Gamepressure.com Staff Picks 2018
Below, you can find the best 2018 releases that earned Gamepressure's editorial recommendation.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Akcji 26 October 2018
The third installment in the Western action game series called Red Dead, started back in 2004 with the release of Red Dead Revolver. The success of its sequel, a third-person sandbox game set in the Wild West - Red Dead Redemption - has established the position of the franchise in the video games industry. The game has been developed by Rockstar Games.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Akcji 14 September 2018
Another entry in the bestselling series of action-adventure games. It is also the third entry in the saga about the beginnings of Lara Croft’s career that started in 2013. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider the female protagonist journeys to Latin America, where she discovers mysteries hidden within ruins and solves the mystery related to the Order of Trinity and the research conducted by her father.
God of War
Akcji 20 April 2018
Another major entry in the famous hack-and-slash action game series that is one of the most important franchises available exclusively on subsequent generations of the PlayStation consoles. In previous parts of the series, we have been following a story of Spartan warrior named Kratos, and the gameplay concentrated mainly on spectacular and incredibly bloody action and eye-catching fighting system. The new God of War, developed by one of the Sony Computer Entertainment's subsidiaries, is a reboot of the series and the first installment created with PlayStation 4 in mind, resulting in a completely new, intriguing storyline as well as improved graphics and sound that make full use of the power of eighth generation consoles.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
RPG 08 May 2018
A sequel to the successful RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment. The story told in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire follows the threads started in the first installment of the series. Eothas, the god of renewal and light, comes back to life and takes the form of a statue buried under the protagonist’s keep. Although the stronghold gets destroyed, the main hero survives. From now on, he or she has to pursue a new goal, which is to hunt down Eothas as well as find answers to questions that can bring chaos to the world of gods and mortals. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire takes the player to the eponymous Deadfire archipelago in the far east. In this new region you can travel not only on foot, but also by ship. While controlling your party of characters, in the classic isometric view, you get to explore different locations, complete missions of varying importance and fight with opponents met on the way. Note that the world of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire lives a life of its own, and the choices you made in the first game have consequences here too. Some changes and improvements were made to the User Interface and dialogue system as well as the visuals, which now feature dynamic weather.
Forza Horizon 4
Wyścigi 02 October 2018
The fourth installment in the best-selling open-world racing game series developed by Playground Games. The game takes the players to the UK, where they can compete in various races while driving over 450 different cars. The biggest novelty introduced in Forza Horizon 4 are the dynamic seasons of the year.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Zręcznościowe 13 November 2018
A collection of three three-dimensional platform games that were originally released on the first PlayStation. The protagonist is a small, purple dragon named Spyro. The collection features the following games: Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. The games feature almost the same gameplay as the originals, but their graphics were greatly refreshed.
FIFA 19
Sportowe 28 September 2018
Another part of the popular series of football simulators, in which we direct licensed and realistic teams and players from all over the world. FIFA 19 was created, like all previous parts, by EA Sports studio.
Darksiders III
Akcji 27 November 2018
Darksiders 3 is the third installment in the popular action-adventure game series where we control a super-powered protagonist and face the forces of our enemies. In previous games, developed by Vigil Games, we played as two horsemen of the Apocalypse, War and Death. Darksiders III was developed by Gunfire Games, a studio made of developers who previously worked for Vigil Games. This time we play as a sorceress named Fury whose job is to reestablish the balance between the Good and Evil on Earth. In order to do so, she has to defeat the Seven Deadly Sins and their minions. Our heroine uses a spiked whip and magic. She can use the latter to take on various forms that grant her access to new weapons, moves, and abilities. Combat, though arcade, is engaging and offers various attacks, combos, and powers. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic open world where, along with fighting, we will have to solve various mysteries.
Northgard
Strategiczne 07 March 2018
A real-time strategy taking place in a fantasy universe inspired by Nordic mythology and the Viking way of life. Northgard allows the players to lead a group of Vikings, who after years of tedious exploration have found a mysterious, resource-rich land. To attain their goal of fame and fortune, they will have to face numerous dangers scattered across the new land. Northgard’s gameplay is based on classic real-time strategy games such as Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, or The Settlers. Aside from resource gathering, building settlements, and battles with dozens of units, the game introduces survival elements - the player receives the duty of keeping his clan safe through long, frosty winters. The clan will be facing bloodthirsty wolves, undead warriors, and various mythical creatures, including giants, with whom we can create an alliance. Northgard employs 3D graphics with a light, cartoonish design, while the game itself is seen from an isometric perspective.
Frostpunk
Strategiczne 24 April 2018
An adventure/strategy game with survival elements by Polish studio 11bit Studios. Frostpunk is set in a fictional icy-cold world, whose climate deeply affected the development of its society. To survive, people rely mostly on steam engines. However, it is not enough, and the society is falling apart, which means it needs to change. The gameplay focuses on the survival aspect, which, unlike in other such productions, means more than gathering and managing resources. Strategic elements are also of great importance, and you also need to make difficult and morally ambiguous decisions. The game features distinct visuals, in which the cold colors of nature are contrasted with the warmer hues, which symbolize the remains of civilization.
RimWorld
Strategiczne 17 October 2018
A strategy game set in a science-fiction world in which we supervise an extraterrestrial colony. It has been developed by debuting independent studio Ludeon, established by a former employee of Irrational Games, who previously worked on the Bioshock series. The story of RimWorld takes place in a future in which humanity colonized many alien star systems, but they are located so far from each other that their inhabitants cannot count on anyone, but themselves. We take command over a small group of survivors of a colony space ship, with our task being to maintain the development and provide safety to our base. Aside from building structures and gathering food and resources we must assign each colonist with a task adequate to his or her skills. RimWorld features a unique complex tactical combat system and three independent AI systems that – depending on the situation – will generate random story arcs, making sure to maintain a proper level of drama throughout the gameplay.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Akcji 11 April 2018
A third-person action game set in a fantasy world inspired by Celtic mythology. Title was developed by the British studio Ninja Theory, known for Enslaved, Heavenly Sword, and DMC: Devil May Cry. In the game we traverse a dark, mythical world, full of references to popular stories, characters, and monsters born in the imagination of the Celts. Protagonist of the game is a female warrior named Senua, who embarks on a dangerous journey to the land of the dead. As you might have guessed, during her journey, the heroine faces scores of dangerous enemies, with which she usually deals using a sword. Using a variety of combos and special abilities, Senua makes her way to the destination of her journey. Although a fully independent production, Hellblade features high-level visuals, and the gameplay mechanic brings several innovations to the slasher genre, in which the developers from Ninja Theory had become specialized over the years.
Monster Hunter: World
RPG 26 January 2018
Another installment of the popular series of action games with RPG features. The series is developed by Capcom and its installments were usually released on Nintendo and Sony consoles. The plot isn’t very important in Monster Hunter World – the player simply assumes the role of the titular monster hunter who is tasked with exploring the mysterious continent known as the New World. There he kills powerful beasts as part of bounty contracts. The title offers a vast, open world that can be traversed on foot or on the back of a tamed monster. However, the main part of the game isn’t exploration, but battles with beasts. Each of the monsters has unique advantages and weakness. The battles are played in real time and the player can use variety of melee and ranged weapons and gadgets. The success lies in proper tactics and taking advantage of the surroundings.
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Bijatyki 26 January 2018
Dragon Ball FigtherZ is a 2.5D fighting game developed by Arc System Works and published by Bandai Namco where characters from the popular Dragon Ball universe fight each other. Unlike the previous Dragon Ball games, FighterZ uses the Tag Battle mechanics. We create a team of three different characters between which we can switch anytime we want to when fighting. Doing so allows us to execute powerful combos and special attacks. The battle ends when all of our characters have zero health points. Action takes place on 2D arenas, but all of the remaining elements of the game are 3D. It allowed the developers to use advanced graphical effects and stylized animations to make the game look like the classic anime.
Shadow of the Colossus
Akcji 06 February 2018
A remake of one of the greatest iconic PlayStation 2 titles. The original game debuted in 2005 and six years later it was released on PlayStation 3 in HD version. In Shadow of the Colossus the player assumes the role of a young man named Wander who places the body of his beloved on a mysterious altar hidden in the wild. He learns that he will be able to restore her life if he manages to defeat sixteen giant creatures known as the Colossi. During the game the player travels through a large and secluded area on the back of his horse Agro in search for clues that can lead him to the opponents. The combat with each opponent is a separate and very hard challenge, in which finding the weak points of a Colossus is the key to victory. The protagonist is well trained in using a sword and a bow. He can also climb – not only on the surrounding, but on the bodies of the Colossi as well.
Into the Breach
Strategiczne 27 February 2018
A 2D turn-based strategy game set in an original science-fiction universe developed by the creators of FTL: Faster Than Light. In Into the Breach the player controls small squads comprised of mech robots that protect what remains of humanity against the lurking deep underground aliens. The battles in the game take place on relatively small and procedurally-generated 2D battlefields. They are covered with 64 squares, between which both the player and their opponent can move their units. One’s objective is to defend civilian settlements against the aliens. Missions are quite short; however, they pose a considerable logic challenge and offer the players freedom in how they decide to carry them out. Moreover, the player can equip their machines with new weapons and select pilots to operate them – the pilots’ unique abilities have a significant impact on the result of each battle. The retro 2D visuals somewhat resemble what one may have experienced in FTL.
Soulcalibur VI
Bijatyki 19 October 2018
Soulcalibur VI is a three-dimensional fighting game, in which players can fight each other by using various characters equipped with melee weapons like swords, axes, daggers, hammers, rapiers, sables and sticks. The title is an entry in the series developed by Namco Bandai since 1995.
Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition
Bijatyki 16 January 2018
An expanded version of the fifth entry in the cult series of fighting games developed by Capcom. The title does not introduce major changes to the mechanics known from the original Street Fighter V – the developers focused on creating a complete edition of the game. It features twenty eight characters with unique combat abilities. Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition also features new V-Triggers (special bonuses gained for the V-Gauge, energy received when the character is attacked) and two new gameplay modes: Arcade Mode, inspired by classic Street Fighter games; and Extra Battle, where the player can fight for exclusive clothes in special challenges. Among the novelties there is also the new interface (colors were changed and the menus were refreshed) and additional visual effects during the battles.