Welcome to This Week In Games Australia, and another huge week to see October off. This week, a collection of retail launches, GOTY editions, the Resident Evil ReVerse multiplayer experiment, the now-inauspicious return of Bayonetta, and one of the year’s heaviest hitters in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. Here’s what you’ll be playing this week.
October 25
Into the Breach (NS)
One for the collectors. Into the Breach is one of the greatest turn-based tactics games ever made, from the team behind the equally fantastic FTL: Faster Than Light. If you’ve somehow never played it before, or you are a superfan who’d love a box copy, you can now pick the game up at retail for the Nintendo Switch.
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord (XSX, PS4, XBO)
If you’re big on medieval battle sims, Mount & Blade 2 should be a delight. This is a game all about taking part in giant medieval era battles, charging overland toward a heavily fortified enemy for a lot of loud, bloody biffo. There’s some of you that sitting bolt upright now because this is all you’ve ever wanted. You can pick it up on Thursday.
Them’s Fighting Herds (PS5, NS, PS4)
I don’t even know quite how to describe Them’s Fighting Herds. This is a fighting game in which cartoon beasts of burden kick the absolute shit out of each other. It’s comedic, it’s bloodless and family-friendly, and its sprites look as though they were created by the studio behind Ren & Stimpy. Bizarre, but I’m interested.
Xbox Wireless Controller – Lunar Shift Special Edition
I know we don’t often throw hardware into TWIG, but this one feels a little spesh and I know there’s controller collectors in the audience. Yes, they exist. The special edition Lunar Shift controller is out this week at your favoured games retailers. I expect this one will become fairly hard to come by in the future, so if you want one for your collection, you’d better snap it up now.
October 27
Brewmaster: Beer Brewing Simulator (PS5, XSX, PC, NS, PS4, XBO)
I played Brewmaster during the Steam Next Fest event earlier this year, and was impressed by its deeply Scandinavian seriousness and attention to detail. Your character is locked in what looks like a Norwegian lodge of some sort, unable to escape. Not that they would if they could, because their entire life is devoted to perfecting the perfect beer. Those enamoured with the homebrewing arts will find the granularity this game offers to be thrilling. Homebrewing is a pastime that requires patience and exacting measurements, and so does the game. It’s out this week on literally everything.
Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway (PS5, XSX, NS, PS4, XBO)
They are gonna be pumping out Mario Kart clones until the end of time, huh?
Signalis (PC, PS4, XBO)
A sci-fi survival horror game with a pixel art aesthetic, Signalis is all about dread and atmosphere. This wasn’t on my radar until I started putting TWIG together this week, and now I think I’ll be adding it to my list for next weekend.
Star Ocean: The Divine Force (PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)
JRPG fans, you don’t even have to go a week without a new game to play anymore. The latest entry in the long-running Star Ocean franchise, The Divine Force, arrives this week, the sixth mainline entry in the science fantasy series.
October 28
Bayonetta 3 (NS)
After all the years fans have waited for Bayonetta 3 to arrive, there might be some mixed feelings among the crowd after last week’s very public falling out between former Bayonetta voice actor Hellena Taylor and developer PlatinumGames. If you’re still interested in playing it and the drama hasn’t put a sour taste in your mouth, Bayonetta 3 will be out on Friday.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (PS5, XSX, PC, PS4, XBO)
This week’s biggest release is, without a doubt, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. Despite Activision’s ongoing troubles and the trashing of its already tarnished reputation over the last two years, there is nevertheless a huge amount of hype for MWII. Longtime fans of the series are hoping that this latest entry will mark a return to form, the Modern Warfare games second perhaps only to the Black Ops subfranchise in terms of raw popularity.
Factorio (NS)
The factory-building game that can break all but the most powerful of PC CPUs is coming to the Nintendo Switch. For those who love to tweak and optimise, Factorio is one of the best factory sims to ever do it. Sprawling maps, tons of options, and a blank slate for creating an ever-more perfect, efficient factory, this is one for the designers and the engineers in the crowd.
Fell & Seal: Arbiter’s Mark (NS, PS4)
You might be thinking to yourself, didn’t I see this in TWIG last week? Yes, you did! The retail launch slipped a week, and you’ll now be able to pick it up on Friday.
Life in Willowdale: Farm Adventures (NS)
What’s that? You haven’t played enough farming sims on your Switch yet? Well, good news, here’s another one. Life in Willowdale is out this week.
Slime Rancher: Plortable Edition (NS)
That sound you can hear is resident Slime Rancher fan Ruby going absolutely insane. The Plortable Edition, made especially for the Nintendo Switch, is out this week at retail and digital.
Resident Evil: ReVerse (PS5, XSX, PC, PS4, XBO)
ReVerse, the Resident Evil multiplayer game, launches this week. Capcom calls it a survival revenge game for two to six players, a fight to the death. For me, still hard to know what this package is, but I’ll be keen to get stuck into it on Friday and find out. If you own a copy of Resident Evil Village, congratulations, you’ve already got access to the ReVerse.
Resident Evil Village: Gold Edition (PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)
Speaking of Resident Evil Village, the Gold Edition with a complete set of its DLC, will arrive this week, bringing the game to current-gen platforms and updating those on the previous-gen too. If you’ve never played RE Village, here’s a great opportunity to try it out.
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