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New Game Releases 05/14/24 – 05/20/24

Andy Tuttle

Well, folks, I can’t say that this week’s crop of titles is going to set your world on fire, though they certainly are an interesting bunch.

My most anticipated of the week is Lorelei and The Laser Eyes, a new adventure/puzzle game from the team behind Sayonara Wild Hearts. Set in the year 1963, players take on the role of Lorelei, a woman who has been invited to a mansion in Italy where she must partake in a series of experiments/puzzles in order to unravel the mystery of why she was brought there in the first place. Developer Simogo have made it their mission to craft an immersive world where typical video game conventions are subverted, and where different kinds of media are mixed together, putting the player into a surreal world where nothing and everything makes sense. I need this game.

Lorelei and The Laser Eyes (PC/Switch) – Releases May 16th

Developed by: Simogo
Published by: Annapurna Interactive

Speaking of games that subvert your expectations, the indie masterpiece Braid is back with a remastered Anniversary Edition. This new version of the game contains updated graphics, as well as new puzzles to solve in a “commentary track” world. The development team have created a very deep, comprehensive, behind the scenes look at the creation of Braid that you can listen to/watch as you play through this new area. Man, spending hours listening to Jonathan Blow talk? What did I do to deserve this? Also, the game is called Braid, Anniversary Edition; that’s with a comma, not a colon. SUBVERTING EXPECTATIONS!!

Braid, Anniversary Edition (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases May 14th

Developed by: Thekla, Inc.
Published by: Thekla, Inc.

Do you like Undertale? Do you like Earthbound? Well, then you might like Athenian Rhapsody, a new RPG that promises no two people will experience the same way. There are choices to be made as you play through the game, each one affecting the outcome or, what they call a Rhapsody. As you finish the game you can share your Rhapsody with friends and strangers, giving a glimpse at how the game unfolded in your playthrough. It sounds weird, but maybe it’ll be good?

Athenian Rhapsody (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases May 14th

Developed by: Nico Papalia
Published by: Top Hat Studios, Inc.

Do you like tits? Tight, then you might like Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution. If you, like me, thought this was a RPG Maker-esque version of a Neptunia game, then you’d be (mostly) wrong. It appears to be just another entry in the long running saga, though you do have some kind of creative control over certain areas of the game, allowing you to build and decorate your own video game company.

Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution (PS4/PS5/Switch) – Releases May 14th

Developed by: Compile Heart
Published by: Idea Factory

Finally, we have Read Only Memories: Neurodiver, the sequel to 2015’s 2064: Read Only Memories. This game has been long in development, with multiple announced release dates and delays. Developer MidBoss, LLC. says that this is finally the final, final release date; maybe.

Read Only Memories: Neurodiver (PC/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases May 16th

Developed by: MidBoss, LLC.
Published by: Chorus Worldwide Games

Ports and Re-releases:

Biomutant (Switch) – Releases May 14th
Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut (PC) – Releases May 16th

I could have sworn that Ghost of Tsushima already came out on PC, but what do I know, I’m only the “New Game Releases Guy”. In any case, if it hasn’t already been on PC, it surely is know (sorry for calling you Shirley (Airplane joke 🙂 )). There are all kinds of graphical enhancements made to the game if you’ve got a super beefy PC, otherwise, it’s just a really, truly, fantastic game being brought to a wider audience that may not have (or does not want) a PlayStation console.

Oh, and Biomutant is coming to Switch. Remember Biomutant?

Everything else:

Once again, the rest of this week’s games are almost all coming out exclusively for PC. These tend to be smaller, indie affairs that are probably hoping to be a breakout hit that allows them to get their title onto the consoles (and maybe even a lucrative Game Pass deal). Out of this bunch, my money is on the wild FPS game Mullet Madjack with its hyper stylized look, other contenders include the other two stylized FPS games, Robobeat and Deep Beyond. There’s also a Paper Mario-esque RPG called Baladins that has promise, as well as the deck building game Spellcats: Auto Card Tactics, and the souls-like Morbid: The Lords of Ire. Don’t sleep on the “Everything Else” section, one of these could be the next hidden gem.

Notable Releases from 10, 20, and 30 years ago:

Welcome to Notable Releases, the column within a column. There’s some exciting stuff to talk about, so lets get right to it!

First up is the 2014 FPS title Wolfenstein: The New Order from MachineGames and id Software/Bethesda Softworks. The New Order is a kinda/sorta sequel to 2009’s Wolfenstein, which was itself a kinda/sorta sequel to 2001’s Return to Castle Wolfenstein, a reboot of the franchise; yeesh.

The game is set in an alternate universe 1960’s where the Nazis have won WWII, controlling most of the world. Players take on the role of series protagonist BJ Blazkowicz, as he attempts to end the Nazis’ reign. While the game is already set in an alternate universe, the game itself branches into two different timelines, with players having to make a choice at the start on which of their comrades to save, giving you a different cast of characters to interact with throughout the game.

In a somewhat bold move, The New Order is a single player only experience. There is no co-op mode, there is no online multiplayer aspect, it is a true, 100% single player game. This, of course, goes against everything major publishers have led us to believe over the past 15 or years, in which single player games are a dying genre and that online multiplayer games are what every man, woman, and child crave from their video games.

While critics had mostly positive things to say about The New Order, there was an overall feel that the game was a little bit half baked, trying to cram a lot of ideas into a small package, feeling a bit unfinished and full of tonal inconsistencies. Simon Miller from UK outlet Video Gamer, summed it up nicely, saying “…for most of its existence The New Order tries to push a harsh, ’emotionally’ hard-hitting tone. But then you get attacked by a robot dog“.

Commercially, The New Order was a big success, selling over 5 million copies world wide, prompting the creation of a stand alone expansion, The Old Blood, as well as two sequels, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and Wolfenstein: Youngblood. Since the game was released on PS4 and Xbox One, you can still easily play this game on your fancy modern consoles, and the PC version is still readily available on Steam and other digital distribution outlets.

2004’s notable title is the Game Boy Advance game Mario vs. Donkey Kong, a puzzle platformer that just received a remake for the Switch earlier this year. In Mario vs. Donkey Kong, players must reach various goals in a stage while avoiding traps and enemies, which sounds easy enough, until the game turns into Lemmings. The game is split up into different worlds and, once the player clears the main puzzle stages in a particular world, they must then guide mini-Mario toys to the exit, making sure that they, too, avoid enemies and traps. Once the are guided to safety, Mario takes on Donkey Kong in a boss battle.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong was a hit, both critically and commercially, selling over 1 million copies worldwide. Critics felt that the title was perfectly suited for the GBA, allowing players to easily pick it up and go on their morning commutes. The 2024 remake was also similarly well regarded and also sold a little over 1 million copies.

Our 1994 notable title, Mario Andretti Racing, PROBABLY came out in May of 1994 but, well, sometimes games over 20 years old can be a bit more difficult to pinpoint. What am I basing the timing on, you might ask? The date of the reviews. The earliest review I could find was in April of 1994, while the next review came out in June of 1994 so, by the power of deduction, I set the game’s release sometime around May of 1994. Cool? Cool.

Anyway, Mario Andretti Racing was a Sega Genesis exclusive, seemingly trying to cash in on the string of sports games that used actual players and coaches in their titles, i.e., Tommy Lasorda Baseball, Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Boxing, Pat Riley Basketball, Joe Montana Football, and, the biggest one of all, John Madden Football. For those unfamiliar with Andretti, he is a very well known Italian auto racer who moved to the United States when he was in his early teen’s, becoming one of the most well known and well decorated racers in the history of the sport.

Developer/Publisher EA teamed up with Andretti a few years earlier, in 1991, releasing Mario Andretti’s Racing Challenge for the PC. With the Sega Genesis taking off with teens and young adults, the sports genre generated some of the highest revenues on the console. EA once again partnered with Andretti on this new title, using his first hand knowledge of racing to inform the AI skills of the opposing drivers. Critics gave high praise to the game, calling it the most realistic racing game on the market and a fantastic entry in the Genesis library of sports games.

Mario Andretti Racing in unavailable on modern consoles, so your options to play are limited to either having an original copy of the game or emulating it. Of course, there have been plenty of other racing games to come out since then, most of which are very, VERY, similar; I promise.

Jumping over to notable films, from 2014 we have Godzilla, the second attempt at a U.S. version of Japan’s famous monster series. Despite some negative reviews, the movie did much better than the big-budget 1998 version, gaining a sequel, as well as a shared universe with the rebooted King Kong franchise. Plus it has Heisenberg in it, fool! LFG!!

2004’s notable film is the animated movie Shrek 2, and is my personal favorite in the franchise. The movie picks up after the events of the first film, with Shrek and Fiona (in ogre form) happily married. Things take a turn when Fiona’s parents don’t approve of her transformation, leading to a jealous Prince Charming, and his mother, trying to take over the throne. Shrek 2 was nominated for two Oscars, Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, losing to Spirited Away and The Motorcycle Diaries, respectively.

From 1994, we’ve got the Mel Gibson movie Maverick, about a gun slinging poker player and his the two con artists who follow him around. I LOVED this movie when I was a kid and thought Maverick was, like, the coolest dude on the planet. There is a famous scene in which Maverick doesn’t look at his card before betting and, like magic, when he needs to reveal the card, it’s the winning ace. I remember playing cards with my buddy and, wanting to be cool, pulled the same stunt and, while I didn’t have an ace, I had the winning card. That was cool.

In music, Coldplay had an album come out in 2014 called Ghost Stories. Did you remember they had an album in 2014? I sure didn’t. Moving on, 2004’s notable album is one of my personal favorite, Morrissey’s You Are the Quarry, a kind of return to form for the English crooner after a couple of forgettable releases in the 90’s. Yes, we all know that Morrissey is kind of a tool, with political views that most of us probably don’t agree with, but fuck me if his music isn’t some of the best ever made.

I love just about all of the songs on You Are the Quarry, with the first five being absolute bangers. Of course, you also can’t forget “Let Me Kiss You” and “First of the Gang to Die”, two tracks near the back half of the album. The album opener, “America is Not the World” has a line in which Morrissey scolds the US for being “the land of the free” but where the President is never black, female, or gay. Eight years later, we’d get our first black President, but twenty years later we’re still waiting on the other two. What better time, than now?

Finally, 1994’s notable album is the emo classic Diary by the band Sunny Day Real Estate. Like Jawbreaker, Sunny Day Real Estate was able to take the relatively new genre of emo and bring it to the masses. However, while Jawbreaker’s sound was more steeped in West Coast punk rock, courtesy of San Francisco’s Bay Area, Sunny Day Real Estate was able to pioneer the so called, “Midwest Emo” sound (despite being from the Pacific Northwest).

In case you’re wondering what Midwest Emo is, the best way to describe it is replacing the hardcore/metal sound of early emo with indie rock and folk, with emotionally charged lyrics sung by a nerdy white guy wearing glasses and a plaid shirt; oh, and they’re from the American Midwest. Sunny Day Real Estate falls in-between these two different versions of emo, inspiring the next generation of bands like American Football, The Promise Ring, and The Get Up Kids.

Diary is a phenomenal album and, notably, was released the same day as Weezer’s debut album, Weezer. While it didn’t reach the same heights as Weezer, Diary still sold very well for indie label Sub-Pop Records, holding the 7th spot for best selling albums released by Sub-Pop. The songs “Seven” and “In Circles” received moderate airplay on radio and MTV, and were even made available in both Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

Over the years, Diary, with its famous Fisher-Price Little People cover, has been consistently been called the greatest emo album of all-time. However, like a lot of pioneers in music, the band didn’t last forever. Almost immediately after Diary’s release, bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith left the group to join Dave Grohl’s new music project, Foo Fighters, and by 2000, Sunny Day Real Estate had broken up. They’ve reunited over the years, and have even released new music in 2024. Could the Midwest Emo kings (from Washington) finally be back? I hope so.

Wolfenstein: The New Order (PC/PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/Xbox One) – Released May 20th, 2014: Wiki Link

Notable Film Release: Godzilla – Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, and David Strathairn
Click here to watch the trailer
Notable Album Release: Coldplay – Ghost Stories
Click here to listen to the album

Mario vs. Donkey Kong (GBA) – Released May 24th, 2004: Wiki Link

Notable Film Release: Shrek 2 – Starring Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and Antonio Banderas
Click here to watch the trailer
Notable Album Release: Morrissey – You Are the Quarry
Click here to listen to the album

Mario Andretti Racing (Genesis) – Released May 1994…probably: Wiki Link

Notable Film Release: Maverick – Starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and James Garner
Click here to watch the trailer
Notable Album Release: Sunny Day Real Estate – Diary
Click here to listen to album

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