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New Game Releases 07/21/26 – 07/27/26

Andy Tuttle

Top Releases:

To say that the Nintendo Switch is dominating the Summer is probably an accurate statement. While there have certainly been big releases on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, but most of those also came out on Switch. With this week’s Splatoon Raiders, Nintendo is putting out their third major release in two months (following Star Fox and Rhythm Heaven Groove), and if we count Memorial Day as part of the Summer, then we count it as the fourth, thanks to the release of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. Suffice to say, Nintendo is, once again, having a heck of a year.

Now, most of us are probably familiar with the Splatoon games, a franchise built on competitive online multiplayer matches that put a somewhat family friendly spin on the arena shooter. With Splatoon Raiders, Nintendo is taking the franchise to the single player realm, fully, with players moving through a story based campaign instead of mindlessly gunning down other players online. That isn’t to say that you can not play this game online, you can, with up to four players taking part in the game’s campaign through a co-op mode. Players familiar with Splatoon’s various single player modes should find the game familiar, while those who have ignored the franchise in the past because of it’s online gameplay now have the opportunity to experience the world for the first time.

Splatoon Raiders (Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 23rd

Developed by: Nintendo EPD
Published by: Nintendo

It isn’t all Splatoon this week, though. Fans of fighting games and 2000’s animation should look forward to Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game, musou fans should pick up Disgaea Mayhem, and nerds should check out High Times.

Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game (PC/PS5/Switch 2/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 23rd

Developed by: Gameplay Group International
Published by: PM Studios Inc./Skydance Games

Disgaea Mayhem (PC/PS5/Switch/Switch 2) – Releases Jul. 23rd

Developed by: Nippon Ichi Software
Published by: NIS America

High Times (PC/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 23rd

Developed by: Yangyang Mobile
Published by: Yangyang Mobile

Everything else:

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

Games:

In notable games, 2016 saw the release of the indie title Human: Fall Flat, a puzzle platformer in which players guide their little featureless human through a series of increasingly difficult levels. Developed by one guy from Lithuania names Tomas Sakalauskas, Human: Fall Flat was initially supposed to be a Limbo style side scroller. Instead, Tomas found that, in watching his son play test the game, the real joy of his game came with experimentation using the physics engine he had built.

Instead of trying to reach the end of the level, Tomas’ son would instead mess around with various objects and attempt to make the character do outlandish things. With this pivot to a puzzle platformer style of game, Tomas put a prototype on itch.io, where it became a big deal in the “Let’s Play” community. With millions of people now seeing his game, Tomas put together a version for Steam where it would become a smash hit.

Despite mixed review from critics, Human: Fall Flat would sell almost five million copies by the end of 2018. To date, the game has sold over 55 million copies across all platforms, which now include Android, iOS, PS4, PS5, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and the defunct Stadia streaming service. This has put Human: Fall Flat into the rare pantheon of all-time best selling games, #11 in fact, just below the original Super Mario Bros. and above other major titles like The Sims, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossin: New Horizons, and Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow. I assume you all have a copy, right?

From 2006, we have the game CivCity: Rome. Developed by Firaxis, CivCity is, basically, a mash-up of two games; the 1992 city builder Caesar, and Firaxis’ own hit franchise, Civilization. In CivCity, players build and manage multiple cities in the Roman Empire, placing buildings and ensuring that citizens have access to essential commodities. In the game’s campaign mode, players begin by taking care of a city that mines & exports stone. Once a specific goal has been met they are tasked with overseeing other cities, each with their own set of goals and milestones. Half way through the campaign, players are able to choose the military path or the peace path. Each one presents a different set of goals, with it being understood that the military path contains easier goals to accomplish but with the threat of a potential invasion from enemy armies.

CivCity: Rome was not well received by critics and, unlike Human: Fall Flat, there was no online community to help the game reach a broader audience. With monotonous gameplay and a slew of bugs (including a game breaking bug in which workers will not, well, work), CivCity: Rome just couldn’t find an audience and it was quickly forgotten. You can, however, still get a copy on Steam or GOG, if that so pleases you.

From 1996, we have the action/RPG The Legend of Oasis, released on the Sega Saturn and developed by the Japanese studio Ancient. The game is a precursor to the Genesis title, Beyond Oasis, which was Sega’s attempt at having a Zelda-style franchise of their own. Known as The Story of Thor 2 in Japan and Thor: Chronicles of the Elemental King in Europe, the gameplay in Oasis was, like its predecessor, similar to that of The Legend of Zelda, though with a few more RPG elements.

Being released for the Saturn, Oasis immediately had a hard time reaching players. However, critics noted that people weren’t missing much. It was, however, seen as one of the few titles that owners of the Saturn SHOULD have, if only because it was so similar to Zelda that, if that was the only console you owned, it was at least comparable to something good.

While Beyond Oasis as been ported to many modern consoles over the years, The Legend of Oasis is still locked to the Saturn, making it difficult to find and play. Fun fact, I was just in a retro video game store the day before writing this and saw a copy; it was nearly $200 bucks. The series, as a whole, ended here, with Ancient moving on to other titles, including Sega’s attempt at Pokémon, the GameCube game Amazing Island.

Movies:

In notable movies, 2016 gave us the much loved and certainly not at all controversial Ghostbusters; oh wait, I’m sorry, it was incredibly divisive in its reception and led to extreme controversy. Now, the film itself is not controversial, it is a light-hearted comedy that takes themes from the original Ghostbusters films and brings it into the modern day, with an all-female cast. This shouldn’t, like, be the cause of any controversy, right? Wrong! The biggest point of contention amongst the “men of the internet” was, of course, the all-female cast. For whatever reason, having no male Ghostbusters made this a “mockery” or “bastardization” of the “beloved” franchise because now Ghostbusters was, I hate to say it folks, WOKE!

I’m getting a fucking headache just thinking about all of the stuff we had to hear about this movie ten years ago, all the whining and the hand wringing and the inevitable backlash to the backlash (in which if you DIDN’T love the new Ghostbusters then you were a right wing chud), and then the backlash to the backlash to the backlash (in which you were an asshole if you demanded people like the movie, even though it’s not that good, and you don’t have to be a chud to dislike it, but you were probably still a chud, so fuck you). ENOUGH! Ghostbusters (2016) is a perfectly fine movie that deserves little of the anger it got, and also does not deserve nearly as much praise as it got.

Lest you forget, Summer 2016 was full-on Hillary vs. Trump for the United States Presidency, i.e., the end of the world/beginning of the new world (with each side thinking the other would literally destroy democracy and the planet). We had fucking “Pokémon go to the polls” on Hillary’s side, and Trump’s dickhead sycophants trying to say that women were destroying all the cool things boys liked (video games, movies, etc.). It’s a world we STILL live in today, one where you are constantly being asked to DEFEND YOUR STANCE AND PICK YOUR SIDE on the most asinine things, like what video games to play, what fast food restaurants to eat at, what sports teams to support, and on and on and on. Is one side clearly worse than the other side? Yes, absolutely (it’s the Trump side), but my god, I can’t keep being asked to do this for every new Korean boy band that comes out.

The people that run these mega corporations that own everything know exactly what buttons to push to make you froth at the mouth and scream in agony and anger over what the second assistant director said about Israel to ensure that you either do or do not go see the brand new Illumination movie about a family of farting pigs who become rappers after they turn their chronic flatulence into beats. They know this and we, gleefully, play along for some reason; why?

Ghostbusters made $65 million on its opening weekend and came in second behind the holdover film, The Secret Life of Pets. It would eventually gross $229 million, worldwide, which seems like a lot, but would end up losing over $70 million due to marketing and other costs. It’s an okay movie.

From 2006, we have the film Little Miss Sunshine, a movie that we are allowed to just enjoy without any kind of culture war baggage attached to it. In this film, a family embark on a road trip so that their youngest daughter can take part in a beauty pageant. Filmed on a budget of only $8 million, Little Miss Sunshine would go on to gross over $100 million at the box office and earn four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress (for Abigail Breslin). It would go on to win Best Supporting Actor (for Alan Arkin) and Best Original Screenplay (for Michael Arndt, on his first produced screenplay).

On top of its Oscar nominations & wins, it would also receive multiple awards and nods from other organizations, including American Cinema Editors, the American Film Institute, the BAFTA’s, the Cesar’s, the Costume Designers Guild, the Directors Guild, GLAAD, the Golden Globes, the Gotham Awards, the Grammy’s, the Irish Film Awards, the MTV Movie Awards, the National Board of Review, the Producers Guild of America, the Satellite Awards, the SAG Awards, Women’s Image Network, and the Writers Guild of America. In total, it would receive 16 awards.

Despite the success, a sequel was not produced (because not everything needs a sequel, okay!), but it did help boost the profile of each of the actors involved, probably the most for Alan Arkin after his Oscar win. Oscar winning screenwriter Michael Arndt would see his profile rise, as well, going on to write or co-write Toy Story 3, Oblivion, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris would kind of stick to the indie scene, putting on the films Ruby Sparks and Battle of the Sexes, before pivoting to television with Living With Yourself, Fleishman Is In Trouble, and Stick.

From 1996, we have another indie smash hit, Trainspotting, director Danny Boyle’s breakthrough film. A wild, fever dream of a film, Trainspotting follows the daily lives of a group of young heroin addicts in Edinburgh, Scotland. A gut wrenching film full of bizarre visuals and a frantic, dizzying pace, Trainspotting was part of a renaissance of independent films that took over cineplexes in the 1990’s.

As far as accolades go, Trainspotting received one Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay (losing to Sling Blade), and would receive two BAFTA nominations (Best British Film and Best Adapted Screenplay). In the ensuing years, Trainspotting has become a cultural touchstone for Scotland and British culture in general, often being cited as one of the best and most important British films of all-time. Director Danny Boyle would get offers to direct big budget Hollywood films (including Alien Resurrection), but would turn them down to continue making smaller features. Boyle would eventually find further Oscar success with his films Slumdog Millionaire in 2008, and 127 Hours in 2010. A sequel film, T2: Trainspotting would arrive in 2017, which was well received but does not seem to hold the same cultural significance as Trainspotting.

Albums:

In notable albums, 2016 gave us rapper Schoolboy Q’s fourth record, Blank Face LP. Having contemplated retirement following the release of his previous effort, 2014’s Oxymoron, in an effort to spend more time with his family, Q instead built a home studio. Now, able to work and live at home, Q was able to continue making music while having a stable family life.

Blank Face LP was a critical and commercial smash when it released, debuting at #2 on the Billboard Top 200, and was hailed as one of the best albums of 2016 by multiple outlets. At the Grammy’s, it received a nod for Best Rap Album (losing to Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book), while the hit single “That Part” was nominated for Best Rap Performance (losing to Chance the Rapper’s “No Problem”). “That Part” was a big hit on US radio and streaming, reaching #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified double platinum.

From 2006, we have another rap album, In My Mind by Pharrell Williams. While the rapper/singer had already established himself in the music industry as a producer with the Neptunes and performer with his group N.E.R.D., this was his first time setting off under his own name, a make it or break it moment. Luckily, for Pharrell, his album was a commercial success, debuting at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album (losing to Ludacris’ Release Therapy), despite not really getting much love from critics.

With a reputation as a hit maker, it shouldn’t be a surprise that In My Mind produced four of them for Pharrell, “Can I Have It Like That” (with Gwen Stefani), “Angel”, “Number One” (with Kanye West), and “That Girl” (with Snoop Dogg). Despite the success of In My Mind, Pharrell kind of saw the writing on the wall when it came to the music industry and spent the majority of his time working on singles, both for himself and other artists. He would release one more solo studio album, Girl, in 2014, and three further albums with N.E.R.D. in 2008, 2010, and 2017.

Closing things out this week, from 1996, we have Tidal, the debut album from singer/songwriter Fiona Apple. Like Jewel, Lisa Loeb, Alanis Morrissette, Tori Amos, and several other successful female artists in the 1990’s, several girls in my high school wanted to become guitar and/or piano playing musicians because of Fiona Apple.

A major critical success, Tidal took some time to really catch on with listeners, as it did not debut high on the Billboard Top 200 (in fact, I have no idea what it charted because Billboard will not let you see old charts without paying for a pricey subscription). The album would, however, peak at #15 on the Billboard Top 200 in September of 1997 and spend an astonishing 91 weeks on the chart.

This was thanks in large part to the hit single “Criminal”, which peaked at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave us one of the most talked about and provocative music videos of the 1990’s. While the album itself would not receive any Grammy nominations, Fiona Apple would get a nod for Best New Artist (losing to Paula Cole, who also beat Erykah Badu, Hanson, and Puff Daddy), while “Criminal” would get a nod for Best Rock Song (losing to “One Headlight” by The Wallflowers), and win the award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance (beating Meridith Brooks “Bitch”, Ani DiFranco’s “Shy”, Abra Moore’s “Four Leaf Clover”, and Patti Smith’s “1959”).

On top of the Grammy nomination and win for “Criminal”, the song was also nominated at the 1998 MTV Video Music awards, losing Best Female Video to Madonna’s “Ray of Light”, but winning Best Cinematography. VH1 honored “Criminal” with the award for Most Stylish Music Video, which is something, I guess. Despite all the accolades and praise, Fiona Apple would kind of retreat from the limelight, famously telling the audience at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards that the industry was, basically, fake.

Her famous line “This world is bullshit” was met with jeers by the audience, and pretty much ended Apple’s mainstream career (and probably lost her the award for “Criminal” the following year). I don’t think she minded much, though, as her subsequent releases would still find huge audiences, receive multiple accolades and, I’m sure, fulfill her creatively.

Human: Fall Flat (PC) – Released Jul. 22nd, 2016

Notable Film Release: Ghostbusters – Starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, and Neil Casey
Click here to watch the trailer
Notable Album Release: Schoolboy Q – Blank Face LP
Click here to listen to the album

CivCity: Rome (PC) – Released Jul. 24th, 2006

Notable Film Release: Little Miss Sunshine – Starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin
Click here to watch the trailer
Notable Album Release: Pharrell – In My Mind
Click here to listen to the album

The Legend of Oasis (Saturn) – Released Jul. 31st, 1996

Notable Film Release: Trainspotting – Starring Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, and Kelly Macdonald
Click here to watch the trailer
Notable Album Release: Fiona Apple – Tidal
Click here to listen to album

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