Weekend Announcements January 11th-13th: Dark Devotion, Skorecery and More

By Rebecca Smith,

There are seven new titles that appeared over the weekend, and as it's our job to make sure you didn't miss any of them, you can find a bit about each of them below. Take a look at the list and see if there's anything you fancy.

Attack of the Earthlings

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: Soon

Team Junkfish has teamed up with Wales Interactive to bring their combination of turn-based combat and stealth to Xbox One. Players take control of the Swarmers, a "highly aggressive insectoid species". They want to expand their army and stop the invasion of the Galactoil Corporation, but the only way that will happen is to kill and eat humans for their biomass. With more biomass, ordinary grunt units can be upgraded into specialised units with different roles and abilities. Use stealth to surprise enemies, or use brute strength to overpower them — the choice is yours.

Cake Bash

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: 2019

High Tea Frog's party title is an arena brawler with a bit of a twist. Instead of the objective being to take out your opponents using any means necessary, your main aim is to become the tastiest cake instead. Chocolate, jelly beans, and plenty of other sweet treats will rain down from the sky and you'll need to make sure you're there to catch them, but your opponents will also be trying to stop you. Belt each other with lollipops, push each other into sticky spills, and make sure to avoid the hungry pigeon that doesn't discriminate. The game will come with a variety of game modes and arenas, each with their own hazards to avoid.

Dark Devotion

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: Q1 2019

Hibernian Workshop and The Arcade Crew are bringing their "sidescrolling action RPG depicting a society’s commitment to a macabre religion" to test players in a land filled with danger and dread. Inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, and French gothic architecture, the grim world encourages players to explore the temple and prove they're worthy of an allegiance to the Dark Devotion’s divine designer. The journey won't be easy, and there are traps aplenty to thwart your quest. Will your suffering be worth it?

Hyper Jam

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: February 12th, 2019

Bit Dragon's "arena brawler" pits up to four players against each other in '80s-inspired arenas full of environmental hazards to be avoided. There will be a variety of weapons to use, such as katanas and rocket launchers, as well as perks that can be applied between each round. The perks persist through the match with the loser getting first pick and the winner getting what's left with the aim being to create as level a playing field as possible. The winner is the person who hits the score limit and survives a full round — it isn't just as simple as killing people as many times as possible. The title will be priced at US$14.99 when it arrives next month.

Skorecery

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: February 5th, 2019

GrappleHook Games' "mystical arcade sportslike" combines the sort of gameplay found in arcade classics such as Pong and Breakout with that more often found in "platform fighters". By using spells with a variety of different effects, and mastering precision controls, players will destroy the Runes of their opponents while making sure that their's stay intact. Unsurprisingly, the player with the most runes at the end of the match is declared the winner. Match rules can be customised to alter the arena layout, player abilities, and ball physics. There will be four different modes to try out when the game is released exclusively on PS4 next month.

War Tech Fighters

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: Q2 2019

Drakkar Dev and Blowfish Studios have joined forces to create a "sci-fi mech action" title set after a devastating war. The Hebos and Ares colonies have been overwhelmed by the Zatros empire, yet they still fight for survival in customisable mechs known as War Tech. Players must choose their mech class before customising it from a choice of over 180 different parts, and thousands of cosmetic choices. Led by Captain Nathan Romanis, players will take on 33 missions as they reclaim their planet. There will also be training modes, challenges and a Survival mode to try. Console players will exclusively receive the Archangel War Tech special set that includes the Glory Sword, Redemption Halberd, and Faith Shield, all of which will be available from the start of the game.

Xeno Crisis

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: 2019

Bitmap Bureau's latest title isn't just coming to PlayStation 4 — it's also arriving on Dreamcast, Mega Drive/Genesis, and even Neo Geo. Inspired by games like Smash TV, Contra, Mercs, Granada, Alien Syndrome, Zombies Ate My Neighbours, Chaos Engine, and Shock Troopers, the "arena shooter" tries to capture the look and feel of classic games from the '80s and '90s. As marines, up to two players take on thousands of alien enemies as they search six procedurally generated areas for survivors and take down the area's boss in the hope of thwarting an alien invasion.

Written by Rebecca Smith

Rebecca is the Newshound Manager at TrueGaming Network. She has been contributing articles since 2010, especially those that involve intimidatingly long lists. When not writing news, she works in an independent game shop so that she can spend all day talking about games too. She'll occasionally go outside.