The biggest release of the week, if not the month, is already in the hands of some lucky gamers. Square-Enix made the decision to ship physical copies of Final Fantasy VII Remake early due to COVID-19. Its bad news if you pre-ordered on PSN – Square-Enix are standing firm on 10th April for a worldwide digital launch.
Reviews went live today and are full of praise, including 10/10s from both GameSpot and PlayStation Lifestyle. The 35-40 hour RPG apparently does suffer from some filler, however, and the camera isn’t the best. At least critics agreed Square-Enix has steered this remake in the right direction, this being far more action-orientated than the original.
Even though it has arrived to a lukewarm reception, Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories – due on PS4 and Switch, both digitally and at retail – is this week’s second-biggest release. It comes as no surprise that reviews are mixed – it originally began life as a 2011 PlayStation 3 title, changing developer along the way.
DarkStation’s 3.5/5 is one of the more positive reviews. On the lower end of the scale, there’s a miserable 2/5 from EGM. “If some utterly awful storylines were the worst of Disaster Report 4’s weaknesses, I could still have come out of playing it with a positive opinion. Yet more than its failings on technical, gameplay, or storytelling levels, the game lacks the one thing it needed most: catharsis,†said EGM
Over on Xbox One there’s Obduction, a sci-fi adventure from the minds behind Myst. It first released on PC back in 2016 to mostly positive reviews. That’s joined by the sandbox survival sim Space Engineers, RPG DIY kit BQM – BlockQuest Maker, and the dystopian adventure/micromanagement sim Beholder 2.
Then on PS4 there’s a belated release of Below – a solitary journey through the haunted depths of a forbidden isle – the robotic co-op platformer Biped, and the PSVR puzzler FORM.
All three formats also get the pixel-art Mad Max inspired Convoy: A Tactical Roguelike, 2D hex-based RPG Braveland Trilogy, and the “1-bit†shooter Null Drifter.
Cooking Mama: Cookstar on Switch and PS4 may, or may not, make a tardy appearance this week too. The series reboot appeared on the Switch eShop last week only to swiftly vanish.
Word has it not only is the game prone to crashing due to being developed by an inexperienced team, but the use of the IP wasn’t cleared with rights holder either. The rumour that it includes cryptocurrency mining software is yet to be proven. Retail copies are in the wild – if it ends up being yanked, expected the value to skyrocket. Poor old Mama, eh?
Looking ahead, the next few weeks are rather slim – as of now, next week’s planned releases can be counted on one hand. There’s light at the end of the tunnel (month) however with Predator: Hunting Grounds, Trials of Mana, Daymare: 1998, Sakura Wars, and SnowRunner due.
New release showcase
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories
Below
Obduction
Biped
FORM
Convoy: A Tactical Roguelike
New multiformat releases
- Convoy: A Tactical Roguelike
- Galaxy of Pen & Paper +1 Edition
- Braveland Trilogy
- Null Drifter
- Rush Rover
New on PSN
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Below
- FORM
- Arcade Archives THE TIN STAR
- Biped
- A Room Where Art Conceal
- AFL Evolution 2
- Dissection
- Down the Rabbit Hole
- Drunkn Bar Fight
New on Xbox One
- Galaxy of Pen & Paper +1 Edition
- Beholder 2
- BQM – BlockQuest Maker
- Retro Tanks
- Obduction
- Glaive: Brick Breaker
- Space Engineers
New Switch retail releases
- RPG Maker MV
- Disaster Report 4 – Summer Memories
Next week: Hellpoint, Save Your Nuts, SiNKR, and Cryogear.