Wasteland Remastered: February 25, PC, Xbox and Xbox Game Pass
Wasteland was the first game I ever bought for the Apple II. I remember being amazed at the open-world exploration combined with the Bard’s Tale like combat, my other favorite game at the time. The bleak Mad Max world combined with mysterious future technology was super exciting and really broke the mold in RPGs. Considering the excellent job InXile-Krome Studios did the Bard’s Tale Trilogy remaster I expect great things from this remaster. The screenshots look amazing and seem to follow the same philosophy, keep the essential experience but make graphical and quality of life updates. Sounds great to me!
Beautiful Desolation: February 26, PC
In the same vein, Beautiful Desolation looks like a spiritual successor to Wasteland and Fallout. The post-apocalyptic setting, animated face-to-face conversations with odd characters, and overworld exploration all seem oddly familiar but promising. The turn-based combat mechanics are unclear at this point, but I have confidence in the developer. The Brotherhood created the excellent Stasis game and I suspect it will follow in a similar vein: a disturbing but fascinating mystery.
Broken Lines: February 25, PC
Portaplay seems to have a new take on the turn-based genre with Broken Lines. What if you combine tactical planning before real-time action? The combat looks intriguing and has elements of other WWII strategy shooters like the under-appreciated Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway. World War II games seem to be in short supply lately so maybe this will fill just the right grenade hole in my turn-based heart.
Iron Danger: March 25, PC (consoles later)
Iron Danger seems the most innovative on this list. It won’t break the world with its fantasy world or art style, but it could with its time-bending combat. You can die this game, in fact, you will die in this game, but once you die you can rewind. It feels like giving us the keys to the save-scumming kingdom or like the philosophy of Larian’s Divinity Original Sin series – if you do something that seems game-breaking then you’re playing the right way.