{"id":35258,"date":"2019-07-03T14:58:41","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T21:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/?p=35258"},"modified":"2019-07-03T15:00:23","modified_gmt":"2019-07-03T22:00:23","slug":"five-fantastical-videogame-releases-worth-exploring-in-july","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/features\/five-fantastical-videogame-releases-worth-exploring-in-july\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Fantastical Videogame Releases Worth Exploring in July"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Once we\u2019ve reached the dog days of summer where the sun beats down and saps people\u2019s energy, or when working folks get a little miffed that they can\u2019t fully embrace the season, the comfort of videogame consoles, controllers and air conditioning starts to look really, really good. Some of my fondest gaming memories of my youth came in playing a pair of Final Fantasy<\/em> games after long swimming or baseball sessions \u2013 Final Fantasy VII<\/em> and Final Fantasy Tactics<\/em>!\u2013 a legacy that kinda-sorta continues almost two decades later, in admittedly a very different form.\u00a0 July\u2019s new releases aren\u2019t nearly as exciting as they probably should be, sporting only a high-profile shooter at the tail end of the month and another approach to the endgame with the folks at Marvel, but longstanding fans of Square Enix\u2019s franchise will have something materia(l) to engage throughout the month. Let\u2019s take a closer look.<\/p>\n

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\"ff<\/p>\n

FFXIV: Shabowbringers at Amazon<\/a><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Download Sea of Solitude at Microsoft<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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July 2<\/h3>\n

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers<\/h4>\n

Another of my memories about Final Fantasy<\/em> came in processing the reception towards Square\u2019s first stab at an online multiplayer, FFXI<\/em>. It\u00a0was met with polarizing impressions that combined firm defense from the franchise\u2019s devotees and valid critiques to the game\u2019s design tweaks, struggling graphics, and of course the requirement for a dedicated subscription to play. Things have changed in the MMO landscape, of course, and while Final Fantasy XIV<\/em> continues the legacy of being a subscription-based online game, it has been fine-tuned to reward those who are comfortable with a monthly fee. So far, critics and subscribers have had nothing but positive things to say about the MMO\u2019s latest expansion, Shadowbringers<\/em>. The solid storytelling, robust graphics, a class overhaul, and combat refinement are currently being heralded as not only the game\u2019s best expansion, but possible one of the better expansions for a online multiplayer game to-date, so it\u2019s certainly a great time to be a fan. Naturally, Shadowbringers<\/em> is available on the PS4 and PC.<\/p>\n

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July 5<\/h3>\n

Sea of Solitude<\/h4>\n

At E3, a concentrated effort was made by EA to spruce up their image just a bit, emphasizing that they were working on smaller, independent games through their \u201cEA Originals\u201d label. \u00a0One of the games coming out of that publishing wing is Sea of Solitude, an atmospheric and artistically experimental adventure game developed by Jo-Mei Games.\u00a0 With echoes of Zelda: Wind Waker<\/em> in the boat travels and perhaps a little Alice: Madness Returns<\/em> and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West<\/em>\u00a0in its gameplay style, the game tells the story of a woman named Kay who navigates the colorful, yet haunting maze of a mostly empty city flooded with water.\u00a0 Directed by German comic-book artist Cornelia Geppert, Sea of Solitude<\/em> goes down an emotional path as Kay journeys forth to discover how and why she\u2019s transformed into this other-worldly beast within the realm, and the 3D puzzle and exploration gameplay extends from that. You can discover Sea of Solitude on the Xbox One, PS4, and PC.<\/p>\n

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July 12<\/h3>\n

Dragon Quest Builders 2<\/h4>\n

The interesting thing about Minecraft<\/em> is that despite the roaring popularity and refinement of its build-an-experience concept, its blocky aspects and directionless nature will always leave openings for other games to reach the unimpressed players out there. \u00a0Along with Portal Knights<\/em>, Dragon Quest Builders<\/em> took a stab at something similar in concept but different in execution, and delivered on creating a more focused, narrative-driven construction simulator within the longstanding fantasy RPG setting. Builders 2<\/em> \u2026 well, merely builds off the original release, expanding upon both the building and exploration options for an even more expansive sandbox.\u00a0 The big addition, however, comes in the ability for up to four people to cooperatively play together, either online or on the couch. Dragon Quest Builders 2<\/em> places more emphasis on providing the tools for the player to engage their creativity than on a story-driven experience, but there\u2019s something to its tale of builders creating things against the will of oppressors.\u00a0 The Switch and PS4 are your consoles of choice for this quest.<\/p>\n

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\"wolf<\/p>\n

Order Marvel: UA 3 at Amazon<\/a><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Order Wolfenstein: Youngblood at Amazon<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

July 19<\/h3>\n

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order<\/h4>\n

Man, I\u2019m on a bit of a nostalgia trip with some of the games released this month. While it was released on other consoles, the name Marvel: Ultimate Alliance<\/em> recalls the early days of Nintendo\u2019s first crack at full motion-control console games with the Wii. \u00a0While Nintendo was figuring out the right ways to add variety to their early slate of titles, less-interactive and more standard games like the first Ultimate Alliance<\/em> \u2013 which also appeared on other consoles — filled the gap with some substance and regular ole beat-\u2018em-up gameplay. It\u2019s interesting, then, that the 3rd<\/sup> installment in the franchise arrives as an exclusive to the Nintendo Switch.\u00a0 Adapting from the early-\u201890s comic run of “The Infinity War”, Ultimate Alliance 3<\/em> flows along with the current popularity of Marvel\u2019s cinematic universe and puts the players in control of many of their favorite characters from that realm.\u00a0 Polished graphics and fluid 3D movement don\u2019t take away from the fact that this third installment still feels like old-school, reliable action gaming. Switch only for now, but considering the prior releases, that could very well change.<\/p>\n

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July 26<\/h3>\n

Wolfenstein: Youngblood<\/h4>\n

Games that don\u2019t take themselves too seriously lend themselves better to spinoff experiences, where developers can take what\u2019s worked in the games proper and safely dial \u2018em up within the new installment.\u00a0 Wolfenstein: Youngblood<\/em> looks like it could be the next in a line of successful spinoffs like Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon<\/em> and Dishonored: Death of the Outsider,<\/em> since the possibilities are pretty endless with an alternate reality where Nazis actually came out on top in World War 2 and continued their atrocities \u2026 with some resistance, of course. In Youngblood, the resistance comes in well-armed, suited-up sisters \u2013 the daughters of protag B.J. Blazkowicz — ready for a killing spree roughly 20 years after the games proper, creating a dynamic between the story\u2019s women that again reaches a balance between dark humor and genuinely bleak storytelling. The collaboration between Wolfenstein<\/em> vets MachineGames and Dishonored<\/em>\u2019s developers Arkane Studios sets its sights on a versatile gaming experience, incorporating co-op or AI-driven multiplayer within the franchise\u2019s hectic shooter energy.<\/p>\n

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Red Faction<\/strong><\/em> fans will be happy to see that Guerilla<\/em><\/strong> will be making its way onto the Switch at the beginning of July, while devotees of the Netflix show Stranger Things<\/em> can get an extra taste of tie-in material with the Stranger Things 3<\/strong><\/em> videogame being released on July 4th<\/sup> on the Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and PC. The frequently-ported visual novel Clannad<\/strong><\/em> will arrive on the Switch also on the 4th<\/sup>, while the next installment in the Fire Emblem<\/strong><\/em> tactics RPG games, Three Houses<\/strong><\/em>, will swarm onto the Switch on July 26th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once we\u2019ve reached the dog days of summer where the sun beats down and saps people\u2019s energy, or when working folks get a little miffed that they can\u2019t fully embrace the season, the comfort of videogame consoles, controllers and air conditioning starts to look really, really good. Some of my fondest gaming memories of my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":35265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[401,2080,1873,378],"class_list":["post-35258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-ps4","tag-switch","tag-videogames","tag-xbox-one"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35258"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35264,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35258\/revisions\/35264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}