the FPS of the 90’s (Blood) and how fun that game was, so I am happily going with KINGDOM of the DEAD on Steam this week. While visually the game is mainly in black and white, some parallels can instantly be drawn to Monolith’s 1997 FPS in terms of game art and motion. Pair this with a dark synth soundtrack and it pretty much checks all of my boxes for a retro PC shooter. If you aren’t sure about it, there is a free demo on Steam, but in my opinion, it looks like a blast.

Two other notable games that I also was considering are Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires and Nimbus INFINITY. I’m leaning a bit more towards the latter in that it reminds me of Virtual On and looks to be a pretty polished aerial mech game. Dynasty Warriors games also will definitely have a special place in my heart, however I find that I typically have to be in a special mindset and mood before I want to play them as they involve a time commitment to really get into the games.

Matt R’s pick (editor, Shindig): In a week of a few big hitters (I’ll echo the comments about Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires and KOF XV), it’ll be easy to skim past a title like Ocean’s Heart. But for anyone with a fondness for classic Zelda games, I’d urge you to stop and give it a look—in a crowded sea of indie “Zelda-likes”, this is one that hits the mark. It’s got the usual pieces of a 16-bit action-adventure game, with just the right balance between action, exploration, and puzzle-solving, but it also manages to find its own identity in an art style that emphasises comforting, naturalistic blue and green hues and a surprisingly heartfelt story about a girl’s journey to find her missing father.

And in keeping with the retro theme, Retro Bowl is probably the best $2.99 you can spend if you like American football. It’s a clear throwback to the likes of Tecmo Bowl, with the same 8-bit appeal and relative ease of just picking up and playing a quick game, but it’s also got a surprising amount of depth in its management simulation and on-field strategy. It’s not Madden, but it’s closer than you might expect, only without taking the better part of a lifetime to play through a season. It’s out just in time for Super Bowl LVI*, too.

*This represents nominative use of a trademarked term; this statement is not endorsed, nor do we have any kind of affiliation with the National Football League. Please don’t sue us.