1000+ unique media and news posts every 24 hours…
Folks, it’s December. That means that unless you live in a part of the world where the weather is always nice (or you’re in, say, Australia), you’re probably doing your best to keep the frigid temperatures at bay. And hey, considering a weekend of being stuck indoors, I can’t think of a better time to play some video games. If you don’t know what to play anymore, don’t be afraid! We have a few recommendations for you.
This week we have some brand new games in the mix, but we’re also throwing it back a few years with a 2022 RPG and a remake of an even older strategy title. Let’s dig in!
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows (Steam Deck YMMV)
Current goal: Fill the hole that Overwatch 2 left in my heart
Marvel Rivals has been out for less than 24 hours at the time of writing, and I already feel like I’m having more fun with it than I have with Overwatch 2 in over a year. To be clear, I don’t think it’s a better game than Blizzard’s shooter, but its novelty has attracted several of my friends who no longer play Overwatch, and it’s been a while since I had a game I played with more than one friend at a time. Many of my friends lean towards more traditional shooters, survival games, and other multiplayer games that don’t really interest me, so I usually play games alone. It’s only when playing fighting games and now Marvel Rivals that I overlap with some of these nerds, and even if I’m still dealing with my feelings about the game itself, it’s a feeling like no other to have something where the group chat gathers around it. –Kenneth Shepard
See Marvel Rivals on Steam – G/O Media may receive a commission
Play it on: PS5, PS4, Windows (Steam Deck N/A)
Current goal: Restore another AI to save the world
2017 was the last time I spent any meaningful time with Aloy and the terrifying armada of robo-dinos and beasts that populate her post-apocalyptic world.
And oh boy, I forgot how fun the core combat loop of this game is. It’s been so long since I played the first one that I can’t remember the concrete differences between Zero Dawn and Forbidden West during the hectic moments. But the challenge of balancing bow and arrow shooting (my favorite type of shooting), resource management, setting traps, and elemental status effects provides a pure adrenaline rush of female hero fantasy for me. Seriously, this would be my GOTY if it had come out this year (I mean, it did on PC anyway).
However, the story haunts my mind a bit. As with Zero Dawn, I feel like this setting and these characters could have used another version or two? That said, I’m really starting to like Aloy as a heroine. The plot’s themes of environmental destruction, human greed, and artificial intelligence also provide interesting food for thought… especially considering the direction IRL Earth seems to be taking (lolsob). Nothing quite convinces me, but it’s still fun to think about!
Nowadays I long for more difficult challenges in games, so I play on Very Hard and find the combat so rewarding that I will absolutely play on Ultra Hard again when I’m done. Plus, it’s beyond gorgeous in motion, so it’ll be great for testing and demonstrating the impact of any upgrades I make to my PC in the future.
–Claire Jackson
See Horizon: Forbidden West on Humble Bundle – G/O Media may receive a commission
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows (Steam Deck YMMV)
Current goal: Discover great mysteries from the past
Doesn’t everyone just choose this? Oh, am I the horrible normie? Oh god. No, wait, I mean, I’m playing UnTangient ReMaxoldable, a new turn-based trans-media strategy deckbuilder from Belgian developers Ludotrance.
No, I want to play the big new thing. And so far, in the hour I’ve been playing, I’ve had a blast! I picked up all the bodies of the enemies and placed them on pews. It’s like Dishonored, but with hats and whips! I’m totally into it. —John Walker
See Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on Humble Bundle – G/O Media may receive a commission
Play it on: Windows (steam deck YMMV)
Current goal: Rule the underworld
Solium Infernum was a strategy game about rival hell devils from Cryptic Comet that was originally released in 2009. This year, League of Geeks released a remake that I’m told updated the graphics, but also made some of the underlying gameplay a bit deeper and a bit. more accessible. I haven’t played the original, it was a cult favorite at the time. However, I’ve played a lot of the latest version and am completely obsessed. Unlike most strategy games in the 4X form of the Civ series, Solium Infernum forgoes resource management and military upkeep and focuses primarily on diplomacy and the use of specific events, spells, and minions from the Hellworld to achieve the victory conditions.
It’s much more like a tabletop game where everything is streamlined for top-level decision making, rather than fiddling with menus and branching tech trees. Explaining it that way might give the impression that Solium is shallow, but that’s not the case. At any given moment, you’re trying to analyze the tradeoffs and resolve delays associated with everything from consolidating resources into limited supply slots to whether you can recruit and upgrade lieutenants quickly enough to maintain the balance of power as one rival overtakes the swallows others. I haven’t played it with other people yet, and apparently that’s where the real fun actually begins. Right now, mastering the basics against AI opponents is enough to keep me glued to my computer until 2 a.m. – Ethan Gach
See Solium Infernum on Steam – G/O Media may receive a commission
And that concludes our recommendations for this week. Have fun gaming!
For the latest news, Facebook, Tweet And Instagram.
1000+ unique media and news posts every 24 hours…