Happy post Memorial Day Weekend, everybody (in the U.S.) and welcome to New Game Releases! I spent the last few days in Las Vegas watching punk rock bands, gambling, eating food, and buying too many LEGO’s. As such, I’m in no mood to write lengthy description of each title, so just check out the trailers. I’m like a teacher with a hangover and we watch Iron Will on VHS instead of learning. Now go on, sit down, shut off the lights, and let me get some sleep.

MultiVersus (PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases May 28^th

Developed by: Player First Games
Published by: Warner Bros. Games

Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling (Switch) – Releases May 28^th

Developed by: Otomate
Published by: Idea Factory

Reus 2 (PC) – Releases May 28^th

Developed by: Abbey Games
Published by: Firesquid

Capes (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases May 29^th

Developed by: Spitfire Interactive
Published by: Daedalic Entertainment

Umbraclaw (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases May 30^th

Developed by: Inti Creates
Published by: Inti Creates

F1 24 (PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases May 31^st

Developed by: Codemasters
Published by: EA

Dead by Daylight: Dungeons & Dragons (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Jun. 3^rd

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

Ughhh, fine, I’ll give you SOME information today. Here’s this week’s Notable Releases; woo.

First up, we have 2014’s Mario Kart 8, the Wii U’s #1 best seller, with over 8 million copies sold worldwide. In case you were curious, the Wii U only sold a little over 13 million systems worldwide, meaning that over half of the console’s owners had this game (the other 5 million either died or forgot they owned a Wii U).

Mario Kart 8 doesn’t really stray from the gameplay of the pervious entries, kart racing with characters from the Mario universe, however the game did feature a brand new racing mechanic, anti-gravity. This new style allowed for tracks to take on crazy new designs, with the tracks looping upside down, curving upwards horizontally, and so on. While the initial game only contained characters and tracks from the Mario series, subsequent DLC would add tracks and characters from Excitebike, F-Zero, Animal Crossing, and The Legend of Zelda.

Mario Kart 8 was released to widespread acclaim and, as I mentioned above, was a major financial success for the struggling Wii U. I remember being wholly unimpressed with the Wii U at launch, but when I saw the trailer for Mario Kart 8 and saw that they were releasing a version of the console that came bundled with the game (as well as another of my choosing; I got Pikmin 3), I called every Target and Walmart in a 50 mile radius until I found one that had it AND was willing to hold it for me.

A deluxe version of the game would release on the Switch in 2017, selling over 60 million copies (just a bit more than the Wii U version) and a worldwide total across both consoles of almost 70 million copies. In case you are wondering, yes, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is also the best selling game on the Switch.

Jumping to 2004, we have another Nintendo title, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. Based on a mini game found in the GBA port of A Link to the Past, Four Swords Adventure is a multi-player game in which up to four players control either Link or one of this three clones. Players must work together to solve puzzles and defeat enemies, with the gameplay featuring a similar style to the other 2D Zelda games.

Like another GameCube multiplayer game, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, you must connect three Game Boy Advance systems to the console in order to play. This immediately increases the buy-in price of the game in order to take full advantage of its gameplay, something that not a whole lot players were willing to do.

Critics weren’t thrilled with the mandatory use of GBA’s in multiplayer, however they did praise the game as a single player experience, remarking that Adventures was a step above the original Four Swords, mostly because it, well, had a story. There were some critics who reacted negatively to the game, calling it cheap looking with subpar graphics. The game’s mixing of 2D sprites and 3D effects was also seen as a negative, giving the game an odd look that turned off more than one critic.

Sales of the game were disappointing, only moving about 375,000 units worldwide, with producer Eiji Aonuma claiming that the GBA requirement really impaired the game’s ability to become a mainstream hit. Nintendo didn’t do enough to convince consumers that they should spend hundreds of dollars on extra GBA consoles and link cables because, honestly, it’s a dumb fucking idea.

This sub-series would receive a third entry on the 3DS in 2015, called Tri Force Heroes. This game would only feature three player co-op, and while it did require you have three 3DS systems in order to play with your friends, you could play the game online with other players, negating the need to have multiple systems in your possession in order to play with friends. There hasn’t been a multiplayer Zelda game since then and, frankly, I’m shocked that we haven’t seen this revisited on the Switch.

Moving to 1994, we’ve got the title BreakThru!, a new puzzle game created by Alexey Pajitnov…or did he? When BreakThru! was released by Spectrum Holobyte it prominently placed Pajitnov on the cover and made references to the game being his big follow-up to Tetris. However, as you dig deeper in the game, you begin to realize that Pajitnov had nothing to do with BreakThru!, only that he gave the game his full endorsement. Womp, womp.

BreakThru! is a variation of a previous puzzle game called TheWALL, which only received a very small release earlier in the year. In BreakThru!, players are tasked with moving a cursor around a grid, moving blocks in an attempt to clear them from the wall before time runs out. In order to clear the blocks, players must place them directly next to another block that contains the same color. Players continue this process until the wall is empty, or they run out of time.

BreakThru! was a critical and financial dud, and failed to reach anything near the popularity of Tetris. Critics found the game to be painfully slow and dull. In a subsequent release on the Game Boy, where puzzle games reigned supreme, the graphics were so bad that most critics had a hard time distinguishing between the different colors/styles of blocks and continually found themselves losing the game. Don’t bother trying to play BreakThru! today, it’s not available anywhere and it sucks.

Stepping away from games, let’s quickly talk about the notable films. From 2014 we have the Disney film Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie in the title role. Based on Disney’s animated film Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent gives further backstory to that film’s antagonist, showing why the “evil” sorceress was keen to make life wretched for the King Stefan and Queen Leah (Stefan in particular). The movie was a massive commercial success, and was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Costume Design.

From 2004, we have the film Saved!, a satirical comedy about a group of teenagers that attend a Christian high school. When one of the characters becomes pregnant (after trying to prove a gay student isn’t, well, gay), she must grapple with the choice of keeping the baby or not, all while dealing with an overzealous classmate, and coming to terms with her maturing sexuality in a religion that oftentimes makes you feel ashamed and guilty for even having sexual thoughts. I loved this movie when it came out, but haven’t seen it in probably 20 years. I wonder if it still holds up?

Our notable film from 1994 is the action comedy The Cowboy Way, which follows the adventures of two good ‘ol Southern boys in New York City. By 1994, country music and the culture surrounding it had reached a bit of a fever pitch. With films like 8 Seconds and Pure Country making decent money, and acts like Garth Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tim McGraw, and Reba McEntire tearing up the charts. I don’t know a lot about the movie, but I can guarantee my parents, and probably yours, all watched this when it came out, then went to a local country bar and line danced, while drinking Michelob Ultra’s.

Moving onto music, 2014’s notable album is Donker Mag by Die Antwoord. I know nothing about this album and almost nothing about this artist. What I do know is that they are from South Africa and they were in the movie Chappy; moving on.

2004’s notable album is a pretty big one, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, the breakthrough release from emo band My Chemical Romance. While we had discussed the genre’s creation (sort of) in 1994 with Sunny Day Real Estate’s Diary, it was My Chemical Romance (and the band AFI to some extent) that brought the genre to the mainstream. Taking on the look of fellow “Ghost Rock” bands like Alkaline Trio, The Bronx, and AFI, My Chemical Romance was able to package the look and sound for a younger audience, making it far more palatable.

The album was a massive commercial success, going triple platinum in the U.S., and was named among the best albums of 2004 by several publications. Over the years, the album is continually brought up when discussing all time great emo albums, al time great rock albums, and all time great albums from the 2000’s. Personally, I didn’t like this album or this band. This came out at a time when I was seeing the punk music that I enjoyed through the 1990’s start to become bigger, flashier, and more mainstream at the cost of “authenticity” or whatever. Do I like this band today…eh, they’re alright.

Finally, from 1994 we have the album Seal by, well, Seal. Often referred to as Seal II, to differentiate it from his previous debut album that was also called Seal, this was the artists mainstream break through. While Seal I had a major hit, “Crazy”, it was the song “Prayer For the Dying” from Seal II that rally got the attention of audiences. However, the song that most people know from this album is the masterful “Kiss From a Rose”, which was featured prominently, over a year later, in the soundtrack to the 1995 film Batman Forever.

Seal had, apparently, written the song in 1987, but felt a bit embarrassed by it. When it came time to write songs for Seal II, the album’s producer, Trevor Horn, heard the song and convinced Seal to record it. They tweaked it a bit, made it a bit more catchy, a bit more radio friendly, and suddenly you had not only Seal’s greatest song of all time, but one of the most memorable songs of the 1990’s…BAY-BAY!

Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) – Released May 30^th, 2014: Wiki Link

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (GameCube) – Released Jun. 7^th, 2004: Wiki Link

BreakThru! (PC/SNES) – Released Jun. 1994: Wiki Link

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