Every week, it seems more games arrive for more platforms than ever. So every week, we pick out the five games that are most worth your playtime and attention. This week is a rare breather, as the big AAA title of Mass Effect: Andromeda isn’t out until next week. So let’s play some smaller games, eh?
Pick Of The Week
Styx: Shards Of Darkness, Tuesday (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
The orc thief is back and stealthing his way though another fantasy setting in this sequel. While they’ve added some new mechanics, the basic gameplay is still the same; sneak past the guards, steal the stuff, and get out, perhaps laying down some booby traps along the way. The cult franchise has always deserved a wider audience, which it can hopefully get this go-round.
Death Squared, Tuesday (PS4, Xbox One)
In this game, you and your friends play some adorable robots who are not-so-adorably turned into scrap by various death traps if you don’t think ahead in the game. Multiplayer fans in particular will want to look this one up, as it has a lot of potential to eat up all your time, or at least leave a friend angry you rolled onto that button.
Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight, Thursday (PS4, Xbox One arrives Friday)
If you long for the days when “Nintendo Hard” was a thing, this sidescroller promises to bring them back with combos, tough gameplay, and a pixel art style. While the words “Dark Souls” are bandied about, this looks more like a straightforward hardcore retro experience, which should be a fun time for gamers who miss the days of games designed to test how hard you can slam a controller.
Blue Collar Astronaut, Tuesday (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Vita)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VImDlP0jals
This smart-assed game combines hilarious space physics with paying off your student loans. It’s exactly what it sounds like; you’re in space, and you have to do crap jobs like deliver pizzas while trying to manage Newton’s Laws in a vacuum. This already had a run on Steam, and the trailer is a good indication of just how, ah, sincere the whole enterprise can be, which is not very. But it is a lot of fun, and console gamers will get in on the action this week.
Kona, Friday (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Finally, there’s this game, set in Canada in the ’70s, where you’re a PI investigating a minor vandalism issue that quickly turns into a fight for survival against both the snowy winter and the Native spirits that some rich industrialist has managed to tick off. We’re assuming he did something horror-movie grade dumb, but we’ll have to play the game to find out.
Any games we missed? Let us know in the comments!