Every week, it feels like there’s more games for more platforms than the last. So, we cut through the noise to find the five games worth playing this week, starting with the superhero beating simulator DC fans have been waiting for.
Pick Of The Week
Injustice 2, Tuesday ($60, PS4 and Xbox One)
Yes, Netherrealm’s geeky fighting game is back, this time with 31 DC heroes and villains (39 if you count the reskins) for you to put in a jar and make ’em fight. But this won’t just finally settle whether Aquaman can beat up Gorilla Grodd. In addition to the usual gameplay, the game comes with a gear system that allows you to customize your hero to best suit your fighting style, be it button mashing or mildly more strategic fighter. And yes, Netherrealm’s other fighting series has a cameo: Sub-Zero will be around, and yes, we will make him and Captain Cold fight, because really, at this point that’s a moral obligation. We’ll have a review later this week.
Thumper, Thursday ($20, Nintendo Switch)
The Switch scores an indie game we’ve been hearing about for nearly two years, a rhythm action game where you play as a space beetle zipping its way across a hellish landscape to pounding industrial metal as you fight enemies that look like a cross between an ’80s album and Lovecraft’s nightmares. Yes, it is an odd game to debut on Nintendo’s new console, but it’s also gotten rave reviews everywhere it’s been played.
Shadow Warrior 2, Friday ($40, PS4 and Xbox One)
Yes, after great reviews on PC, a second heapin’ helpin’ of Wang is on the table for console players. The first Shadow Warrior cleverly rebooted the nearly forgotten and, er, pretty racist 3D Realms FPS as something with better gameplay mechanics and genuine emotional weight as we learned why Wang became the embittered homicidal maniac we know and love. Plus this one lets you take selfies, a feature that will surely not be heavily abused.
Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island ($15, PS4, Xbox One, and PC)
If you’ve been feeling the need for a new platformer in your life, and you’re all set with Yooka-Laylee, this might fill the cartoony void in your gaming heart. Playing as a feline woman with a robotic arm and an owl buddy, you’ll smash boxes, double jump, and generally platform around. If you want a change of pace, this might be the ideal game.
The Surge, Tuesday ($60, PS4, Xbox One, and PC)
Best described as an SF Dark Souls, The Surge puts you in the melee-focused exoskeleton of a guy in a post apocalyptic future who must fight to survive… yeah, we all know this story. The main question is whether you want another Souls-like to play, but this looks particularly fun, and especially with a quiet summer ahead of us, it’s hard to turn down any game that offers more than a few hours of fun. Also, you get to kill dudes with a futuristic axe. There just isn’t enough post-apocalyptic ax murder in video games these days.
Any games we missed? Let us know in the comments!