This Week in Gaming (Week 14)

[TheLostSwede]

Don't worry, we haven't included any April fools games in this week's new releases, even though we're about to enter the first week of April. However, the month of April doesn't exactly start with a bang when it comes to new games, in fact, it feels a bit like the first week of the year, as there's no major release this week. What we do have on offer includes paws, pixels, rage quitting, beats and a sprinkling of Valhalla.

Pawggle / Monday 1 April
One simple rule: Eliminate all the red pegs from the game board before running out of balls. Pawggle is a casual Peggle/Pachinko style game but, this time, you step away from the visor. Step into a world where you become the guiding hand for your furry companions, aiding them by strategically placing blue pegs. Steam Link





Pixel Gun 3D: PC Edition / Tuesday 2 April
Pixel Gun 3D is a PC port of a legendary multiplayer FPS with blocky and colorful graphics. Fight in multiple game modes, unlock dozens of maps and collect more than 1500 unique guns. Steam Link



Quit Today / Wednesday 3 April
The story begins on an ordinary morning when you arrive at the company as usual, only to discover that all your colleagues believe you're about to resign. They see you as a traitor to the company and gang up on you. To figure out what's going on, you embark on a journey to protect yourself with your briefcase. After witnessing the darkness within the company, you decide to quit by defeating the company! Steam Link



Beat Slayer / Thursday 4 April
Beat Slayer is a roguelite hack n' slay game like no other. Instead of just being in the background the music takes centre stage. Join Mia, a badass music lover and crafty tinkerer, as she battles hordes of robots in a dystopian 90s inspired Berlin. There's only one rule: Stay on beat! Steam Link



Sons of Valhalla / Friday 5 April
Sons of Valhalla combines side-scrolling combat with base-building strategy in a beautiful pixel-art Viking Age world. You play as Thorald Olavson, a warrior hell-bent on tracking down the Jarl who burned down his home, stole his beloved, and fled to distant England. Steam Link

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[LazyGamer]

What a crappy week. I got Callisto Protocol finally. Game runs super smooth now. I remember watching videos of stutter fest it used to be upon release. They patched it up and removed Denuvo.

 

[P4-630]

Peggle

Used to play that alot in the past!

 

[QuietBob]

What a breath of fresh air this week!

It's good to see games from indie developers with distinct visual style and/or mechanics. Games that don't require the latest CPUs and ray tracing to look original, and be fun to play. Games that don't cost $60+ and yet run like crap on any hardware.

I'll definitely be checking out some of this week's releases.

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

Checking out BeatSlayer demo as we speak.
Or I wish... stuck at this screen...

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Playing Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen right now while I wait for Dragons Dogma 2 to get all patched up with DLCs included and $10.

It's janky as hell but actually a ton of fun.

 

[AusWolf]

The Viking theme never gets old, especially combined with soul-wrenching ancient Nordic music, so Sons of Valhalla is on my wishlist.

Pawggle seems to be free-to-play, so it'll definitely land in my library soon. I had lots of fun with the first Peggle back in the days.

Can anybody tell from the above how much I miss simple, escapist games?

 

[QuietBob]

Checking out BeatSlayer demo as we speak.
Or I wish... stuck at this screen...

Either start the game through Steam, or go to Properties and select DirectX. The game would hang on the second loading screen with Vulkan for me, but DX11 works fine in Win7:

EDIT: Changed the API back to Vulkan and it now works correctly. Must be a minor bug.

 

[Denver]

Sons of Valhalla instantly captured my attention. I love that style.

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

Either start the game through Steam, or go to Properties and select DirectX. The game would hang on the second loading screen with Vulkan for me, but DX11 works fine in Win7:

View attachment 341461

EDIT: Changed the API back to Vulkan and it now works correctly. Must be a minor bug.

Tried all options and none work. I guess PC too potato. Thanks anyways.

 

[konga]

It's going to be a very slow spring, especially on PC. There are only a few interesting releases coming out over the next few months, and most of those are from small studios. Which is fair enough. My backlog is long enough as it is.

 

[QuietBob]

I guess PC too potato

You mean slower than this? Even such poor config can run Beat Slayer @ 1080p low with 60 fps

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

Yeah, not exactly a supercomputer there

 

[QuietBob]

View attachment 341480View attachment 341481View attachment 341482
Yeah, not exactly a supercomputer there

Only needs a better GPU, even a GT1030 is more powerful than this

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

Oh, got THAT one in another PC Paired with 12100F. I figure it will handle that game.

 

[Sithaer]

Oh, got THAT one in another PC Paired with 12100F. I figure it will handle that game.

You are severely underestimating that 12100 if you think it wont be able to handle that game.
I've been daily driving a 12100 almost since its launch date in 2022 and I've played some of the most demanding AAA games on it and I was still GPU limited with a 3060 Ti at my 2560x1080 res. 'playing Forbidden West on it nowadays and my GPU is the limiting factor'

I can give that game a try tho, if you are curious. 'well it happens to be a type of game that I might like anyway'

 

[DaemonForce]

Out of a good cherry pick? Yeah the 12100 can hang.

It's really far down the list but still high end.

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

You are severely underestimating that 12100 if you think it wont be able to handle that game.
I've been daily driving a 12100 almost since its launch date in 2022 and I've played some of the most demanding AAA games on it and I was still GPU limited with a 3060 Ti at my 2560x1080 res. 'playing Forbidden West on it nowadays and my GPU is the limiting factor'

I can give that game a try tho, if you are curious. 'well it happens to be a type of game that I might like anyway'

LOL CPU is definitely NOT the problem there. GPU MIGHT be, but I don't think so.
Give it a try, if that's what you would do anyways.