Hidetaka Miyazaki’s Dark Souls successor, Bloodborne, leads a week of long-anticipated releases across all platforms. 90s cRPG fans will finally get their hands on the Kickstarter monster Pillars of Eternity, from the designers behind classics like Planescape: Torment and Knights of the Old Republic 2. Not one, but two new installments of the recently in-vogue episodic adventures arrive, continuing the stories of Telltale’s Game of Thrones and Dontnod’s Life is Strange.
What will you play this week?
Bloodborne
PS4 (March 24)
Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki, like a twisted version of that other famous Miyazaki, is back with another brutally imaginative action-roleplaying game. The city of Yharnam is afflicted with a plague that has transformed its citizens into horrifying monsters. You must brave the streets and their vicious denizens in pursuit of a legendary medical remedy that supposedly resides in the city.
Unlike the measured, defensive style of combat encouraged by the Souls games, Bloodborne pushes you into fast-paced, aggressive fighting. Quickly returning blows earns you back a portion of health lost, making the best defense a relentless offense.
Telltale’s Game of Thrones, Episode 3
Mac/PS3/PS4/Win (March 24)
X360/XB1 (March 25)
Android/iOS (March 26)
True to the spirit of the source material, things have gone from bad to worse for House Forrester of Ironrath in episode 3, The Sword in the Darkness. Backed by the Boltons, the rival Whitehills have installed an army in Ironrath to keep a close watch on the new lord. That leaves it up to the far-flung Forresters to find help elsewhere and bring their house back to its former glory.
Across the sea in Essos, banished brother Asher will try to rustle up an army in Meereen, which may bring him into the orbit of the Mother of Dragons. In King’s Landing, Mira is becoming increasingly entangled in the dangerous games of the Lannisters. Meanwhile, up at the Wall, Gared must seek the mysterious North Grove that his uncle told him holds the fate of the Forresters.
Life is Strange, Episode 2
PS3/PS4/Win/X360/XB1 (March 24)
The time-warping saga of awkward teenager Max Caulfield continues in episode 2, Out of Time. Max’s apocalyptic visions of the tornado and lighthouse force her to get out of the school and explore the wider world in pursuit of the truth about her newfound powers and what’s happening in Arcadia Bay.
Max also finally shares the secret of her abilities with Chloe, the childhood friend who’s life she saved in the first episode. Now Chloe and Max together can solve the mystery of Max’s terrifying vision for what may come.
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
PS4/XB1 (March 24)
Borderland 3 is coming in the indefinite future, but until then new and old fans of the series alike can experience the its best in shiny, new 1080p graphics on the latest generation of consoles. Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel are bundled together with all of their respective DLC in this definitive collection that contains hours upon hours of explosive gunplay and bombastic humor.
The collection also launches alongside a new DLC for The Pre-Sequel, which is also included. “Claptastic Voyage” takes you where no man or woman should probably ever go, into the self-obsessed mind of Claptrap, Borderlands’ love-him-or-hate-him robot mascot.
Pillars of Eternity
Linux/Mac/Win (March 26)
A return to form, Obsidian hearkens back to the golden age of tactical, isometric, computer roleplaying games like Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment with this modern revitalization of the genre. Many of the game’s developers, like the acclaimed writer Chris Avellone, cut their teeth on those very games.
An important, early Kickstarter success, this team of 90s PC roleplaying game heavyweights pulled in over $3 million in late 2012, setting a record at the time for Kickstarter’s most-funded video game by beating out Double Fine Adventure (later Broken Age) on its last day.
What else is coming:
- Forza Horizon 2 presents Fast & Furious (X360, XB1/Mar. 27): This standalone game uses the Forza Horizon 2 engine to create a set of unique challenges inspired by the film series. It will be free through April 10.
- Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty (XB1/Mar. 27): The classic, quirky puzzle platformer Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee has been rebuilt from the ground up for a new generation of gamers.
- Lego Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin (3DS, Vita/Mar. 27): The Lego ninjas must stop the sinister Ronin in this sequel to last year’s Lego Ninjago: Nindroids.
