Recent and upcoming releases focusing on innovative gameplay

All of us gamers crave for new exciting gaming experiences that could keep us playing for hours and hours, and recently, video game developers and publishers have been focusing on innovative gameplay to add complexity and depth to the way we play video games. In the past few months, we’ve seen many great titles come up, featuring intricate mechanics and immersive gameplays that certainly shook things up in the video game industry.

From narrative-driven adventures to non-linear gameplays, these innovative games have presented us ingenious mechanics, more comprehensive storylines, and well-developed characters, in a particularly prolific year for the industry. With millions of people around the world forced to stay inside to comply with social distancing, the demand for new video games has never been higher.

Narrative-driven investigations

If you’re a fan of detective stories, whether in books, movies, TV shows, or video games, then 2021 is certainly a great year for you, with the release of two exciting games focused on crime investigation and suspenseful narratives.

Saturnalia is a horror survival game that combines roguelike elements with a non-linear story. The game was developed by Italian studio Santa Ragione and published by The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild for Microsoft Windows and macOS. Players take control of a cast of characters exploring an isolated village in Sardinia, Italy, while investigating a macabre ritual. Each character represents an in-game life, so if players are killed, they take control of a new character. If all characters die, the village layout changes and a new cast must investigate the ritual. Saturnalia was co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, and already earned some award nominations.

Featuring an ingenious gameplay, and based on a series of novels and stories by Polish writer Marcin Przybylek, Gamedec is a single-player non-combat isometric role-playing game, developed by Anshar Studios and released this month for Microsoft Windows. The game puts players in control of a game detective who solves crimes inside virtual worlds, and they must investigate these crimes by gathering evidence and interrogating NPCs. However, the game adapts to the choices made by players, and there is no single solution to any scenario in it, as different approaches are available through the gameplay. Gamedec has already earned awards and nominations, including the Best of the Show award at Gamescom 2019.

Immersive experiences

We’re always wondering what will be the next video game to keep us engaged for countless hours, and the next couple of games are definitely up to the task, with innovative mechanics and immersive gameplays that promise to take gaming to the next level.

The Sandbox Game is an open-world interactive adventure developed and published by Animoca Brands, and recently released on the Ethereum blockchain. With a fully decentralized revolving metavers, and its own cryptocurrency, The Sandbox allows players to create virtual worlds and adventures, apply gameplay mechanics to these adventures, and design characters, items, equipment, and scenery objects. The most important aspect, however, is monetization, as players are able to monetize all content created, which finally rewards players for the time and effort invested in the game. 

Scheduled to be released next month by Ubisoft for Windows, Stadia, Xbox consoles, and PlayStation consoles, Riders Republic is expected to shake things up, combining social networking elements with online gaming. Ubisoft described it as a “massively multiplayer sports game”, in which up to 50 players can compete against each other in different racing modes that include mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, wingsuit flying, and rock wingsuiting. The game is set in an open-world that features renditions of real-life American national parks, such as Yosemite Valley, Sequoia Park, and Bryce Canyon.

Unexpected protagonists

For those who want to assume different roles instead of the usual military soldiers, medieval warriors, mobsters, and superheroes, the year of 2021 saw the release of some breathtaking adventures featuring unexpected protagonists.

That’s the case of Stray, in which players take control of a stray cat on a journey through a futuristic city populated by robots to reunite stray cats with their families. Developed by French independent studio BlueTwelve Studio, the game is expected to be released in the next few months for Windows and PlayStation consoles. Featuring stealth gameplay and beautifully rendered graphics, Stray tasks players to explore an open-world map, while sneaking around to solve puzzles and outsmart the robots with the help of B12, a small flying drone.

Another title scheduled to be released later this year, Chorus is a space-flight combat shooter, developed and published by Deep Silver Fishlabs for Windows, Xbox consoles, and PlayStation consoles. In this game, players assume the role of a wanted fugitive named Chorus, who is on a hunt to destroy the cult that created her, and her ship, a sentient starfighter called Forsaken. Combining exploration gameplay with space combat, Chorus features a compelling, immersive single-player campaign with breathtaking next-gen graphics in 4K resolution.