They say that money never sleeps, and neither does our writer Grizzly who is currently doing the new dad thing. It seems like games PR companies don’t either because, BLOODY HELL, there’s a lot of stuff incoming. And most of it is from EastAsiaSoft. Anyway, let’s take a look.
eastasiasoft Showcase – Autumn 2022
Our prolific pals at eastasiasoft have announced 12 new games. Wind of Shuriken is looking fun. A 2D slash ’em up with side-scrolling shoot ’em up sections. Nice. There’s also HatUp (cute puzzler), Otoko Cross (mahjong game with an anime cross-dressing thing going on), Freezer Pops (a visual novel about a gay games dev who is trying to work and meet dudes to date), Super Chicken Jumper (2D run and gunner with a chicken in it), Maggie The Magnet (another 2D effort, this is a physics-based puzzler with magnet-based gameplay. This one looks tricky), Rule No.1 (an arena-based FPS with Duke Nukem style visuals. Looks fun this one), Until the Last Plane (a vertically-scrolling shoot ’em up with a management aspect and mini-games. We’re in!), Super Woden GP (isometric racer with cool looking career options), 41 Hours (an interesting FPS with stealth, telekinesis and time-manipulation), Pretty Girls Escape (a mix of Tetris and Columns but with its own unique gameplay mechanics), Finding the Soul Orb (first-person adventure with a lot of crossbow action), Bot Gaiden (a 2D run/gun/hack/slasher. This looks traditional but has some cool visuals and a focus on co-op).
These are all coming out this year.
Dredge
Fishing games are reasonably common on PSN but we’ve not had any to review that have been described as ‘sinister.’
Well, that’s all about to change with Team17’s Dredge. Due to drop in 2023, the game mixes fishing based survival, boat upgrading and management, after-dark fishing trips, underwater treasure hunting and a mystery-packed story. The press release also spells out a coded message: dontlookinitseye. Eek!
Brewmaster
It never ceases to surprise us when a whole new job simulator comes out and they’re getting more obscure each time. Simulating beer brewing is niche even by this genre’s already odd standards. We don’t know much about brewing beer but this game promises ‘realistic gameplay mechanics’ that will ‘truly raise the bar in the simulator games genre.’ We think that was a pun but the press release is actually pretty straight so we’re not sure. Look out for this one on Sept 29th.
Gungrave G.O.R.E
Combining gun-slinging and ‘coffin manipulation,’ Gungrave G.O.R.E is an exciting looking title which looks to capture the madness that only a Japanese action game can. With a squad of interesting characters and a whole heap of shooting to do, we’re very much looking forward to its November 22nd release.
Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja
Joe & Mac was a 1991 coin-op from Data East that was ported all over the 8 and 16 bit consoles back then. There have been plenty of ports, spin-offs and sequels but the prehistoric duo are back for a November 2022 outing with Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja. This release offers an enhanced remake of the original game, an extended version and has the series’ signature co-op options too. The trailer looks pretty cool also.
Deceive Inc
Sweet Bandit Studios’ espionage-’em-up seems to be full of charm and character as well as some deep, complex game mechanics and is sure to be an online hit. So while we wait for its March 2023 release, be sure to follow Tripwire Interactive’s YouTube channel for developer diaries like the one below.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
Combining magic, hacking, slashing and a little bit of shooting, Flintlock is looking like a very solid action adventure title. That combination of combat styles was the reason we loved Kingdom of Amalur and so we’re hoping that A44 Games can deliver the goods here. The recent Gamescom gameplay trailer is sure to spark some interest.
Undead Horde 2: Necropolis
We never seem to shut up about how much we love 10TonsLtd. They’ve made so many of our favourite PSN indie gams. Neonchrome, Tesla vs. Lovecraft, Jydge and Undead Horde were all fantastic games. The last in that list saw you basically playing as The Night King from Game of Thrones in that you went around killing people and then reanimating their corpses to fight for you. It was a ton of fun and so we’re pleased to see it getting a sequel. Due in 2023, this one is going to add a little bit of base-building. We’re hoping it doesn’t over-complicate the formula but we’re very excited to give it a go.
The Journey Down Trilogy
Fans of Double Fine style point and clickers will want to keep an eye on The Journey Down Trilogy which looks like a fun, and rather polished, throw back to games like Grim Fandango. It’s also getting a limited physical release over at Strictly Limited Games.
OmegaBot
We’ve seen a lot of 2D run and gun shooty/platformy games on PSN (it’s pretty much 30% of what we seem to review) so you wouldn’t expect us to get too excited about another one but OmegaBot‘s bold visuals and somewhat varied gameplay has got us interested. It was due out this month but it has slipped to January 20th next year, so keep an eye out for it.
Catmaze
Speaking of 2D games, Ratalaika have ported the 2018 Metroidvania game Catmaze to consoles. This one is out right now on PSN and seems to be a charming platformer with… well, a lot of cats in it. If you want to know more, check out this trailer.