Thrones of Britannia of course, takes players back to the ages of kings and vikings, the warring British isles and all the bad blood of the time. It’s the kind of story that’s going to appeal far more to someone with an interest in the specific period that the game is loosely using, but it’s a story well told. Like other Total War games, it’s guided at the beginning, but becomes somewhat emergent as the game goes on and the player is allowed to make more decisions. Attempts to assassinate a king can desolve alliances and open all kinds of doors. 

"In contrast to Total Warhammer’s over the top fantasy or other Total War games where you’ll see Germanic and Roman fighters go against each other, seeing the factions almost identical is rather disappointing, but not unexpected."

With the balance of power constantly shifting from turn to turn, events can be exactly what you make them. You could succumb to those kingdoms around you, or you can offer them trade to ally them. Certain cultural groups won’t always want to get along with each other, but the power of the coin or the threat of a larger enemy makes the strangest of bedfellows. Then when the alliance is no longer in your favour, perhaps you turn around and swallow the smaller kingdoms into your own. The historical setting isn’t limiting the stories that the player tells themselves, which is great.

The missions that advance the main story are fine, usually helping to build out those stories, and other kinds of events take place from time to time as well to mix things up. These events aren’t exclusive just to players, and AI decisions will be driven by similar quests, which will drive their decisions and can create mini-stories even without the player’s involvement, news of which will ultimately get back to the player, and perhaps even allow them to capitalize on the strife, such as rolling in and trying to take Scotland while the ruckus from a murdered king has them all split apart and easy pickings.

The zoomed in look at a specific historical region and time period does dull the interest and strategy of the game a little bit, where your units, regardless of which of the 10 factions you select, are all going to present and act about the same, with maybe a different unit or two. In contrast to Total Warhammer’s over the top fantasy or other Total War games where you’ll see Germanic and Roman fighters go against each other, seeing the factions almost identical is rather disappointing, but not unexpected. 

While it’s still hard to say that Thrones of Britannia is very beginner friendly, with the kind of clunky UI and the depth to the strategy that previous games have seen, the title has smartly cut several systems that were just a pain in the butt to deal with over past games, streamlining the experience in several ways. First of all, leaders have taken over the role once held by the difficult to manage and understand Agents, who are gone completly. 

Leaders are no longer grown through a skill tree, but influenced by their environment where they gain traits and the player decides how their followers will drive them. Players no longer need to worry about dealing with separate trade and military buildings, and creating the same buildings over and over again just to train up some cavalry. The map itself is rather expansive as well, probably a little too expansive, with areas of any interest fairly far apart from each other, making surveying all your options quite difficult. 

Once finally engaged in battle, the game plays out basically like any other Total War title, where a preparation period will be followed by some RTS action. Players can use leader skills to supplement their own guile, and use the environment to their advantage, such as hiding some cavalry within the forests in order to flank the enemy. The strategies that can go into army makeup and the tactics you use with them can be varied and highly engaging, but actually learning those tactics beyond basic understanding can be cryptic and take some help from outside the game. 

"The unique visual style does help lend the game an identity of its own, with side on portraits in a nordic and medieval style very befitting of the time, and some story scenes even playing out like moving murals."

The unique visual style does help lend the game an identity of its own, with side on portraits in a nordic and medieval style very befitting of the time, and some story scenes even playing out like moving murals. As for the map and action itself, the game looks very crisp and colourful. While as mentioned earlier, different faction units don’t look much different, unit types have distinctive looks, helping with fast decision making mid-action, and hold up when zoomed in a little better than Warhammer. At the bird’s eye view the game is meant to be played at, the seams aren’t super noticeable though.

All told, even though the game tries to cut off some of the fat that’s built up over several entries, A Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia is still a great strategy title that’s just a little too hard to recommend to someone looking from the outside. Should you have the will to push through the learning curve either from interest in the time period, or through pure dedication, you’ll find something to enjoy.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

Detroit: Become Human

Quantic Dream’s highly anticipated, narrative-based adventure has impressed us for a long time with its sleek visuals and production values. However, Detroit: Become Human promises more than just pretty graphics, its themes exploring the nature of humanity and free will via androids living in futuristic Detroit. Attaining sentience is one part of the journey for Kara but Connor is more about hunting down deviant androids as part of the police. Markus is a more revolutionary individual, seeking to free other androids from their captivity. The choices you make, how they’ll affect the outcome and replaying scenes to visit alternate story paths form a core part of the experience. Detroit: Become Human is out on May 25^th for PS4 so we’ll find out just how emotionally involving its story really is.

State of Decay 2

It’s not the MMO/zombie survival game that we once heard rumblings of but that’s okay. Undead Labs’ State of Decay 2 will once again challenge players to survive in a large open world with three large maps to explore, numerous zombies to battle, survivor camps to manage and much more. The developer has promised that each map will roughly be the size of the first game’s map, which is pretty crazy. Couple this with the potential for new stories to be told via the survivors, crafting, new abilities, the potential to shift one’s base and four player co-op, and there will be a lot to go through once State of Decay 2 launches on May 22^nd for PC and Xbox One.

Moonlighter

Imagine wanting to adventure into the dangerous arms of the world, spelunking through various depths and uncovering various unknown terrors. Your role isn’t that though – you’re meant to be a shop-keeper, selling items to the real adventurers. Of course, once the day comes and the desire can no longer be staved, it’s off to adventure. Moonlighter encapsulates this idea with a beautiful sprite-based art-style and combat that takes several cues from the old-school Zelda games. While it’s possible to explore dungeons and discover various items, the twist here is that you can take them back to your item shop and sell them for additional cash. This can then be used to fund further adventures with weapon and armour upgrades and much more. Moonlighter has an easygoing feel to its adventure, one that’s nonetheless addictive and challenging once you actually get into it. Look for it to release on May 29^th for PC, Xbox One and PS4.

Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire

When a giant angry god of light and rebirth destroys your stronghold and leaves you for dead, what more can you do but chase it? As the sequel to the critically and commercially acclaimed computer RPG, Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire will offer a brand new region, the Deadfire Archipelago, to explore. You get your own boat to travel in, which can be customized and engage in naval battles. Players can now take on three sub-classes with their own skills, further develop companion relationships, and even steal ships from foes. If the first game was any indication, Pillars of Eternity 2 should be a massive adventure that embodies the spirit of classic RPGs like Icewind Dale and Baldur’s Gate.

Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia

When Anglo-Saxons, Gaelic clans and Vikings clash in a huge battle, who wins? Well, history has kind of told us what happens but Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia will let us play that out as well. A turn-based campaign with real-time battles, Thrones of Britannia follows the Total War formula to a tee. You choose a faction, create armies, negotiate alliances and go about conquering everyone. With a whopping 10 factions with unique leaders, numerous routes to attain victory and many updates to mechanics like politics, recruitment, dilemmas and whatnot, Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia should deliver when it releases for PC on May 3^rd.

Conan Exiles

Conan Exiles hasn’t exactly had the smoothest early access period but it shows hope. The concept of surviving in the Hyborian Age, scavenging for food and water while making your way across a hostile land full of zombies, dragons and other enemies can be intriguing. Furthermore, any hostile NPCs you come across can be captured for various benefits as you chart out your metropolitan-like base. You can even use the power of your deity and command titanic avatars to crush enemies underfoot. Conan Exiles releases on May 8^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 and 2 (Switch)

It’s not enough for the Nintendo Switch to receive one compilation of the classic Mega Man titles. No, on May 22^nd, it receives both. Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 features Mega Man 1 to 6 with a new Challenge Mode that offers scaling difficulties across refashioned segments from all six games. Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 features Mega Man 7 to 10 with all the playable characters, additional modes, a gallery for viewing art and much more. Honestly, not a bad deal if you want your fill of Mega Man on the go.

Dark Souls Remastered

We’ve had Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition, Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin and eventually Dark Souls 3 to cap off the trilogy. What better place to go than back to the beginning? Developed by QLOC, Dark Souls Remastered will have improved visuals thanks to higher quality textures and a 60 FPS frame rate. There will also be support for 4K and an increased multiplayer cap to accommodate six players. The Nintendo Switch version, developed by Virtuos, sadly won’t be out in May but at least PS4, Xbox One and PC players can re-experience the classic on May 25^th.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset

The Elder Scrolls Online continues to expand, this time with a new expansion Summerset. Releasing for PC on May 21^st, Summerset will see players travelling to the home of the High Elves, open for the first time in history, and encountering such groups as the Psijic Order to potentially learn new abilities. Crafting will also be expanded to include Jewellery Crafting which will further feed into your power fantasy. Other new content includes a 12 player Trial, new World Bosses, Public Dungeons and the new Abyssal Geysers group challenge.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Switch)

From its expert level design with distinct flow to its rewarding gameplay, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is truly a classic that more players should experience. Fortunately, with the Wii U release coming to Nintendo Switch on May 4^th, we’ll have a chance to do just that. The Switch version doesn’t sport a ton of new features but you can play as Funky Kong. He has five HP and can hover, double-jump, breathe underwater and more, which helps to ease one’s self into the adventure. Regardless if you own a Switch, there’s no reason not to pick up this stellar adventure next week.