Time for our regular roundup of the mostly retro-related games I’m aware of due for release in the upcoming month, and at the very least I hope you enjoy watching a few trailers and snippets of info where I have them! Outside of The Last of Us being shoved down our throats again and a new Splatoon, we’ve got our own retro big-hitter in Return to Monkey Island, and there’s an interesting mix of loads of other stuff coming too…
We start with Game Type DX, a score-attack shoot’em up with a speed-boosting twist as the game gets faster and harder the further you get. It’s very weird but very stylish as you help Hoodie Girl shoot wacky and inane advertisements to a thumping soundtrack. Definitely on my schmup-interest radar and out on PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch on the 8th of September.
Wind of Shuriken has been out for a while on PC but also now comes to Nintendo Switch on the 8th. It’s a mix of intense space samurai hack and slash platforming as well as side-scrolling shoot ‘em up, though I’m finding its stylised art design a bit jarring, not to mention the main character animation. My taste isn’t everyone’s though, so check it out for yourself! And credit to Game Trailers for the game trailer.
Freedom Planet 2 finally comes to PC via Steam on September 13th. It’s a fast-paced platformer with an old-school vibe, modern mechanics and some gorgeous visuals as you choose the cartoon heroine that suits your play style then explore the sprawling world of Avalice and defend the animal citizens with your special abilities. I’m not much of a Sonic connoisseur so it’s probably a cheap comparison, but I’ve played a demo of this and it’s what I’m feeling if that’s your thing.
The 13th is bringing the remake of the unique 2003 cel-shaded first-person shooter XIII to Switch. This will be interesting because when it came to the other platforms a couple of years ago, it got absolutely slated, but it looks like there’s a big patch coming the same day to fix the Xbox, PC and PlayStation versions too. We’ll see about that, but I’m probably still okay with the GameCube original. And credit to IGN for the vid.
Not retro in the slightest but I like my metal and I liked the Steam demo, so here’s Metal: Hellsinger! It’s a heavy metal rhythm-action first-person shooter, where your ability to shoot and reload on the beat will not only create more demonic destruction but also intensify the music, which features vocals from the likes of System of a Down, Arch Enemy, Lamb of God and Trivium. It’s out on Xbox, PlayStation and PC on the 15th.
On the 19th we’re returning to some place called Monkey Island in Return to Monkey Island! We’ve got series creator Ron Gilbert in tow, and we’re picking up the the story from the first two legendary point-and-click adventures, but this time we’re doing it on Switch and PC, and not a disk-swap in sight! I’m sure there’ll be plenty more to say about that art style though…
More rhythm-action on the 23rd when Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival arrives on Switch. This time we’re playing more of the happiest and most Japanese drum series ever conceived, and hopefully I can dig out the drum controller I once trawled most of Tokyo for in its insane August heat! There’s 76 new songs included as well as a new subscription service where you can access 500 more. Not sure about that, but I am sure I’ll report back here sometime on how it all pans out!
Moonscars is a very dark, very cool looking 2D platformer with a bit of the Dark Souls about it, coming to everything on September 27th. It’s heavy on the combat and heavy on the brutality as you push the limits of your sanity as well as your abilities through a bleak, non-linear world, where every death is a lesson learnt! Reminds me of a more gothic take on Dead Souls too, but even more unforgiving from what I can make out. Looking forward to this one though!
We’ll finish this month with a pair of bullet-hell shoot ‘em ups coming to Switch on the 29th. Bullet Soul and its sequel Bullet Soul: Infinite Burst have been around on PC for a while, and they’re both full of flashy pyrotechnics, over-the-top character designs and some mad bullet-hell action that rewards aggressive play! Not sure if they’ll be separate or bundled yet, but worst-case hopefully around the tenner mark each like they are on Steam.
I hope you enjoyed having a look at those. There’s the new Bayonetta coming in October, as well as the Winter’s Expansion for our 2021 game of the year Resident Evil Village, and also its online multiplayer freebie Resident Evil Re:Verse, so we’ll have a bit to look at here next time, and hopefully loads more on top too. See you at the end of the month for that!
Retro Arcadia 