December is off the best possible start. Not only can the first advent calendar door be opened, but new Marvel and Metroid games are due, along with an anticipated Square-Enix RPG and significant updates to Destiny 2, Red Dead Redemption, and Two Point Museum.
MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is, in fact, out today – Monday. Available on Game Pass, it’s a combined effort from DotEmu and Tribute, creators of TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, offering side-scrolling beat’em up action and marvellous pixel art. Fifteen characters are playable, and you won’t have to look hard to spot references to Capcom’s Marvel games of yore.
On a related note, the Xbox gains a belated and curiously timed release of The Phantom – another comic book based scrolling brawler. The PS5/Switch versions came and went without much fanfare, while the PC version has mixed reviews on Steam.
The Switch and its successor gain Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. As fans will testify, this has been a long time coming, originally announced in 2017 and in development at Bandai-Namco before switching to Retro Studios in 2019. New playthings include Samus’ motorcycle, the Vi-0-La, along with newfound psychic powers – including the ability to direct beams.
Also hitting the Switch 2 are Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, and the multiformat upgrade for Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare – which boosts resolution and frame rate. It’s coming to mobiles and, uh, Netflix too.
Square-Enix are launching their latest HD-2D RPG, Octopath Traveler 0, on all formats. The ‘0’ in the title is intended to reflect the fact that it’s suitable for newcomers as well as veterans. While it’s based on a mobile game, the mechanics have been altered to make it more console-like.
Other notable releases include the PSVR2’s rooftop sneaking Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow, roguelike survival shooter Let it Die: Inferno for PS5, a re-release of Monolith’s retro FPS Blood, the blaster packing Destiny 2: Renegades, and Two Point Museum’s wildlife saving DLC Zooseum.
If you haven’t had your fill of horror games just yet, Sleep Awake may be of interest too, set in the last city on earth and entailing people going missing in their sleep. It’s published by Blumhouse Games and has involvement from NIN.
Then there’s the cartoony beat’em up BROK: The Brawl Bar, the 32-bit era inspired Old School Rally, and an Xbox release of the allegedly terrible side-scroller YAKUZA: Shadows of New York – which has nothing to do with SEGA’s franchise. Consider yourself warned.
New release trailers
MARVEL Cosmic Invasion
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Octopath Traveler 0
Assassin’s Creed Shadows – Switch 2
Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow
Let it Die: Inferno
Destiny 2: Renegades
Two Point Museum: Zooseum
Blood: Refreshed Supply
BROK: The Brawl Bar
Sleep Awake
Old School Rally
DETECTIVE – Rainy Night
Sacrifice For Sale
New multiformat releases
- MARVEL Cosmic Invasion
- Octopath Traveler 0
- Destiny 2: Renegades
- Two Point Museum: Zooseum
- Blood: Refreshed Supply
- BROK: The Brawl Bar
- Sleep Awake
- DETECTIVE – Rainy Night
- Sophia’s Animal Clinic – Mission Wildlife Park
- Winterlight – Where silence says it all
- Sacrifice For Sale
- Speed Factor
- Dungeons and Ducklings
New on PSN
- Let it Die: Inferno
- Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow
- Whiskey Mafia: Blacklist
- Skinwalker
- Cannon Defender
- Trigger Path
- Ghost Town
- She’s Leaving
- Quick Whiskers
- Habitat Shapes
New on Xbox Store
- The Phantom
- I’m on Observation Duty 8
- Finding America: The Heartland Collector’s Edition
- Mist: Evolution
- ReSetna
- Connect It!
- M.A.U.S
- Pixapple Adventure
- Santa´s World
- Security Booth: Director’s Cut
- Stacky Dash
- Tank Mechanik Simulator – Reinforced
- ROUTINE
- Crime Simulator
- Seven Days Until Morning
- Cute Bonfire (Xbox Series)
- Elon and Friends: Winter Pack
- Slimeboo
- Caput Mortum
- Malachite: Temple of the Sun
- Octo Curse
- RoboHero
- YAKUZA: Shadows of New York
- Baseless
New Switch retail releases
eShop round-up coming Thursday
- Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Switch & Switch 2
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows – Switch 2
- Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny – Switch 2
- Octopath Traveler 0 – Switch & Switch 2
- Old School Rally – Special Edition
- R-Type Delta HD Boosted
- Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree
Next week: Terminator 2D: NO FATE, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Skate Story, Milano’s Odd Job Collection, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered International, Dunjungle, Montezuma’s Revenge – The 40th Anniversary Edition, Retro Motel Simulator, Bus World, Chroma Zero, Christmas Mutilator, Floaty Rescue, ASCENDANCE UNBOUND, and Military Logistics Simulator.