Boy, kind of hope no other ring-themed video games sneak out this week; or that thread title is going to be abject nonsense.
And the first of those, and the reason I opted to name the thread that at all despite it not being on a platform I normally cover, is Halo Infinite! Which is, by definition, the most Halo game there has ever been! Ol' Mister Chef is up to his crazy shenanigans again; travelling out on a dangerous galaxy quest to punch a few popes right in the noggin and maybe try to reconnect with his girlfriend/mom who lives in his hat. Maybe now he can finally finish his fight? I'unno, probably not, but it's also free on Gamepass so... umm... not often that happens day-1 on a AAA new release.
Loop Hero is the other ring-focused game this week that I was already going to pick up (but this one is considerably more expensive as it's not free with a service I already subscribe to); this here is a rogue-em-up BUT kiiiiinda like a single-player Monopoly where you are just running through a big circle and you can slap in more critters and treasures and obstacles in order to make each loop more treacherous. Thena Lich murds you up real good and you have to do it again but a little better off because THAT'S ROGUELIKES, BABY!
Now if you like outer space, and like adventures, and hate Nazis and want to kick them out of that cool cool place where the moon lives, maybe I could interest you in Beyond a Steel Sky, the sequel to Beneath a Steel Sky! Actually, from the description this one seems to be about Rude Robots rather than junky-ass ratzis, so maybe you already got rid of all them in the first game. I don't know. But what I DO know is that this is a dramatic and humerous cyberpunk thriller in which engaging puzzles drive a fast-paced narrative set in a dynamic game-world that responds to- and is subverted by- the players actions.
And I know THAT because it is per vatem what it says in the eShop description.
And speaking of adventure games set in the stars above; Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space is also one! And it's based on the comics by Steve Purcell! And also it's a remaster so it's TECHNICALLY an old game, but now FAR more gussy looking. I bet it's got all kinds of ray tracings and AIs in it now. This time the Freelance Police (a dog and hyperkinetic rabbity-thing) are tasked with SAVING ALL THAT IS WAS AND EVER SHALL BE from some manner of crisis. Usually the kind solved by lateral thinking, and rabbit-vengeance.
And let's just keep the "Adventure Game with Sci-Fi/Cyberpunk overtones" theme going, as next we have Transient, which is one of them with a tones and themes set by everyone's favorite racist who was scared of fish; Howie Loves. Wander through the neon-soaked streets of the future and deal with weird cult guys and type on a computer to learn about some big computer that makes you go crazy or something.
Feels like that's what a lovecraft Cyberpunk story would be like.
Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX is another Monster-raising RPG being released at the end of 2021! But more specifically, it's a gussied up port of two PS1 entries of that genre; and they put a lot more emphasis on the training and care of your monsters than the likes of Pokemon did. Also, a lot of the monsters tend to skew towards "Weird and off-putting" than "Cute and marketable". This re-release gets rid of what was the coolest aspect of the original (scanning CDs for semi-random monsters using the PS1 disc drive) in favor of something that feels much more exploitable (picking a CD from a big list of albums).
But where else are you going to get a chance to raise your very own electric horned wolf classified as a Tiger?
Wytchwood is YET ANOTHER adventure game; but this one is more of a Zeld-em-up, and it's not set in spaceship times, and it doesn't look to be overtly spooky. Seems to be the sort of game where you're still likely to have to contend with violent rabbit-y things, though. Also it's got a REAL ROBUST item crafty and alchemy component, if that sweetens the pot any.
Sure as heck means to sweeten the pot!
And bringing up the rear is RICO: London, which is a first person shooter with cel-shaded graphics (and that's always nice to see) and it's about combating RICO crimes, which Ionly ever heard tell of because it was a big plot-point in Batman Begins; and that movie came out 15 years ago so SURELY they've all been solved by now.
So this is a game about the British Batman; lagging far behind Mr. Waynes tireless crusade, and also he has lots more guns.
And the first of those, and the reason I opted to name the thread that at all despite it not being on a platform I normally cover, is Halo Infinite! Which is, by definition, the most Halo game there has ever been! Ol' Mister Chef is up to his crazy shenanigans again; travelling out on a dangerous galaxy quest to punch a few popes right in the noggin and maybe try to reconnect with his girlfriend/mom who lives in his hat. Maybe now he can finally finish his fight? I'unno, probably not, but it's also free on Gamepass so... umm... not often that happens day-1 on a AAA new release.
Loop Hero is the other ring-focused game this week that I was already going to pick up (but this one is considerably more expensive as it's not free with a service I already subscribe to); this here is a rogue-em-up BUT kiiiiinda like a single-player Monopoly where you are just running through a big circle and you can slap in more critters and treasures and obstacles in order to make each loop more treacherous. Thena Lich murds you up real good and you have to do it again but a little better off because THAT'S ROGUELIKES, BABY!
Now if you like outer space, and like adventures, and hate Nazis and want to kick them out of that cool cool place where the moon lives, maybe I could interest you in Beyond a Steel Sky, the sequel to Beneath a Steel Sky! Actually, from the description this one seems to be about Rude Robots rather than junky-ass ratzis, so maybe you already got rid of all them in the first game. I don't know. But what I DO know is that this is a dramatic and humerous cyberpunk thriller in which engaging puzzles drive a fast-paced narrative set in a dynamic game-world that responds to- and is subverted by- the players actions.
And I know THAT because it is per vatem what it says in the eShop description.
And speaking of adventure games set in the stars above; Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space is also one! And it's based on the comics by Steve Purcell! And also it's a remaster so it's TECHNICALLY an old game, but now FAR more gussy looking. I bet it's got all kinds of ray tracings and AIs in it now. This time the Freelance Police (a dog and hyperkinetic rabbity-thing) are tasked with SAVING ALL THAT IS WAS AND EVER SHALL BE from some manner of crisis. Usually the kind solved by lateral thinking, and rabbit-vengeance.
And let's just keep the "Adventure Game with Sci-Fi/Cyberpunk overtones" theme going, as next we have Transient, which is one of them with a tones and themes set by everyone's favorite racist who was scared of fish; Howie Loves. Wander through the neon-soaked streets of the future and deal with weird cult guys and type on a computer to learn about some big computer that makes you go crazy or something.
Feels like that's what a lovecraft Cyberpunk story would be like.
Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX is another Monster-raising RPG being released at the end of 2021! But more specifically, it's a gussied up port of two PS1 entries of that genre; and they put a lot more emphasis on the training and care of your monsters than the likes of Pokemon did. Also, a lot of the monsters tend to skew towards "Weird and off-putting" than "Cute and marketable". This re-release gets rid of what was the coolest aspect of the original (scanning CDs for semi-random monsters using the PS1 disc drive) in favor of something that feels much more exploitable (picking a CD from a big list of albums).
But where else are you going to get a chance to raise your very own electric horned wolf classified as a Tiger?
Wytchwood is YET ANOTHER adventure game; but this one is more of a Zeld-em-up, and it's not set in spaceship times, and it doesn't look to be overtly spooky. Seems to be the sort of game where you're still likely to have to contend with violent rabbit-y things, though. Also it's got a REAL ROBUST item crafty and alchemy component, if that sweetens the pot any.
Sure as heck means to sweeten the pot!
And bringing up the rear is RICO: London, which is a first person shooter with cel-shaded graphics (and that's always nice to see) and it's about combating RICO crimes, which Ionly ever heard tell of because it was a big plot-point in Batman Begins; and that movie came out 15 years ago so SURELY they've all been solved by now.
So this is a game about the British Batman; lagging far behind Mr. Waynes tireless crusade, and also he has lots more guns.