Keeping track of all the games arriving each week on PC, handhelds, consoles and mobile is no easy track, but don’t worry, I’m here to help. Every week in Five Games I separate the wheat from the chaff and pick the titles you need to pay attention to.
We recently freshened up the Five Games format a bit. The Pick of the Week is now listed first, and the rest of the games are filed under headings that will hopefully be more helpful for you. Looking for the latest indie hotness? Check the Steam picks. Want to download something for your Xbox One or PS4 on a Saturday night? Hit up the Console Downloads section. So, without further ado…
Pick of the Week
Asemblance (PC & PS4, June 21)
In Asemblance, you awake to find yourself trapped in some sort of experimental machine. The machine can simulate your memories and seems to be running some sort of experiment on you, but you just want to escape. Of course that’s probably going to be a lot harder than you think.
The game looks like a good solid mind trip, and its production values look pretty impressive by indie standards. Perhaps that’s not surprising given that the game was created by developers who used to work for Bungie (Destiny) and Visceral Games (Dead Space). Asemblance looks like a good, creepy take on the modern adventure game/walking simulator. Play it before everybody starts talking about it.
This Week on Steam
Drawful 2 (PC, Mac & PS4, June 21)
Hey, it’s the latest wacky party game from the makers of You Don’t Know Jack! In Drawful, you’re presented with a tricky phrase, which you have to express using only pictures (you draw on your tablet or other connected touchscreen). You then show your scribblings to your fellow players and they either try to guess the phrase, or come up with their own. Points are awarded to those who guessed the right phrase and the person whose fake answer gets the most votes. Basically, it’s Balderdash with pictures, and it’s a lot of fun. Here’s the game’s Steam page (it’s also coming to PS4).
Breached (PC & Mac, June 22)
This seems to be the week for games about waking up in unsettling places. In Breached you awaken from cryogenic sleep on a distant planet. It’s up to you to try and recover your memories, investigate the environment using drones and repair your shelter. Oh, and did I mention you only have about a week’s worth of oxygen left? Looks like a good bit of sci-fi survival fun. Here’s the game’s Steam page.
This Week in Retail Releases
Mighty No. 9 (PC, Mac, Linux, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One & Wii U, June 21)
After many delays, Mighty No. 9, the Kickstarter-funded spiritual successor to the Mega Man series, is finally here. The game has been getting mixed reviews, but it looks like a solid, if somewhat unambitious, dose of old-school platforming fun. At the very least you may want to give Mighty No. 9 a look out of sheer curiosity, as the game only costs $20 ($30 if you grab the boxed version).
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE (Wii U, June 24)
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE started as a straight crossover between Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei and Nintendo’s Fire Emblem series, but it’s since turned into its own unique beast. In Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE you’re the owner of a Japanese talent agency, who also defends the city from evil entities called Mirages on the side. There are also good Mirages that happen to look like classic Fire Emblem characters, which you can team up with. So yeah, this is kind of a strange one. It’s also one of the Wii U’s very last exclusives, so you diehard Nintendo fans might want to give it a look.
The video game industry is still recovering from E3, but there’s a few decent things this week. Any interesting games that I missed? Feel free to shout ’em out below.