Weekend Announcements January 25th-27th: Nekopara, WILL, Forager, and More

By Rebecca Smith,

Now that things are getting busier and we're getting more news, this means we have more titles to meet. Of the 13 new games today, not all of them are confirmed for PlayStation, and some are still in the early days of development. Still, you can find a bit about each of them below, so take a look at the list and see if there's anything you fancy.

American Ninja Warrior: Challenge

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: March 19th, 2019
GameMill Entertainment's latest title is focused on the American Ninja Warrior competition, itself a spin-off of the Japanese TV series Sasuke. Players face difficult obstacle courses, such as the Salmon Ladder, Warped Wall, and Log Grip, as they race to hit the buzzer in the quickest time, all while commentary is provided by TV show hosts Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila. The career mode will take players from the easier city courses to the far more challenging finals where there's a four-stage course inspired by Japan's Mt. Midoriyama. There's also a couch multiplayer mode where players can take on their friends and family. If you tire of the courses provided by the game, the course editor lets you create your own fun too.

Angry Video Game Nerd I & II Deluxe

Platforms: Consoles
Release Window: TBA
FreakZone Games and Screenwave Media have teamed up to bring the AVGN and friends to unspecified consoles in a single bundle. Inspired by retro classics such as Mega Man and Castlevania, the first 2D action title focuses on the adventures the AVGN gets up to in his online series and promises to appeal to fans of "old school difficulty, fart jokes, The Nerd and/or old school platformers". The second title sees the AVGN take to video game screens once again after a beam from space turns the world into a game, and he's forced to "put the "ASS" in ASSimilation".

Clan N

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: Early 2019
Creamative's beat 'em up promises to combine elements of gameplay from both modern brawlers and classic arcade titles. Like most titles of this ilk, the gameplay will be to be easy to pick up but hard to master as players combine dodges, blocks and heavy/special attacks with normal attacks to defeat their enemies. Players need to conquer seven levels set in the ancient far east, each of which will have a wide range of enemies, bosses in the middle and at the end, and some "casual mini-games".

Evoland Legendary Edition

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: February 5th, 2019
Shiro Games will be bringing their Evoland series to consoles as a bundle. Players begin in Evoland as they make the journey from a turn-based 8-bit action-adventure title to real time action in 3D graphics more representative of the modern day. Along the way, players will unlock new technology, new gameplay elements, and graphical upgrades, of course. Evoland II then expands on the elements of its predecessor, this time in the form of an "RPG adventure" complete with "epic" story, a deeper combat system, and plenty of characters, locations, and customisation options. Gameplay includes beat 'em up fights, solving puzzles, challenging platforming, and even shoot 'em up.

Forager

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: TBA
HopFrog's "2D open world game" draws inspiration from games like Stardew Valley, Terraria, and The Legend of Zelda, which specialise in exploring, farming and crafting. Like all of these games, players start with a small amount of resources and build themselves up to whatever they want to be, whether it's a gatherer, farmer, merchant, adventurer, or builder. They'll do this by gathering resources, crafting new items, building a base, buying more land, exploring, increasing their abilities, finding new blueprints, making friends (or enemies), solving puzzles, and raiding dungeons.

Immortal Legacy: The Jade Cipher (VR)

Platforms: PlayStation 4 (PlayStation VR Required)
Release Window: March 20th, 2019
Formally known as Kill X, Viva Games' "action-adventure/horror game" combines an "old-school" single-player story with VR gaming mechanics, such as combat, exploration and puzzle solving. Drawinf inspiration from an ancient Chinese legend, the story puts players in the role of Tyre, an ex-special forces soldier who is investigating the death of his mother. He's led to the isle of Yingzhou, known for its "enshrouding tempest in the midst of the mysterious Dragon’s Triangle". He travels to the island with one of his mother's old friends, Ksana, but that might turn out to be the worst mistake of his life. There are plenty of sinister characters and other horrors out there, but not all of them mean harm.

The Indie Gamer Chick Collection

Platforms: PlayStation 4 (PlayStation Vita also a possibility)
Release Window: Late 2019/Early 2020
As a PlayStation gamer, you may not remember the Xbox Live Indie Games. It was a way for smaller developers to get their title onto the console without the rigmarole associated with Xbox Live Arcade. Despite that section of the Microsoft Store being discontinued in September 2017, they're not forgotten. Well, at least some of them, anyway. Indie Gamer Chick has teamed up with serial porter Ratalaika Games to bring a compilation of more than a dozen of the most well-known XBLIG titles to PlayStation for the first time. The full lineup hasn't been confirmed yet, but that news is promised in a few months' time.

NEKOPARA Vol.2

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: February 14th, 2019
Neko Works' title tells the tale of a patisserie known as La Soleil. It's run by Kashou Minaduki, his two catgirls Chocola and Vanilla, his siter Shigure, and Minaduki's four catgirl sisters. Two of those sisters have been constantly bickering — Azuki, the sarcastic oldest sibling, and Azuki, the clumsy youngest sibling. A small misunderstanding leads to a much bigger misunderstanding and it's up to players to sort out the problem. The title is coming to PS4 thanks to publisher CFK and will feature a new opening movie, a new theme song, 1080p visuals, and an exclusive event.

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: Spring 2019
JoyMasher has teamed up with Digerati to bring their "homage to the 8-bit genre classics" to consoles. The "action-platformer" is inspired by classics like Ghosts’n Goblins, Demon’s Crest, and Castlevania. After the old gods forgot about the land, the Darkness began to spread. Numerous enemies and huge bosses started to collect human souls. Players assume the role of Haggis, a warrior who must drag himself out of retirement to save his son from the Darkness, lest he become another of those lost souls.

Oniken: Unstoppable Edition

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: Spring 2019
Odallus isn't the only result of the partnership between JoyMasher and Digerati. This time, the action platform game draws inspiration from "he 1980's, its games and its movies", including in its graphics, sound, story, and difficulty. A global war nearly led to the decimation of mankind, and at its most desperate hour, it finds itself at the mercy of a military organisation known as Oniken. Resistance initial seemed fruitless, but a small rebel movement continues to exist. When a ninja mercenary called Zaku joins their forces, he becomes their only hope for an uprising, but is his swordplay and agility enough to overcome the enemies, traps, and bosses?

RIOT: Civil Unrest

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: February 6th, 2019
We get a simulation for just about everything these days, so IV Productions has created a "real-time riot simulation experience" that recreates some of the more recent flare ups in more than 30 different scenarios, such as Oakland in California, Tahrir Square in Egypt, and Caracas in Venezuela. Players can assume control of either the protestors or the law enforcement as they tackle objectives for each scenario and search for the best outcome. Aggression will mean a quicker resolution, but being more gentle won't affect public opinion. The title is coming to console thanks to publisher Merge Games

Spike Volleyball

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: February 5th, 2019
Black Sheep's title promises to be a "realistic indoor volleyball simulation" with 50 national male and female teams. Players will be able to manage their own team as they rise from the lowest ranks to take on the elite in the highest ranks of competition in multiple international tournaments, deciding the best tactics and mastering moves to take you to the top. The title is arriving on consoles thanks to publisher Bigben Interactive.

WILL: A Wonderful World (Asia)

Platforms: PlayStation 4
Release Window: May 2019
WMY Studio's title is arriving west thanks to a partnership between PM Studios and acttil. The game takes place in a world where an urban legend states people can change their fate. All they have to do is to write their problems on a note, hold it in their hand and pray for God to help them. Players assume the role of a girl who wakes up in a mysterious room. Here she is greeted by a dog. These are the aforementioned Gods, and she's the one in charge of writing the letters that change the fate of the people. Players will learn about the people who seek their help, but will they change their fate, because changing the fate of one person affects others at the same time. More importantly, will the girl recover her memory and find her true purpose?

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.