The next fortnight sees around a dozen big hitters arrive, paving the way for what’s likely to be a busy September. If you’re feeling blue about recent game delay announcements, perhaps try focusing on what’s imminent – there’s a lot of good stuff on the horizon.
A pleasingly varied bunch, too. This week sees the arrival of Deep Silver’s Saints Row reboot, Frontier’s new F1 Manager series, action RPG SD Gundam Battle Alliance, SEGA and Atlus’ Devil Summoner sequel Soul Hackers 2, and the surprise PSone remake Pac-Man World Re-Pac.
Critics put Soul Hackers 2 through its paces last week, resulting in mixed reviews – for every 9/10s there was a 7/10 lurking behind. “Soul Hackers 2 has great combat and a story worth checking out, but the repetitive environments and constant barrage of enemies make the experience less than stellar,” said God is a Geek.
We can also expect the motion-captured top-down brawler Midnight Fight Express, a belated PS4 release of the anime tie-in Shin chan, Atari’s neon-hued Yars: Recharged, and the PS4 card battler I Was a Teenage Exocolonist. JRPG double pack Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory / Fallen Legion Revenants comes to PS5 and Xbox Series as well.
Midnight Fight Express was also granted early reviews, with scores mostly clocking in at 8/10. “Midnight Fight Express is a beat ’em up that should feel familiar to genre fans, but does things so well that it doesn’t matter. Fast and brutal, the game is a satisfying and bloody journey of revenge,” was PC Invasion’s verdict.
THQ Nordic is also back with Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? – which looks like the kind of game the original THQ would publish, for better or worse.
New release trailers
Saints Row
F1 Manager 2022
Pac-Man World Re-Pac
SD Gundam Battle Alliance
Soul Hackers 2
Midnight Fight Express
Shin chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation
Yars: Recharged
NHRA Championship Drag Racing: Speed for All
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
Like No Other
Richman 10
New multiformat releases
- Saints Row
- F1 Manager 2022
- Pac-Man World Re-Pac
- SD Gundam Battle Alliance
- Soul Hackers 2
- Yars: Recharged
- Aquadine
- Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory / Fallen Legion Revenants
- Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
- NHRA Championship Drag Racing: Speed For All
- Midnight Fight Express
- Kid Ball Adventure
New on PSN
- Repentless
- Alchemist Simulator
- Shin chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey-
- Idol Manager
- I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
- The Company Man
- Back Again
New on Xbox Store
- Richman 10
- Like No Other
- Islets
- Opus: Echo of Starsong – Full Bloom Edition
New Switch retail releases
eShop round-up coming Thursday
- Pac-Man World Re-Pac
- Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
Next week: The Last of Us Part I, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, LEGO Brawls, Immortality, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R, Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed, Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness, Fairy Elements, Rick Henderson, Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 3, Tinykin, Train Valley: Console Edition, Dusk Diver 2, Commandos 3 – HD Remaster, Robby’s Adventure, Inscryption, Wally and the FANTASTIC PREDATORS, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, Chenso Club, Onsen Master, The Mysteries of Ranko Togawa: Murder on the Marine Express, and Food Truck Tycoon.