New Releases: July 11th-17th, 2024

This week, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Sweep the Board rolls its way onto several new platforms, Darkest Dungeon II sets off on a grim and gritty roadtrip, and Muv-Luv (pictured) comes to  Switch. Here’s the full list of what’s arriving on console and PC over the next six days:

PlayStation 4
Darkest Dungeon II (digital, $33.99)
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Sweep the Board! (digital, $59.99)
Flock (digtial, $TBA)
Hamster Playground (digital, free)
Let’s School (digital, $19.99)
Ogre Tale (digital, $14.99)
Parasol Stars – The Story of Bubble Bobble III (digital, $8.99)

PlayStation 5
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Sweep the Board! (physical & digital, $59.99)
Disaster Band (digital, $9.99)
EvilvEvil (digital, $19.99)
Nobody Wants to Die (digital, $TBA)
Timemelters (digital, $19.99, $11.99 PS+)

Switch
Anomaly Pools (digital, $2.50)
B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA (digital, $44.99)
Ballz (digital, $2.00)
Bleach: Brave Souls (digital, free)
Brawl Arena: Arcade Shooter (digital, $4.99)
Busway Islands – Puzzle (digital, $4.99)
Bum Simulator (digital, $17.99)
Casino Tycoon Simulator (digital, $4.99)
Danger Stunt Drive: Extreme Racing Simulator (digital, $4.99)
Darkest Dungeon II (digital, $33.99)
Deathchron (digital, $4.99)
Deliver Us the Moon (digital, $19.99)
Dros (digital, $24.99)
Ecchi Secrets (digital, $7.69)
EGGCONSOLE: Popful Mail PC-8801mkIISR (digital, $6.49)
Falling Number (digital, $1.99)
Fantasy Saga Frenzy (digital, $4.99)
Gluck (digital, $6.29)
Hamster Playground (digital, free)
HoneyLand (digital, $4.99)
Hot Lap Racing (digital, $29.99)
Let’s Aim! Shooting Gallery (digital, $5.00)
Let’s School (digital, $19.99)
Lunch Box Ready (digital, $4.99)
Moonshine Inc. (digital, $17.99)
Muv-Luv / Muv-Luv Alternative Remastered Double Pack (digital, $58.49)
Muv-Luv Alternative Remastered (digital, $35.99)
Muv-Luv Remastered (digital, $26.99)
Night Reverie (digital, $14.99)
Offroad Truck Simulator (digital, $9.99)
Ogre Tale (digital, $14.99)
Parasol Stars – The Story of Bubble Bobble III (digital, $8.99)
Primal Survivors (digital, $4.99)
Princess Maker 2 Regeneration (digital, $39.99)
Project Drift Japan Challenge (digital, $7.99)
Prune & Milo (digital, $10.49)
Puzzle Playground (digital, $5.59)
Return To Abyss (digital, $4.99)
Robin Hood: Shogun Samurai (digital, $4.99)
RPM – Road Punk Mayhem (digital, $6.99)
Shy Dogs Hidden Orchestra (digital, $4.99)
siMarket Supermarket Simulator (digital, $7.99)
Stories from the Outbreak (digital, $19.99)
Sunlight Scream (digital, $6.99)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate (digital, $29.99)
Toon Roads : Superbike (digital, $4.99)
Vac Attack (digital, $0.99)
Vacuum Ball (digital, $4.99)
Wejam (digital, $8.24)

Xbox One
CLeM (digtial, $14.39)
Darkest Dungeon II (digital, $33.99)
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Sweep the Board! (physical & digital, $59.99)
Disaster Band (digital, $9.99)
Let’s School (digital, $19.99)
Magical Delicacy  (digital, $TBA)
Neon White (digital, $24.99)
Ogre Tale (digital, $14.99)
Parasol Stars – The Story of Bubble Bobble III (digital, $8.99)
Poppy Playtime Chapter 1 (digital, $4.99)
Prune & Milo (digital, $10.49)
Retaliate (digital, $9.99)

PC
Anger Foot ($24.99)
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus ($TBA)
Captain Contraption’s Chocolate Factory ($TBA)
CLICKOLDING ($TBA)
Crestfallen: Medieval Survival ($TBA)
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep the Board! ($59.99)
Descending The Woods ($TBA)
Drive Me Crazy ($TBA)
EvilvEvil ($19.99)
Factory Outlet Simulator ($TBA)
Fallen Leaf ($TBA)
Flock ($TBA)
Galactic Glitch ($TBA)
Gestalt: Steam & Cinder ($TBA)
Hamster Playground (free)
Horticular ($TBA)
Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus ($TBA)
Mech Builder ($TBA)
Meme Mayhem ($TBA)
Movies Tycoon ($TBA)
Nobody Wants to Die ($TBA)
OutRage: Fight Fest ($TBA)
Prune & Milo ($8.79)
Renaissance Kingdom Wars ($TBA)
River God: Enshrouded Current ($5.09)
Riviera: The Promised Land ($TBA)
Shell Runner ($TBA)
Silent Depth 2: Pacific ($TBA)
Succubus 2069 ($TBA)
Super Dark Deception ($TBA)
SuperSpec Rallycross ($11.69)
Supernatural ($TBA)
The Alpha Wolf ($2.99)
The Crust ($TBA)
The Last Alchemist ($TBA)
The Renovator: Origins ($TBA)
Yaoling: Mythical Journey ($TBA)
Zero Division ($TBA)
Zombie Raid: No One Survives ($TBA)

Rob’s pick: Ever since Halloween III: Season of the Witch abruptly abandoned Michael Myers killing spree to depict the terrors of unchecked corporate power, I’ve had a thing for franchises that shift in unexpected directions. (re)Visit Muv-Luv and you’ll find two story arcs. Extra offers an amusing but rather unambitious romantic comedy that’s upbeat lighthearted. Follow-up Unlimited recycles the same basic setting and characters, but this time, the novel is a morose dystopian tale with dueling mechs. I haven’t experienced a media franchise that’s so wonderfully dissonant, so if you missed the recent Humble sale on the PC version of Muv-Luv, pick up a remake of the original on Switch.

Beyond gloomy visual novels, I also have a partiality for quirky indie efforts that are economically priced. Vac Attack has you using a vacuum cleaner as a weapon, as you suck up waves of enemies made up of small orbs. Even if it doesn’t reproduce the satisfying sound on an actual vacuum inhaling bits of filth, it seems like an amusing plaything and the one dollar price can’t be beat. I’ll also be picking up Riviera: The Promised Land, as all Dept Heaven titles are an insta-buy for me.

Ryan’s pick: I’ve been enjoying a bit of the inner peace that has come in the aftermath of finishing the Elden Ring DLC, but it’s time to move forward and find the next game to work on. This week’s pick goes to Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus for its unique art and yokai flair. It’s been years since I’ve played a sidescroller that I liked as much as Hollow Knight but the one thing that really pulled me into this game is the hand-drawn art mixed with the fact that it’s a 2.5D game. That, and typically anything with yokai immediately gets sent to the top of my list. The color choices and overall level designs also are unique, so please give this a look.

Parasol Stars – The Story of Bubble Bobble III is also worth a quick mention. The Bubble Bobble series has a ton of nostalgia for me, so this is a classic that I definitely need to try as I never owned a Turbo-Grafx16 console in the 90s. I don’t believe this game was released in the arcades either, so it could be one to put on the list if you are a collector as I believe there is also a Limited Run physical version of the game available as well. It’s definitely worth a look if you are a retro aficionado.

Matt S’ pick (editor, DigitallyDownloaded): I have a strange fascination with the Princess Maker games. They’re such simple things – pick menu items, watch stats go up, see what kind of woman your “daughter” grows up to be. And yet they’re also so compelling. Perhaps the best thing to compare them to is the Football Manager series – you become INVESTED in the spreadsheet. When your “daughter” disappears for a week, you can’t help but wonder where she went. You’ll roll your eyes when she screws up her job time after time. You’ll cheer when she earns a prize in the painting contest. Princess Maker 2 Regeneration is damned hard to put down.

I’m also very keen to play Darkest Dungeon II. I loved the original, but just hadn’t gotten around to the sequel yet… mostly because I would rather play it on Switch, where I reckon my OLED model’s screen will make it look incredible. So long as it continues the qualities that made the original so moreish, I know I’m going to love getting lost in those dungeons.