One of the latest to go down the Game Preview and Game Pass route is that of Lightyear Frontier, a game that takes farming sim elements but puts it into space.
Very soon another bike-fuelled adrenaline rush will be hitting console and PC with the launch of RiMS Racing. And it’s looking like Milestone are going to have a fight on their hands to stay at the top of the bike game.
With the FIA World Rally Championship celebrating a half century of action, the time is right for KT Racing and Nacon to really push the boat out with the official videogame of the most intense of motorsport sectors. And that’s exactly what is preparing to happen with the upcoming release of WRC 10 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5 and PC, as it’ll all be about the history of the sport.
Whenever a developer attempts to create a sim game with a zoo setting, it’s always going to make you think of and compare it to the pinnacle - Zoo Tycoon. That’s certainly the case for Springloaded and their upcoming zoo building management sim, Let’s Build a Zoo. To be fair though, there’s a bit of Jurassic World Evolution about it too as it features genetic aspects like DNA splicing. Having gained Beta access to an early build, I must say the future looks very promising for Let’s Build a Zoo. Especially if you’re interested in taking the more questionable roots to succeed in management.
When EA went big and splashed out the cash on the acquisition of Codemasters, the lines were drawn for the F1 series of titles to begin to reach all new heights. And even though it’s probably too early for any proper navigation from the EA team to help Codies with their push to provide another stellar F1 experience in the upcoming F1 2021, it’s fair to say that the game is still most definitely on track to be the finest F1 title yet.
There isn’t too long to wait now for King’s Bounty II as it nears its 24th August release date on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC. The marriage it has struck between exploration and tactical RPG is unique in that most games of this type simply opt for one or the other, and it’s a marriage we are quietly hopeful for.
At this point, Second Extinction is an incredibly promising title. While it is scheduled for a full release sometime later this year, it already feels like there is enough to keep players busy. In the long run, it would be incredibly beneficial to have an additional map or two to explore and some more single-player-friendly content, but when the dinos are as fun to shoot as this, there’s plenty of reasons to stick around.
Much like many games that come in the survival MMO-styled genre, Last Oasis demands that you put many hours into it; hundreds if you so wish. Only then will you ever be able to find the secrets of the world at play.
Checking out trailers or screenies for Fights in Tight Spaces, you’d be forgiven for seeing it as a composite of different games. There’s SUPERHOT of course, not only in the way it looks - like a fight in an Ikea catalogue - but in the way it slows down frantic combat to a step-by-step. There’s John Wick too, and more specifically John Wick Hex. Hex searched for a way to make the incredibly fluid brawling of John Wick work in a turn-based tactical game. Fights in Tight Spaces has similar aims.
It Takes Two has a huge amount of promise and is certainly in line for taking the genre to the next level, vying for the cooperative gaming crown in the process.
It’s hard to beat a good Metroidvania game, both in the sense that they are difficult and the genre just lends itself to very fun games. Many of the best games ever released are Metroidvanias with stunning artwork, beautiful soundtracks, and compelling stories, and ENDER LILIES is doing its best to be included in the list of greats. Currently on Steam as an early access game, ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights has a full release planned on Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
Spacebase Startopia on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S is shaping up to be a management sim in the truest sense. It's got a few small twists thrown in there too, however it’s looking set to be one to watch for fans of the genre.
Balan Wonderworld may not change the world come March, and it may not bring famed designer Yuji Naka to the same level as Shigeru Miyamoto is right now, but in 2021 it is awesome to see a gaming legend return to the spotlight with a major platformer release under a big name publisher like Square Enix. If anything, Balan Wonderworld will be a reintroduction to one of the best minds in gaming, and for now that’s probably going to be good enough.
The alpha of a game is always an interesting thing to see. It’s sort of like looking at a painting from far away. You can vaguely make out what it’s supposed to be but those small details haven’t come into frame yet. You assume they mean very little for the overall perception of the painting but - sometimes - they entirely skew it into something unrecognisable. A good alpha gives you something to look forward to, something to watch change over the coming year. A great alpha shows you exactly what you’re in for. Back 4 Blood does both.
