Kaser Focus: Ev’rybody wants to be a cat

I spent a large portion of the week playing Stray, the cat adventure game everyone (me included) seems to have been looking forward to. It’s not quite as exhilarating as last week’s Bayonetta news, but it was still a pleasant week. I really enjoyed Stray, given that it was relatively brief — it doesn’t waste any space while telling a charming, if wistful story.

Part of me does wonder, though, how important its release date is to its popularity. It’s come out in a relatively quiet period during the year. I’m not sure even the charming orange Cat could have competed with the likes of Elden Ring.

In more recent news, Ubisoft has pushed the new Avatar game to next year at the earliest. Whether that’s for the game’s own sake or to give the other titles breathing room, I can’t say. Skull & Bones could probably use the help, either way. But I can’t bring myself to get too peeved at Ubisoft this week. I chastised them about delisting Assassin’s Creed Liberation, but meanwhile Nintendo’s taking two big stores down completely. I can’t be mad at one and simply accept the other. I know Nintendo will never accept my criticism or suggestions, but I can only hope that it’ll offer some of the 3DS and Wii U exclusive titles on Nintendo Switch at some point.

I’ll admit I haven’t been particularly excited about The Last Of Us Part 1. While I liked the original game, I didn’t exactly lose my heart to it. The announcement of a remake was more of an “Okay” moment than anything. But it seems Naughty Dog is taking exception to the accusation that this upcoming remake is a “cash grab.” The company today dropped a new trailer showing off the gameplay features of the remake, and Neil Druckmann describes it as “the definitive way to play The Last of Us.” I take more than a little exception to the idea that the game for which I paid $60 was not already the definitive way to play, honestly. But it does have expanded accessibility features, and that justifies its existence, I think.

As for me, now that Stray is done, I think I’m going to move on to Live A Live. I’ve heard a lot about the game, and wanted to give it a try at some point, and it seems now is as good at time as ever. I haven’t sunk my teeth into a JRPG in quite some time, so I’m looking forward to it! Goodness knows it’s too hot here in Texas to go outside, so any excuse to stay in and play a good fantasy story feels right to me. I’ll also jump into the beta of Multiversus, just to see if it’s as absurdly fun as it looks.

What to play this week

What’s new:

• Stray (GamesBeat Score: 4.5/5)
• As Dusk Falls (GamesBeat Score: 3/5)
• Live A Live
• Bright Memory: Infinite
• Nobunaga’s Ambition: Rebirth
• River City Saga: Three Kingdoms
• Mothmen 1966
• Endling – Extinction is Forever
• Hell Pie
• Hazel Sky
• TombStar

New on subscription services:

• Watch Dogs 2 (Xbox Game Pass)
• Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion (Xbox Game Pass)
• MotoGP 22 (Xbox Game Pass)
• Torment: Tides of Numenera (Xbox Game Pass)
• Daiva Story 6: Imperial of Nirsartia (Nintendo Switch Online)
• Kirby’s Avalanche (Nintendo Switch Online)
• Fighter’s History (Nintendo Switch Online)
• Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Marvel’s Avengers (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Assassin’s Creed Unity (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Assassin’s Creed Freedom Cry (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Saints Row IV: Re-Elected (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Saints Row Gat out of Hell (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Ice Age: Scrat’s Nutty Adventure (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Jumanji The Video Game (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Paw Patrol on a Roll! (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• ReadySet Heroes (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Echoshift (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• No Heroes Allowed! (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• LocoRoco Midnight Carnival (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Heroish (Apple Arcade)
• Curious Expedition 2 (GeForce Now)
• Darksiders Genesis (GeForce Now)
• Dungeon Defenders: Going Rogue (GeForce Now)
• Wildermyth (GeForce Now)
• Outward Definitive Edition (GeForce Now)