Welcome back to This Week In Games Australia! This week: a moment to breathe between the AAA deluge starts again. Metal: Hellsinger leads a week of indies, re-releases, point-and-click adventures, and more. Prepare to go deaf from glorious heavy metal as we check out what you’ll be playing later this week.
September 13
Biomutant (PS5, XSX, XBO)
One of the weirdest little AA games from 2021 returns. Biomutant is coming to next-gen platforms and getting a retail release on them as well. If you haven’t played it before, I honestly think it’s worth a look! There are so few studios pumping out games like this anymore — games that have weird, ambitious ideas and aren’t letting a lack of budget and resources stop them from trying. It’s far from perfect but it is interesting, and I think that counts for a lot.
Sunday Gold (PC)
A classic point-and-click adventure married to turn-based combat and escape room puzzle design. Is that a little Disco Elysium influence I’m detecting in the portrait art? Say no more, I’m keen.
Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden (PC, NS, PS4)
With the blistering pace at which Yoko Taro and team have been releasing instalments in the Voice of Cards series, you might not be aware that this is the third game in a series that only launched in October last year. Voice of Cards is a very Japanese love letter to tabletop RPG’s. Taro serves as creative director, with fellow Nier and Drakengard alumni like executive producer Yosuke Saito, composer Keiichi Okabe, and artist Kimihiko Fujisaka.
XIII (PS5, XSX, NS, XBO)
Look. The XIII remake was a disaster when it launched on last-gen platforms in late 2020. Rife with bugs and performance issues, returning fans felt like they’d taken the video game equivalent of a sucker punch. It’s now coming to next-gen platforms, and there is absolutely no reason to think it will be any better. Maybe it will be! Who knows! But probably not.
You Suck At Parking (XSX, PC, XBO)
A Micro Machines style racing game where the goal is not to set a blazing time, but to stick the landing. Get your car around the game’s infuriating obstacle courses and bring the car to a perfect, stuntman-style stop. Puzzle gaming meets racing. I like it. Dropping on Game Pass this week too.
September 15
Blind Fate: Edo no Yami (PS5, XSX, PC, NS, PS4, XBO)
Who’s ready for another cyberpunk game about samurai and vapourwave? Blind Fate: Edo no Yami is a side-scrolling beat-em-up that promises “brutally challenging combat.” The setting is a futurist take on Japan’s Edo period, with machine enemies based on monsters from Japanese folklore.
Metal: Hellsinger (PS5, XSX, PC, PS4, XBO)
I’ve been waiting for years for this one. Metal: Hellsinger is a rhythm-based first-person shooter. Your character, a Hellsinger, must carve their way through Hell’s own armies, propelled by the heavy metal blaring in her ears. Shooting on the beat is how you progress and rack up huge score multipliers. The soundtrack is also an all-star lineup, with contributions from members of Refused, Arch Enemy, Trivium, Lamb of God, and System of a Down. If you didn’t get to play the demo, all indications are that Hellsinger is something really special. It’s also dropping on Game Pass this week.
The Outer Wilds (PS5, XSX)
Have you played The Outer Wilds? If you answered no, please close this tab and play The Outer Wilds.
Steelrising (XSX)
Steelrising is getting a retail release at EB Games this week on Xbox, if you’d like to add a physical copy to your collection.
Wayward Strand (PS5, XSX, PC, NS, PS4, XBO)
Your Aussie game of the week! Wayward Strand is a point-and-click narrative adventure created by Melbourne studio Ghost Pattern. Set on a flying hospital travelling across rural Australia in the 1970s, your job is to explore the hospital and listen to everyone’s stories. Choices and questions lead to new stories. They even got Michael Caton to provide VO! You’d better believe Ruby is psyched to play this. Show the team some love when it arrives on just about every platform later this week.
September 16
Arcadegeddon (PS5, XSX, PS4)
Multiplayer PVE in a vapourwave, neon-lit world. Your goal is to save a beloved arcade by blowing the shit out of the wave-based enemies that are trying to destroy it. I think. The trailers are honestly never quite clear what the hell is going on here. But PvE multi is always fun! It’s out this week if you feel like throwing something new at your Friday night squad.
The Ascent (PS5, PS4)
You can now pick up a retail copy of The Ascent on PlayStation platforms, should you wish to add a physical copy to your collection.
Bugsnax (NS)
Another retail launch! Again, just a PSA for those who still prefer their physical media.
Whateverland (PC)
Point-and-click adventures are back, baybee. Is everyone just trying to get in before Monkey Island drops next week? Whateverland is a point-and-click adventure game about a bougie aristocracy and the guy who could take them for everything they’ve got (should he choose to do so). Branching dialgoue trees, multiple endings, fully voiced dialogue, and hand-painted art make this one feel a little special.
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