It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas. No, really. This week sees new major first-party releases from both Sony and Nintendo, forming part of their Q4 line-ups, along with two licensed games – one of which literally has the word ‘Christmas’ in its title.
As you’ve no doubt heard by now, PS5 exclusive Marvel’s Wolverine isn’t exactly off to a great start. It debuted with a 77% Metacritic score, formed of a mixture of 6s, 7s, and just a handful of 8s. For whatever reason, be it meddling from Sony or in-house decisions, Insomniac has reportedly given us a linear, casual, almost movie tie-in-like experience that panders to players with marked scent routes and QTE scenes that can’t be failed. Even the gory combat, a touted high point, reportedly isn’t up to much due to becoming stale fast. It’s strange that out of all of Sony’s PS5 games, this is the one they felt should cater to the masses.
From Nintendo comes Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave on Switch 2. This tactical RPG sees four playable heroes from the past transported to the future to stop resurrected demon god Balor. Mouse controls feature in the series for the first time, and it’s possible to recruit allies, head into dungeons to gather materials, train in an arena once per week, and spend downtime researching opponents. Look out for it on Thursday both physically and on the eShop.
The Switch 2 also gains a belated release of Lego Batman: Legacy of The Dark Knight, along with a native version of Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed. Nihon Falcom’s Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter meanwhile comes to PS5, Switch 2 and Switch – featuring new cooking, poker and fishing mini-games – while the retro collection Aero The Acro-Bat Legacy + Sunsoft Lost Gems is out on both PS5 and Switch. We’re unsure if that last one is due out digitally, mind.
Coming to all formats is RuneScape: Dragonwilds – the first entry in the series to grace consoles. This is a community-driven co-operative survival adventure that builds on RuneScape lore, and features reorchestrated musical tracks. The PC version has been in early access for a while and appears to have gone down well with fans of the franchise.
There’s Active Matter, too – a first-person military shooter set within a fractured and unstable world. Anomalies not only change gravity but also map layouts on the fly. PvP battles are the order of the day. According to Xbox Wire, tinyBuild’s dinosaur shooter FEROCIOUS is coming to consoles this week as well. At the time of typing, though, it’s yet to be officially announced.
During this curiously busy week, we can also expect the free-to-play creature-catching open-world RPG Aniimo, turn-based strategy board game Flamecraft, Train Sim World 7 – which has three new routes to master, including Yorkshire – iRacing Studios NASCAR 26 with its new chase mode, tactile wooden diorama puzzler Woodo, the cutesy hidden object focused Sniper Dan, FMV adventure Akiba Lost, and the anime mech shooter PATLABOR the Case Files.
Those two licensed games mentioned in the opening paragraph are the scrolling brawler The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival – from the developers of The Karate Kid: Street Rumble, starring Rick Grimes, Daryl Dixon, Michonne, and Negan as an unlockable – and the 3D platformer The Grinch 2: Saving Christmas. The first Grinch game was a 2.5D platformer, so it’s pleasing to see this isn’t more of the same.
Eager players can also leap into Dune: Awakening and EA SPORTS FC 27 later this week via their Ultimate Editions, with the latter priced at a penny under £100. The standard edition is out 25th Sept for £69.99, set to grace all formats including the PS4, Xbox One and original Switch.
New release trailers
Marvel’s Wolverine
Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave
Lego Batman: Legacy of The Dark Knight (Switch 2)
RuneScape: Dragonwilds
iRacing Studios NASCAR 26
Train Sim World 7
Active Matter
Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter
Woodo
Roman Sands RE:Build
Flamecraft
FOUNTAINS
The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival
The Grinch 2: Saving Christmas
Sniper Dan
Akiba Lost
PATLABOR the Case Files
New multiformat releases
- RuneScape: Dragonwilds
- Two Point Hospital: Full Health Collection
- iRacing Studios NASCAR 26
- Train Sim World 7
- Active Matter
- Aniimo
- Woodo
- Flamecraft
- FOUNTAINS
- Fading Echo
- Kernel Hearts
- Au Revoir
- ENDLESS Legend 2
- The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival
- The Grinch 2: Saving Christmas
- Dimensional Animals
- Roman Sands RE:Build
- The Alchemist of Ars Magna
- Sniper Dan
- Moving Simulator
- Dune: Awakening (Deluxe & Ultimate Editions)
- EA SPORTS FC 27 Ultimate Edition
New on PSN
- Marvel’s Wolverine
- Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth
- AKIBA LOST
- PATLABOR the Case Files
- Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter
New on Xbox Store
- FEROCIOUS
- Cipher Monk: Cassette Equation (Xbox Series)
- TCG Card Shop Simulator (Game Preview)
- Catch Flex
- Unbox the Room
- Airport Baggage Simulator
- Owlbound Tomes (Xbox Series)
- Panda: Shards of Aurora
- Death Simulator
- Shadow Cat (Xbox Series)
- Sugar Box
- Zombuffoonery
New Switch retail releases
eShop round-up coming Thursday
- Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave (Switch 2)
- Lego Batman: Legacy of The Dark Knight (Switch 2)
- Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed (Switch 2)
- Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter (Switch 2)
- Absolum (Switch 2)
- Layers Of Fear – The Final Masterpiece Edition (Switch 2)
- Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter (Switch)
- City Hunter (Switch)
- Aero The Acro-Bat Legacy + Sunsoft Lost Gems (Switch)
- The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival (Switch)
- The Grinch 2: Saving Christmas (Switch)
- Instant Sports 2 (Switch)
Next week: EA SPORTS FC 27, SILENT HILL: Townfall, CONTROL Resonant, Dune: Awakening, Garfield – Escape From Monday, Alien Breed 35th Anniversary, Harvest Moon : Echos Of Teradea, Rivage, Samson, Fallen City Brawl, Well Dweller, Graveyard Keeper 2, VORON: Raven’s Story, BIRDCAGE, Lawn Mowing Simulator 2, Sandwalkers, I Hear Them, My Hidden Things, Bibi & Tina, Into the Radius 2, Such a Guy, SiN Reloaded, Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow, Farming Camp, Agefield High: Rock the School, Maestro, Kalanoro, Heroes of Magic & Cards, and Beer Manufacture Simulator.