Hello and happy Friday, Watchers! It’s once again that time of the week, and while we need to deal with the hordes from Hell in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, here’s some other games you might be interested in for when you need a break.

This week was full of interesting new releases, so we’re going to cover the four that caught my eye (one of which might surprise you!).

Release of the Week: Metaphor: ReFantazio

tl;dr – Strong story, beautiful graphics, made by ex-Persona devs

Initially revealed under the title Project: ReFantasy, Metaphor: ReFantazio is the first title being released by Studio Zero — formed by Persona series director Katsura Hashino, Persona character designer Shigenori Soejima, and composer Shoji Meguro. Metaphor: ReFantazio is a fantasy RPG taking place in the United Kingdom of Euchronia, where the assassination of the King brings unrest to the land.

Years prior, an assassination attempt on the Prince left the realm believing him to be dead; yet our protagonist and their friends know the truth; he fell into a deep slumber due to a curse, and our heroes must strive to lift it. Much like in Persona, the art style is absolutely jaw-dropping, the menus are stellar, and the plot should be strong enough to carry the game even without the visuals and audio.

Even better, there’s a demo available that carries all progress into the main game. This demo is hours long, has its own hidden dungeon, and should be a good telling whether the game is for you.

Get Metaphor: ReFantazio for $70 on PC at Steam, Xbox, or PlayStation.

Release of the Week 2: Silent Hill 2 (Remake)

tl;dr – Remake of iconic horror title

Bloober Team has been chipping away at the Silent Hill 2 remake for some time now, and this week was the official launch of the remake of this fan favorite survival horror title. For those unfamiliar, Silent Hill 2 has you take the shoes of James Sunderland, who is drawn to the city of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his dead wife, who claims she is waiting for him there.

Silent Hill 2 is probably most well known for its depressing atmosphere, its use of psyche to push the narrative forward, and for the villain of Pyramid Head. If you’re a fan of David Lynch’s works (Twin Peaks, Eraserhead) or Adrian Lyne’s Jacob’s Ladder, then this survival horror title may catch your interest.

Get Silent Hill 2 for $70 on PC at Steam or PlayStation.

Release of the Week 3: Diceomancer

tl;dr – Card-based roguelike with mechanics twist

I’m a huge fan of roguelike card titles, and Diceomancer wasn’t even on my radar until this morning. That’s not a bad thing, mind you, as when I stumbled across this title I immediately grabbed the demo to give it a shot and really found that I enjoyed the cartoonish art style and interesting card mechanics. Like most of these titles, you have mana that you spend to play your cards; however, the difference in Diceomancer is that you get dice that can change the outcome of card rolls.

Early in the demo you face a boss with an obscene amount of health and you get introduced to the dice: you can spend a dice card to reroll almost any of the numbers on the screen, including: your current health, your max health, the enemy’s current and max health, the damage a card deals, how much mana you earn per turn, and how much damage the enemy is about to do to you.

To think, all your character wants to do is to go fish somewhere and lead an easy life.

Get Diceomancer for $13.50 on PC at Steam.

Release of the Week 4: DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO

tl;dr – the Dragon Ball sequel you’ve been waiting for

I’m old enough to have grown up watching Dragon Ball Z on Cartoon Network as it first aired, and had an entire closet full of tenth-generation fansub tapes of the movies. I mention this because Sparking! ZERO is a nostalgia trip that I simply cannot help but smile at.

Dragon Ball Tenkaichi 3 was considered the last “great” Dragon Ball fighting game and that released 17 years ago on the PlayStation 2, yet Sparking! ZERO is the successor that many have been waiting for, bringing back the open arenas, the challenging combat, and the feel of just being in the Dragon Ball universe.

There’s the usual offerings including alternate outfits, but perhaps most interesting is the Sparking Episodes: What If? fights that allow for alternate stories such as, “What if Future Trunks won the Tournament of Power?” or “What if Piccolo & Gohan went into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber?”

Get DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO for $70 on PC at Steam, Xbox, or PlayStation

Now tell us, Watchers — what are you playing this weekend?