Gaming News Week 13

Come on in, get yourself a nice cup of coffee or tea and pull up a chair.

Over here, I can hardly believe that during the Summer, we will be complaining about water shortages….it’s raining. And I mean a lot. Has rained all week nonstop. So walking the dogs is no fun, but at least they seem to like it!
Anyway, let me give you the news that caught my eye this week; enjoy!

Little Friends: Puppy Island

I don’t know if my little Sammy would approve, but the pups in this upcoming adventure look very good. Puppy Island will be the next game in the little friends series, coming to the Nintendo Switch and PC this Summer.

The game will have Shibas, Labradors, Corgis, Huskies, Pugs and more: 9 unique puppy breeds to find and adopt across a diverse paradise island. One thing I never do to Sammy but will be fun in the game, is to dress up your puppies with over 350 outfits and accessories and explore sandy beaches, snowy mountains, cherry blossom sanctuaries and more on a wholesome island adventure. You will be able to construct accessory shops and activity stations and train your puppies to become the ultimate pup stars, levelling up their stats in obedience, agility, friendliness and more. Care for your puppies by bathing, brushing, feeding, walking and playing with them.

Tin Hearts is Getting Close

The launch of Tin Hearts, an immersive puzzle adventure game, is getting close. On April 20th it will be released on the Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, and the Xbox family of consoles. Tin Hearts is from members of the team that brought us Fable.

In the game, you will guide a troop of mischievous tin soldiers through a magical toy-filled world using a variety of whimsical and inventive contraptions to bounce, shoot and glide them to their goal. March through 40+ levels of time-bending, soldier-routing riddles, forge new paths for your toys to follow, and solve increasingly elaborate puzzles to unravel the emotional, thought-provoking story, of Albert J. Butterworth, a genius inventor of Victorian times.

We are looking forward to it!

City Builder Grimgrad

As you know we love our city builders, and a new one by developer Juvty World called Grimgrad is on our radar. They plan to release Grimgrad on Steam on April 5th. This city-building simulator game is in the setting of the ancient Slavs. You will fight pestilence, mud, hunger and other hardships of medieval life, trying to propitiate the Gods and other heroes of Slavic folklore. Stay tuned for our thoughts on the game.

All Aboard! Railways – Train Simulator

Minimalist puzzle simulator with a bit of strategy added to it, Railways: Train Simulator, is out this past week on Steam. A game that we gave our highest score when it was released on the Switch this past Summer. Paula wrote in her conclusion:

Railway – Train Simulator is a brilliant pick-up and play puzzle game. It has all the right ingredients on the tracks to give you hours of enjoyment. After all, who doesn’t like to play with trains, no matter your age? So if you like your puzzle games, I recommend you try Railway – Train Simulator. Now, step aside and mind the gap, all aboard as the fun train leaves the station!

And don’t forget we have a giveaway running for a Steam code that ends on April 3rd! Here are the specifics.

Fabledom Early Access

Once upon a Village… Set in a wholesome fairytale world, Fabledom is the ideal laid-back City builder. Enjoy the growth of your settlement, trade and use diplomacy to ally or challenge your neighbours, and most importantly, find yourself a prince or princess and live happily ever after!

Since Paula wrote down her thoughts on the demo in February, the time has now come for Fabledom to enter Early Access on Steam. You can start making your own fairytale from April 13.

https://twitter.com/GrenaaGames/status/1641160605842194448?s=20

Hello Kitty and Friends Happiness Parade

On April 13, Hello Kitty and Friends Happiness Parade is launching on the Nintendo Switch. Now there’s a game you can get happy over just by looking at it! Watch the world’s most popular girl and her ten iconic Sanrio friends, like Kerokerokeroppi, Badtz-Maru, Pompompurin and more, march to the tunes in a super colourful universe.

In Hello Kitty and Friends Happiness Parade, you can dress up your favourite character with all kinds of accessories. Earn happiness points and collect character cards to level up and upgrade unique abilities. Complete challenges for extra rewards as well. The game will include 23 different levels, and you can enjoy over 40 catchy tunes, including 20 new tracks curated exclusively for the Switch.

Cassette Beasts Monster Collecting

Well, I’m of the generation that had a cassette in their walkman to listen to music, but in this game, Cassette Beasts, they use them very differently. This game certainly puts a unique spin on monster-collector RPG adventures.

On the remote island of New Wirral, people can use cassette tapes to transform into strange creatures and battle. You’ll need to explore the island and record a menagerie of mighty monsters on your trusty cassette tapes to gain their abilities and find a way home.

You can discover over 100 awesome monsters to collect and transform into during turn-based battles. You can even combine two creatures together to make powerful new forms with shared elemental types, stats, and move sets using Cassette Beasts’ Fusion System! Some of your opponents have this ability, too, so you’ll need to get creative to win.

Sounds interesting right? Cassette Beasts is coming to Steam, the Microsoft Store and PC Game Pass on April 26, 2023. It will arrive later this spring on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass. You can find more info about the game here.

HRO: Adventures of a Humanoid Resources Officer

Another game that’s on our radar is a puzzle-driven visual novel set in a retro-futuristic sci-fi universe. Gave me instant Star Trek vibes looking at the trailer, but with a humorous twist!

You play the under-appreciated Humanoid Resources Officer aboard the Endeavor — a military spaceship with more than its fair share of crew rivalries, office politics, and erratic decision-makers. When the Endeavor stumbles into universe-shaking trouble, can you harness the power of the bureaucracy to rein in your crew’s worst impulses and survive to the next episode?

Certainly sounds interesting, and it’s expected on Steam on May 21st of 2023, more info here.