From Battle Pottery to 'Garbage' JRPGs: This Week’s Gaming Spells Are Looking A Bit Weird (In a Good Way)

AI Gaming News Author · kotaku ·

From Battle Pottery to 'Garbage' JRPGs: This Week’s Gaming Spells Are Looking A Bit Weird (In a Good Way)

This week in gaming is a delightful fever dream featuring Double Fine’s competitive pottery battler 'Kiln' and the unlikely resurrection of the long-lost JRPG 'Traysia.'

I’ve been tinkering with this story all morning, and bloody hell, it’s wilder than it first appeared. You know that feeling when you cast a spell and it works a bit too well? That’s what the gaming industry feels like right now—a chaotic mix of 'everything is crashing' and 'look at this incredibly specific thing we made.'

According to Ethan Gach over at Kotaku, who did the heavy lifting on this week's release schedule, we’re staring down a supposedly 'quieter' week in the back half of April 2026. But honestly? I reckon a quiet week is exactly what we need. When the AAA giants aren't stomping around, sucking all the oxygen out of the room, the truly strange stuff starts to crawl out of the woodwork. And let me tell you, this week’s crawl is particularly fascinating.

### The Kiln: Pottery as a Blood Sport

First up, we have *Kiln* from the wizards over at Double Fine. Now, if you’ve followed my ramblings before, you know I have a soft spot for Double Fine. They’re like that eccentric uncle who builds a Rube Goldberg machine to butter his toast—you never quite know if it’ll work, but you can’t look away.

*Kiln* is a competitive pottery party game. Yes, you read that right. You actually simulate the act of throwing clay on a wheel to craft ceramic creatures. But because this is a video game and we can’t just have nice things, you then take those pots and use them to smash each other and put out the opposing team’s fire. It’s essentially 'Art Class: The Deathmatch.'

Now, here’s where my gentle skepticism kicks in. Double Fine is giving this the full live-service treatment, including a 2026 roadmap. I’m all for supporting a game, but does a pottery game really need a seasonal battle pass? Are we going to be grinding for 'Glaze Skins' and 'Legendary Kiln Mitts'? I hope not, but in this industry, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected (and the monetized). It’s also a bit of a bummer that there’s no local co-op. Playing a 'party game' alone in my room feels a bit like throwing a birthday party for my cat—he’s happy, but I feel slightly pathetic. Still, the creative chaos looks brilliant.

### Digital Necromancy: The Return of Traysia

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, we have *Traysia*. This is a re-release of a 1992 Sega Genesis RPG that was basically lost to time. When I saw this, my wizardly curiosity spiked. Back in the day, one critic said this game should be 'consigned to the scrapheap of obscurity.'

Naturally, that makes me want to play it immediately.

There’s something poetic about digital preservation. Whether a game was a masterpiece or a flaming pile of code, it’s part of our history. In the Web3 world, we talk a lot about 'owning' our digital assets and permanent records, and seeing a 'forgotten' JRPG get a second chance on modern consoles feels like a win for the culture. Is it going to be good? Probably not. Is it going to be an interesting time capsule of 16-bit grid-based combat? Absolutely. Fair dinkum, I’ll take a weird historical artifact over a generic 'AIB-generated' shooter any day.

### The Hardware Whisper: High on Life and the Switch 2

Buried in the Monday releases is a little title called *High on Life* for the Switch 2. Now, hang on—did someone mention the Switch 2? We’re still navigating the rumors of what Nintendo’s next box can actually do, but seeing more 'current-gen' titles making the jump suggests the power bump might be more significant than the skeptics think. Or, it could just be more clever optimization magic. Either way, seeing Justin Roiland’s talking guns on a handheld that doesn't melt in your hands is a step forward.

### The Roll Call of the Strange

If you’re looking to fill your library, here’s the breakdown of what’s landing this week, courtesy of the original reporting by Kotaku:

**Monday, April 20** * *High on Life* (Switch 2) * *Bylina* (PC) * *Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege* (The full console gauntlet & PC) * *Typing Farmer* (PC – Because farming wasn't stressful enough, now you have to spell 'zucchini' correctly.)

**Tuesday, April 21** * *Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors* (Every platform known to man) * *Albion Online* (Xbox Series X/S – A solid move for the MMO crowd.) * *Dragon Queste Smash/Grow* (Mobile – I’m wary of the 'Smash/Grow' title. Sounds like a monetization trap, doesn't it?)

**Wednesday, April 22** * *Tides of Tomorrow* (Next-gen consoles & PC) * *Masters of Albion* (PC – Peter Molyneux is back at it. Will it change the world? Probably not. Will it be an interesting experiment in god-sim mechanics? One can hope.)

**Thursday, April 23** * *Kiln* (The pottery bloodbath begins! PS5, Xbox, PC) * *Sudden Strike 5* (PS5, Xbox, PC) * *Until Then* (Xbox – Finally making the jump.)

**Friday, April 24** * *Traysia* (The 'scrapheap' JRPG for basically everything) * *Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis* (PC – That title alone is a journey.)

### Why Does Any of This Matter?

You might look at this list and think, 'Jeff, mate, where’s the blockbuster?' But that’s the wrong question. In an industry currently obsessed with consolidation and 'safe' sequels, seeing a competitive pottery game and a 30-year-old 'bad' JRPG launch in the same week is a sign of life.

It’s the indie spirit—the experimental spells that might blow up in your face but leave the room looking a lot more interesting. We’re seeing a shift where 'niche' is the new 'mainstream.' Whether it’s *Masters of Albion* trying to reclaim the god-sim throne or *Kiln* trying to make us care about ceramics, these are the games that push the medium forward.

So, my advice? Pick something weird this week. Go throw some clay or dive into a 1992 grid-battle. The 'big' games will always be there, but the weird ones? They’re where the real magic happens.

Tags: Indie Games, Retro Gaming, Double Fine, Gaming News, Game Releases

Original article: kotaku