Welcome back to This Week In Games Australia, your look at all the video game releases arriving in the week ahead. This week, we ask the question: what is it with publishers and picking one day on which everything launches at once.
This week sees the arrival of World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, an expansion that may either revive the once-dominant MMO’s fortunes or seal its fate. Also dropping: The Callisto Protocol, a Dead Space-like created by members of that original team; NFS Unbound, a throwback to the series’ Underground days we didn’t even know about until a few weeks ago; Marvel’s Midnight Suns, a tactical card-based approach to the superhero genre by the creators of XCOM that I, personally, am very interested in. There’s also a heap of great indies arriving, like Astronite and the brilliant N64-era throwback Super Kiwi 64.
Here’s what you’ll be playing this week.
November 29
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight (PC)
After dropping Collector’s Edition copies at retail with the arrival of the Dragonflight pre-patch, the latest World of Warcraft expansion will arrive later this week. Dragonflight will be the first expansion for WOW since chaos and scandal erupted within the corridors of Blizzard’s Irvine campus. As a result, the game lost a substantial chunk of its audience to other MMOs like Final Fantasy XIV Online, and Dragonflight feels like a flashpoint moment: can WOW tempt its aging player base into one more expac, or has the moment finally arrived where the game that redefined a genre is finally made to face the music? Find out this week.
November 30
Astronite (PS5, PC, NS, PS4)
Astronite is a Metroid-style platformer with a simple black-and-white aesthetic. It’s been available on PC for some time but formally arrives on consoles this week. If you haven’t played it before, please give it a shot, especially if you’re a fan of the genre. Really good gear and I know a few in the Kotaku AU community that have already played and enjoyed it.
Front Mission 1st Remake (NS)
Some of you reading this are absolutely frothing Front Mission 1st Remake. And I’m very happy for you. This is such a deep cut, and it’s great to see it getting a re-release on portable hardware. Hopefully, the Switch can run it smoothly (an increasing concern at this point).
Gundam Evolution (PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)
Gundam Evolution has been out on PC for a minute, but it arrives on consoles this week. The broad pitch for this one is: “What if Overwatch, but everyone was a Gundam?” If that doesn’t sound fkn awesome to you, then we probably can’t be mates. It is what it is.
Warhammer 40K: Darktide (PC)
I can’t believe I’m hyped for a Warhammer 40K game, but Fat Shark’s cooperative, PVE take on the Warhammer universe has just been so good in the past. Darktide is the studio’s first time taking its Left 4 Dead-inspired formula to the sci-fi 40K universe and will see players battling back hordes of Chaos demons using four discrete classes. This is absolutely on my must-play list this week. I can’t wait to jump in with a few mates. It’s out on PC Game Pass on day one as well, which might help you rope a few friends in if they’re reluctant to buy it outright.
December 1
Inscryption (NS)
It’s Inscryption. It’s on the Switch. If you’ve never had the pleasure, immediately put this on your Must Play list. One of the best games of the last five years, in my humble opinion.
Hello Neighbour 2 (PS5, PS4)
Sorry, I refuse to spell Neighbour the profane, U-less American way. I have seen elsewhere that this has a release date of next week, but EB Games lists it as this week. It’s possible Australia might be getting this one a little early, or EB might be wrong. I’ll let you know next week. I wasn’t huge on the original Hello Neighbour. I liked the concept of what it was trying to do, kind of a weird little burglary simulator of a sort, but it never quite came together for me. I hope this second iteration will tighten things up because it feels like there’s a kernel of a really special idea here.
December 2
The Callisto Protocol (PS5, XSX, PC, PS4, XBO)
Certainly one of the biggest releases of the week, The Callisto Protocol is a spiritual successor to the Dead Space franchise, created by members of the team that worked on the original. The trailers convey a game full of all the things that made Dead Space memorable — claustrophobic hallways, weird gurgly infected enemies with choppable limbs, extreme and grotesque violence, and a lead character that would prefer to be quite literally anywhere else. It’s out this week on everything.
Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality + The Lonely Assassins (PS4, NS)
I am including this in the list because there are a) definitely Who fans among you who will play this package, and b) some of you who know a Who fan who would like this for Christmas.
The Eternal Cylinder (PS5)
This one came out a few weeks ago, but PS5 copies were delayed at retail. You can now get yourself a boxed copy at EB Games!
Goat Simulator 3 (PS5, XSX, PC)
Another one where retail copies were delayed. Boxed copies on next-gen and PC are arriving this week at retail (and come with a goat plushie, which is nice.)
Marvel’s Midnight Suns (PS5, XSX)
A game that has been shrouded in a bit of mystery since it was announced, Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a tactical superhero deckbuilder RPG from the team behind the XCOM series. That appeals to me a great deal because 1) I love XCOM and 2) this particular genre mash is very weird, which means I’ll probably like it. Less concerned with dice rolls, positioning, and percentage-to-hit stats than XCOM, Midnight Suns is about building a reliable squad and using all of their abilities and synergies to your advantage. I’m really looking forward to this one.
NFS Unbound (PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)
Need for Speed is attempting a run back to the heady days of Underground with the latest entry in the series, NFS Unbound. It’s all about tuner culture and flashy cars that only come out at night and also happen to go fast. Will it be better than NFS Heat? We’ll find out this week.
Super Kiwi 64 (NS)
Super Kiwi 64 is the best pitch of the week, in my opinion. A proper throwback to the era of the mascot-driven 3D platformer on the N64, this is a game that will appeal to a very specific subsection of the Millenial audience — aka me. This looks fun as hell and I cannot wait to play it.
Syberia: The World Before (XSX)
If you’re thinking, ‘this one came out last week, didn’t it?’ then you are correct. Xbox copies took a little longer to arrive at retail, but they’re here this week and you’ll be able to grab a boxed copy from your fave local retailer.
And that’s it for This Week In Games Australia for another week! See anything you like this week? Are you keen to try The Callisto Protocol or Marvel’s Midnight Suns? Let us know in the comments below.
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