Wallet Threat Level

I suspect that people’s wallets are under threat this week. Ghortwire Tokyo is out on Friday. As is Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. As is Kirby and the Forgotten Land. And maybe others. What’s tempting for you this week?

Monday, March 21

  • Itorah | PC

Tuesday, March 22

  • Zero Escape: The Nonary Games | Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
  • Rune Factory 5 | Switch
  • A Place for the Unwilling | Switch
  • Kraken Academy!! | Xbox, Switch
  • Tempest 4000 | Switch

Wednesday, March 23

  • APFTU | Xbox One, PC
  • Richy’s Nightmares | Xbox One, PS4
  • Bunny Memory | Switch
  • Chippy | Switch
  • A Place for the Unwilling | Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
  • Animal Shelter | PC
  • The Pizza Delivery Boy Who Saved The World | Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
  • Thunder Kid: Hunt for the Robot Emperor | Xbox One, PS4, Switch
  • Shattered Pixel Dungeon | PC, Mac

Thursday, March 24

  • A Memoir Blue | PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, PC
  • Relayer | PS5, PS4
  • The Ascent | PS5, PS4
  • Expedition Zero | PC
  • Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles | PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Stadia
  • Norco | PC
  • Pusheep | PC
  • Super Nanaru | Switch, PC
  • The Lost and the Wicked | PC
  • Smart Factory Tycoon | PC
  • The Planet Crafter | PC

Friday, March 25

  • Kirby and the Forgotten Land | Switch
  • Andro Dunos 2 | PS4, Switch, PC
  • Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands | PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC
  • Ghostwire Tokyo | PS5, PC
  • Aery - Calm Mind 2 | Xbox One, Switch, PC
  • BouncyBoi in Puzzle Land | Xbox One, Switch, PC
  • Tunche | PS4
  • Devastator | PS4, Xbox One, Switch
  • Mr.Prepper | PS5, PS4
  • Taqoban | Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Switch

Nothing! Slightly curious about tempest 4000, but all those remakes Atari released recently have been pretty mediocre.

Hmm, on the one hand, Minter Tempest. On the other hand, Atari.

I’m mildly curious about Rune Factory 5 and Kirby and the Forgotten Land, but don’t see myself prioritizing either at launch.

Pretty much this, assuming it’s not a total failure.

Looks like they changed to a traditional over-the-shoulder 3rd person camera when outside of farming, which is cool, but the non-English review I read indicated it had pretty bad performance issues. Big turn-off! :/

I’ve never heard of it. There must be 4 other games in the series, at least. I’m assuming it’s about working in a factory that makes Runes? Is it like a Tycoon game?

Rune Factory was a spin-off from Harvest Moon, that crossed over into RPG systems with some dungeon exploration and combat.

So it’s a crop planting and gathering-type game, with townsfolk relationship-building and gift-giving, and some monster bashing.

Stardew Valley was kind of based on it, I think.

Urge to buy Elden Ring rising. That is all.

Tempest 4000 came out a few years ago and was already brilliant, so no reason not to get the Switch version if that seems like a platform you’d want to play it on! As Ginger_Yellow said, it’s by Jeff Minter, who made Tempest 2000 and TxK.

I have Rune Factory 5 preloaded already, so I’ll be playing that when it unlocks at 2 AM.

Oh that’s the game Minter released a few years ago? I remember it being too much for me, I will just pass then. Thanks!

This wasn’t on my list, but I love the idea of a Stranger Things crossover in an open world shooter. Perhaps being able to go into the Upside Down.

If you liked Subnautica but thought it was too wet… this is a much dryer version. It’s Subnautica on a Mars-like planet. It’s early access, but pretty good so far. lots to do. No fighting (yet, anyway) just battle the elements like oxygen and food/hydration needs. Building and exploration are very similar to Subnautica. Lots of upgrades. Lots of things to find. This could end up being a pretty good game once finished.

I tried the demo for Planet Crafter and… I dunno… feels like a poor man’s No Man’s Sky at this early stage. The graphics didn’t do it for me. Subnautica pulled me in with beautiful, immersive graphics and excellent audio. Planet Crafter has potential though, I’ll check it out again in a year or two when it’s closer to 1.0.

A new Elder Scrolls Online expansion? Crusader Kings 3 comes to consoles? Any big wallet threats for you this week? As @Andy_Bates pointed out in the Lego Star Wars: Skywalker Saga thread, that game is an imminent wallet threat next week!

Monday, March 28

  • Game Dev Story | PC
  • Dungeon Village | PC
  • CROWZ | PC

Tuesday, March 29

  • Crusader Kings III | PS5, Xbox Series X/S
  • Crystar | Switch
  • Ikai | PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, PC
  • In Nightmare | PS5, PS4
  • Pure Crosswords | Switch
  • Elder Scrolls Online: Ascending Tide | Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, Ps4
  • Vengeful Heart | Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch
  • WRC 10 The Official Game | Switch
  • Abermore | PC
  • Forward: Escape the Fold | PC, Mac
  • TFC: The Fertile Crescent | PC, Mac
  • Jitsu Squad | PC
  • Patrick’s Parabox | PC, Mac

Wednesday, March 30

  • Agent Intercept | PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch
  • Catie in Meowland | PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
  • Death Stranding Director’s Cut | PC
  • Escape First | PS4
  • Richy’s Nightmare | Switch
  • Shattered - Tale of the Forgotten King | PS4, Switch, PC
  • Take Off - The Flight Simulator | Switch
  • G-Darius HD | PC
  • Stardom 3 | PC

Thursday, March 31

  • Broken Pipe | Switch
  • Coromon | Switch, PC
  • Cosmonious High | PC
  • COSPLAY LOVE! : Enchanted Princess | Switch, PC
  • Cricket 22 | Switch
  • FixFox | PC
  • Glam’s Incredible Run: Escape from Dukha | PS4
  • Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between | Switch, PC
  • Marble Maid | Switch
  • Moss: Book II | PS4
  • Princess Farmer | PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
  • Real Heroes: Firefighter HD | Xbox One
  • Red Wings: American Aces | Switch, PC
  • Starship Troopers - Terran Command | PC
  • Tropico 6 - Next-Gen Edition | PS5, Xbox Series X/S
  • Weird West | PS4, Xbox One, PC
  • Whisper Trip | Xbox One
  • Midnight Ghost Hunt | PC

Friday, April 1

  • Dieselpunk Wars | Switch
  • Flat Kingdom Paper’s Cut Edition | PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch
  • Rotund Rebound | PC
  • Super Cyborg | Xbox One
  • tERRORbane | Switch, PC
  • Wizard Mike | Switch

Saturday, April 2

  • Aaron - The Little Detective | Switch
  • Chubby Cat | Switch
  • Super Clown: Lost Diamonds | Switch

As always, big thanks to Zach at Kotaku for putting together this list.

This one got a recommended rating from Eurogamer.

There’s a next-fest demo on Steam right now too.

I have crusader kings III on pc, but I am very interested in the console release. I enjoyed the Stellaris release quite a bit, and this could work equally well!

I just wished they’d update the PC versions to be controller friendly as well!

Patrick’s Parabox looks very good- I like what EG wrote about difficulty. I get impressed by games that make me stuck with like two elements on screen and seemingly nothing to try, but if there’s not enough other directions to go I’ll drop the game instead of banging my head and getting nowhere.

This is it for me. Not a big wallet threat, since the upgrade is $10 (not sure how much it will be in my currency though, but a threat nonetheless, as I can’t say no to more Death Stranding.

I hope Kojimer added a pseudo-science explanation as to why the United States have shrinked to a thirty mile island.

I don’t think a correctly sized US would improve the gameplay. Quite the opposite, really. ;)

C’mon, even American Truck Simulator doesn’t have the US to scale. Gameplay is what matters most in a game, and so you make concessions. I’m perfectly fine with that.

Also, this is a world in which rainbows are upside down and missing the blueish colors. It’s a complete disregard for physics, and in this case I’m completely fine with that. ;)