Welcome back to This Week In Games Austraila, your look at what you’ll be playing in the week ahead.
This week, Capcom’s excellent Resident Evil 4 remake is the sole AAA release. The rest of the week is, therefore, given over to a long list of fantastic indies like Tchia, Storyteller and Mr Saitou have stepped in to fill the gaps.
Ruby and I discussed a few of these titles on The Kotaku Australia Podcast last week! You can check that out in the handy dandy embed below, or give us a follow on your podcast app of choice. New episodes go up every Friday, and we hope to see you there.
With that out of the way, here’s what you could be playing this week.
March 20
Manic Archers (PC)
What if Zelda-like top down fantasy adventure, but actually it’s a competitive multiplayer party game? That’s the thrust of Manic Archers, a game that serves in the grand tradition of browser-based multiplayer biffo. This looks like fast, simple fun, the kind of thing we used to gather around a keyboard to play in the early 2000’s. Good stuff.
March 21
Decieve Inc (PS5, XSX, PC)
Among Us has created a market for games that leverage social interaction — specifically, the kind of social interaction that lets you argue with your with friends. Deceive Inc. is the latest game about bullshitting your mates, a spy vs. spy game with prop hunt elements. In a crowd of NPCs, you’ll need an eagle eye to spot the enemy spies, and you’ll need to take them out before they can do the same to you. Fantastic, if you’ve got a group that doesn’t mind a little friendly competition.
Tchia (PS5, PC, PS4)
Tchia is an emotional coming-of-age adventure game set in an archipelago inspired by the real islands of New Caledonia. It’s a little bit Journey, and a little bit Breath of the Wild, and I can see Ruby falling in love with it already.
March 23
Mr Saitou (PC, NS)
A short game about a white-collar worker struggling to find meaning in a life full of constant overtime and social isolation. After an accident lands him in the hospital, Mr. Saitou is spirited away to a strange fantasy world where an unexpected friend takes him on a life-changing adventure. The latest game in the Rakuen series, which also makes an appearance in this list.
Rakuen (NS)
Rakuen is a game about a little boy who spends a lot of time in the hospital. He deals with his crappy situation by travelling with his mother to a beautiful fantasy world, where he helps other patients in the hospital come to terms with their ailments, and live for a little while in their shoes. Rakuen is a lovely little game with a big heart, and it’s out on Switch this week.
Storyteller (PC, NS)
Storyteller is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a game where you write stories. Start with a title, and populate your tales with a theme and characters. Then, bit by bit, frame by frame, tell their story. Think of it like assembling a little comic. How do you most effectively communicate ideas and themes when all you have are little pictures? A fantastic idea, brilliantly executed. It’s out on PC and Switch this week.
March 24
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key (PS5, NS, PS4)
One of the most popular JRPG series’ returns for another round this week. Ryza and her friends are back, and it’s a year after their last adventure together. This new game, steeped in alchemy and mystery, is written by Yashichiro Takahashi, who created the story for the original Atelier Ryza.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure (PC, NS)
Considered the best game in the Trails series, The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure picks up where Trails from Zero left off. Two neighbouring political powers are putting pressure on the land of Crossbell, and its up to you and the Special Operations team to defuse the situation.
Omen of Sorrow (PC)
An older fighting game, based on great horror characters in literary fiction, Omen of Sorrow finally comes to PC this week. Not enough fighting games that let you play as a Cthulhu man in my opinion.
Resident Evil 4 (PS5, XSX, PC, PS4, XBO)
The remake that Resident Evil fans have been waiting for. Resident Evil 4 is a fan favourite in the long-running horror series, the game that pivoted the franchise away from its famous locked-camera to an over-the-shoulder third-person view. Though the remake leans harder into combat than previous remakes, it nevertheless retains the oppressive, unnerving vibe of the original.
March 25
Schildmaid MX (PC)
Listen, I see a side-scrolling Raiden-inspired shmup, I put it in the list. That’s just how that goes. Schildmaid MX looks extremely like my kind of shmup. More of these, please.
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