Keeping track of the latest video games is no easy task. Between PC, consoles, handhelds, and mobile, dozens of new games come out every week, and a lot of them aren’t very good. How do you separate the wheat from the chaff? Thankfully, you don’t have to, because every week in The Five I dig through the mountain of new releases to find the diamonds you may have otherwise missed.
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Every edition of The Five will include a Pick of the Week and four other games you should be keeping an eye on. Whether you want to know about the latest triple-A blockbuster, or the hot new thing on Steam, The Five has you covered. So, without further ado…
Pick of the Week
Tacoma (PC, Mac & Xbox One, Aug. 1)
Tacoma is the next game by Fullbright, the creators of the acclaimed and hugely-influential 2013 indie Gone Home. Tacoma is a wee bit more ambitious than Gone Home, replacing a regular childhood home with a high-tech space station in the year 2088, but the underlying gameplay should be fairly familiar.
Like Gone Home, you’re on your own in Tacoma, and have to piece together what happened before you got there using 3D recordings captured by the space station’s surveillance system. The ability to rewind, fast-forward, and inspect these recordings from different angles should give Tacoma a bit of extra depth Gone Home lacked. Even if you’re not usually into “walking simulator” indie games, Tacoma‘s story will likely be worth your investment.
This Week on PlayStation Store
Patapon Remastered (PS4, Aug. 1)
The best game the PSP ever got comes home to the PS4 in a new remastered edition! How to even explain Patapon? It’s a unique mashup of action, strategy, and rhythm games, where you command a small army of Patapon warriors by pressing certain button combinations in rhythm – you kind of have to play it to understand it. Patapon can be frustrating as heck, but once you find that right flow, there’s few games more satisfying.
This Week on PC and Console Digital Stores
The Long Dark (PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One & PS4, Aug. 1)
The Long Dark is a new wilderness survival game with a very slick visual style. Don’t expect to be chased around by any zombies or mutants – cold, starvation, wild animals, and other natural threats are all you have to worry about, although that should be plenty to contend with. The Long Dark has a been in Early Access for some time (since 2014) and already has a strong following, so expect a polished experience.
This Week on Steam
Redeemer (PC, Aug. 1)
Redeemer has the look of a top-down shooter like Hotline Miami or Helldivers, but it’s actually more of a brawler, with players being able to dispatch enemies with knives, hammers, and their bare hands. You play as Vasily, a cybernetically-enhanced former mercenary who’s now living the simple life as a monk — until his former employers track him down. Things get bloody from there. Check out Redeemer on Steam.
This Week on Steam
Deadliners (PC, Aug. 1)
Deadliners is, essentially, a stylish new multiplayer take on classic arcade games like Nibbler – you and up to three other players control lines, and if you touch another line, or yourself, you lose. Pretty simple, right? Well, you also have the limited ability to spawn obstacles, or destroy other players’ obstacles, and some stages feature complex mazes you have to navigate. This one looks like good, simple fun. Check out Deadliners on Steam.
It’s an almost all-indie week, but don’t let that scare you! Tacoma and The Long Dark are definitely worth your time, so why not try something a little different?
