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I know! This feature is coming to you most likely in mid-March. For all of the adorning fans of the video game of the month feature, I can only apologise. For you see, I have a very legitimate reason for being late on this feature: pure laziness Elden Ring! SPOILER WARNING: My entry on this list is ten thousand per cent Elden Ring. How could it not be? There are no other games in existence anymore as far as I am concerned. This is however the time of year for the first cluster of mega-hitting games to be released to the market. There have been game releases lately to accommodate any game interests.
That being said, there are always older titles to sink into if the latest offerings haven’t taken your fancy or are a little out of your price range. Here are what our team have been playing lately. And no, not every entry is Elden Ring. Unfortunately.
Empire of Sin – Sophie Jones
Welcome to 1920’s Prohibition-era Chicago, where gangsters rule the street and districts are bursting with breweries, speakeasies, and brothels. Empire of Sin, by Romero Games, brings your gangster fantasies to life as you control historically inspired mobsters like Goldie Garneau or Al Capone. Your main objective is to become Chicago’s top dog by any means necessary. You can cause mayhem by instigating turf wars or earn that dollar and buy everyone out.
Empire of Sin is an amalgamation of gameplay genres. It’s essentially a strategy game. It also lets you join in the action with turn-based combat and don your roleplay hat. The diversity in gameplay mechanics kept me on my toes and made the game interesting. It offered a unique story whilst also letting me manage districts and sort out trading arrangements.
The turn-based combat, although strange at first, became one of my favourite parts of the game as you planned each attack, meticulously. Additionally, these fights improved as I hired more mobsters with new playstyles.
Recent updates have made this game sleeker in design and less confusing. Its mesh of mechanics seem to work in harmony and I have yet to encounter any of the bugs mentioned in earlier reviews. Yet, due to budget restraints Empire of Sin still has drawbacks. After sinking some hours into the game, I soon noticed that locations are repeated. This was annoying as it took away from the strategic fun.
I have thoroughly enjoyed prowling the streets of Chicago this month. If you have avoided this game due to bad press, I can confirm early reviews do not reflect the patched version well. If you want an XCOM like game set in the 1920s, then Empire of Sin is sure to scratch that itch.
The Outer Worlds – Pat Buckler
The Outer Worlds fits into one of my favourite video game categories alongside games like Fallout, Skyrim and Far Cry. These are open-world first-person RPGs, that grants you a lot of freedom to ignore the main story and just roam around living your own virtual life.
The Outer Worlds takes this concept into space. You're the captain of a ship, which you can use to hop between planets doing typical sci-fi odd jobs like hunting bounties, killing dangerous aliens and solving disputes between locals. As you explore these outer worlds you can recruit crew members who bring different skills and personalities to the table. In between missions they'll be relaxing on your ship, pleasantly reminding me of franchises like Mass Effect and Firefly.
If you choose to follow the story, it's set in an alternate future where mankind has spread across the universe and colonised new planets. Instead of governments, the colonies are ruled by various mega-corporations, so everybody is an employee first and a person second. You can work for them on a freelance basis but building favour with one will often upset their competitors. This means that some places that you visit will be more hostile than others if they're controlled by a particular faction.
My experience with The Outer Worlds has been to explore as much as I can, looting for the best weapons to make the fights as fun as possible. My personal favourite is a laser scythe, making me feel like a space grim reaper as my enemies disintegrate into dust from my remorseless slashing.
The combat doesn't feel as slick as Fallout 4 or even Skyrim, but it's been great to have a game that mostly channels the experience of those classics, in a setting that makes you feel like you're in an episode of The Mandalorian.
Aliens Fireteam Elite - Paul Blyth
The Aliens franchise has had a tough old time. First, we got Ridley Scott’s Alien, which was followed up with one of my all-time favourite films - Aliens. Then things went a bit of the rails with Aliens 3 before Alien Resurrection jumped the shark. Then we got two Alien vs Predator films, which successfully butchered both iconic movie monsters beyond recognition. And I don’t want to talk about Prometheus or Alien: Covenant and you can’t make me!
In the gaming world, the Xenomorph has, thankfully, had a better time of it... as long as you ignore Aliens Colonial Marines, which I do. Alien: Isolation blew everyone out of the water and was a loving tribute to the original Alien film. When Aliens: Fireteam Elite was announced I was excited but understandably hesitant. But the lower price point felt like the game knew what it was and I took the dive. And I’m so happy I did. Aliens: Fireteam is to Aliens what Alien: Isolation is to Alien - a love letter, of sorts, to the source material.
Set 23 years after the original trilogy the game puts you in the boots of a colonial marine. You can either matchmake with friends, randoms or AI-controlled bots to form a team of three and dive into one of 12 campaign missions. Straight off, the attention to detail is spot on with everything looking like it’s been ripped straight out of the Aliens film. Then there’s the sound design, once again taken straight from the film.
With the M41A Pulse Rifle instantly conjuring memories of the iconic film with every pull of the trigger. Gameplaywise it’s much like World War Z and Back 4 Blood, but, in my opinion, with a much more fluid and responsive control system. It’s a lot of fun and will have you shouting lines from the film as you blast down hordes of xenomorphs with friends and sentry turrets. And the final three missions are peak Aliens fodder that leads into an action-packed and heart-racing climax.
Horizon Forbidden West – Seb Hawden
Ahhhhhhhh, it's here, the follow up to one of my favourite games of 2017. Horizon Forbidden West is the highly anticipated follow up to Horizon Zero Dawn. Again, following the exploits of the very sassy Aloy, you must tear apart massive robotic machines, help out various tribal groups and not surprisingly, save the whole world. Not much pressure then eh?
The original game had an amazing story, was very enjoyable and had me gripped from start to finish. The sequel, which I am now very close to getting the Platinum Trophy on is better in every way apart from one. While I did not find the story as engrossing, it's still entertaining. However, the combat, NPC’s, graphics, and quest content are all vastly improved.
Melee combat has had a massive overhaul, along with the skill trees and new weapons, the combat in Forbidden West is an entirely new beast. Yes, you still have elemental arrows and arrows that are better for certain jobs but now you have gauntlets, spike guns and an all manner of new machine destroying tools.
Graphically, Forbidden West is gorgeous. I was constantly stopping and taking screenshots throughout my 40–50-hour game time. The original was a looker but the sequel is one of the best-looking games I have ever seen. Especially the NPC’s, everyone looks so rea, every character is unique and incredibly well realized by the actor playing them. It's the same story with the side quests, each one is a mini-story, each one is fun and there is a pleasant lack of mundane fetch quests.
I only have a few trophies left to get until I am done but the whole experience with Horizon Forbidden West was an amazing one. While the story was not as interesting as the first, everything else was superb. It is well worth your time and effort. Undeniably, it is a shining light among a vast array of great games on the PlayStation 5.
Elden Ring – Dan Hilton
Well, what is there to be said about the best game to have ever been created? THE game. The pinnacle of gaming accomplishments. The most enjoyable experience known to man. There are no words that could give it justifiable credit. But I suppose it is my job to at least try to put words to it.
From the very start of your journey within the Lands Between, you know that you are in for a gaming experience. You know the kind I mean, that special moment that you only get once, maybe twice in a generation. Elden Ring gives me that feeling. Elden Ring is truly the result of all of FromSoftware’s previous gaming endeavours. It takes the base formula of Dark Souls and adds flavours and aromatic notes from Bloodborne and Sekiro. Not only have the developers taken what worked well from their previous titles, but they have also taken what fans love about other open-world games. They have whipped it all together to make a truly amazing gaming experience.
Straight from the get-go, the world is open and free for exploration. The combat is amazing. If you have played a Dark Souls title then you will be familiar with most of its components. But it adds in jump attacks and guard counters. With unique attacks and counters for all types of weapons, it makes combat incredibly fluid and accommodating for many different play styles. Every build style has been vastly expanded upon, with more bleed damage options, holy damage options, pure strength options etc. I am currently enjoying a run with gravity magic and a lacerating katana.
The map points you roughly in the direction of the next ‘main’ progression and shows you the graces that you have rested at for the purpose of fast travel. Given how vast the world is for exploration, it is very helpful having a reminder of where the game wants you to go, especially considering there is no quest log, map markers (besides your own) or any way to keep track of what you are doing. But I love this. The minimalistic approach to this kind of thing that FromSoftware are known for works incredibly well in an open-world setting.
I am absolutely loving my time with Elden Ring and could honestly write for days about it. Which I will likely end up doing for my upcoming review. For now, though, I will keep this brief. Elden Ring is an incredible game, with mechanics, combat styles, aesthetic choices and atmospheric presence that work perfectly in tandem with each other. I have recommended it to every gamer I know and I am but days away from convincing strangers in the street to buy it.
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So, there we have it. Another selection of recommended games from the team here at Zatu. Every month, I always love putting this list together! It is great to see what kind of games my peers are putting their time into. I love that we can all share our love for games with each other, and by extension, with you. I hope you find something here that catches your eye, and if not, stay tuned for March’s edition!