RPGs Coming This Week, November 1–7, 2026 – Ocarina of Cryme and Seven Other Tales

Crymelight – November 5th (PS5, Switch 2, Windows)

Something about the name Crymelight evokes cyberpunk or perhaps a John Grisham novel—but that couldn’t be further from the truth. At TGS this year, through my hands-on preview of Crymelight, I found it to be a very fluid blend of isometric roguelite action and an isekai visual novel based on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Progressing through random floors of the Queen of Heart’s rose gardens, battling slightly morbid variations of card knights, players collect and stack hands of cards providing passive buffs and abilities. There’re a number of familiar and fantastical Wonderland locations said to be in the game, hopefully with revelatory info on why a Japanese schoolgirl was reborn into an Alice-parallel death game.

by Matt Wardell

Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School – November 5th (PS5, XBX, Windows)

Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School takes the first-person adventure and puzzle solving of the original Escape Academy and massively expands the scope with its open world campus setting. Taking a page from The Witness by combining open-world exploration with the co-op puzzle solving of the first title seems like a logical evolution of the core concept. Our own Jerry Williams found the first game a fun diversion in co-op, if not all that compelling alone, so be sure to bring a friend if you want to give this head-scratcher a shot when it releases this week.

by Ben Love

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Remake) – November 5th (Switch 2)

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has long been hailed as one of, if not the, greatest games of all time, and Link’s N64 debut gets a major glow-up this week, 28 years since its original release. To say the gaming landscape — and Zelda series alike — has changed in that length of time is an understatement, so while speculation was rampant on if this would be a 1:1 remake or “re-imagining,” the end result is closer to the former, probably a good choice for such a revered title.

The added features seem like fun additions that don’t change the core experience: Fairy lore spots where Navi can share (worthwhile) information, expanded dialogue, the Hall of Fallen Foes is a trophy room-like space to learn about Link’s foes, and the tapestry interface of the Threads of Time pulls inspiration from Breath of the Wild with in-game quest tracker that can help remind you of your next objectives.

This new version of Ocarina of Time aims to capture the attention of the nostalgic crowd (hello it me), while also being a great way for newcomers to experience one of 3D gaming’s biggest pioneers. While I think the 1998 original — and 2011 3DS version — hold up nicely today, not everyone wants the low-poly experience, so a power washing, fresh coat of paint, and the sheen of freshly polished polygons are quite appealing.

But I’m not here to review the title (or am I?), so we’ll see what our reviewer links of Ocarina of Time‘s remake once we get our hands on it.

by Mike Salbato

Underkeep – November 5th (Windows)

Underkeep is a classic first-person dungeon-crawling RPG in the vein of genre progenitors like Ultima and Wizardry. Featuring classic turn-based combat and a user interface that takes up 70% of the screen, it’s a true throwback in all the best ways. The grid-based movement evokes Etrian Odyssey or Phantasy Star, though nice presentation flourishes like animated monster sprites and party character portraits add dynamism to combat and exploration. Unlike those classic titles, there is a nice auto-mapper that keeps track of your dungeon progress, including custom markers so you can denote suspicious areas that may hold secrets you want to return to later. Developer Rake in Grass has a long history of unique games in a wide variety of genres including shooters, action RPGs, and grand strategy titles, so this throwback to the genesis of computer RPGs is surely in good hands.

by Ben Love

The Slormancer – November 3rd (XBX) & November 5th (PS5, Switch)

In our “also coming this week” section, I love when we have prior coverage and reviews to draw from, but we didn’t actually review The Slormancer when it launched on Steam Early Access in 2021. Still, it looks like not only a fun time, but a heavily customizable one. In this dungeon crawler, you pick one of three classes to put a stop to the villainous Slormancer, who must have a huge PR and marketing budget to sell people on his evil-ness, because that name isn’t instilling a lot of terror alone.

Oh, sorry, back to the game. While three classes may seem like a small number for a game like this, each one has a huge number of abilities (over 200 in total). Combined with a wide variety of skills and weapons, there’s a ton of combinations and builds you can make. After four years in Early Access, The Slormancer hit 1.0 in spring 2025, and this week marks its console debut. Given its “Very Positive” reviews on Steam, even in a packed week like this one, it may be worth a look!

by Mike Salbato

ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies Director’s Cut – November 3rd (PS5, Switch 2)

The console version of ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies, now known as the Director’s Cut, releases on PlayStation 5 and Switch 2 this week. Unfortunately, this is after much of the studio was laid off in July, a cycle that fans are all too familiar with, considering this is the third mass layoff the studio has endured since the release of Disco Elysium. Although I was put off by ZERO PARADES‘ intense cynicism earlier this year, such dark emotions from the developers are certainly warranted.

by Ben Love

Kingdom of Night – November 5th (PS5, Switch, XB1, XBX)

Diablo meets Stranger Things ’80s action RPG Kingdom of Night releases on all major consoles this week. Our own Mark Roddison enjoyed Kingdom of Night when he reviewed it last year, and appreciated the dark atmosphere and nostalgic world-building, even if the game didn’t quite stick the landing. Another spooky RPG for (post-)October nonetheless!

by Ben Love

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Encore Edition – November 5th (Switch 2)

Perhaps no game capitalized as well on the nearly two-decades-long boom of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Our own Abe Kobylanski gave it an (inter)stellar review in 2021, praising its hilarious story, fun combat, and sharp visuals. The Switch 2 edition brings new outfits, updated teammate AI, and upgraded visual performance—so put that in your pocket and play it!

by Matt Wardell

Stellar Blade Complete Edition – November 5th (Switch 2)

The sleek and sexy Stellar Blade makes its Switch 2 debut, now bundled with over 120 outfits, gyro and mouse controls, and all the NieR: Automata, Nikke, and Bayonetta crossover DLC! In Des Miller’s 2024 review of the game, he praised the soundtrack, enemy design, and flashy combat, though he called the story lackluster. But hey, people who play Stellar Blade for the story are like people who read Matt Wardell’s articles for the ads! With 60 frames per second in docked and handheld mode, now you have a firm answer for when your friends ask: “Is that a Stellar Blade in your pocket?”

by Matt Wardell