March heralds the backlash of a magnitude of gaming launches and news. Horizon Zero Dawn is out and it’S absolute perfection. D.I.C.E. and GDC has just ended with a host of amazing news that I haven’t even be able to process it yet. But Overwatch won Game of the Year for both (surprise!). Then finally the launch of the Nintendo Switch and all the reasons I’m buying it Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. With all this insane excitement it’s going to be hard to see what to buy next. But not to worry here we’ve got a Top 10 list for you to narrow it down to.
Robo Recall by Epic Games – March 1st
Robo Recall is an action-packed virtual reality first-person shooter built by Epic Games exclusively for Oculus Touch. Explore realistic environments as an agent tasked with recalling rogue robots while unlocking an expanding arsenal of weapons. At its heart, Robo Recall is a light-gun game dragged kicking and screaming into a 21st century VR world. If you’ve ever played Time Crisis or similar you’ll know the score: shoot anything that moves.
Platform: PC
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by Nintendo – March 3rd
Nintendo has listened to our thoughts and prayers and have gifted us with Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Ridiculously, expensive console sold separately. The gorgeous open world is the dream and Nintendo has made it a reality. There’s a huge sense of openness to the game, missing from the previous generation. There’s a sense you can walk off in any direction, enter whichever dungeon you’d like and do whatever you’d like including venturing into high-level areas to get your butt kicked.
Platform: Nintendo Switch, Wii U
NieR: Automata by Square Enix – March 7th
Set in the far future, NieR: Automata will put players in the role of man-made combat androids. YoRHa No.2 Type B, or 2B are sent from the moon to reclaim Earth from machines with mysterious off-world origins. It’s made by Platinum Games, so expect stylish hack-and-slash action regardless of whether you’re fighting with swords, spears or 2B’s fists. Aside from epic-looking boss fights, there are also side-scrolling sections and bullet hell-like moments that are thrown in to vary the pace. The action-RPG also features an open world, and while the post-apocalyptic environments look somewhat sparse in the videos (perhaps suitable so), they’re still pretty-looking backdrops to the action, at least.
Platform: PS4, PC
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands by Ubisoft – March 7th
An open world tactical shooter, Ghost Recon Wildlands features Bolivia in the form of an open world and tasks players with taking down the powerful Santa Blanca cartel as one of the elite Ghosts. You can play through the entire game alone with three AI squadmates or in jump-in four-player co-op. If you’re looking for a large amount of content and plenty of shooting, Ghost Recon Wildlands looks set to deliver that. Just be wary if you’re getting it for PC, as there are a number of comments about the open beta’s poor optimisation.
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Lego Worlds by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games Publishing – March 7th
Lego Worlds is sort of like Minecraft, but with Lego. The Lego part of it provides a pretty big difference, though, according to TT Games associate producer Chris Rose. Its variety of bricks and slopes sets the game apart from the numerous voxel-based sandbox games. Featuring a “galaxy” of procedurally-generated worlds, each World features discoveries ranging from giraffes and vampires to race cars and “colossal digging machines”. Aside from shaping environments with the multi-tool or building things with the Brick-by-Brick editor, Lego Worlds lets you populate your Worlds with various characters, creatures, models, and driveable vehicles.
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch
Styx: Shards of Darkness by Cyanide, Focus Home Interactive – March 14th
The goblin Styx is back for a bigger-budget second stealth outing, this time dealing with Elves and Dwarfs. Set after the fall of Akenash tower in the first game, he’ll be infiltrating Körangar, the city of the Dark Elves. The diplomatic summit there turns out to be a facade, however, and Styx gets involved in a “complex narrative”. The game promises “multi-layered sandbox environments”, and from the looks of things, the levels do feature a nice amount of verticality at least. There are new enemies, skills and abilities to learn, artifacts to find in the world and ingredients for crafting. Players can also expect the core stealth and assassination mechanics to have been refined from the first game.
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Mass Effect: Andromeda by BioWare – March 21st
The latest Mass Effect game will take you beyond the Milky Way to the Andromeda galaxy. As the Pathfinder, “a leader of a squad of military-trained explorers”, you’ll navigate this new territory in search of a new home for humanity, uncover mysteries and find yourself as the hope of humanity later on. Like the games in the previous trilogy, Mass Effect: Andromeda is a third-person action-RPG that combines cover-based shooting with special abilities. And of course, you can romance people and aliens.
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Rock Band VR by Harmonix – March 23rd
Get ready for the most authentic high-energy rock’n’roll simulation. Strap on your trusty guitar, join your band on stage and rock out like nobody’s watching! Rock Band VR inspired by the original Rock Band on the virtual stage. Specifically designed from the ground up for VR and the Oculus Touch. It offers unprecedented stage presence and uniquely deep, rich, and full-featured game play. With outstanding playable tracks, classic game mode, campaign mode, and leaderboards. Rock Band VR is hundreds of hours worth of rock’n’roll music!
Platform: PC
Snake Pass by Sumo Digital – March 28th
Snake Pass is a physical action-puzzle game that sees the player slither, curl and climb their way through increasingly challenging worlds filled with ever more intricate obstacles and fiendishly mind-bending objectives. Snake Pass’ control scheme is pretty unique for a platformer, as you have to control the snake’s head and body in tandem to move yourself along. It is a game best played with a controller, as trying to make the snake undulate with mouse and keyboard will probably tie your hands up in knots.
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch
Thimbleweed Park by Terrible Toybox – March 30th
Created by two of the minds behind Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick. Thimbleweed Park is a point-and-click adventure game that you’re going to remember. Thimbleweed Park takes place in a haunted hotel, an abandoned circus, a burnt-out pillow factory, a dead body pixelating under the bridge, toilets that run on vacuum tubes. Five people with nothing in common have been drawn to this rundown, forgotten town. They don’t know it yet, but they are all deeply connected. And they’re being watched.
Platform: Xbox One, PC
