February 2024 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:

Gamepass

• Persona 3 Reload - February 2nd
• Anuchard - February 6
• PlateUp - February 15

PS+ -

• Foamstars
  Rollerdrome
  Steelrising

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]

It's a leap year! Enjoy one more day of gaming!

I am super excited for Persona 3 Reload. Persona 3 is my favourite in the series by far. I am of course mad that it doesn't appear FemC is in there but it looks like they added so many cool things, including all sorts of new Koromaru things so I am INTO IT:

I am pretty dang shocked that it's on Gamepass, but it's fantastic news for me.

Balatro is a poker tournament game... but you're gathering items and cards (extra jokers, tarot, etc) to improve your run by getting bonuses for specific types of hands. There's a demo on Steam (maybe other platforms too, haven't checked), I highly recommend checking it out as it's hard to describe. Thank you to @Dark Medusa for pointing this one out a while ago when their first demo came out as I would have missed it otherwise.

While I won't be buying it, I see that the remake of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is coming out this month. I found this game incredibly difficult to control but know a lot of people loved it. I'll be curious what the remake changes and if it's well-received.

 

[Kazin]

I bought it because I'm a sucker for Persona 3, but I'm also mad FeMC isn't in it, nor is The Answer, however worthwhile that epilogue thingy may be. There is still no "definitive" version of Persona 3 which includes all that content, which sucks.

 

[MCBanjoMike]

It would be great to see FeMC as an add-on to the game down the road. The biggest hurdle is that they'll have to redo all the cutscenes featuring the main character - in P3P, they solved this by making the cutscenes in-engine, which looked pretty bad. Gotta be honest, though, I don't think The Answer is worth bringing back.

I don't plan to pick up any February releases, but I have like 80 hours of BG3 left to play, so I think I'm good.

 

[Violentvixen]

My dream is that FemC is DLC, it breaks records for being one of the most downloaded DLCs ever, and Atlus and so many other studios decide to take female protagonists who aren't sexualized/objectified more seriously forever.

This is definitely a realistic dream, yup. No potential issues here.

 

[Kazin]

If it does end up getting released as DLC, I will most certainly buy it. Frankly I've already played a fully 3D version of Persona 3 with the male MC, I'd like to do so from the jump with FeMC, so I wish it had been included in the first place.

 

[gogglebob]

We are six posts into the February releases thread and there is no mention of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth? This is a deeply unserious forum. My teenage self is very disappointed in all of you.

For anyone unaware, from what I can tell from the trailers, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth appears to be the story of a red dog and his companions as they make their way to a casino to put on a play.

 

[Kazin]

Hey I'd love to play that (FF7R was fantastic), but unfortunately there's no way to do currently so unless I piss away hundreds of dollars on a machine I would barely touch otherwise.

 

[gogglebob]

My teenage self believes all new videogame systems are $200, and you should just ask your grandma to buy it for you for Christmas.

(But seriously, I do hate how this "latest release" is tied to a system that spent, like, three years being about as easy to acquire as mythril.)

 

[MCBanjoMike]

Oh, I didn't realize FFVIIR was coming out so soon. I enjoyed the first game, although it felt pretty padded in spots, so I'll probably be waiting for reviews to come in before trying the sequel.

 

[Kirin]

I just picked up a PS5, so gimme like, uh, a year to play XVI and Remake and then maybe I’ll be up for Rebirth, lol.

 

[ozacrot]

It would be great to see FeMC as an add-on to the game down the road.

My hope (also completely unfounded) is that the Persona series is already lousy with remasters and enhanced editions. If P3Reload does well, I wouldn't be shocked to see them do a Royal-style enhanced release with FemC and/or the Answer included. That's probably the circumstance under which I would be least annoyed to pay sticker price on a 2nd edition.

 

[Falselogic]

Eastward's first DLC, Octopia, comes out tomorrow. Basically, February. It's a cozy farm sim set in a post apocolyptic world. If you've played Eastward it's like an alternate universe where the miasma isn't an issue, I guess? I'm looking forward to it as I finish up my playthrough of the game.

 

[Sarcasmorator]

FF7 Rebirth is preordered but the 2/29 release date means it's effectively a game for March. I loved Remake though so I'm extremely looking forward to it!

This month is me catching up on Bloodborne and/or Stranger of Paradise and maybe finishing off Alan Wake Remastered and Control (again).

 

[ShakeWell]

I am so very excited about Ultros. It looks like '70s album art as a metroidvania. Feb. 13th.

 

[Sarcasmorator]

Yaowch! Seafood soup!

 

[Violentvixen]

Eastward's first DLC, Octopia, comes out tomorrow. Basically, February. It's a cozy farm sim set in a post apocolyptic world. If you've played Eastward it's like an alternate universe where the miasma isn't an issue, I guess? I'm looking forward to it as I finish up my playthrough of the game.

Wait is that this month? Dangit I listed that in the January thread because that's when I thought it came out oops

 

[Peklo]

​

Yohane the Parhelion: Numazu in the Mirage is a deckbuilder set in the Love Live spinoff's general milieu. This is not a genre I typically play, and my contact with the Yohaneverse is strictly limited to the Inti Creates Castlevania clone of a little while ago... but the game looks cute and goofy, so that's probably enough.

​

On the opposite end of the tonal aisle, there's Slave Zero X, which is developmentally about as fascinating as you can get, being a prequel to the 1999 Infogrames third-person shooter Slave Zero. I don't know what possessed its developers to secure and leverage this license 25 years later, but the results seem promising, as it's committing to its self-professed biopunk dystopia through an '80s trash OVA bent, conveyed through a maximalist single-plane half beat 'em up, half fighter expression--a game type that's always been a little neglected in the shadow of beltscrollers or standard fighting games despite so much being possible with it. I don't exactly know if I'll settle in entirely with the aesthetics involved, but there's definitely a lot of consideration in the package, from the gigantic and lavish spritework to the bright and edgy tokusatsu character design.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Having never actually played the original Tomb Raider games, I’m looking forward to Tomb Raider Remastered. Theyre apparently hewing a little bit closer to the Legends era of the series and I really enjoyed those.

 

[Voncaster]

We are six posts into the February releases thread and there is no mention of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth?

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is definitely the game I'm looking forward to most.

I'm in a weird holding pattern where any game I might play now has to be completed by Feb 29 or I know I will abandon it.

Under normal circumstances Persona 3 would be an easy day 1 game for me. With FFVII on the horizon its not.

 

[4-So]

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, for sure. It needs no introduction or explanation.

The other game this month I'm looking forward to is Last Epoch. It's an action RPG in the vein of Diablo that apparently has more content that Diablo 4, a relatively anemic game, but isn't as intimidating as Path of Exile in its current form. In fact, Last Epoch has been described by a few ARPG content creators as a great marriage of Diablo and PoE, borrowing some of the best elements from both and excising some of the weaker and more frustrating bits. The base edition is $35 USD, so worth a looksee.

 

[Bongo]

Nearly everything cool this month is a remake or throwback of some sort, but frankly, I'm not sick of it yet.

I'll be picking up Mario Vs. Donkey Kong, an expanded remake of the GBA original that replaces the low-resolution prerendered sprites with real-time rendering. Mario Vs. Donkey Kong is, like, 90% as good as its predecessor Donkey Kong '94, a puzzle-platformer based on highly nuanced movement options.

I'll also be getting Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, also on the basis of being a sequel to a game I thought was real real good.

I feel tempted by Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island, the sixth game in that distinctive series of orthodox roguelikes. My understanding, which could be in error, is that it's offering a sort of a "back to basics" approach to dungeoneering, but also adds an interesting selection of asynchronous multiplayer modes, including the option to rescue other players so that they can continue an otherwise failed run.

If you like Doom clones, today I learned that they're making a remastered version of Star Wars: Dark Forces. This first-person shooter from 1995 was one of the first to feature the then-novel elements of vertical aiming and overlapping floors.

It seems unlikely that Retro Game Challenge 1+2 Replay will be localized, but I wanted to mention it anyway.

Some people were praising Granblue Fantasy: Relink in my vicinity recently, and I wanted to try the demo, but for some reason I didn't. Does it even exist? It is because of that that I'm not able to describe it in greater detail. It's an action RPG spun off from a (spits) gacha. Apparently, they restarted development from scratch after things fell through with Platinum many years ago. I might not end up with time for this.

 

[Vaeran]

It seems unlikely that Retro Game Challenge 1+2 Replay will be localized, but I wanted to mention it anyway.

Glad to see this getting some love; it's definitely on my radar as well.

If anyone's unfamiliar with these games, they're loosely based on a long-running Japanese show called Game Center CX, wherein comedian Shinya Arino flailingly challenges a different hard-ass classic game every week, putting in long hours to either beat it or die trying. The show is surprisingly engaging, as you quickly find yourself rooting for Arino, and the moments where he finally scrapes past a boss that had been roadblocking him for hours are really exhilarating. A collection of random episodes from the first few seasons was released in the US on DVD as Retro Game Master, though it excises the non-gameplay segments, like Arino's visits to various Japanese arcades.

Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou came out here as Retro Game Challenge on the DS, and features a half-dozen charming and clever short games that mimic the style of Famicom/NES classics: shmups, platformers, and even a brief Dragon Quest-like RPG. There are also short "magazines" to flip through that feature tips and secrets for the games, just like back in the day. Arino himself comments on the games as you play, but obviously they dubbed over him for the English release.

GCCX 2 is more of the same. It was sadly never localized, but most of the included games feature minimal Japanese text and can be enjoyed without knowing the language, or with the help of a walkthrough at worst. I'm told there's an English translation patch out there but I haven't tried it.

There was a third game for the 3DS, but it does not have a good reputation. I've never played it and don't know much about it. It was also never localized.

So now they're bundling the first two games together for the Switch, and adding at least one new game to the collection that I know of: a River City Ransom-em-up starring the Game Center CX staff. I haven't played GCCX 1 or 2 in years so I'm excited to revisit them.

 

[Sarcasmorator]

Oh hey, Legend of Legacy remaster is out in February too? Will keep an eye on that, though I have the 3DS version.

 

[Falselogic]

Wait is that this month? Dangit I listed that in the January thread because that's when I thought it came out oops

It released today. But, really not much time to play it or anything until Feb. I think it was valid to list it in January. But, I also think it is valid to have it in February as well.

Also, it's 15% percent off on Steam right now. So you can get it for just over $5!

 

[spines]

I feel tempted by Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island, the sixth game in that distinctive series of orthodox roguelikes. My understanding, which could be in error, is that it's offering a sort of a "back to basics" approach to dungeoneering, but also adds an interesting selection of asynchronous multiplayer modes, including the option to rescue other players so that they can continue an otherwise failed run.

Some people were praising Granblue Fantasy: Relink in my vicinity recently, and I wanted to try the demo, but for some reason I didn't. Does it even exist? It is because of that that I'm not able to describe it in greater detail. It's an action RPG spun off from a (spits) gacha. Apparently, they restarted development from scratch after things fell through with Platinum many years ago. I might not end up with time for this.

5 (tower of fortune) also had the rescue stuff, i'm not sure on the specifics of it in this game. it came out in japanese last week and i saw several positive remarks from people who played it. i was excited as soon as i heard it was in the japanese direct late last year

relink is a coop (either with other people or AI controlled party members) action rpg a bit like monster hunter, though the demo quests were all arena battles (i'm pretty sure there are larger linear areas to go around as well, though. and the town appearing in the demo was surprisingly large). it's a pretty solid demo though, which a huge portion of the cast that i know of playable in it, and i think the game feels great. i might not buy it right away but it's surely something i'm going to be spending some time on this year

 

[ShakeWell]

If anyone's unfamiliar with these games, they're loosely based on a long-running Japanese show called Game Center CX, wherein comedian Shinya Arino flailingly challenges a different hard-ass classic game every week, putting in long hours to either beat it or die trying. The show is surprisingly engaging, as you quickly find yourself rooting for Arino, and the moments where he finally scrapes past a boss that had been roadblocking him for hours are really exhilarating. A collection of random episodes from the first few seasons was released in the US on DVD as Retro Game Master, though it excises the non-gameplay segments, like Arino's visits to various Japanese arcades.

Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou came out here as Retro Game Challenge on the DS, and features a half-dozen charming and clever short games that mimic the style of Famicom/NES classics: shmups, platformers, and even a brief Dragon Quest-like RPG. There are also short "magazines" to flip through that feature tips and secrets for the games, just like back in the day. Arino himself comments on the games as you play, but obviously they dubbed over him for the English release.

I think this forum was directly responsible for like at least 50% of Retro Game Challenge's sales on DS.

 

[Falselogic]

I think this forum was directly responsible for like at least 50% of Retro Game Challenge's sales on DS.

Yeah, it was quite the phenom on the old forums. I do wish we would get this compilation on the Switch...

 

[Kazin]

I certainly bought Retro Game Challenge and enjoyed it, that's for sure. I never did beat the second game, though I liked what I played of it...

I totally forgot about new Shiren, though! I'll have to grab that.

 

[jpfriction]

I did play the second RGC via the translation patch. Most of the games were fun but the detective game did nothing for me and kind of sucked the joy out of it.

Shiren is too close to FF VII. I’m going to have to hold off so I actually play it.