Top Releases:

• Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 31^st
• Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game (PC/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 29^th
• Hololive Holo’s Hanafuda (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch) – Releases Jul. 30^th

Happy Tuesday, everybody! I just spent the last five days at Comic-Con and am giving myself a break from commentary this week. Please enjoy this list of (very few) new releases, I hope you see something you like!

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 31^st

Developed by: The Game Kitchen
Published by: Dotemu/Joystick

Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game (PC/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 29^th

Developed by: Weta Workshop
Published by: Private Division

Hololive Holo’s Hanafuda (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch) – Releases Jul. 30^th

Developed by: Gemdrops, Inc.
Published by: Gemdrops, Inc.

Everything else:

• Day of the Shell (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 29^th
• Saloonery (PC) – Releases Jul. 29^th
• Sky the Scraper (PC) – Releases Jul. 29^th
• Morgan: Metal Detective (PC/Switch) – Releases Jul. 30^th
• Unlockers (PC) – Releases Jul. 30^th
• Spy Drops (PC/Switch) – Releases Jul. 31^st
• Time Flies (PC/PS5/Switch) – Releases Jul. 31^st

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

Let’s quickly recap this week’s notable titles. In video games, 2015 saw the release of Rare Replay, a long awaited collection that contained 30 of Rare’s most popular/important games, including Perfect Dark, Battle Toads, and Banjo-Kazooie. 2005 gave us the GameCube exclusive Geist, in which you play the role of a spirit that must inhabit the living in order to advance the game’s plot. From 1995, we had Ecco Jr., a more simplistic version of the Genesis title Ecco the Dolphin. Critics really enjoyed the game, finding it far more accessible (and fun) than the original game. Going back to 1985, we have the arcade title Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom from Atari. This was one of the first games from the developer to feature digitized speech and music. Critics found the core game play to be enjoyable, but were turned off by how difficult it was to complete.

In notable films, 2015 gave us the fifth Mission: Impossible film, Rogue Nation, the first in the series to feature Rebecca Ferguson’s character Ilsa Faust and returned Ving Rames character Luther to a prominent role. 2005 saw the release of the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers, in which Bill Murray plays a former Lothario who must figure out who sent him a letter saying that he has a son. When I worked at a video store in the mid-2000’s, this came out on DVD and I remember a lot of dudes in their 40’s who were really pissed off at how this movie was NOT funny.

In 1995, we got the film Babe, the story of a pig who learns how to heard sheep like a dog. It saves him from being slaughtered but turns his owner into a laughing stock, until the ending of the film which is, just, so fucking good. Babe was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards but was beaten by another talking pig, Mel Gibson and his film Braveheart. From 1985, we have the sci-fi comedy Weird Science, the touching story of two horny teenagers who create a woman they can have sex with. Critics didn’t really care for it, but audiences loved it, turning it into a slumber party staple for at least the next two decades (Anthony Michael Hall talks like a black guy in one scene and it did not age well, as you can imagine).

In notable albums, 2015 saw the release of VII: Sturm und Drang from the metal band Lamb of God. The album would peak at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 which is pretty crazy for a metal band in the 2010’s. 2005 gave us Faith Hill’s Fireflies, a return to her classic country sound after flirting with pop music on her previous release; critics hated it but the album still debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200. 1995 saw the release of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… from Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon. Regularly regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all-time, Only Built… debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 and was highly influential in the rap world, with its style and “movie concept” being copied by Jay-Z for hit debut album, Reasonable Doubt.

Closing things out this week, from 1985, we’ve got Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam With Full Force from Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam…with Full Force. Although the album would only peak at #52 on the Billboard Top 200, it would be considered one of the seminal dance albums of the decade, propelled by its singles “I Wonder If I Take You Home”, “Can You Feel the Beat”, and “All Cried Out”.

Rare Replay (Xbox One) – Released Aug. 4^th, 2015

Geist (GameCube) – Released Aug. 15^th, 2005

Ecco Jr. (Genesis) – Released Aug. 15^th, 1995

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Arcade) – Released Aug. 1985

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