April continues Microsoft’s impressive list of releases.
After years of watching the company flounder when it came to getting critically-acclaimed games out the door, the company is on the rampage.
Indiana Jones in December, Avowed in February, and now South of Midnight in March. We know Doom: The Dark Ages and Ninja Gaiden 4 are still coming, and rumors continue to mount of Xbox studio Bethesda releasing a remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, in the near future.
There are tons of games coming to new platforms, too. Microsoft’s Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5 both arrive on PlayStation 5. And from Sony, The Last of Us Part II Remastered hits PC, while Days Gone Remastered hits PlayStation 5 and PC.
Even without Microsoft’s releases and the collection of platform-hopping titles, there’s still a lot to look forward to this month, including the return of an old-school classic RPG series, a rogue-like puzzle game, and a French-developed role-playing game.
South of Midnight
Release Date: April 8
Platforms: PC (Steam), Xbox Series X/S
From the team behind We Happy Few comes South of Midnight, an action game set in the American Deep South.
As Hazel, a newly awakened Weaver, you’ll explore Southern folklore through mythic beasts and haunted bayous, mastering magical abilities to battle Haints and rescue your mother.
Blue Prince
Release Date: April 10
Platforms: PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
A rogue-like puzzle-solver sounds like the height of misery. A treadmill of puzzle solving? No thanks! And yet, Blue Prince is an intriguing idea for a game.
At the start of each run, you’ll build the Mt. Holly mansion room by room, solving the puzzle one room at a time and then deciding what kind of room—storeroom, hallway, or something else— comes next.
Each room is a new puzzle, each ‘run’ is a new house layout created by you.
Lunacid: Tears of the Moon
Release Date: April 12
Platforms: PC (Steam)
The days of the original PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Nintendo 64 are far enough back that we’re now in a nostalgia period for the unique, otherworldly look of those games, the same way we were with 8 and 16-bit games.
Lunacid, a dungeon-crawler RPG inspired by games like King’s Field, was a perfect example. Now, the team behind that game is taking it even more literally.
This sequel-spinoff is not only inspired by games of that time, but it’s also made using the tools of that time. This game was built in Sword of Moonlight, King’s Field’s development environment.
You can’t really get much more authentic than that.
Lushfoil Photography Sim
Release Date: April 15
Platforms: PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
We spend a lot of time shooting things in video games, and not nearly as much time shooting things. That is to say, taking photos.
Lushfoil Photography Sim from Annapurna Interactive lets you wander around a variety of locations around the world, built in stunning detail in Unreal Engine 5, taking photos.
There are, of course, goals to complete and secrets to find, but the primary goal is to have a chill time taking photos. The in-game camera mimics a real-life DSLR with all the settings you’d expect, but unlike real life, you can manipulate things like the angle of the sun and weather to get the perfect photo.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (PlayStation 5)
Release Date: April 17
Platforms: PlayStation 5 (and previous platforms, including PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X/S
Indiana Jones was a huge surprise when it hit in December. Expectations were reserved among many gamers–would it be just Uncharted with Indiana Jones? Would Troy Baker’s Harrison Ford feel like a pale imitation?
Instead, we found maybe the most authentic Indiana Jones story since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
It emphasized exploring, solving puzzles, and punching, not shooting, Nazis. Really, everything Indy is known for.
Now, four months later, this stellar game is coming to PlayStation 5 as perhaps the biggest game yet to make the leap from Xbox to PlayStation.
Lunar Remastered Collection
Release Date: April 18
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
For this writer, the Lunar games were a genuinely formative experience.
A fun RPG with voice acting and anime cutscenes? They’re a dime a dozen these days, with games featuring hundreds of hours of voice acting instead of dozens of minutes.
Even so, the Lunar games were a hallmark moment for Japanese RPG games, and we’re stoked to have it back on modern systems.
The remaster features spruced-up art (and the ability to switch between classic and remastered modes), all-new voice acting, the option to speed up battles, and more.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Release Date: April 24
Platforms: PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X/S
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a terrible title for a game.
It’s hard to remember and spell for English-speaking audiences, it doesn’t tell us much about what the game might be about (every game is a straightforward but obscure expedition when you think about it), and it has an unnecessary colon in the middle of the title.
Even so, we’re stoked that this French-developed RPG has a unique visual identity and setting, as well as a stellar voice cast featuring Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Jennifer English (Baldur’s Gate III), Ben Starr (Final Fantasy XVI), and Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings).
The positive previews suggest fun gameplay, but we can’t know for sure until we get our hands on it.
Ratatan
Release Date: April TBA
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Close your eyes and listen. RA-TA-TAN. RA-TA-TAN. Does the rhythm feel familiar?
If so, you probably enjoyed Patapon, the cult-classic rhythm game on the PlayStation Portable, released all the way back in 2007.
Ratatan is a spiritual successor in development by a team that includes members of the team behind Patapon.
The developer hasn’t set a firm date, but says we can expect the game in April. And thankfully, it’s coming out on a bunch of platforms, so it likely won’t become an absolute bear to find fifteen years from now.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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