RPGs Coming This Week, 8/4/24

Fields of Mistria (Entering Early Access) – August 5th (Windows)

Fields of Mistria is a cozy farm sim/RPG adventure in which you help a town rebuild, uncover magical secrets, and potentially find love along the way! I’m not exactly adept at this particular genre combination, but the colorful character designs and vibrant pixel graphics of Fields of Mistria are enough to pique my interest. The more information I uncover about the title, the more my curiosity deepens.

Fields of Mistria involves a fully customizable main character along with a farm homestead you can tailor to your preferences alongside activities such as farming, fishing, mining, and crafting. You can even raise animals while enjoying RPG adventuring mechanics to aid you in both battle and farming. There’s magic to be had outside and inside combat too! Fields of Mistria utilizes changing seasons to alter quests and provide new incentives to continue your adventuring. The game boasts over thirty memorable NPCs to interact with, some of whom you can even deepen your relationship with. Fields of Mistria enters Early Access this week, and I’m eagerly awaiting the full game release!

by Audra Bowling

Cat Quest III – August 8th (PS5, XSX, PS4, XB1, Switch, Windows)

I… am shocked I haven’t played the Cat Quest games yet. Seriously, these games aren’t just for kids, although they very much are good choices for young’uns. They’re action RPGs that we know certainly won’t break the bank or end up being timesinks. Most important: they’re flat-out the cutest games you’ll ever see. That’s the objective truth.

Cat Quest III is the latest entry in this seven-year-old franchise, and it’s about a lot more than simply sailing the high seas to purr-loin treasures. (Okay, I’ve expended the one cat pun I’m allowed to make.) There’s a heavy focus on exploration this time around, and local co-op is expected to return!

by Gio Castillo

Deathbound – August 8th (PS5, XSX, Windows)

Souls fans with a taste for agile builds may find something to enjoy in Deathbound, from Brazilian developer Trialforge Studio. It’s fast-paced as far as Souls-likes go, and the focus is on rapidly switching between four hero characters with unique skillsets. Mastering the combat involves learning how each character plays and synergizes with the others.

I like how they took the time to note the length, by the way; one playthrough is a roughly 20-hour experience, and there’s New Game+ for added value. Brevity is extremely important to me, so I very much favor that runtime.

by Gio Castillo

Moonless Moon – August 8th (Windows, macOS)

Moonless Moon is an indie visual novel based upon a scenario written by Kazuhide Oka. Players take on the role of Yomichi, a young woman living a relatively normal life, save that every evening she finds herself transported to different and wholly unique worlds. Despite the bizarreness of her circumstances, she manages to enjoy the time spent there, becoming friends with the worlds’ intriguing inhabitants. But is what she’s experiencing truly reality?  And does Yomichi even want to return to her everyday life?

Described as something of an interactive music video, this VN contains memorable music sequences and tracks by notable artists. There are also riddle puzzle segments to help you advance the story, along with different endings depending on the choices you make. Moonless Moon is an intriguing premise full of creative vision, and I’m eagerly looking forward to its release this week.

by Audra Bowling

SteamWorld Heist II – August 8th (PS5, XSX, Switch, Windows)

SteamWorld Heist II hits consoles this week, nine years after its predecessor and two months after shining as one of many indie stars during the Guerilla Collective Showcase 2024 in early June.

Players take on the role of Captain Quincy Leeway in this turn-based, side-scrolling, seafaring adventure. They will need to prepare their crew to explore the Great Sea and solve various problems throughout the world, the most pressing of which concerns the water used to power the steambots themselves.

How do you know we are looking forward to this indie gem? Our own Ben Love already has his review posted over at RPGFan’s main page. Ben notes that although the story initially presents a serious situation, the game itself remains in good humour throughout, with side characters and crewmates who do a good job of providing additional flavour to the world. Ben’s takeaway overall?

Heist II has shaken up the formula with a new and expanded setting and more in-depth class mechanics without losing the simplicity and accessibility that made the original so beloved.

Sounds like a pretty solid endorsement to me. If you have been interested at all in getting into the SteamWorld series, this might just be a great place to start.

by Kyle Cantelon

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Isekai Chronicles – August 8th (PS5, XSX, PS4, XB1, Switch, Windows)

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Isekai Chronicles is Bandai Namco’s latest anime spinoff, and one facet has my interest piqued—the city builder. I’m someone who deeply enjoyed similar mechanics in games like Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising and Dark Cloud, so I pretty much immediately took notice here. One of my favorite things in this hobby is when combat-focused games let you have productive downtime, and I know I’m definitely not alone on that front.

Isekai Chronicles is mostly a side-scroller action RPG that retells the anime (up to the fight against the Kingdom of Falmuth), but it does deliver two new stories from the original author, so fans won’t necessarily feel like they’re treading old ground.

by Gio Castillo

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic – August 8th (PS5, XSX, PS4, XB1, Switch, Windows)

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic intrigued me the minute I heard its premise: you play as a barista in a Tokyo cafe during the heyday of the COVID-19 pandemic, adjusting to the time period’s circumstances while making coffee beverages and interacting with customers who are just as unsure about their new pandemic reality. The patrons might even open up more depending on the beverages you create, allowing you to maybe uncover new scenes by choosing to stay open later than the guideline norms.

The game’s been designed to be newcomer-friendly to those who not familiar with the coffee-creating process, so everyone can enjoy the art of creating a great cup of coffee while tapping into a nostalgic tinge for a time that wasn’t too long ago, but somehow still feels like a lifetime ago, casting its characters through an empathetic lens. Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic admittedly had me curious with the mere mention of delicious coffee, but the premise promises that I might just come enjoy a cup when it releases.

by Audra Bowling

Bleak Faith: Forsaken – August 6th (PS5, XSX)

The Souls-like Bleak Faith: Forsaken is coming this week to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, more than a year after launching on PC.

by Gio Castillo

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team – August 9th (Switch)

Nintendo is bringing the Game Boy Advance game Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team to the Switch Online service. Note that you need to be on the Expansion Pack tier to access it!

by Gio Castillo