Top Releases:

• Wuchang: Fallen Feathers (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 24^th
• Super Mario Party Jamboree: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV (Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 24^th
• Killing Floor 3 (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 24^th
• No Sleep for Kaname Date – From AI: The Somnium Files (PC/Switch/Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 25^th
• Wheel World (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 23^rd

Howdy, folks! It’s going to be Comic-Con soon and I’m preoccupied with getting ready for all of that, meaning this week’s column (and probably the next couple) will be light. Our top game of the week is Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, a new souls-like game from Chinese developer Leenzee. The launch price for this game is $50 bucks which I think sounds great, but it gives me pause as to the game’s quality. For all we know this could just be a way to get people to jump onto the game because of the low barrier point, but I say you should remain cautious. Heck, it might drop even lower in the coming months and could be worth picking up, assuming the reviews are positive.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 24^th

Developed by: Leenzee
Published by: 505 Games

For all you Switch 2 owners out there, Super Mario Party Jamboree is getting an updated version that will include a new game mode called Jamboree TV. In this mode, players will be able to incorporate their Switch 2 camera, letting their happy, shiny faces appear in the game; wow!

Killing Floor 3 is also coming out this week; didn’t even know there was a Killing Floor 2. Visual novel fans (i.e., Merve) should be excited for No Sleep for Kaname Date, a new entry in the AI: The Somnium Files series. Lastly, Annapurna Interactive is putting out Wheel World, a bicycle racing game from developer Messhof, creators of Nidhogg, that looks sufficiently wacky.

Super Mario Party Jamboree: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV (Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 24^th

Developed by: Nintendo Cube
Published by: Nintendo

Killing Floor 3 (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 24^th

Developed by: Tripwire Interactive
Published by: Tripwire Interactive

No Sleep for Kaname Date – From AI: The Somnium Files (PC/Switch/Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 25^th

Developed by: Spike Chunsoft
Published by: Spike Chunsoft

Wheel World (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 23^rd

Developed by: Messhof
Published by: Annapurna Interactive

Ports and Expansions:

Why wait for a Switch 2 Monster Hunter game when you can play a port of 2023’s Wild Hearts, now with an S! The former Netflix exclusive, Monument Valley 3, is coming to consoles, while the Switch & Switch 2 get a couple of big ports, WWE 2K25 and Soma.

• Wild Hearts S (Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 25^th
• Monument Valley 3 (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 22^nd
• WWE 2K25 (Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 23^rd
• Soma (Switch) – Releases Jul. 24^th

Everything else:

• Hell Clock (PC) – Releases Jul. 22^nd
• Luto (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 22^nd
• Misc. A Tiny Tale (PC/Switch) – Releases Jul. 22^nd (PC Version might not be out until Jul. 31^st)
• Hatsune Miku Logic Paint S+ (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 22^nd
• Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 24^th (PC version already in early access)
• Death Relives (PC/PS4/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 25^th

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

Games:

Starting things off, from 2015, we’ve got the episodic “reimagining” of King’s Quest, which put out it’s first entry, A Knight to Remember 10 years ago, this week. Developed by the studio The Odd Gentlemen, King’s Quest takes elements, themes, and characters from the original Sierra adventure games, but adds in new, modern controls and gameplay. Instead of being a point & click adventure, the new King’s Quest is a 3D adventure game, with the events taking place kinda/sorta in-between the original King’s Quest games.

Each chapter consists of an elderly Graham telling a story about his life to his granddaughter, Gwendolyn. Gameplay consists of players moving Graham around the world, talking to people, solving puzzles, and taking part in QTE’s, minor action sequences, and some light platforming. Critical reception to A Knight to Remember were mostly positive, but the subsequent five chapters couldn’t match, with each getting progressively worse reviews (well, ch. 3 was liked better than ch. 2).

The final chapter was released in October of 2016, with a “Complete Collection” arriving in December, 2016, which included a playable epilogue. Any pie in the sky ideas about this somehow reigniting gamers’ passion for the King’s Quest series failed to materialize, and the once popular series was back to where it had been for nearly two decades, buried & forgotten. Would you like to try again? Restore – Restart – Quit.

From 2005, we’ve got the PS2 tactical RPG Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome. Developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software, Makai Kingdom is a spin-off of their popular Disgaea series, with players taking on the role of a god-like being named Zetta. In the game, Zetta is known as an Overlord and, through his own foolishness, has his soul confined to a magical book called the Sacred Tome. In order to free his soul and rebuild his kingdom (one of the many Netherworlds seen in the Disgaea games), Zetta must enlist the help of other Overlords in this humorous, tongue-in-cheek title.

The gameplay in Makai Kingdom is very similar to other games made by NIS, most notably Disgaea and, while this may be welcome to fans of the game, critics were less thrilled. The consensus seemed to be that, while Makai Kingdom was pretty to look at and featured solid gameplay, it really felt no different than Disgaea, aside from a few minor changes, such as the addition of vehicles. According to VGChartz, Makai Kingdom only sold about 120k copies worldwide, which is why you probably haven’t heard of this series beyond its initial release. However, the game would receive ports to the Switch and PC in 2022, ensuring that the game would be available to a new generation on modern platforms.

From 1995, we have another RPG, Secret of the Stars for the Super Nintendo. Not to be confused with the Secret of Mana or Secret of Evermore, the box art for Secret of the Stars prominently display’s the name of developer/publisher Tecmo. The gameplay in Secret of the Stars follows a traditional, turn based format, similar to the Dragon Quest games, and, at times, alternates between two parties of characters.

The main cast of characters, referred to as The Aqutallion, are led by Ray, and they form the crux of the game’s story, with each party member in a quest to become a great warrior. Along the way, players can recruit other party members, known as The Kustera, and tend to fill in a specific, temporary role to advance the game’s story.

Critics were mixed on Secret of the Stars, finding particular fault with its simplistic graphics. However, the gameplay (which is arguably the most important part) was seen as highly accessible and varied. New players could easily stick with the main cast and learn the RPG ropes, while more advanced players would find the multiple playable characters and their styles to be moderately deep. Secret of the Stars has, sadly, been lost to time, with no ports or remakes over the years, making emulation your only way to play this title.

Moving on to 1985, we’ve got the Sega arcade game Hang-On, which was designed and programmed by the legendary developer Yu Suzuki. As you may recall, there was a major video game crash in the year 1983, which saw the popularity of both arcade and console games plummet in the United States. Thought of as a children’s fad, similar to the Hula Hoop and the Pet Rock, it took video games nearly two years to climb out of its tailspin. While consoles would rebound in the later part of 1985 with the NES, there are many who believe that the success of Hang-On saved the arcades.

Before we get too far, Hang-On is a motorcycle racing game which, on the surface is not that impressive of a concept. However, Hang-On had two things going for it. The first was the game’s graphics, the first 16-bit arcade title, which boasted a (for the time) realistic viewpoint that closely mimicked real life depth of field. The second, and probably most important, was how the game controlled. While most arcade games simply had players move a joystick around or, in the case of racing games, a steering wheel to turn, Hang-On cabinets came equipped with a replica racing motorcycle, akin to what you’d see in the GP 500.

To move your vehicle around the race track, players would need to turn the throttle with their hand to accelerate and slow down, while leaning the bike left and right to turn. This was a revolutionary concept that made Hang-On part arcade game and part theme park ride. With the realistic graphics on screen and a “real” motorcycle to ride, Hang-On was able to immerse players into a video unlike anything that had come before. Players rewarded Sega, and Yu Suzuki, for their ingenuity by making it not only the highest grossing arcade game of 1985, but also 1986.

With the runaway success of Hang-On, Sega would commission a sequel, Super Hang-On, in 1987, and led to a series of motion simulation arcade games, all by Suzuki, Space Harrier, Outrun, and After Burner. Oddly, as influential is it was, Hang-On is not really available to play in any modern capacity. Super Hang-On been released through the Yakuza series and on the Genesis, but the original Hang-On is really only playable through emulation or in the wild on an original cabinet.

Movies:

In notable films, 2015 gave us the Adam Sandler comedy Pixels, which is about a race of shapeshifting aliens who come to invade Earth in the form of…1980’s VIDEO GAMES! In the film, Sandler plays a former video game champ who is tasked with taking down these aliens by his best friend, the President of the United States (played by Kevin James), because of Sandler’s skill in taking down digital villains. To help him, Sandler enlists a buddy (Josh Gad), a sexy scientist lady (Michelle Monaghan), and his main rival (Peter Dinklage), a down on his luck loser clinging to his past glories (basically the same character Jason Momoa played in Minecraft).

Featuring characters and monsters from games like Q*Bert, Pac-Man, Centipede, Donkey Kong, and a slew of others, Pixels was created in a time when 1980’s nostalgia and “Nerd Culture” was peaking, as evidenced by things like The Big Bang Theory and Ernest Cline’s novel Ready Player One. Despite overwhelmingly negative reviews, Pixels still managed to make almost $250 million at the box office, opening up at #2 behind the previous week’s holdover, Ant-Man.

The film was “honored” by the annual Golden Raspberry Awards, earning five nominations for Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Picture (it would “win” none of them). Audiences were more kind, scoring the film a “B” which, while not the best, is not the worst. I don’t know who thought it would be a good idea to give this idea to Adam Sandler, but his style of comedy just doesn’t quite fit with the aesthetic that Pixels is supposed to be going for. It’s a shame, really, the movie could have been a Minecraft style event, instead it’s mostly just forgotten.

From 2005, we’ve got the Rob Zombie film The Devil’s Rejects, a gory, slasher film and sequel to Zombie’s debut, House of 1000 Corpses. While Corpses was a bit zany and over the top, The Devil’s Rejects opted for a more grounded story, with the actors toning down the overacting and giving their characters a bit more of a rough edge. For inspiration, Zombie looked to crime films like Bonnie & Clyde and westerns like The Wild Bunch, as he wanted the film to feel like a wild west road trip flick.

The film’s excessive violence and sexual imagery found the ire of the Motion Picture Association of America, who would give the film an NC-17 rating seven times in a row. Finally, in the eighth version, which toned down a disturbing scene of sexual assault, the film got its R rating (the cut footage would make it back into the film on an unrated DVD release). The Devil’s Rejects grossed just under $20 million on a budget of $7 million and received mixed reviews from critics.

Two boosters, though, were Roger Ebert who though Zombie made an entertaining film with killers you cared about, while Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers thought Zombie’s film worked because of its killer soundtrack and blood-soaked finale which was wore its The Wild Bunch inspiration on its sleeve. Both critics stirred the ire of their contemporaries (especially Ebert) who decried the film as a disgusting exercise in excessive violence and misogyny. A third film in the series, 3 From Hell, would release in 2019 and kind of undoes the climatic ending of The Devil’s Rejects but, in a way, kind of continues this idea that, while sequels, each film in the trilogy can stand on their own.

From 1995 we’ve got the film Waterworld which was, at the time, the most expensive film ever made, with a budget of $175 million. Following the success of 1990’s Dances With Wolves and 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, the consensus was that actor Kevin Costner and Hood’s director, Kevin Reynolds, teaming up on another picture would be a sure fire success. In Waterworld, the premise is that global warming has led to the melting of the polar ice caps, flooding the world and keeping humans stuck to sea barges and boats. Costner’s character, a mutant human with the ability to breath underwater, comes across a woman and a young girl who know the way to dry land. They embark on a perilous journey across the vast ocean, eluding The Deacon, a sadistic madman played by Dennis Hopper.

Well over budget, with elaborate sets built in the real ocean off the coast of Hawaii, and an excessive runtime from a bloated, overstuffed script, doomed Waterworld to failure. Universal Pictures, who distributed the film, thought they had the Summer’s biggest blockbuster. While the film made an impressive $264 million worldwide, it could not recoup all of the unannounced costs, typically for marketing, and was considered a box office bomb. The film almost single handedly destroyed Costner’s then booming career, and would go down as one of the biggest Hollywood blunders of all-time.

Like Pixels, Waterworld would also be honored with Razzie nominations for Worst Director, Worst Actor, Worst Film, and would win Worst Supporting Actor for Dennis Hopper. It did, however, receive one Oscar nomination, Best Sound, losing to another Summer blockbuster, Apollo 13. Despite being a dud, Waterworld wasn’t a complete loss for Universal, as the company would turn it into one of the most beloved attractions at their theme parks, the WaterWorld Stunt Show, which is regularly regarded as the best live show in any theme park. It’s the small victories that count.

Rounding out the notable film, from 1985, we’ve got a heartwarming tale about a group of teenage boys who go on the adventure of a lifetime, evading nosey adults, breaking rules, and getting into trouble all in search of something long hidden; not The Goonies, I’m talking about Explorers! You haven’t heard of Explorers?! Please say you’re joking! A young Ethan Hawke meets a young River Phoenix and, together with this other guy who isn’t a famous adult now, build a spaceship that will take them into the farthest reaches of the galaxy to meet the alien creatures who are trying to contact them.

Clearly inspired by films like E.T. and other Spielberg-esque films about kids going on crazy adventures while their suburban parents do coke and vote for Reagan, or whatever, Explorers hit at just the right time where cutting edge technology allowed for more fantastical storytelling and had an audience of rabid, young teenagers who were hungry for content that spoke to them on their level. Directed by Joe Dante, of Gremlins fame, Explorers seemed like it was poised to be the next big teen fantasy but, alas, it wasn’t.

Plagued with issues from the start, the film was to initially be helmed by Wolfgang Peterson who was hot off The NeverEnding Story but his desire to film the movie in Germany was met with resistance. Dante was suggested, based on the success of Gremlins, but he felt the third act needed work. He requested time to re-write the film but was denied by the studio who told him to just make it up as he went along.

Meanwhile, during the middle of production, the film changed studios and, of course, the new studio wanted the movie ready for the Summer blockbuster season, assuming they had a new sci-fi kiddie flick they could exploit. Dante had hoped to have the film ready by the end of August but the studio demanded it release in July, forcing Dante to stop editing the film and make sure it had a beginning, middle, and end. What came to theatres was a rush job that just barely made sense.

The studio should have waited, though, as Explorers was completely overshadowed by Back to the Future’s historic run in theatres and the television broadcast of Live Aid, the worldwide benefit music concert. The critical reception to the film was poor as well, which didn’t help it either, but the film’s reputation would grow when it came to home video and cable television. It has achieved a cult status over the years, particularly among Dante’s fans. While Dante appreciates the kind words, he still feels like the Explorers we got is not the same movie he wanted to make. When asked what it was missing he mentions “spirituality”; okay.

Albums:

In notable albums, 2015 gave us The Most Lamentable Tragedy by indie rock band Titus Andronicus. Hailed as one of the best albums of the year, TMLT was a sprawling, 93 minute rock opera that, according to critics, saw the band return to form. It was a moderate commercial success, reaching #164 on the Billboard Top 200. Titus Andronicus have released three albums since but none have been able to chart.

From 2005, we’ve got The Back Room, the debut album from British rock outfit Editors. Released in an era where the post-punk sound was making a comeback in the UK and the US, thanks to groups like Interpol, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and the like, The Back Room was eagerly gobbled up by the music press and your cool roommate in college. The singles “Munich” and “Blood” received heavy airplay in the US on MTV2, back when we still watched music videos on TV, and helped the band gain a cult following.

While the album was far more popular in the UK, peaking at #2 on their charts, The Back Room wouldn’t reach the Top 200 Billboard chart, but would hit #14 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. On a personal note, I was able to meet and interview Editors at a music festival in San Diego called Street Scene. They were lovely and we had a nice chat about Pac-Man and burritos. Editors have maintained a steady career in the UK while still only having a cult appeal in the US, I would recommend giving them a listen.

From 1995, we’ve got another debut album, The Return of The Aquabats from, of course, The Aquabats. Released while in their full ska mode, Return’s title is tongue-in-cheek as the band had not, in fact, gone anywhere, they were brand new. Featuring the song “Martian Girl”, a staple of the band’s live show for the last 30 years, Return’s 24k copies sold was seen as impressive for a band that had no record deal and no distribution, with copies being sold independently by the group.

Word of their zany live shows, comedic, pop-culture laced lyrics, and abrasive attitude towards the music industry were a magnet for the up and coming “youths”, who were ready to move past the jaded sounds of the early 1990’s. The third-wave ska revolution was nearing its peak, anyone who got in on the ground floor in 1995 must have felt pretty cool two years later, then like dorks a couple years after that. Am I talking about myself? Maybe.

Closing things out this week, from 1985, we have the album Heart from the group, well, Heart. Seen as a comeback album for the band, Heart yielded the band their first number one single, “These Dreams”, and saw four of the five singles all reach the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Not only did it give Heart their first #1 single, it was also the bands first, and only album, to reach #1 on the Billboard Top 200. Long time fans may have been dismayed that the group was moving away from their more rock tinged, folk sound from the 1970’s, but mainstream America fucking LOVED the new Heart and gave the band a successful second act that lasted well through the 80’s and 90’s.

At the Grammy awards, the band would be nominated in the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group category, losing to Dire Straits. In a later interview, in reflecting on the album and its self-titled moniker, lead singer Ann Wilson said that the simplistic name was a byproduct of the record being written almost exclusively by other people. To Wilson, and the rest of Heart, there was no personal connection to any of the songs and, thus, they were unable to come up with a name that meant anything to them. Heart sold out and, probably, sold their souls a little bit to achieve worldwide success. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to survive. At least they wrote “Barracuda”.

King’s Quest – Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember (PC/PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/Xbox One) – Released Jul. 28^th, 2015

Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome (PS2) – Released Jul. 26^th, 2005

Secret of the Stars (SNES) – Released Jul. 1995

Hang-On (Arcade) – Released Jul. 22^nd, 1985

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