New Releases: August 10th-16th, 2023

This week, Stray slinks onto Xbox, Dead Cells’ Castlevania crossover receives a physical release, while Overwatch 2 makes its way onto Steam. For those who’d rather find themselves surrounded by a coven of cute spellcasters, Witch’s Garden (pictured) finally receives an English location. Here’s the complete list of what’s arriving over the next seven days:

PlayStation 4
Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Edition (physical, $44.99)
Farworld Pioneers (digital, $14.99)
Moving Out 2 (physical & digital, $29.99)
Nuclear Blaze (physical, $29.99)
Rayland 2 (digital, $4.99)
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (digital, $29.99)
The Dragoness: Command of the Flame (digital, $19.99)
Zombie Soup (digital, $19.99)

PlayStation 5
Atlas Fallen (physical & digital, $59.99)
Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Edition (physical, $44.99)
Moving Out 2 (physical & digital, $29.99)

Switch
Acceptance (digital, $5.99)
Astro Flame: Starfighter (digital, $7.99)
Black Skylands (digital, $19.99)
Bright Lights of Svetlov (digital, $7.99)
Creepy Tale: Ingrid Penance (digital, $7.99)
Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Edition (physical, $44.99)
Female Nation Takeover (digital, $19.90)
Hamster on Rails (digital, $14.99)
It’s Puzzles: Wild Nature (digital, $8.00)
Moving Out 2 (physical & digital, $29.99)
Mysterious Adventure of Michael (digital, $2.00)
Neon Blight (digital, $19.99)
Organ Trail Complete Edition (digital, $9.99)
Pipe Dream (digital, $3.49)
Prison Life Simulator Jail – Gangster Escape Games Scary Architect Battle (digital, $12.99)
Pups & Purrs Pet Shop (physical & digital, $39.99)
Rainbow Skies (digital, $19.99)
Sonar Beat (digital, $2.49)
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (digital, $29.99)
Summer Vally Hike (digital, $4.99)
Sven – Completely Screwed (digital, $13.99)
The Rewinder (digital, $14.99)
Tow Truck Driver Simulator 2023 (digital, $13.99)
Wild Legion (digital, $19.19)
Witch’s Garden (digital, $39.99)
World Spin (digital, $3.50)
Zombie Soup (digital, $19.99)

Xbox One
Astro Flame: Starfighter (digital, $7.99)
Atlas Fallen (physical & digital, $59.99)
Black Skylands (digital, $19.99)
Boxville (digital, $9.99)
Bright Lights of Svetlov (digital, $7.99)
Creepy Tale: Ingrid Penance (digital, $7.99)
Moving Out 2 (physical & digital, $29.99)
Rayland 2 (digital, $4.99)
Stray (digital, $23.99)
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (digital, $29.99)
World Soccer Pinball  (digital, $2.99)

PC
Atlas Fallen ($49.99)
Banchou Tactics ($19.99)
Desynched ($TBA)
Hammerwatch II ($TBA)
Life with a College Girl ($TBA)
Moving Out 2 ($29.99)
Overwatch 2 (free to play)
Sengoku Dynasty ($25.49)
Space Mechanic Simulator ($TBA)
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical ($29.99)
Tales & Tactics ($14.39)
Wayfinder ($TBA)

Rob’s pick: The Hammerwatch formula is wonderfully uncomplicated. Much like an evolved form of Gauntlet, the game sends up to four players through labyrinthine dungeons filled with the obligatory monsters and loot. Each of the five character classes has its own moveset, accommodating everything from melee-focused to ranged play styles while giving enough new ability to offset tedium. Where Hammerwatch II outshines many of its peers is the game’s scalability. It’s great fun with three other friends but it’s also not overwhelming for soloists. On PC there’s modding support and I’m eager to see if the tools are robust enough to generate some fascinating worlds.

Oddly, Witch’s Garden (not to be confused with The Witch’s Garden, a light agricultural-sim) never received an English-language release on PC.  And that’s a missed opportunity for Windmill Oasis, which released the title to commemorate their 10^th anniversary. Beyond the e-mote sprite animation system which adds a bit of movement to the twelve-year-old title, there’s little that feels groundbreaking. But that’s ok when you’re surrounded by adorable spellcasters in pointy hats and garters.

Ryan’s pick: If there’s one thing that banchous know how to do, it’s fight. I really like the simple premise of Banchou Tactics in that it’s an SRPG that allows bike gangs to brawl it out. The sound effects got me laughing as well, as the Japanese voicing really catches some classic biker gang taglines to accent the fights. Overall, the game does look pretty simplistic in terms of graphics and mechanics, but I still think it has a lot of personality and could be worth a look.

So that was my official release pick this week, but the one thing I’m looking forward to that’s happening next Wednesday is the release of 4.0 in Genshin Impact. It’s been a full year since the last major update with a brand-new area to explore, so I definitely cannot wait to get a chance to try out Fontaine. I’ve been painfully saving my primos for quite some time for the new archon and equally have had my fingers crossed that Arlecchino releases as a playable character.

Matt R’s pick (editor, Shindig): Sengoku Dynasty looks very intriguing. With survival crafting games being all the rage right now, there’s certainly a lot of potential in the concept of bringing those ideas to sengoku-era Japan, and extra weight placed on the simulation and city-building aspects, beyond mere survival, is both fitting for the setting and rife with possibilities. There’s also just something neat about the prospect of playing an average Takeshi instead of one of the many powerful daimyo that dominate games set in this era. I’m always a little wary about non-Japanese developers trying to represent “authentic” Japan, but if Superkami can avoid the common pitfalls, this could be something great.

Matt S’ pick (editor, DigitallyDownloaded): I am intrigued by Atlas Fallen. It’s a game by Deck13, after all, and Deck13 has been one of the more reliable B-tier European developers over many years now. Whereas the developer has been largely working with the “Soulslike” genre in recent years, with the likes of The Surge and Lords of the Fallen, this one is more inspired by out-and-out action games like God of War and Horizon. That’s unsurprising, given how mammothly popular those properties are. Hopefully, Deck13 can find a creative vision to differentiate their work, though.

I am also intrigued by Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical. After all, how often have musicals been the basis for a video game? Right, not often. Almost all games have music, but rarely are they structured around musical numbers like theatrical productions. Of course, there’s no guarantee that the developer has pulled this off, and I’m struggling to imagine how it might work, but experimentation in the arts is a good thing, and I’m always keen to try something different.