It seems like May will be the quietest month of the year in terms of major releases. The Vampire: The Masquerade was a mediocre game, as was the surprisingly satisfying Sniper Elite 5. There were plenty of excellent independent games in May, despite the lack ofAAA titles.
Next month, we will get new releases from Nintendo, 2K, and more, as well as new announcements from almost every company in the video game industry. There are seven games that were launched this month.
By default, this month's big-ticket game was Sniper Elite 5. Thankfully, it's a very enjoyable stealth sniping game that brings in elements from Metal Gear Solid V and Hitman to create a tense but satisfying experience. You can see every organ and bone you hit with a bullet in the trademark gory kill cam series. If you enjoy playing games with other people, then the title is a must-play.
The limited toolset and generic set dressing don't elevate it to the level of creativity that it deserves, but the open-ended approach to stealth action makes for a satisfying war game.
If you're looking for a new shooter game, you should definitely check out Sniper Elite 5 because it's the best one on the market. Even the mildly curious can enjoy it because it is on the Game Pass. It is also available on PC, PS4 and PS5 for those who would like to purchase the game.
The latest example of a horror franchise licensed and turned into a game is Evil Dead: The Game. This was done to mixed results in the past with series like Friday the 13th and Predator, but the new series, Evil Dead: The Game, gives Dead by Daylight a run for its money. Fans of the Sam Raimi-created movie franchise will enjoy being able to play as almost every character from the films, including multiple versions of Bruce Campbell's Ash Williams. The Evil Dead series has demons that players can control, scaring and attacking the survivors.
Both the human and killer experiences are very different and rewarding in their own way. I get to raise hell no matter who I am playing as.
If you and your friends like horror movies and want to play a new game together, Evil Dead: The Game is an excellent choice. Even if it doesn't fully dethrone Dead by Daylight, it's good that this Evil Dead game is fun and not a bad one. The game is available on PC, PS4 and PS5.
PowerWash Simulator is a game that turns menial labor into a really enjoyable and satisfying game. Hardspace: Shipbreaker does that with a sci-fi twist as you control a contract worker who is trying to save materials from an abandoned spaceship. You will use a tether to move and collect objects, slice through ships with a laser cutter, and use a scanning device. As the game progresses, you will discover that the game is about the benefits of unionization, a very relevant message for the video game industry at this time.
The four-star review of the game was written by Giovanni Colantonio. The way in which the core game is used to reinforce big-picture ideas about worker's rights feels timeless even in its sci-fi setting.
This game is an excellent package because it manages to scratch the simulation, sandbox, and compelling narrative itches. Hardspace: Shipbreaker is only available on the PC. If you like simulation games and have a subscription to the Xbox Game Pass, it should be on your radar.
One of the biggest darlings of the month has turned out to be Citizen Sleeper, a sci-fiRPG where players control a person trying to survive after their human consciousness has been digitized and put into a robot body.
Skills to overcome obstacles and befriend people is a key part of the game. The sci-fi setting, compelling narrative, and structure of Citizen Sleeper make it feel like it's more than a simple clone of Disco Elysium.
There is still room to explore theRPG formula and presentation featured in Disco Elysium, but Citizen Sleeper shows that there is still room for improvement. The game is available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X, as well as on PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch.
Announcing HAYAI, an arena game where you literally draw your attacks! 👺Featuring multiple playable characters! Achievements! Online leaderboards!
My 1st commercial game, releasing 19th May! Please like & RT! 🙇https://t.co/VER3dpWWYj#indiedev #gamedev #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/bFlEt8qqdo
— Brandon Yu (@Chaoclypse) May 15, 2022
Hayai is a small game made in just two weeks during the development of a larger project. One of my favorite games was from May 2022. Players can choose from one of five characters and try to get a high score by killing as many enemies as possible. Draw a line through enemies with your mouse. Hayai allows players to execute some satisfying combinations because you can hit multiple enemies at the same time.
It combines bullet hell enemy spawns and placement with a drawing system reminiscent of Okami to create a simple but uniquely satisfying action game. It feels like a game that should be in an arcade or on phones, like Fruit Ninja, or a stylus-driven game on the 3DS. Hayai is fun with a mouse on modern-day PCs, so I'm glad I saw it.
Hayai's selling point isn't its content depth, but its ability to get every achievement within an hour or two of play. It is pure and satisfying fun that you can only get from games that are willing to execute bold ideas that sometimes feel like they could fit in another era. Hayai is only available on Steam at $2, but it's worth a look if the premise intrigues you. Hayai is an impressive game that was made in two weeks.
Nowadays, full-motion video games are rare and feel like cheap and amateurishly shot movies. I was pleasantly surprised by The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story from Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix. A novelist is trying to solve a series of murder cases surrounding the Shijima family and the Fruit of Youth that they supposedly guard. In the game, players look for clues in the video game and then call out the culprit in a choice-driven final scene.
When the game was first revealed, I wrote that it was one of the boldest games to come out of any of the Nintendo Directs.
The cinematography is competent, if not overly ambitious, and fits the confines of the game's narrative well. The game helps players to answer the right questions more often than not. There is enough choice and player agency to make you feel smart when you call out the wrong person. This game was better than Vampire: The Masquerade because it gave players a satisfying detective loop. The Shijima Story is available for PC, PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch.
Fans of the turn-based strategy game genre as a whole have been left out in the cold after Nintendo indefinitely delayed its remake of the first two Advance Wars games. Floppy Knights is here to fill that void. Fans of the genre will enjoy Floppy Knights, a game that mixes traditional strategy with a card-based battle system reminiscent of Slay the Spire.
To top it all off, the game features a delightfully colorful art style that will make you smile when you look at it. It is a story that anyone who has ever worried about impressing their parent or choosing a career can relate to. Floppy Knights is available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, so you don't have to go out of your way to try it.
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