April has turned out far stronger for new releases than previously envisioned, with Pragmata, Vampire Crawlers, Tomodochi Life, and the surprise hit Mouse: P.I. for Hire generating a buzz on social media and gaining impressively high review scores. If you’re able to tear yourself away from that little lot, you’ll find another bumper crop of new releases out this week.
Leading the way is Sony’s PS5 exclusive Saros from Housemarque. It follows in the footsteps of Returnal, being a third-person shooter with hypnotic bullet waves to dodge, and is supposedly grander in scale while having a more complex narrative. Reviews went live last Friday, with top marks from a handful of outlets and a long string of 8s and 9s.
That’s joined by the brutal superhero 3v3 tag fighter Invincible VS, Don’t Nod’s frozen planet set cinematic third-person adventure Aphelion, first-person cosmic horror The Shore, the multiformat MotoGP 26 – which has live rider ratings and collectable cards this year – plus the polished looking vehicular Survivors-alike TerraTech Legion.
eastasiasoft are about to launch CyberBlocker Complete Edition – an energic fusion of a brick breaker and a shooter, complete with a detachable craft. Retro fans might want to look out for Spy Drops too – a low poly stealth adventure with some modern touches, and local multiplayer – the Pokemon inspired Monster Crown: Sin Eater, and the element-based Zelda alike Elementallis.
Another new release intended to generate nostalgia is inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories – a slice of life in a Japanese convenience store circa 1990. Look out for it on Game Pass.
Then there’s the online co-op Survivors-alike The Spell Brigade, deck-building card battler Magin: The Rat Project Stories, first-person precision platformer The Confinement, turn-based tactical game ARC SEED, the boobytrap-based multiplayer battler Bandit Trap, freestyle scooter sim ScooterFlow, and the chilled Adorable Adventures – which entails a boar searching the wilderness for their family. It appears quite accomplished visually.
There’s the meme based Metroidvania This is Fine: Maximum Cope too, which is due on all formats and backed by a retail release on Switch.
Also in the world of retail releases, both The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary and Fallout 4: Anniversary belatedly come to Switch 2, while the Evercade gains the Atari 2600 collection Activision Collection 2 and the modern retro compilation Mega Cat Collection 3, containing the Link’s Awakening inspired Kudzu, the gory NES puzzle platformer The Meating, and more.
New release trailers
Saros
MotoGP 26
Invincible VS
Aphelion
CyberBlocker Complete Edition
inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories
Monster Crown: Sin Eater
This is Fine: Maximum Cope
Adorable Adventures
Bandit Trap
Bus Bound
The Shore Enhanced Edition
TerraTech Legion
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era
Magin: The Rat Project Stories
Spy Drops
The Spell Brigade
The Confinement
Elementallis
SIMULACRA
Evercade – Activision Collection 2
Evercade – Mega Cat Studios Collection 3
New multiformat releases
- MotoGP 26
- Invincible VS
- Aphelion
- The Shore Enhanced Edition
- CyberBlocker Complete Edition
- inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories
- Monster Crown: Sin Eater
- This is Fine: Maximum Cope
- Adorable Adventures
- Bandit Trap
- Bus Bound
- Magin: The Rat Project Stories – Essence Edition
- ScooterFlow
- Constance
- Spy Drops
- Rival Stars Horse Racing
- Drill Core
- The Spell Brigade
- The Confinement
- Elementallis
- Dungeon Clawler
- Plantera 2: Golden Acorn
New on PSN
- Saros
- Winx Club: The Magic is Back
- Love Too Easily 2 : Summer Pocha
- Blackhole Incremental
- Kyra The Hunter
- Honey Sprint
- SIMULACRA
- The End Comes Tomorrow: Gamebook Edition
New on Xbox Store
- Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era (Game Preview)
- TerraTech Legion
- Minos Trials (Xbox Series)
- Zoo Orbs: Safari (Xbox Series)
- ARC SEED
- Peter Pan: Hidden Objects
- Word Quest: Cyberpunk
- Word Quest: Horror
- Cozy Valley Life
- Fool’s Pub
- The Coma 3: Bloodlines
- Lord Ambermaze
- Moon Raider: Anniversary Edition
- Survivor Legion
- Survivor Mercs
- Cat From Hell 2
- Dr. Psycho: Hospital Escape
- Pixie Plates
New Switch retail releases
eShop round-up coming Thursday
- MotoGP 26 (Switch & Switch 2)
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition (Switch 2)
- Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition (Switch 2)
- Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta
- Homura: The Crimson Warriors
- THIS IS FINE: Maximum Cope
- Winx Club: The Magic is Back
- Romancing SaGa-Minstrel Song-Remastered International
New Evercade carts
- Activision Collection 2
- Mega Cat Collection 3
Next week: Mixtape, MOTORSLICE, THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION, Versebound, Doll Defenders, Noodlebound, Little Things, Akuma Rise, MOTE: The Manuscript, Super Adventure Hand, Wax Heads, Evil Inside VR, Priest Simulator: Vampire Show, Decline’s Drops, Golem Lights, and Zoo Simulator.