Two of this week’s new releases have already had the review treatment, courtesy of their deluxe early access editions. To say Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a long time coming sequel would be an understatement – the original was published in 2011 by the original THQ. A sequel not only from a different publisher but a different developer too, is a bit of a rarity. The task fell onto Saber Interactive, who’ve woven in their impressive ‘Swarm Tech’ (seen in World War Z) allowing hundreds of enemies on screen at once.
Space Marine 2 reviews have been positive so far, resulting in an 82% Metacritic for the console iterations, with many critics calling it the shooter of the year and a new standard for Warhammer games. We reckon it’ll scratch that Gears of Wars itch, offering similar heavy-handed shooting thrills. “A dizzying sense of scale, along with some of the slickest combat around, will leave you often breathless but always grinning,” said Games Radar.
A new Test Drive has been a long time coming too – the last instalment was in 2012. Nacon and KT Racing are behind the open world and online player populated Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. The most positive review so far appears to be God is a Geek’s 7.5, with the rest mostly clocking in at 6/10. The Metacritic score sits at 66% at the time of typing.
PC, Xbox Series and PS5 owners can also jump into Funko Fusion on Friday, with a Switch and PS4 release planned for later in the year. Over 20 franchises – including Jurassic World, Back to the Future, Hot Fuzz, and Masters of the Universe – has been mashed together with a story to explain the world hopping. Expect something a bit more adult and combat orientated from a typical LEGO game, with a few horror themes creeping in. That’ll be The Thing, then.
Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP is making an appearance during this busy week too. This high school set zombie hack ‘n slasher can be traced back to 2012 too, originally published by Warner Bros. This is a remaster with new auto-shooting modes and faster-paced combat to help keep the claret flowing. A new soundtrack features too, which presumably means they couldn’t keep the licensed music in. If we recall, the original game was fun but over quickly.
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland couldn’t be any more different. It’s a new NES platformer with a character swapping mechanic, not dissimilar to Konami’s original TMNT tie-in. It can be played with pixel graphics or with a HD cartoon overlay that replicates the look of the ‘90s cartoon. A retail release is planned for later this year. Retro fans may also want to look out for Yars Rising, which turns Atari’s classic shooter into a Metroidvania set within the same universe. WayFoward are responsible. The pixel art pups Pablo and Luna are back in Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines too, which sees the duo trying to save the cosmos.
Then there’s Deep Beyond, a short story involving a female explorer and her canine pal who run into trouble after deep sea diving for treasure. It’s viewed from first-person and features a distinct ‘pop art’ visual style with a muted colour palate. The low entry price should compensate for its short runtime – you’ll only need to set aside an hour for this one.
Other releases during this busy week include the emotional adventure Selfloss, a console release of the morbid-looking and puzzle-filled Unholy, the rogue-like action-platformer Elsie, Void Bastards’ colourful shooter focused follow-up Wild Bastards, psychological survival horror Edge of Sanity, and the dustbowl tower defence shooter Road Defense: Outsiders. If you’re worried all that doom and destruction may corrupt your soul, magical garden maker Garden Witch Life and the laid back city builder Fabledom should be up your alley. Also best avert your eyes from The Jackbox Naughty Pack, which is skewing dirty. It’s looking more tasteful than Ubisoft’s We Dare, at least.
[EDIT] We almost forgot Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics will be taking us for a ride on PS4 and Switch this Thursday, with a physical release to follow. An Xbox version is planned for next year.
New release trailers
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown
Funko Fusion
Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP
Crossy Road Castle
Yars Rising
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland
Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines
MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
The Jackbox Naughty Pack
METRO QUESTER | OSAKA
Selfloss
Unholy
Elsie
Wild Bastards
Deep Beyond
Edge Of Sanity
Kiki – A Vibrant 3D Platformer
Road Defense: Outsiders
Garden Witch Life
Fabledom
PICO PARK 2
New multiformat releases
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
- Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown
- Funko Fusion
- Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP
- Crossy Road Castle
- Yars Rising
- Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland
- Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines
- The Jackbox Naughty Pack
- METRO QUESTER | OSAKA
- Selfloss
- Unholy
- Wild Bastards
- Deep Beyond
- Edge of Sanity
- Customers From Hell
- Vampire: The Masquerade – Reckoning of New York
- Aidan in Danger
- Kiki – A Vibrant 3D Platformer
- Garden Witch Life
- Fabledom
- Road Defense: Outsiders
- Samurai Kento
New on PSN
- Elsie
- MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
- Moe Waifu H Genius
- Snow Scout
New on Xbox Store
- World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing 24 Gold Edition
- Action SuperCross
- Dice Assassin
- GoobnBalloonsDX
- PICO PARK 2
- Pneumata
- Poppy Playtime: Chapter 2
- Poppy Playtime: Chapter 3
New Switch retail releases
eShop round-up coming Thursday
- Yars Rising
- Cocoon
- The Last Faith
- Celestia: Chain of Fate
- Wild Bastards
Next week: Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, The Karate Kid: Street Rumble, The Plucky Squire, Enotria: The Last Song, Matchbox Driving Adventures, STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor Standard Edition (Xbox One/PS4), Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged, EA SPORTS FC 25 Ultimate Edition, A Night on the Farm, Byte The Bullet, Atama, Into the Radius, MindSeize, Keylocker, Melobot – A Last Song, Paladin’s Passage, The Last Shot, and Cosmic Paradox: Noire.