Games

New Game Releases 08/19/25 – 08/25/25

Top Releases:

  • Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/GBA/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Aug. 19th
  • Sword of the Sea (PC/PS5) – Releases Aug. 19th
  • Discounty (PC/PS4/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Aug. 21st
  • Herdling (PC/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases Aug. 21st
  • Black Myth: Wukong (Series X|S) – Releases Aug. 20th

It might seem like yet another slow week in new games, but there’s some really good stuff to check out, I promise! Like our top game of the week, Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, the latest entry in the cult classic franchise. Initially starting out as a Game Boy Advance title back in the early 2000’s, developer WayForward have dusted off the old files and are ready to ship this game on modern consoles; oh, and on Game Boy Advance, for good measure.

Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/GBA/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Aug. 19th

Developed by: WayForward
Published by: WayForward

Rounding out the rest of the Top Releases, Sword of the Sea is the third game from the team at Giant Squid, best known for Abzu and The Pathless (as well as Flower and Journey from their time at thatgamecompany). Herdling is another game from an acclaimed indie studio, Okomotive, who put out 2022’s critical smash FAR: Changing Tides. If you like cozy work simulators, Discounty might be of some interest to you, as you run a small grocery store with your aunt. Finally, 2024’s soulslike hit Black Myth Wukong is coming to Xbox, which should be good news to the four people who still play that console regularly.

Sword of the Sea (PC/PS5) – Releases Aug. 19th

Developed by: Giant Squid
Published by: Giant Squid

Discounty (PC/PS4/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Aug. 21st

Developed by: Crinkle Cut Games
Published by: PQube

Herdling (PC/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases Aug. 21st

Developed by: Okomotive
Published by: Panic

Black Myth: Wukong (Series X|S) – Releases Aug. 20th

Developed by: Game Science
Published by: Game Science

Everything else:

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

Games:

In notable releases, 2015 started the #spookyseason (TM) early with the horror game Until Dawn, from British developer Supermassive Games. Initial development on the game began around 2008, with Until Dawn as a PS3 title that would only be playable with the Sony’s motion control device, the PlayStation Move. It would have been played from a first person perspective, with players holding a flashlight as they explored the game world. This version was also geared towards younger players, as they were the Move’s biggest users.

After a couple of years into development, the game’s director, Will Byles, wanted to debug the game’s camera, so he put it into a third person view. Finding that this new perspective made the game a lot more enjoyable, the team pivoted away from the PlayStaion Move and went with a traditional control scheme. This had the added benefit of being able to appear to a more mature audience, letting the team intensify the scares.

For those that haven’t played the game, Until Dawn is an interactive movie, with players taking on the role of eight people who are being stalked by a killer. As players progress through the story, the fate of each character rests in their hands; some will die, some may live, and all of it is based on the choices that the player makes, giving Until Dawn a high replay value as you attempt to see the various endings of each character.

At release, Until Dawn was warmly received by critics for its slick presentation and polished feel. While some games will tout that player choice can change the game’s story, we often find that these changes are miniscule and don’t affect the overall story. With Until Dawn, however, players choice can drastically alter the plot of the game, with the consequences of some choices not revealing themselves until the very last moments of the game. Critics felt that this delayed gratification made them feel paranoid throughout the game, questioning their own motives and choices.

Until Dawn received nine nomination at the end of year awards shows, winning the Original Property award at the British Academy Games Awards. It’s only nomination at the 2015 Game Awards was in the Best Narrative category, losing to Her Story. Three years later, Suppermassive got to make their first person version of the game with the prequel title The Inpatient, and put out a remake on PS5 in 2024. A film adaptation was released in 2025 to mixed reviews and only modest box office returns. It’s hard to tell what Sony will do with Until Dawn, there have been no follow-up titles since 2018, meanwhile, Supermassive have created their own series of horror games, The Dark Pictures Anthology.

From 2005, we’ve got the pet simulator game Nintendogs, for the DS. Originally intended for release on the Nintendo 64’s disk drive add-on, Nintendogs began life in 1997 as Cabbage, in which players would raise and care for a small creature. Cabbage was co-developed by some big names in the world of Nintendo, Shigesato Itoi (Earthbound), Tsunekazu Ishiara (Pokémon), and Shigeru Miyamoto. However, by 2000, development on Cabbage came to a halt, but that didn’t kill the game entirely. Inspired by his family’s recent adoption of a dog, Miyamoto decided to replace the creature with a puppy, and Nintendogs was born.

A tech demo was made for the GameCube but it soon became clear to Miyamoto and the game’s producer, Hideki Konno, that Nintendogs would be a perfect fit for the company’s new handheld, the DS. With its built in touch screen, players would be able to “pet” their dog, hold the leash while they took it on “walks”, and could interact with the puppy by “throwing” balls & frisbees. On top of the touch function, the DS’ built in microphone would also allow players to speak to their puppy, giving it commands and watching it react to whatever name they gave to their virtual dog.

Released in three versions, each with its own set of dogs, Nintendogs became a smash hit for Nintendo selling an astounding 24 million copies worldwide. This would make Nintendogs the second best-selling DS game of all-time (behind New Super Mario Bros.), and lead to a merchandise push from Nintendo. There were Nintendogs trading cards, which contained not just cards but also stickers, temporary tattoos, and special “pop-up” cards. A line of plush toys was also released, as well as special Nintendogs themed DS consoles.

Critics were in love with the game, calling it one of the best life simulators on the market due to its depth and technical achievements. Famed Japanese video game Famitsu scored Nintendogs a perfect 40/40, a rare feat (though it has become more common over time). The success of Nintendogs helped usher in the era of “casual gamers”, particularly when it came to Nintendo products. The company had been successfully courting non-traditional gamers since the 1990’s, and their efforts would pay off handsomely in the 2000’s with Nintendogs and Brain Age on the DS, and their upcoming console, the Wii. Two more versions of the game would release on the DS in 2005 & 2006, while a sequel, Nintendogs + Cats would be a launch title for the 3DS in 2011.

From 1995, we’ve got the Sierra On-Line point & click adventure game Phantasmagoria. Created by Roberta Williams, of King’s Quest fame, Phantasmagoria is a gothic horror game in which players take on the role of Adrienne, a writer who finds herself being terrorized by supernatural forces in the mansion she lives in with her husband. Phantasmagoria came along at a time when the idea of video games as movies were forefront on many developers minds, and featured live actors placed in digital environments, as well as several live action cut scenes to move the story forward.

At the time of release, Williams was mostly know for making light hearted, family games, so it was a bit shocking to see her come out with a game like Phantasmagoria, which contained gore and sexual elements. Sierra took a big gamble on the game, pouring $4.5 million to develop the game, and another $1.5 million to build a studio where the actors could perform their parts. It paid off, though, with Phantasmagoria becoming a major seller for Sierra, earning $12 million in the first week.

Despite strong sales, the game didn’t really hit with critics, who found the story too slow and the puzzles too easy. However, praise was given to the game’s overall presentation and for its technical wizardry. No video game had looked like Phantasmagoria before, and players rewarded Sierra for it. Not only did it sell well right out the gate, it continued to sell throughout the year, becoming one of the best selling video games of 1995, sharing the list with titles like Super Mario World 2 & Donkey Kong Country 2, and would go on to sell well over 1 million copies in its lifetime.

By the end of the year, Phantasmagoria would be hailed as one of the best games of 1995 by just about every PC gaming outlet. The success of the game would keep Sierra in the financial black for some time, leading to high profits and stock prices. However, the ensuing years would prove to be unkind to the adventure game genre, which Sierra relied heavily on. A sequel, Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh, would arrive in 1996 to abysmal reviews and only tepid praise from fans.

By the end of the decade, Roberta Williams would leave Sierra On-Line, retiring from the industry after her next game, King’s Quest: Mask of Eternity, failed both critically and commercially. In a 2006 interview, Williams was asked what she was most proud of during her time in the industry and she said that Phantasmagoria was her greatest achievement. Groundbreaking at launch, lauded by many for its bold direction, Phantasmagoria feels forgotten in today’s video game landscape. Do yourself a favor, play this game, don’t let it be lost to time.

Movies:

In notable films, 2015 saw the release of Hitman: Agent 47, based on the popular video game franchise. This was the second attempt at making a Hitman film, with an initial try back in 2007. While that first film was critically maligned, Agent 47 fared even worse, making the 2007 flick look like Citizen Kane in comparison. Needless to say, but we have not seen any further films in the franchise. Maybe we should just stick to video games with this one.

From 2005, we’ve got the movie The Brothers Grimm from director Terry Gilliam. If you know anything about Gilliam and his “curse”, then you must know just how lucky he was to even get this up on the silver screen. It’s too bad that it was this stinker. Now, who is to blame here for the failure of The Brothers Grimm? Gilliam says the Weinstein brothers ruined the movie by firing his preferred director of photography and overall general meddling. The Weinstein’s say Gilliam is at fault for being so difficult to work with.

In the end, The Brothers Grimm just wasn’t the movie that anyone wanted; not Gilliam, not Miramax, not critics, and certainly not audiences. While it would make over $100 million worldwide, it’s nearly $90 million dollar budget meant that it likely lost money. Gilliam would continue to make movies after this, but none of his film budgets ever went this high again.

From 1995 we have another film distributed by Miramax, Robert Rodriguez’s Desperado. Following on the success of his micro budget first feature, El Mariachi, Rodriguez was courted by the Weinstein brothers to make an English language sequel with Miramax. Given a $7 million dollar budget (a major step up from the $7k it cost to make El Mariachi), and access to one of the biggest stars in the world, Antonio Banderas, Rodriguez took full advantage of these gifts and made one hell of an action film.

While Desperado was crucial in bringing Rodriguez’s style to American audiences, the film is also notable for being the first Hollywood role for actress Salma Hayek who, up until Desperado, had only appeared in Mexican productions. The success of Desperado earned Hayek several film roles after, including Fools Rush In alongside Friends star Matthew Perry, and the Will Smith box office dud, Wild Wild West.

Rodriguez would form a friendship with director Quentin Tarantino during the making of Desperado, leading to the two collaborating on Rodriguez’s next film, From Dusk Till Dawn (also featuring Hayek), with their working relationship extending into the next decade with the films Sin City and Planet Terror. Rodriguez most recently worked on the Star Wars franchise, directing episodes of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.

Albums:

In notable albums, 2015 gave us Immortalized by the metal group Disturbed. This album had that cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence”, remember that? Yeah, your dad probably sent a link to you through Facebook and was like “Hey, you should check this out“; did you check it out? No, dad, I did not.

From 2005, one of my favorite bands, Minus the Bear, put out their second album, Menos el Oso which, if you didn’t know, is Spanish for “minus the bear”. Isn’t that cute?! With Minus the Bear being one of my favorites you would probably assume that I owned this album when it came out; lol, no. This was 2005, baby, peak Limewire/Kazaa usage, so I had the first five songs, and track 9, downloaded on my dad’s computer, eventually putting them on my iPod.

Minus the Bear is one of those bands that I can’t quite peg down on the popularity scale. Clearly, the band was a success, they would put out six albums over a span of 16 years, get played on the radio, and even did an episode of Daryl’s House, a music program where bands would play their hits with singer Daryl Hall (from Hall & Oates). While Menos El Oso would not hit the Billboard Top 200, it would reach #20 on the Heatseekers Chart, so that’s something. As far as I can tell, the album had no singles, but a lot of people I know really liked “Pachuca Sunrise”, though my favorite is “The Fix”.

Finally, from 1995, we’ve got the album …And Out Come The Wolves from punk band Rancid. After finding moderate success with their 1994 album Let’s Go, it was Wolves that pushed the band into the mainstream. With Green Day and The Offspring making punk rock profitable for record labels, many major players came after Rancid in hopes of luring them into a big money contract. Staying true to their punk ethos, however, Rancid decided to stay on the independent label Epitaph, which allowed them greater control of their music and image.

Clearly, the success of Wolves was not dependent on a major label, as it would go on to reach #43 on the Billboard Top 200, sell over one million copies, and allow the band to remain relevant and sustain a career thirty years later. The success of the album was due in large part to the hit singles “Roots Radicals”, “Ruby Soho” and “Time Bomb”, with both charting on the Billboard Modern Rock chart, seeing “Time Bomb” reach #8, the highest chart position in the band’s career.

The album’s success earned “Roots Radicals” a spot on the Beavis & Butthead Do America sound track, which led to it being featured heavily on MTV (along with “Time Bomb” and “Ruby Soho”). Not only that, but Rancid was even invited to perform on Saturday Night Live in November of 1995, playing “Roots Radicals” and “Ruby Soho”. While they might not be a band your mom has heard of, like Green Day, Rancid have solidified themselves as one of the greatest, most well respected punk bands of all-time.

Until Dawn (PS4) – Released Aug. 25th, 2015

Notable Film Release: Hitman: Agent 47 – Starring Rupert Friend, Hannah Ware, Zachary Quinto, and Ciarán Hinds
Click here to watch the trailer
Notable Album Release: Disturbed – Immortalized
Click here to listen to the album

Nintendogs (DS) – Released Aug. 22nd, 2005

Notable Film Release: The Brothers Grimm – Starring Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Peter Stormare, Lena Headey, Jonathan Pryce, and Monica Bellucci
Click here to watch the trailer
Notable Album Release: Minus the Bear – Menos El Oso
Click here to listen to the album

Phantasmagoria (PC) – Released Aug. 24th, 1995

Notable Film Release: Desperado – Starring Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almeida, and Steve Buscemi
Click here to watch the trailer
Notable Album Release: Rancid – …And Out Come The Wolves
Click here to listen to album

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