Peter Triezenberg
Coming This Week, 12/17/18
Mysteries abound.
12.17.18 - 11:04 PM

Winter is the season of gift giving, and by the end of the month, your friends and loved ones will be enjoying all of the video games you bought them! If you're looking to pick up the latest and greatest games for your loved ones (who, of course, have the most refined taste in niche subgenres), then this latest installment of Coming This Week is for you. It's never too late to squeeze in some last-minute holiday shopping, after all. So let's get started!

Firewatch Nintendo Switch Screenshot

Firewatch - December 17th (Nintendo Switch)

Campo Santo's excellent adventure game Firewatch, originally released in 2016, is finally coming out on Nintendo Switch this week. It puts players into the boots of Henry, a fire lookout who is trying to escape a recent tragedy in his life. Over the course of the game, Henry communicates with fellow lookout Delilah and also battles his own paranoia as mysterious goings-on occur. If you'd like to learn more, read Robert Fenner's review.

London Detective Mysteria PlayStation 4 Screenshot

London Detective Mysteria - December 18th (PlayStation Vita, PC)

Coming to us from the good folks over at XSEED, London Detective Mysteria is an otome visual novel that whisks players away to 19th-century London, where they can solve mysteries and seduce/be seduced by famous literary characters. Sounds like a prime candidate for some good old-fashioned wish fulfillment, as players meet anime renditions of Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, and more. It's also nice to see the Vita get some love.

Nightshade Screenshot

Nightshade - December 20th (Nintendo Switch)

Another romantic visual novel, Nightshade comes to us from Red Entertainment, who are perhaps best known for the Sakura Taisen series. Only one of those games has made it to the West, so it's interesting to see another project of theirs come out over here! Anyways, Nightshade is set during the aftermath of the Sengoku period in feudal Japan, where the player is caught up in "a tale of conflicting loyalties" — and, of course, hot anime dudes.

Mana Spark Screenshots

Mana Spark - December 22nd (Nintendo Switch)

Lastly, we have Mana Spark, a top-down roguelite with elements lifted from the Souls series. The indie scene is definitely a crowded market for this sort of thing, but hey, if it ain't broke, why fix it? In this title from publisher QubicGames, players work their way through a randomly generated assortment of handcrafted rooms, fighting baddies along the way.

And that's a wrap for this week! As always, stay tuned to RPGFan for more coverage of your favorite RPGs.


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