New Game Releases: Secrets Of Rætikon, Chibi Robo, Wii Fit U And More

Hey there! How was your holiday season? Hope you’re off to a great start to 2014.

It’s going to be a while before this year really kicks it into gear with new video game releases. And yet, we should be careful what we wish for, because come March or so, we’re probably going to need second jobs (or third, if you’re already working two) to afford all the cool stuff coming out.

So let’s hear it for moderation, and especially for only a few new games to play this week. It’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Here’s what’s new over the next seven days:

“Secrets of Rætikon” (PC, Mac) – January 7

Does anyone know what this character (æ) is called? Wikipedia says it’s called “ash” in English, and I don’t want to go against the
Keeper of All Knowledge,” but I want to be sure.

Anyway, “Secrets of Rætikon” has a lot more going for it than just a cool Scandinavian letter. It’s an open world adventure game with a very unique, stylized look, the promise of interesting puzzle-based gameplay, a dynamic ecosystem, a level editor, and in its own words, “a mind-blowing ending that is the secret of Rætikon.” How can you not be pumped for its Steam Early Access release when you read all of that?

“Chibi-Robo: Photo Finder” (3DS) – January 9

Would it be an exaggeration to say the announcement of the North American debut of “Chibi-Robo: Photo Finder” was the highlight of the last Nintendo Direct? Yes, yes it would. But there are gamers out there with fond memories of the little robot from his GameCube days, so you can’t say there’s not an audience out there awaiting his return.

The gameplay in this one centers around taking pictures of real world objects that fit specific shapes and then scanning them into the game. Don’t worry, they’ll still exist out of the game too. At least I think so. Don’t quote me on that. Nintendo has some events planned to make Chibi-Robo’s photo finding exploits a little more social as well.

“Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance” (PC) – January 9

This strikes me as an unusual move, as “Metal Gear” games don’t typically come out on PC. Were there people out there clamoring to play as Raiden on their computers? If so, bravo, this one’s for you.

One thing that is probably a lock is that “Metal Gear Rising” is going to look great on PC, likely better than its console counterpart. Another thing I’m fairly certain of is that “revengeance” wasn’t a word until this game was developed. That’s the power of Kojima!

“Wii Fit U” (Wii U) – January 10

I’m too lazy to look it up, but I feel like I already wrote about this game in a previous week. Like it was supposed to come out already and didn’t. It’s really a genius marketing move to have a fitness game release now, because as we all know from the people at the gym you only see for the first few weeks of January, everyone is determined to get fit at the beginning of the year.

Maybe “Wii Fit U” can help you stick to those New Year’s resolutions a little longer than normal. In other words, it can’t hurt you to play this game. Get off the couch!