The PC games industry has broken January. In years past, it was a quiet month—a time to catch up on all of last year's releases. For the consoles, that's still largely the case, but on PC there's already a broad selection of new games vying for your attention. Our respective reviewers deemed seven of this month's releases worthy of an 80%+ score—with a couple of others that just missed the mark. With so much going on, it can be difficult to keep up. Hence this: a new monthly digest of the biggest reviews, news and features.
Reviews
Buckle up, this is going to be a big one—a fact exacerbated by the debut PC release of some former console exclusives. Take Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen. It's a four-year-old Xbox 360/PS3 RPG given a new lease of life on PC. It's heritage didn't stop Leif Johnson awarding it a score of 81%. "It's rough in parts," he wrote, "and numerous other RPGs tell a better story or inspire greater awe. But Dragon's Dogma still feels enjoyably unique four years on and that's something few of its genre cousins can claim." A particular highlight is the pawn system, which lets you create a AI companion who can appear in other player's campaigns. The PCG community recently showed off some of their pawns, and the results were... distinctive, to say the least.
Also arriving from the consoles, albeit in a much more timely fashion, is Lara Croft's latest: Rise of the Tomb Raider. It's a fantastic action romp, and builds nicely on Crystal Dynamics' 2013 reboot. "In many ways, Rise of the Tomb Raider is peak sequel design: an incredibly similar game with a set of expanded and additional systems," wrote, er, me, in my 83% review. "But RotTR is also better because it lets you spend more time engaging with those systems." It's a good port, too, and looks positively sumptuous on PC. That's all well and good, but it doesn't explain where Lara's keeping her infinite supply of glowsticks.
Our highest score of the month was awarded to the surprisingly superb Pony Island. Weird and inventive, it's a game that's filled with tricks drawing you into its fiction through some devious vignettes. "Not only does in succeed in having meaning and a point to make," enthused Angus, shortly before slapping on a 91% badge, "but it remembers to be a decent game while it s at it—a game, no less, that left me doubting my own grip on reality." If you've dismissed this, it really is worth taking a look. Although, I do have one question: can you still be a pony when you're clearly a unicorn?
It's always exciting when a good new RTS rears its head. It's just a shame it doesn't happen very often. Luckily, this month we got Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak. While some might view a planetary Homeworld as sacrilege, Rob Zacny was impressed—as evidenced by his 90% review. "In spite of all the ways this could have gone horribly wrong," Rob wrote, "Deserts of Kharak succeeds on almost every count. It's not only a terrific RTS that sets itself apart from the rest of the genre's recent games, but it's also an excellent Homeworld game that reinvents the series while also recapturing its magic." High praise, indeed.
"That's all well and good, Phil," you might be thinking, "but what about me, a person who loves naught but meandering philosophy and mazes?" I'm not sure I like your attitude, fictional human, but I'll still point you towards The Witness. Edwin gave it 89%, and matched that number to numerous sentences, including: "Though not without its flaws, Jonathan Blow's The Witness is one of the finest teachers I've studied under;" and "it's one of the toughest games I've played in years."
If 600+ maze puzzles isn't your thing—and frankly, I'm not sure I'd blame you—consider the Oxenfree, which has exactly zero mazes in it. It's a eerie, atmospheric adventure game about a group of teens dealing with [MYSTERIOUS EVENT] on an island. "If you like smart, well-written adventure games with rich characters, well-realised settings, and beautiful art direction, it s worth playing," enthused Andy, awarding it 83%. I played this in one sitting last week, and it's one of my favourite of this month's many games. Top soundtrack, too.
Lastly, but not leastly, Ian Birnbaum forced people to journey ever deeper into a series of crypts—prompting them to lose their minds. But enough about how he spends his weekends. He also reviewed Darkest Dungeon, granting it a stellar score of 88%. "Dungeon diving and tomb raiding have been staples of PC gaming for decades, but Darkest Dungeon is the first time I felt how awful this quest must be for the people involved." I think that's a recommendation.
Other notable games:
- Aviary Attorney, 78%
- That Dragon, Cancer, 75%
On the next page: news, features and next month's outlook.
News
January tends to have more slow news days that most months, as publishers become very sleepy after eating all of that Christmas money. Nevertheless, a lot did happen. You can enjoy some of the month's biggest stories in bullet point form.
- The Oculus Rift pre-orders go live, along with a $600 price tag.
- An absurd no-gold pacifist Hell run is completed in Spelunky.
- Half-Life writer Marc Laidlaw has left Valve. :(
- The founder of a Chinese hacking site claims Denuvo could defeat piracy.
- To The Moon sequel Finding Paradise has been announced.
- Titanfall studio Respawn is working on a third-person adventure game.
- Elite: Dangerous has space barnacles. Repeat! Elite: Dangerous has space barnacles!
- The lovely Lovely Planet is getting a sequel.
- Hitman is now officially episodic, instead of kinda episodic.
- It only took 21 years, but John Romero has made another Doom WAD.
- Minecraft: Education Edition is a thing now.
- Danganronpa is coming to Steam. So is its sequel.
- Hey, Bethesda, Obsidian is totally up for making another Fallout.
- Future Mortal Kombat X DLC packs will be skipping PC.
- The Overwatch beta returns next month.
- The creators of XCOM's The Long War mod are making official mods for XCOM 2.
- Former Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider has left Bioware.
- An ARG has been discovered lurking in a bunch of unrelated indie games.
- Her Story 2 is happening, although it won't be called Her Story 2.
- Quantum Break has been rated for PC in Brazil.
- PC digital sales are trouncing mobile, says a market research firm.
Features
Websites are hungry beasts that live on a diet of words. We keep feeding our website words, but it is always hungry for more. Here, I shall recycle our past month's best words into a list, in the hope of tricking the site into a temporary cessation of its mewling.
- The team rounded up the RPG settings they'd love to see.
- James and Chris L played a game that pits suicidal baby against protective parent.
- We updated our list of the best FPS games. It is now 100% correct.
- Andy dug out some of the best PC game concept art.
- Tim gets Shipwrecked in Don't Starve's early access DLC.
- Rift or Vive? Wes compares the two big VR players.
- What is under the blanket? Chris L investigates.
- In our regular Why I Love column, Tom S praises Tomb Raider's Croft Manor.
- Chris T considers the value of selfishness in Dota 2.
- Jody reports on the Dawn of War mod scene.
- The team gets angry, and posts their best (worst?) ragequit moments.
- We list the 50 most important PC games of all time, with contributions from famous developers.
- Fredrik Salomonsson explores CS:GO's climbing scene.
- If you're planning to play Dragon's Dogma, Steven Messner has some tips.
- Chris L is trapped in an endless sandbox of destruction (and in the game). It's Garbage Day.
- Does Hearthstone's Druid combo need a nerf? I don't know, but Shevek does.
- I get some hands-on time with The Division's impressive PC build.
- Chris L tackles Metal Gear Online, with mixed results.
- Andy talks to a record label that's embracing games.
- Shaun spends time with Far Cry Primal's owl binoculars.
- Numenera master Chris T offers his thoughts on Torment's early access build.
Next Month
January will be a tough month to beat, but February has a good chance. For one thing, it's the release month of one of the biggest PC exclusives of the year... American Truck Simulator. SCS Software's follow up to the marvellous Euro Truck Simulator 2 will initially release with two of America's many states: California and Nevada. Will it do enough to distinguish itself from its predecessor? Does it even need to? Here's Andy's review.
The biggest PC exclusive of the year is probably XCOM 2, which also releases next month. It's a ridiculously exciting prospect, because Firaxis' first XCOM was such a fine resurrection of the series. The sequel seems to be improving on every aspect, and will offer full mod support to boot.
Other big games for February include Firewatch and Street Fighter V, both of which seem like a nice way to roll on 2016's great start.