New Releases: April 27th-May 3rd, 2023

This week, Live A Live makes the jump from Switch to PlayStation 4 and PC, while Mugen Souls (pictured) arrives on Switch. As for physical releases, the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster anthology as well as Demon Gaze Extra arrive on PS4 and Switch.

PlayStation 4
8Doors: Arum’s Afterlife Adventure (physical & digital, $29.99)
ArcRunner (digital, $19.99)
Bramble: The Mountain King (physical $34.00, digital $26.99)
Demon Gaze Extra (physical, $59.99)
Drago Noka (digital, $19.99)
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster: FF35th Anniversary Edition (physical, $74.99)
Gematombe (digital, $14.99)
Live A Live (digital, $49.99)
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak (DLC, $39.99)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (physical & digital, $69.99)
Tin Can (digital, $4.99)
Velocity Noodle (digital, $10.39)
VirtuaVerse (physical, $34.99)

PlayStation 5
8Doors: Arum’s Afterlife Adventure (physical & digital, $29.99)
Bramble: The Mountain King (physical $34.00, digital $26.99)

Switch
44 Minutes in Nightmare (digital, $7.00)
Always Sometimes Monsters (physical, $29.99)
Amaze! (digital, $3.99)
Ash of Gods: The Way (digital, $22.49)
Aztech Forgotten Gods (physical, $39.99)
Bramble: The Mountain King (physical $39.99, digital $26.99)
Chernobyl: Origins (digital, $14.99)
Contraptions 2 (digital, $6.99)
Color Pals (digital, $4.99)
Convenience Stories (digital, $12.60)
Cyber Neon Bundle (digital, $4.99)
Demon Gaze Extra (physical, $59.99)
Dig Deep (digital, $4.99)
Dormitory Love (digital, $29.74)
Fight Crab (physical, $34.99)
Fotress S (digital, $24.99)
Fran Bow (digital, $19.99)
Gematombe (digital, $14.99)
Godstrike (physical, $34.99)
Invercity (digital, $14.99)
Loud: My Road to Fame (digital, $7.99)
Magic Pen Tracing Book (digital, $5.99)
Mercenaries Lament: Requiem of the Silver Wolf (digital, $19.99)
Minabo – A Walk Through Life (digital, $14.99)
Mugen Souls (digital, $39.99)
Ninja Smasher! (digital, $6.39)
Nuclear Blaze (physical $29.99, digital $13.49)
Omega Strikers (digital, free)
Piano for Kids (digital, $17.99)
Picross S9 (digital, $9.99)
Pixel Paint 2 (digital, $11.99)
Redfall (physical & digital, $69.99)
Roomie Romance (digital, $9.99)
Ship Graveyard Simulator (digital, $12.99)
Skinny & Franko: Fists of Violence (digital, $18.99)
Spooky Spirit Shooting Gallery (physical & digital, $39.99)
Super Alloy Ranger (digital, $14.99)
Super Dungeon Maker (digital, $19.99)
Super Trunko Go (digital, $9.99)
Terra Flame (digital, $19.99)
The Companion (digital, $19.99)
The Creepy Syndrome (digital, $4.99)
Toziuha Night: Dracula’s Revenge (digital, $4.99)
Velocity Noodle (digital, $10.39)
Varney Lake (digital, $9.99)
Weeping Willow – Detective Visual Novel (digital, $3.99)

Xbox One
ArcRunner (digital, $19.99)
Bramble: The Mountain King (physical $34.00, digital $26.99)
Gematombe (digital, $14.99)
Moonrise Fall (digital, $19.99)
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak (DLC, $39.99)
Nuclear Blaze (digital, $13.49)
Omega Strikers (digital, free)
Redfall (physical & digital, $69.99)
Sweet Bakery Tycoon (digital, $3.99)
The Last Case of Benedict Fox (digital, $24.99)
The Creepy Syndrome (digital, $4.99)
Tin Can (digital, $4.99)
Treachery in Beatdown City: Ultra Remix  (digital, $19.99)
Varney Lake (digital, $9.99)
Velocity Noodle (digital, $10.39)
VirtuaVerse (physical, $34.99)
Weeping Willow – Detective Visual Novel (digital, $3.99)

PC
Age of Wonders 4 ($49.99)
ArcRunner ($17.99)
Bramble: The Mountain King ($26.99)
City of Beats ($TBA)
Dungeon Drafters($24.99)
Kaku: Ancient Seal ($TBA)
Leveling Up Girls in Another World ($TBA)
Live A Live ($39.99)
Mail Time ($15.99)
Minabo – A Walk Through Life ($14.99)
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak (DLC, $39.99)
Monster Tribe ($TBA)
Omega Strikers (free)
Paper Bride 4 Bound Love ($TBA)
Redfall ($69.99)
Tape to Tape ($TBA)
Showgunners ($TBA)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor ($69.99)
Tape to Tape ($TBA)
The Last Case of Benedict Fox ($19.99)
The Witch of Fern Island ($TBA)
Vagabond ($TBA)
World Turtles ($TBA)

Rob’s Pick: When a game is billed as “from the creator of Dead Cells”, you’re probably expecting yet another roguelike Metroidvania. But with Nuclear Blaze, designer Sébastien Bénard has created a distinct blending of puzzling, action, and platforming. As the title indicates, you’re tasked with extinguishing fires at a military facility, searching for survivors, while also discovering more about the base itself.

To accomplish this, your lone firefighter takes control of a hose that can snuff out flames that threaten to engulf the facility. But your supply of water is restricted, requiring visits to stations scattered around the complex. As you’re doing this, you’ll face dangers like backdrafts and collapsing ceilings, which can instantly kill the valiant protagonist. The fragility of the firefighter can be frustrating, but that’s the point. Nuclear Blaze is skilled at conveying the dominance of its roaring, living inferno. I also really like how a “kid mode” has been implemented. It doesn’t just temper the difficulty or simplify the controls but provides more fire trucks and helicopters. Essentially, it’s fan-service for elementary school audiences.

Ryan’s pick: Star Wars games have been around long since I was a kid, with plenty of memories playing Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in the arcades. The PC era brought some really fun FPS games with Dark Forces which then led the main character Kyle Katarn into the Jedi realm with the Star Wars: Jedi Knight series. The incorporation of lightsaber mechanics in these games continued to get more and more impressive, so suffice to say I’ve been a fan of the various games the franchise has offered for quite some time. Likewise, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for me was equally a satisfying experience, so I’m going to suggest Star Wars Jedi: Survivor this week. The lightsaber mechanics were a staple in the first game, so I am of course looking forward to seeing what the additional stances will bring to the gameplay. Admittedly, I was pretty bad when I first started to play the first game, but I eventually was able to get the hang of it and that was when the game got much more enjoyable.

Speaking of FPS, Redfall also caught my eye. It’s made by the same studio that created Dishonored, so I think this is also worth a look if you like well-polished first-person shooters or if you like vampires. One final game that also looked good was ArcRunner. I know there are a lot of cyberpunk-themed games out there as of late, but the over-the-shoulder perspective made me give this one a second look. I think that this perspective seems to work, especially with the environments and the game’s visual effects.