May 2023 turned out to be an extremely meager month for games, as large releases were moved to the summer or the second half of the year. However, the editors of the portal Gamemag.ru nevertheless, I was able to put together a list of 15 interesting projects worth playing.
Also be sure to read the reviews of new games, which can be found in the reviews section, and, of course, in the previous issues of our monthly guide at the links:
The best games of January 2023,
The best games of February 2023,
The best games of March 2023,
The best games of April 2023.
Top 15 of the best games of May – in chronological order:
Ion Fury for consoles
Developer: Voidpoint
Publisher: 3D Realms / 1C
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One
Release Date: May 14, 2023
Genre: FPS
3D Realms continues to attempt to return to the past to the engine Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior and Blood in order to plunge gamers into the atmosphere of nostalgic experiences for the origins of the shooter genre. At Ion Fury, we run Shelley Harrison, a bomb disposal expert who works for Global Defense Forces. The leader of the cultists, Dr. Jadus Heskel, is releasing an army of cybernetically reinforced soldiers into the city of the future, and now Shelley is entrusted with the task of eliminating the threat. The PC version received good marks from the press and players.
Doubt: This is indie, which means there may be problems with optimization on consoles. Well, or bugs.
Crucible
Developer: Relentless Studios
Publisher: Amazon Game Studios
Platforms: PC
Release Date: May 20, 2023
Genre: Online Action with RPG Elements
A cooperative competitive game where players are divided into teams, choosing unique characters with their abilities and weapons. Among the tasks – the destruction of huge alien monsters, the capture of points and skirmishes with other teams against the backdrop of the vivid landscapes of a distant world. The project is free and will be released on Steam.
Doubt: The game is made by an unknown company, and according to the description it is another variation of the “Horde” from Gears of War and the same Destiny, but with a significantly smaller scope.
Timelie
Developer: Urnique Studio
Publisher: Milk Bottle Studio
Platforms: PC
Release Date: May 21, 2023
Genre: Stealth / Adventure
This is a story about a little girl and her cat who are trying to get out of a certain scientific complex full of security robots. You need to use the features of two characters to distract the attention of enemies, advance through the levels and solve puzzles on the way to salvation. Using the time bar, you can rewind all actions in order to change the future, since any mistake leads to failure.
Doubt: It looks interesting, but it’s not yet clear how much fun it will be played.
The persistence
Developer: Firesprite Games
Publisher: Firesprite Games
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: May 21, 2023
Genre: Action / Adventure / FPS
An atmospheric game for PSVR moves to other systems. And on the PC you can play in VR mode using Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. The plot tells the story of a ship that fell under the influence of a black hole and lost all personnel. Fortunately, the ship’s AI resurrects one of the heroes using DNA particles, but the rest of the crew returns as creepy mutants. Now you have to explore the ship, pump the gene code, find weapons and try to return to Earth. Our review of the PS4 version can be found here.
Doubt: Nothing yet.
The Wonderful 101: Remastered
Developer: PlatinumGames
Publisher: PlatinumGames
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC
Release Date: May 22, 2023
Genre: Action / Adventure
An unusual and very bright comedy game from the creator of Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Okami and Bayonetta Hideki Kamiya – with epic screensavers and huge bosses – offers a bird’s-eye view of the world of superhero action games. The player controls a huge detachment of different characters that can be collected in a heap, turning into a huge weapon – swords, pistols, bombs and so on. The version for Nintendo Wii U was excellent, and on new platforms, developers who received the rights to the game promise to tighten the clarity and raise the frame rate.
Doubts: On Wii U it was convenient to draw with the right analog and on the touch screen – depending on the figure. It is not entirely clear here how convenient it will be to turn into guns only with the help of a fungus, without a touchpad.
Maneater
Developer: Tripwire Interactive / Blindside Interactive
Publisher: Tripwire Interactive
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: May 22, 2023
Genre: Action / RPG
The cruel story of the struggle of a huge shark that takes revenge on people for the extermination of their species. You have to explore the ocean, arrange raids on the coast, eat people and pump, getting all the new abilities. The plot is run by the famous comedian Chris Parnell (“Rick and Morty”).
Doubt: It looks budgetary, but on the other hand, finally something is relatively fresh in the industry.
Saints Row: The Third Remastered
Developer: Volition / Sperasoft
Publisher: Deep Silver
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: May 22, 2023
Genre: Action / Adventure
A significantly updated version of the popular sandbox with a ton of vulgar jokes, spectacular moments and funny quests should please with nice graphics – with modern lighting, clear textures and new models of characters, weapons and equipment. If you missed the original, this will be a great chance to catch up.
Doubt: Over the past 9 years, the game is outdated, which can be seen even through new visual effects.
Monstrum
Developer: Junkfish Limited
Publisher: SOEDESCO
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: May 22, 2023 (Consoles)
Genre: Action / Adventure / Survival Horror
Monstrum already takes the traditional formula for the genre and adds procedurally generated levels, permanent death and artificial intelligence-driven enemy pursuers. The developers promise that on an abandoned cargo ship it will never be really safe anywhere.
Doubt: Corridor locations and outdated graphics raise numerous questions – especially against other indies like Song of Horror and Amnesia: Rebirth.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor
Developer: ZeniMax Online Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: May 26, 2023 (PC), June 9, 2023 (consoles)
Genre: MMORPG
A gloomy addition to the popular multiplayer role-playing game promises to present Skyrim in all its glory – with atmospheric winter landscapes, dark dungeons, small villages and cruel vampire cults. One of the features of the expansion is the ability to become an archaeologist and to excavate in search of ancient treasures. And, of course, improved graphics.
Doubt: Genre restrictions and the concept of the project itself can spoil the atmosphere in crowds of characters running through locations.
Minecraft dungeons
Developer: Mojang
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: May 26, 2023
Genre: Action / Adventure / RPG
Microsoft continues to release games on platforms of other platform owners, offering the classic Dungeon Crawler created in the Minecraft universe. The developers promise atmospheric single immersion in caves and fun fast cooperative races with 4 players in the party. Variable locations, traps, a huge amount of loot and a ton of treasures are included.
Doubt: None.
Shantae and the seven sirens
Developer: WayForward
Publisher: WayForward
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: May 28, 2023
Genre: Action / Adventure
Shanti returns with a classic metro-formula formula, pretty high-definition drawn graphics, vibrant locations, interesting bosses and the ability to use the abilities of enemies. The episode that came out last year for the Apple Arcade service turned out to be very good, so the final version will most likely be at least good.
Doubt: So far, there are too few differences from past games.
BioShock: The Collection
Developer: Irrational Games / Virtuos
Publisher: 2K Games
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: May 29, 2023
Genre: FPS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SeJ8YqL2VM
A series of atmospheric shooters BioShock will finally appear on the Nintendo console, which means that we can once again get into the gloomy underwater city of Rapture and Columbia soaring in the clouds anywhere and anytime. An ideal game for fans of a dense atmosphere and a deeply prescribed plot.
Doubts: None.
Borderlands Legendary Collection
Developer: Gearbox / Turn Me Up Games
Publisher: Take-Two Interactive
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: May 29, 2023
Genre: FPS / RPG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R08Bxbr9Tq0
Another Take-Two collection for Switch, which includes the original Borderlands, its sequel, an offshoot, and all previous additions. If you are a fan of looter shooters and cooperative shooters, you will find here about 300 hours of gameplay. In portable mode, the game should look pretty.
Doubt: The series has already become outdated. Especially if you went through all this on an Xbox 360, PS3, or PC. After Destiny 2 and other modern shooters, shooting at Borderlands is no longer impressive.
XCOM 2 Collection
Developer: Firaxis Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: May 29, 2023
Genre: Strategy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ1_qswDw1g
The tactical strategy collection for Switch includes the original XCOM 2, the War of the Chosen expansion pack, and four DLC packs (Resistance Warrior Pack, Anarchy’s Children, Alien Hunters, and Shen’s Last Gift).
Doubt: The game even on the PC looks outdated, but the port on Switch on the schedule is absolutely scary. Well, of course, there can be impassable bugs, as it was in the version for PS4, in which we started playing twice from scratch and each time at the end of the passage we got stuck from critical breakdowns of scripts.
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
Developer: Monolith Soft
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: May 29, 2023
Genre: jRPG / Adventure
One of the best role-playing games of the genre with an unusual world, epic landscapes, an interesting storyline and beautiful music becomes even better thanks to the updated graphics and sound. The action of Xenoblade Chronicles takes place on the bodies of huge titans the size of the planet, who died in the mortal battle millennia ago. The main character and his friends are trying to restrain the forces of mechanical invaders. The story quickly grows and surprises with every screensaver. In the version for Switch, developers have added a completely new independent prologue episode.
Doubt: None.
Material prepared by: Mikhail Shaginyan (ACE), Denis Korolev (Skyerist)
Read also: “Fairy”: A film about the game for the PlayStation VR and the Russian Hideo Kojima
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