Jorts. Half jeans. Half shorts. Half uncomfortable tightness for the sake of fashion. We’ve all worn them and know of the dangers of getting too excited while sporting a pair. Uncomfortable tightness can become dangerous blood flow constriction in the blink of an eye with the right stimulus. Every month we’ll let you know what games threaten the structural integrity of our collective jorts, feel free to chime in.
August 2nd: Tacoma (Xbox One/PC)
August 8th: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (PS4/PC)
August 8th: Lawbreakers (PS4/PC)
August 15th: Sonic Mania (Switch/Xbox One/PS4/PC)
August 15th: Cities: Skylines (PS4)
August 15th: Matterfall (PS4)
August 18th: Agents of Mayhem (Xbox One/PS4/PC)
August 23rd: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4)
August 25th: Madden NFL 18 (Xbox One/PS4)
August 25th: F1 2017 (PS4)
August 29th: Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition (PS4)
August 29th: Ark Survival Evolved (Xbox One/PS4/PC)
August 29th: Yakuza Kiwami (PS4)
August 29th: Culdcept Revolt (3DS)
August 29th: Dead Alliance (PS4)
August 29th: Absolver (Xbox One/PS4/PC)
August 29th: Everybody’s Golf (PS4)
August 29th: Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (Switch)
August 31st: Redout: Lightspeed Edition (Xbox One/PS4)
August 31st: Life is Strange: Before the Storm (Xbox One/PS4/PC)
Spring is in the air. The furry winter jorts of dark winter give way to fine weather jorts with all the hope they bring. While August is a little quiet, you can feel things ramping up towards the wild holiday season, when wallets and jorts alike are likely to burst in a hail of confetti and unplanned public nudity. Here’s what’s got the DYEGB team wondering if their treasured denim will make it through the month.
Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to gaming over the next couple months while I wear my academic jorts and finish off my university learnings (I am studying a Masters of Jorts, I’m already an expert but I want that piece of paper that proves it). However, if I can find the time after some last minute assignments I might check out Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, probably not though. In order to keep up my reputation as the king lover of dud games, I will be checking out Dead Alliance (I swear it’s going to be good, I mean the beta was…fun) at the end of the month. Voluntarily too… I need help.
Apparently August is a great time to save money. I have fallen into a nether realm of titles that I am not ready to play, thanks to my backlog. Uncharted? I haven’t even played number 4 – which immediately disqualifies me from even CONSIDERING playing it. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is something I have kept a raised eyebrow on for a while – I was a massive fan of Ninja Theory’s original release Heavenly Sword (though it was a little short); the storytelling captured me and promoted an experience that I was happy to spruik to others. Senua’s seems to capture a large amount of what intrigued me about Heavenly Sword, with amazing visuals that serve to really grow interest in a view. Coupling this with an engaging and strong female lead that is beautifully animated and I may well find myself scrounging up a copy for myself to enjoy on a cold Tassie winter’s weekend (Winter lasts for five months here).
That or I will wait for people to dump it in the pre-owned section because there’s no multiplayer component. Hey-ohhh!
Truth be told, the development news around the game seems to be heavily shaded with varying degrees of cloak and dagger coverage – a lot of information isn’t being shared as transparently as one would hope, and the game’s amazingly cheap price does perhaps suggest it isn’t quite what many people may expect (that being a combat heavy action game); time will tell.
I’ll also likely find a way to buy Sonic Mania, because I am a sadist who enjoys having his heart broken.
August hosts what has to be my most anticipated release of the year, and I don’t even have to wait that long in the month to play it! Which also means that the structural integrity of my jorts is compromised almost right from the get-go. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is an indie game developed by Ninja Theory (the guys behind Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and DmC: Devil May Cry) that looks to bridge the gap between AAA and indie games. If the promotional material is anything to go by, it definitely looks like they’ve achieved this goal. The visuals just look astounding, mirroring that of your typical big-budget AAA game despite being developed by a relatively small team and being published independently (meaning them greedy executives can’t touch it!). I will be picking it up on both PS4 and PC because I’m terrible like that. Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition will be a welcome addition to my PS4 backlog, and not because I’m picking it up for the sake of picking it up. I am genuinely keen to try it out on the PS4 as I never got around to playing it on my PC and my Xbox is currently an expensive dust collector. The reason PoE:CE instantly goes to my backlog is because of another game that releases on the same day: Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. XCOM on the Switch with a Mario skin? I need that in my life. This game is a combined effort from both Nintendo and Ubisoft and is the exclusive of the month for the Nintendo Switch (I love the release strategy for the Switch which will feature an exclusive a month till the end of the year).
While June and July were relatively quiet months outside a couple indies and remasters, I am super excited for August’s lineup, particularly for PS4. Probably even more so than any other month for the rest of the year. What’s even more interesting is that none of these titles cost the price of a full-priced game. First and foremost, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice releases and I have been waiting for this game for the better part of three years now. It looks amazing and it’s being described as a AAA indie title with the presentation values of a AAA monster, but with the length and price of a budget game. Ninja Theory are one of the most underrated developers out there and this title looks to be their best yet. I am also a big fan of Housemarque, having recently had a blast playing their latest title Nex Machina. They already have their next title slated for this month, Matterfall. which seems to carry the Housemarque trademark design while adapting it to the side-scrolling platform genre, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Uncharted: Lost Legacy is another game that is about half the length of your average AAA, but half the price of a full-priced game. After the E3 2017 showing, it looks like a whole new Uncharted game rather than DLC for Uncharted 4. It looks phenomenal, and in particular I can’t wait to see the dynamic relationship between Chloe and Nadine. Yakuza Kiwami, a remake to the original Yakuza using the assets and engine of the recently successful Yakuza 0, is also releasing. Yakuza 0 surprised me at the start of the year being my first foray into the series and I think many other people in the West felt the same. Eight months later and we get to see the next chapter, at a pretty decent price too. If it’s anything like Yakuza 0 it will have great writing, hours of story, quality content and fun combat.
Finally, I was surprised at the E3 2017 showing of Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. The tactics-style gameplay (which I am fan of) looks fantastic and the presentation values look great. Looks like a perfect portable game to add to my Switch library and have something to play in amongst my busy PlayStation 4 schedule.
Holy shit, I am not ready for August. My current backlog of games is already threatening to ruin any chance I have at a functioning social life, and now here comes a truckload of games hot enough to make a blood bank jealous of my Jorts-parts. Hellblade looks like straight fire from a development team that have never disappointed me, equal parts God of War and Dark Souls with a design ethos and an approach to pricing that should have the entire industry taking notes. Sonic Mania is guaranteed to make me squeal with childlike glee (really the only kind I’m capable of) as it injects pure, uncut nostalgia straight into my increasingly carpal-ed tunnels. Uncharted: Lost Legacy looks like the game Uncharted 4 could have been, if it had remotely interesting main characters. Mario and Rabbids still has me shook at the fact that it even exists, let alone the very real possibility of it actually being a great game. Most importantly, though, I’ve let myself become dangerously hyped for a game I know almost nothing about, Last Day in June. Since coming across it in the preorder section of the PlayStation Store and watching the single trailer available at the time, I’ve done zero research and have little to no idea of what it actually is, apart from being some kind of narrative-driven experience with gorgeous art and an even more emotional version of the beginning of Pixar’s Up. All I know is that I need to play it.
Oh boy, August probably isn’t the best month to put on the jorts for the first time because there is a lot to get excited about. First up is the survival/Jurassic Park simulator ARK: Survival Evolved. I’ve been playing the early access version of this game for months and although I’ve never gotten any further than leather gear (maybe by choice), I’m still considering purchasing the full release version. That being said, it’ll have to compete with Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice because I’ve been waiting patiently since Heavenly Sword for another dose of ‘twing-twang’. I know almost nothing going into this game, which in the past has made for some fantastic experiences. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy definitely looks promising, a Thelma and Louise meets Indiana Jones adventure from one of my favourite studios, Naughty Dog. I’m hoping it’ll fill the void between Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us 2. I’ve just started playing Yakuza 0 so Yakuza Kiwami is on my radar, as is Pillars of Eternity but potentially the most exciting release for me this month is Absolver. If you don’t know about this game, you absolutely should. It’s a sort of MMORPG Dark Souls/Soul Calibur with a focus on martial arts. It’s a debut title for developer Sloclap but the esoteric powerhouse, Devolver Digital is publishing it. The art style looks stunning and I’m hoping that I’ll finally be able to realise my dream of becoming a wandering sensei who kicks some serious ass.
Sadly, August will be a month occupied with university studies and work, but in the short times of solace throughout the month I am sure to be entertained. Sonic Mania is a title that I have been hyped for since its announcement in July of last year. A Sonic game that is determined to bring back the gameplay of the original Sega Mega Drive (uh… I mean Genesis!) Trilogy is truly an exciting proposition and I am more than ready to enjoy what should hopefully be a decent title for the Blue Blur. However, the game that I will be eagerly awaiting the release of this August is Episode 1 of Life is Strange: Before the Storm, a prequel to Life is Strange. The original Life is Strange is arguably one of the most emotional and beautiful experiences that I have ever witnessed from a video game, with brilliant character development and an engrossing narrative. Although the original developer Dontnod Entertainment are busy developing the sequel, I have faith that the prequel developer Deck Nine will be able to provide yet another emotional and endearing story in the Life is Strange universe.
PSA: Play Life is Strange, you won’t regret it.
Having recently started a new job, time seems to have been slipping away from me like a hairless mole rat covered in olive oil. As delicious as that sounds, I’m hoping manage to find that work/life balance that I read about in Cosmopolitan and reignite the passion for lengthy late night gaming sessions. August probably doesn’t have the chutzpah to pull me from my eat, sleep, work, repeat cycle, with the exception of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. Single-player experiences are my jam recently, owing to my erratic schedule and lack of friends. Senua’s Sacrifice comes from a great team with proven development clout, and the likelihood of it sucking are low. I’d also love to have a crack at Lawbreakers, which is directed by none other than big Cliff Bleszinski (previously of Epic games and progenitor of the chainsaw bayonet), and marks his foray into the arena shooter genre that appears to be going through a renaissance of late. Colour me keen.
What games are you looking forward to this August? Did we miss anything important coming out this month? Let us know in the comments below.
