RPGs Coming This Week, October 25–31, 2026 – All Hallows RPGs

With Halloween landing at the end of the week, it’s a fine time to release some spooky games. And while that is happening, most of them don’t land in our coverage at RPGFan. Still, it’s easy to see how Emberville‘s Diablo-meets-Stardew Valley still fits the bill, or how it’s a great week to revisit Bigby Wolf and company in The Wolf Among Us Remastered. Phantom Blade Zero is appropriately dark and moody, and the pixelly visuals and King’s Field inspiration behind Queen’s Domain give it an atmosphere that’s also perfectly fitting for the season.

Maybe the most seasonally appropriate release this week is NIS’ Village in the Shade, a game with gorgeous, brightly colored visuals on the surface, with seriously dark undertones. We recently published Ben’s review of the title, and he was over the moon about it, so I encourage reading that one, regardless of what games this week are on your wishlist!

Intro by Mike Salbato

Emberville (Entering Early Access) – October 27th (Windows, Linux)

Since it was announced earlier this year, I’ve had my eye on Emberville. I love a good farming sim, and I’m one of those players that loves the mines in Stardew Valley. We’re seeing more and more variations on traditional pixel art sims, and Emberville is sometimes described as a blend of sim games with Diablo, leaning more towards adventure and combat aspects while rebuilding a town. The art is great, and while the shockingly packed list of voice actors (Doug Cockle, Matt Mercer, Jennifer English, Ben Starr, and so many more) confuses me — how did they snag all these talented people? — my hopes are high.

This week is the game’s initial Early Access launch, and developers Cygnus Cross have helpfully outlined what is and isn’t included, and a general roadmap of planned updates. Everything about Emberville seems pretty ambitious, so I’m hoping they can deliver!

by Mike Salbato

Village in the Shade – October 27th (PS5, Switch, Switch 2, Windows)

Village in the Shade is the newest title by the team at Nippon Ichi Software who created the excellent 2D horror Yomawari titles. Village in the Shade combines the horror elements of those games (exploring abandoned streets at night with nothing but a flashlight, running from terrifying yokai horrors) with the farming sim genre. This fusion of farming RPG and horror is quite popular as of late, but never has it looked so good as Village in the Shade‘s impeccable hand-drawn 2D visuals.

Balancing the repetitive crop-tending, animal-raising, and social simulating elements of a farming RPG with the unpredictability, tension, and terror of a horror game could be difficult, but the talented team at NIS absolutely crushed both halves of this title, with a hauntingly compelling mystery gluing it all together. Definitely one to look out for if you love farming sims but enjoy a darker edge and weightier emotional consequences rather than the fluffy escapism that defines most games in the genre. If you want a deeper dive into it, don’t miss my Village in the Shade review.

by Ben Love

Phantom Blade Zero – October 28th (PS5, Windows)

Perhaps one of this fall’s most-hyped titles, Phantom Blade Zero debuts this week on PS5 and PC. An action RPG with an emphasis on parrying in combat like many Souls games and other FromSoft titles, Phantom Blade Zero really impressed Hagen when he played a preview build last month. The game places you in the shoes of Soul, after being framed for murdering his master. Soul suffers a terrible wound that leaves him with 66 days to live, during which he must uncover the truth behind his master’s death. With dozens of weapons and a combat system rooted in traditional martial arts, it’s clear that developers S-GAME are putting a lot of… Soul into this one.

I’ll see myself out now.

by Mike Salbato

The Wolf Among Us Remastered – October 29th (PS5, Switch, Switch 2, XB1, XBX, Windows)

Bigby Wolf returns just in time for spooky season to introduce himself and a new generation of players to this choice-heavy, noir-inspired story about fairytale characters in the modern big city. The Wolf Among Us Remastered is a sleek update to the original version, including a new Noir Mode that presents the tale with classic, black-and-white visuals. The Telltale team had excellent source material with the Fables comics, and the updates look to be ensuring an improved game experience and some new behind-the-scenes material. We played this game back on Retro Encounter for the Autumn of Adventure, so I’m eager to see how the update looks.

If you’re entertained by the name Bigby Wolf, or enjoy games like Dispatch or Telltale games in general, definitely play it sooner rather than later!

by Hilary Andreff

Queen’s Domain – October 30th (PS5, Switch 2, XBX, Windows)

FromSoftware’s King’s Field series is undergoing an indie resurgence, as many new titles (like Lunacid or Verho – Curse of Faces) harken back to the first-person view and layered dungeon crawling that the storied developer pioneered on the original PlayStation. Queen’s Domain is one such entrant that wears its inspirations on its sleeve (if the name didn’t make that obvious). The demo proved quite promising, showcasing the detailed level designs focused on verticality and secrets. The first-person combat is faster and smoother than its inspirations, and the loot takes influence from Dark Souls since each weapon and artifact has unique properties and applications for combat and exploration. If you enjoy delving deep into dark dungeons and strange worlds as much as I do, Queen’s Domain seems poised to sate your wanderlust!

by Ben Love

Also Coming This Week

Steins;Gate Re:Boot – October 29th (Switch 2)

Steins;Gate is one of the most well-known and highly regarded visual novels out there, and for good reason! This year’s remake, Steins;Gate Re:Boot, upheld that high standard with a fresh coat of paint. Our own Paul Skevington was highly impressed, describing it as “one of the most important visual novels ever made” in addition to offering “one of the best stories in any medium.” But don’t just take my cherry-picked quotes for it; read his full Steins;Gate Re:Boot review based on the PC version.

by Mike Salbato