Out this week: Sniper Elite: Resistance, Citizen Sleeper 2, Eternal Strands, Cuisineer, Phantom Brave, Gimmick 2, more

It’s the end of the month, which means a long-awaited payday – the first of the year, no less – is imminent for many. Publishers must be hoping that there’s cash left over after paying off the post-Christmas credit card bills as it’s an exceedingly busy week for new releases. A little something for everyone, perhaps.

Rebellion are back with Sniper Elite: Resistance, which as you may have noticed, isn’t a numbered sequel. The storyline runs parallel with SE5, while features include co-op play and other online modes such as Invasion. It doesn’t seem to offer anything drastically new, but that’s fine considering Rebellion has had the formula perfected for a while. It isn’t like we see a new entry in the franchise annually either. Look out for it on Game Pass at launch, along with PS5, PS4, and PC. Yes, they’re putting out a PS4 version.

Game Pass owners can also dive into the lavish-looking spell casting fantasy adventure Eternal Strands – also due on PS5 and PC – and the third person defence shooter Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap this week. EDGE rated Eternal Strands highly, which is pleasing – we’ve had our eye on it for a while. The long running magazine also gave the anticipated Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector – a sci-fi RPG inspired by tabletop games, based around decision making – a positive review. This too is a multiformat release, even hitting Switch at launch.

the lavish-looking spell casting fantasy adventure Eternal Strands

The Xbox also gains the first-person horror adventure Dreamless, which hit Switch last week, and takes place in an abandoned house within a village where children have gone missing. That’s joined by Mostroscopy, a cartoony one-on-one fighting game that mixes monsters with Mexican luchadores.

Cuisineer then jumps from PC to all formats, including Xbox, taking the form of a restaurant management sim that involves heading into enemy filled dungeons to gather ingredients. There’s a great deal of flexibility, allowing you to spend time as you see fit. Elements from Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing also feature. Another game reaching consoles anew is Gimmick! 2, a modern sequel to a late Sunsoft NES platformer. The Switch version managed to amass an 80% Metacritic. The innovative puzzler Botany Manor, entailing growing rare plants by creating perfect conditions, should also be out on PS5 later this week, finally.

Strategic RPG Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero meanwhile comes to PS5, PS4 and Switch. This long-time coming sequel (the original launched in 2004) sees Ivoire, a young girl with the power to speak to Phantoms, assemble a team to fight off a fleet of ghost ships. Reviews went live last week, being a mixture of 7s and 8s. “Tactical RPGs are always a hit and miss with gamers but Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is a fun and accessible title for anyone looking to get into the genre and those who already enjoy it,” said PSU.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero

Then there’s The Stone of Madness – a stealth adventure set in a Spanish monastery, where you play as inmates looking to escape – Wales Interactive’s top-down auto-attack survival game Slasher: Origins, chilly side-scrolling action RPG squeakquel Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter, nightclub bouncer sim Techno Banter, the hyperactive looking Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos, and the rhythm shooter ROBOTBEAT.

For retro fans there’s Accolade Sports Collection (QUByte Classics) – which brings together five 16-bit sports games, including Hardball and Shut Up And Jam (minus Barkley) – the Mega Man style co-op platformer Basureroes: Invasion, and eastasiasoft’s Men in Black influenced side-scrolling shooter Agent Fall.

If you missed the news last week, NINJA GAIDEN 2 Black – a remaster of the 2008 original, now powered by UE5 – and 505 Games’ real-time strategic shooter Red Solstice 2 Ultimate Edition are also out now, with NG2B available on Game Pass. After a quiet few weeks, Xbox owners suddenly have a lot of new games to play.  

New release trailers

Sniper Elite: Resistance

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector

Eternal Strands

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero

Cuisineer 

Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter

The Stone of Madness

Red Solstice 2 Ultimate Edition

ROBOBEAT 

Dreamless 

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap

Gimmick! 2

Mostroscopy 

Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos

Slasher: Origins

Techno Banter

Accolade Sports Collection (QUByte Classics)

Basureroes: Invasion

Agent Fall 

Genso Manège

New multiformat releases

  • Sniper Elite: Resistance
  • Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
  • Cuisineer
  • Eternal Strands
  • Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter
  • The Stone of Madness
  • Red Solstice 2: Survivors Ultimate Edition
  • NINJA GAIDEN 2 Black
  • Slasher: Origins
  • Accolade Sports Collection (QUByte Classics)
  • Techno Banter
  • Basureroes: Invasion
  • Gimmick! 2
  • ROBOBEAT
  • City Transport Simulator: Tram
  • Agent Fall
  • Stellar Docks
  • Checkmate Survivors
  • Squab

New on PSN

  • Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero
  • Botany Manor
  • Mizuchi
  • Farewell of Life

New on Xbox Store

  • Dreamless
  • Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap
  • Mostroscopy
  • Wayfinder
  • A Rite from the Stars: Remaster Edition
  • Casual Sport Series: Tennis
  • Hero of Fate
  • Marine Survivors (Xbox Series)
  • Stones Keeper

New Switch retail releases

eShop round-up coming Thursday

  • Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero
  • Cuisineer
  • Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos
  • Life Is Strange: Double Exposure
  • Genso Manège
  • Gimmick 2

Next week: Kingdom Come Deliverance II, Sid Meier’s Civilization VII, MACROSS -Shooting Insight, Moons of Darsalon, Fly Punch Boom, Ambulance Life – Deluxe Edition, Rogue Waters, Luck be a Landlord, UNDER DEFEAT, Spacepunk Survival, and Mechanita.