RPGs Coming This Week, 9/15/24

Fera: The Sundered Tribes (Entering Early Access) – September 17th (Windows)

It feels like the industry has largely given up on Monster Hunter-likes. Remember Wild Hearts? Well, the servers are still up, but EA quickly gave up on adding new content. Dauntless is still going, but the player count’s a fraction of what it used to be. That MH itch is a tough one to scratch, but Fera: The Sundered Tribes may have the secret sauce to pull it off.

Early Access seems like a solid path to success—build up a following through a lower barrier to entry, work out the kinks, and… profit! Its visuals have this bright, cel-shaded aesthetic, and there feels like a sense of progression as your tribal village develops over time. All in all, there’s a ton going for Fera: The Sundered Tribes. It’ll be on Steam, but the trailer says it’s coming to the Epic Games Store, so those are the two platforms you’ll find it on so far.

by Gio Castillo

Flowstone Saga – September 17th 26th (Windows, macOS, Linux)

UPDATE, September 16th @ 9:34 pm: After we published this article, Impact Gameworks revealed a shift in release date due to a small approval issue on Steam. Flowstone Saga will now launch on September 26th. As noted in a Steam update, there was a minor issue — now addressed — with the “full controller support” label. To further clarify, the game is 100% controller-only compatible, and includes full Steam Deck compatibility. Our original post follows below.

If you’re like me, you know Flowstone Saga from it being a frequent sponsor of JRPG YouTubers. At this point, many of us just tune out games with “ad-core” vibes automatically, but I’m here to tell you this game is far from generic, dime-a-dozen shovelware. Flowstone Saga‘s an honest-to-god RPG that combines turn-based and real-time combat with Tetris, and it’s got plenty of life sim DNA to round it all out.

See, a Tetris-like minigame pops up during combat, and separately as a resource collection mechanic, which you’ll rely on to rebuild your town. And the turn-based combat is actually an optional mode that removes the time pressure; if you’re starting to get overwhelmed in battle, “Hold Mode” lets you manually control the pseudo-tetrominoes. I love the sound of that, but I also like to think I’m perfectly cromulent at Tetris, so I probably wouldn’t rely on that as much.

One last thing to know is that Flowstone Saga connects to the dungeon crawler/roguelike Tangledeep, with the developer being the same and all. If you’re a Tangledeep fan, this game should absolutely be on your radar.

by Gio Castillo

Keylocker – September 18th (PS5, XSX, Switch, Windows)

Oh, hey, another relatively unique JRPG concept. Keylocker is a rhythm JRPG from Moonana, the developer behind Virgo Versus the Zodiac, which makes total sense considering the quality soundtrack that game has.

Keylocker involves music in two ways—one being the short rhythm minigames that pop up during combat when executing skills, blocks, or parries, and the other in a Guitar Hero-esque rhythm game when you perform in front of your friends. Design-wise, the game takes inspiration from Chrono Trigger, especially in one key aspect: no random encounters, baby.

by Gio Castillo

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars – Reforged – September 19th (PS5, XSX, Switch, Windows, macOS, Linux)

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars – Reforged is a remaster of an acclaimed 1996 point-and-click adventure game from developer Revolution Software. Reforged will be the second major remaster of the first Broken Sword game following the 2009 Director’s Cut version, most notably released for Nintendo DS and Wii. This latest version takes a faithful and reverential approach, featuring subtle reanimation and recoloring of most of the visuals, whilst allowing players to easily switch to the graphics of the 1996 original.

Reforged follows American tourist George Stobbart and Parisian photojournalist Nico Collard as they chase after a deadly terroristic clown. George and Nico’s investigations lead them to travel the world, searching for answers to a much deeper mystery steeped in history.

Red Art Games is handling the physical publishing for this remaster for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

by Claton Stevenson

The Town of Nie – September 19th (Switch, Windows)

The Town of Nie is a visual novel with romantic undertones and fantastical elements. You play as Hisora, a young man working a variety of jobs. For plot reasons, he mysteriously winds up in a strange new world. What dangers await Hisora when death seems like a foreign concept and all manner of bizarre sights await? Will he survive long enough to find his way back home?

The Town of Nie‘s gorgeous artwork and interesting premise have enough potential to draw me in, and I’m hoping the complete project will be just as entertaining! We’ll have to wait and see for ourselves if the unsettling sights and intriguing characters awaiting Hisora are in fact worth the trip when The Town of Nie releases later this week.

by Audra Bowling

Just A To the Moon Series Beach Episode – September 20th (Windows)

Oh, nothing to see here, Just A To the Moon Series Beach Episode.

Sike! This is a game for fans of To the Moon, Finding Paradise, and Impostor Factory, a trilogy of tearjerkers by developer Freebird Games. Ostensibly, this is a “beach episode,” i.e., a lighthearted breather that’s light on the serious plot stuff. On Steam, the synopsis adds a very ominous-looking “Or is it?”, that makes me expect the opposite. Either way, expect beach times with the characters of those three games, at least at the start.

by Gio Castillo

Final Fantasy XVI – September 17th (Windows)

Final Fantasy XVI is coming this week to PC via Steam and EGS, a little over a year after launching on PS5. Our own Zach Wilkerson had a ton of love for the base game, and many positive things to say about the two DLC expansions, which come as part of the package here.

by Gio Castillo

Touhou Genso Wanderer: Foresight – September 18th (PS4, Switch)

The hardcore dungeon crawler Touhou Genso Wanderer: Foresight launches on PS4 and Switch this week after debuting on PC in May. These games have a growing cult following, so this could be your chance to hop on the bandwagon early.

by Gio Castillo

Moonless Moon – September 19th (Switch)

The stylish, music video-esque visual novel Moonless Moon is coming this week to Switch, about a month after launching on PC. Switch is really the platform to be on for adventure games, so good on you, Moonless Moon.

by Gio Castillo