What We're Playing: Anthem, Devil May Cry V, Praey for the Gods

The last month has been an interesting series of ups and downs in video gaming. There have been highs. There have been lows. There have been - quite frankly - way too many games to play. Far Cry: New Dawn. The Division 2. Metro: Exodus. Anthem.

Here’s what we’ve been sinking our time into over the last month.

Anthem

Credit: Electronics Arts

To say EA’s Anthem launch didn’t live up to its potential would be underselling it. Though the story around the game is still being written, things aren’t off to a super-promising start. I wasn’t particularly thrilled in my own review-in-progress on the game, nor did PC World US’ Hayden Dingman’s final verdict on the game find it lived up to the hype.

And, given the pedigree, that’s a shame. In the past, Bioware have made some of my favorite games of all time but Anthem ain’t one of them. There are some good ideas here but, the game seems to be tripping over itself and pissing away any goodwill its free-flight mechanics generate at every turn.

Still, Destiny and The Division had their own troubled launches. Hopefully, Bioware are able to turn things around. We’ll check back in a month or two and find out.

Devil May Cry V

Credit: Capcom

After blasting through the entire series ahead of Devil May Cry V, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I still had plenty of enthusiasm to give this game. The combat is electric and, while I do have my caveats, it’s still another solid notch in the belt of Capcom’s ongoing streak for releasing incredibly good entries in their biggest franchises.

Now gimme DmC 2.

You can read our full review of Devil May Cry V here.

Overwatch

Credit: Blizzard Entertainment

Though I haven’t fallen entirely off the Apex Legends bandwagon, I’ve also been spending a lot more time with my usual multiplayer go-to, Overwatch, in recent weeks. Part of this is down to the return of the Overwatch League. Part of this is down to the addition of new content like the Paris and Baptiste.

The last game I remember getting anywhere near this into the competitive scene for was League of Legends, though I think I’ve gotten much further with this than I ever did with Riot’s MOBA. Every evening is another chance to push my SR just that little bit higher and play just one more round of Blizzard’s infectiously-entertaining, team-based shooter.

Praey for the Gods

Credit: No Matter Studios

I backed Praey for the Gods on Kickstarter back in 2016, and the first publicly playable build of the game arrived on Steam Early Access in January. While I usually prefer to hold off on games like this until they reach their full release, I was looking for something a little different after Devil May Cry V and wanted to see how things turned out for the moody fantasy action game.

Praey for the Gods didn’t shy away from the Shadow of the Colossus as its biggest influence when it originally came across my radar - and that’s still very much the case.

You take control of a lone wanderer in the game’s snowy wilderness, your goal is to hunt down and destroy the five gargantuan monsters roaming it by climbing atop them and attacking their weak-points. It’s a simple setup but there are plenty of cryptic clues littering the landscape for those who want to learn more about the game’s mythic setting.

The game’s current incarnation also takes plenty of cues from the most-recent Legend of Zelda game. Like Breath of the Wild, your character can glide, sprint and climb their way around their world with impressive freedom.

Again, Praey for the Gods is in early access, so it lacks a lot of polish and performance can be inconsistent at the best of times. There’s a lot here that has to be inferred more than is properly explained. Still, if it sounds like a cross between Breath of the Wild and Shadow of the Colossus sounds like it might be your jam, it’s at least worth taking a look at.

If you’d like to read about what we played in February, click here.