We’re only a month into the new year, and it already feels like a busy month of high-profile releases is upon us. February sees the launch of several highly anticipated titles, some being delayed multiple times over the years. A legendary dragon also finally makes his way to the West, while hunters savoring more after Monster Hunter Rise will have plenty to sink their teeth and time into. Let’s look at 10 of the biggest games releasing in February.
Deliver Us Mars
As the follow-up to KeokeN Interactive’s sci-fi mystery thriller Deliver Us The Moon, Deliver Us Mars is a more high-octane action-adventure title. The stakes are higher, as astronaut Kathy Johanson must venture with the Zephyr to Mars to recover the ARK colony ships for humanity’s survival. The environments are bigger, with platforming across harsh environments and puzzle-solving necessary to progress forward.
It’s a big step up over the original with ray-traced shadows and reflections, detailed motion capture, and more polished production values. Whether it finally answers all of our questions or not, Deliver Us Mars is out on February 2nd for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC.
Hogwarts Legacy
Harry Potter fans are finally getting what they’ve (probably) always wanted – a big-budget title set in the Wizarding world, even if it takes place 100 years before the main series. As a fifth-year student in Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, players must stop some Dark Wizards and a goblin rebellion. However, they also wield ancient magic and possess a secret that could alter the world of Wizarding as they know it.
In between, however, there are the four Houses to join, over 100 side quests to complete, animals to raise in the Vivarium, several spells to master, Dark Arts Arenas to battle in, and much more. You can even wield unforgivable Curses with no consequences, which sounds a little lore-breaking. Nevertheless, Avalanche Software and Portkey Games have recreated and expanded Hogwarts significantly – all that’s left is to see if this translates into a memorable title.
Hogwarts Legacy is out on February 10th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC.
Wanted: Dead
Soleil has been one of the stranger studios in recent times. Its pedigree of former Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive developers hasn’t translated to mega-hit hack-and-slash titles. Nevertheless, Wanted: Dead looks pretty sick.
Not in the cutting-edge visuals or awe-inspiring set-pieces, but just in terms of the overall mood. The grungy cyberpunk story follows Lt. Hannah Stone and her squad for a week as they investigate corporate conspiracies and run afoul of mercenaries. The mix of live-action commercials and anime cutscenes. The irreverent characters and atmosphere inspired by Cyber City Oedo 808 and Dominion Tank Police. The mini-games like Space Runaway. It feels like a homage to the PS2 and OG Xbox era in the best ways.
Thankfully, the gameplay has some interesting hooks, mixing third-person hack-and-slash combat with parries, finishers and combos with over-the-shoulder shooting. There are several ranged weapons to use, but you’re encouraged to stay on the move, adapt on the fly and not die. Wanted: Dead is out on February 14th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC.
WILD HEARTS
From the developer that brought us Toukiden and several Musou games – including the once-king of the genre, Dynasty Warriors – comes WILD HEARTS. It’s a hunting action RPG exclusive to current-gen consoles, which is unique considering the competition’s cross-gen releases. It’s set in the land of Azuma, a once-peaceful domain now threatened by the Kemono. Eliminating them is paramount, and when you, someone with proficiency for the long-dormant Karakuri, arrive, it’s time to hunt.
Like Monster Hunter, WILD HEARTS features several weapon types, numerous regions to explore and massive beasts to slay. The weapons are far from your typical fare, though. The Karakuri katana can transform into a whip sword, the staff can bloat in size to become a great sword, and the Wagasa is a parasol that allows for gliding and beating monsters, letting you live out your murderous fantasies. There’s even a cannon which can double up as a bazooka that fires a continuous beam.
However, it’s not the massive scale of its regions or the lack of a free trial before launch that sets WILD HEARTS apart. The Karakuri is capable of powerful inventions (provided you have enough thread), capable of transforming into gliders, springs, giant mallets, bombs, harpoons, and even vehicles. It’s intriguing and adds a whole new dimension to the combat, but will it be enough to compete with Capcom’s hugely successful Monster Hunter franchise? We’ll find out when WILD HEARTS launches on February 17th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.
Atomic Heart
Alternative history Soviet Union, 1955. Following the boom of robotics, humanity’s lives have gotten a lot easier. Unfortunately, in facility 3826, something has gone wrong. The robots have gone rogue. Hideous experiments have emerged, and strong anti-human programming seems to be spreading. As Major Nechaev or P-3, it’s your job to stop this, armed with a polymer glove with abilities like telekinesis, the Chaika 3.0 to craft weapons, and a quickly deteriorating grasp on sanity.
Mixing FPS and action RPG elements, Atomic Heart is a mix of gorgeous retro-futuristic environments and hard-hitting combat set to adrenaline-inducing music. There are several types of melee weapons to discover and the potential for stealth. However, you also have an assortment of firearms, from the AK to a portable nuke launcher. It’s a trippy experience, and that’s before you encounter the manic, bouncing hedge-cutter robot.
Atomic Heart has been a journey for Mundfish, whether it’s the long development period and delays or various reports of reboots, crunch and mismanagement. It’s finally out on February 21st for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, and PC, and launches day one on Game Pass.
Blood Bowl 3
Blood Bowl asks a simple question – what if American football but with Warhammer races and more violence? Based on the board game’s Second Edition ruleset, Blood Bowl 3 is a turn-based fantasy title with up to 11 players on each team battling it out in the name of sportsmanship (and also violence).
There are 12 races available, with the Chaos Renegades and Black Orcs making their debut. Players also have freedom over customization, from creating and recruiting team members to customising their armor and emblems, hiring cheerleaders and more. Don’t be surprised if a prize player is removed from the sport due to a sudden injury or three. In addition to a new competitive mode with leagues, tournaments, and seasons, a new solo campaign is included, which sees players attempting to win the Clash of Sponsors.
Blood Bowl 3 is out on February 23rd and will be playable on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. Plenty more content is coming post-launch with the Blood Pass system adding new factions and other rewards every three months.
Sons of the Forest
If there’s one thing you have to praise Endnight Games for, it’s pulling out all the stops to create some truly disturbing horror, that too in the confines of a survival sandbox. But Sons of the Forest isn’t your average follow-up to the 2014 breakout hit, despite following the same template of crashing on an island teeming with cannibals and mutants.
The story this time is about finding a missing billionaire, though once again, this is only one way to spend your time. With a world, four times bigger than the original, revamped building methods for more intuitive construction, improved enemy AI and more organic interactions, and dynamic seasons, plenty else can keep you occupied. Co-op returns, but solo players can rely on an AI companion to help them gather, build and defend against hostiles.
Sooner or later, you’ll venture into the Underground, where all kinds of horrors await. Maybe you’ll encounter the locals trying to sabotage your base or meet a multi-limbed woman who can join your cause. Whether you go about creating conflict, building peacefully or simply pursuing the island’s various mysteries, Sons of the Forest should prove an extensive timesink. It’s out on February 23rd, exclusively for PC.
Like a Dragon: Ishin!
The Yakuza series has seen incredible popularity in the West, thanks to the success of Yakuza 0. However, with every game receiving a localized or worldwide release, one title has always felt conspicuously absent: Ryu ga Gotoku: Ishin!, which was released in 2014 for the PS3 and PS4 in Japan only. Praised for its combat and mini-games, it’s finally coming West as Like a Dragon: Ishin! to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC on February 21st.
Set in Kyoto (or “Kyo”) during the Bakumatsu, it sees master swordsman Sakamata Ryoma joining the Shinsengumi to search for his master’s killer. Unlike one Kazama Kiryu, Ryoma kills and is very good at it, using four different Combat Styles – Sword, Gun, Wild Dancer and Brawler – to shoot, stab and beat enemies into submission. But despite featuring a dark storyline rooted in a chaotic era, Like a Dragon: Ishin! offers plenty of fun Sub-stories, mini-games and activities to keep players busy.
Chicken racing, managing a restaurant, farming – it’s all here, and looks phenomenal thanks to the remade visuals. The more combat-oriented players can look forward to the dungeon, except its Trooper Cards can now be used in regular combat for unleashing energy blasts, black holes and other insane moves. If you’ve been itching for a new Yakuza experience, that too with real-time combat, then Like a Dragon: Ishin! may fill that gap.
Destiny 2: Lightfall
All these years later, Destiny is still going strong, with its next big expansion, Lightfall, releasing on February 28th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. You probably know of The Witness, the Black Fleet, and the Guardians’ upcoming battle with them.
If you don’t, that’s perfectly fine since the series’ gameplay is still pretty fun. Lightfall takes place in a new, neon-lit city, Neomuna, on Neptune and sees players battling against Calus, who now serves The Witness and his Shadow Legion. A new Darkness subclass called Strand helps in that regard. It grapples, unravels things, and if you’re a Berserker Titan, it slices.
New weapons and gear, a new campaign (complete with a Legendary difficulty option for increased rewards), a new raid arriving on March 10th, and much more await players. That doesn’t even account for the quality-of-life features like loadouts and changes to the seasonal Artifact, mods, armor, Anti-Champion weapons, and much more.
It’s still a burden for new players to jump in, but Lightfall should provide a memorable story experience and tons of content to play. It even comes with the Season 20 Pass for even more loot, Exotics, and activities.
Horizon Call of the Mountain
Sony has made major strides in VR gaming, as seen with the first PlayStation VR. However, PlayStation VR2 aims to go even beyond, both in power and price, with its 4K resolution support, eye-tracking, foveated rendering and Sense controllers that use the DualSense’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. All of this would be meaningless without games to show them off.
Fortunately, Horizon Call of the Mountain looks to be the headset’s premier showcase title. Developed by Guerrilla Games and Firesprite, it’s a spin-off of the open-world series that features a new protagonist in Ryas. A former Shadow Carja atoning for his acts under the Mad Sun-King Jiran, Ryas investigates a new mysterious threat to the Sundom. His skills as a hunter and climber translate well when scaling mountains and using weapons like a bow to take down various Machines.
While little about the scale or how extensively it mirrors the other titles’ mechanics, like crafting and quests, is known, Horizon Call of the Mountain looks to up the triple-A standard for VR titles. If nothing else, it should be fun to hunt Machines from the first-person perspective. It’s out on February 22nd, launching alongside PlayStation VR2.
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