A new month begins and the offer for gamers of all platforms is renewed, with the arrival of several serious candidates for games of the year. In addition, as yapa, we highlight the launch of a new hardware: Steam Deck, the new portable PC from Valve that promises to revolutionize PC gaming by offering the entire Steam catalog in portable format with excellent performance. We leave you then our selection of the most important of this month.
Steam Deck
Studio: Valve
Release date: Monday 28Valve, the giant owner of Steam and creator of franchises such as Half-Life, flirts with hardware again after several failed experiments. Steam Deck is basically a portable PC that includes state-of-the-art components and a Linux-based operating system that promises compatibility with most of steam’s catalog. The device is similar to the Nintendo Switch, but much larger, heavier and firmer, and with processor and graphics chip using the same technology as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The reserves were immediately exhausted and those who were able to test the preliminary versions were surprised with the performance, so it seems that Valve’s laptop is doomed to success.
Master
Studio: Sloclap
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Release date: Tuesday 8The Sloclap studio surprised the industry with the complex and deep combat system of its first project, Absolver, although unfortunately it was that same complexity that made it inaccessible. Sifu tries to solve that problem by offering a clearer progression and a more traditional structure, telling a story of revenge in which we control a martial arts apprentice looking for those responsible for the death of his family. The moving game is almost an interactive martial arts movie, in which you will have to take advantage of all the elements present to survive the hordes of enemies. In addition, it includes a unique mechanic: time is the great enemy of the player, and every time he is defeated the character will age, altering his abilities, his strength and endurance.
Grid Legends
Studio: Codemasters
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series
Release date: Friday 25The Codemasters studio has a pace of three annual releases of the driving genre: Dirt, the rally series; F1, the official FIA license game, and Grid, which covers the rest of the competitions. Grid Legends, this year’s release, moves slightly away from the traditional formula by focusing on a new career mode dubbed Road to Glory, told entirely of real-actor footage, with a cast headed by Ncuti Gatwa, known for his participation in the Netflix series Sex Education. The rest is what we can expect from a game in the series: several game modes, hundreds of vehicles and dozens of tracks based on real locations, plus a series of historical competitions and a multiplayer mode for up to 21 runners who can combine different types of vehicles.
Horizon: Forbidden West
Studio: Guerrilla Games
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Release date: Friday 18Horizon Zero Dawn became, since its launch, one of sony’s most important new franchises, and that’s why all eyes are on the sequel from the Guerrilla Games studio, which promises an even bigger adventure. Horizon Forbidden West takes the protagonist, Aloy, to the “forbidden west” of the title, in search of an answer to the appearance of a corruption on Earth that is destroying everything it touches. This second part will not only offer an even more detailed and populated world, with new machines, allies and tribes to meet, but also new mechanics to make the navigation of the environment and the battles more dynamic. In addition, to start flirting with Hollywood, Sony got a number of high-profile actors and actresses to play some of the new characters, such as Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix), Lance Riddick (John Wick) and Angela Basset (Black Panther).
Dying Light 2: Stay Human
Studio: Techland
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series
Release date: Friday 4The Techland studio surprised its own and others with Dead Island in 2011 and reaffirmed its position as one of the great teams of the moment with Dying Light in 2015, but it took seven years to shape the sequel, which after countless fine problemslmente comes to consoles and PC. Dying Light 2 retains the open-world structure of the original but takes place 20 years later, in one of the last human cities, which runs the risk of falling under the weight of its internal conflicts. Techland promises a campaign of around 20 hours that can be completed in cooperative mode, but the studio anticipates that those who want to fulfill all the side missions and see the alternate endings, which depend on various decisions during the game, will have to dedicate around 500 hours to the game. Parkour, zombies and a non-linear narrative are the great arguments of this long-awaited adventure.
Elden Ring
Studio: From Software
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series
Release date: Friday 25From Software, the studio creator of an entire genre with Demon’s Souls, applies what it has learned during the last decade in what promises to be its definitive adventure. Elden Ring includes the elements that players expect from the studio’s games: sky-high difficulty, a combat system that prioritizes animation, deep customization options, and a world riddled with mystery. The novelty is that the game moves them to an open world structure that users can travel freely, choosing the order in which to meet some of the challenges and returning to sections that may be very complicated when they have obtained more experience and better equipment. That feature, coupled with the presence of a map — the first in a studio game — promises a much more accessible experience.
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