3 Up, 3 Down – August 2024
The Three Best (and Worst) Video Games from August 2024 is an interesting list, because there were a lot of August releases that came out of nowhere. And almost every game scored well. COGconnected didn’t have a single review lower than 70/100! The Bad section this month is full of good games with flaws keeping them from greatness. Without further ado, The Three Best (and Worst) Video Games from August 2024 are:
The Good
Black Myth: Wukong
***click here for our review***
Black Myth: Wukong really looks like a Souls title. All of its visual elements, from its color palette, to its camera perspective, scream FromSoftware influence. It doesn’t play like a Souls game though. It is an action RPG with deliberate combat, but the focus is on dodging, not blocking/ parrying. It’s also a more linear game, and doesn’t have Souls’ open world exploration. Our reviewer concluded that “judged on its own merits and self-imposed rules, it’s an almost entirely successful and deeply satisfying game to master”. Black Myth: Wukong is the highest scoring game on The Three Best (and Worst) Video Games from August 2024.
Fate/stay night REMASTERED
***click here for our review***
Fate/stay night REMASTERED is the insanely long-awaited North American release of the classic Fate/stay night visual novel. It’s one of the most important works in the genre. There are loads of high profile anime adaptations and spin-offs (I recommend the fantastic prequel series Fate/Zero). But somehow it took 20 years for an official English language release in North America. Fate/stay night REMASTERED does show that the original game has aged, but it’s a must-read combination of text, still images, and music. Our reviewer concluded “the soundtrack is frankly spectacular and the narrative is easily the game’s greatest strength”. And those are the most important aspects of the visual novel.
Star Wars Outlaws
***click here for our review***
Star Wars Outlaws takes players to the sketchy corners of the Star Wars universe, where they get to explore the criminal underworld. Its gameplay is heavily inspired by Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. There’s lots to explore and tons of side activities. The only problems with this otherwise great game are that there are a lot of stealth sneaking sections our reviewer didn’t enjoy, the grenade mechanics are weird, and the crafting was boring. Despite these issues our reviewer concluded “if you’re looking to live that scoundrel lifestyle in a galaxy far, far away then this game is made for you”. And they enjoyed the other aspects enough to score Star Wars Outlaws into The Good section of The Three Best (and Worst) Video Games from August 2024.