Top Releases:

• Directive 8020 (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases May 12^th
• Call of the Elder Gods (PC/PS5/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases May 12^th
• Nitro Gen Omgea (PC/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases May 12^th
• Outbound (PC/PS5/Switch/Switch 2) – Releases May 12^th
• RoadOut (PC/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases May 14^th
• Gold Gold Adventure Gold (PC) – Releases May 15^th

Hey gang! It’s another slow week of releases, womp, womp. Our top game of the week is Directive 8020, the latest “choose your own adventure” style horror title from Supermassive Games. Initially slated for release in 2025 as the first entry in season two of The Dark Pictures Anthology, Directive 8020 was delayed and retooled, dropping the Dark Pictures branding and combining two similarly themed entries into one larger entry. While the Dark Pictures branding, as well as the interstitial videos featuring The Curator, Supermassive say that the spirit of the series is still present and that longtime fans will be able to pick up on easter eggs relating to earlier Dark Pictures games.

Directive 8020 (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases May 12^th

Developed by: Supermassive Games
Published by: Supermassive Games

The rest of this week’s games are everything coming out for at least three different platforms. Two notable shout outs, I erroneously said Outbound came out a few weeks ago, but that was incorrect. It is releasing this week (and might have varying unlock times across platforms). I am also going to shamelessly plug the indie title Gold Gold Adventure Gold, a video game made by a buddy of mine I met through the Mega64 Discord group. Fun fact for fans of Mega64, one of their members, Garrett Hunter, does some voice over work in this delightful, tactical city builder.

Call of the Elder Gods (PC/PS5/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases May 12^th

Developed by: Out of the Blue Games
Published by: Kwalee

Nitro Gen Omgea (PC/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases May 12^th

Developed by: DestinyBit
Published by: DestinyBit/2P Games/Beep Japan

Outbound (PC/PS5/Switch/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases May 12^th

Developed by: Square Glade Games
Published by: Square Glade Games

RoadOut (PC/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases May 14^th

Developed by: Rastrolabs Game Studio
Published by: DANGEN Entertainment

Gold Gold Adventure Gold (PC) – Releases May 15^th

Developed by: Can Can Can a Man
Published by: Can Can Can a Man

Ports and Expansions:

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle & The Order of Giants DLC (Switch 2) – Releases May 12^th
• Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos Complete (PS5/Switch) – Releases May 15^th

Everything else:

• Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes (PC) – Releases May 12^th
• Clockwork Ambrosia (PC) – Releases May 12^th
• Uncle Lee’s Cookbook: Five Recipes for Disaster (PC) – Releases May 12^th
• The Caribou Trail (PC/PS5) – Releases May 14^th
• The Island of Doctor Morose (PC/PS5) – Releases May 14^th
• Port Authority (PC) – Releases May 14^th
• DeliRia (PC) – Releases May 15^th
• Pintorino (PC) – Releases May 15^th

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

Games:

Some quick notes on the notable titles; 2016’s Doom was the first brand new entry in the series since 2004’s Doom3. Its success helped kickstart a brand new trilogy, with Doom Eternal dropping in 2020 (the same day as Animal Crossing: New Horizons), and Doom: The Dark Ages in 2025. I really love the new Doom games, which act as a brilliant counterpoint to the more tactical and realistic focused FPS games that we got in the era of Ghost Recon, Call of Duty, and Halo.

I never got around to playing 2006’s Heroes of Might and Magic V but I probably could have started here, as brand new IP owner, Ubisoft, rebooted the franchise with this entry, ignoring all previous titles. Critics were mostly happy with the game, and it sold decently well for PC, becoming a best seller in France, Germany, and the UK. I also never got around to playing Kirby’s Block Ball from 1996, as I did not own a Game Boy until the Pokémon games came out in the US. The game is, essentially, a Breakout clone that features characters and items from the Kirby series of video games. It was well received by critics when it came out and has, in recent years, has gained a reputation for being one of the best Game Boy games of all-time.

Movies:

With 2016’s Captain America: Civil War you could really start to feel the MCU coming into its own and, for better or worse, working on a formula that has continued to carry its films forward to this day. While the film was a re-telling of one of the most popular stories in Marvel Comics history, the film is most well known as being the MCU introduction of both Black Panther and, to many fans delight, Spider-Man. Civil War would earn $1.15 billion at the vox office, making it the highest grossing film of 2016 (but only 3rd highest in the US, behind Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Finding Dory).

The 2006 film Art School Confidential seemed like a tailor made hit for the indie crowd. It came from Terry Zwigoff, director of Bad Santa, who was teaming up with acclaimed comic book artist/writer Daniel Clowes for the second time, following Ghost World. However, Art School Confidential was reviled by critics and earned almost nothing at the box office. A highly cynical and mean spirited film, Art School Confidential was missing all of the heart and emotion from Bad Santa and Ghost World. Zwigoff would see his directing career stall after the film flopped, while Clowes would only see one further film adaptation hit the screen, 2017’s Wilson, since the release of Art School Confidential.

Twister, from 1996, was like Captain America: Civil War in that it was one of the highest grossing films of the year, #2 both worldwide and domestically (losing to Independence Day). A true, Summer blockbuster, Twister was one of those movies that everybody I knew had seen and loved. Hell, I liked it so much that I saw it in theatres TWICE, which was a rare feat for a kid who didn’t have a lot of money (though things were looking up for my parents in that regard, with my dad getting a new job). 1996 was a special year of movie going, for me, as I would find a group of friends to go out with every Tuesday for the cheap day at our local theatre. This would, however, be one of the last I’d attend with them as my Summer vacation would begin shortly afterward and I’d find myself at camp and spending time with my grandma. Things didn’t really pick up with that group when school started the following Fall, so let’s poor one out and give props to Twister for being that friend group’s finale (at least for me).

Albums:

I can’t believe we haven’t had a new Radiohead album since 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool. Hailed by critics as one of the best albums of the year, it would receive two Grammy nominations and peak at #3 on the Billboard 200. In 2006, The White Stripes frontman Jack White would get together with a group of old friends to form a new rock band, The Raconteurs. Their debut album, Broken Boy Soldiers would receive critical acclaim, earning a single Grammy nomination and would peak at #7 on the Billboard 200. The album’s lead single, “Steady As She Goes”, would find major success on rock radio.

From 1996 , we have the album Bringing Down the Horse from singer Jakob Dylan’s band, The Wallflowers. Like our other notable albums, it was critically acclaimed and called one of the best albums of the year. It would reach #4 on the Billboard 200 and earn five Grammy nominations, including one for the hit single, “One Headlight”. A certified 90’s banger, “One Headlight” would dominate rock radio in 1996, 1997, and 1998, becoming an all-time classic of the decade.

Doom (PC/PS4/Xbox One) – Released May 13^th, 2016

Heroes of Might and Magic V (PC) – Released May 23^rd, 2006

Kirby’s Block Ball (Game Boy) – Released May 13^th, 1996

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