Welcome to You Should Play, a series where we highlight all of the video games that you should be playing this week, from big-budget releases through to little-known indie games.
Video game releases are slowing down as we continue the crawl into the the last few months of the year, with publishers once again saving most of their heavy hitters for the fourth quarter. However, there are still a selection of games that are worthy of your time this week, as Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and King of Fighters XIV both make their way to store shelves, while Inside finally makes its way to the PS4.
Check out what You Should Play this week:
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
This week’s biggest new release is Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Eidos Montreal’s sequel to the highly praised Human Revolution, which sees players once again assuming the role of Adam Jensen in a world growing increasingly hostile to the augmented humans that make up a significant portion of their population.
Mankind Divided may have received some unfavorable attention prior to release as a result of its central theme, which has seen publisher Square Enix use the term “mechanical apartheid” in its marketing along with releasing concept art featuring the slogan “Aug Lives Matter,” but despite its heavy-handed approach to tackling the subject of bigotry the game has otherwise been greeted with a positive critical reception. Combining stealth with action in an impressively detailed world on the brink of collapse, Mankind Divided allows the player to choose how they wish to navigate its story, whether that be through killing a bunch of people or sneakily avoiding confrontation and instead besting your opponents using nothing but your sheer charisma.
Why You Should Play It:
- Choose how you want to play through its story.
- Defeat bosses with your words, not your guns.
- Detailed world to explore.
Inside
A solid contender for one of our games of the year, Playdead’s Limbo spiritual successor Inside is a thought-provoking puzzle platformer with a plot as head-spinning as it is engrossing.
Also See: Inside’s Ending Explained: Our Theory On the Limbo Sequel’s Brain-Bending Conclusion
Initially released on the Xbox One and PC, Inside finally makes its way to the PS4 for the first time and is definitely worthy of your attention. Though saying too much about the game will spoil it, rest assured that it is one of the most intriguing games you’ll play all year, and one that you’ll be talking about long after the end credits roll. If you were a fan of Limbo then you owe it to yourself to play Inside, too.
Why You Should Play It:
- It’s made by the creators of Limbo, which is widely regarded as one of the best indie games ever.
- An intriguing plot that you’ll want to see through to its conclusion.
- You’ll be talking about its ending for months.
King of Fighters XIV
SNK’s classic fighting game series returns with King of Fighters XIV, sporting an overhauled look thanks to its introduction of 3D character models and backgrounds. Though its battles still remain on a 2D plane, this dramatic visual change may prove to be off-putting to the series’ veteran players, but fortunately its gameplay excels beyond its underwhelming presentation.
Retaining the 3-on-3 battles of previous KoF games, XIV offers a more slow-paced and methodical spin on the established King of Fighters formula, though offers a robust roster of 50 characters that accommodate a wide variety of fighting styles, ensuring that there’s a fighter for everyone. It may not be winning any beauty contests, but King of Fighters XIV is a must play for fans of the series and a solid fighting game in its own right.
Why You Should Play It:
- The latest entry in a beloved fighting game franchise.
- Slower pace adds a whole new strategy to an established formula.
- A huge roster of 50 fighters.
