Games

New Game Releases 03/25/25 – 03/31/25

Top Releases:

  • The First Berserker: Khazan (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Mar. 27th
  • Breakout Beyond (PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Mar. 25th
  • Atomfall (PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Mar. 27th
  • Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Mar. 27th
  • The Beekeeper’s Picnic – A Sherlockian Adventure (PC) – Releases Mar. 26th

The First Berserker: Khazan (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Mar. 27th

Developed by: Neople
Published by: NEXON

It’s a slow week for new games because of, I assume, Spring Break. There’s not a ton to choose from, with the top game of the week being the self described “brutal” action/RPG The First Berserker: Khazan. This game looks like a throwback to early 2000’s titles, with scantily clad characters, to over the top, gory violence. Berserker is set in the same universe as the game Dungeon Fighter Online, one of the most-played and highest grossing video games of all-time. You’ve heard of it, right? Right?

That’s pretty much it, folks. Atari has another modern remake of one of their classic titles coming out, Breakout Beyond. Rebellion is taking time away from their Nazi murder simulator franchise, Sniper Elite, to put out the FPS survival game, Atomfall (which has a heavy Fallout vibe). Lastly, metroidvania fans can look forward to Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark, the sequel to 2023’s Gal Guardians: Demon Purge, which features two brand new characters.

Breakout Beyond (PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Mar. 25th

Developed by: Choice Provisions
Published by: Atari

Atomfall (PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Mar. 27th

Developed by: Rebellion
Published by: Rebellion

Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Mar. 27th

Developed by: Inti Creates
Published by: Inti Creates

One more game, before we move on to everything else. I’m a sucker for point & click adventure games so I wanted to give a shout out to The Beekeeper’s Picnic – A Sherlockian Adventure. Not only do I love point & click games, but one of my favorites from my childhood was The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes, which had you trying to catch Jack the Ripper. While I don’t see anything here to suggest the two are related, the idea of playing another P&C title with Sherlock Holmes & Watson has me giddy with delight. Couple that with Holmes’ insistence that he’s retired, yet comically finds himself pulled back into an investigation (and perhaps harboring romantic feelings for Watson) has my interest piqued!

The Beekeeper’s Picnic – A Sherlockian Adventure (PC) – Releases Mar. 26th

Developed by: Afoot Games
Published by: Afoot Games

Everything else:

Notable Releases from 10, 20, and 30 (and sometimes 40) years ago:

Welcome to Notable Releases, the world’s greatest article within an article (according to my mom). This week we’re diving all the way back to 1985, when I was just a wee, 4 year old who was more interested in The Smurfs than I was video games. What sort of games, movies, and music do we have in store? Let’s find out!

Games:

From 2015 we’ve got the isometric RPG Pillars of Eternity from the well known developer Obsidian Entertainment. Announced in September of 2012, Pillars was initially named “Project Eternity”, with Obsidian taking to Kickstarter to help crowdfund the game. This came at a time in the early 2010’s with longtime developers using crowdfund to create nostalgic games & resurrect franchise that were no longer in vogue, i.e., Double Fine’s point & click game Broken Age and inXile’s strategy game Wasteland 2. By the end of its campaign, Pillars of Eternity raised over $3.9 million in funding at Kickstarter, beating the record set by Broken Age of $3.3 million dollars.

The game was directed by Josh Sawyer who was a designer on, and the lead of, many of Obsidians most well known games, including Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights 2, and Fallout: New Vegas. The game’s story was written by Eric Fenstermaker & George Ziets, best known for their work on Fallout: New Vegas and Dungeon Siege III. Two other veteran developers, Tim Cain & Chris Avellone, also worked on Pillars, with Avellone also writing four novellas set in the game’s world.

After missing an intended 2014 release, Pillars of Eternity arrived in March of 2015 to widespread, critical acclaim. Critics called it one of the best RPGs of the year and, while it may have been created to cater to old school gamers, that Pillars of Eternity was well worth a look by anyone who was a fan of the RPG genre. Critics were split on the game’s graphics, with some calling it outdated, while others thought it was gorgeous. The game’s overall story was well received, though some critics felt the characters were too one-dimensional and that there was a lack of humor found in previous titles like Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment.

At the end of the year awards shows, Pillars would receive Best RPG from Rock, Paper, Shotgun and the Spirit of the PC Award from PC Gamer. The Game Awards would nominate it in the Best RPG category (losing to The Witcher 3), while The DICE Awards would also nominate the game in their Best RPG category (losing to Fallout 4).

After a year on the market, Pillars of Eternity had sold over 700k copies, worldwide. With the funds from game’s sales and the initial Kickstarter campaign, Obsidian was able to keep their doors open after almost having to shut down in 2012 (they have since been purchased by Microsoft). The game’s publisher, Paradox Interactive, would help get the game on PS4 & Xbox One in 2017. A different publisher, Versus Evil, would get the game on Switch in 2019, though it was plagued with performance issues and bugs, with the publisher abandoning the port and halting all patches & updates. A sequel, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, would release in 2018, while a spin-off title, Avowed, released in 2025.

Moving on to 2005, we’ve got Lego Star Wars: The Video Game. Development on the game began in 2003 when Lego Interactive, the video game division of Lego, wanted to partner with developer Traveler’s Tales on a new Star Wars title that would coincide with the upcoming completion of the prequel trilogy films. Shortly afterwards, Lego shuttered Lego Interactive, with that company spinning off into its own publishing house, Giant Interactive Entertainment (who would eventually merge with Traveler’s Tales to become TT Games).

While many of us today are familiar with TT’s Lego games and they way they play, back in 2005 it was a gamble for all involved. While Star Wars is about as popular a franchise as you get, would their fans really buy into this “kiddie” game? TT’s Lego games are, for the most part, very easy to play and accomplish, with the true challenge being the collectable hunting. Each stage has hidden pieces that, if all found, creates a small Lego set that is displayed in the game’s hub world.

With Lego Star Wars releasing about a month and a half before Revenge of the Sith, the game gave fans the opportunity to see plot points from the film before they hit the big screen. Just imagine that, one of the biggest movies of the year will have its entire plot spoiled (sort of) in a video game before anyone gets to see it. Back in 2005, the movie industry was still thinking of video games as part of their marketing strategy. It was fine if the game spoiled details, it would just get people hyped for the film. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s wild to think that Lucasfilm thought of the game as marketing, because TT sure didn’t seem to think so, they poured their souls into it.

Critical reception to Lego Star Wars was mostly positive, with many critics seeming to understand what TT was trying to do with the game. While the game is quite easy (there is no “game over” screen), that fits with the game’s overall tone, which is that it is lighthearted, wholesome, goofy fun for the entire family. While TT cold have easily just crapped out a tie-in game, they put so much effort into making the game feel like something a fan of Star Wars would want.

There are tons of characters to unlock, 56 to be exact, with various easter eggs to be found that aim to put a smile on your face. By not taking itself too seriously, Lego Star Wars allowed all of us to laugh as TT would often insert parodies and other tongue-in-cheek Star Wars references. It’s just a fun game that, while short, is such a joy to play. Considered one of the best games of 2005, Lego Star Wars would receive a nomination at The Interactive Achievement Awards (now DICE) in the Family Game of the Year category, but would lose to Guitar Hero.

Of course, we all know that Lego Star Wars was a big hit, spawning a 2006 sequel that encompassed the original trilogy, and a 2007 compilation that combined both games in one package. TT would continue to work with Lego and various IP holder, putting out titles based on Indiana Jones, The Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, Marvel, DC, Harry Potter, and more, while revisiting Star Wars three more times with Clone Wars, The Phantom Menace, and The Skywalker Saga (which is also TT’s last Lego title). While the games may of gotten grander (and more bloated), seeing its humble beginnings with short, tightly designed levels is an absolute joy. I can’t recommend this game enough.

From 1995, we’ve got the fighting game Fatal Fury 3: Road to Final Victory from SNK. Despite the “3” in the name, this is actually the fourth game in the Fatal Fury series, and sixth overall if you count the Art of Fighting franchise, which is a prequel series to Fatal Fury; phew (don’t get me started on The King of Fighters series). While Fatal Fury 3 retains the same general gameplay from its predecessors, SNK did add a third plane layer to fight on, with players beginning it he center plane and having the ability to move to both an upper & lower plane.

Another new feature in Fatal Fury 3 is the grading system and its use in your final opponent. After each fight, players are given a grade of E to S and, depending on your grade average, your final fight will either be against Yamazaki, one of two twins (Chon Shu or Chon Rei), or BOTH twins.

While Fatal Fury 3 was a hit in Japanese arcades, it didn’t seem to do so well in the US. While US critics enjoyed the game, praising its truncated cast of characters, they would opine that perhaps the game was too difficult for American audiences with its difficult to execute special movies, including some that were considered ultra rare secrets that would only randomly activate if pulled off correctly. This would be the final numbered Fatal Fury game, with subsequent releases all incorporating some kind of sub-title (Real Bout, Wild Ambition, City of the Wolves, etc.).

Our last game, this week, is 1985’s Yie Ar Kung-Fu which, along with 1984’s Karate Champ, is considered to be one of the first two games to have started the modern fighting game genre. Where Karate Champ was more of a realistic fighting game, taking inspiration from the actual sport of karate, Yie Ar was a more fantastical version of karate, as made popular by the Bruce Lee films of the 1970’s.

It wasn’t just the gameplay that was over the top, the character designs were also unique, with enemy fighters that looked more like cartoon characters as opposed to Karate Champ’s “dudes in gi’s” character design. In Yie Ar Kung-Fu, players take on the the role of Oolong, an aspiring martial arts fighter who is on a quest to defeat the eleven masters and earn a spot among the greatest fighters in the world. Played one on one, Oolong must defeat his opponent before moving on to the next stage, which is pretty much how fighting games have played ever since.

The reception to Yie Ar Kung-Fu was very positive, with players pumping quarters into the machine at an incredible rate. By the end of 1985, Yie Ar was the highest grossing arcade conversion kit of the year, and was one of the top five highest grossing games, overall, for the year. A sequel, Ye Ar Kung-Fu II would only come to home consoles, while another 1985 arcade game, the Japan only beat ’em up Shao-Lin’s Road, would be marketed by Konami as a spin-off. Despite being such a major influence, access to Yie Ar Kung-Fu has been difficult, with only a handful of re-releases done over the years, and it appears that 2010’s Game Room release is the last time the game was made available in North America.

Movies:

Moving on to notable films, 2015 saw the release of the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart comedy Get Hard, in which Ferrell’s character is sentenced to a prison term for some kind of financial fraud. Assuming that Hart’s black character must have gone to jail at some point, Ferrell hires him as a consultant, so that he might be able to survive the prison experience. Yeah, it’s pretty bad.

From 2005 we’ve got one of my all-time favorite films, Sin City, from directors Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller. Adapted from Miller’s comic of the same name, Sin City was a visual feast when it released in 2005, displaying color correction techniques that no one had ever tried before. The gorgeous black & white images from Miller’s comic came to life on the screen in a way that made you feel like you were watching an animated feature.

Everything about Sin City screamed “cool”, from the characters, to the costumes, to the gruff dialogue, to the filmmakers themselves. Rodriguez had been steadily building up a reputation for himself with his outstanding Mexico Trilogy and his Tarantino penned vampire flick From Dusk Till Dawn, though some were wondering what he would do next after the family friendly Spy Kids trilogy.

Thankfully, Rodriguez still had some bite in him, though he has kind of seen a steady decline in quality since Sin City, opting to return to the realm of childhood fantasy while occasionally dipping his toe back into exploitation with the Machete films. Personally, I wish he’d get back into experimental action films and away from his detour into the world of Star Wars television, but it’s good to see that he’s still working.

Our notable film from 1995 is another one of my all-time favorites, the David Spade/Chris Farley comedy Tommy Boy. While Ferrell & Hart’s buddy comedy Get Hard was full of spite, cynicism, and cruelty, Tommy Boy has a strong sense of compassion, friendship, and triumph that is coated with a thick candy shell of gut busting comedy (surprised you didn’t know that).

Initially a box office flop that was HATED by critics, Tommy Boy would find new life in the home video market where it was a major hit on the rental charts. Soon enough, VHS copies would start flying off shelves and the movie would get constant replay on cable television. This eventual success would propel Farley & Spade into super stardom, with both finding themselves cast in multiple comedies, even reuniting in 1996 for the film Black Sheep.

Written by the writing team of Bonnie and Terry Turner, former SNL writers who also wrote the movies Wayne’s World, Coneheads, and, another 1995 film, The Brady Bunch Movie, Tommy Boy was full of the same kind of midwestern “aw shucks”-isms that each of those other films contained. The duo would eventually parlay their film success into TV success with 3rd Rock From the Sun and That 70’s Show.

Tommy Boy was such an important film for me and my friends during high school. Working at Summer camp from 1995 to 2000, we would watch Tommy Boy at least once a week for the 10 or so weeks that we were stuck in the mountains, over the course of five years. My buddy and I still say “Tommy want wingie” whenever we want to go get chicken wings; when I see something gross I pretend to pull a cigar out of my mouth and say “oh…my…god“; when my wife breaks something I shout “what’d you do!?” (she loves it); and I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve just started blurting out “Como una promisa, eres tu, Eres tu. Asi! Asi, eres tu!” to no one in particular. Did I eat paint chips as a kid? Heh, heh, why?

Closing things out on the movie side, we’ve got the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan, starring Rosanna Arquette and Madonna. One of the defining pop culture films of the decade thanks to Madonna’s fashion, attitude, and music, the movie almost didn’t feature the pop diva. Initially, the studio wanted Barbra Streisand to play the role of bored housewife Roberta (played by Arquette), and Goldie Hawn to play the freewheeling Susan (Madonna’s role).

Set in a VERY 1980’s New York, Desperately Seeking Susan tells the story of Roberta, a New Jersey housewife in a boring, sexless marriage to a hot tub salesman, and Susan, the free spirited, petty criminal who meets her boyfriend, Jim, all over the country through personal ads where he goes by the name “Desperately Seeking Susan”. Seeing that Susan and her boyfriend are set to meet in New York, Roberta secretly heads down as well, hoping to catch a glimpse of the two.

As the movie goes on, Roberta eventually buys a coat that Susan trades in at a second hand shop, which contains a key to a locker that has all of Susan’s belongings. The problem is that Susan also has some loot from a high profile robbery and a psychotic thief is after her. Mistaking Roberta for Susan, the thief attacks her, knocks her against a pole and, suddenly, Roberta has no idea who she is. In a classic case of mistake identity, Roberta becomes Susan and starts to live her care free life.

Going into this movie, I had no idea what the plot was all about, so to see it be so convoluted was a huge surprise. This is not just a quintessential 1980’s movie, it is a quintessential New York movie, with references to the city and its semi-famous inhabitants that probably killed in theatres across the Big Apple. The movie, directed by Susan Seidelman, also features a who’s who of New York theatre actors in supporting roles who would go on to bigger things, like John Turturro, Laurie Metcalf, and Giancarlo Espisito, as well as stand up comedian Steven Wright.

Desperately Seeking Susan was a box office smash, becoming one of the highest grossing films of 1995. The studio that initially wanted Streisand and Hawn were eating their hats as they watch Madonna blow up into one of the biggest pop stars of all-time. The film was also a big hit in the UK, where it was also a critical darling, with Rosanna Arquette winning the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress. I had such a fantastic time with Desperately Seeking Susan after watching it this past week. It’s such a cool snapshot of a singular moment in time, forever preserving this kind of weird transition period that found New York moving from crime ridden hell hole to commercial, bubble gum pop for tourists to frolic in. Watch it!

Albums:

In notable album, 2015 gave us The Album About Nothing from rapper Wale. This was the continuation of a series of Seinfeld inspired releases by Wale, the fourth to be exact, starting with 2008’s The Mixtape About Nothing. A self-proclaimed Seinfeld fanatic, Wale even went as far as to get Jerry Seinfeld to record various lines for use on the album. Bolstered by singles “The Body” and “The Matrimony”, The Album About Nothing debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, making it a commercial success. While the album got mostly positive reviews from critics, some felt that Wale had veered too far into the mainstream and lost of the “indie cred” he had built up; bunch of snobs.

From 2005, we’ve got the album Guero from Beck. A bit of a throwback, Guero had a similar feeling to Beck’s 1996 album Odelay, which saw him re-team with that albums producers, The Dust Brothers. Commercially, Guero was a massive hit for Beck, with it’s #2 debut on the Billboard Top 200 being his highest chart position of all-time (and still to this day). Critics were mixed on the album, though still positive. They felt it was a safe album for Beck, being his most “mainstream” album of all time, and wished it felt a little more original instead of a kinda/sorta copy of Odelay.

The song’s lead single, “E-Pro”, received major radio airplay, peaking at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Alternative Airplay Charts. The song would be featured in the video game Rock Band 2 which, coincidentally, also featured the Beastie Boys “So What’cha Want”, which “E-Pro” sampled. Guero would receive a Grammy nomination in the Best Alternative Music Album category but would lose to Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes.

1995’s notable album is from a big band that hadn’t quite hit the big time yet, No Doubt’s The Beacon Street Collection. After the failure of their 1992 debut, No Doubt, the band went largely ignored by their record label, Interscope. Feeling the pressures of touring and being a working musician, founding member Eric Stefani left No Doubt to pursue a career in animation, working on The Simpsons, but not before writing a bunch of songs that would comprise Beacon Street.

Now on their own, the rest of No Doubt, Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont, and Adrian Young, recorded Beacon Street independently, away from the eyes and influence of the record label. Initially pressing 1,000 units, the band almost immediately sold them out at their live shows, much to the shock of Interscope who assumed No Doubt had no future. The record continued to receive new pressings and would, again, instantly sell out, prompting Interscope to book the band studio time to put out their third album, Tragic Kingdom, which released in October of 1995. The rest, as they say, is history.

Finally, from 1985, we’ve got the album Katrina and the Waves, from the band of the same name. After releasing two well received independent albums in 1983 & 1984, Katrina and the Waves were signed to Capitol Records after their single “Going Down to Liverpool” was a big radio hit in the United States.

For their major label debut, ten songs from their first two albums were chosen to be remixed or overdubbed, with another two, “Going Down to Liverpool” and “Walking on Sunshine” being entirely re-recorded to make sure they had the “it” factor that radio stations were looking for. While the new version of “Liverpool” didn’t quite hit the same way it did previously, “Walking on Sunshine” hit the airwaves like a rocket, finding itself launched straight to the top of the charts in the #9 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Walking on Sunshine”, with its bright, cheerful sound, has become one of the most lucrative songs in history, being licensed for a multitude of commercials, televisions programs, films, and video games. I can’t imagine there are many people in the modern world that has not heard this song in some capacity, it’s been everywhere. Two other songs from the album, “Do You Want Crying” and “Que Te Quiero” also hit the Billboard Hot 100, but didn’t reach the same level of success as “Walking on Sunshine”.

With the success of the album and its singles, it seemed like Katrina and the Waves were going to be huge. However, their follow-up album, Waves, failed to reach the same level of success and the group were relegated to the dustbin of one-hit-wonders. While this didn’t kill their career in the music industry (they would win Eurovision in 1997), the world only really wanted to hear “Walking on Sunshine”. Sometimes, you just wanna feel good…OW!

Pillars of Eternity (PC) – Released Mar. 26th, 2015

Notable Film Release: Get Hard – Starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart
Click here to watch the trailer
Notable Album Release: Wale – The Album About Nothing
Click here to listen to the album

Lego Star Wars: The Video Game (PC/PS2) – Released Mar. 29th, 2005

Notable Film Release: Sin City – Starring Jessica Alba, Benicio del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, and Elijah Wood
Click here to watch the trailer
Notable Album Release: Beck – Guero
Click here to listen to the album

Fatal Fury 3: Road to Final Victory (Arcade) – Released Mar. 27th, 1995

Notable Film Release: Tommy Boy – Starring Chris Farley and David Spade
Click here to watch the trailer
Notable Album Release: No Doubt – The Beacon Street Collection
Click here to listen to album

Yie Ar Kung-Fu (Arcade) – Released Mar. 1985

Notable Film Release: Desperately Seeking Susan – Starring Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn, and Madonna
Click here to watch the trailer
Notable Album Release: Katrina and the Waves – Katrina and the Waves
Click here to listen to album

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