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 2D Multiplayer Shooter
Cobalt (PC, Xbox 360 & Xbox One, Feb. 2)
Cobalt is the latest game to be published by Mojang (the dudes behind Minecraft), so it could end up being a bigger deal than you think. The game is a slick, 2D action-platformer, but what sets it apart is its variety of multiplayer modes. Deathmatch, capture the flag, a Counter-Strike-like team-based mode, Cobalt has it all. Basically, Cobalt is a mashup between 2D indie platformers and Call of Duty, so yeah, it makes some sense that Mojang is backing it.
This Week’s Meta Horror Game
Calendula (PC & Mac, Feb. 2)
Calendula is a game that doesn’t want to be played. In practice, that means the game’s full of twisted meta moments and challenges – just selecting “Play” from the main menu is a trying puzzle. Once you get into the game proper, you’ll have to break the game and take advantage of “glitches” to proceed. In other words, Calendula is like a lot of Steam games, but it’s doing it on purpose. No, really. Here’s the game’s Steam page.
This Week’s Space Exploration Adventure
Amazing Discoveries in Outer Space (PS4, Feb. 2)
Amazing Discoveries in Outer Space is a physics-based space exploration game, in which you traverse various procedurally-generated solar systems. Even though all the planets in Amazing Discoveries are randomly created, the game still has a lot of personality and a nice, The Little Prince-esque hand-painted art style. Looks like a fun chill out experience for those who can’t wait for No Man’s Sky.
This Week’s Roguelike
Hieroglyphika (PC, Feb. 3)
Hieroglyphika is a new indie Roguelike RPG with a cool, 2D art style. That’s not exactly a rare thing, but Hieroglyphika sets itself apart by completely shunning words of any kind. Almost everything in the game, even menus, are expressed with symbols. It’s an interesting twist, and Hieroglyphika looks like a solid, stripped-down Roguelike experience. Here’s the game’s Steam page.
Pick of the Week
XCOM 2 (PC, Feb. 5)
XCOM returns for another round of nail-biting turn-based strategy. In XCOM 2, the world’s situation is even more dire, as the alien force you were fighting in the first game has taken over, and it’s up to you to defend the last remnants of humanity. New classes, enemies, and types of objectives should make this the most varied and challenging XCOM games yet. Here’s the game’s Steam page.
A bit of a slower week, but we’ve got some solid stuff on the indie/Steam front. Any games you’re itching to get your hands on that I failed to mention? Hit the comments and let the world know.