Time for our regular roundup of the mostly (but not strictly) retro-interest games releases on the way for the coming month, with trailers for (almost) everything, and if you’re lucky a few snippets of fascinating information too! We had some very big-hitters last month, one of which unfortunately turned out to be the mess that was Redfall, but hopefully no more of that nonsense with some even bigger hitters in June, so let’s see what we’ve got!
Possibly not the best start, as I’m afraid the combination of demo and open beta led to me the conclusion that I’m the target demographic for Street Fighter 2 rather than Street Fighter 6, so I cancelled my preorder and switched it to something we’ll come back to in a sec! However, if you like your fighters to come with open worlds and social hubs hosted by obnoxious game-show hosts where you’ll wander around interacting with mindless stuff, dressing up your character and dancing or whatever then it’s out on PlayStations and Xboxes on the 2nd of June!
Also out on the 2nd but on PlayStation, Xbox and Switch too this time, is We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie, a remaster of We Love Katamari Damacy, the 2005 second instalment in the roll into stuff and get bigger so you can roll into bigger stuff series. As well as totally revamped graphics and a new user interface that promises to make getting to grips with it easier than ever, the Royal Reverie bit is five all-new challenges, and there’s a photo mode too. Not really for me but I can see the attraction!
The total opposite is true of Diablo IV, out on PC, PlayStation and Xbox on June 6th! I had no interest in this and really couldn’t see the attraction until I saw there was a server stress test a couple of weeks ago that was open to all so I thought I’d see what all the fuss is about. And I loved it! The slick isometric, high-fantasy, action-RPG nonsense, with all its fancy cutscenes, was enjoyable enough, but all that loot in all those menus just totally sucked me in so that’s where my Street Fighter preorder ended up and I can’t wait!
Something else I’m looking forward to is Raiden III x Mikado Maniax, and it’s coming to everything on the 6th in the USA and the 9th in the UK (and Europe too, I assume). Anyway, it’s an overhaul of the 2005 vertical arcade shoot ‘em up Raiden III, which I’m also a big fan of on PS2, with remastered graphics, a choice of original or rearranged soundtrack, fancy wallpapers, online leaderboards and various game modes. Looks spectacular if you’re into your schmups!
I don’t know much about Crash Team Rumble, out on PlayStation and Xbox on the 20th, but I did once spend a happy evening playing Crash Team Racing on something or other in my hotel room on a work trip to Germany, whenever it came out! Turns out this is nothing to do with that though, but instead is some kind of competitive 3D platformer for four players, which probably rules me out of ever playing it but it certainly looks the part if that sounds like your cup of tea.
Aliens: Dark Descent also arrives on June 20th, bringing top-down, squad-based, real-time strategy to PC, PlayStation and Xbox. You’ll be commanding a gang of battle-hardened Colonial Marines trying to stop a terrifying Xenomorph outbreak on Planet Lethe, twenty years after the events of the Alien 3 movie. As well as tactical combat, it sounds like there’s plenty of scope for exploring the big, open levels, and there’s new monsters to fight, as well as squad customisation and upgrades. Alien is great, not so sure about RTS stuff, but I’ll eagerly await the reviews then see where I stand!
I already know where I stand with Final Fantasy 16, though it’s PS5 only and I don’t have one of them so not for me either way, but it’s out on the 22nd if it is for you. Looks absolutely stunning, and you’re getting 35-80 hours of stuff to do, with apparently 11 hours of cinematics alone! Apart from that, seems to be somewhere between linear and open-world, goes for action combat rather than turn-based, and leans towards the fantasy end of the Final Fantasy spectrum. Credit to IGN for the video.
Also on the 22nd, Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission VR comes to Meta Quest 2, PlayStation VR2 and Pico 4 virtual reality thingies. Seems to follow the lead of the wonderful 1987 rail-shooting original with solo and co-op campaigns that see you facing off against some drug-dealing criminal organisation with ambitions for weapons of mass destruction. Fancy new art style, online leaderboards and all that good stuff, and a survival mode too. Sounds like a recipe for motion sickness to me, but it’s coming to regular consoles later in the year too for us fragile old folks! Sorry for the lack of video for this one, by the way. Looks like any trailers that existed have been pulled, hopefully just because they’ve only recently delayed those console versions…
Out on everything on the 23rd, Sonic Origins Plus includes the previously released Sonic Origins, featuring remasters of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, as well as the Plus Expansion Pack, with twelve Sonic Game Gear titles, playable Knuckles in Sonic CD, Amy Rose as a playable character everywhere, and previously released add-on content such as Extreme Missions, Mirror Mode, new character animations, and additional backgrounds and music.
RayStorm x RayCrisis HD Collection is coming to PS4 and Switch on the 30th, with remastered versions of the two original RayForce follow-ups, RayStorm from 1996 and RayCrisis from 1998, both featuring newly-HD polygon-based pseudo-3D vertically scrolling shoot ‘em up action with a cool lock-on feature, as well as an even more cool soundtrack by Taito’s legendary house band Zuntata. There is also a physical release with five versions of all three games on, as well as a digital version of this one that seems to be missing some of them – potentially any versions of RayForce but it all got a bit confusing and a bit too expensive on the Nintendo eShop at this point so maybe check that out for yourself if you’re interested!
Finally this month, quick mention of Demons Ate My Neighbors, which should be coming to Switch and PC sometime in June but at the time of writing no confirmed date. It’s an unofficial spiritual sequel to Zombies Ate My Neighbours on the Mega Drive or Genesis and SNES in 1993, playing like a roguelite shooter plus a spin on a load of arcade classics from the time. Looks cool, and hopefully turns up sooner rather than later!
I think that covers most of what caught my eye for this time. Wish Hamster were a bit more forthcoming with their weekly Arcade Archives releases because I’d love to cover them too, though I do also like the surprise every Thursday! Anyway, I’ll see you again in a month or so for more of the same, though I assume we’ll slow down slightly as we get into the quieter summer months. That Disney Illusion Island on Switch looks pretty cool if you’re into the old Mickey Mouse Mega Drive platforming stuff though, and there’s a new Pikmin on there too, and I’d love it if sci-fi pinball stunner (and hopefully game of the year contender) Xenotilt made an appearance too… See you next time to find out!
Retro Arcadia 