Atlas Fallen, the superpowered action RPG with a lot of sand in it, has earned a mixed reception since arriving on consoles and PC last year. Deck13 and Focus Entertainment have taken the feedback into account are preparing a major update to fix the game up. The free "Reign of Sand" update will be a complete overhaul of Atlas Fallen, revamping progression and adding lots of new content. It's due on August 6.
NatsumeAtari (the modern form of Natsume) and Tengo Project, its interior development team, have released some impressive sequels and remakes of classic games in recent years Pocky & Rocky Reshrined, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors, and Wild Guns Reloaded. We'll soon be able to add another game to the list thanks to Shad...
The world had been waiting a long time for Grand Theft Auto 6, and it will continue to wait for a while yet. Last year, 505 gave gamers something to tide them over with Crime Boss: Rockay City, a well-liked crime game with 4-player online co-op. Steam gamers, however, had to wait a bit longer. The game will finally hit Steam soon, though. What's more, it will launch there at the killer price of $19.99 and all existing DLCs will be free for a limited time. That's how you make up for a late arrival!
Cats make everything better, including action RPGs. Indie German developer SimaGames has used this well-known fact of life to create Zpellcatz on Steam. The game stars a cat wizard who is trapped on a cursed island and forced to use "spellz" to survive. The cat wizard has a bat familiar who can be controlled by a local co-op partner for additional magicial fun.
Last year, Arc System Works released Double Dragon Advance and Super Double Dragon on all major platforms, allowing fans to experience two of the best games in the Double Dragon series on modern hardware. At the same time, they quietly published Double Dragon Collection for the Nintendo Switch in Asian markets. While that version has been available to import for a while, collectors now have the chance to preorder an official North American version from Limited Run Games.
Double Dragon is one of the most enduring beat 'em up franchises around. Limited Run recently announced physical copies of the Double Dragon Collection, Double Dragon Gaiden debuted to rave reviews in 2023 and later received online co-op, and River City Girls 2 is due to get Double Dragon DLC sometime this year. The arrival of fresh Double Dragon merchandise from Kumagumi (a Japanese merchandise label) is certainly appropriate, and there will be more to come.
Remaking well-known games is cool, but there's something to be said for reviving cult classics as well. Forever Entertainment has dipped its toes in both ends, releasing the pretty good House of the Dead: Remake and promising Night Slashers: Remake later this year. Data East's Night Slashers might not be the most famous beat 'em up, but it's worth remembering. The remake will be even more memorable thanks to the addition of Liu Feilin, a guest character from a Data East fighting game called Fighter's History.
Another 106 entries were added to our database this month. We now feature over 14,000 (active) co-op games, and this number will certainly continue to climb. That's most likely more than anyone can play in a lifetime, but I'm sure we are all trying our best. So before Geoff Keighley bombards us with another three hours of ads and announcements next week, let's take a quick look back at May.
The home arcade market has seen numerous ups and downs in recent years. iiRcade went out of business, but Arcade1Up is still limping along. Now Evercade, maker of cartridge-based home and portable consoles, is throwing its hat into the ring. The Evercade Alpha will launch with two models, one focused on Street Fighter games and one filled with Capcom arcade classics (including several co-op titles). They both play regular Evercade cartridges too, making for an exciting home arcade experience.
We're a little late to the party on this, but ININ Games recently announced Taito Milestones 3, the latest in its Switch-exclusive series of Taito arcade game collections. The full games list has yet to be revealed, but we already know that at least five co-op games will be included: Bubble Bobble, Cadash, Champion Wrestler, Runark (Growl), and Thunder Fox. That's already the best co-op lineup yet for this series.
After a yearlong absence, Warner Bros. and Player First's Smash Bros.-style fighting game, MultiVersus, has returned. The game's full launch today follows an open beta period in 2022-2023 and a period of not being available. Now that it's back, MultiVersus has new characters (Joker, Jason Vorhees, and Banana Guard), new environments, and the exciting new cooperative Rifts mode. MultiVersus is free to play, so now is a great time to try it out.
All the cool RPGs are going 3-player co-op these days. First, Sea of Stars announced its co-op mode earlier this year. Now, Australian developer Timesea Studio has followed suit by announcing their new game, Infinity Knights: Xross. The upcoming game promises beautiful pixel art, an epic soundtrack, a title that people can't fully pronounce, and 3-player local co-op. Take that, Sea of Stars!
