With over 20 new games either out now or imminently, it’s a very busy week for new releases. In the words of just about every YouTuber ever, let’s get straight into it.
We’ll start with the Wii U first, as the system sees four new retail releases – an unprecedented amount, considering we usually see just one or two a month. J-Pop infused JRPG Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE is the big one, which has gained a thumbs up from Eurogamer since penning our weekly eShop round-up. “I don’t know if I’d recommend it to anyone who isn’t already a fan of all things Japanese, but for those of you who are, you’re likely to find a very good time†they said.
Those remaining three are Terraria – which is set to retail at around £20 – the allegedly mediocre Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and Mighty No. 9. The Wii U’s digital release of Mighty No.9 was something of a shambles, with reports of glitches galore. A patch went live yesterday, which the developers claim will fix these issues. Consider us skeptical.
Sadly, it has an abundance of faults that’ll never be fixed – Mighty No. 9’s reviews are mostly around the 5/10 mark, due to mixture of poor design choices, low production values and lack of direction. The Xbox 360 version has been hit by a delay, incidentally, while the handheld iterations still have no firm release date whatsoever.
Microsoft’s black slab plays catch-up with a belated release of Lumo, a puzzle platformer paying homage to isometric games of yore. That’s joined by the curiously priced (£11.19!) air traffic control sim Land It, Kung Fu for Kinect – which appears to be a re-release of 2013’s Kung Fu High Impact – and Into the Belly of the Beast, an underwater adventure in which a sea worm heads sets out to rescue his children from a sea monster. That’ll set you back £13.19.
These aren’t the only new Xbox One releases, as both Xbox One and PS4 get the budget priced mobile conversion Pac-Man 256, Deadlight: Director’s Cut – also due at retail for around £15 – the Pictionary alike Drawful 2 and the 3D robot-based roguelike Heart&Slash. That last one is also getting a retail release, but only on PS4. You can thank PQube for that.
On PS4 Capcom’s cover-based online shooter Umbrella Corps has slipped out on the sly. Powered by Unity, it looks like it has little to do with Resident Evil at all; it’s obviously being aimed towards the CoD squad. VideoGamer’s review went up earlier today, where it garnered a sub-par 4/10. “£25 is too much cash for too little in the way of quality†was their ultimate conclusion.
With Euro 2016 well underway, Dino Dini’s Kick Off Revival makes a timely appearance on PS4 this Friday. Available for £12.99 on Amazon currently, it’s exclusive to PlayStation formats for six months with a PS Vita release due later along the line.
The PS Vita actually sees a fair few releases this week, including good old Towerfall Ascension, the almost universally panned Funk of Titans, visual novel sequel XBlaze Lost: Memories, the explosion packed Super Blast Deluxe and the 2D top-down RPG Dragon Fantasy: The Black Tome of Ice.
Dragon Fantasy also heads to PS4, along with Electronic Super Joy, pirate-based MOBA Pirates: Treasure Hunters and the cutesy 2D puzzler Dreamals: Dream Quest.
Finally, there’s the ravishing remaster Odin Sphere Leifthrasir on PS4, PS Vita and PS3. Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive so far, including 9.5s from IGN, Destructoid and God is a Geek.
“Odin Sphere Leifthrasir is an amalgamation of everything a great game should have: addictive gameplay, gorgeous visuals, a gripping story, and a heck of a lot of customisation. If you missed this on the PS2, you owe it to yourself to experience one of the best games out there on current PlayStation platforms†said God is a Geek. Still not convinced? Luckily for you, a demo is a now available.
Next week: LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Multi – Wii U version delayed until 5th July), The Technomancer (PS4/Xbox One), Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness (PS4), 7 Days to Die (PS4), Resident Evil 5 (PS4/Xbox One), Lost Sea (Xbox One), INSIDE (Xbox One), JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven (PS4), Pineview Drive (PS4/Xbox One/Wii U), Prison Architect (PS4), Joe’s Diner (PS4/Xbox One/Wii U), Teddy Together (3DS) and a retail release of Minecraft: Wii U Edition.
