New Releases: February 9th-15th, 2023

This week, Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society sends us dungeon-crawling, Wanted: Dead provokes swinging and shooting, while Souls of Chronos (pictured) will have us stopping time for a strategic advantage.

PlayStation 4
Go! Go! PogoGirl (digital, $4.99)
Hogwarts Legacy (physical & digital, $59.99)
Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society (physical & digital, $49.99)
Souls of Chronos (digital, $19.99)
Ten Dates (digital, $14.39)
Wanted: Dead (physical & digital, $59.99)
Witch on the Holy Night: Limited Edition (physical, $59.99)

PlayStation 5
Hogwarts Legacy (physical & digital, $69.99)
Journey to the Savage Planet: Employee of the Month Edition (digital, $29.99)
Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society (physical & digital, $49.99)
Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx (physical, $39.99)

Switch
Alice in Wonderland – A Jigsaw Puzzle Tale (digital, $4.99)
Blanc (digital, $14.99)
Bumblebee – Little Bee Adventure (digital, $9.99)
Forgotton Anne (digital, $19.99)
Go! Go! PogoGirl (digital, $4.99)
Japanese Escape Games The Light and Mirror Room (digital, $4.99)
Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society (physical & digital, $49.99)
Legion of Doom (digital, $3.99)
Let’s Play Curling!! (physical, $39.99)
Looking for Aliens (digital, $6.99)
Metroid Prime Remastered (physical & digital, $39.99)
nPaint (digital, $19.99)
Perseverance: Complete Edition (digital, $14.99)
Pocket Witch (digital, $4.99)
Putrid Shot Ultra (digital, $2.99)
Ragdoll Rage: Heroes Arena (digital, $4.24)
Rob Riches (digital, $8.99)
Shuttlecock-H (digital, $7.99)
Souls of Chronos (digital, $19.99)
Speedgunner Ultra (digital, $4.99)
Spy Bros. (digital, $7.99)
Ten Dates (digital, $14.39)
Youmandriver (digital, $11.99)

Xbox One
Bumblebee – Little Bee Adventure (digital, $9.99)
Hogwarts Legacy (physical & digital, $59.99)
Hyper Shapes (digital, $4.49)
Journey to the Savage Planet: Employee of the Month Edition (digital, $29.99)
Looking for Aliens (digital, $6.99)
Go! Go! PogoGirl (digital, $4.99)
Ten Dates (digital, $14.39)
Touchdown Pinball (digital, $2.99)
Wanted: Dead (physical & digital, $59.99)

Xbox Series S/X
Hogwarts Legacy (physical & digital, $69.99)

PC
Angel’s Gear ($TBA)
Aria: Genesis ($TBA)
Barkhan ($TBA)
Blanc ($14.99)
Bokura ($TBA)
Corpse Keeper ($TBA)
Hogwarts Legacy ($59.99)
Ikki Unite ($TBA)
Karagon ($TBA)
Noobs Want to Live ($TBA)
Operation: Harsh Doorstop ($TBA)
Perseus: Titan Slayer ($TBA)
Pharaoh: A New Era ($TBA)
Plan B: Terraform ($TBA)
Raid on Taihoku ($TBA)
Returnal ($59.99)
Rogue Shuft ($8.99)
Rune Teller ($13.99)
Ten Dates ($14.39)
Toaplan Arcade Shoot ‘Em Up Collection Vol.1 ($TBA)
Tower Escape ($TBA)
Wanted: Dead ($59.99)
Winter Survival: Prologue (Free)

Rob’s pick: When Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk launched outside of Japan in 2018, the title extended a prickly first impression. Nippon Ichi’s customary glib characters, as well as dungeon exploration and turn-based combat were mostly amiable. But the developer applied a needlessly complicated naming system, with puppets soldiers sorted in facets (classes) and placed into covens (teams). You’d often discover how some systems worked after more than twenty hours in.

Surviving Coven of Dusk puts players in a very good position to appreciate Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society. Here, the motivation for dungeon crawling is retrieving Curios d’art for the enigmatic Madame Marta. Like Labyrinth of Refrain, cautiously reconnoitering the intricate interiors is one part of the equation. The other half is vigilantly managing your party and ensuring they don’t succumb to a succession of increasingly formidable foes. If you like an experience where you’re chastised for improper preparation, Moon Society will impart its cruel lessons and the masochist in me likes that.

Toaplan Arcade Shoot ‘Em Up Collection Vol.1 might not have the unifying front-end of most classic anthologies. But it does deliver a wealth of quality-of-life features, from shaders that realistically recreate CRT play, adjustable difficulty levels, and even highlighting hit boxes adding a bit of accessibility. STG fans, you’re in for a Valentine treat.

Matt S’ pick (editor, DigitallyDownloaded): The thing that I loved most about Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk was the ability to smash through walls. When you think about the dungeon crawler genre, one of the absolute key elements is the intricate dungeon layouts. The likes of Etrian Odyssey and Wizardry rely on you piecing your way through labyrinths, one twisting turn after another, and slowly filling in a carefully-designed map. Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk takes a sledgehammer to that idea, and it was really quite clever about how it subverted the very most “sacred” feature of its genre. I am expecting that Labyrinth of Refrain will similarly subvert its genre, and I’m looking forward to seeing how that plays out.

I’m also quite keen on Spy Bros. as this is a classic arcade game that I never played, in a similar genre and by the same developer as Snow Bros., one of my favourite games of all time. I’m also fascinated by the game, given that it is meant to have adult content – nudes and the like – and yet it’s coming out on consoles. So it… won’t have that? Someone’s taken and 90’s era obscure game and remade it to be “legitimate”? Why? I must have the answer to these questions.

Matt R’s pick (editor, Shindig): The first thing that jumped out at me from the list above was actually Alice in Wonderland – A Jigsaw Puzzle Tale, of all things. I enjoy jigsaw puzzles and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is just one of my all-time favourites, so, y’know. The vast majority of digital jigsaw puzzles on Switch are terrible mobile ports, so I can only hope this one isn’t.

But among bigger names, it has to be Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society. As others have already noted, the previous game was such a clever, refreshing twist on the classic dungeon crawler, and with a particularly mesmerising riff on fairy tales to go with it. So I cast wait to see what a sequel cooks up.

Ryan’s pick: Katanas, guns, and a Donna Summer track on the PV was all I needed to make Wanted: Dead my weekly pick. There’s just a lot to like for this one, as it offers impressive graphics, fluid hack and slash mechanics, and allows you to use weave firearms in at the same time. This game is made by the same team that made Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive and the animations and character models are definitely a testament to that. It also seems like the tone and overall personality of the game reminds me a bit of Shadows of the Damned in that the mechanics appear solid, but also appears to have a fun side in that it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

I’m not going to lie, I am also interested in Ikki Unite. While the original Ikki has never been lauded as being a good game, I find it really interesting that they have decided to release another game for the series 37 years later. It certainly looks like there’s plenty of mayhem waiting with this one, with a lot happening on-screen at any given time when playing. Lastly, the roguelike game Corpse Keeper got me interested as it definitely reminds me of a game that would have been in the arcades in the mid to late 90’s near Mortal Kombat or Killer Instinct. It was surprising to me when I found out that this one wasn’t a fighter, but instead a side-scrolling roguelike. There’s just something about the graphics and aesthetic that makes me want to try this one out, so I think it could be worth a look.