We have very nearly made it through January. Sure, not much is really going to change when we hit February, but it’s still nice to hold onto a little bit of hope that things will improve in the coming months and we can all start enjoying the wonders of the outside world without having to worry about anything. That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?
In the meantime though, staying inside with a few games is a great way to pass the time, especially as there are so many good ones ahead of us. As ever, we’ve got three games for you to have a look at that we think could be incredibly good fun. That’s not the only thing that matters in a game, of course, but it definitely helps.
We’ve got a good mix again this week. We’ve got a horror game all about flitting between the realm of the living and the dead, we’ve got a dungeon crawler with some roguelike elements all about saving the love of your life and we’ve got a cyberpunk stealth game that tells three separate stories at once.
The Medium
The Medium was actually due out last year, but Covid-19 happened, so that means that we’re going to be getting it this week instead – and it looks incredible. You take control of a medium who’s been tasked with solving the mystery of a haunted abandoned resort. It looks intensely pretty given how messed up it seems, but that’s par for the course these days. We’re talking about gaming there, not real life, just to be clear.
You’ll have to use your abilities as a medium to flit between two different realities in order to solve the puzzles ahead of you. No doubt the characters you’ll meet along the way are all a part of some horrific secret too. It’s dark, twisted, and stunning, and we absolutely can’t wait to dive into it and never sleep again. That’s the point of horror games, right?
Available for PC and Xbox Series X|S on 28 January 2021.
Sword Of The Necromancer
This is another game that’s clearly got a little bit of The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past in its DNA, but that’s so rarely a bad thing, so it would be rude not to write about it. You get to play as Tama, a rogue who has been tasked with the role of looking after a priestess called Koko as they go about their pilgrimage. Unfortunately, things go horribly wrong and Koko dies. Tama is devastated by this, and carries Koko to the crypt of a necromancer.
That’s not ideal, but that’s where the story begins. You’ll have to guide Tama through a necromancer’s crypt to try and resurrect Koko, but that’s probably going to be about as rough as it sounds. What’s cool about this one is that you can actually check it out without buying it thanks to a free demo that’s available. So feel free to try it before you buy it, just to make sure you vibe with it before spending your hard-earned cash.
Available for Nintendo Switch, PS 4, Xbox One, PC and Linux on January 28.
Disjunction
The final game of the week is in the cyberpunk sub-genre of gaming. That is to say that it’s set in a future that’s a lot like the world we already live in but you can have cool robot arms. You take control of three different characters as you make your way through an unforgiving stealth-action game. It looks a bit like a more thoughtful than Hotline Miami, so if you like the sound of that then you’re probably going to be absolutely besotted with it.
The story could be incredible too, we can’t know for sure without playing it, but based on the trailers we’re in for a tale of conspiracy, betrayal and all of that good stuff. You can actually choose to play this as a more action-focused game if you’re not a fan of stealth too, which is a nice nod to some of the progenitors of cyberpunk in gaming. Disjunction looks incredibly polished, and the concepts in it sound like they should be a huge amount of fun. It also seems like the kind of game you can replay thanks to your actions having real consequences on the story.
Available on PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PC on January 28.