In this week's Inven Weekly Top Game Rankings, 'World of Warcraft: Forever' held onto 1st place following last week, reflecting high player expectations. 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4' also maintained 2nd place, holding strong at the top of the list. Furthermore, 'Final Fantasy Resonance' climbed four spots from 7th place last week to claim 3rd, while 'Hearthstone - Reign of the Black Empire' also rose four spots to secure 4th place. With 1st and 2nd place remaining unchanged, the sharp rise of these two titles brought notable movement to the upper ranks.
In the mid-tier, rank drops and new entries took center stage. 'The War of Genesis Side Story: Rhapsody of Zephyr Remaster,' which was 4th last week, dropped one place to 5th, while 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' newly entered at 6th. 'EA Sports FC 27' fell two spots from 5th last week to 7th, and 'Dynasty Warriors 2: Complete Edition Remaster' also dropped two places to 8th. The arrival of new titles coupled with drops for existing games led to significant shifting across the mid-tier.
Near the bottom of the rankings, 'Trails in the Sky The 2nd' held 9th place, unchanged from last week, while 'Minecraft Dungeons 2' newly entered at 10th. Meanwhile, 'Onimusha: Way of the Sword,' which ranked 3rd last week, and 'Ace Combat 8: Wings of Thedf,' which was 10th, dropped out of the Top 10 this week. Overall, with the top two titles holding their spots, the upward momentum of 'Final Fantasy Resonance' and 'Hearthstone - Reign of the Black Empire' stood out, making it a week marked by changes across the mid-to-lower ranks driven by the arrival of two new entries.
Last Week's Issues, New Releases, Events, and News
Rockstar Games' highly anticipated 'GTA6' was confirmed last week to have received a Youth Ineligible (Rating 18+) rating in South Korea. It was confirmed on the 16th that the Game Rating Committee (GCRB) assigned a Youth Ineligible rating to GTA6, making it one of the major rating classification cases conducted since the rating duties for PC and console games rated 18+ were transferred to the private sector in November last year. Reported to include strong violence, sexual content, and drug depictions, GTA6 has completed the necessary procedures for official domestic distribution through this rating classification. The game is scheduled for a global release on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19.
CD Projekt Red's (CDPR) new project, 'Hadar,' also showed progress in development. In an interview on the 15th, CDPR revealed that it had finished setting up the universe for its first original IP, 'Project Hadar,' and is currently testing gameplay elements and small-scale prototypes. Although it has not yet entered pre-production, the universe and core elements conceived over several years are taking concrete shape, continuing preparations for actual game production. Unlike the 'Witcher' and 'Cyberpunk' series, which were based on existing original works, Hadar is drawing attention for being built entirely from scratch by CDPR.
In the domestic mobile game market, Kakao Games' MMORPG 'World of Dokkaebi' continued its box-office success. Released on the 8th, the title claimed 1st place on Google Play's grossing charts on the 13th, reaching the top spot just five days after release. Meanwhile, Super Creative's collectible roguelike RPG 'Chaos Zero Nightmare' disclosed its future live-ops direction ahead of its 1st service anniversary on the 22nd. Newly appointed Producer Seung-hyun Choi presented preserving the value of existing combatants and improving roguelike content as key priorities, outlining plans to bolster the game's core appeal through a new season.
At Smilegate's MMORPG 'Lost Ark,' controversy continued surrounding a live broadcast held on the 16th. Amid growing player dissatisfaction over recent raid difficulty, balance, and in-game economy issues, former CCO Keum Kang-sun appeared on the stream instead of Director Jae-hak Jeon to address current issues. However, reactions expressed disappointment that the head director did not communicate directly and over certain explanations offered. Former CCO Keum Kang-sun teased a follow-up stream within two weeks involving Director Jae-hak Jeon.
In the PC gaming market, Steam's concurrent users broke an all-time record. According to SteamDB, Steam's peak concurrent users reached 43,505,724 on the 11th, an increase of approximately 820,000 players over the previous record set in March. On the other hand, Sega's 'Total War: SHOGUN 2 - Complete Edition' faced sales suspension just two days after its release on the 13th. Following complaints pointing out existing bugs, performance drops, and graphic quality issues, Sega and Creative Assembly acknowledged the problems and temporarily suspended sales, opting to resume sales of the original game that had been delisted.
In esports, Zerg player Min-chul "Soulkey" Kim won his fifth career title at the 'StarCraft' tournament ASL Season 22. In the finals held on the 17th, Soulkey secured a 4-3 victory against Terran Young-jin "Mind" Yoo after a hard-fought series that went to seven sets. With this, Soulkey became the first player in ASL history to achieve five career championships, while extending the Zerg race's streak to seven consecutive ASL titles. Additionally, the 'League of Legends' World Championship is currently underway.
What Are This Week's Notable New Releases, Events, and Updates?
On the 22nd, the dark comedy strategy RPG 'Demon's Knight Fever' will be released. The game tells the story of Grim Reaper Gigasgoides, who turned into a baby right before overthrowing God, teaming up with world-hating programmer Kyoshiro Jaryuin to confront false gods championing justice. At its core is the "Minion Overwork System," where players detonate allied minions to defeat enemies alongside them. Sacrificed minions grow stronger with each reincarnation, and players can cultivate their legion using "Villainy Points" earned through evil deeds.
Releasing on the same day, 'Final Fantasy Resonance' is a turn-based RPG introducing HD-2D graphics to the series for the first time. Fully reconfigured for console RPGs based on the first story arc of the sunset mobile game 'Final Fantasy Brave Exvius,' it depicts the journey of Rain, Lasswell, and Fina standing against the darkness threatening the crystals. Features include equipping past series characters such as Cloud, Tidus, and Warrior of Light as "Visions" to utilize their abilities and skills, along with a Break battle system that renders enemies incapacitated.
On the 23rd, Infinity Ward's new title 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4' will officially launch. Set in South Korea during a Second Korean War triggered by a full-scale North Korean invasion, the story unfolds by intertwining the perspectives of Private First Class Hyun-jun Park on his first combat deployment and Captain Price operating off the grid. Ahead of the official launch, campaign early access has been underway since the 17th KST for digital pre-order customers, and the extraction mode DMZ will also be playable early starting on the 21st. Additionally, the game currently holds a "Very Positive" rating on Steam across 3,109 reviews.
XLGames' open-world action MMORPG 'ArcheAge Chronicles' will release a Steam demo running from October 20 at 2:00 AM to October 27 at 2:00 AM KST. Any Steam user can participate without prior registration, allowing players to explore the Arcadian Sea region and experience PvP content for the first time among publicly shown builds. Some life skill content such as housing and trade will be excluded from this demo, and XLGames plans to prepare for an early access launch within the year based on player feedback.
'Steam Next Fest,' an event where players can try upcoming releases in advance, will also run from October 20 at 2:00 AM to October 27 at 2:00 AM KST. Players can sample free demos of unreleased games across various genres, communicate with developers through live streams and chat, or add titles of interest to their wishlists. A variety of new titles, including the aforementioned 'ArcheAge Chronicles,' will showcase demos during the event.
Over the weekend, game launch celebration events and special broadcasts will also follow. The 'CookieRun Grand Festival' will take place on the 24th and 25th at Seoul Children's Grand Park, featuring a 10th-anniversary exhibition for 'CookieRun: OvenBreak,' the World Championship finals, a marathon, and AR tours. On the same day, October 24 at 7:00 PM KST, a special 4th-anniversary stream for 'Goddess of Victory: Nikke' will air on its official YouTube channel, revealing new information regarding the 4th-anniversary update and celebratory events.
What Were Last Week's Major METACRITIC Scores?
Among the major new titles with scores registered on Metacritic this week, 'Enshrouded' earned the highest score with an 89 on PC. 'Planet Zoo 2' and 'Castlevania: Curse of Belmont' were also well-received with scores of 85 and 84, respectively, while the remaining three titles landed in the 70s.
'Enshrouded' recorded a Metacritic score of 89 based on 10 reviews for the PC version. It received praise for naturally combining survival crafting with action RPG-style exploration and progression, while offering a vast world alongside a highly flexible voxel building and destruction system. Rich content enjoyable in both solo and co-op play was also cited as a strength, though criticisms pointed to a lack of combat depth and visible limitations of a voxel-based world.
'Ratatan' recorded a score of 76 based on 10 reviews for the Nintendo Switch 2 version. Its combination of 'Patapon'-style rhythm action with fast pacing and roguelike progression structures earned favorable reviews, along with its addictive music and distinctive art style. On the other hand, a cluttered screen making it difficult to read the battle state, repetitive progression, weak meta-progression, control and performance issues, and the absence of local co-op were cited as drawbacks.
'Castlevania: Curse of Belmont' recorded a score of 84 across 59 reviews factored into its PS5 rating. Flexible combat, acrobatic movement, interconnected area exploration, a progression system utilizing Tarot cards, and outstanding music and art led to praise as a successful return for the series. However, criticisms were raised regarding inconsistent difficulty and balance in certain sections, as well as clunky controls and technical issues that occasionally hampered the experience.
'Planet Zoo 2' recorded an 85 based on 16 reviews for the PC version. Critics noted that aquatic and flying animals, new habitats, improved animal AI, and expanded building tools delivered a more comprehensive zoo management experience than its predecessor. Conversely, points were raised that the overwhelming management elements could burden new players, while wildlife sanctuaries lacked depth and micromanagement tasks felt tedious.
'Tenebris Somnia' and 'Penguin Colony' recorded scores of 79 across 5 reviews and 76 across 6 scored reviews, respectively, both based on their PC versions. Tenebris Somnia was praised for its presentation combining 8- and 16-bit style survival horror with live-action videos, tense atmosphere, and engaging story, whereas stiff controls and combat, unfair-feeling puzzles, and sharp difficulty spikes during boss fights were noted as drawbacks. Penguin Colony received favorable remarks for reinterpreting Lovecraft's mythos through a penguin's perspective, Antarctic exploration, and non-linear narrative with narration; however, collision bugs, clunky execution, short duration, and a weak ending left room for improvement.
Popularity Poll for New Releases
This week's vote consists of a popularity poll for games newly released or scheduled for release between September 18 and November 25. Accordingly, games outside this period have been removed from the poll, and new titles have been added.
