It is the month of romance, so it is the perfect time for you to give–and receive–some love.
Being a gamer, it is actually extremely easy to achieve both: you get to do what you love and give your significant other a chance to also do what they love (which doesn’t involve you).
There are plenty of games being released this month but these are the ones that will most likely keep us occupied throughout the upcoming dry spell.
Hogwarts Legacy
Eye of newt? The lizard-like creature or the one in the horrible movies? | Warner Bros.
Release Date: February 10
Platform: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
After being hit by the delay curse twice, Warner Bros. Games and Avalanche Software’s open-world action role-playing game set in the beloved Wizarding World franchise, Hogwarts Legacy is finally ready to take gamers on a magical adventure set in the 1800s wizarding world.
As the game is set hundreds of years before the events of the novels and books, you get to create your very own fifth-year student at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who has the ability to manipulate powerful ancient magic. You will embark on a dangerous journey to uncover a hidden truth of the wizarding world and throughout the game, your magical abilities will grow as you master spells, brew potions and tame fantastic beasts.
Does this spell go “pew pew” or “ratatatat?” | Image: Warner Bros.
Although you won’t meet the main characters from the books or movies, you will bump into characters with somewhat familiar names such as Phineas Nigellus Black (voiced by Simon Pegg), headmaster of Hogwarts; Professor Matilda Weasley, deputy headmistress of Hogwarts and also Nearly Headless Nick. It isn’t just about characters as you will get to venture into locations including the Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade Village.
Hogwarts Legacy will also be available for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on April 4 and Nintendo Switch on July 25.
Wild Hearts
Azuma looks like a beautiful place. But we all know you can’t trust beautiful locales in games. | Image: Electronic Arts
Release Date: February 17
Platform: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Let us get the obvious one out of the way. Electronic Arts and Omega Force’s upcoming action role-playing game is heavily inspired by Capcom’s Monster Hunter series especially since it is a game about you going around on your own or with up to two friends to hunt down massive monsters. However, Wild Hearts does put its own twist on the formula.
The first of which is the design of the monsters, known as Kemono, which fuses animals and nature together. Some examples include the Sapscourage, a squirrel-like monster with a woody appearance that can easily be mistaken for a giant tree; or the Lavaback, a giant ape with hot molten lava flowing through its body and what seemingly looks like a volcano on its back.
And this is why you don’t buy into beautiful locales in video games. | Image: Electronic Arts
Taking a page out of Fortnite’s playbook, Wild Hearts also introduces the very interesting Karakuri building mechanic that will help you in battles and traverse the various biomes in Azuma. With the Karakuri, you can build platforms that you can leap off to deal massive damage to the Kemono or even a bulwark to block an enemy’s path while you and your party heal up. It will definitely be interesting to see what strategies you can come up with using the Karakuri.
Atomic Heart
I don’t know what you are but I know I want to smash you into bits. | Image: Mundfish
Release Date: February 21
Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Atomic Heart is a first-person action role-playing game and the very first release by developers Mundfish. From the various previews and gameplay trailers, the game looks to be inspired by 2K Games’ Bioshock series and could be the game to soothe that yearning for a sequel.
This game will take you to the 1950s, in an alternate history where the USSR used its advanced robotics to defeat Nazi Germany in 1941. Humans and their robot servants were living in harmony in this mad utopia but after a sudden rebellion and uprising, the automatons are now ready to be the masters instead.
Darth Sidious called, he wants his powers back. Please and thank you! | Image: Mundfish
You play as Major Nechaev, who is sent by a professor to keep the situation at an important facility from getting worse. To achieve your goal, you will have to combat haywire robots, failed biomechanical experiments and Nechaev’s own deteriorating mental state.
As an FPS game, you will have access to firearms but ammo in the game is scarce, so you will have to rely on crafting, melee weapons and stealth to help you destroy the evil automatons. Nechaev is also equipped with a special glove known as the Polymer Glove that grants him powers such as telekinesis, freezing and electricity, which can be further combined with melee and ranged weapons.
Octopath Traveler 2
That makes 2 of us oh little pixelated lady. | Image: Square Enix
Release Date: February 24
Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch
After selling over three million copies worldwide, it is a no-brainer that SQUARE ENIX would give its newest RPG series, Octopath Traveler, a much-deserved sequel. Fans of the original and classic JRPGs will have a lot to look forward to with Octopath Traveler 2.
Developed by the same team behind the beloved original, Octopath Traveler 2 transports players to the exciting new world of Solistia with an all-new storyline, characters and features that make it the perfect entry for newcomers to the series, while also preserving the charm of the original game that made gamers fall in love with it in the first place.
Time for old-school battle that will make your knuckles go white. | Image: Square Enix
Similar to the first game, you will embark on a grand adventure and experience the intertwined stories of eight new travellers: Hikari the Warrior, Agnea the Dancer, Partitio the Merchant, Osvald the Scholar, Throné the Thief, Temenos the Cleric, Ochette the Hunter, and Castti the Apothecary. As you control each of these characters, you will meet and interact with NPCs throughout the world in various ways by using actions unique to each of them. These “Path Actions” will also vary depending on the protagonist and whether it is day or night.
Finally, the challenging turn-based battles make a return and you will need to act strategically to exploit enemy weaknesses to “Break” them in order to inflict more damage, and “Boost” their travellers to enhance their abilities.
