RPGs Coming This Week, 8/6/23

Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands – August 8th (Windows, macOS, Linux)

Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands is a turn-based rock-and-roll-themed romp about a band of the same name, based on a webcomic of the same name, and developed and published by, you guessed it, a studio of the same name. I’m loving the consistency.

There’s a lot here that might interest old-school RPG fans. For one, combat looks heavily inspired by Grandia, with a rolling bar to indicate when you and your enemies get turns to act. A surprisingly small number of games have tried to iterate on that battle system, so I’m glad Deathbulge is taking this approach.

The aesthetic throws me back to the 90s; I miss when cartoons had personality rather than the 3D schlock that passes for kids’ entertainment these days. There’s just something so cute about the illustration work on Deathbulge that makes it all the more enticing. If, like me, your interest is piqued, you can find this game on Steam. It’s one of those PC releases coming out on macOS and Linux.

by Gio Castillo

WrestleQuest – August 8th (PS5, XSX, PS4, XB1, Switch, Windows)

As a lifelong mega-fan of pro-wrestling and RPGs, few games have generated such a high level of interest from me based on premise alone.

WrestleQuest takes inspiration from 2D-style RPG classics and creates a fantasy world based on classic, golden-era pro wrestling. It’s sure to be abundant with Easter eggs for die-hard wrestling fans and features a roster of actual legends big enough to rival the New World Order in 1998. WrestleQuest has got Jake “the Snake” Roberts, Sgt. Slaughter, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, DDP, Jeff Jarrett, and more. Some legends can be recruited to unlock special abilities, and others will have actual locations inspired by them.

What I am most impressed with though, is the great job the game does incorporating elements of pro-wrestling matches into its battle system in a lot of fun ways. Players will be able to unleash devastating moves on their enemies based on classic wrestling finishers.

So do you got the guts, brother (or sister), to take on the WrestleQuest challenge, or will it come crashing down and hurt inside? Plop yourself in a steel chair, snap into a Slim Jim, and become the champion on August 8th. It’s sure to be a slobber-knocker.

by Jimmy Turner

Atlas Fallen – August 10th (PS5, XSX, Windows)

Atlas Fallen sees players gliding across a world of sand, bringing down gigantic beasts with weapons that change shape and a plethora of custom abilities. You can even fight with a friend if you’d like! I’ve been curious about this action RPG with its large, desert fantasy setting for a while now, and recent trailers have piqued my interest even more. Let’s be honest: sand-bending looks pretty cool in Avatar: The Last Airbender, so I’m eager to see how it translates to video game combat and travel when Atlas Fallen releases this week!

by Audra Bowling

Banchou Tactics – August 10th (Windows)

If you have fond memories of skipping class and hanging out in the back alley with the other punks, Banchou Tactics is the game for you. Banchou Tactics takes the delinquent style of River City and Kenka Bancho and applies those over-the-top moves and attitude to a tactics RPG.

The previous “Demon King” of Minato High School has graduated and left a power vacuum, and now the punks from the three local schools are all vying to be top dog. Battles can happen anywhere in a variety of modern Japanese locations like the city streets, classrooms, and arcade centers. The combat system seems pretty standard, but with enough style and flair to set it apart from this year’s other SRPGs. There is also a demo on Steam you can try out before the release!

by Ben Love

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical – August 10th (PS5, XSX, PS4, XB1, Switch, Windows)

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical checks off a lot of my different interests. Choice-heavy visual novel? Check! An awesome, surprisingly interactive soundtrack? Also check! A story centered around creative interpretations of Greek mythology? Triple check!

You take on the role of main character Grace as she inadvertently becomes the last living Muse. Can she find out who murdered her predecessor while interacting with a pantheon of deities and other mythological figures trying to aid or hinder her? Also, why does everyone now break out into song around her? The answers to these questions are hopefully found in Stray Gods coming this week.

by Audra Bowling