‘Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’ Leads The Five Games You Need To Play This Week

Every week, it seems there’s more games for more platforms than ever before. So to help you cut through the noise, we pick out five games worth playing this week, which include a snipe-fest, a murder mystery, and, of course, karting.

Pick Of The Week

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Friday ($60, Nintendo Switch)

Yes, it’s Mario Kart 8. Really. For most people, we can just stop talking, because it’s all here, right down to Luigi’s death stare. But Nintendo has also included all the DLC and substantially upgraded Battle Mode, which might be enough to move games on its own. You also get five new characters, including Splatoon‘s crew, and, well, it’s Mario Kart. Really for most of us, that’s all the pitch needed.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, Tuesday ($60, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

The Sniper series, which to this point has been a low-key title to fill the dreary summer months, makes a bid for AAA status this week, with a more open structure, side missions, flexible tools and gadgets to get the job done. And, of course, the sniping gameplay that made it so successful is still there. The joy of quietly taking out some jerk from 500 yards remains the key focus of the series. It’ll be interesting to see how the franchise handles this step up in ambition: We’ll have a review later this week.

Outlast 2, Tuesday ($30 for a digital copy, $40 for a physical one, PS4, Xbox One and PC)

The survival horror game where you can only run, hide, and shoot found footage returns, this time with a bunch of new mechanics like a better camcorder to detect the creepy cult you’re evading, and a pair of glasses you need to keep on your face or suddenly have crappy vision. The original was a fairly popular jump-scare horror fest, so it’ll be interesting to see it make a return. Besides, we’re coming up on cheesy horror movie season at the multiplex, so this’ll be a fun way to ease into it.

What Remains Of Edith Finch, Tuesday ($20, PS4 and PC)

Giant Sparrow was last seen with The Unfinished Swan, a clever first-person puzzle game that involved shooting ink at stuff, among other mechanics, and was a delightful fairy tale. This time, they’ve still got a first-person game full of puzzles, but with a distinctly darker perspective; Edith is the last living Finch, and she has to learn just why the family is cursed by exploring its ramshackle old mansion. Hey, we’ve all been to worse family reunions.

Puyo Puyo Tetris, Tuesday ($40 for the Switch version, $30 for the PS4 version)

And finally, two beloved puzzle franchise crossover in a multiplayer game where one side plays the color match Puyo Puyo while the other plays Tetris. Just how this mix will work is an open question, but it promises to be a lot of multiplayer fun.

Any titles we missed? Let us know in the comments!

×