If you aren’t still playing one of the many games that released last week, I have good news for you: We have plenty more RPGs coming this week. But let’s be honest, we all have backlogs, and most of us add to it regardless.
I know several people who are enjoying last month’s King’s Field-inspired Queen’s Domain (look for our review soon!), and this week brings us Night Cart: The Immortal Plague, another title with a first-person retro presentation that evokes From’s venerable series. With horses! Meanwhile, One Fenix Down checks this week’s box for a great-looking 16-bit-styled RPG, with Annihilated giving us our roguelike dungeon diving fix for the week.
Finally, Hard West 2 and RPGFan’s 2024 Game of the Year, Metaphor: ReFantazio come to new platforms. Personally, I have more progress to make in Ocarina of Time, but once again, we do have some promising titles on the immediate horizon! Maybe next week will be a bit lighter…
Intro by Mike Salbato
Night Cart: The Immortal Plague – November 9th (Windows, macOS, Linux)
Giddyup! Just in time for Halloween, developer Bearded Giant Games kicks Night Cart: The Immortal Plague into motion. The game is a first-person ride through a plague-ridden Transylvania in 1619 that sees you transporting Nera, a mysterious plague doctor, across the countryside and through various hamlets, hills, and cathedrals. Players must choose when to stop and get off the beaten track to explore and forage for supplies—which could mean a run-in with a slew of gothic monstrosities. Night Cart: The Immortal Plague looks to be a challenging love letter to FromSoftware action RPGs of yore, with the game’s Steam page citing Shadow Tower, Eternal Ring, and, of course, King’s Field as inspirations. I suppose Cart Souls would have been a little too on-the-nose of a title.
by Matt Wardell
One Fenix Down – November 9th (Windows)
One Fenix Down is an indie RPG inspired by the 16-bit era. Following a horrific war, a kingdom now lives in tentative peace. When monsters attack the mines where those who can’t fight are forced into hard labor, a young man chooses to face his destiny and the possibility of redemption. Spurred on by a mysterious voice only he hears, he’ll require staunch allies with their own motivations. Hopefully he’ll succeed in his quest and bring true lasting peace to the realm.
One Fenix Down boasts over forty hours of gameplay, featuring turn-based combat that is intended to cater to RPG newcomers and ardent fans alike. While the graphics and visual designs brilliantly bring to mind RPGs of yore, the soundtrack also evokes nostalgic tunes and even includes guest vocals by the legendary Emi Evans. I have been been curious about One Fenix Down for a while, and I’m looking forward to discovering whether it can indeed pay homage to the classics while standing on its own when it launches on Windows later this week!
by Audra Bowling
Annihilated – November 10th (Windows)
Annihilated is an indie roguelite RPG centered on a hero’s party journeying into the depths. You play as the sole survivor of a rescue party sent after the hero’s group failed to return from exploring a cursed dungeon. Each member of the original party has lost something integral to who they are, and you can only choose one of them to rescue. But what exactly happened to the adventuring group in the first place, and will you even survive the treacherous journey back?
In Annihilated‘s turn-based card battles, enemies show their hand right before their turn, allowing you to strategize with your movesets and chosen partner character. Meanwhile, weapons are at their strongest when they’re about to break, and broken items give you a means to challenge poor outcomes. The bond that forms between you and your partner character depends on your reactions, making each foray into the game’s story a self-contained tale in and of itself. Annihilated looks to be a promising and creative roguelite when it releases later this week!
by Audra Bowling
Also Coming This Week
Hard West 2 – November 10th (PS5, XBX)
Look, I know we’re all thinking it: Harder West would have been a killer title, but we’re long past the original Windows release of Hard West 2 in 2022. The two Hard West titles have thus far been very solid turn-based tactics RPGs (think XCOM: Enemy Unknown or the recent Star Wars: Zero Company) with Wild West settings made all the more wild by supernatural elements. Hard West 2 revolve(r)s around a botched train robbery of a gold-loaded “Ghost Train” that turns out to be more ghostly than your outlaw posse bargained for. Back on the PC, RPGFan’s Jerry Williams said Hard West 2 was a fun time, when it wasn’t bogged down by some cheap difficulty spikes. Lootin’, shootin’, and witchcraft? Darn tootin’!
by Matt Wardell
Metaphor: ReFantazio – November 12th (Switch 2)
Metaphor: ReFantazio took much of the RPG community by storm when it initially released and our very own Zek Lu had several positives to note about it in his review of the PS5 version, so even more RPG fans getting the chance to try out this dark epic fantasy adventure on yet another console when it releases on Switch 2 this week is a plus in my book!
by Audra Bowling
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