PCs, handhelds, mobile, console, indies, triple A, free-to-play — the gaming scene gets more diverse and difficult to follow by the day, but thankfully I’m here every week to guide you through what’s happening with games.
As always, I’ll rattle off five games I think you might want to check out this week. Keep in mind, these articles aren’t meant to be comprehensive lists of everything coming out that week so much as a nice rounded tasting menu. So, here are the games you need to know about this week…
This Week’s MMO-Shooter
Tom Clancy’s The Division (PC, Xbox One & PS4, March 8)
After a number of development setbacks, Tom Clancy’s The Division finally arrives this week. An MMO/shooter hybrid, The Division sends players out into a beautiful, open, post-apocalyptic New York, and lets them team up with other players on the fly to go on various gunplay-heavy missions. Assuming the game isn’t hobbled by online issues at launch, it could very well be a serious challenger to other MMO-shooters like Destiny.
This Week’s Expansion
Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation (3DS, March 10)
A couple weeks back, Nintendo released Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright and Conquest, and now they’re releasing a third version of the game via DLC. Like Birthright and Conquest, Revelation is its own game, featuring a unique storyline and missions that fill in the holes left by Birthright and Conquest. If you’ve already burned through Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright and Conquest, Revelation should satisfy your strategy-RPG addiction.
This Week’s Adventure Game
Shardlight (PC, March 8)
Shardlight is a new game from the publisher of critically acclaimed throwback adventure games like Primordia and Gemini Rue. You play as a young woman working for the corrupt government in a post-apocalyptic world, who becomes convinced there’s a cure for the disease plaguing the planet. Looks like a beautifully bleak experience. Here’s the game’s Steam page.
This Week’s Action-RPG
Moon Hunters (PC, March 10)
Moon Hunters is a new action-RPG that’s equal parts The Legend of Zelda and Diablo. The game takes place in a beautifully rendered, 2D world full of colorful characters, and lets up to four players smash and bash their way through monster-packed dungeons. The game also gives you the freedom to craft their own story, depending on how they approach combat and respond to the world’s various characters. This one looks like it could be one of 2016’s surprise indie hits. Here’s the game’s Steam page.
Pick of the Week
Hitman (PC, Xbox One & PS4, March 11)
Agent 47 returns in what’s been promised as the biggest, most open Hitman game yet. As recently announced, this entry in the series is episodic, with only the first episode being available on March 11. This first episode will contain a playable prologue, one open-world location (Paris) and two story missions. Future episodes will unlock Italy, Morocco, Thailand, the United States, and Japan, as well as the rest of the story. Odd release strategy aside, Hitman looks like another top-notch dose of sneaky action.
Two triple-A heavy-hitters backed up by some excellent-looking indie stuff this week. Any games you’re itching to get your hands on that I failed to mention? Hit the comments and let the world know.