It’s pleasing to see THQ Nordic try and keep the spirit of the original THQ alive. A lot of THQ’s money was made through annual WWF/WWE games, and so THQ Nordic are trying their hand at wrestling too with AEW: Fight Forever. This, of course, follows on from publishing new SpongeBob games.
AEW: Fight Forever comes from the venerable Yuke’s – a studio responsible for wrestling games since the days of the PSone, first hitting the big leagues with WWF SmackDown! Indeed, it appears to be paying homage to the glory days of wrestling – before 2K’s annual release schedule sapped the fun from the franchise. We can expect 10 different gameplay modes, deep customisation options, online co-op multi-player, and 50 playable characters. Explosions, barbed wire, and blood, too!

Speaking of return to forms, STORY OF SEASONS: A Wonderful Life has garnered positive reviews, with the Xbox Series version sitting pretty with an impressive 80% Metacritic. “Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life remains one of the best that the series has to offer, managing to preserve what made it so special in the first place with its unique emphasis on an aging town and cast of characters, while also raising the bar with new content and improvements,” said The Gamer.
Capcom’s also back with a HD re-release of the Nintendo DS’s cult investigative adventure Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. The publisher is on a roll at the moment, and considering how revered the original is, it’s doubtful their winning streak is about to abruptly end. That said, next month’s Exoprimal could go either way, with recent footage looking a bit…iffy.

A few other re-releases are also due, including a multiformat release of the 2002 Xbox medieval hack ‘n slasher Enclave HD – with new music and other improvements – and a double whammy of RayStorm x RayCrisis HD Collection and Ray Z Arcade Chronology on PS4 and Switch. FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake then makes the jump from Switch to PlayStation and Xbox formats.
On the subject of Switch, Nintendo is gearing up to release Everybody 1-2-Switch – which apparently the Kyoto giant has been sitting on for some time, fearing it wasn’t fun enough. Either they managed to work their magic on it, or they believed the time was right to finally get it out the door. Perhaps Zelda: TotK has seen an influx of new Switch users. Spike Chunsoft’s Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE is another of the week’s big Switch releases, coming from the minds behind Danganronpa. There’s even a £99.99 collector’s edition.

Then there’s Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed Single Player – answering the prayers for those demanding a PS4/Xbox One release – Microid’s tie-in Noob – The Factionless, pixel art deckbuilding RPG SOULVARS, Kemco’s zombie RPG Raging Bytes, management sim Moonshine Inc, horror adventure Burnhouse Lane, 60s racer Classic Racers Elite, and the narrative driven Goodbye World – detailing the struggles of two budding game designers.
Slipstream gains native PS5 and Xbox Series versions as well, just in time for its free Blue Hour expansion.
F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch and the nightmarish twin-stick shooter NeverAwake also come to Xbox, with the former on Game Pass, while the four year old Reverie: Sweet As Edition makes the leap from Switch to PS4, Xbox, and PC. It isn’t the only vastly belated console release – Vision Soft Reset also dates back to 2019. Better late than never, eh?
New release trailers
AEW: Fight Forever
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Everybody 1-2-Switch!
FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake
Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed: Single Player
STORY OF SEASONS: A Wonderful Life
Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE
RayStorm x RayCrisis HD Collection
Ray Z Arcade Chronology
Enclave HD
SOULVARS
Burnhouse Lane
Noob – The Factionless
Moonshine Inc
Classic Racers Elite
Raging Bytes
Inner Ashes
Slipstream: Blue Hour
NeverAwake
Doom & Destiny Worlds
The Lost And The Wicked
Goodbye World
Bloomyth
Akka Arrh – Special Edition
New multiformat releases
- AEW: Fight Forever
- Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
- FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake
- Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed Single Player
- STORY OF SEASONS: A Wonderful Life
- Noob – The Factionless
- The Callisto Protocol: Final Transmission
- Slipstream: Blue Hour
- Inner Ashes
- Enclave HD
- SOULVARS
- Reverie: Sweet As Edition
- Doom & Destiny Worlds
- ChronoBreach Ultra
- The Lost And The Wicked
- Vision Soft Reset
- Raging Bytes
- Moonshine Inc.
- A Tale For Anna
New on PSN
- RayStorm x RayCrisis HD Collection
- Ray’z Arcade Chronology
- Goodbye World
- Burnhouse Lane
- Martian Panic
- Fastest on the Buzzer
- Sugar Tanks
- Classic Racers Elite
- I’LL KILL HER
- Archers Dream
- Mirror 2 – Console Edition
- Big Adventure: Trip to Europe
- Road Bustle 2
- Rainbow Snake
New on Xbox Store
- F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch
- NeverAwake
- Shootvaders The Beginning
- Bloomyth
- Deadliest Catch: The Game
- Word Maze by POWGI
- Your Computer Might Be At Risk
- Love Shore
- Toadomination
New Switch retail releases
eShop round-up coming Thursday
- Everybody 1-2-Switch!
- STORY OF SEASONS: A Wonderful Life
- Little Friends: Puppy Island
- AEW: Fight Forever
- Noob – The Factionless
- Moonscars
- Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE
- Celeste
- Akka Arrh Special Edition
- Goodbye World
- Classic Racers Elite
Next week: GYLT, The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie, Gimmick! Special Edition, Necrosmith, Synapse, EchoBlade, and SCARF.