Following the pandemic-related delays of last year, gaming studios published a slew of new titles this summer, and September isn’t slowing down. Yes, it meant you got to play hours of poker because poker is a game worth playing, but we know you missed your gaming fix. So, to help you distinguish the wheat from the chaff, we’ve selected several terrific games you should pick up in the coming weeks.
The best games we’re playing right now are on this list, with recent single-player hits, burgeoning esports, and a few modern oldies that would improve any library. We’re aiming for a practical answer to the question: “What new game should I get?” rather than an ever-expanding list that reaches deep into the past.
What are the most exciting new games for 2021? Perhaps you’ve just been paid, and your virtual money account is bulging, or you want to catch up on the latest games because, well, they’re new and shiny. Let’s take a look at what’s new and worth playing right now.
Sonic Colors: Ultimate
In this bright, aesthetically upscaled platforming adventure, join Sonic the Hedgehog on his quest to stop the nefarious Dr. Eggman and his alien-powered amusement park. You must free the enslaved alien Wisps from Eggman’s clutches and use their unique world-traveling skills to save their comrades in this upgraded 2010 game. Sonic Colors contains six vivid worlds to race across, and the Ultimate version adds new features like a New Game Plus option to help you get the most out of your replay sessions.
Resident Evil Village
Resident Evil is a series that has been around for quite some time. However, while most franchises become dull by the eighth installment, Resident Evil has managed to keep things fresh with Resident Evil Village. This horrifyingly beautiful game is a direct successor to the fantastic Resident Evil 7 and is set in a Romanian village a few years later.
While it isn’t the scariest in the series, it does an excellent job of balancing survival horror with the story, as well as throwing a range of opponents at you, from Lycans and vampires to zombies, and changing up set pieces at a respectable rate. It is also able to do ray tracing correctly without the use of an RTX 3080. Thus, anyone who wants to experiment with the lighting can do so.
Humankind
Humankind is a new historical turn-based strategy game from the company behind Endless Legend. The game is divided into seven eras instead of leading a single historical empire from stone tools to supercomputers. Each Humankind leader chooses a different civilization to represent for each period. For example, in the Medieval era, your people may have ruled the oceans as the Norsemen did and then built splendid cities as the Mughals did in the Early Modern Age.
The goal of the game, regardless of the path you choose, is to achieve the most Humankind fame by the conclusion of the game, which can be earned in a variety of ways. Humankind battles are fierce when you unavoidably collide with your other nations.
Lost In Random
You play as Even, a poor girl on a quest to save her sister, Odd, from an evil Queen in this gothic, Nightmare Before Christmas-style action-adventure game. Dicey, a living die, joins her on her mission, and the two embark on their voyage together. The fighting system uses a fun dice-throwing mechanic to determine how you defeat your opponents. With Even’s slingshot, you may attack and shoot to uncover things, as well as do damage by flinging things about to activate special attacks.
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
Only the Nintendo 3DS version of these two long-lost Ace Attorney games was released in Japan. Many have theorized why there hasn’t been a localization, with copyright laws involving the Conan Doyle Estate in the United States being one of the most common suggestions, but the games have now arrived in the west. Players assume the role of Phoenix Wright’s ancestor, a defense lawyer practicing in Britain at the turn of the century.
It introduces new mechanics, such as discrediting Herlock Sholmes’ beliefs and persuading jurors to change their minds by pointing out inconsistencies in their understanding of the case. Fans of the Phoenix Wright games, on the other hand, will have no trouble solving these gruesome murder cases while waggling their fingers and shrieking “objection” at the top of their lungs.
Guilty Gear Strive
Guilty Gear Strive is now ranked first among the best fighting games of 2021. Developed by Arc System Works, it has been designed to be approachable to newbies while maintaining the series’ depth. As a result, Guilty Gear Strive has established itself as the go-to fighting game for fans and newcomers alike, with 15 new and returning characters, a potent soundtrack by Daisuke Ishiwatari, and the all-important rollback netcode.
It’s all well and good to start another daring round of PUBG, a new 100-hour Football Manager save, or a new The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim journey, but there are plenty of new titles that will more than satisfy your gaming needs. But, of course, you don’t want to be the one who doesn’t know what’s going on, do you? Of course not, so try out one of these great games above and join the conversation.