New Releases: September 1st-7th, 2022

This week, Made in Abyss arrives, inviting players to venture downward through its increasingly excruciating layers. For players not up for a bit of torment, there’s also Train World Sim 3’s offer of hauling freight and passengers across rails across Britain, Germany, and the United States. Elsewhere, exclamations of “yare yare daze” are imminent with the release of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R. This week’s header is from The Street of Adrift.

PlayStation 4
Arcade Archives: Pac & Pal (digital, $7.99)
Chenso Club (digital, $14.99)
Circus Electrique (digital, $19.99)
Classic Racers Elite (physical & digital, 29.99)
Disney Dreamlight Valley (digital, $29.99-$69.99)
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R (digital, $49.99-$69.99)
Kaichu: The Kaiju Dating Sim (digital, $9.99)
LEGO Brawls (digital, $39.99)
Life in Willowdale: Farm Adventures (physical & digital, $39.99)
Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness (digital, $59.99)
Mozart Requiem (physical & digital, $29.99)
The Mysteries of Ranko Togawa: Murder on the Marine Express (digital, $TBA)
The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition (digital, $39.99)
Train Sim World 3 (physical $49.99, digital, $49.99-$59.99)

Switch
2weistein – The Curse of the Red Dragon 3 – Ronger Pirates (digital, $20.00)
ANNO: Mutationem (digital, $22.49)
Chess Brain: Dark Troops (digital, $3.99)
Circus Electrique (digital, $19.99)
City Wars: Tokyo Reign (digital, $12.99)
Disney Dreamlight Valley (digital, $29.99-$69.99)
Draw Rider Remake (digital, $10.49)
Easy Red 2 (digital, $7.99)
Fairy Elements (digital, $13.49)
Gerda: A Flame in Winter (digital, $19.99)
Golazo! 2 (digital, $14.99)
Here Comes Niko! (digital, $24.99)
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R (digital, $49.99-$69.99)
Kaichu: The Kaiju Dating Sim (digital, $9.99)
Kids: Zoo Puzzle (digital, $4.99)
LEGO Brawls (digital, $39.99)
Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness (digital, $53.99)
Mechapunk (digital, $7.99)
Mini Kart Racing (digital, $2.99)
Murder on the Marine Express (digital, $4.99)
Onsen Master (digital, $14.99)
Ooblets (digital, $19.99)
Overdriven Evolution (digital, $14.99)
Please, Touch The Artwork (digital, $5.99)
Project Snaqe (digital, $2.50)
Restless Soul (digital, $11.99)
Space Tanks (digital, $3.99)
Super Sunny Island (digital, $4.99)
Temtem (digital, $44.99-$64.99)
Troupe (digital, $9.99)
Wampir Dungeon (digital, $0.99)

Xbox One
Chenso Club (digital, $14.99)
Circus Electrique (digital, $19.99)
Disney Dreamlight Valley (digital, $29.99-$69.99)
Kaichu: The Kaiju Dating Sim (digital, $9.99)
Fairy Elements (digital, $14.99)
Food Truck Tycoon (digital, $3.99)
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R (digital, $49.99-$69.99)
LEGO Brawls (digital, $39.99)
Onsen Master (digital, $14.99)
The Mysteries of Ranko Togawa: Murder on the Marine Express (digital, $TBA)
Train Sim World 3 (physical $49.99, digital, $49.99-$59.99)

PC
Adventure Academia: The Fractured Continent ($TBA)
Amber City ($12.59)
Chenso Club ($14.99)
Circus Electrique ($19.99)
Disney Dreamlight Valley ($29.99-$69.99)
Galahad 3093 ($21.24)
Gerda: A Flame in Winter ($19.99)
Gunner, HEAT, PC! ($TBA)
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R ($49.99-$69.99)
Kaichu: The Kaiju Dating Sim ($9.99)
LEGO Brawls ($39.99)
Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness ($53.99)
MythBusters: The Game – Crazy Experiments Simulator ($TBA)
Railbound ($TBA)
Restless Soul ($11.99)
Tank Mechanic Simulator VR ($17.99)
The Dragoness: Command of the Flame ($17.99)
The Imperial Gatekeeper ($TBA)
The Ramen Sensei ($TBA)
The Street of Adrift ($7.19)
Train Sim World 3 ($49.99)

Rob’s Pick: Given Made in Abyss’ art style, with chibi kids and robots decked out in adventurer gear, it would be easy to dismiss Akihito Tsukushi’s work as a cheerful tale of exploration. But peer past the inviting veneer and you’ll find a work every bit as disturbing as Berserk. Here, orphans are sent down into the eponymous chasm by those with established bloodlines, lured by the prospect of artifacts. But the deeper someone descends into the Abyss, the more dangerous it becomes. Beyond perilous monstrosities, ascension is accompanied by a multitude of ailments. At one point, Cave Raiders lose messaging from the senses. And without spoiling anything, Abyss got really, really dark, delivering some unsettling body horror.

Yet, the most disturbing aspect is the compulsion to descend downward, knowing that the void will inevitably bring horrendous pain and death. This week Binary Star Falling into Darkness adapts the series into interactive form, taking inspiration from Monster Hunter’s showdowns. From what I’ve seen, the game isn’t quite as downbeat as the source material. But I have been violently impaled because of carelessness, so things seem promising. The source material looks at some of the darkest deviations of human behavior, and I’m hoping that Binary Star Falling into Darkness is brave enough to do the same. Elsewhere, I’m looking forward to Train Sim World 3 because the pursuit for the ultimate rail-sim is my own personal compulsion, just without the persistent threat of physical harm.

Matt S’ pick (editor, DigitallyDownloaded): I love the idea of driving trains. It’s not a job I’d ever do in the real world (if for no other reason than, as a government employee, you’d be treated terribly when I’m doing it), but I love train sims for their ability to give you the joy of watching iconic scenery fly by without having to deal with it being a job. Train Sim World 3 looks excellent, especially since one of the key themes of this one is trying to drive the train through extreme weather conditions. It’ll be terrifying and exhilarating, all in one.

I’m also looking forward to Circus Electrique, which looks like Darkest Dungeon, but with a creepy Victorian, Steampunk circus aesthetic. Creepy circuses are the best horror (as the most memorable location in Thymesia recently proved), steampunk is my very favourite kind of -punk, and as long as Circus Electrique is challenging and rich with its turn-based combat, I am sure I will lose a lot of time to it.

And, finally, Kaichu: The Kaiju Dating Sim. I never knew Godzilla was a fetish, but there you go. Let’s see how that turns out.

Ryan’s pick: I missed out on the original Jojo’s BIzarre Adventure All-Star Battle on the PS3 when it was released in 2013, so I’m not going to pass up the chance to catch the remaster of the game. There are 50 playable characters, some of which are new for this version, so I think this is a fine choice for anyone who has enjoyed any of the arcs in this series. It’s actually perfect timing as the second half of the Star Ocean arc with Jolyene Cujoh begins streaming shortly on Netflix. As with a lot of Jojo fans, I’m most looking forward to checking out the new Jotaro version they’ve added from Diamond is Unbreakable.

There’s always room for robots. Galahad 3093 grabbed my attention with some immediate Mechwarrior nostalgia, mixed with flashy lasers and fast action. This particular game is multiplayer PVP, so it appears like a lot of the gameplay will be pretty fast with team-based strategy and objectives. The game is in early access right now and I can definitely see myself getting into the fray on a large map with 24 other mechs. The one thing that I don’t think players may get will be some of the more fine-tuned mechanics seen in other mech games, such as dedicated keystrokes that are mapped to very specific functions of the mech, such as the ignition systems and such. Mainly I’m thinking about Steel Battallion when I think of this. Not a year goes by that I don’t think about that Mega-Jockey-9000 controller for that game. It took 30 minutes to set everything up in that game just to get stuck in a ditch and immediately die. I think this game should be the opposite of that and provide some instant pleasure for most, so I believe it’s worth a try if you are into competitive multiplayer.