With digital sales leading the way, the phrase ‘setting tills ringing’ is mostly irrelevant in the world of gaming nowadays. This week though is different: The Legend of Zelda and EA Sports FC (nee FIFA) are franchises that always perform well at retail, with EA Sports FC 24 remaining in the UK’s top ten since launch. Zelda games always perform well physically too, becoming parts of cherished collections. Expect big things from both new entries in the UK charts.
EA SPORTS FC 25 hits the streets on Friday, featuring over 19,000 players from over 700 clubs, a new 5v5 Rush mode, and improved AI. The Switch’s Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is due Thursday, meanwhile, and puts Princess Zelda centre stage while equipped with a rod that can duplicate items and grab hold of objects. This should allow for non-linear and experimental gameplay, along with puzzles that have multiple solutions.
You’d think publishers may stay away from these two juggernauts, but no – it’s another busy week. From THQ Nordic comes their lavish-looking remake Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, featuring new controls. The 2010 original, lest you forget, was made with the Wii remote in mind. NiS America is also back with Reynatis, an RPG set within modern day Tokyo. Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 comes to PC, PS4 and Switch too, featuring four player co-op, while Ubisoft has a new Monopoly game due. You could say they have a monopoly on Monopoly.
RPG fans may also want to look into the intergalactic 2.5D adventure Beyond Galaxyland, and the 1960’s America set Bloomtown: A Different Story – from the creators of Graveyard Keeper. Those seeking shocks ‘n scares can instead mull over the undead farming/life sim ZombFarm, a belated Xbox releases of first-person survival horror Lunacy: Saint Rhodes, and the side-scrolling Creepy Tale: Some Other Place.
Then from GameMill there’s Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports, including arcade-style versions of golf, tennis, soccer, and basketball with power-ups and hazards.
A few adventure games are upon us too, including the time rewinding The Holy Gosh Darn, sandbox detective sim Shadows of Doubt, the genre-bending Ctrl Alt Ego, and the puzzle-filled 3 Minutes to Midnight. Also flying under the radar somewhat is 63 Days, a strategic battler set during the 1944 Warsaw uprising.
Of course, we aren’t without new retro re-releases and modern retro titles either. Iron Meat is a grotesque take on Contra offering grisly running and gunning thrills, Digital Eclipse and Team17 have teamed up to give Worms Armageddon the interactive museum treatment, while Forever Entertainment are behind Night Slashers: Remake – which gives the Data East cult classic scrolling brawler a new lease of life.
New release trailers
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
EA SPORTS FC 25
Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed
Reynatis
Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition
Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports
Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2
63 Days
Iron Meat
Shadows of Doubt
The Holy Gosh Darn
Night Slashers: Remake
Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles
Creepy Tale: Some Other Place
Exographer
Beyond Galaxyland
Bloomtown: A Different Story
ZombFarm
3 Minutes to Midnight
Redneck Joe Vs The Swamp Zombies
Faaast Penguin
New multiformat releases
- EA SPORTS FC 25
- Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed
- Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition
- Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports
- 63 Days
- Iron Meat
- Monopoly
- Night Slashers: Remake
- Shadows of Doubt
- Beyond Galaxyland
- Bloomtown: A Different Story
- ZombFarm
- Creepy Tale: Some Other Place
- Exographer
- The Holy Gosh Darn
- Murder Is Game Over: Deal Killer
- Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles
- Farmer Survivors
- Ricky Recharge
New on PSN
- Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2
- Faaast Penguin
- REYNATIS
- CROSSBOW: Bloodnight
- BODYCAM SHOOTER
- Tiny Starfighters
- Games Advent Calendar 2024
- Cat Rescue Story
New on Xbox Store
- Dark Light
- Cube Railway
- Redneck Joe Vs The Swamp Zombies
- 3 Minutes to Midnight
- Golfing in Aether
- egg boy
- Anarkade
- Ducky Dash
- Lunacy: Saint Rhodes
- Iron Sea Defenders
- The Unexpected Quest
- Emergency Crew
- Pocket Harvest
- Shiny Ski Resort
New Switch retail releases
eShop round-up coming Thursday
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- Advent Calendar 2024
- Cat Rescue Story
- Monopoly
- Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed
- EA SPORTS FC 25
- REYNATIS – Deluxe Edition
- Looney Tunes Wacky World of Sports
- Naheulbeuk’s Dungeon Master Limited Edition
Next week: Until Dawn, Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus, THRONE AND LIBERTY, NHL 25, Damikira, SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Patrick Star Game, Skautfold: Into the Fray, KILL KNIGHT, Cryptmaster, plus Legacy of Kain Collection and Bitmap Brothers Collection 2 for Evercade.