First was an Indie World!

Witcher 3, Vampire Survivors, Dave the Diver, and Among Us crossover cards are all coming to Balatro in a free update later today.

The creators of GRIS have a new game, Neva, and it’s out October 15th.

Moth Kubit, a unique RPG starring a moth working in a bizarre office, drops Spring 2025.

Toge, devs of Coffee Talk, are making a new Coffee Talk game, Coffee Talk Tokyo. It’ll be ready for tasting in 2025.

Sea of Stars is getting a DLC, adding a new carnival area, new classes for the main characters, and a new character who is just Robo from Chrono Trigger. It’s out next Spring, and it’s free.

PowerWash Simulator is getting a paid DLC where you get to clean up locations from the Shrek series. It’s dropping in Fall.

Morsels, a rougelike shooter with gorgeous pixel art and strange character designs, got announced. Its release date is February 2025.

Date Everything!, a game where you can date everything in a house by Team 17, launches October 24th, 2024.

Peglin, a game based on a game jam experiment from 2019, is fully realized. You play as a lil goblin and play pachinko to do damage to enemies. It’ll be out today on Switch as a timed console exclusive.

Wobbly Life from Rubber Band Games lets you live a goofy lil life as a yellow guy. It’s out in December.

Pico Park 2 is a puzzle game where you have to stack and aim up to eight players to clear rooms. It’s out later today.

Montage time. Shovel Knight Shovel of Hope DX (2025), Europa (October 11th, demo out now), Cuisineer (January 28th, 2025), On Your Tail (November 21st), Metal Slug Tactics (Fall), The Plucky Squire (September 17th).

To round out the Indie World, Pizza Tower is finally coming to Switch. It’s out today.

Fangamer will also release a physical version of Pizza Tower.

Now onto the Partner Showcase!

For the 40th anniversary of Tetris, Digital Eclipse is putting together a Tetris collection called Tetris Forever. It has Tetris Battle Gaiden! And Hatris, which is hilarious. It’ll be out this year, and Tetris will be on Switch Online this Winter.

Star Overdrive is a third person adventure game where you surf around a desert planet on a hoverboard. It’s out in 2025.

Goat Simulator 3 will let you harass an entire island with you friends on Switch digitally today. The physical release will be in November.

Another montage. Trails in the Sky 1st (2025), Star Wars: Hunters Season 3 (September 26th), S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Legends of the Zone Trilogy (November), Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition (September 26th), and a new event for Disney Dreamloft Valley.

SpongeBob Squarepants: The Patrick Star Game, is confirmed. You play as Patrick and flop around Bikini Bottom, as the game is focused on physics and interacting with the environment. Out October 4th.

Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Trainer, is coming soon. I don’t know why we need this, as we have the Miku and Fist of the North Star versions, but I guess some people have NO TASTE. You can get this lesser edition on December 5th.

Capcom Fighting Collection 2, including Capcom vs SNK 1 and 2, Project Justice, Capcom Fighting Evolution, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, Power Stone 1 and 2, and Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein. It’s out next year, and that rules.

The Marvel vs Capcom Collection is out September 12th, with a physical out November 22nd.

There’s a new Atelier game, and they got a dragon voiced by Kiryu’s VA in this one. It’s called Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories and the Envisioned Land, and it’s out in 2025.

The Suikoden remasters are still happening! The first two games will be released in a bundle March 6th, 2025.

The Dragon Quest III remake will have a new Monster Wrangler class. It’s out November 14th.

The DS Castlevanias are getting a compilation, and it also includes Haunted Castle and a reimagining of the notably rough arcade game. It’s out later today.

Civilization VII will be on Switch. It’ll be out February 11th.

Tales of Graces f is getting a remaster for the series’ 30th anniversary. It’ll have combat options and all the DLC from the original release. Out January 17th.

MySims returns, in a bundle containing the first game and the Kingdom sequel. It’s out November 19th.

Five Nights at Freddy’s…..They’ve got a new Help Wanted coming, and you have to help those robots run the show. Out Holiday 2024. There’s also a new DLC for Security Breach this Holiday.

Montage again. Disney Epic Mickey Rebrushed (September 24th), Tales of the Shire (Holiday), Just Dance 2025 (October 2024), Funko Fusion (Holiday), EA Sports FC 2025 (September 27th), Lego Horizon (Holiday).

Rune Factory‘s got a new style, where you play as an “Earth Dancer” and use magic to grow crops super fast, and also kick some ass. Guardians of Azuma is out next Spring.

Yakuza Kiwami is getting a Switch port. Looks like it’ll be a pretty straight port, but hey, Kiwami‘s great. Out October 24th.

The post Bulletin+: Indie World and Partner Showcase 8/27/24 appeared first on Gamesline.

Honorable mention: Spider-Man 2

I have always been more of a story person when it comes to games. I can put up with some jank if the story’s good enough! Spider-Man 2 is the inverse of this, where I think the story is pretty hollow, but playing the game is so sick I still ended up 100%-ing it. The more I thought about the plot, the more I felt bad for the weakness of Miles’ involvement, how hamfisted some of the character interactions felt, and how Venom was just kinda there. 

However! The web swinging. The combat. The missions. It was all very rewarding! This is an extremely well-made game that is bogged down by Sony’s desire to sand off any and all rough edges in their plots, with the compounding problem of having to focus on two Spider-Men with very different goals and problems. Miles, dude, just write the friggin paragraph. 

10. Fate/Samurai Remnant

I probably shouldn’t have played this on Switch. It wasn’t a disaster, mind you, but the towns ran pretty poorly! This is a great follow-up to Spider-Man, actually, because the gameplay got really tiring after a bit, but I powered through for the plot. Iori is a fun main character, and his dialogue with Saber is adorable and a massive highlight. Fate lore is vast and occasionally eye-rollingly frustrating, but Samurai Remnant keeps things breezy and fun, and I absolutely had to put it on my year-end list if only for Musashi and her shit-eating grin.

9. The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

The folks over at Sega did something with Sonic that I didn’t expect, and that’s making an April Fool’s point-and-click game that isn’t a bad dating sim joke. It could’ve been another One Of Those, the horribly written garbage games that Western devs think are just the funniest jokes ever. Instead, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is a treat, tossing a new self-insert character into a locked room mystery involving the apparent slaying of Sonic. 

There’s fun character moments, adorable art, everything you need to showcase how great Sonic And His Friends actually are. I don’t play Sonic much, but it makes me happy to see him and his friends around, and this is a perfect example of what Sega should be doing with the property.

8. Octopath Traveler 2

This is only ranked as low as it is because I’m not that far! I think this will happen every year. I’m sorry. Anyway, Octopath! They fixed pretty much everything that was wrong in the first game, then built on that as foundation. The major issue with the original was how nobody’s stories overlapped, and the party only really interacted through combat. They weren’t a group, they were just…around each other, I guess. 

In the sequel, you actually feel like a cohesive unit, and the entire game feels like the incredible final chapter of Live a Live. That single big change turns Octopath into something truly special, and I can only hope the team in Creative Business Unit II can keep cooking like this.

7. Pizza Tower

Spiritual successors feel like a dime-a-dozen these days, and their existence often feels a bit unnecessary once the thing they’re aping off of actually returns. It takes something real special to be so obviously inspired by a dormant franchise, yet rise even further into its own sense of self, and that’s what Pizza Tower does. 

Pizza Tower is extremely Wario Land 4, but beyond its basic controls and a bit of its vibes, Pizza Tower is unlike any game I can think of. It’s gross, goofy, and overly animated in the best way possible. Peppino is a character who stands just as tall as Wario; both a bit bumbling, but still very capable. I love watching his expressions, hearing him scream bloody murder, and how the game warns you to not let Peppino get hurt…or else. Pizza Tower is never going to leave my brain, and it’s the new standard for fast-moving treasure hunting platformers. Wario’s gonna have to step off his pedestal. 

6. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising

Granblue is an incredible fighting game, and it’s one I can see myself playing for a good long while. I love it so much, I even started doing commentary for it every month over at ArcadeUFO! I’ve learned a lot from Granblue, not just in gaming, but in speaking and my own talents. I loved the original version of Granblue Versus, but this one has rollback netcode so it’s automatically better. I don’t have much to say, since it’s a pretty standard fighting game package, but it plays so well and has a great community. I’d recommend it if you want to get into an anime fighter but don’t want to jump into the deep end of Melty Blood or…shudders Blazblue.

5. Metroid Prime Remastered

I got obsessed with Metroidvanias a few years ago, but I never got around to the Metroid Prime games. Boy, was that a mistake. This remaster is as basic of a remaster as there ever was, as it’s just a graphical upgrade without much other flair. However, the game is still really good, one of the better Metroidvanias I’ve experienced. And hey, that simple graphical upgrade is impressive, especially for a Switch game. I remember people saying it was awe-inspiring to see rain drip down Samus’ visor in the Prime games, and I think I was just as amazed looking at all the creatures and locales of Tallon-IV on the Switch. If this is how good they could get a game looking on Switch, I’m excited to see Prime 4 on the Switch 2, am I right folks?

4. Endless Monday: Dreams and Deadlines

Creating anything worthwhile in 2023-2024 feels almost futile. AI is seen as the answer to so many of corporate America’s needs, and both artists and writers feel the impending danger from this foolish, incorrect opinion every day. I’ve been trying to find writing work for many years now, and things haven’t felt this dire….ever, maybe? We’ll adapt, there will always be a need for human expression, and Endless Monday is all about that constant adaptation, fear of losing your artistic self to your work self, and everything that comes with those issues.

Artist and writer hcnone has expressed a lot of these anxieties in the zines they have released in the past, and Dreams and Deadlines expands on these troubles, telling a story about a woman who has the talent to live off her art, existing in a world that would rather she sand down her rough edges to be as safe as possible. The act of creating art for yourself these days is in itself something to be celebrated, and Endless Monday is all about that desire, that need that artists have. Check this game out if you hate your job!

3. Resident Evil 4 Remake

Those bastards did it. They remade RE4, one of the greatest games of all time, and didn’t just make it a retread! There’s a ton changed in RE4R, some of it slightly questionable, but overall as a new way to experience a bonafide classic. I love how they updated Ashley and Luis. I loved Separate Ways. Remakes to good games need to be reimagined, because even if you don’t like how RE4R treats what RE4 puts down, the original is still there and readily available! I’m so happy that one of my favorite games ever got such lovely treatment almost twenty years later.

2. Pikmin 4

We can’t make the joke any more. Pikmin 4 released, it’s available on store shelves right now, and it’s a very good game. Pikmin 4 smartly builds on the previous entries, Pikmin 2 more than anything, and crafts a tight experience that is consistently rewarding. Rolling back to two controllable characters instead of three, Oatchi’s new movement options (swimming, jumping, ramming into objects) breathe new life into puzzle solving instead of circumventing everything. There’s also plenty of extra content such as challenge rooms and a whole side-quest as Olimar to keep things varied. Pikmin 4 feels like a game that needed all that time in the oven, because it’s polished like a perfect pearl. Y’know, like the ones in the clams you gotta throw Pikmin into. 

1. Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed

Don’t even try to say anything!!!! They kept building on Xenoblade 3 and made its combat better, and wrapped up not only the entire Xenoblade story but also alluded to the other Xeno games? And they brought Shulk and Rex back in a way that wasn’t pandering at all? How could this not be my favorite thing I played in 2023? Xenoblade 3 has continued to rise in my “Pantheon of John Faves” as I continue to ruminate on all of its successes, and then Future Redeemed rolls around to completely lock it into the top five of all time. Every little aspect of revealed lore, all the new characters that fit snugly into the previously revealed information, it’s just…so good. So absolutely perfect. The scrumptious dessert after a full-course meal. My only gripe is that they didn’t release it as a physical Switch cart, so I can’t put it in the collection alongside Torna…

The post John’s Top 10 Games of 2023 appeared first on Gamesline.

Winter 2023

As you’ll hear me talk about all through our GOTY discussions, January came in rockin with the release of Hi-Fi Rush. This rhythm based character action game was something else in terms of getting me immersed for a weekend and enjoying the experience of a short story and tight combat. Chai is just the epitome of a golden retriever protagonist that is so fun to follow as he gains some mastery over his newfound powers. The soundtrack is also fantastic in how it caters so much to my tastes as a fan of early 2000s rock.  

Also played a bit of Pizza Tower, the platformer by McPig that also took folks by the wayside in terms of expectations. If you took my brain apart you’d see a nugget of influence that is congealed by Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Scott Pilgrim, the discography of Seattle band Minus the Bear, and Ed, Edd n Eddy. Pizza Tower scratches that final itch by being so reminiscent of the cartoons I grew up with, while also being a great addition to the heist-themed genre of adventure that Wario Land established. I love Peppino with all my heart, and wish him a speedy recovery after having to deal with all that on top of slow sales. 

Spring 2023

Redfall. A game that has absolutely 0 sauce entered my gaming sphere because of the bastard Scott FKAsocks. We played it twice this year for stream, and both times were soul draining. This was my first exposure to Arkane Studios, and it’s nuts to imagine that people were excited about this studio as a result. Normally, I try not to be a sour sport when it comes to gaming. Even if there’s something that isn’t necessarily to my tastes, I try and see where the strengths of a game lie. There is definitely a core idea in this game, the usage of the Northeast as this backdrop for a vampire based team shooter is a fun nod to the area’s history with the mystical and occult. From that point though, everything else kind of bleeds together. 

Our second stream had a moment where I just started punching every enemy, which led to the revelation that you could melee through most levels with zero consequences. It was equal parts hilarious, the most fun I ever had on stream that night, and the final nail in the coffin of this game for me. I’d love to try out the weapons and be dedicated to having a full load out, but if you have a balance that can make hitting the melee button the easiest part of an FPS game then you kinda fail the assignment. You really fail the assignment. And that’s what Redfall is, a failure of execution that just haunts the studio that created it.

Summer 2023

I remember having a lot of excitement in the summer not only for seeing old friends over on the West Coast but also for the chance to try and lock in on fighting games more. It’s come up in the past whenever I can bring it up, but fighting games are something I’ve really come to appreciate, but never really had the chance to mess around with for myself. Dragon Ball FighterZ felt just a bit out of reach to me, the meta of Tekken 7 was at a point where trying to dive also felt weird to start, so the release of Street Fighter 6 felt just perfect in terms of taking some time learning the bare basics to have fun with friends. I have a Silver rank Ken to this day, but that excitement of being in new fighting spaces is simply next-level. Seeing friends figure out the tech, start to find mains, and get adjusted to one another was awesome to witness in real time; and I even found the courage to ask people in servers to run some sets despite the inevitable ass whooping I’d get.

Not even just playing, but getting more interested in tournaments going on and watching more intently to get a feel of the current state of the FGC has been great. It was beautiful to see MenaRD get all the way to 2nd place with Blanka, and also see just how vast the community expands in terms of who is playing, and from where. The story of Pakistan becoming a pivotal source of Tekken players is awesome to hear about in terms of how expansive the landscape of gaming can be, and equally insane to think about realizing just how weak a Pakistani passport is for travel to areas that are the main cultural touchstones of the FGC. But apart from the geopolitical reality that fighting games end up putting into a frame of reference, it’s been so invigorating to see people share tips, spreadsheets, and memes through this communal love of the competition fighting games can drum up. Next Level NYC is the breeding ground of the scene here and I’ve yet to make my first steps over, but with a year of SF6 past us, Tekken 8 out in the landscape, and much-needed updates to current games like Granblue Versus Rising and Guilty Gear Strive, I’m excited to delve even deeper into this newfound love I’ve cultivated.

Fall 2023

Lies of P was really something special to experience when I did. I already talked at length about it in a separate review, but there’s truly something to a game taking inspiration from the landscape around it and running in its own direction. The combat is great, the city of Krat feels abandoned in a way that still makes you curious to learn more; especially with the characters you meet along the way who are trying to make any sense of the massacre and illness unfolding around them. The P-Organ and the weapon customization options you have also make for a fun natural challenge to the game as you start to learn boss patterns and opportunities to really land devastating blows. In my review I’d mentioned how the focus on this narrative dovetails with the plague of action adventure games in the last decade being overshadowed by FromSoftware’s pretty consistent output. Especially considering my disinterest in Elden Ring, Lies of P is a solid reminder of the way you don’t need to add every little detail to make something incredible, and I’m eagerly waiting to continue exploring the city of Krat and beyond with the next title Round8 has cooking in the background. 

As for what next year holds, it’s tough to say! 2023 felt like such a backlog of things that should have been released as far back as 2 years ago maybe, and 2024 might be continuing with the handling of this overflow of AAA titles and blockbuster moments. If anything, I look forward to seeing what gems I’ve found for myself come next GOTY season, and really see where my interests lie against the current cycle of drummed up excitement.

The post Maverick’s Games of 2023 appeared first on Gamesline.

And we were fucking sick of it.

This year, for the first ever official Gamesline Game Of The Year celebration, we decided to do something different. The thing we always have the most fun with every single time we sit down for Game Of The Year is just talking to each other about games. We’ve had so many great discussions where we got to passionately advocate for games big and small and that’s something the Video Game Choo Choo audience never really got to see for themselves. For 2023, we decided to peel back the curtain and make those discussions the central focus of Game Of The Year. No more awards, no more voting, no more backstabbing or underhanded wheeling and dealing, just pure talkin’ about games.

Categories featured in Day 4 include:
Best Music
Best Presentation
Best Audio

The post Game Of The Year 2023 – Day 4 appeared first on Gamesline.

We’re back, and this week John is joined by Rose and Spencer to talk about the week in games. John’s been playing Signalis, Pizza Tower, and had a lot of fun at the arcade playing that Melty Blood. Spencer’s been playing Destiny 2: Lightfall, the System Shock demo, and Atomic Heart. Rose has been playing a ton of games with Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line, the Dead Space remake, Limbus Company, Wild Hearts, and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. In the news we go over Square Enix replacing their president, Yuji Naka pleading guilty to insider trading and the discussion surrounding the term JRPG. Oh yeah, and Elden Ring is also getting an expansion.

As always, you can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Twitter @VGChooChoo,  @john_michonski, @SolaireHazard and @horngal

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at videogamechoochoo.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Subscribe via iTunes, Pocket Casts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.

The post VGCC Episode 429: Lu Bu’s Insider Trading Special appeared first on Gamesline.

It’s time again to sit down and talk about the week in Video Games. This week, John is joined by Maverick to talk about how they’ve both been playing Pizza Tower. John’s also been playing more Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin while Maverick has been digging in to Evil West and Like a Dragon: Ishin. In the news, a game development fund was created to help European game developers and Itch.io has put together a Trans Witches bundle for charity. The Hoyoverse cut ties with voice actor Elliott Gindi after multiple allegations of grooming, while Final Fantasy XIV is being asked to remove one of their cash shop outfits by the Sami people due to it’s cultural significance. We also got a trailer for Tetris and news that Youtube’s CEO is stepping down and if there is an e3 this year, Ubisoft is going to be there.

As always, you can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Twitter @VGChooChoo,  @john_michonski, and @Mavsplainiamania

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at videogamechoochoo.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Subscribe via iTunes, Pocket Casts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.

The post VGCC Episode 427: Bathhouse Pizza appeared first on Gamesline.

And we’re back, John, Rose, and Maverick are here to talk about the games they’ve been playing and all the news around the games industry. John’s still playing Witch on the Holy Knight when he’s not been playing Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin. Maverick also been on the VN grind with The House in Fata Morgana while playing a bunch of Pizza Tower. Both he and Rose have been digging into Hi-Fi Rush and Rose has been playing Fire Emblem Engage, the Steamworld Build demo, Trails in the Sky The 3rd, and Neptunia Sisters vs Sisters.

In the news, even more Games as Service games got shut down alongside Rumbleverse with Knockout City, Crossfire X, Back4Blood, Love live School Idol Festival, and the mobile versions of Battlefield and Apex Legends. EA also cancelled a single player game in the Apex Legends/Titanfall universe that was for all intents and purposes Titanfall 3. None of the big 3 console makers are going to have a presence at the new E3, and The Sims 4 has a trans inclusive update adding top surgery scars to the character creation.

As always, you can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Twitter @VGChooChoo,  @john_michonski, @Mavsplainiamania, and @horngal

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at videogamechoochoo.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Subscribe via iTunes, Pocket Casts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.

The post VGCC Episode 425: Hi-Fi Pizza Time appeared first on Gamesline.