The last rescue team
Developer: Moonfish Kumano
Publisher: Waku Waku Games
Platform: Steam (Windows; Steam Deck verified; demo available), Nintendo Switch, Switch 2
Price: Usually $10, with a 10% discount on Steam until July 1
It’s good that The last rescue team is coming to Switch and Switch 2 as well as Steam, as the striking red and black visuals seem very inspired by the Virtual Boy. This is a 2.5D shooter in which you’ll use a range of guns and swords to defeat enemies, some of which resemble the Martian tripods from War of the Worlds.
I’m tempted to check this out, perhaps on Switch 2 since that version supports Joy-Con 2 mouse controls and runs up to 120fps. I’ve never used a Virtual Boy and this might be as close as I’ll ever get, largely because I don’t particularly want to pay $100 for the Switch 2 accessory.
Copa City
Developer and publisher: Triple Espresso SA
Platforms: Steam (Windows; playable on Steam Deck), PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Price: Usually $40, with 10% off on Steam until June 30
Copa City is a football game that doesn’t really have much to do with controlling or managing the action on the pitch in the way of EA Sports FC or Football Manager. This is the other side of the beautiful game, which is ensuring that matches go off without a hitch. You are responsible for managing the entire day experience in a city. Among other things, you will recruit volunteers, reach out to different fan groups by setting up fan zones for both teams, and place players in hotels.
I played about an hour of Copa City and I didn’t really find it engaging. It’s very rough around the edges and feels like it was rushed to capitalize on the World Cup hype. The interface is clunky, the game doesn’t explain its systems very well, and as others have noted, essential elements are sometimes stuck behind a nonsensical progression system. Worst of all was something I noticed about 15 minutes into the tutorial: Loren Ipsum placeholder text on a menu screen. Yeah.
To be fair, the developers say they are listening to players’ concerns and working to resolve the issues. I like to give developers the benefit of the doubt as much as possible. We all know games that have been completely turned upside down after a bad initial reaction. But since there are way more games to play than I have time for, I don’t see myself going back to Copa City. This one is unfortunately on the transfer list.
Thank you for your application
Developer: IceLemonTea Studio
Publishers: IceLemonTea Studio, No More Bots
Platform: Steam (Windows and Mac; playable on Steam Deck; demo available)
Price: Usually $20, with 15% off until July 3
In Thank you for your applicationyou review candidates for jobs and decide to onboard them based on their fit with the company’s requirements. You’ll check their resumes and other documents, such as internship reports and even emotional evaluations. Additionally, you will manage your own life by paying your bills and managing your mental health.
This game – which echoes both the Not Tonight series from No More Robots and Papers, please – seems like a timely commentary on late-stage capitalism, especially given how difficult it is for many people to find work right now. It even appears that your character is trapped in a trade city, as he can only spend his business income within Aeropolis.
Quiet things
Developer and publisher: Silver Script Games
Platform: Steam (Windows; demo available)
Price: Usually $25, with a 10% discount through June 25
Quiet things was in the news recently as BAFTA released a game trailer from its awards ceremony at the last minute. The organization said it was “not able to sufficiently warn” participants about “themes that could be triggering for some.” BAFTA added in a statement to Kotaku that it fully supports “games that tackle difficult topics”.
Indeed, the Steam page for Quiet things warns that it “contains discussions of self-harm, suicide, sexual assault/non-consensual sex, and childhood abuse.” It is an autobiographical game based on the developer’s own story and explores important issues from a survivor’s perspective. This makes it more than worthy of attention.
