The first Quarter of the year is over and there have certainly been several high profile game releases across all platforms. The highly anticipated Nintendo Switch finally came out along with the equally anticipated The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. PlayStation 4 owners got to fight robots in two excellent games: NieR: Automata and Horizon Zero Dawn. But enough of those platforms, what about the Xbox One? Let’s take a look at some of the best games released in the last three months on Xbox.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
2017 kicked off with a seriously creepy start following the release of Resident Evil 7. The game was highly anticipated after being promoted by a demo in late 2016. Resident Evil 6 was somewhat of a disappointment to fans and received mixed upon its release. Some felt that the series had moved too far from its horror roots in favor of action. Resident Evil 7 changed all that by taking the series back to its horror origins and giving players a seriously scary experience. The game was critically acclaimed upon release and is seen as a welcome return to form by fans. The new game may add new elements to the franchise, such as a first-person view, but that really only seems to add to the tension when you’re exploring a creepy old house with no weapons. Past games had armed players with an array of weapons to fight back with, but the latest installment leaves the player feeling very vulnerable, especially at the beginning. If you need a horror fix, check this one out.
For Honor
For Honor comes as quite a breath of fresh air as it is the first big game from Ubisoft in a while to not feature a vast open world. Players can choose to join one of three factions: Vikings, Knights, or Samurai. From there, they join an epic online battle against other players in order to fight to gain ground for their faction on a map which constantly updates to show how each faction is doing. For Honor features a deep combat system which may seem difficult to learn at first, but allows for intense battles between foes that relies on skill rather than mere button mashing. For Honor allows players to live out their fantasy of being a feared warrior from ancient times and it’s a blast.
Sniper Elite 4
Regardless of what your preferred play style is, it seems everyone was catered to this quarter. Stealth fans got their fill with the release of Sniper Elite 4, which allows players to explore beautiful open maps in Italy while sniping the testis off of Nazi soldiers. Having learned plenty from the previous three installments, Sniper Elite 4 returned bigger and better than ever with even more gruesome kill cams that show you an x-ray of your victim’s body as your bullet rips through him. Kill cams were also added to melee combat and showed how a knife to the throat could be just as effective as a bullet.
Halo Wars 2
RTS games can be a hit or miss when it comes to console releases. They tend to be much smoother on the PC with the help of a mouse and keyboard to prevent players from having to juggle menus, or quickly take command of a battle. Several games over the years have shown that RTS games can thrive on consoles and Halo Wars 2 is certainly one of them. The long-awaited sequel to the original game has been praised for welcoming newcomers to the fold of RTS games whilst also challenging veterans. The quality of the game’s graphics and animations are top-notch and critics praised its number of online modes. This is definitely one to check out if you love Halo or RTS titles.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
Ubisoft embraced its love of open-world games once again with the release of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Featuring a startlingly vast open-world to explore, Wildlands allows players to step into the boots of a special forces agent and take down the drug cartels in Bolivia. The map has been described by Ubisoft as the largest world they’ve ever made, and the types of terrain include lush forests, snowy mountains, and desert salt flats. You’re free to play the game offline but the real fun lies in teaming up with your buddies to wreak havoc in very amusing and unexpected ways. Perhaps you’ll try and sneak in and out without raising the alarm, but as soon as one of your pals accidentally gets spotted, all hell breaks loose. Part of the fun of Wildlands is completing your mission despite all the chaos unfolding, which leaves you and your friends feeling like action stars from a Summer blockbuster.
Thimbleweed Park
Point and Click adventure games may no longer enjoy the popularity they did back in the days of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango, but that’s not to say there’s isn’t still an audience for them. Thimbleweed Park was created by the same creator of Monkey Island, Ron Gilbert, and will be hugely enjoyable to gamers who played similar games back in the ’90s and will also appeal to newcomers with its great story and charming aesthetics. Despite being a clear love letter to games from that era, Thimbleweed Park also uses modern techniques to cut out some of the more frustrating aspects of the original point and click games. For instance, each character has a to do list which helps prevent players from feeling lost. If you’re feeling in the mood for something retro, then you should certainly take a trip to Thimbleweed Park.
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