New Releases: March 23-29th, 2023

This week marks the arrival of Atelier Ryza 3, MLB The Show 23, and the Resident Evil 4 remake.  Fans of visual novels might have an interest in Song of Memories (pictured), which begins as a simple romantic comedy before becoming a dark post-apocalyptic tale where combat is represented by a rhythm game.

PlayStation 4
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key (physical & digital, $59.99)
Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator (physical & digital, $39.99)
Clash: Artifact of Chaos – Zeno Edition (physical, $39.99)
Metal: Hellsinger – Dream of the Beast (DLC, $3.99)
MLB The Show 23 (physical & digital, $59.99)
Pirates Outlaws (digital, $16.99)
Resident Evil 4 (physical & digital, $59.99)
RunBean Galactic (digital, $4.99)
The Settlers: New Allies (digital, $59.99)

PlayStation 5
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key (physical & digital, $59.99)
Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator (physical & digital, $39.99)
Clash: Artifact of Chaos – Zeno Edition (physical, $39.99)
MLB The Show 23 (physical & digital, $69.99)
Omen of Sorrow (digital, $19.99)
Resident Evil 4 (physical & digital, $59.99)

Switch
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key (physical & digital, $59.99)
Birds and Blocks 2 (digital, $5.99)
Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator (physical & digital, $39.99)
Escape Room Bundle (digital, $34.99)
Fishing: North Atlantic (digital, $24.99)
Flashout 3 (digital, $17.99)
Gripper (digital, $19.99)
Gunbrick: Reloaded (physical, 34.99)
Isle of Jura Fishing Trip (digital, $13.99)
Kana Quest (digital, $14.99)
Kraino Origins (digital, $11.99)
Lila’s Tale and the Hidden Forest (digital, $4.99)
Mighty Mage (digital, $4.99)
MLB The Show 23 (physical & digital, $59.99)
Monorail Stories (digital, $14.99)
Nefasto’s Misadventure: Meeting Noeroze (digital, $14.99)
Numolition (digital, $7.99)
Omen of Sorrow (digital, $19.99)
Overloop (digital, $14.99)
Parents Vs Kids (physical, $34.99)
Pirates Outlaws (digital, $16.99)
Rakuen: Deluxe Edition (digital, $22.49)
RunBean Galactic (digital, $4.99)
Sakura Neko Calculator (digital, $4.99)
Scramballed! (digital, $7.99)
Song of Memories (digital, $26.09)
Split (digital, $8.99)
Steel Defier (digital, $4.99)
Storyteller (digital, $14.99)
Super Hydorah (physical, $29.99)
Sushi Bar Express (digital, $29.99)
Sword of the Necromancer (physical, 34.99)
The Last Worker (digital, $15.99)
Train Life: A Railway Simulator (physical $39.99, digital, $29.99)
Uzzuzzu My Pet (digital, $14.99)

Xbox One
Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator (physical & digital, $39.99)
Dragon Pinball (digital, $2.99)
I dream of you and ice cream (digital, $3.99)
Lila’s Tale and the Hidden Forest (digital, $4.99)
MLB The Show 23 (physical & digital, $59.99)
Not for Broadcast (digital, $22.49)
RunBean Galactic (digital, $4.99)
SIFU (digital, $39.99)
The Settlers: New Allies (digital, $59.99)
Witchcrafty (digital, $7.99)

Xbox Series S/X
Clash: Artifact of Chaos – Zeno Edition (physical, $39.99)
MLB The Show 23 (physical & digital, $69.99)
Resident Evil 4 (physical & digital, $59.99)

PC
9 Years of Shadows ($TBA)
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key ($59.99)
Death Roads: Tournament ($TBA)
Gripper ($19.99)
Innchanted ($16.99)
Mr. Saitou ($10.79)
Netherguild ($TBA)
Ogu and the Secret Forest ($TBA)
Out of the Park Baseball 24
Raidborn ($TBA)
Resident Evil 4 ($59.99)
SIFU ($TBA)
Stories from the Outbreak ($TBA)
Storyteller ($14.99)
Terra Nil ($24.99)

Rob’s pick: Since the Western release of Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana in 2005, I’ve always loved the Atelier games. While most role-playing games pit players against momentous types of adversity, the franchise has revolved around relaxed journeys toward self-actualization. Witnessing each protagonist grow from a bumbling apprentice to accomplished pillar of their community consistently felt good and offered a reprieve from the conventional power fantasy.

But the approach took a while to catch on. As such, developer Gust wasn’t always given the budget the game’s merited. But things changed with Atelier Ryza, which benefited from higher production values and purportedly a longer developer cycle. This week, Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key brings the protagonist back to Kurken Island, where islands are emerging from the local lake. Immediately notice in the sequel is now cinematic the game feels, with a dynamic camera framing the action, while exquisite character models deliver the dialog. Improvements are subtle but welcome, with the environment truly feeling like one big cohesive locale, with only brief load times breaking the sense of immersion (at present, performance on Steam Deck isn’t quite up to the level of its predecessor). Interestingly, the game eponymous keys aren’t just the typical MacGuffin, but created items that modify aspects of the game.

And even though I need a break from deck builders, the Mad Max fanatic in me is curious about Death Roads: Tournament’s take on car-based combat. There have been quite a few enjoyable real-time games with real-time vehicular warfare, but I’m eager to explore the complexities offered by turn-based battles. I’ve witnessed real-life efforts to make a once-polluted canal swimmable and fishable, so like Matt R., I’m intrigued by Terra Nil as well.

Ryan’s pick: The Atelier series and I have a long history, dating way back to the Atelier Rorona:The Alchemist of Arland. It’s been really great to see the series improve in terms of battle, mechanics, and character development since the PS3 era, and with the popularity of Ryza’s character it’s great to see her back for a third installment. There was also a recent collaboration with the cast of characters from Atelier Ryza in Azure Lane, so many shikikan got their chance to be introduced to Ms. Reisalin Stout herself, Klaudia Valentz, Patricia Abelheim, and Lila Decyrus amongst other popular characters from the series.

Being able to synthesize items in the games is a huge part of the game’s mechanics, and the key system looks like it’s going to be pretty integral to the experience for players. As I mentioned above, the series has done a really good job of continuing to evolve and improving their battle systems in each iteration, so I’m definitely interested in trying out the new system with 5 players on the battlefield this time. One other part about the series that is worth mentioning is that there is a nice mix of both male and female characters which helps bring balance for the audience. In general, I’ve always found the characters in this series to be unique and quirky, which make for a memorable experience and are certainly worth their weight in Cole if you are an RPG fan.

One other game that caught my eye is 9 Years of Shadows. It’s a 2D action-adventure/metroidvania with some really different visuals and mechanics. The different elemental armor sets that produce different effects seems like a pretty interesting mechanic, and also I love the fact that all of the bosses are quite large. It definitely looks like a game that would have launched on the SNES that I would have loved, so I am going to also suggest this one for a look if you are looking for something with more retro-inspired art.

Matt S’ pick (editor, DigitallyDownloaded): It goes without saying that I highly recommend Atelier Ryza 3. Even though she’s not my favourite Atelier girl, the Ryza series has been an excellent, wholesome, delightful extended arc, and if you’ve started it, you also owe it to yourself to see it through to the end. In many ways this is the biggest effort from Koei Tecmo to date (11 playable characters!), and it will be fascinating to see where the company takes the series from here.

I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t greatly looking forward to digging into this year’s edition of MLB: The Show. I’m a sucker for baseball (especially after Japan just schooled the US in the World Classic), and while my standard complaint about the American-centricity of MLB: The Show stands (people around the world love baseball, so do the right thing, follow what EA did with FIFA, and get the licenses for regional competitions), I will no doubt get myself lost in the game’s deep systems and accurate take on the sport this time around too.

And finally, for something a little different, and to represent the Australian industry, don’t overlook Kana Quest that’s coming out on Nintendo Switch. This game is a little edutainment thing, combining a simple, cute and charming matching game mechanic with Japanese Kana characters, to help you get familiar with them. If you’re in the process of learning Japanese, this is actually a good way to get some extra practice in. While being won over by its sheer charm in the process. It’s been out on PC for some time now, but it’s dropping on Switch this week, and that’s a much better home for it.

Matt R’s pick (editor, Shindig): Devolver Digital’s hot streak looks set to continue with Terra Nil, a “reverse city builder” about bringing nature back to life in the toxic wastelands left behind by (presumed) human settlements. It’s an intriguing concept, both in terms of the way it twists a familiar formula in service of a conservation theme, and in how it builds a strategy game around that. Terra Nil is all about using advanced machinery to clean up toxic waste and manipulate environmental conditions to help plant and animal life flourish once again—and then cleaning up your own mess so that the resurrected environment can thrive. There’s a whole lot of potential there, and with Devolver’s unmatched ability to bring the best out of creative, unusual concepts, Terra Nil should be one to watch.

Atelier Ryza 3 goes without saying. The whole series has been steadily going from strength to strength for a long time, and the Ryza trilogy so far has been a brilliant exercise in reimagining Atelier‘s alchemy life sim foundations and introducing new ideas without sacrificing the mood and charm that underpins it. Ryza and her friends are some of the most endearing, loveable characters in a franchise built on such, and the opportunity to spend more time with them will airways be welcome.

I should probably also give my annual nod to MLB The Show, although I’m honestly hoping to see more from it this year. The Show is always an excellent baseball sim, but the last couple of years have felt very incremental—like they could have just been updates instead of whole new full-priced games. Here’s hoping The Show 23 is better able to make its mark. (And maybe we need to rethink whether licensed sports games truly benefit from this annual release model, although I can’t see that happening any time soon.)