This Week In Games Australia: As Ragnarok Looms, The Industry Takes A Breath

The storm clouds are gathering. God of War: Ragnarok, not out for another week yet, looms over the days ahead. As thunder rumbles and lightning flashes, the AA studios enjoy a moment of clear air — The Chant and Vertigo are the two launches to watch this week, with a slew of re-releases and retail launches thrown in for good measure. Here’s what you’ll be playing this week.

November 2

Bus Simulator: City Ride (NS)

We put a bus on your Switch, so you can drive a bus while you play your Switch on the bus.  

Mario Party and Mario Party 2 (NS)

Freshly added to the Nintendo Switch Online N64 collection. Don’t use your replica N64 controller for these ones. Real ones know exactly why.  

November 3

The Chant (PS5, XSX, PC, PS4, XBO)

The Chant is a game that feels like it might have a lot of Eternal Darkness‘ DNA in it. Psychological horror, an island made up of different biomes, and systems that unify your character’s mind, body, and spirit. I’m interested.  

Garfield: Lasagne Party (PS5, XSX, PC, PS4, XBO)

Ruby is very excited for this. She is the only person in the world who is. You know things are going great for a game when it’s announced with screenshots and no trailer.  

Iron Man VR (Quest)

The next best thing to building yourself a flying robot suit in a cave with a box of scraps. This one has been out on PSVR for a couple of years now. This will be its debut on the Meta Quest VR platform.  

WRC: Generations (PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)

The official game of the World Rally Championship is back, and, if you’re interested in racing games, I do recommend these. Rally is one of the most dangerous motorsport disciplines in the world and because of that, it is fun as hell.  

November 4

Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (PS5, XSX)

A narrative adventure game based on Alfred Hitchcock’s legendary film, Vertigo. If you’ve never seen the original film before, then I think Vertigo will work for you a great deal better than if you have. An interesting experiment, it’s been out on previous-gen platforms for about a year. It now arrives on current-gen systems.  

Bratz: Flaunt Your Fashion (PS4, NS)

Ruby tells me she wants to review this, which might be a first for Kotaku. Let us know if you want to see that.  

Death’s Door (PS5, NS)

Another retail launch, for those who prefer to collect physical copies. Brilliant game, please play it if you haven’t already.  

Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom (NS)

How would you like an extremely niche Japanese version of an already fairly niche Japanese series? The Doraemon x Story of Seasons crossover returns for with Friends of the Great Kingdom, a farming sim featuring characters from the beloved manga.  

Harvestella (PC, NS)

Harvestella is a JPRG with life sim elements. Start a town, build its agricultural infrastructure, and embark on away missions to obtain supplies that can help you grow further.  

It Takes Two (NS)

Another retail release for the collectors. Again, a great game, especially for couples. If you haven’t played it before, please give it a go.

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