April 2023 New Games Thread

[Violentvixen]

Thread concept:
The basic idea is to list new games that you are interested in, as well as games you are potentially curious about or want to give wider attention to. You can briefly describe them or ask other people to help fill you in. The hope is that regular threads like these can act as a collective filter/discovery mechanism to help people decide what is worth checking out.

"New games" means any new title that is being released or ported this month in any capacity (not "backlogs/what you are playing this month"). The angle here is sharing your anticipation and promoting game discovery (as opposed to sharing comments about a first playthrough in progress - that belongs elsewhere).

• If you want a handy list that covers most of the major upcoming games of the month, here's a few text lists of upcoming games:
  • Giant Bomb
  • Game Informer
  • Wikipedia

Here are the subscription service lists for this month:

Games with Gold

• Lamentum Mar 16-Apr 15
• Out of Space Couch Edition April 1-30
• Peaky Blinders: Mastermind April 16-May 15

Gamepass

• Everspace 2 April 6
• Ghostwire: Tokyo April 12
• Minecraft Legends April 18
• Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly April 20
• Cassette Beasts April 26 (PC only)
• The Last Case Of Benedict Fox April 27
• Homestead Arcana TBD

PS+

• Meet Your Maker (PS4 and PS5)
• Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS4 and PS5)
• Tails of Iron (PS4 and PS5)

PS+ Extra

• I can't find anything? Seems weird.

Feel free to post other lists or list videos that you find useful.
If there is already a thread on TT about a game, please add a link to it.

Final request: If you are the first person to mention a game please provide (at minimum) a short sentence description. (If it is a very big AAA release though, then don't worry about it.) This is a good convention that makes the thread more useful as a discovery mechanism, and especially helps out anyone who doesn't follow the news as closely as you.

 

[Violentvixen]

I had no idea Coffee Talk Episode 2 was coming to Gamepass so I am delighted. The first one was a weird, quiet game/visual novel about mixing drinks and talking to visitors to your coffee shop. A lot of them are fantasy characters, orcs, werewolves, etc yet most of their problems are mundane. I played the demo on Steam a while ago and liked it. Definitely getting this.

Puzzle Quest 3 comes to consoles April 18th, I loved the first one and never played 2. But it's been out on mobile for a while so maybe I'd check it there for free first. Sounds like they've added a lot of microtransactions which is lame.

 

[Bongo]

I'm gonna be perfectly honest with you: the largest single reason that I want to play Advance Wars: Re-Boot Camp is because of the soundtrack. No more GBA hiss!

 

[lincolnic]

Post-game DLC for Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores comes out this month, and having just finished that game a few days ago, I'm ready for another little chunk of adventure.

 

[4-So]

Probably not a day one but I want to pick up Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection (that's a mouthful) since I've never played any of those games. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is something I'm interested in based on how good Fallen Order was but I'm not sure if I'll pick it up at launch with the proximity being so close to Tears of the Kingdom, which I am definitely picking up at launch.

The only certainty in April is Advance Wars: Re-Boot Camp.

 

[Kazin]

I can't remember - did they add maps to the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection? That would make those games much smoother to play...

 

[MCBanjoMike]

It technically just came out yesterday (ie in March), but Dredge has been delightful so far.

 

[JBear]

It technically just came out yesterday (ie in March), but Dredge has been delightful so far.

I've been eagerly waiting for it since the Steam Nextfest demo. Can't wait to fish up some cthulus.

 

[Felicia]

The TRON fan community (including me, obviously) is really excited about TRON: Identity being released april 11th for Switch and Steam, since it's the first new TRON story in any media since 2013 (there was another TRON game in 2016, but it was just a flashy-looking endless runner without a story). Bizarrely for the franchise, which is probably best known for arcadey action games, it's a detective visual novel (by Bithell Games!). On the one hand, it might come off as Disney not really caring that much about the franchise since it's a much smaller effort than, say, the recent Star Wars games, but on the other hand, I love the TRON story, so I'm personally very excited by a story-based TRON game, as weird as it seems. And unlike the (supposedly) upcoming movie, Jared Leto isn't connected to it in any way!

 

[WildcatJF]

At the moment I plan on skipping buying anything new in April, as I have two I'm expecting in May (Tears of the Kingdom and Trinity Trigger) I need to save up for, haha.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Advance Wars certainly caught my eye, but my existing backlog of SRPGs I’m deeply interested in and haven’t already played is enough to hold off my FOMO.

Such as, for example, Dungeons of Aether, a turn based dungeon crawler spinoff of Very Good Smash Brothers clone, Rivals of Aether,

 

[YangusKhan]

Cassette Beasts comes out for Steam April 26th. This has had demos in prior NextFests. It's another indie take on Pokemon, but the demo really impressed me much more than that kind of indie game usually does. It's got oodles of style, and a lot of its mechanical iterations on the basic Pokemon framework is really neat and fun. It's coming to consoles a bit later on this year, too.

 

[RT-55J]

Epic just shadowdropped a hot new game on their storefront right at the very end of March, and it's, um...

*checks notes*

...ZZT?

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/zzt

okay then

 

[Issun]

That's pretty cool I think.

 

[Violentvixen]

Cassette Beasts comes out for Steam April 26th. This has had demos in prior NextFests. It's another indie take on Pokemon, but the demo really impressed me much more than that kind of indie game usually does. It's got oodles of style, and a lot of its mechanical iterations on the basic Pokemon framework is really neat and fun. It's coming to consoles a bit later on this year, too.

I was all confused as this comes out on Gamepass that day too, but just checked and it's only on PC not Xbox. Totally forgot Gamepass does that sometimes.

 

[Peklo]

GrimGrimoire OnceMore is out today/this week on Sony and Nintendo platforms, upgrading a game with a stellar title to an even better one. Is the game itself good? Yeah, but nomenclature is what matters here.

 

[Seven]

I was just going to mention GrimGrimoire OnceMore since I picked up my copy earlier today. Playing Odin Sphere on the PS2 made me a big Vanillaware fan and I remember searching everywhere for a copy of GrimGrimoire, unfortunately by the time I found one my cousin wanted his PS2 back so I never got to play it. Now it's been remastered and available on a handheld system where I'm sure it'll shine like the past few Vanillaware releases.

Next on my list is the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection. Back in the day it seemed like there was a new Mega Man game being released every 3-4 months so I ignored this series. This was apparently a big mistake since I've been seeing people praise these games for years, so now I'm going to jump in and see what all the excitement is about.

Finally there's Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp which I'm glad is finally getting released after that major delay. However I'm hoping there is more to this game then just being a remaster with new graphics, voice acting, and online play since outside the first two a potential GBA NSO release of these games could easily make this version redundant.

 

[Violentvixen]

Oh yeah, the Fire Emblem Engage DLC comes out today! Downloading that now as it's new story and stuff.

 

[gogglebob]

Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, featuring six (or so) Mega Man Battle Network games, releases on April 14.

Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, featuring six Final Fantasy games, releases on April 19.

I would like to formally lodge a complaint with management. Please let me know who I can contact in regards to this matter.

 

[Violentvixen]

I swear Infinite Guitars was mentioned elsewhere on the forum but can't find it. But turns out it came out on Gamepass too so putting it here! Since it's a rhythm game I know I won't last long playing it but was excited to try this RPG mashup. Downloaded it and hope to play this week.

 

[Classic]

Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, featuring six Final Fantasy games, releases on April 19.

Having difficulty understanding why I would want PS4 or Switch Pixel Remaster compared to PC. Maybe this needs its own wonky thread?

 

[4-So]

Having difficulty understanding why I would want PS4 or Switch Pixel Remaster compared to PC. Maybe this needs its own wonky thread?

Because I don't have a couch in front of my PC. Or a 65" screen. (And I suppose for the Switch, portability. Not appealing to me personally but it seems to be a highly valued feature.)

They also added new features for console:

• Change soundtracks: The Pixel Remaster series features utterly superb new orchestral arrangements of FINAL FANTASY I - VI’s soundtracks. However, we know some of you may want to recreate the original experience of playing these games, so you’ll be able to switch between the original and rearranged soundtracks.
• Change fonts: The console release of FINAL FANTASY I - VI gives you the option to switch between two different fonts: the default font and a new pixel-based font that recreates the feel of the original games.
• Turn off random encounters: Sometimes you just want to explore in peace, so a feature in the Pixel Remaster games lets you turn off random encounters completely. This means you can roam the world without being harassed by monsters. That also means you won’t get stronger, so be careful how you use it…
• Adjust experience: Speaking of getting stronger, want to speed things up a little? Boost features let you adjust the experience gained by up to four times. Perfect if you want an easier run through the games.

 

[Becksworth]

I was going to get the remaster of VI at least on my Switch OLED because I figure it will look more vibrant on it vs the Steamdeck. The new pixel font could be better but it seems good enough to use it over messing with font mods.

 

[Nodal]

I was going to get the remaster of VI at least on my Switch OLED because I figure it will look more vibrant on it vs the Steamdeck. The new pixel font could be better but it seems good enough to use it over messing with font mods.

To be clear, modifying the font in the pc version is one file.

 

[Octopus Prime]

All that other stuff though.

alos I don’t like playing games on my computer, but that’s a Me thing

 

[Nodal]

All that other stuff though.

alos I don’t like playing games on my computer, but that’s a Me thing

Oh I don't care where people play game. I just thought people should know how easy it is to swap out the fonts if you want to.

 

[Voncaster]

Having difficulty understanding why I would want PS4 or Switch Pixel Remaster compared to PC. Maybe this needs its own wonky thread?

I can't explain why you would want a PS4 or Switch Pixel Remaster.

I want the PS4 Pixel Remasters because playing games on console is how I play games. I don't game much or at all on PC.

 

[Paul le Fou]

I would absolutely pick these up on Switch for both portability and big-screen gaming. I do have my PC hooked up to my TV but it's still not my preferred way to game.

 

[Issun]

I would absolutely pick these up on Switch for both portability and big-screen gaming. I do have my PC hooked up to my TV but it's still not my preferred way to game.

Yeah, the Switch is the perfect RPG machine. The ability to play portable or on a TV (and on different TVs if you've got more than one dock) is tailor made for the genre. Just put every RPG ever made on the Switch please.

 

[Bongo]

I'm getting Picross S9 because I got the last eight and why break my streak?