Written by Alex Castellanos

DCL ’25 – End of March

Now that March is complete, the 1st Quarter of 2025 is finished as well.  Hopefully, these first three months of the year have been a lot of fun for us all.  Some great games have come out, raising our scores and creating our initial League Leaders.  There have probably also been some games that have underperformed, or maybe there were some unfortunate counter picks that were made which have resulted in some Publishers having to make up some extra ground if they want to win.  Please look forward to the end of this post where I did my best to come up with some interesting Q1 STATS.  But for right now, let’s look back at the games that were released in March.

These were the 10 games that were released in March:

  • “Knights in Tight Spaces” – Crystal Cross Games (7.1 pts)
  • “Two Point Museum” – Suladin Software Ltd (14.4 pts)
  • “Split Fiction” – Bearded Bretheren (20.5 pts)
  • “Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune & Dunan Unification Wars” – Frozen Headlights Studios (12.7 pts)
  • “Wanderstop” – Agon Analytics (10.4 pts)
  • “Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition” – Crystal Cross Games (17.8 pts)
  • “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” – Suladin Software Ltd (11.6 pts)
  • “Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land” – PixelPioneer Studios (9.6 pts)
  • “The First Berserker: Khazan” – Iota Strain (9.3 pts)
  • “Atomfall” – Suladin Software Ltd (5.1 pts)

Here are the League Standings as of March 30th:

The highest reviewed game this month belongs to Bearded Bretheren (Adam) and the game, “Split Fiction” (20.5 pts). This half fantasy half Sci-Fi game is the follow up to Hazelight Studio’s co-op gem, and GOTY winner, “It Takes Two”.  I know that I was somewhat skeptical that Josef Fares and his team would be able to capture the zeitgeist once again with this game as they did the last time.  As it turns out, all the reviewers were very impressed once again by this game, with some people finding Split Fiction to be the best Hazelight Studios game yet!

Another story for this month is with two of our Flex picks! Crystal Cross Games (Eddie) had “Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition” (17.8 pts), and Frozen Headlights Studios (Nate) had “Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune & Dunan Unification Wars” (12.7 pts) release as great ‘re-entries’ into our gaming lives. I, myself have been enjoying going back and playing some Suikoden – it’s definitely in the pantheon of great PS1 JRPGs for me. How many of you have been doing similarly with Xenoblade? Whether it’s a return to an old favorite, or your 1st time playing, I’m sure that Eddie is happy with this game keeping him in the #1 spot for another month!

Also in March, we should note that Suladin Software Ltd (Jeff) continued his climb up the table with two games released this month. First, it was another well reviewed game from Two Point Studios, “Two Point Museum” (14.4 pts) and then later in the month was the previously delayed and much anticipated “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” (11.6 pts).  Many people were talking about and wondering what an Assassin’s Creed game in Japan would look like and how it would play. While it doesn’t seem to be a game that will completely re-define the open world action & RPG experience, it seems to be good enough for fans of the series.

Next, we should look ahead to April and the games that will be released during Easter season. There will be five (5) such games this month:

  • “South of Midnight” – Iota Strain (April 8th)
  • “Blue Prince” – Bearded Bretheren (April 10th)
  • “The Talos Principle: Reawakened” – Bearded Bretheren (April 10th)
  • “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” – Frozen Headlights Studios (April 24th)
  • “Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves” – PixelPioneer Studios (April 24th)

For there to only be five games this month, there are some BIG ONES coming out. First, for Iota Strain (Luke), is one of Xbox’s First Party Studio games “South of Midnight”. We can also find out how the influx of capital and time has helped Compulsion Games create their new IP. Microsoft seems mighty excited about this one, even showcasing the game during their Developer Direct back in January.

Next, we have a new indie-game followed by an old indie-game that’s being remastered – and both will count toward Bearded Bretheren’s (Adam’s) squad. “Blue Prince” was highlighted on Sony’s State of Pay most recently – it’s a puzzle / rouguelite game where you try to reconstruct a multi-room manor, and hopefully it strikes a chord with reviewers. The same day, Adam gets to see if their flex pick for the season “The Talos Principle: Reawakened” is as well received the second time around as it was the first time. Here’s hoping that it’s a good day.

Third to release this month is an Xbox GamePass exclusive from French Studio developer, Sandfall Interactive. “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” is a JRPG style game that’s made with France, about a worldwide crisis that needs saving, with turn-based battles, a world map, and unique characters. One of its most unique features is the flashy on-screen prompts that occur during the turn-based battle sequences (think: Mario RPG or Legend of Dragoon). There have been some previews from a few outlets shouting praises for what they have seen so far. Here’s to hoping that the glimpses of potential they have seen last throughout a full playthrough of the game.

The last game releasing this month is “Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves” for PixelPioneer Studios (Alex). It has been a long time since the last proper Fatal Fury game was out there (26 years in fact), but SNK has hopefully been working towards this moment by honing their skills through the ‘Samurai Showdown’ revival back in 2019 and the ever-improving releases of their long-running ‘King of Fighter’ series. Reviewers will have a chance to see the pedigree of this game towards the end of April.

Since this newsletter marks the end of Quarter 1, I have tried to compile some interesting stats for us to peruse. Take a look:

Also, Fantasy Critic themselves is working to get better at collecting our statistics while we’ve been using the website and they have added even more data to the “All-Time Stats” page on our Deer Critics League page. So, when you have time please take some time to look at that as well.  Some of the all-time stats may surprise you!

Alright, until next time – Happy Easter (He is Risen!)

Take care & God Bless,

Alex C.

UP TO DATE – DCL 2025 Round 1 Draft Choices:

  1. Bearded Brethren – “Grand Theft Auto VI”
  2. Iota Strain – “Fable” DELAYED TO 2026
  3. PixelPioneer Studios – “Metroid Prime 4: Beyond”
  4. Dougsvest Digital – “Unannounced Mainline 3D Mario Platformer”
  5. Crystal Cross Games – “Ghost of Yotei”
  6. Suladin Software Ltd – “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach”
  7. Ranch Walker – “Elden Ring: Nightreign”
  8. Frozen Headlights Studios – “Untitled Next Mario Kart (Switch 2)”
  9. Agon Analytics – “Avowed” [81]

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