Welcome back to another This Week In Games Australia! This week: Aussie breakout Cult of the Lamb leads an absolutely packed week ahead, with Spider-Man on PC, Two Point Campus, and a horde of creative, exciting indies. Gather round, here’s what you’ll be playing this week.
August 8
That’s Not How It Happened (PC)
That’s Not How It Happened caught my eye on Steam because of its interesting art design and fun pitch: the Turner family’s inn has burned down, and now they have to recount the events leading up to its destruction. I love a game that lets me piece a mystery together through unreliable narrators. This piqued my interest.
August 9
Chico and the Magic Orchards (PC)
An adorable little GameBoy-like about a chipmunk who stumbles into a forest portal, transporting him to a magical world full of huge walnuts. But how to get them home? Time to start solving puzzles and punishing the local bosses.
PIP (PC)
PIP is a chill puzzle game about connecting pipes. I can see this being an excellent game for centring yourself and finding some calm after a long day in the office.
Tyrant’s Blessing (PC)
Tyrant’s Blessing is a grid-based tactics RPG in the vein of Disgaea, Fire Emblem, or Final Fantasy Tactics. Select from a roster of hero characters to fill out your squad, look for synergies, and rule the battlefield.
Wildlife Planet: The Incremental (PC)
It’s an idle game where you look at cool animals and level up because you looked at cool animals. Billion-dollar idea, quite frankly, and I’m sure it made a bit on mobile before making the jump to PC.
August 10
Collapsed (PC)
Collapsed is a game where you shoot things with a cannon and see what happens—another billion-dollar idea. I encourage the devs to go insane with this. Let me shoot cannonballs into complex-yet-fragile buildings or a car. Let me dome a statue with this thing. Take out a hot dog cart. You can just have these ideas for free. Together, we can make this a masterpiece.
Farthest Frontier (PC)
I’m a big fan of Anno 1800, so Farthest Frontier feels right up my alley. Farthest Frontier is a survival city builder about founding a bustling city on the edge of the known world and seeing how long you can last. While Anno 1800 was set during the industrial revolution, Farthest Frontier goes further back in time. With only the ability to live off the land at your disposal, it becomes a game about doing a lot with precious little.
Stereo Boy (PC)
On a world split into two parallel planes, a little robot named Blit must teleport between realms to solve a string of puzzles and find a way home. I love the look, love the pitch, this looks great.
Timothy and the Tower of Mu (PC)
A hardcore action platformer in which a young boy must ascend a fraught tower to rescue his grandfather. If you were big into Celeste, put this one on your list.
Two Point Campus (PS5, XSX, PC, NS, PS4, XBO)
One of the week’s more significant releases is Two Point Campus, the very well-received sequel to Two Point Hospital. The creative forces behind this series are many former Bullfrog developers that worked on games like Theme Hospital, hence its proximity to that game. I spent some time on our review build over the weekend, and I really like it. It’s a perfecting of Two Point’s house style and opens the door to other comedic business sims in the future. I’m all about it. This one’s out on Game Pass for PC and console on Day 1, so what have you got to lose?
August 11
Arcade Paradise (PS5, XSX, PC, NS, PS4, XBO)
A job simulator with a difference, Arcade Paradise is all about converting your dreary life in a coin-op laundromat into a bustling retro arcade.
Book Quest (PC, NS)
An indie adventure game that takes inspiration from top-down RPGs like A Link to the Past and side-scrollers like, well, The Adventure of Link. If you’re in the mood for something decidedly old-school, this should be worth checking out.
Cleo: A Pirate’s Tale (NS)
A pixel-based about a young girl on a wild pirate adventure makes its way to the Switch this week. Cleo has been out on PC for a little while, but the move to Switch will bring the game to an entirely new audience.
Cult of the Lamb (PS5, XSX, PC, NS, PS4, XBO)
Our game of the week. It’s finally here. The big one. The little Aussie indie that’s captured imaginations around the world, including that of one Ruby Innes. A mix of city builder and roguelike, with a creepy-but-cute aesthetic. If you didn’t get to try the demo during Steam Next Fest earlier this year, you missed out on something exceptional. It is destined to be one of the best Aussie games of the year.
Lost In Play (PC, NS)
A puzzle adventure game about a brother and sister lost in a world of imagination. I cannot overstate how much I love the art design on this one. Beautiful animation and a great storybook approach to creating a game for younger players. Have you got kids? Grab this.
Pulling No Punches (PC)
From whole to hardcore. Pulling No Punches is a classic sidescrolling beat-em-up that looks like someone obsessed with the Cabbage Patch Kids made a game. The story follows a group of brave kids who, facing a global pandemic that has engulfed the world, find themselves surrounded by conspiracy theorists and people claiming the virus never existed. Their solution? Fight ’em.
August 12
Axiom Verge 2 (PC)
Axiom Verge 2 finally arrives on Steam this week after concluding its exclusivity window on the Epic Games Store.
Rumbleverse (PS5, XSX, PC, PS4, XBO)
A 40-player brawler royale that feels like it combines the rapid movement of Smash Bros with the frantic party play of Fall Guys. Interested to see how this one goes and if audiences will respond to it.
Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation — The Endless Seven-Day Journey (NS)
Honestly, I just included this in the list because what a title. Video game title of the year.
August 12
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered (PC)
Considering it’s one of the most popular video games ever released, there’s every chance you’ve already played Insomniac’s Spider-Man. This week, it launches on PC with a few new and upgraded features: improved shadows, ultrawide monitor support, ray-traced reflections, unlocked framerate, DLSS and DLAA support, and full support for the PS5’s DualSense controller (but you’ll have to run it cabled for all the bells and whistles).
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