All game keys have been provided by their publisher(s)
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: We here at GameTyrant have been absolutely bombarded with so many games this year. We will be rolling out select quick reviews to let our audience know about games and DLC that may have slipped under their radar. We appreciate the amazing support from all publishers and developers out there!
Heading Out
Starting out today’s list is an honestly very weird yet intriguing title. Heading Out is both a relaxing time and an extremely engaging title that makes every decision you make feel like a good one. Though it plays like any standard arcadey racing game these days, where you’ll outrun police and take on head-to-head rivals, there’s also a huge narrative structure to it. Because of its story as well as seemingly a rogue-like “run” style progression where if you let your character’s anxiety catch up with them, you lose, there’s always something driving you forward. Pun intended.
Not only can the narrative and its dialogue lock you into its main structural themes, there’s a lot of world-building and realistic moments such as the mystery that the public has dreamt up about our main character, the beauty of its queer characters, or the horrible injustice minorities that people of color and queer people face. There’s a lot more here than I was expecting going in, and I truly enjoyed myself.
Ripout
Going into Ripout, I was expecting yet another wave-based shooter where zombies would outnumber me and it would be the only draw over and over. Luckily, Ripout is not like that at all, sticking to a clean and concise way of gameplay with progression. Think Left 4 Dead meets Dead Space, where you’re moving through gore-tastic corridors of spaceships while you and friends plow on through each of the game’s missions.
I really like how the haunting atmosphere is carried through, as creatures can flop out of above airvents, camouflage themselves in the darkness around you, or charge through you from across the room without a care. Though the gameplay isn’t very innovative, and its artstyle can feel disjointed at times (too many cartoonish elements against realistic body horror) this is a very fun game to play with a few friends over the weekend.
Arena Breakout: Infinite (First Impressions)
When I innitially upgraded to a better gaming computer, Escape from Tarkov was the game I wanted to play most. Unfortunately for me, EFT is just one of those game you have to know before you play, as there’s no real instruction as to how to play or what to do. But that’s where Arena Breakout: Infinite comes in. Though it has an admittedly terribly generic name, it’s actually an incredibly well puttogether shooter that people might be sleeping on due to its name.
For one, ABI has what the previous title I mentioned lacks; a welcoming setup for new players. This game has all of the various mechanics one would expect with an extraction game, but makes it an easier experience for all to enjoy. That, on top of its gorgeous visuals and frantic gunplay make this one of the most enjoyable titles in its field. And being that it’s a free-to-play game, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t be playing it right now.
A Twisted Path To Renown (First Impressions)
On the slip side comes an extraction shooter that has a premise that should obviously make for an amazing extraction shooter. Unfortunately, A Twisted Path to Renown just ain’t it. Being a shooter set in the old west, this title does have the makings of a good time but gets bogged down with horrendous ai enemies, terrible gunplay, and visuals that make it near-impossible to ever make out what you’re looking out. Not to mention that from its screens to its locations, it just reminds me that I could be playing a better western extraction shooter; Hunt: Showdown.
