RPGs Coming This Week, 5/18/25

Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer – May 20th (Windows, macOS, Linux)

Nine years and a director’s cut later, the point-and-click adventure game Kathy Rain is finally getting a sequel in Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer. This series has its fans among the staff, so the excitement’s been a tinge more palpable than usual, and I’m doubly inclined to do it justice. This time, our heroine attempts to solve the Soothsayer murders, perpetrated by a serial killer whose reputation is pushing the city of Kassidy to the brink. The stakes are immediately higher than the first game, and so is my interest.

The series is known for being inspired by Twin Peaks, which automatically earns it a ton of goodwill from me. Fitting with the serial killer theme, Kathy Rain 2 also takes cues from Se7en, which, as a David Fincher fan, intrigues me even more. I may or may not take up the developer’s recommendation to play the director’s cut first (check out Jono’s review, by the way), but those of us who’d rather jump in with the latest can get up to speed with this recap/explainer video.

by Gio Castillo

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time – May 21st (PS5, XSX, PS4, Switch, Windows)

Level-5’s had a rough go of it since the Yo-kai Watch fad ended, but 90% of what I’ve seen and heard of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time tells me it’s safe to be excited for the studio’s latest. I was never a huge fan of the original game thanks to its… long-winded parlance and somewhat thin gameplay, but I still happily whiled away many good hours tooling around with the different lives (the in-game term for job classes). The sequel seemingly fixes my issues by introducing so many new features, from New Horizons-style terraforming and town-building systems to a far more expansive open world that looks perfect for (online and local) co-op adventures.

It’s a good thing, then, that Fantasy Life i has expanded beyond the Nintendo Switch. Level-5 has smartly implemented cross-play and cross-save, hopefully making it so that playing with friends — the true highlight of the series — is as pain-free as possible. And we also just need as many people playing this game as we can, so it’s unambiguously good that it’s on multiple platforms (a Switch 2 version is coming later). Assuming Fantasy Life i ends up being as solid as it looks, expect me to sing its praises for quite some time.

by Gio Castillo

Monster Train 2 – May 21st (PS5, XSX, Switch, Windows)

Here’s a frightening thought: Monster Train 2 could actually be more addictive than its predecessor, which our own Jerry Williams foresaw himself spending another 100 hours on. I’m not remotely familiar with the roguelike deckbuilder scene, but I understand Monster Train has been up there in terms of reputation, and I can see why. It’s intricate, possibly even more so than the gold standard Slay the Spire, and it actually has multiplayer out of the box. This is a bit different but maybe familiar to fans: I’ve poured dozens of hours into Blue Prince because I adore its depth and have a love-hate relationship with the RNG.

Monster Train 2 ramps up the complexity by introducing new clans, card types (more than 200 new cards in all), and modes. That’s largely it, and probably all you really need? Why fix what isn’t broken and all that. If you aren’t on board yet, you may wish to check out the demo on Steam.

by Gio Castillo

Blades of Fire – May 22nd (PS5, XSX, Windows)

Blades of Fire, the newest game from Spanish developer MercurySteam (Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Metroid Dread) can best be described as a hybrid of Dark Souls and God of War. It has the challenging combat of a Souls-like, an epic dark fantasy setting, and most importantly, a unique take on an RPG crafting system. Players will take on the role of Aran, a warrior possessing an artifact that enables him to create steel in a world where an evil queen has turned all steel into stone.

As one might have gleaned from the title, Blades of Fire focuses on crafting unique weapons to overcome brutal challenges. The build and stats of the player’s weapons are far more critical than base character stats. Players can design every aspect of the weapons they create, and after the design is complete, the actual forging begins. This is done via an intricate minigame system that determines the ultimate quality of the weapon. If you’ve ever dreamed of roleplaying as a brutal warrior who doubles as a blacksmith (and come on, who hasn’t?), then Blades of Fire could be a standout game for you in 2025.

by Jimmy Turner

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon (Exiting Early Access) – May 23rd (PS5, XSX, Windows)

With Oblivion Remastered taking up a ton of mindshare lately, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon has invited comparisons. Developer Questline certainly makes no secret of its influences, describing the game as a love letter to open-world first-person RPGs. So the Elder Scrolls influence is there, but the Tainted Grail franchise differentiates itself by being themed around the Arthurian mythos, which remains weirdly underexplored in my view (shoutout to the King Arthur games for leading the way). Yes, franchise, because Tainted Grail began as a board game and has also spawned a tabletop RPG.

Fall of Avalon is finally graduating from early access after six years, and it’s bringing around 50 to 70 hours of content, with a branching main quest and 200(!) side quests. It’s got an expansive world comprising three zones and populated by 250 unique, fully voice-acted NPCs. There are over 70 dungeons to explore too. What else is there to say, but damn?

by Gio Castillo

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker – May 20th (PS5, PS4, XSX, XB1, Switch, Windows)

Sea of Stars‘ free Throes of the Watchmaker DLC is coming this week, marking the official “end-of-life” for Sabotage Studio’s acclaimed throwback RPG. Check out our glowing review of the base game, courtesy of Caitlin Argyros.

by Gio Castillo

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate – May 20th (PS5, PS4)

Action roguelike Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is coming to PlayStation, after launching in 2023 for Apple Arcade and landing on Switch and PC the following year. Our own Abe Kobylanski reviewed the Switch release. Note that Splintered Fate is also heading to Xbox on June 20th.

by Gio Castillo

Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness – May 22nd (Switch)

Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness‘s MSX version is coming to Switch as part of the Eggconsole series of Japanese PC ports. A number of old RPGs have made their way to modern hardware this way, including Ys: The Vanished Omens, aka Ys I.

by Gio Castillo