If you’re looking for something to play until Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD arrives at the end of the month, you may need to think carefully – the majority of this week’s big name releases fall into the RPG category, with a couple of these being of the 50+ hour variety. Best put the kettle on.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is an expanded version of the 2021 original, adding a new storyline, more demons, and quality of life improvements. Save data doesn’t carry over, but it is possible to transfer three demons from the original. Vengeance will also replace the 2021 iteration on the eShop at launch, so there’s that to be mindful of.
Kemco’s pixel art RPG Astrune Academy gives the chance to explore the daily life of a magic academy while mastering elemental magic and summoning demons in tactical battles. It appears to have a bit more personality than their previous RPGs.
Lastly, Capcom’s Monster Hunter Stories brings back the 3DS creature-raising RPG with a new coat of HD paint, bonus museum content with concept art, English voice acting, and all the updates the original received including the expanded end game and extra monsters. £25 seems a reasonable asking price.
Coincidentally, Konami’s Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked will also set you back £25, which definitely takes it out of the impulse buy range. It features three 16-bit platformers, along with a museum, boss rush mode, and a music player. The Rocket Knight games were very well regarded in the ‘90s, and we imagine they’ve stood the test of time. This package also appears more substantial than the recent Felix the Cat Collection.
Roxy Raccoon’s Pinball Panic and Lesson Learned are two new games we’ve spent some time with. The former is a light-hearted collection of pinball tables and simple mini-games, based on a series of platformers found on Steam. The presentation isn’t great, and some tables are lacking in the design department, but the ball physics are decent so it gets a pass. The latter is a tower defence game set in a daydream realm. We had a rough time with it – the game’s first half is too easy, while the final area is far too challenging. Despite having an 8-10 hour runtime, it also features just two music tracks; the battle theme and a main theme. We awarded it a 6/10.
Other releases for this week include the movie-based scrolling beat’em up Willy’s Wonderland – The Game (originally released on mobiles, since delisted), an EGGCONSOLE release of the 1987 RPG Sorcerian, and the Unreal Engine 5 powered on-rails zombie shooter Railbreak. Unreal 5, eh? Let’s hope it doesn’t ‘break’ the Switch.
New Switch eShop releases
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance – £54.99
Embark on this definitive version of the critically acclaimed Shin Megami Tensei V, massively expanded with a brand-new storyline featuring new locations, demons, and choices to make that will dictate the fate of all existence.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance consists of two complete story paths: experience a brand-new route, the “Canon of Vengeance” – a dramatic tale of revenge by the fallen, centered around new characters and an enigmatic cohort of demons, the Qadištu, who plot their own dark designs apart from the war of those who fight to maintain order and those who seek to defy it. Or explore the original story told in Shin Megami Tensei V, the “Canon of Creation” – an eternal conflict between angels and demons, in which the protagonist fights for the world’s fate.
Monster Hunter Stories – £24.98
Monster Hunter Stories is an RPG that takes the world of Monster Hunter and expands upon it in new and exciting ways! No longer are you hunting monsters, but raising them! In this deep story featuring heroes known as Monster Riders, you will live alongside monsters and form lifelong bonds with them. The first installment of the Monster Hunter Stories series returns, fully voiced in Japanese and English, with additional features such as a new museum mode where you can listen to music and view concept art, allowing you to dive even deeper into the world of Monster Hunter Stories.
Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked – £24.99
Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked is an electrifying 3 game classic revival collection where players relive the nostalgic side scrolling experience by becoming Sparkster. As Sparkster prepare to battle an army of robots and pigs in order to save the princess. The key features of the game will be:
Roxy Raccoon’s Pinball Panic – £8.99
When a power hungry, egotistical witch spreads her dark magic across the land, it is up to one raccoon to stop her! Play as Roxy, an adventurous young cub as she rolls through nine unique worlds in story mode, hoping to put an end to the witch’s dastardly plans! Roxy Raccoon’s Pinball Panic is a retelling of the original 3D platformer, this time told through an energetic and unique pinball format.
Break the witch’s wicked curse and conquer her many challenges across a wide variety of pinball tables, from arenas themed around parks and urban streets to casinos and more! Unlock cosmetics for character customization to express your winning style and prove once and for all that you are the true pinball champion!
Help Frank travel through history in this unique approach to the tower defense genre. Enter a bizarre daydream world in co-op or solo mode. Gather resources, build defense towers, and manage your minions. Take up the challenge and defeat the incoming enemies!
Willy’s Wonderland – The Game – £4.49
Willy’s Wonderland – The Game is a 2.5D beat ‘em up game based on the cult film of the same name, in which a group of Animatronics come to life and slaughter people who dare visit Willy’s Wonderland.
Players take control of either The Janitor or Liv as they face the hordes of evil commanded by the nefarious Animatronics – Tito Turtle, Siren Sara, Arty Alligator, Cammy Chameleon, Willy Weasel and more!
Try different combinations of punches and kicks to perform different combos and make use of special techniques and powerful abilities to get rid of Willy and his henchmen.
Seize the Grid! Carve out your territory by strategically enclosing areas, but watch out for enemies as you strive to dominate the game board in this thrilling adventure!
Embark on a thrilling journey with magical girls in the enchanting world of Astrune Academy! Discover the tale of aspiring sorcerers at this towering academy in the Sternship region. Engage in the daily life of the magic academy, complete assignments, and strive to become a skilled sorcerer. With a campus filled with a school shop, courtyard, and magical vending machines, you’ll experience the ultimate student life.
Froggy Bouncing Adventures – £4.99
Froggy Bouncing Adventures is a cute, miniature puzzle platformer starring the eponymous Froggy the Frog.
When Froggy’s buddy, Buzzy, disappears through a mysterious portal, it’s up to our amphibian hero to come to his friend’s rescue. Get ready for 60 levels of jumping and dashing, accompanied by a cozy aesthetic with colorful pixel art and relaxing music. Froggy will need to travel four different biomes with your help!
Can you brave through each level and rescue Buzzy?
Embark on a leisurely stroll through lush, fantastical landscapes as you uncover the secrets of the Forest Fantasy world. Every corner is filled with unique flora, fauna, and captivating mysteries waiting to be unraveled.
Meow meow meow mes amis! Cats, kittens, kitties and other fuzzballs are hidden all around the Parisian landscape, each waiting to be found!
Take a relaxing stroll around Paris – every cat you spot brings its unique splash of colour into the scenery, and finding them all will fill the city with life!
EGGCONSOLE SORCERIAN PC-8801mkIISR – £5.39
Sorcerian is an action RPG released in Japan by Nihon Falcom in 1987.
As the fifth installment in the company’s Dragon Slayer series, players create characters from four races: Fighter, Wizard, Dwarf, and Elf, forming parties of up to four members to embark on adventures across 15 scenarios. With a wide array of weapons and 120 types of magic at their disposal, players explore diverse challenges.
In modern society, people are increasingly focusing on entertainment, immersing themselves in the joy brought by material things and losing themselves. These fallen humans are punished by the Holy Spirit, turning into emotionless beings of obsession.
The devil survives by absorbing the corrupted faith of humans, but if humanity falls to the point of having no emotions, this will also affect the devil’s intentions. Without a choice, as a demon, you must destroy the Holy Spirit behind the curse to save humanity.
Counter Force: Tactical Warfare – £6.99
Enter the intense world of “Counter Force,” where every mission counts, and every shot could mean the difference between victory and defeat. As a highly trained operative, it’s up to you to thwart terrorist plots and restore peace to the world’s most volatile regions.
Experience the adrenaline-pumping action of paintball warfare in Paintball King! Engage in team-based FPS battles, armed with paintball guns and a variety of unlockable weapons.
Craft Archeology Simulator: Pyramid to Polar – £11.99
Embark on a thrilling archaeological adventure with Craft Archeology Simulator: Pyramid to Polar! Delve into the mysteries of ancient civilizations as you excavate artifacts in diverse locations like Egypt, Greece, Iceland, and Italy. Uncover hidden treasures buried beneath the sands and uncover the secrets of the past.
Welcome to Bumper Kitty, the ultimate hyper casual game where you’ll control adorable kitties in bumper cars, racing to bump off opponents from the platform. It’s the perfect way to spend your free time and challenge friends to determine the top leaderboard bumper kart!
Bumper Cats is easy to learn but hard to master, featuring simple one-tap controls to manoeuvre your kart and crash into opponents. The more opponents you bump off, the higher your score climbs in the global leaderboard!
Welcome to the long-awaited sequel of the beloved railway puzzle game!
Once again, you take on the role of managing railway lines in charming island settings, now with the added challenge of coordinating up to two trains to safely transport passengers and packages to their destinations. With shared railways, strategic route-building and proper railway switch placement are crucial to prevent collisions!
Neon Noir is a sci-fi thriller visual novel with a set of interactive mechanics that allow the player to be more immersed in the story. It is set in New Devon in the year 2169, a futuristic city in the hands of large corporations. To maintain power over the city and its population, corporations heavily rely on gathering and stealing data that can give them the edge over their competitors. Snatchers are the perfect agents for the job. One of these corporations, the Zora, has a very talented Snatcher named Colden, the main character that the player will follow throughout Neon Noir.
Welcome to the jungle of Fit My Cat’s wild and wacky animal edition!
Picture this: your Zoo pals have embarked on a lavish holiday retreat to an exclusive hotel with a sprawling pool oasis, just for them. But there’s a snag – they’re all vying for space on a colossal floatie, and they need your finesse to make it work.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it: cozy up your zoo crew!
Capture all the diamonds on each level to make the rainbow generator work again.
Dodge the obstacles and jump over the enemies to kill them.
Collect as many power balls as you can to increase your speed and jump power.
Anime vs Evil: Apocalypse – £22.49
Defeat evil forces together with those cute anime girls! This fast-paced anime shooter thrusts you into a vibrant world under siege by malevolent forces, and only a squad of adorable yet formidable anime girls can save the day.
Hover above the enemies and take aim from your chopper
Fire rockets and take them all out
Watch buildings getting destroyed and things explode as you hunt down the enemy
Moonstone Island is a creature-collecting life-sim set in an open world with 100 islands to explore. Make friends, brew potions, collect Spirits, and test your strength in card-based encounters to complete your Alchemy training!
Following your village’s tradition, you must move to an island in the sky to complete your Alchemy training. Armed with a team of nature spirits, magical potions, and the support of your new friends, you’ll explore ancient temples, dangerous dungeons, and hostile biomes to uncover the dark secret of Moonstone Island.
Railbreak melds a classic on-rails arcade experience with the cutting edge Unreal Engine 5. In this prelude to Outbreak: Shades of Horror, you’ll get an opportunity to see the sights and sounds of Cypress Ridge and get chomped on by a zombie or four! Face the city alone, or bring a friend along with optional 2-player co-op supported across the entire game.
Next week: Times & Galaxy, Echo Generation, DarkStar One, Ylands, Glyphs of Gitzan, Mushoku Tensei Jobless Reincarnation Quest of Memories, Everafter Falls, Mouse & Crane, Pogo Stick Champion, and Love Elysium: Secret of the Goddess.