Monster Crown is a neat little RPG that shares more than a few things in common with Pokémon. The presentation harkens back to the GameBoy games of old, and you’ll form bonds with dozens upon dozens of monsters to help you save the world from tyranny. After spending a year working out the kinks in Steam Early Access, the game is almost ready for primetime. On October 12, Monster Crown goes 1.0 and is also heading to consoles. 

The game takes place on Crown Island, which is threatened by a power-hungry young woman looking to assert her dominance. The island has a long history of being ruled by tyrants, and unless you want to live under the thumb of yet another evil lord, you’ll need to stop her before it’s too late. Doing so involves forming pacts with over 200 monsters, which you train to battle other monsters as well as other human tamers. Players can also fuse monsters to breed entirely new species. Want to socialize with friends and other players? Monster Crown also features online battles and trading. For an idea of what's in store, take a gander at the original Early Access trailer below.

During your big quest, you can complete sidequests to lend a helping hand to Crown Island’s residents. Decision-making plays a substantial role in storytelling as player-choice can alter the ending. Monster Crown has netted “very positive” Steam reviews during its Early Access phase, so it appears to be a title worth keeping an eye on if you’re a fan of Pokémon (or TemTem for that matter) looking for a good alternative. Monster Crown is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. 

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Alientrap has already proven its flexibility in genres through games like Apotheon and Cryptark, both of which offered stylistically novel takes on platforming and shooting, respectively. The studio is now turning its attention to a new crafting and adventure game called Wytchwood, and players can expect to see the results when it releases later this fall.

Detailed in a post on PlayStation Blog, Wytchwood puts you in the weathered old shoes of a swamp witch, whose potions and spells may be deployed to solve any number of problems. The witch in question has made what seems like an ill-advised dark pact, and she has no memory of how and why. As you journey out to find the answer, you interact with various fairytale-inspired characters and creatures.

Based on early descriptions, a big part of gameplay revolves around collecting and combining various spell ingredients gathered from different animals, plants, and monsters in the world.

Wytchwood features a striking and colorful storybook art style that immediately catches the eye. The game’s visuals ably conjure the whimsical fairy tale vibe that the developer is aiming to evoke. And while many frightening monsters seem to dwell in the wilderness, most of the early glimpses of the game suggest a focus squarely on puzzles and conversation rather than combat. As for the people you meet, it seems the witch has the option to either help solve an individual’s dilemma or pass judgment and make things even worse through the means of curses and spells.

Published by Whitehorn Games, Alientrap plans to release Wytchwood on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC before the end of the year. The PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions, at the very least, are mentioned for release this fall.

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Platinum Games' chief game designer, Hideki Kamiya, penned a PlayStation blog post today unveiling an unexpected sequel to Moon Cresta and Terra Cresta, called Sol Cresta. Kamiya, known for his work on Devil May Cry, Okami, Resident Evil 2, and more, will helm the project as creative director. You read that correctly; Platnium Games is carrying on the series left dormant since the eighties. There is even an announcement trailer to prove it.

Initially developed by Nichibutsu, Moon Cresta and Terra Cresta were vertical-scrolling arcade games where the player takes the captain's seat aboard a starship. In shoot 'em up fashion, players flew through the galaxy defending humanity from destruction. It seems like the upcoming successor has taken several elements from the original titles. Kamiya emphasizes that the game will let players dock with allies, just like the titles did 36 years ago.

The post explains the story behind this unusual announcement first began when the studio felt like making a change. "We want to make all kinds of games," writes Kamiya, "not just action games." After a long string of successful action games like Nier: Automata, Anarchy Reigns, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, The Wonderful 101, and Astral Chain, Platinum Games' chief game designer pitched the idea to make the next entry in the classic series.

The problem at the time was that rights to the game were held by a completely different company called Hamster Corporation. Luckily, the company's president agreed to hand over the rights after seeing the project's first draft. The games' announcement trailer shows a modern take on the old genre. Though inspired by the originals' pixel graphics, the game has a more modern look, something the post calls the" Neo-Classic Arcade" style. The studio hints that Sol Cresta will not be the only game it releases in this style but has no other details at this time. The new shooting game is coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam later this year.

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