Noteworthy February 2016 Game Releases

With the shortest month of the year right around the corner, February doesn't seem to be lacking for interesting game releases, especially for PC. I remember a time when the first three or four months of the year were nothing but tumbleweeds rolling by as game web sites licked their wounds from having to review dozens of games in short succession in the run-up to Christmas. Memories...

Anyway, looking at the games due out next month there are quite a few that stick out for me. As much as I'd like to play them all, time and my wallet won't be having any of that. Nonetheless, let's take a moment to look at some of the stand out titles due out then, at least the ones I'm interested in and know I should probably avoid so to whittle down my backlog instead.

Tales of Symphonia

While I've not religiously followed the series, I do enjoy picking up Tales of games every now and then. They have nice, light stories that feel like something out of an anime series and tend to sport fairly interesting combat systems. Missing out on Symphonia was something that I'd always regretted, especially when the Wii game's price started going up on auction sites as folks realized it was a bit rare and in-demand. Now, with it getting ported to PC there's a chance at getting the thing at a reasonable price, assuming Bamco doesn't get greedy.

Arslan: The Warriors of Legend

An anime where big armies face off against one another? Sounds like the ingredients for a musou game. Tecmo Keoi certainly seem to think so. Musou's gonna musou, so I suspect fans of the genre will keep an eye on this one while the haters will keep on hating. It looks pretty nice visually, and the folks at Famitsu rated it reasonably well with all eights, so I guess it plays reasonably well. I'm not in a rush to pick up the game myself having recently binged on some Dynasty Warriors, but could see myself being tempted by it at a Steam sale.

XCOM 2

Part of me is genuinely a bit annoyed that this game broke with tradition and put a number after "XCOM". That's just not how these things are done. We've had Enforcer, Interceptor, Terror from the Deep, and a bunch of others. Those are interesting. Engaging. Sexy. "2"? Not so much. I'm sure this won't be enough to stop folks from grabbing this day one and embarking on another adventure to save earth from an alien threat, marveling at just how bad some of their units aim is. "The thing is right in front of you! Why do you keep missing?!?"

American Truck Simulator

Before Euro Truck Simulator 2, I had no idea that I could fall in love with big rigs and drive them like proper semis. Previously, the only time I'd play a game with such a vehicle in it was in GTA or Twisted Metal because the things were big, heavy, and could wreck carnage with ease. As it turns out, these mighty vehicles can also haul freight across vast distances and the whole process can be extremely relaxing. I even developed a new found respect for backing up trailers and roundabouts while playing that game. Soon, we'll be heading to the even vaster, though less roundabout-intensive, United States where the highways are numbered and roll on for miles. Will there be opportunities of raunchy rendezvous in remote rural restrooms as players embark on long, transcontinental hauls? Only time will tell, but even if there isn't maybe someone can patch it in with Steam Workshop or something.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

This has been out for ages on the Vita, but it's heading to the PC in February, which has caught my attention. A visual novel that combines Battle Royale and Phoenix Wright, high school students try to get away with murder in order to escape the facility they've been trapped in by a sadistic robot bear. You don't see a premise like that every day.

Street Fighter V

After several years of dominating the fighting game scene, it's finally time to put Street Fighter IV out to pasture and bring in number five. It's Street Fighter, so most people have a pretty good idea of what to expect here and those in the know have been playing the beta for months now. I'm just happy to see a mountain man Ryu skin. There will also be a lot of other outfits, as that's the thing folks demand in a fighting game nowadays. So, if you want to see Chun Li, Laura, and the gang oozing out of their clothing, that'll be an option. Personally, I'm holding out for a Rufus outfit that does this.

Disgaea PC

Miss console strategy RPGs of the early 2000s? Like grinding out hundreds of levels on each of your characters? This may be a game to consider. Disgaea getting a PC port is quite the pleasant surprise, as it's something that I don't think anyone was expecting, but here we are. It's a solid game with a fun, lighthearted, and often rather humorous story. What I want to know is if we'll see more of these games if this one does well. There are tons of Disgaea games, as well as stuff like La Pucelle, Phantom Brave, and Makai Kingdom. I'm kind of hoping that this game succeeds and opens the flood gates for other titles in the genre.

Project X Zone 2

Sometimes when franchises crossover we can be in for a fun ride as popular characters team up. I was hoping this would be the case in the original Project X Zone, but found it got bogged down by trying to introduce too many characters. It got to the point where the first few hours of the game felt like the fight scenes from the Anchor Man movies with its cavalcade of cameos. By the sound of things, the sequel will be addressing this with a more fleshed out story which happens to focus a lot on Ryo from the Shenmue series. On top of this, the game will still have the interesting team-based combat system of the first PxZ, so it could be one to watch.

Fire Emblem: Fates

It's finally almost time for a new Fire Emblem game (February really is a great month for fans of strategy games and RPGs). Combat is shaping up to be what one would expect from the series with characters gaining an affinity for one another, permadeath, and all that good stuff. Interestingly, or expensively depending on how you look at it, the game is being split into separate editions. Each of these will focus on a different country in the game as war breaks out. There will be a lot to do in each version of the game, as they clock in at around 30 hours each, but it'll be interesting to see how sales do for the game with Nintendo trying this unconventional means of release out.

Tons of RPGs are Coming in 2016

As a fan of role-playing games it can be an exciting / daunting thing when there are lots of games coming out in the genre that look interesting. Part of me wants to play all of them, but then I realize just how much of a time commitment that would be and quickly back down from the idea. Nonetheless, 2016 has tons of RPGs due for release that look like they could be fun, so let's run down the list and start getting sad that there's no way we'll ever have the time for all of them.

Note - This isn't going to be some utterly comprehensive list, as we'd be here forever doing that. I'll just be talking about the games that have caught my eye.

Darkest Dungeon

This one sort of has my attention, but not in a huge way. I'm curious how the whole gameplay mechanic of party members getting scared will impact the game. Darkest Dungeon seems to be reasonably well-received from what people have said of the game in its Early Access form, so it has that going for it. It's also a rogue-like, which makes it something I'd probably be more inclined to spend some time with since I find those sorts of games far more palatable these days than the notion of having to dive into a 50+ hour juggernaut of a game.

Fire Emblem: Fates

It's getting to be that time again. With most people having gotten Awakening out of their systems, strategy RPG fans are getting thirsty for a new Fire Emblem game, and they'll be getting that with Fates. The game looks like what one would expect from an entry in the series with a fantasy setting, plenty of permadeath for those who like going that route, and a new Phoenix Mode for those who not only despise permadeath but want their characters revived by the next turn. The game is actually planned to be massive as it has two versions: Birthright/Conquest and Revelations. Both take place in the same story, but each has it's story focused on one of the two factions with side characters and the like tossed in. It can be handled by getting two physical games, but it looks like it may be cheaper to go a DLC route for folks that want to do all the things, however. Bare in mind that if you do want to experience every last thing to be done in Fates, I'm hearing the full game with both factions and such is expected to be three times the size of Fire Emblem: Awakenings, so that could take a while to get through.

Stranger of Sword City

I'm a sucker for dungeon crawls. From the moment I first played Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord on the family Apple IIe as a kid, I was hooked. So, it should come as no surprise that I'm pretty hyped for this. It's a game that initially came out in Japan on the 360 a few years ago, but thanks to some Steam release leaks it's looking highly probable that we'll be seeing it later this year on PC. Give me some interesting races, monsters, classes, and weapons, toss me in a bunch of dungeons, and I'm happy.

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows

Like pause-able real-time tactical RPGs a la Baldur's Gate? Have a thing for stylistic art direction? I know I do. That's what we're getting with Masquerada. Toss in the fact that the game takes place in a Venice-inspired fantasy world where magic comes from masks, and we have a potentially quite interesting game here.

Horizon Zero Dawn

There are a couple of games coming out this year that would get me seriously considering picking up a PS4. This is one of them. While a lot of post-apocolyptic games take place in worlds shortly after a disaster, war, or some such happened, with mutants, deserts, and hopelessness everywhere, Horizon appears to be set in a world well after the fall of human society. There are still cities in ruin, but nature has long since retaken those places covering them with plant life. On top of this, it looks like machines are a major threat to humans, but they've taken the form of wildlife with strange, animal-like contraptions roaming in herds and being hunted by the humans. Now, slap all of this into a very pretty package with a big, open world and we have plenty to be excited about.

Nier: Automata

This would be the other game that could get me looking closer at the PS4. I liked the original Nier. It was a fun little action RPG with interesting environments and some impressive swearing. So, now, with a sequel on the way I'm kind of intrigued by it, especially with Platinum working on it. I'm a sucker for their approach to combat, so that has gotten my ears all the more perked for Automata.

Project Setsuna

Centering around a mercenary who is escorting a girl named Setsuna to be sacrificed in order to appease some demons, this game is sure to be a real heart warmer. The developers are going for a decidedly retro approach to combat here siting games from the 90s like Chrono Trigger as inspiration, so as someone who grew up on games like that, this is music to my ears. The visuals also look quite nice going for an oil paint aesthetic.

Torment: Tides of Numenera

It was probably wishful thinking that this game would get released in 2015, but now it's a pretty safe bet that we'll see the game out this year. Planescape: Torment is one of my all time favorite RPGs, so I've been pretty excited about this new Torment game for some time now. Sure, it's going to have a lot to live up to, but so far what's been shown of the game looks promising.

Persona 5

Well, I guess I better toss this in as one more game that could get force my hand in getting a PS4. I do quite like the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei games that I've had time to play, so diving into Persona 5 when it comes along is quite tempting. It looks like the developers are going with an "if it's not broken, don't fix it" approach with the game, and I'm fine with that. The Persona games have always had good dungeons and interesting stories, and it's hard to think of a reason to deviate from that formula.

World of Final Fantasy

This is a game more intended to introduce younger audiences to the Final Fantasy universe, but after seeing the trailer I can't help but feel that the game looks so charming. It's tempting to snap this up and wander the lands meeting all the folks from various Final Fantasies while going on an adventure. It also helps that the combat looks pretty neat.