Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire (PS4)

Some people play shmups for the story ... Who am I kidding!? People play shmups for the high score opportunities! Yep, that's it. Interestingly enough though Alfa Systems shmup "Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire" offers the best of both worlds. A story regarding five fabled sisters destined to stop an ultimate evil known as Seytan (Satan???), and unique shoot 'em up mechanics with which to top the global leaderboards. As far as the story goes it's an interesting tale of sibling rivalry that ends up doing an about face over a man who is the romantic center of attention. The five leading ladies including Sonay, Selma, Nur, Ece, and Lale all have their hearts set on wedding the man of the hour, Yashin. What transpires between them is a wacky war of words, and will. With their familiars, their sharp tongues, and their magic abilities they enter the heat of battle as brides to be or not to be.

Arc of Alchemist (PS4)

Some games really hit home with their storytelling, and reflect the state of the world you and I live in. I think it's safe to say that IFI's new action JRPG does exactly that. Arc of Alchemist takes the player on a fantasy adventure based on a grim future. Through war, and wastefulness humanity has turned the world that the heroes, and heroines of the story reside in into a desert wasteland. A once thriving world with plentiful water, and oceans now rendered drought stricken. Leaving the remaining inhabitants hopeless yet hopeful for salvation in the guise of a sought after legendary great power. Through conversations between the expedition force's leader Quinn, and her team of brave soldiers who set out on a mission for said great power we find that each member has their own backgrounds, and own inner struggles in mind as they face the uncertainty of their future together. A last bastion of hope set forth to find out just how hopeful the future will, or will not be.

Warhammer: Vermintide II Ultimate Ed. (PS4)

The world of Warhammer has a deep lore that spans different mythologies tied to battles between different races of creatures. From the Space Hulks in the future of 40K to the Chaos Barbarians, and Skaven rat folk of End Times there is no lack of source material for the games that come to console or PC. Here in "Warhammer: Vermintide II", for example, we find a sort of medieval horror taking root in a kingdom under siege by the Skaven, and Chaos Barbarian armies. As foretold by King Sigmar darkness always returns, and none know this better than the odd assortment of heroes, and heroines whose fate is tied to this episodic sequel. Thankfully they escape the prisons, and looming execution at hand. Ultimately banding together in a fight against the Vermintide, and their efforts to usher in the Chaos.

Willy Jetman: Astromonkey's Revenge (PS4)

Have you ever heard of or played Solar Jetman on the NES? If you haven't it is a metroidvania space salvage game where you guide a ship pod, and an astronaut with a jet pack in zero gravity as you collect parts for your mothership. Your goal in that game was to find all the ship parts, and tow them back to the mothership piece by piece. Along the way you'd get ship upgrades, and find hidden treasures that would add to your overall score. All done in zero gravity inclusive planet environments with a maze-like design that harbored enemies, and hazards that must be avoided to succeed in your mission. Well, Willy Jetman takes that core premise, changes it enough to be different, and makes it more about metroidvania platforming and recycling instead of salvaging parts via a spaceship ...

At the beginning of the playthrough of "Willy Jetman: Astromonkey's Revenge" the story elements are laid out in two parts. In one part Astromonkey is caught with his pants down taking a poo in his own ship's bathroom as an asteroid heads in his direction. This results in his ships cargo falling down onto planet Gravos along with parts of the very same ship. Shortly after that intro we get Willy's entrance into the world of Gravos. There we guide him to save the alien residents from a dragon before stopping by a campfire to tell the tale of how Willy became the hero he is. This tale from Willy takes us back a few days earlier where he, and his "garbage" ship Gladys set out to clean-up the fallen ship debris. What ensues is a comical relationship between the AI ship Gladys, and Willy the Jetman. A relationship that unfolds as Willy goes about recycling the debris, and scavenging the planet for resources as well as gear to help him move forward.

Without Escape (PS4, PS Vita)

EastAsiaSoft's budget indie "Without Escape" is a game that will either try your patience with it's many puzzles, or have you so intrigued by it's underlying mystery that you'll go to any length to finish it. At it's heart it is a point and click horror indie that places you in the shoes of a kid whose parents are supposedly off visiting with their own parents. You arrive to an empty home late at night, have a cheap lasagna dinner, and go to bed thinking that all is right with the world. At precisely 2:45am you wake up to an odd noise suspecting a burglar, but find instead a house in slight disarray with a new mysterious painting that gives off odd vibes when you look at it. From there you point, and click your way through each room, and it's contents looking for items and information to get you to the next point in your search for explanations. Your immediate area of interest is small with blocked off entrances, and things that require other things to get into. The more you discover, and unlock the more the world around you changes, and morphs. Ultimately taking you, the character of the story, on an otherworldly journey into a Lovecraftian horror situation. What lies in wait is anyone's guess ...

Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha (NS)

Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha is an all-star compilation of previously unreleased Japanese arcade shmups. Ported to the Nintendo Switch for the Western audience in an easy to play, and truly gamer friendly way this collection of six different shoot 'em ups from the not so distant past offers tweaks, and gameplay with a variety of unique gimmicks tied to the base genre they hail from. Within the collection you get the first three entries of "Strikers 1945", "Sol Divide", "Dragon Blaze", and "Zero Gunner 2". Most of which are top down types with the exception of "Sol Divide" which is a side-scrolling shmup. With each game made accessible through a rotary menu with title image shown you not only gain instant access to whatever title you wish, but you also get settings that can be accessed through the plus button that allow you change such settings as the screen direction, the display filter, the credits count, the associated wallpaper, the set language, and even the dialogue's original or reworked subtitles. Along with all of that you gain access to sound settings, the control layout, and rule guides. For those of you worried about the quarter munching difficulty associated with each game the developer has been kind enough to throw in seven different difficulties ranging from "Monkey" to "Hardcore" as well as an unlimited credits option, and an increased life stock option to make the journey from beginning to end a little less abusive.