Update July 6: Added new Anime Expo 2024 announcements from NIS America, Bandai Namco, Aksys, SEGA, and more.
Welcome to this week’s Steam Deck Weekly. News has been a bit light this week, as I’ve been busy catching up on some of the long-running Switch games I’ve been reviewing, like Tsukihime: A Blue Glass Moon, as well as Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6 on PS5 and Deck. Anime Expo 2024 is now underway, and in addition to event news, there are noteworthy Humble Bundles and new Steam Deck verified games this week. Also, I’m working on some longer features and reviews, so there’s only a short review in today’s post. Before we recap, let’s take a look at the big news of the week.
News and trailers
This week, Sukeban Games released .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND, an active time action game that looks incredible. VA-11 Hall-A is one of my all-time favorite games, and I’m excited to see more content for 0.45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND when the Steam page goes live on the 19th of this month, with more to come. See screenshot below:
NIS America has confirmed that Ys X: Nordic will be released on October 25th for PC, PS5, PS4 and Switch. I’ve played the Switch version, and it’s an amazing action RPG, at least in terms of gameplay. I don’t understand Japanese, but I won’t wait too long to play a new game from one of my favorite developers. PH3 is developing a PC version of Ys X. Read my interview with PH3. Watch the Ys X release date trailer below:
PowerWash Simulator’s latest DLC, the Alice Adventures Special Pack, launched this week on Steam, Switch, PS5, PS4 and Xbox. I’ve been playing it for review purposes and it’s pretty good. Pending my full review in the near future, check out the trailer below:
Bandai Namco Entertainment has announced that the multiplayer adventure game “Sword Art Online: Shattered Daydream” will be released globally on October 4, and pre-orders are now available. Watch the Sword Art Online: Shattered Daydream story trailer below:
Hokkaido Serial Murders, Missing in Okhotsk ~ Memory in the Ice, Statue of Tears ~ is a detective adventure game that is a remake of the original game released in the late 1980s. The game will be available on Steam on September 12th with English support. I wanted to play this because not only was it released in English for the first time, but it also had some new story content written by Yuji Horii (Dragon Quest) of the original.
Level-5 has announced that a beta test demo of Inazuma Eleven: Path to Victory will be released this month for PS5, PS4, and Steam. The beta has been released on Switch and runs very well on Switch. I’d be interested to see how it feels on PS5 and Steam Deck before a full release in the future.
Bandai Namco Entertainment also released a new gameplay trailer for Gundam Breaker 4, which is my most anticipated game next month. As a fan of the first three games on PS Vita and PS4, I’m looking forward to playing this game on multiple platforms.
Capcom has announced that the Deluxe Remastered Edition of Dead Rising will be released globally on September 19 for Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X. The Standard Edition and Digital Deluxe Edition are now available for pre-order. I haven’t played the original yet, but will likely give the remake a try before it’s released.
Capcom also announced that the free trial period of “Dragon’s Dogma 2” will last until July 18. Players on Steam can try out the first two hours of the game and retain save data throughout the game.
Capcom’s final Steam-related announcement this week is a free trial version of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, now available on consoles and PC. The full game has also been verified on Steam Deck. Watch the demo and collaboration trailer below:
GameStudio Inc will launch horror puzzle action-adventure game Ao Oni on Steam and Switch on July 26. This new version of the 2004 classic will be available in English and more languages, as well as new Ai’s Story Mode and Speed Mode. I’ll check this out on Steam. Watch the trailer below:
The last bit of news is Sekai Project’s Anime Expo 2024 announcements, including Nekopara Remaster (Season 4 on Steam in 2024), Nekopara After – La Vraie Familie (on Steam in 2025), Amairo Chocolate 3 (2024 Season 4 on Steam), Seed of Heroes (September 2024 on Steam), and more for PC and consoles. Watch the Hero Seed trailer below:
New Announcements from Anime Expo 2024
Following my post earlier today, more announcements have been made from Anime Expo 2024.
“Trail of Dawn” has just been launched on PC and game consoles. NIS America announced that it will localize “Trail of Dawn II” and will release it on Steam, PS5, Switch and other platforms in early 2025. If you do plan to check out the Steam page, be aware of Dawn spoilers. Watch the trailer below:
Metaphor: Atlus’ ReFantazio looks and sounds amazing. The latest trailer is an expanded story, showcasing lots of character interactions, cutscenes, and new music. Watch below:
Atlus has also released an Atlus Exclusive showcase video to learn more about the story. Watch below:
Most of Aksys’ announcements have been for Switch, but 2D fighting game Blazing Strike is finally releasing on Steam, PS5, PS4 and Switch globally on October 17th. After years of waiting, I was looking forward to finally playing it.
Bandai Namco Entertainment has made two big announcements. The first is “Gundam Breaker 4”, which adds PAC-MAN cooperation and new themed levels and enemies. The stickers you unlock here will be used throughout the base game when it releases on August 29th.
The second announcement from Bandai Namco Entertainment is Tamsoft-developed Bleach Soul Reborn, an arena fighting game for Steam, PS5, Xbox, and more. It includes online co-op, split-screen co-op, and many more modes. A release date or window has not yet been announced. Watch the announcement trailer below:
New games verified and playable on the Steam Deck this week
The highlights here are Capcom’s Kunitsu-Gami and Kingdom Hearts III, but I’d also like to point out Shikhondo Youkai Rampage, which I’ve been playing and enjoying.
- Rhapsody of Athens – playable
- Avatar: Pandora’s Frontier – Not supported
- Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game – Playable
- Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind (DLC) – Verified
- Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess – Verified (via TouchArcade reader Mor)
- Oddsparks: Automated Adventure – Playable
- Shikhondo: Yokai Rampage – Verified
Steam Deck Game Reviews and Impressions
Rolling hills make sushi friends steam deck review
Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends from Catch & Release and Humble Games is a relaxing restaurant management game that will likely become your next comfort game, but it’s not for everyone. When I received this game for review, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed playing it, between the many long-form RPGs I’ve been covering recently.
Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends feels like a cross between Diner Dash and more simulation games. The core gameplay loop is simple but interesting, and there are quite a few NPCs and ingredients for players to choose from. As you run your restaurant and try to serve the right sushi to a specific customer, it feels like a great podcast game where you can get a little deeper into the action before moving on to other things. In addition to this restaurant, you can also explore the town surrounding the restaurant. This aspect feels more like a life simulation experience. It’s not a revolutionary experience, but it’s getting the basics right and being totally relaxing.
Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends features display mode options (windowed, borderless, full screen), vertical sync switching, anti-aliasing (off, 2x, 4x, and 8x), texture quality options, and shadow quality options. I turned the shadows down but turned everything up and got a near-perfect 60 fps. But now it’s impossible to lock 90 fps. I did notice some trouble getting into new areas, but it wasn’t bad. Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends supports 16:10 natively on the Steam Deck, which is great along with the Steam cloud support.
Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends is available on Xbox Game Pass, but I don’t really want to play it on Xbox. This feels like a very good handheld game, and I’ll definitely be replaying it on the Switch, assuming it’s released on a Nintendo hybrid in the future. If you have Xbox Game Pass, I recommend giving it a try, then getting it on Steam and playing it on the Deck.
Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends is a game made for fans of a specific type of comfort and management games. While some may find the gameplay simplistic and lacking in challenge, I enjoyed playing Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends as a break from other games, and it felt right at home on the Steam Deck with solid performance.
Steam Deck Rating: 4/5
Steam Deck game sales, discounts and specials
The biggest deal of the week is the Muv Luv Collection Bundle on Humble, which is valid for just over two weeks. There are comic bundles as well, but the game bundles are incredible value. If you are interested in this series, please purchase this bundle.
That’s all for this Steam Deck Weekly. As usual, you can read all of our past and future Steam Deck reports here. If you have any feedback on this feature or what you’d like us to do on the Steam Deck, please let us know in the comments below. Hope you all have a nice day and thank you for reading.
