This week on RPS: secret plans and clever tricks. Also, a bunch of new videogames, none of them particularly Enormous or Crocodilian. We open on Monday 20th May with the extremely Alice B-friendly combo of Little-Known Galaxy, aka Stardew Valley meets Star Trek, and A Tower Full Of Cats, a hidden object puzzler featuring a tower full of dogs, I mean cats. All very upbeat. Well, hold that thought, because on the 21st, it’s time for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, another slice of Celtic sort-of-psychosis from Ninja Theory, which is as grim as the accompanying Paper Trail is *checks Nic’s review* incredibly annoying?
On 22nd May there’s Venture To The Vile, a 2.5D metroidvania which is already doing a nice line in background animations and scenery, RKGK/Rakugaki, a 3D platformer in which you are a graffiti artist tagging up a neo-brutalist city, and Isles Of Sea & Sky, which is Zelda but also sokoban. 23rd May introduces the long-anticipated Hauntii, a ghostly twin-stick puzzle-shooter rendered in two-tone line art, and Crown Wars: The Black Prince, which is sort of XCOM but French and from the 14th century. On the 24th, there’s a reboot of Devil Blade, a 1996 shmup with a pretty glorious mix of sprites and 3D environments.
As ever, these recommendations are but the perishable emissions of our crumbling mortal intellects, and we have doubtless skimmed over one or more videogames of note. I trust you’ll be getting all up in my grill about that in the comments. Also as ever, this week’s videogames are manna for the Maw, that atrocious quantum edifice of famine and plunder, which we must once again try to appease by means of the below newsblog. I’ve been working on a glossary of Maw vocalisations. I’m pretty sure that “BZZTYGHTAHJHJ” is Mawese for “Fallout 5 release date”, while “xh’nglar ghhgrhjw’nafh” means “is Wuthering Wave leftist” and “EEEEEEEEEEEEE” translates to “Microsoft opens new studio”. Have a fun week all.
In a stunning coincidence primarily of interest to me only, Steam has 3 Legacy Of Kain Games for under a quid each, and GOG has the other (Blood Omen), also for under a quid – or around 85% off all round. With all the money you save, you could buy a beanbag to sit in and sulk about the lack of Soul Reaver 1.
Galactic mystery puzzler Machinika: Museum is free on Steam until 27th May – ta, PCG.
You will soon be unable to play Steam games on your Telsa. Speaking as a pedestrian, I’m kind of happy about that.
I’m still away from my desk representing/disgracing RPS at the Digital Dragons conference in Krakow. Yesterday another journalist and I went looking for a networking event in the old town and I’m pretty sure we were being stalked by a horse-drawn carriage. I haven’t seen the other journalist yet today. Perhaps the old town has claimed him.
DEFCON MONDAY
This morning the Maw has manifested as a million mini-Maws, who look like violently coloured preying mantids. They squat on my shoulders as I type these words, squealing and hissing. Shoo! Shoo! FEED THEM.
