Regardless of the current state of the global stay-at-home orders/recommendations due to the virus, May never was going to be a big month for video games. The summer months are coming, and with them the prospect of a few more noteworthy games to look forward to, but until then we’re in the middle of that patch where school’s ending and summer planning begins … and that’s under normal circumstances. Therefore, May has been filled with ports, addons, and a few spinoffs that aren’t substantive enough to be large blips on the radar, though there’s still a few bits of fresh, unique, or fond enjoyment to glean from the release schedule.  Let’s dig deeper.

Get Resident Evil 3 at PS Store          Get Void Bastards at PS Store

John Wick Hex (PS4) — May 5

One of the most absorbing things about Keanu Reeves’ John Wick franchise can be found in how the 50-something actor – with minimal help from doubles – flows along at a calculated, but brisk momentum between the guys he’s attacking. That quick-paced energy has become a signature aspect of all the trilogy’s movies, something that could easily translate to the video game spectrum; an even mix of Sleeping Dogs and Grand Theft Auto tweaked to Wick’s style would be interesting.  Instead, what’s been delivered is a … turn-based strategy game, entitled John Wick Hex. Decisions are made along a grid-like system of what John’s going to do at a given time, almost like a tabletop adaptation of the movie series. The PC version has already been released to mixed responses from critics and players, citing the awkward translation of the concept to this gameplay style and the lack of focus on John Wick himself, but now the PS4 gets its shot.

Void Bastards (PS4, Switch) — May 7

While it may have drawn inspiration from past shooters like System Shock, few modern gamers can forget the first time they played through the original BioShock and the depths of Rapture. The twist might play a significant part in that, but the biggest reasons for this can be found in the colorful, gleefully hazardous (underwater) atmosphere and the tweaking of bizarre, borderline-cartoonish guns and magic abilities. Void Bastards aims to capture a similar feel to the environment and artillery in its first-person shooter design, but filters it through a cel-shaded, almost comic-book style to the artwork, along with a procedurally-generated design system that almost begs for players to view it as a roguelike game. Developers Blue Manchu have discussed the reasons why it isn’t of that subgenre, but that hasn’t stopped critics and players from attributing that label to their game … along with some robust impressions for the Xbox and PC versions already released.   Now, folks on PS4 and PC can jump in.

Get SMB3 3 at Microsoft          Order Maneater at Amazon

Super Mega Baseball 3 — May 13

As we’ve mentioned several times before, the PlayStation has – up until recently – held most of the baseball simulator market by owning exclusive rights to The Show. One of the few competitors that have kept up with it in the standings is Super Mega Baseball, and much like, say, the Hot Shots series of golf games on previous consoles, what lies underneath the cartoonish character models is a reputable, highly enjoyable simulator that’s also accessible for more casual sports fans. Since the first iteration, the bobbleheads have grown smaller and the authenticity has ticked up, resulting in an experience for Super Mega Baseball 3 that’s surprisingly close to the border separating it from a “real-life” representation of the game.  New teams, new players, and robust roster/franchise alterations have added quite a bit to its already impressive foundation, while also continuing to improve upon its impressive aesthetic.

Maneater — May 13

Considering the popularity of Goat Simulator and Untitled Goose Game, it’s probably safe to say that we’re as close to an “animal simulator” renaissance as we’re going to get. Gamers just typically prefer to pilot humanoid and anthropomorphic characters, with games like Ecco the Dolphin being few and far between prior to this small crop of successes.  Developers Tripwire Interactive are going for the jugular in 2020, though: they’re delivering A SHARK RPG. More than a few people would consider that to be the apex of the animal-simulator premise, as one can explore and hunt from the perspective of one of the most formidable – and misunderstood – animals out there, adapting to new places and hunting down other apex nautical animals in the region. The shark in Maneater doesn’t just want to peacefully live its life, though, as the player gains control of a pissed-off juvenile bull shark (seriously, check them out and size them up against great whites) out for revenge for the murder of its mother by way of shark hunters.

Order Saints Row 3 at Amazon          Order ES: Greymoor Physical at Amazon

Saints Row: The Third – Remastered — May 22

Some franchises have a natural evolution of their premise that can be tracked throughout entries in their games, but that isn’t exactly the case for Saints Row. What was once a more lighthearted “clone” of Grand Theft Auto in the urban sandbox subgenre abruptly jumped into the realm of outlandish parody in Saints Row: The Third, and for the better: it switched locations and gang factions to include lucha libre wrestlers and hackers, gave the player absurd character creation toys, allowed them to perform wrestling melee attacks, granted them weapons like mind-controlling octopuses and a giant purple dildo, and massively increased the explosiveness factor. The shift is so strong than it’s not unreasonable to assume that people who aren’t really into GTA or its copycats can find enjoyment in how Saints Row: The Third makes a mockery of the concept … while still sticking to the open-world freedom and mission structure. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s been remastered for PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor — May 26

Despite a brief announcement trailer and a handful of unverified leaks, no single-player Elder Scrolls game is in sight; nor is there a new Fallout game visibly in the works, for that matter. However, like clockwork over the past half-decade, Bethesda and the publishers at Zenimax Studios have produced significant yearly add-ons to their Elder Scrolls Online MMO platform, with the year’s installment taking players back to the realm of Skyrim with Greymoor. The heat’s been on Bethesda since they dropped the ball with their online attempt at Fallout, and their answer seems to be staying the course and continue with this massive-multiplayer paradigm. Greymoor revisits a popular location, ignites a new storyline involving vampires,  and introduces a new Antiquities system … as well as a new grid-based minigame called “scrying” that leads to excavations of gears across the existing map.  There will be a pretty sweet limited physical edition of Greymoor out there, one recommended as a potential pickup in our 2020 Limited Edition Video Game Guide.

As one can expect, we’ve also got a slew of Switch ports ready to go in May: Bioshock and Borderlands have collections arriving on May 29, along with XCOM and Xenoblade Chronicles; Star Wars: Episode 1 — Racer jets onto the Switch and PS4 on May 12, and Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee creeps in on May 14. Minecraft gets an addon, Dungeons, on May 26, as does Mortal Kombat 11 with the anticipated Aftermath expansion on the same day … which includes RoboCop as a playable fighter, because why not.  And, as a reminder, Stadia is still releasing games here and there, bringing Zombie Army 4: Dead War to the platform on May 1.

May’s New Video Games Sink Teeth Into Open Worlds, Ports

As a longtime collector of physical media – not just of the media itself, but of unique collector’s editions and exclusives – it’s almost sad to see what’s happening to the decline and future of “little shiny discs”. For CDs, it’s a freefall; for 4K and Blu-ray discs, there’s still plenty of life left there, but some products one wouldn’t think would be scarce have been running out-of-stock and out-of-print much quicker than anticipated. The market for video game limited editions seems to be caught in the middle: while there’s certainly a move to transition over to digital libraries, the collector culture tends to be a tad stronger in the gaming community and, therefore, still has a healthy audience for elaborate versions of otherwise mostly standard-edition releases of games.

There’s enough uncertainty there, though, that it’s worth the while for those interested in limited printings of video games to probably hunt them down sooner rather than later … and there are some really, really good ones coming later this year. Below, we’re going to talk about some of those potentially scarce – or, just particularly cool – limited edition packages for notable releases coming throughout the remainder of 2020.  It’s hard to predict what’s going to be in high demand or what’s going to be printed at high quantities, let alone whether these games will actually be good or not, but it’s better for these to be on the radar instead of waiting until they’re off the shelves. Let’s dive in.

Bayonetta / Vanquish: 10^th Anniversary Launch Edition

Release Date: February 18, 2020; Price: $39.99: Order @ Amazon

We’ll start the discussion off with something that’s already been released this year, and something that’s not out in the stratosphere in terms of pricing. Gamers who appreciate a challenge will likely have some familiarity with PlatinumGames, and while that might be because of the underrated Nier: Automata or their journey into the Metal Gear universe with Revengeance, it’s probably due to the iconic heroine that is Bayonetta and the challenging magic/gunplay environment that exists around her.  A remastered edition of Bayonetta has been holstered alongside the developer’s underrated, blitzed-paced sci-fi shooter Vanquish as a twofer collection for new consoles, and the Launch Edition comes with a sweet Steelbook casing featuring bold illustrations of the two games on either side. There are still some of these out in the wild, and $40 is well worth it for the pair of games and a limited collectible case prominently featuring one of last-gen’s most noteworthy new character creations.

Doom Eternal Collector’s Edition

Release Date: March 20, 2020; Price: $199.99: Order @ Best Buy

Ca we be real for a second? Yes, there’s a conversation to be had about how influential the exhilarating chaos of Doom has been on the FPS genre, as well as how splendid it is that the property has been revived again and popular enough to lead into this “sequel”, Doom Eternal. But, it’s tough to talk too much about all that when we’re leading into a discussion about a collector’s edition of a Doom game with … a wearable Doomguy Doom Slayer helmet. While no, it isn’t modeled after the helmets of nostalgia, there’s still something undeniably mesmerizing about the fact that this Doom Eternal: Collector’s Edition will come equipped with a wearable helmet that’ll be ready to wear between – or, hell, during – gaming sessions. A few extra goodies for the subtler fans are there as well: a really nice steelbook case, lossless digital soundtrack codes on a little cassette tape gadget, a lore book, lithograph, and DLC goodies. The value’s close to being justifiable, but frankly, the ability to just throw on the helmet and boot up Doom Eternal out of the box is close to priceless.

Resident Evil 3: Collector’s Edition — GameStop Exclusive

Release Date: April 3, 2020; Price: $179.99: Order @ GameStop

The remake of Resident Evil 2 took many people off-guard: while they may have expected a decent revisit to Leon and Claire’s charge through Raccoon City, most weren’t ready for it to be not-so-arguably the best horror game to come out of last year.  Resident Evil remains popular for a plethora of reasons, but that rejuvenated enthusiasm for the franchise has made it all feel fresh again, and it’s bound to do so again with this year’s Resident Evil 3 remake. Fan favorite Jill Valentine has been smartly remodeled for her standalone adventure, clearly evoking her classic look while exchanging the skirt for a few touches of tactical badassery that remind one a bit of Alice’s presence from the movie series.  This gives players a more reputable, grounded heroine to blaze through the zombie apocalypse in RE3, one who’s captured in statue form in the game’s collector edition alongside a neat double-sided poster, an art book, and a S.T.A.R.S. crate box presentation. This one’s only available at GameStop, so a pre-order might not be a bad idea.

Final Fantasy VII: Deluxe Edition

Release Date: April 10, 2020; Price: $79.99: Order @ Amazon

Perhaps it isn’t quite up there with jokes about Half-Life 3, but fans of the Final Fantasy franchise have been clamoring for a spruced-up reconstruction of FFVII for a very, very long time. After the idea of a remake was introduced in the PS2 era, many haven’t been able to stop thinking about it and discussing it, even as the developers kept a healthy distance from wanting to do so.  Finally, after much rumoring, development time, distribution paradigm changes and exclusive window decisions, a new version of Final Fantasy VII – the first part of it, at least — will be here in less than a month. To commemorate, Square Enix will be releasing a deluxe presentation of this “part” of the remake, including: a steelbook case featuring the game’s antagonist, Sephiroth; a hardback artbook; a soundtrack CD; and two pieces of “summon materia” DLC, one exclusive and the other tied to a pre-order. The book, music, and exclusive case artwork all add real fan-centric substance for a $20 premium, so this one’s worth consideration as an early buy.

Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor Expansion Collector’s Edition

Release Date: May 18, 2020; Price: $129.99: Order @ Amazon

Even after an incredibly shaky initial release, Elder Scrolls Online is still going very strong and continues to maintain a robust player base.  Like most other developers in the MMO space, Bethesda has learned from missteps and dished out extensive updates, all the while releasing new expansions that offer fresh, exciting looks at what’s possible within their fantasy landscape and game design. They’re now on the fourth of these official substantive expansions, Greymoor, in which they’re journeying back to Skyrim – the western side – for a new chilly adventure connected to vampires. “Chapter” addons like this are a strange beast when it comes to physical collectibles due to their restricted appeal, but this edition of Greymoor offers an interesting package that comes at players from two general angles: there’s a sweet vampire (lord) statue, and there are Skyrim-themed coins also included. Roll those together with the addon itself, extra DLC, a steelbook, and a map, and it’s pretty sweet.

The Last of Us: Part II – Special, Collector’s and Ellie Editions

Release Date: May 29, 2020; Price: $229.99: Order @ PS Direct

While Naughty Dog’s exhilarating action game design impressed throughout the Uncharted series, it was with the tension and emotions of The Last of Us that they likely created their very best work to date. The gaming community has obviously gone through apocalyptic zombie experiences before, yet the relationship between Joel and Ellie elevates it from being merely a strong horror game to one that strikes a deeper chord. A sequel to such an experience is dangerous territory, but it’s territory that Naughty Dog will brave with Ellie at the helm of this sequel.  Due to the return of past characters that players genuinely care about, this game will have a strong following, so making plans to pick up either the Special, Collector, or elusive Ellie Editions of The Last of Us: Part II would probably be wise. The Ellie Edition has proven to be tricky to acquire already, so if the idea of an exclusive replica of Ellie’s backpack sounds appealing, grab it when and while you can. Luckily, the other two premium versions come with the steel case, and the one-tier-down Collector’s Edition still gives fans the opportunity to get a replica of Ellie’s bracelet and a statue of the character.

Marvel’s Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Edition

Release Date: September 4, 2020; Price: $199.99: Order @ Amazon

Believe it or not, it won’t be long before Joss Whedon’s original Avengers movie will be a decade old. It’s the blockbuster that transformed a neat intersection of cinematic superhero stories into perhaps the most popular big-screen comic franchise in history, one that ensures that a healthy chunk of people will be standing in-line on day one for anything new and exciting involving the team. Square Enix and the Crystal-Eidos development team are banking on that, as they’re going all-out with a massive limited edition of Marvel’s Avengers, a new action-based adaptation – with some uniquely different-looking versions of the characters – coming in September.  Along with a pretty standard steelbook, the Earth’s Mightiest Edition comes with a whole bunch of goodies: a statue of Captain America; a Hulk bobblehead; a keychain of Thor’s hammer; a Black Widow belt buckle; blueprints of Iron Man’s suit.  Each item has been carefully and familiarly designed so they’ll still appeal to general fans of the Avengers comics and movies, not just to those who might like the game, so this could naturally be a very hot item.

Cyberpunk 2077: Collector’s Edition

Release Date: September 17, 2020; Price: $249.99: Order @ Best Buy

As the giants of role-playing video games have hit rough patches over the past couple of years, other labels have moved into the spotlight, chief among them being CD Projekt Red. While their Witcher series had already made waves with the RPG crowd, it was with The Witcher 3 that the company offered an experience that both triumphed over competitors and gave mainstream players something they’ve been yearning for on current consoles: a rich, choice-based, story-driven sandbox game in a fantasy world. Therefore, CDPR’s announcement that they’d be taking on science-fiction RPGs with Cyberpunk 2077 – a space even less crowded without Mass Effect – received big excitement. And CDPR is all about packing value into their presentations: while the standard edition comes with a world compendium, postcards, stickers and such, there’s a mega Collector’s Edition awaiting preorder status that’ll arrive with a statue, a very nice steelbook, game prop replicas, patches, etc. $250 is steep, but it’s bound to be an elusive set since CDPR’s fans are a dedicated bunch.

Video Game Limited Editions of 2020 Worth Seeking Out