We are back with some more actual video game releases here in week thirty-six. Fantasy Critic League – Like Fantasy Football, but for Video Games We had four titles lined up for release in the league this week. Surely somebody much have made out with that many titles in play. But first we have to stop and look at where we ended up last week on the scoreboard. Week 35 Scores First out of the gate was The Blood of Dawnwalker, a open world dark fantasy title. The Blood of Dawnwalker That rolled on early reviews with a solid score. The Blood of Dawnwalker [Picked by Rusty Shackleford (Shilgrod)] Now has a score of 83.7 Coming it with that on Monday was Onimusha: Way of the Sword, a fighting title set in Edo era Kyoto. Onimusha: Way of the Sword It showed up with a solid score as well, putting it ahead of Dawnwalker for the week Onimusha: Way of the Sword [Picked by S Class Warfare Studios (p0tsh0t)] Now has a score of 85.0 The Blood of Dawnwalker came back to nearly match Onimusha and more reviews came in, boosting its yield. The Blood of Dawnwalker [Picked by Rusty Shackleford (Shilgrod)] Score has gone UP from 83.9 to 84.9 Then, out of nowhere, Pokemon Pokopia: Bubbly Basin showed up and took a hit on an 8/10 review landing. Pokemon Pokopia: Bubbly Basin [Picked by Play Forever Mwahahaha (Shintar)] Score has gone DOWN from 88.4 to 86.7 Finally, as Monday closed out, the first title to ship during the week hit its launch point. Crimson Moon has released! [Picked by TAGN HQ (Wilhelm)] However, it did not show up with enough reviews for a score, leaving me hanging. It had four reviews, but only two from “top” critics. I was going to have to wait a bit on that one… though the four reviews it had early on were… not promising. The next day saw another title land a score, as Orbitals crossed the review threshold. Orbitals The Switch 2 exclusive co-op puzzle-adventure title also landed in the 80s. Orbitals [Picked by Pretty Blue Fox Games (Bhagpuss)] Now has a score of 83.2 That left us with Crimson Moon waiting for a score. Crimson Moon But the next day solved that as another top critic review landed, and this one more favorable, boosting it to… at least closer to 80. Crimson Moon [Picked by TAGN HQ (Wilhelm)] Now has a score of 78.3 Still, it only had a few reviews and the overall enthusiasm for the “roguelike Souls-like” was pretty tepid, so holding onto that 78 was not assured. As the Wednesday closed out the next two titles hit their launch point. Orbitals has released! [Picked by Pretty Blue Fox Games (Bhagpuss)] The Blood of Dawnwalker has released! [Picked by Rusty Shackleford (Shilgrod)] That led to some movement on the scoreboard. Publisher Score Updates Rusty Shackleford (Shilgrod) Score has gone UP from 15.9 to 30.8 Moved from 12th place to 9th place Crash and Burn Games (Shawn) Moved from 9th place to 10th place Hidalgo Trading Company (Pallais) Moved from 10th place to 11th place Neutical Publishing (Cyanbane) Moved from 11th place to 12th place The next morning saw the expected hit as a couple more reviews hit for Crimson Moon, causing it to sag. Crimson Moon [Picked by TAGN HQ (Wilhelm)] Score has gone DOWN from 78.3 to 76.2 The review count was still in the single digits at that point, so further reviews could still have a pretty big impact on the score. Finally, we had another title show up from previous weeks, this time Star Wars Zero Company. Star Wars Zero Company Picked by Corr’s Creative Collective (Corr), Counter Picked by Neutical Publishing (Cyanbane) Score has gone DOWN from 87.1 to 85.5 While that did not impact Corr’s spot on the board, it was enough to shift around a few people further down the list. Publisher Score Updates Neutical Publishing (Cyanbane) Score has gone UP from 26.5 to 28.2 Moved from 12th place to 10th place Crash and Burn Games (Shawn) Moved from 10th place to 11th place Hidalgo Trading Company (Pallais) Moved from 11th place to 12th place That last minute update left the scoreboard looking like this come Saturday night. Week 36 Scores There were no bids this week… but we’re at a point in the season where there are no empty slots left. Everybody has 9 titles on their roster and a counter pick locked int. It almost makes me wonder if I should up the slots for next year to 12 picks and 2 counter picks. Would that make things better or worse? Still, there are a dozen titles picked that do not have a specific launch date as I write this, so there will no doubt be some more slips and exchanges for different titles as we go. Speaking of which, we did get a couple of updates. One title nailed down a release date. Nighthawks [Picked by Pretty Blue Fox Games (Bhagpuss)] Release date changed from ‘September 2026’ to ‘Tuesday, September 22, 2026’. And then another title looks to maybe slipping out into 2027 for its release date. The Eternal Life of Goldman [Picked by Green River Gaming (Nimgimli)] Estimated release date changed from ‘2026’ to ‘2026 or Later’. Note added: ‘A trailer earlier this year gave the game’s release date as “2026”, but none of its store pages ever said that, and the most recent trailer has dropped that claim.’ Would you hold onto that pick? I might start considering alternatives. That leaves the next ten title on the list as follows. Week 37 Coming Up So we have nothing on the block for next week. We will have to look to already released titles and picks with vague ship dates for any news I suppose. Related: TAGN Fantasy Critic League TAGN Discord Server Fantasy Critic Site Fantasy Critic How to Play Fantasy Critic FAQ Fantasy Critic Most Desired Reviews Open Critic Review Site