Sunday, February 16th 2025
This Week in Gaming (Week 8)
Welcome to another week of new game releases and this week's AAA title takes place in the same world as Pillars of Eternity, for those that were a fan of that game from a decade ago. If RPG games aren't your cup of tea, how about a face full of Norwegian snow, or maybe the summer of 1995? How about some equestrian challenges, some pirate ninjas or maybe something a bit more dystopian? If so, we got the games for you this week.
Avowed / This week's AAA title / Tuesday 18 February
Avowed is a first-person fantasy RPG set in the world of Eora, where your choices carve a path through war, intrigue, and ancient mysteries. Navigate a land in turmoil, forge powerful alliances or deadly rivalries, and wield magic and steel to shape the fate of the Living Lands—and your own destiny. Steam link
SNØ: Ultimate Freeriding / Monday 17 February
SNØ is a game about downhill skiing where you carve your way down various mountainscapes trying to score as many points as possible by pulling off high risk maneuvers and tricks. Go for the high score or simply flow through serene, arctic landscapes. The controls are easy to learn, and there are endless procedural mountains to explore. Steam link
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage / Tuesday 18 February
Embark on a new narrative journey by the creators of Life is Strange. Film your summer of 1995 and create memories of a lifetime with your new friends. 27 years later, confront the dark secrets that made you all promise to never speak again after that fateful summer. Steam link
Unbridled: That Horse Game / Wednesday 19 February / Early Access
Unbridled: That Horse Game offers you the ultimate horse experience, giving you the freedom to follow your own dreams and create your own unique story. Experience the freedom of riding, the challenges of horse sports, and the joy of breeding horses - all in a stunning virtual world. Steam link
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii / Thursday 20 February
Embark on an over-the-top, modern-day pirate adventure with an ex-yakuza, now pirate captain & his crew. Engage in exhilarating combat on land and sea in the hunt for lost memories and treasure. Steam link
Peripeteia / Friday 21 February / Early Access
Peripeteia is a first-and-third-person role-playing stealth game taking place in alt-history cyberpunk Poland. Inspired by immersive sims from Ion Storm and Looking Glass Studios, Peripeteia expands on the formula with new ideas and an original setting. Steam link
Also launching this week:
Microtopia and Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog
Avowed / This week's AAA title / Tuesday 18 February
Avowed is a first-person fantasy RPG set in the world of Eora, where your choices carve a path through war, intrigue, and ancient mysteries. Navigate a land in turmoil, forge powerful alliances or deadly rivalries, and wield magic and steel to shape the fate of the Living Lands—and your own destiny. Steam link
SNØ is a game about downhill skiing where you carve your way down various mountainscapes trying to score as many points as possible by pulling off high risk maneuvers and tricks. Go for the high score or simply flow through serene, arctic landscapes. The controls are easy to learn, and there are endless procedural mountains to explore. Steam link
Embark on a new narrative journey by the creators of Life is Strange. Film your summer of 1995 and create memories of a lifetime with your new friends. 27 years later, confront the dark secrets that made you all promise to never speak again after that fateful summer. Steam link
Unbridled: That Horse Game offers you the ultimate horse experience, giving you the freedom to follow your own dreams and create your own unique story. Experience the freedom of riding, the challenges of horse sports, and the joy of breeding horses - all in a stunning virtual world. Steam link
Embark on an over-the-top, modern-day pirate adventure with an ex-yakuza, now pirate captain & his crew. Engage in exhilarating combat on land and sea in the hunt for lost memories and treasure. Steam link
Peripeteia is a first-and-third-person role-playing stealth game taking place in alt-history cyberpunk Poland. Inspired by immersive sims from Ion Storm and Looking Glass Studios, Peripeteia expands on the formula with new ideas and an original setting. Steam link
Microtopia and Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog
27 Comments on This Week in Gaming (Week 8)
Never got into Pillars, put off by RTWP and the massive loredump that I just couldn't get invest into. Might give this a go after sales though.
Might have to grab Avowed or LAD...but man I've got quite the backlog of Yakuza games to get through already. Glad people are enjoying them both.
Seems to have a similar dark and gritty atmosphere ...
I'll try it, but I was never a fan of the Scrolls games.
hmmmmm I see BG3 on sale though
Probably don'y have the time to play them enough to do them justice.............
I've only made it through most of Act 2 in BG3 because I really dislike turn-based combat in RPG's. Breaks my immersion of playing a character in a different world and reduces it to playing a bundle of numbers rolling against another bundle of numbers. I know I'm mostly in the minority when it comes to CRPG players.
For me, Avowed looks interesting. I've heard good things about the casting, but not-so-good things about the melee combat, and I typically prefer to play Melee in my RPG's. It might be something I pop a gamepass for a month to try out to see if I spend more money on it.
water : 0 physics
pnj : 0 interaction no talk, no moves, nothing
combat is meh
The lore is no comment
80 by "the press" on metacritic such hypocrisy
This type of behavior will not make video industry better quit the opposite
You see, I dislike magic in gaming (too many bright flashes) and the way I get over that in games that are otherwise pretty good is by turning wizard-type characters into walking nukes capable of wiping the map in one shot (so no more bright flashes). According to Mortismal, in Avowed stats above 15 have no gameplay effect so no walking nuke for me which means no Avowed for me either, pending verification.
EDIT: One more thing. Unlike TOW, Avowed isn't on GOG so I'll wait anyways.