Pretty safe week for me. I think next week is going to be a big one with releases. ALso updates on current games ie the big engine update and new map for Hunt: Showdown and the new update for Helldivers 2.
Steamworld Heist 2 is the big threat, for me, at least. Lost Crown would be, but I only buy Ubi games on their own platform, since it requires a login anyway… and I didn’t buy it yet because I’m waiting for a deep sale. And even that might not happen because I mostly don’t buy Ubi games anymore because of their view on ownership and the way they will gladly remove things you paid for. But anyway, not a Steam threat, definitely.
Yeah, I’m tentatively excited for this too. I’m always nervous about 2D platformers since the 2D Mario games are too hard for me, but something like the Ori games or Hollow Knight I can handle, so I’m always trying to scope out how hard they’ll be and if I should avoid them. Everyone seems to think Super Mario Wonder is not that hard, for instance, but it’s so freakin’ hard!
Oh hai! What do we have here? The first HE game was one of the very few match-3 rpgs that had real depth, outside the puzzle quest games. This came out a couple of years ago on mobile after being in development for 6+ years, but it was only in portrait mode, so I haven’t played it. Very interested in this, since it is on landscape for pc (and presumably consoles) with controller support, so it should be good on the Deck.
It’s a bit more expensive than I expected, so I decided to wait for the eventual sale on Christmas…
A Volgarr sequel? Neat, didn’t even know that was coming. I’ll keep an eye on it!
In addition, I have to wonder what Ubisoft can bring to the table when it comes to side-scrolling Metroidvanias. I mean, just look at this week’s releases, with stuff like Pepper Grinder and World of Goo 2 and even that Volgar the Viking thing, not to mention longstanding big-name rogue-likes such as Dead Cells and, uh, whatever other similar games people are into lately.
Is Ubisoft just leaning on the Prince of Persia branding? And whatever marketing and polish they can afford? Or are they really bringing some design smarts to compete with the indies? I know Lost Crown has been out for a while for consoles, so maybe one of you knows?
Gah, why’d you have to go and say that?
(Thanks for the tip. I’m a sucker for dumb match-3 gameplay hitched to slightly less dumb gameplay!)
In my imagination, this is a game about staging drag queen shows in the Old West. Which I would totally play!
In an unusual turn of events, there’s a thread for that. Prince of Persian: The Lost Crown is a great game. This is a beautiful application of AAA resources, where sound, art, animation, and UI are polished and the design is tight. I know I don’t play a lot of games near their release, so this isn’t saying as much as for other folks, but it’s likely my game of the year.
I was going to respond to stuff about PoP:TLC, but since that’s addressed above, I’ll just mention this:
This is the first official English release of an extremely popular visual novel from 2004 that spawned a massive multimedia franchise. Wallet threat here, even though it’ll only be $30, and even though it’ll be my third time purchasing it. Also worth noting that it’s also coming to Switch and that they announced its lesser-known sequel is also getting a remaster.
Hell, yeah, they are. I believe this was made by the Rayman team, who make really polished time-challenge platformers. They absorbed (we could even say “ripped off”) some of the mechanics of Hollow Knight and other indie metroidvanias and made a very good game. It does a great job of paying off exploration, blending combat and platforming, and giving you some really tough challenges, if you want them. It’ll be on my GOTY list for sure. The visuals are probably closer to AA than AAA tier, but that never bothered me. And the story is kind of a pointless mess. Nevertheless, The Lost Crown has got it where it counts.
Man, I loved Lost Crown until it ate my save 3/4 of the way through (on PS5.) One of the best-feeling vanias ever with really unexpected abilities, but I couldn’t muster the enthusiasm to start over. I know they put a lot of effort into bug fixes after release, so hopefully that’s not an issue anymore.
Lost Crown seems like a great game to pick up in the Christmas sale. Around then I usually have a more time to play a few indie games I missed during the year.
Heh, I deserved that. It didn’t even occur to me to check! : )
Okay, between these comments and skimming the post-release parts of that thread where you and Nightgaunt and rob04 had actually played it, I’m convinced! Looking forward to trying this, and maybe it’ll even lead me to uninstalling Blasphemous, the indie Metroidvania I’ve sort of arbitrarily settled on playing – albeit half-heartedly, since I’m terrible at platforming – for the last year.
Actually, critics and players alike consider Lost Crown one of the best metroidvanias in years, and one of the best games in the recent releases by Ubisoft. I wouldn’t be interested otherwise, because of my contempt for Ubisoft’s business practices in general.
And don’t forget ‘Rogue Prince of Persia’ released in May to early access, made by some of the Dead Cells devs. 
Yeah, check out that early access title and let us know how it is!
Been playing the demo for an hour and a half. There’s some things about the interface I don’t love, but it looks good and I’m enjoying it so far.
Misguided, I am so glad I didn’t skim over your post, because I had just mentally assumed Hero Emblem had something to do with Fire Emblem, or was at least one of those Fire Emblem style tactical JRPGs. Little did I know it’s one of the most insidious attempts to hitch a match-3 to a fantasy game since Steve Fawkner at SSG invented (?) the formula with Puzzle Quest.
I was a bit concerned when I booted it up and it reprimanded me for not have a controller hooked up. But it works just fine with a mouse and it’s as crunchy as I could have hoped for, and then some! And I just love how it’s all in the match-3, with a different gem for each character, so to activate that character, you have to match his or her gems.
Then there are skill cards, that pop off special effects when you make more elaborate matches. There’s inventory, of course, which determines damage and defense and special bonuses. There are abilities (no idea how those work yet) and crafting recipes for food buffs. There’s an overland map to run around to-and-fro, and a town to buy better equipment and sell crappy equipment. And probably more I haven’t unlocked yet, because it’s a very Japanese design, complete with breast physics, bless its perverted little heart!
Over the years, I’ve done all sorts of fun stuff in match-3s, from engineering anime pr0n threesomes in Honey Pop, to controlling a steampunk mech in Ironclad, to hacking a robot apocalypse in Tamashii (boardgame from Awaken Realms), to playing a forever RPG in Puzzle Quest. And now I’m playing a chipper little JRPG, interfacing with it like a Sleestack! Whee!
Anyway, this is totally my jam, Misguided. Thanks so much for calling it out!
I hadn’t heard of Hero Emblem, either, but I’ve been playing it for the last hour now. Crazy addictive, as this type of game often is.
I played a good chunk of the Hero Emblems II demo last night and had a blast doing it. Easy purchase!