10 - Apex Legends
Apex Legends is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Apex Legends is an online multiplayer battle royale game featuring squads of three players using pre-made characters (called “Legends”), similar to those of hero shooters. Alternate modes have been introduced allowing for single and for two-player squads since the game’s release.
Each match generally features twenty teams of three-player squads. Players can join friends in a squad or can be matched randomly with other players. Before the match, each player on the squad selects one of the 12 playable characters (as of Season 4), with the exception that no character may be selected more than once by a squad. Each character in the squad has a unique design, personality, and abilities that provide different playstyles to the team. All teams are then placed on an aircraft that passes over the game map. One player in each squad is the jumpmaster, selecting when the squad should skydive out of the aircraft and where to land with the concurrence of the other squad members. However, players are free to deviate from the squad’s path.
In case you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last year or more and have no clue what Battle Royale is, the premise is simple enough.
60 players are dropped onto a battlefield where they need to scavenge for weapons, loot and ammo while battling it out with other gamers. An ever-shrinking ring pushes players closer and closer together until just a handful are left and a single team becomes the victor.
Apex Legends is not Titanfall 3 though, so don’t go in expecting mech suits, wall-running, double-jumping or other similar mechanics. There is a fast-paced play, including the ability to slide across the floor or down slopes. There’s also a brilliant gunplay style, but fans of Titanfall may be disappointed if they’re expecting more from that franchise with this game.
9 - Star Wars Jedi - Fallen Order
Fallen Order is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Fallen Order was inspired heavily by Batman: Arkham Asylum with regards to the combat system and the “Metroidvania” style of exploration and progression.
little about Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order that actually feels new. The latest game from Titanfall and Apex Legends studio Respawn, Fallen Order is an action-adventure game that’s something of a mish-mash of its contemporaries, blending elements of Tomb Raider, Breath of the Wild, Uncharted, God of War, and more, before slathering the concoction with a fine layer of Star Wars mythology. The result isn’t groundbreaking, but it will be a relief for long-suffering Star Wars fans. Fallen Order doesn’t have to be great: it’s enough to know that this is a solid Star Wars game that really makes you feel like a Jedi. It even has a cute droid.
The player fights with a customisable lightsaber and the force in a third-person perspective. Enemies range from different types of imperial soldiers to other animals and creatures. The player will on a few occasions fight Inquisitors, who like him fight with lightsabers and Force abilities.
8 - Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Disco Elysium is a role-playing video game that features an open world and dialogue-heavy gameplay mechanics. The game is presented in an isometric perspective in which the player character is controlled. The player takes the role of a detective on a murder case who suffers from alcohol and drug-induced amnesia.
The player can move the detective about the current screen to interact with non-player characters (NPC) and highlighted objects or move onto other screens. Early in the game, they gain a partner, Kim Kitsuragi, another detective who acts as the protagonist’s voice of professionalism and who may be able to offer advice or support in certain dialogue options. Other NPCs may be influenced to become temporary companies that join the group and provide similar support.
7 - The Outer Worlds
The Outer Worlds is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
The Outer Worlds is an action role-playing video game featuring a first-person perspective. In the early stages of the game, the player can create their own character and unlock a ship, which acts as the game’s central hub space. Though the player cannot control their ship directly, it serves as a fast travel point to access different areas in the game and acts as the player’s persistent inventory space. The player can encounter and recruit non-player characters as companions who have their own personal missions and stories.
When accompanying the player, the companions act as an aid in combat. Each companion has its own individual skills and special attacks, and it can also develop its own skill specialization. When exploring, the player can bring up to two companions alongside them, while the rest stay on the ship. The player can make numerous dialogue decisions, which can influence the game’s branching story. They can also respond to NPCs in various ways, such as acting heroically, maniacally, or moronically.
6 - Devil May Cry V
Devil May Cry V is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
The gameplay features the return of Dante and Nero as playable characters, along with a new character, named “V”. The gameplay is similar to that of the other titles in the Devil May Cry series, focusing on fast-paced “stylish action”; The player fights off hordes of demons with a variety of attacks and weapons. They receive a style-rating for combat based on a number of factors, such as move variety, the length of a combo and dodging attacks. The game’s music changes based on the player’s performance in combat. Every time the player interacts with the mechanic Nico or finds a statue, he can buy new abilities for each character. While there are three playable characters, the game forces the player to use only one permission. Like previous games, this title has a Bloody Palace mode where the player can face multiple types of demons in a single area.
The first character is Nero who was introduced in Devil May Cry 4. He retains his Red Queen sword for melee combat, and the Blue Rose double-barreled revolver. However, he does not have his demonic arm from the previous game but has an assortment of new robotic arms called Devil Breakers instead. These have a variety of functions like grabbing enemies from a distance or stopping time to freeze an enemy in place. Nero can also find Devil Breakers during stages. Devil Breakers are powerful but fragile and can be destroyed if used incorrectly. Late in the story, Nero has access to the Devil Trigger move which expands his combat skills.
5 - Gears 5
Gears 5 is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Gears 5 is rich with lore and history, similarly to the games before it. The Gears storylines are well done in allowing any player to jump right in and generally understand the story that is transpiring, as well as some of the politics between the conflict-actors.
Gears 5 is no different, and while understanding previous history or events that transpired in prior games helps, the story is fleshed out enough that any newcomer can follow the plot.
In addition to single-player gameplay, the game supports three-player local split-screen or online cooperative gameplay.
4 - Fire Emblem - Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is available for Nintendo Switch.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a tactical role-playing game in which players control a player character whose gender and name are chosen at the beginning of the game. During the opening hours, the player character is asked to teach at the Garreg Mach Monastery, which acts as a hub for game activities. Choosing a particular schoolhouse to teach impacts the narrative from that point on.
The player’s time is divided between story-based battles that advance the main narrative and periods in Garreg Mach where they interact with students and staff members there. While the opening half of the game focuses on this school system, the story skips ahead five years and focuses more on the battle, with the player being locked to the house they chose during the opening half.
3 - Luigi’s Mansion 3
Luigi’s Mansion 3 is available for Nintendo Switch.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 is an action-adventure game, in which players control the character of Luigi from a fixed third-person perspective, as they capture ghosts across a large hotel setting.
The game features two modes of gameplay – a single-player story mode, and a set of multiplayer game modes – in which ghost-catching functions in the same manner as previous instalments: players stun ghosts with Luigi’s flashlight, snag them with his Poltergust, and weaken their health down to 0 in order to capture them.
Luigi’s invited to the towering Last Resort hotel, but when Mario and friends go missing, our green-clad hero will have to conquer his fears to save them! Slam, blow away, and vacuum up ghosts with the all-new Poltergust G-00, and join forces with Gooigi to overcome the puzzling contraptions and mischievous boss on each themed floor. And that’s just the Last Resort. Enter the ScareScraper for 8-player local wireless or online co-op gameplay.
See if you can defeat all the ghosts, rescue all the toads, or clear other objectives before time runs out…in the ScareScraper! And for more mini-game madness, compete on teams at the ScreamPark! Whether you play with friends or wander the hotel alone, you’ll be sucked in by the atmospheric music and ghoulish décor of every cobwebby corner you explore. Why not take in the cinematic sights and sounds with a friend? In the main adventure, you and a friend can play together as Luigi and Gooigi in two-player co-op! Gooigi can walk on spikes, slip through tight spaces, and help Luigi overcome obstacles he can’t tackle alone. Never hurts to have a friend in this hotel; it may not be very spooky, but Luigi begs to differ!
2 - Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2 is available for free on PC and PlayStation 4.
A survival horror game, Resident Evil 2 features the same basic gameplay mechanics as its predecessor, Resident Evil. The player explores a fictional city while solving puzzles and fighting monsters. The game’s two protagonists may be equipped with firearms, but limited ammunition adds a tactical element to weapon use. On the status screen, the player can check the condition of the protagonists, use medicine to heal their wounds, and assign weapons. The characters’ current health can also be determined by their posture and movement speed. For example, a character will hold their stomach in pain if wounded and will limp slowly if on the verge of death. The protagonists may carry a limited number of items and must store others in boxes placed throughout the game world, where they may later be retrieved. Each protagonist is joined by a support partner during the course of the story. These characters accompany the player in certain scenes and occasionally become playable.
In Resident Evil 2, the classic action, tense exploration, and puzzle-solving gameplay that defined the Resident Evil series returns. Players join rookie police officer Leon Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield, who are thrust together by a disastrous outbreak in Raccoon City that transformed its population into deadly zombies. Both Leon and Claire have their own separate playable campaigns, allowing players to see the story from both characters’ perspectives. The fate of these two fan-favourite characters is in players hands as they work together to survive and get to the bottom of what is behind the terrifying attack on the city. Will they make it out alive?
1 - Sekiro - Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is available for free on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is an action-adventure video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Activision. The game takes place in the Sengoku period in Japan and follows a shinobi known as Wolf as he attempts to take revenge on a samurai clan who attacked him and kidnapped his lord. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 22 March 2019.
The gameplay is focused on stealth, exploration, and combat, with a particular emphasis on boss battles. Although most of the game takes place in fictional areas, some areas are inspired by real-world buildings and locations in Japan. The game also makes strong references to Buddhist mythology and philosophy. While creating the game, director Hidetaka Miyazaki wanted to create a new intellectual property (IP) that marked a departure from the Souls series of games also made by FromSoftware and looked to series such as The Mysterious Murasame Castle and Tenchu for inspiration.
In Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice you are the “one-armed wolf”, a disgraced and disfigured warrior rescued from the brink of death. Bound to protect a young lord who is the descendant of an ancient bloodline, you become the target of many vicious enemies, including the dangerous Ashina clan. When the young lord is captured, nothing will stop you on a perilous quest to regain your honour, not even death itself.
Explore late 1500s Sengoku Japan, a brutal period of constant life and death conflict, as you come face to face with larger than life foes in a dark and twisted world. Unleash an arsenal of deadly prosthetic tools and powerful ninja abilities while you blend stealth, vertical traversal, and visceral head to head combat in a bloody confrontation.
Sekiro received universal acclaim from critics, who commonly compared and contrasted it to the Souls games. While its high level of difficulty received some criticism, praise was directed toward its gameplay and setting. By August 2019, the game had shipped 3.8 million copies worldwide. It was also nominated for and won several awards and accolades, including the game of the year.