CODE VEIN

CODE VEIN

Code Vein is an anime-flavored action role-playing game where players step into the shoes of a vampire like Revenant with the gift to save the world. The similarities to Dark Souls are immediately apparent, but Code Vein has enough of its own unique quirks that prevent it from feeling like a straight-up copy. The story is interesting, as are the various companions you meet along the way, but levels that are boring in both layout and design detract from the experience. The game still has plenty to offer for those willing to put in the time, but there are better souls-like titles on the market.

Gameplay: Code Vein sticks closely to the soul-like formula of fighting enemies, collecting materials to level up, and defeating bosses to unlock new areas.

Graphics: The character designs are great, although the game is heavy on fan service, and some levels look very drab.

Sound: The soundtrack features a couple of memorable tunes, and the quality of the voice acting is generally good

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Help a young spirit guide named Kena reach a sacred Mountain Shrine by freeing the spirits trapped in a forgotten village. The game features a combination of exploration, combat, and puzzle solving but doesn’t offer anything terribly unique or original. However, the visuals are beautiful, to say the least, and the soundtrack is exceptionally well done. Even with multiple difficulty settings, the combat can be challenging, and the story is much darker than the visuals suggest. Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an impressive debut title, but it can feel a little shallow for players expecting a full souls-like experience.

Gameplay: The combat is enjoyable and challenging, but apart from the Rot, there’s not much that players haven’t seen done many times before.

Graphics: The stunning visuals can put many AAA titles to shame.

Sound: The game features a stellar soundtrack and excellent voice acting

Days Gone

Days Gone

Roam around a post-apocalyptic Oregon as Deacon St. John, an ex motorcycle club member trying to survive the aftermath of a virus outbreak that turned the population into violent zombie-like creatures. Deacon lost his wife during the outbreak and the game picks up two years later as he goes on a crusade against the Freakers, bandits, and everyone else who gets in his way. While Days Gone features most of the cliches found in other open-world titles its compelling story, nailbiting combat, and beautiful environments make it worth playing through. It is also filled with enough additional content to keep players coming back for more.

Gameplay: With a large, beautiful map to explore and plenty of missions as well as sidequests there’s always something to do in Days Gone.

Graphics: The game looks incredible on PC and is filled with a lot of detail as well as really good mocap performances.

Sound: Sam Witwer steals the show as the voice of Deacon St. John, but the rest of the cast also delivers stellar performances and the rest of the audio lives up to expectations

Lake First Look Video

Lake First Look Video

Take a break in the beautiful, rustic town of Providence Oaks, Oregon, courtesy of Lake by Gamious and Whitethorn Digital. Players get to join Meredith Weiss as she takes a break from her career in the big city and delivers mail in her hometown for two weeks. With its iconic lake, it’s the perfect getaway, but Meredith will also have to deal with the quirky community as she delivers their mail. The game features a branching story where players determine what happens next, and there are no “right” or “wrong” answers or endings. Check out the video below to see Lake in action and try out the free demo to experience it yourself

Seed of Life First Look Video

Seed of Life First Look Video

Seed of Life is an epic third-person adventure game by MadLight starring Cora, the last known survivor of a dying planet. Her only hope of saving her homeworld is an alien artifact, called the Seed of Life, capable of generating the essence of life. Check out the first look video below to see the start of Cora’s journey and some of the puzzles as well as enemies she will encounter while exploring her world

Omno First Look Video

Omno First Look Video

Omno, by solo developer Jonas Manke, is a single-player journey of discovery through an ancient world of wonders. This adventure is full of puzzles, secrets, and obstacles to overcome as players travel through lush forests, sun-blasted deserts, frozen tundras, and more. Check out the video below to see Omno in action

Days Gone First Look Video

Days Gone First Look Video

Days Gone is another first-party title from Sony that has made the transition to PC, following in the footsteps of Horizon: Zero Dawn. This action-adventure survival game was developed by Bend Studio and stars a bounty hunter named Deacon St. John. Players must help Deacon survive a deadly, post-pandemic America where danger lurks around every corner. In this first look video, we follow Deacon through the opening moments of the game as we check out the performance of the PC port

Beyond Eyes

Beyond Eyes

Beyond Eyes is a beautiful but slow-paced 3rd person adventure about a blind girl searching for a lost cat. Each step of her journey paints the world around her in eye-catching watercolor pastels. Still, interactions with the environment are limited, and the game is devoid of puzzles or challenges. Nevertheless, if you are patient and can appreciate a game that is more about the experience than the challenge, then Beyond Eyes is worth a playthrough.

Gameplay: Slow-paced and easy, but also very unique and compelling.

Graphics: Beautiful watercolor visuals make Beyond Eyes truly look like a fairy-tale novel.

Sound: Very minimal, but the haunting soundtrack is quite beautiful

The Medium

The Medium

The Medium sees players help a young woman with psychic abilities explore two realities in search of answers. The game is set in an abandoned communist resort that is home to many secrets as well as a few restless spirits. While The Medium won’t win any awards for its puzzles or chase sequences, the story is interesting and the visuals beautiful. The game does have its fair share of issues but offers a compelling experience for fans of the genre.

Gameplay: Nothing groundbreaking, but the dual-reality shenanigan is a nice feature.

Graphics: The environments look incredible as do the creature designs.

Sound: The soundtrack is beautiful, but the voice acting is a little uneven

STAR WARS™: The Force Unleashed™ II

STAR WARS™: The Force Unleashed™ II

The Force Unleashed 2 is set a few months after the original game but offers a very disappointing continuation of the story. Playing as an overpowered Jedi that can annihilate everything in sight is quite fun initially, but once the novelty wears off the game becomes quite repetitive. Even worse, despite being very short the game has very limited environments and features lots of unnecessary padding. Worst of all the PC port is rife with bugs and annoyances that sap even more fun out of the experience. Hardcore Star Wars fans might still enjoy the game, but it definitely does not live up to its potential.

Gameplay: Fun at times, but ultimately very repetitive.

Graphics: The game can look great, but has a lot of technical issues.

Sound: The soundtrack and sound effects are very authentic