Forza Horizon 6

Almost five years since we bade farewell to the Horizon Festival, but this time it returns in perhaps the most anticipated location in the series – Japan. Relaxing drives through avenues of Sakura trees in Spring, frenetic Touge battles down winding mountain roads, or just hanging out at Daikoku, showing off your vehicle to all and sundry – that’s only the start. Forza Horizon 6 offers two major avenues to cement your legacy – exploration, gradually defogging Japan and discovering Aftermarket Cars, or racing through the ranks to become a Horizon Legend. Beyond everything else, however, it’s your journey. Fill up the scrapbook with memories. Outfit your garage and build out a base. The choice is yours when it launches on May 19th for PC and Xbox Series X/S.

Directive 8020

Say what you will about The Thing, but it reinforced a deep space fear that continues to resonate through gaming – that someone on your crew isn’t who you think they are. Cue Directive 8020 from Supermassive Games, which focuses on the colony ship Cassiopeia as it crashlands on Tau Ceti f. But things take a turn when a horrifying shapeshifting organism begins hunting the crew. Compared to previous Dark Pictures entries, there’s a bigger focus on stealth and combat, not to mention carefully discerning who’s who. Don’t worry if you choose wrong, though, since Turning Points offers a do-over. Directive 8020 launches on May 12th for Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PS5, and after such a long wait, we’re ready to be terrified.

MOTORSLICE

Between monsters, robots, zombies and everything in between, who would have thought that construction equipment could be a threat? That’s the premise of MOTORSLICE, which is all about P and her chainsaw-wielding, parkouring self as she battles these massive threats in a post-apocalyptic world. But then there’s the megastructure – a winding, brutalist space that goes on forever. With its minimalistic art style and unorthodox premise, MOTORSLICE could serve up some hack-and-slash platforming goodness when it launches on May 5th.

WILL: Follow The Light

Unreal Engine 5 and adventure games go together about as well as…just about any other genre, honestly, but WILL: Follow the Light has a different aura about it. In a way, it reminds us of The Vanishing of Ethan Carter with its atmosphere, except you’re controlling a father who embarks on a journey to return home and find his son. It’s a tough task, especially when traversing by sea, crossing mountains and confronting the ghosts of the past. Maybe it could be a dark horse in gorgeous narrative adventures. Maybe not. Either way, we’ll find out on May 7th.

Luna Abyss

A game after my own bullet hell-loving heart, Kwalee Labs’ first-person shooter sees you banished to prison on Luna and tasked to venture into the Abyss for some “forgotten technology.” Enter the cosmic horrors, which aren’t known for being deep sleepers (or quiet dreamers), unfortunately, and you’ll have to slowly unravel the mystery of Greymont, clinging onto sanity the entire time. Having thoroughly enjoyed Saros and Metal Eden, I’m keen on diving into Luna Abyss and its crimson-tinged interiors when it launches on May 21st for PC.

Bubsy 4D

Bubsy is officially back, and no one is safe. Launching on May 22nd across every platform, Bubsy 4D sees the orange furball embarking on a new 3D adventure across 15 new levels. And it looks…not bad? Pretty sleek even, right down to the legally distinct “rolling around at the speed of sound” ability. While the prospect of the game as a metacommentary on Bubsy’s reputation is interesting enough, this looks like a genuinely compelling 3D platformer. Color us intrigued, if nothing else.

007 First Light

You only live twice, as a world-famous 00 agent once said, and thanks to IO Interactive, we’ll have the opportunity to look at death through the eyes of a younger, brasher, less cynical James Bond. First Light sees him enter MI6 to earn 00 status, but amid the charming arrogance is a desire to prove himself, and maybe surpass his limits. The building blocks of Hitman are all here – exquisite sandbox environments with numerous opportunities for stealth – but Bond goes beyond Agent 47’s capabilities in every way you’d expect. Parkour, sneaking, bluffing his way past guards and staff, clever usage of Q’s gadgets – and when “license to kill” is active, gunning down anyone that stands in his way with an array of weaponry and CQC tactics. And just straight up throwing empty guns at an enemy’s face. All’s fair in the world of super spies when 007 First Light launches on May 27th.

Thick as Thieves

A new stealth game from Warren Spector and Paul Neurath, whose credits include Deus Ex and Thief, respectively? Say less. Its alternate-history 1910s city and procedurally generated mission layout, which encourages quick thinking and improvisation, initially left us skeptical due to the PvEvP element. But that’s been changed to focus more on single-player and co-op, delivering an experience befitting the Thief legacy, as you hone your skills to become a legend in the business. Thick as Thieves is available on May 20th for PC.

Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core

Have you ever seen all the Deep Rock Galactic praise, heard all the calls of “rock and stone,” but could still never really get into it? Maybe a roguelite spin-off will do the trick. Entering early access on May 20th, Rogue Core focuses on the Reclaimers squad, which the Company calls in when there are some serious threats. In every run, you’ll need to make use of any weapons along the way while battling the Core Spawn and improving your skills. With how much work has gone on since its October 2023 announcement, one can only hope that Rogue Core lives up to the original’s brilliance.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book

Nintendo hasn’t necessarily managed to recreate the magic of Yoshi’s Island, but the Mysterious Book could be a cosy, easy-breezy platformer, much like Yoshi’s Crafted World. The premise this time involves venturing through the pages of Mr E, where Yoshi meets different creatures. Harness their abilities on top of the usual gliding, egg-hurling, and sprinting that the series is known for, and voila (hopefully). Yoshi and the Mysterious Book launches on May 21st, exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

Freshen up on your knowledge of the Dark Knight because Batman returns to the video game world on May 22nd. Granted, it’s in LEGO form, but Legacy of the Dark Knight is going out of its way to pull from every single piece of Batman media in existence, from multiple Batmobile types to the bizarre Batmite outfit. If that vast open-world of Gotham, coupled with the Arkham series’ Free Flow combat, wasn’t enough, there are seven other characters, including Catwoman, Nightwing, Robin and more to play as.

ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies

Yes, it’s not exactly all that appealing considering the whole ZA/UM business and how the original Disco Elysium creators were ousted. There’s really no getting around that particular detail. Still, if you’re in the mood for something in the same vein, albeit with an espionage bent and exerting yourself as operant Hershel Wilke, caught up in a conflict between three factions, Zero Parades may suffice when it launches on May 21st for PC.

Better Than Dead

Bodycam first-person shooters are no longer all that new as a concept, but embarking on a quest for vengeance in Hong Kong, hunting down targets while ensuring no one ends up like you? That immediately skyrockets Better Than Dead for us, and the obvious influence of old-school Hong Kong action films just adds that extra bit of hard-boiled grit. It enters early access for PC on May 12th.

Dark Light: Survivor

You’ve swapped between first and third person in Resident Evil Requiem, but how about top-down and third-person (or even between realistic and pixel-like visuals)? That’s one of the many quirks of Dark Light: Survivor, a roguelike survival where you venture on the Phantom Train, venturing through a terrifying multiverse, gathering resources to keep the engine running. Two maps are available when early access launches on May 15th alongside Artifacts, persistent upgrades, weapons, and more. It may be all about the destination, but right now, the journey of Dark Light: Survivor is shaping up into something intriguing.

Withering Realms

From the developer behind the unsettling Withering Rooms comes Withering Realms, where you control a creepy doll ferrying a ghost, as they venture through Penwyll – a town where surely nothing horrible resides. “Bloodborne” is obviously the first influence to come to mind, but the hack and slash action, perspective, and visuals lend an almost Nightmare Creatures vibe to it all. Withering Realms launches into early access in May, and, surprisingly, will be playable from start to finish with plans for 1.0 to launch later this year.

While Withering Realms is going for a spooky vibe, will horror be a big part of the gameplay, or will it focus more on action?

I think horror and action are often (but not always) at cross purposes, so I’ve purposefully turned up the “contrast” in this game to create a clearer separation between the two.

When playing as The Doll, the focus is more on action, with slightly less horror theming (although there’s no shortage of horrible things shambling about).

When playing as Althea, particularly when sneaking around where you shouldn’t be, the game plays more like a classic survival horror title with fixed camera angles.

What kind of progression systems can we expect in Withering Realms?

I’m a big fan of build expression and the feeling of becoming vastly more powerful by the end of a game. With my first game, Withering Rooms, it was really satisfying to see stats that are often ignored in other games, like Luck, become cornerstones of powerful builds. I’m hoping to expand on that with this game.

The Doll follows a traditional action RPG level-up progression system, but with a twist – you level up individual body parts. For example, you can improve your left arm, right arm, legs, etc., individually. You can also craft and level up a variety of equipment, including talismans that attach to specific limbs, replacement eyeballs, and spell catalysts for Clover(the ghost girl).

"I think horror and action are often (but not always) at cross purposes"

What is the style of storytelling you’re aiming for?

I really enjoy being thrown into a world and having to figure out my place in it rather than sitting through a lot of exposition. You will take control of Clover and The Doll within 30 seconds of starting a new game. There is a (mostly) linear main quest, multiple endings, and a lot of optional content, but all presented in a way that hopefully encourages the player to figure things out for themselves.

Will Withering Realms feature pastiches of classic horror tropes, or will it take a more serious approach?

There will definitely be some costume homages! I don’t want to reveal anything just yet but I will say that The Doll’s bald head is a canvas that can be painted many different ways.

What variety can we expect from the weapon crafting mechanics?

The various left and right arm tools have set behaviors and stats. While you will need to find the necessary resources to craft them, the tools themselves are not customizable.

On the other hand (no pun intended), the talismans you equip to limbs feature a deeper crafting system. For instance, you might craft a talisman that reduces stamina consumption and increases fire damage, then equip it to your right arm to make the heavy Flamethrower a more viable option. Later, when you’ve upgraded your right arm or core body stats so that stamina consumption is no longer an issue, you might craft a new talisman focused purely on fire damage.

"While you will need to find the necessary resources to craft them, the tools themselves are not customizable."

How much of a difference will there be between playing during the day versus playing at night?

In many games, nighttime is just a “bluer” version of daytime with a starry skybox. In Withering Realms, night is pitch black.

The game uses physical lighting units, so outdoor daylight is hundreds of thousands of times brighter than night. Clover, the ghost, emits a very faint glow that is completely washed out during the day but becomes the only way to locate your character at night if you don’t have any other lighting equipped. As such, you’ll need to use lanterns or spells to see.

At night, the really horrible creatures and ghosts come out. Since visibility is low, you’ll need to rely on sound. If the ground starts rumbling, you know something large is coming.

Will Withering Realms have a skill tree? If so, what kinds of upgrades can we expect?

No explicit skill tree – build variety comes from stat allocation and choosing which tools and talismans to invest in upgrading, as well as what you equip.

Can you share the release date for Withering Realms? Are there plans to bring it to PS5 and Xbox?

I’m aiming for Early Access on Steam, likely with a demo as well. I’ll have an exact date as we get closer. After that, I’ll focus on the full release on PC and consoles (PS5, Xbox Series X, and possibly others), likely with a publishing partner.