PCs, handhelds, mobile, console, indies, TripleA, free-to-play — the gaming scene gets more diverse and difficult to follow by the day, but thankfully I’m here ever 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, let’s get to it…
This Week’s Kirby Cutefest
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (Wii U, Feb. 20)
Welp, the Wii U finally has its first Kirby game, so it’s official, the system is now a must-have. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse is essentially an unofficial sequel to the DS game, Kirby: Canvas Curse. Much like that game, Rainbow Curse has you drawing lines on a touchscreen to guide Kirby, but our pink puffball is traveling this time around a world entirely made of clay. This should provide the usual easygoing Kirby fun you know and damn well ought to love.
This Week’s Cat Adventure Game
Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore a Fedora (PC, Mac & Linux, Feb. 20)
Want to play a noir-flavored adventure game that’s set in a unique, blocky world and stars a lady private dick with talking cat partner? Of course you do, and thankfully Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore a Fedora is exactly that! Solve crimes with your cat until he double-crosses you, which he’s obviously going to do because he’s a cat.
This Week’s Celebrity Harassment Game
Paparazzi (PC, PS4 & Wii U, Feb. 17)
Paparazzi is a simple, 8-bit styled multiplayer game that turns the seedy world of celebrities and paparazzo into a fun arcade romp. One player takes on the role of the celeb and tries to hide in the scenery Where’s Waldo? style, while the other player tries to find the celebs and grab a picture of them. Looks like simple, but fun stuff.
This Week’s Barbaric Strategy Game
Total War: Attila (PC & Mac, Feb. 17)
The long-running Total War series returns with perhaps its most ambitious strategy game to date in Total War: Attila. Yup, this time around, you’re playing as Attila the freakin’ Hun, so things should be a little more rough and rowdy than past Total War games that focused on the Roman Empire and Japan.
Pick of the Week
The Order: 1886 (PS4, Feb. 20)
The Order: 1886, the biggest, most technically impressive PS4 exclusive since InFamous: Second Son, finally arrives this week. It’s hard to say if The Order is going to push many new ideas from a design perspective, it probably won’t, but it does look to have an interesting universe, and there’s no questioning the game’s technical chops. If you’re tired of playing remasters and ultimate editions on your PS4 and want something that will truly show off the machine’s capabilities, The Order just might be the game for you.
A good week for long-awaiting console exclusives. Any games you’re itching to get your hands on that I failed to mention? Hit the comments and let the world know.