This week sees the return of the biggest name in gaming – the esteemed block rotating, PSP launch line-up headlining, puzzler Lumines. That, and good ol’ Call of Duty.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is said to be the biggest entry to date, at least in terms of day one content. We’re in for a co-op campaign set in 2035, a multiplayer suite featuring sixteen 6v6 maps and two 20v20 maps, and a Zombies mode with a customisable vehicle to thrash around in. Treyarch has employed a new ‘three-lane design philosophy’ for MP too, which is intended to keep battles fluid and feeling fair. It’s perhaps worth noting though that this isn’t the year Call of Duty goes current-gen only, with Black Ops 7 supporting PS4 and Xbox One still.
You’d think publishers would stay away from launching a new titles alongside Call of Duty, but that’s not the case – there are around 50 new releases due this week.
Other big hitters include THQ’s remaster of the 2008 fantasy RPG Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, now simply titled Sacred 2 Remaster and featuring improved combat. Nacon and Teyon are back with the “ultra realistic” racer Rennsport, starring vehicles from Porsche, Aston Martin and BMW. Ubisoft’s big winter release meanwhile appears to simply be Anno 117: Pax Romana – a Roman city builder with a strategic slant. They are however re-releasing the Avatar tie-in next month with a new third-person mode.
A few re-releases are on the agenda this week, such Monster Hunter Stories Collection on Xbox and DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO for Switch and Switch 2. A trio of Atelier Ryza RPGs also launch as a new definitive edition trilogy, available in a bundle or a new trilogy. Atari 50 owners meanwhile can jump into the anticipated Namco DLC, which adds the likes of Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaxian and Xevious.
Then there’s the return of Level 5’s anime football RPG in Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road, promising indie Goodnight Universe – starring a toddler with physic abilities – Devolver Digital’s combat-focused side-scroller Possessor(s), PSP puzzler revival Lumines Arise from the creators of Tetris Effect, a belated console release of the social gaming network inspired VIDEOVERSE, first person horror duo Dark Atlas: Infernum and Chorus of Carcosa, the comical sounding Pigeon Simulator, and a new ‘Relaunched’ rendition of the off world base builder Surviving Mars.
A bunch of pixel art action platformers are due too, including Lia: Hacking Destiny, CLAWPUNK, Bunninjutsu, Hollowgrace, and the co-op focused Windswept – starring an unlikely duo of a duck and a turtle.
New release trailers
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
Rennsport
Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road
Goodnight Universe
Anno 117: Pax Romana
Sacred 2 Remaster
Possessor(s)
Monster Hunter Stories Collection
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO (Switch)
Lumines Arise
Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack
Let Them Come: Onslaught
GIGASWORD
VIDEOVERSE
Lia: Hacking Destiny
CLAWPUNK
Pigeon Simulator
Winter Burrow
Chorus of Carcosa
Liminal Department
Dark Atlas: Infernum
Surviving Mars Relaunched
Atari 50 – The Namco Legendary Pack DLC
Bomb Kitten
Hollowgrace
Windswept
New multiformat releases
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
- Rennsport
- Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road
- Goodnight Universe
- Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration: The Namco Legendary Pack
- ANNO 117 Pax Romana
- Sacred 2 Remaster
- Monster Hunter Stories
- Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
- Let Them Come: Onslaught
- GIGASWORD
- Legends BMX
- Lia: Hacking Destiny
- Love is all around 2
- Bomb Kitten
- CLAWPUNK
- VIDEOVERSE
- Pocket Minigolf
- Windswept
- Hexa Chippy
- Rue Valley
- Dark Atlas: Infernum
- Hidden Cats in Rio de Janeiro
New on PSN
- Lumines Arise
- Possessor(s)
- Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout DX
- Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy DX
- Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key DX
- Where Winds Meet (F2P)
- Rookie Knight
- Surviving Mars: Relaunched
- Just a Little Purr Suit
- Audio Trip
- Rabbit Samurai
- Hymer 2000
New on Xbox Store
- Pigeon Simulator
- Schedule I: Dope Empire
- Winter Burrow
- Suzerain
- Zumba World – The Lost Marble Island
- P1: Anchor Light
- Bus Stop Shuffle Series X|S
- Chorus Of Carcosa
- Flying Candy
- Hollowgracce
- Wildkeepers Rising
- Before Exit : Gas Station
- College Bowl
- I Love Finding Cats Collector’s Edition
- Astro Duel
- Bioprototype
- Bioweaver
- Bunninjutsu
- Chopper Strike!
- Dirt Bike Retro
- Horror Tale 3: The Witch
- Liminal Department
- Use Your Words 2
New Switch retail releases
eShop round-up coming Thursday
- Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero
- Rooftops & Alleys: Dual Pack Edition
- The Wreck
Next week: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl (PS5), SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide, Demonschool, Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster, R-Type Delta: HD Boosted, Squirrel with a Gun (Switch 2), Samurai Academy: Paws of Fury, Mel The Cat, Sektori, The Last Shot Arcades, StarLightRiders: HyperJump, Secrets of Blackrock Manor – Escape Room, Richie’s Plank Experience, Pad Quad, Lamplighter, and Where Is Billy?