Last week was the slowest week in video games for 2019. That said, this week is bouncing back with a plethora of notable releases on PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC, Google Stadia, and other platforms. Included in this new wave of games is a spin-off Darksiders, a new game from the creator of XCOM, a Halo port, and one of the most promising looking indie titles of 2019.
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So, if you’re wondering what games are worth taking a quick gander at this week, well you’ve come to the right saloon partner, because that’s exactly what we have: a rundown of all the noteworthy releases dropping this week. As always, it’s important to remember this is not an exhaustive list of new releases. Nobody has time for that. Further, in addition to the salient new releases, there’s a round-up of ports at the bottom. As for remakes and remasters, they are included, as are meaty expansions, though minor DLC releases are not. Lastly, sometimes mobile games are included if they are super noteworthy.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Arise: A Simple Story
Pitch: “Arise: A Simple Story is an emotional journey through the bittersweet lives of two people where memories come alive and time bends to your will. Lose yourself in moments of happiness and overcome every hardship as you relive your life’s story. A story of joy and sorrow. A simple story.”
Developer and Publisher: Piccolo Studio and Techland Publishing
Platforms: PC, PS4, and Xbox One
Release Date: December 3
Runner-UP: Darksiders Genesis
Pitch: “Darksiders Genesis is an action/adventure that tears its way through hordes of demons, angels, and everything in-between on its way to Hell and back with guns blazing and swords swinging. Genesis gives players their first look at the world of Darksiders before the events of the original game, as well as introduces the horseman Strife.”
Developer and Publisher: Airship Syndicate and THQ Nordic
Platforms: Google Stadia and PC (coming to Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One in February 2020)
Release Date: December 5
Bronze Medal: Phoenix Point
Pitch: “Phoenix Point is a new strategy game from the creator of X-COM. In 2022, the Pandoravirus was first discovered in the arctic permafrost by excited scientists. By 2047, it had overrun the Earth. Now, humanity is nearly wiped out, and mutated alien creatures dominate every corner of the globe. The Phoenix Project is a worldwide organization, designed to be activated when humanity is in crisis. Now, the world’s best scientists, engineers, and soldiers look to you to lead mankind back from the brink.”
Developer and Publisher: Snapshot Games
Platforms: PC (coming to PS4 and Xbox One in 2020)
Release Date: December 3
Life is Strange 2 – Episode 5
Pitch: “Life is Strange 2 Episode 5 is the final part of an all-new five-part story from Dontnod Entertainment, the next stage of the award-winning Life is Strange series.”
Developer and Publisher: Dotnod Entertainment and Square Enix
Platforms: PC, PS4, and Xbox One
Release Date: December 3
Star Ocean: First Departure R
Pitch: “Originally released in the west on the PSP (PlayStation Portable) system, Star Ocean: First Departure R tells the story of a young swordsman, Roddick, and his companions who at first set off on a journey to find the cure to a deadly disease, which then spirals into an adventure that spans across the sea of stars.”
Developer and Publisher: Tri-Ace and Square Enix
Platforms: PS4
Release Date: December 5
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition
Pitch: “The 2002 computer RPG of the Year and all its downloadable content deliver 10 standalone Dungeons & Dagons-based adventures featuring co-op and online multiplayer. Slink through the shadows as a deadly half-elven rogue, wield fearsome magics as a powerful gnomish sorcerer, vanquish your foes as an armor-clad dwarven paladin… whatever hero you create, incredible adventures await. Discover magic, wonder, and danger at every turn on your own or with friends in these classic Dungeons & Dragons adventures.”
Developer and Publisher: Beamdog and Skybound Games
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One
Release Date: December 3
Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York
Pitch: “Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York presents the conflict between two vampiric factions: the traditionalist Camarilla and the fiercely independent Anarchs among the iconic landmarks and night lights of The Big Apple. It’s a unique, atmospheric, single-player narrative experience, set in a rich, fully licensed, globally recognized universe of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition.”
Developer and Publisher: Draw Distance
Platforms: PC (coming to Nintendo Switch and PS4 in Q1 2020)
Release Date: December 4
The Most Notable of Notable Ports: Blair Witch
Pitch: “Blair Witch is a first-person, story-driven psychological horror game based on the cinematic lore of Blair Witch. It’s 1996. A young boy disappears in the Black Hills Forest near Burkittsville, Maryland. As Ellis, a former police officer with a troubled past, you join the search. What starts as an ordinary investigation soon turns into an endless nightmare as you confront your fears and the Blair Witch, a mysterious force that haunts the woods…”
Developer and Publisher: Bloober Team
Platforms: PS4 (already available on PC and Xbox One)
Release Date: December 3
All Other Notable Ports:
ALIEN: ISOLATION:
Pitch: “Survive heart-pounding horror as you’re relentlessly hunted through a desolate space station, in the immersive game rooted in Ridley Scott’s masterpiece. When she left Earth, Ellen Ripley promised her daughter she would return home to celebrate her 11th birthday. She never made it. Fifteen years later, Amanda Ripley learns that the flight recorder from her mother’s ship has been recovered. Amanda enters Sevastopol space station to finally solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance, only to confront an unknown menace. Engage in a terrifying quest for survival as you navigate the labyrinthine Sevastopol station. Unprepared and underequipped, you will need all your wits and daring to get out alive.”
Developer and Publisher: Feral Interactive and Sega
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (already available on PC, PS3, PS3, Xbox One, and Xbox 360)
Release Date: December 5
*****
HALO: REACH:
Pitch: “Halo: Reach comes to PC as the first installment of Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Now optimized for PC, experience the heroic story of Noble Team, a group of Spartans, who through great sacrifice and courage, saved countless lives in the face of impossible odds. The planet Reach is humanity’s last line of defense between the encroaching Covenant and their ultimate goal, the destruction of Earth. If it falls, humanity will be pushed to the brink of destruction.”
Developer and Publisher: 343 Industries and Xbox Game Studios
Platforms: PC and Xbox One (already available on Xbox 360)
Release Date: December 3
*****
MOSAIC:
Pitch: “Mosaic is a dark surrealistic and atmospheric adventure game about urban isolation and the dread of being a piece in a giant machinery you can’t understand. You live a monotonous and repetitive lonely life in a cold overpopulated ever-expanding city. The phone is distracting you with meaningless notifications as you move through anonymous crowds on your way to work at a megacorporation where yet another long day with overtime awaits. You have no real sense of meaning—until one crucial day, when strange things start to happen on your commute to work and everything changes.”
Developer and Publisher: Krillbite Studio and Raw Fury
Platforms: PC (already available on Apple Arcade) (coming to Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One in Q1 2020)
Release Date: December 5
*****
ANCESTORS: THE HUMANKIND ODYSSEY
Pitch: “Embark on the most incredible odyssey known to humankind: human evolution. Spanning from 10 million to 2 million years ago before us, begin your journey in Neogene period Africa. Explore a beautiful yet ruthless world from swinging through tree branches in the jungle to stalking prey across the golden savannah grasslands. Decide what attributes to learn and hone in order to pass down knowledge to future generations, from crafting tools to enhancing evasive tactics against predators. Just like real life, make sure to eat, drink, and sleep to stay alive and have the energy to face any danger that may come your way.”
Developer and Publisher: Panache Digital Games and Private Division
Platforms: PS4 and Xbox One (already available on PC)
Release Date: December 6
*****
IMMORTAL PLANET:
Pitch: “On the icy surface of a forgotten planet stand ruined tombs where immortals sleep. While sleepless warriors roam the halls with their minds eroded by eternity, a lone Awakewalker emerges from cryosleep. With no memory of their past, it’s up to them to forge their future, discover the planet’s mysteries, and find a way out of this icy hell.”
Developer and Publisher: teedoubleuGAMES
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One (already available on PC)
Release Date: December 5
*****
TROVER SAVES THE UNIVERSE:
Pitch: “From the co-creator of Rick and Morty comes Trover Saves the Universe. Your dogs have been dognapped by a beaked lunatic named Glorkon who stuffed them into his eye holes and is using their life essence to destroy the universe. You’re partnered with Trover, a little purple eye-hole monster who isn’t a huge fan of working or being put in the position of having to save the universe. He’s also not that big a fan of you quite frankly, and neither am I. (Jk, you’re great.)”
Developer and Publisher: Squanch Games
Platforms: Xbox One (already available on Nintendo Switch, PC, and PS4)
Release Date: December 6
*****
ONE FINGER DEATH PUNCH:
Pitch: “You’re surrounded, outnumbered and have to use any weapon you can get your hands on to dismantle your opponents in a flurry of kung fu. That’s the essence of One Finger Death Punch 2, the world’s fastest brawler. It features the original One Finger Death Punch’s unique two-button mechanics which we’ve spent the last five years perfecting. Speed and precision are key in this whirlwind fighting frenzy, as players maintain control over the 26 different unlockable skills, frenetic gameplay, and classic kung fu-inspired animations.”
Developer and Publisher: Silver Dollar Games
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (already available on PC)
Release Date: December 2
*****
SAGA SCARLET GRACE: AMBITIONS:
Pitch: “SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions is an enhanced version of the 2016 title SaGa: Scarlet Grace, originally released exclusively in Japan. Packed with a variety of improvements and additions, this version includes new and improved graphics, character voice-overs, two new characters not included in the game’s initial release, and more. Newcomers and long-time fans of the franchise can shape their own destiny with one of four protagonists, Urpina, Taria, Balmant, and Leonard. Each hero has their own unique storyline, which allows players to enjoy four different adventures in one title.”
Developer and Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, and PS4
Release Date: December 3
