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At the end of 2023, Sega announced its intention to revive a handful of dormant franchises from its heyday. Some of them came from the Sega Genesis era, including the action-focused ninja franchise Shinobi. I grew up as a Super Nintendo kid, so I didn't have any particular attachment to Shinobi or Joe Musashi, so I walked into Shinobi: Art of Vengeance fairly cold, not really knowing what to expect. Fortunately, one doesn't have to be seasoned in the world of Shinobi to understand what an incredible masterpiece Art of Vengeance is.
Sometimes, you just want to get on your bike and ride. That's the general idea behind Wheel World, a new open-world biking adventure from Annapurna Interactive and Nidhogg developer Messhof. While the game does feature a story, things are mostly kept simple and the result is an enjoyably relaxing ride.
Main characters in video games come in all sorts of different forms. They range from big burly warriors to captivating underdogs. The lead in To a T falls in the latter category, but this specific one serves as someone whose unique qualities make him an inspiration. Annapurna Interactive and Uvula (the new studio founded by Keita Takahashi, the maker of Katamari Damacy) tell the story of someone who is born into an unlikely scenario, but one whose situation helps teach players of all ages about some of the greater lessons of life.
There's joy to be found in the basic idea of package delivery. There's the basic task of getting a package to its intended recipient with video games opening the door to take that idea to absurd levels. Deliver At All Costs, from Konami and Swedish developer Far Out Games, is package delivery at its most absurd extreme. A game like this should be a layup, and in many ways it is, but the game's story carries a tone that almost flies in the whole face of the wacky premise and it's a mixture that goes about as well as peanut butter and salmon.
Developer Shiny Shoe first released Monster Train back in 2020. Dropped in the middle of the COVID-19 lockdown, the deckbuilding roguelite rapidly found an audience of card enthusiasts and Slay the Spire-style adventure seekers. The game continues to draw players to this day, but Shiny Shoe's runaway train has reached its next stop and that stop is Sequel City. Monster Train 2 doesn't do a lot to change an already successful formula, but some tweaks to the exterior, a few new features, and some extra room along the caboose make this a train worth riding.
For some reason or another, a tabletop game night might not work out for everybody. Maybe there's too much hassle in setting up and cleaning when it's all over. It's possible that the whole group can't make it out. Perhaps there are only a few minutes to spare in a busy week. For those people, Sunderfolk may be the next best thing. The teams at Dreamhaven and Secret Door have put together an admirable facsimile of a cooperative tabletop experience, one packed with comradery, laughs, and adventure.
Don't Nod Montreal has been in the business of coming-of-age tales for more than a decade. With Life is Strange in the rear view mirror, the team has moved on to a new story focused around four friends who came together one magical summer and the trauma that tore them apart. It looked like the picture was becoming clearer with the end of Tape 1 (Bloom), which released back in February. Unfortunately, the story's conclusion in Tape 2 (Rage) doesn't capitalize on the potential set up by the February cliffhanger, instead getting bogged down by unwanted tropes and some nonsensical plot twists.
Nintendo had a few surprises for its last Switch-focused Direct. Among them was a new visual novel from Disney and the folks at Bloom Digital Media. With Bloom being the team behind games like Later Daters and LongStory, it offered some encouragement that this story of Disney baddies hanging out at a potion bar could be something worthwhile. While it isn't a total waste, I sadly can't say that Disney Villains: Cursed Cafe is particularly memorable either.
In pop culture, there's an old chestnut of a plotline where the main character receives a lucrative inheritance, but in order to claim it, they must spend the night at an old house. Raw Fury and Dogubomb got a similar idea with Blue Prince, though they skipped the cliche where the house is haunted. Instead, they put together a marvelous first-person blend of the roguelike and puzzle genres that will have players racking their brains through their journey to the house's antechamber and even beyond.
Like Fights before it, Knights in Tight Spaces is the kind of game where it's easy to lose track of time. The story will have you reaching for the Skip button by the time you go on your 10th or 20th run, but there's nothing repetitive about the formula, especially as battles get more intense with tougher foes. It turns out that even when the clock is dialed back a few dozen centuries, close quarters fighting is still a grand old time.