Depending on how you look at it – or perhaps how deep your pockets are – it’s the busiest week for new releases in yonks. Why the ambiguity? Well, Starfield and Baldur’s Gate 3 are technically out this week, but only if you cough up for their premium and deluxe editions.
These aren’t cheap. Starfield Premium Edition, out Sept 1st, will run you £99.99 while Baldur’s Gate 3 – Digital Deluxe Edition is out Sept 2nd for £65.99. As their names suggest, extra digital content is included, with Starfield Premium Edition including skins and the Shattered Space expansion.
It appears the delay for Starfield has paid off, with those in possession of an early copy sneakily showing comparison shots. It’s also, reportedly, a lot less buggy than previous Bethesda games. As for BG3, well, the 10/10 review scores speak for themselves – it’s a masterclass in RPG game design.
Even if you were to remove these two from the equation, it’s still a chock-a-block week. After hitting the Switch and PC a fortnight ago, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk lands on Xbox and PlayStation formats. This spiritual successor to Jet Set Radio has been heralded as ‘the real deal’ – it genuinely looks and feels like a new entry in SEGA’s sadly dormant series.
On the subject of SEGA franchises, the maraca-shaking Samba de Amigo: Party Central is out on Switch, with a pretty impressive track selection to boot. Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The London Case and THQ Nordic’s Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy come to Switch too, in addition to other formats, gaining both physical and digital releases.
Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles comes to both PS4 and Switch, meanwhile, including both Rhapsody II and III – marking the first time these two RPGs have made it to the West.
After setbacks, Goodbye Volcano High should finally be with us – this cartoony cinematic narrative game details the end of an era, introducing us to Fang – a “typical” 18-year-old dinosaur. Sorry, Xbox and Switch owners – it’s PS4 and PC only for now.
From Quantic Dream comes Under the Waves – a narrative-driven adventure set in the depths of the North Sea. Not to be confused, of course, with the anticipated turn-based pixel art RPG Sea of Stars, due out Monday. Then there’s War Hospital – a story-driven management and survival game.
For retro enthusiasts, there’s The Making of Karateka – a deep dive into the game that led to Prince of Persia – and a surprise release of the 1995 offbeat SNES brawler Gourmet Warriors. Horror fans are well catered for as well with the third-person zombie survival game Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle, and the first-person Asian puzzle adventure The Bridge Curse – Road to Salvation due.
The PS4 also gains a belated release of the Limbo/Inside alike Somerville, while the Xbox receives the self-explanatory Hundred Days – Winemaking Simulator, escape room sim Escape First Alchemist, and party brawler Sacrifice Your Friends. And if that wasn’t enough, Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition turned up on Game Pass last week. Phew!
New release trailers
Baldur’s Gate 3
Starfield
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
Samba de Amigo: Party Central
Sea of Stars
Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The London Case
Under the Waves
Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy
The Making of Karateka
Goodbye Volcano High
The Bridge Curse – Road to Salvation
Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle
Somerville
Tenebris Pictura
Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles
Gourmet Warriors (QUByte Classics)
Sacrifice Your Friends
Escape First Alchemist
LAPIN
New multiformat releases
- Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
- Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy
- Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The London Case
- Under The Waves
- The Making of Karateka
- Sea of Stars
- The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation
- Call of the Wild: The Angler
- Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle
- War Hospital
- How 2 Escape
- Gourmet Warriors (QUByte Classics)
- DREAMERS
- Tenebris Pictura
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge – Dimension Shellshock
New on PSN
- Baldur’s Gate 3 – Digital Deluxe Edition
- Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles
- Goodbye Volcano High
- Remorse: The List
- Crossfire: Sierra Squad
- Sokomage
- Somerville
- Colorful Boi
- Otoko Cross: Pretty Boys Dropout!
New on Xbox Store
- Starfield Premium Edition
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition
- Hundred Days – Winemaking Simulator
- Revhead
- Sacrifice Your Friends
- Cats and the Other Lives
- Escape First Alchemist
- Hexapoda
- LAPIN
New Switch retail releases
eShop round-up coming Thursday
- Samba de Amigo: Party Central
- Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles
- Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The London Case
- Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy
Next week: Starfield Standard Edition, Baldur’s Gate 3, The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo, ANONYMOUS;CODE, Wild Seas, Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten, NBA 2K24 25th Anniversary Edition, Bloons TD 6, Fae Farm, Chants of Sennaar, Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, Into The Sky, Enchanted Portals, Autobahn Police Simulator 3: Off-Road, and Warstride Challenges.