Agent 64: Spies Never Die
Developer/publisher: Replicant D6
Platform: Steam (Windows)
Price: $21.64, with an 11 percent discount until August 25
Oddly, a bunch of new games that are heavily inspired by ’90s/2000s classics arrived all at once. Agent 64: Spies Never Die is a game that very clearly takes its cue from GoldenEye 007. The blocky visuals look pretty similar to those from the Nintendo 64 game. Even the way the weapons sway looks familiar. I love that you can take down an enemy with a karate chop as well. There’s split-screen multiplayer and an online option, so you can jump in with friends and switch on settings such as slow bullets and a Big Head mode. Fun!
Solo developer Replicant D6 has been working on Agent 64: Spies Never Die for over five years. It looks like a proper tribute to Rare’s all-timer, as well as the likes of Perfect Dark and other first-person shooters from that era.
Wild Blue Skies
Developer: Chuhai Labs
Publisher: Balor Games
Platforms: Steam (Windows; Steam Deck Verified; demo available), PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC. Coming to Switch this fall.
Price: $15
Here’s another sort-of blast from the past in the form of Wild Blue Skies, an on-rails shooter that looks pretty similar to a certain series Nintendo revived recently. This ode to Star Fox has a rad anime-style look and virtual teammates for you to work with, protect and perhaps be entertained by thanks to some banter. I can’t imagine any could possibly be as sarcastic as Falco, though.
There are branching paths that should make each playthrough different along with secrets to discover. If you want a modern-day taste of Star Fox and don’t have a Switch 2, Wild Blue Skies might fill that gap for you. And yes, it does look like you can do a barrel roll.
Duskfade
Developer: Weird Beluga
Publisher: Fireshine Games
Platforms: Steam (Windows; Steam Deck Verified), PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC, Nintendo Switch 2
Price: $30. The Steam version has a 20 percent discount until August 27
I haven’t had much time to play anything this week, at least outside of a few rounds with the rad new Overwatch character. Duskfade is next on my to-play list, though. This is another retro-inspired game that hearkens back to the 3D platformers of the late ’90s and early 2000s.
As Zirian, you’ll set out on a quest to save your trapped sister and fix time after an eternal night takes hold of the land. You’ll battle enemies using a transforming clockwork sword that I’m sure is in no way inspired by Sora’s Keyblade.
I dig the look of the colorful, clockpunk world Weird Beluga has built here. The studio wears its influences on its sleeve as well. It’s evident from the trailer that the developers are drawing from the likes of Kingdom Hearts, Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank. Seeing the mechanical cuckoo companion for the first time made me smile too. This seems like very much my kind of jam. I can’t wait until I have time (ironically enough) to play it.
Agefield High: Rock the School
Developer/publisher: Refugium Games
Platform: Steam (Windows; playable on Steam Deck). Coming to consoles later
Price: Usually $30, with a 10 percent discount until August 19
Here’s one last game that has its roots in a much-loved game from a couple of decades ago. I’d been looking forward to Agefield High: Rock the School, a spiritual successor to Bully. It’s about a young fella who tries to make the most of his last days of high school after moving to a new town. It’s set in the early 2000s, with a pop-punk soundtrack and era-appropriate references. For better or worse, it seemed like catnip to me.
But an IGN preview that dropped last month soured me on the idea of playing this game, as it was described as “unpolished, uninspired and flat.” Reviews on Steam and elsewhere this week have been pretty dire as well. That’s a bummer. I can’t fairly judge Agefield High without playing it myself, but time is short and the games are plentiful, so the negative sentiment around this one makes it easy to skip.
Finding Polka
Developer: Lidlocks
Publisher: Parco Games
Platform: Steam (Windows)
Price: Usually $10, with a 20 percent discount until August 25
Finding Polka looks so gosh darn cute. It’s a hidden object game in which you search for a pup, who reminds main character Friendy of her childhood dog. She goes on a journey with her current four-legged best pal, sausage dog Jazz, to track down the lookalike after briefly spotting it.
Solo developer Shinnosuke Kumazawa — who made the game as a tribute to his own late dog — created the striking world of Finding Polka with ballpoint pen illustrations. There are mini-games and secrets, and friends to make while on your quest. I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to play Finding Polka, but I just bought it in the middle of writing this paragraph.
I also love the juxtaposition between this game’s visuals and the studio’s name, Lidlocks. That’s the moniker used in A Clockwork Orange for the device that keeps Alex’s eyes open while he’s forced to watch propaganda. Lidlocks says it wants to create games that you can’t look away from, so the name fits!
