RPGs Coming This Week, 4/14/24

On this edition of RPGs Coming This Week: an expansion to 2023’s biggest JRPG (er, depending on who you ask), and a diverse slate of indie titles with some sizable buzz behind them. Let’s get into it!

Dream Tactics – April 15th (Switch, Windows)

Dream Tactics is a cute GBA styled tactics RPG, with card combo based combat. You know that situation where you can’t sleep, and you end up viciously destroying your pillows in rage and frustration, spreading their insides throughout the room? No, just me? Well anyway Dream Tactics is kind of like that, except cosier, with cards and cute magical girls fighting literal pillows to save the Dream World. Think Fire Emblem meets Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.

by Claton Stevenson

Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide – April 18th (PS5)

Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide Screenshot

Final Fantasy XVI: Rising Tide DLC will soon answer all the questions of players who have completed the base game regarding the missing water Eikon, Leviathan. I think I’ve gushed enough about the game in the recent release announcement, and I’m happy to be in that same boat with Zach’s grand review of the base game.

If the first DLC, Echoes of the Fallen, felt too short for you or made you crave more lore, I’m delighted to share that Rising Tide will have ten hours of more in-depth content. This particular message from Square Enix also teases that the Eikon of Water isn’t the only power that Clive will encounter. Well, I’m more than ready to surf and conquer the tides!

by Tin Manuel

No Rest for the Wicked (Entering Early Access) – April 18th (Windows)

A screenshot of No Rest for the Wicked depicting a wounded woman clad in plate armour facing forward. Her arms are held to her sides by gauntleted hands, and the expression on her face is of tight-lipped rage, blood flecking the left corner of her jaw.

The award winning Moon Studios and publisher Private Division first revealed No Rest for the Wicked, an isometric action RPG, at the Game Awards 2023 and it hits Steam shelves this week for the first time.

According to its Steam page, Moon Studios (Ori and the Blind Forest) considers this to be, “our most ambitious game to date” and one that is “set to reinvent the genre.” Those are some seriously high expectations for any that have been tracking the games development.

So what can players expect? Our own Jerry Williams got a chance to preview the title in early March:

No Rest for the Wicked takes a page out of Path of the Exile’s book: you wake up on a dark, grey coastline among boat wreckage, collapsed forts, and ne’er-do-wells. Pretty soon, you realize that not even the crabs can be trifled with because the game demands careful stamina management, timed attacks, and acceptance that death is around every corner.

On a basic level, No Rest for the Wicked is competent: it controls well, has a unique artistic style, and has tough-as-nails balance that Dark Souls fans are sure to appreciate.

A soulslike with the endorsement of the great Jerry Williams? Colour us genre fans intrigued.

by Kyle Cantelon

Soul Covenant – April 18th (Meta Quest, Meta Quest 2, Sony PSVR 2)

Soul Covenant is notable this week if only because it’s not every week that we get to preview a VR game here at RPGFan.

Soul Covenant takes place in a near-future, desolate Japan where humanity engages in a fierce battle against the machines. Developer Thirdverse presents a “VR tactical action game as one that offers a high level of immersion,” as the player takes both the direct control and perspective of a protagonist that “takes on a battle for the fate of the world.”

While the VR experience seems to vary greatly from player-to-player, those that enjoy it could find some juice to this title. After all, this is the only medium that can offer a firsthand sci-fi inspired story, that focuses on the concept of death. From the trailers and Steam page it looks to have some quality graphics and unique aspects such as transformable weapons based on fallen comrades.

It will be interesting to track the progress of VR RPG’s over the next few years in gaming. Those that are already fans might benefit from checking this one out.

by Kyle Cantelon

Also Coming This Week

Dave the Diver – April 16th (PS5, PS4)

I’m happy to see that the underwater fishing slash sushi restaurant management addiction that I enjoyed a year ago on PC via Steam is finally arriving on my most-played brand of console! If you’re burned out from playing narrative-heavy RPGs, this is probably the time for you to try Dave the Diver. For PS+ subscribers, feel free to download the game as it becomes available when the monthly catalog lineup updates on April 16th.