The Games of July 2018

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Warp Zoned Staff

What can you say about the month of July? Game publishers routinely put their biggest releases on ice for the Summer months, and gamers are forced to pair hot dogs and fireworks with a handful of B-grade offerings. But there’s always a few titles that rise above the rest, and this July is no different. Whether it’s a new RPG from Square Enix, or a big batch of re-releases on new platforms, there’s actually plenty to discover this month.

What;s the Warp Zoned staff looking forward to this July? You can find out, and view the release schedule for all of this month’s new games, after the break.

20XX (July 10)
Mega Man is coming back this Fall in Mega Man 11, his first starring role in a game in almost a decade. But first, fans of robot-smashing side-scrollers will get the chance to try out 20XX this month on the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. Developed by Batterystaple Games, 20XX was originally released for the PC in 2014 as an Early Access title. And after more than three years of updates, it’s finally ready to make its console debut.

Unlike a traditional Mega Man game, 20XX procedurally-generates its stages, so each run through the eight robotic bosses is completely different. “Genre X… But It’s A Roguelike” isn’t as revolutionary as it used to be, but applying it to the familiar beats and enemy types of the Mega Man franchise is a stroke of genius.

If nothing else, pairing 20XX with Mega Man X Legacy Collection and Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 (both available July 24) makes this the most MEGA month ever. – John Scalzo

Octopath Traveler (July 13)
With the absurd number of games I have in my backlog (I can’t even count up the PS4 games that are still in shrink wrap), I try to remain as skeptical as possible of new RPGs. Anything that can potentially add 100 hours to the already ridiculous number of hours of play I already have ahead of me should be viewed as objectively as possible. Which is why when I heard there was a demo for Octopath Traveler, I decided it would be best to try it before I thought about buying it.

There’s no vertical slice here, or a special part of the game set aside just for the demo… instead, you can play up to three hours of the full game and do whatever you want. Well, you can actually keep playing, but it doesn’t save past three hours, so you’re basically playing it on “hardcore” after that. The good news is it’s an amazing game full of innovation and fun. But that’s also the bad news, because I am definitely going to pre-order Octopath Traveler and probably ignore all my other games for a while.

There are eight characters to choose from, and whichever one you choose, you play their introductory chapter. From there, you travel around the world and can pick up the other seven characters, opting to play their introductory chapters and add them to your party. These storylines are fun and quirky, but there’s nothing really new happening there. The new and interesting features are in the battle system, which has a succinct and clever interface. You can choose to use basic attacks or the special abilities of their class. As you attack monsters, you reveal what their weaknesses are, and if you can get through their shielding, you’ll stun them for a turn and be able to do more damage. It’s addictive and super fun.

I was bummed when I hit the three-hour mark, but the best news is that the game comes out next Friday! So I guess you know what I’ll be doing for the rest of the Summer. – Nicole Kline

No Man’s Sky (July 24)
It’s been nearly two years since Hello Games’s No Man’s Sky debuted on the PlayStation 4, and now its finding a new home on the Xbox One. At first I was confused as to why the game was being released on another platform so long after its original landing, one that was turbulent to say the least. I was one of the few who loved the game when it was first released, putting in 30-plus hours to explore an entire galaxy. Even after finding it a bit repetitive, I was still mesmerised by the art style and the different planets, each a screenshot that could be used for a pulp sci-fi novel.

I booted it up again yesterday to finally explore how the game had changed, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it is now more in line with what was envisaged prior to its release.

The graphics have improved immensely as well. Approaching planets resemble the landscape you see from space, and the ugly pop-up of resources and landmarks has almost been vanquished. And the animals! The original version of the game was plagued by having similar animal species on every planet, but now there seems to be a lot more variety, as well as a lot bigger animals. On my first new planet, I had to do a double take as I spotted something that looked like a baby Godzilla with horns.

So I find myself once again enraptured by the exploration of stars and planets. I hope Xbox fans give No man’s Sky a shot, because it truly deserves it. – Andrew Rainnie

Flashback: The Quest For Identity (July 31)
I didn’t get the chance to play Flashback: The Quest For Identity on the Switch last month (it was originally scheduled to launch on June 7), so let’s try it again. Flashback was originally released in 1993 by Delphine Software International (the same French team responsible for the original Shaq Fu), and it was one of my favorite Super NES games. And believe it or not, Flashback will (most likely) receive a 25th anniversary re-release this month on the Nintendo Switch. Along with Out of This World, Flashback was just such an amazing experience for me, and being able to (finally) relive it is very exciting. – Mike Ryan

What are you looking forward to this month? More games scheduled to be released in July 2018 can be found right here…

July 3, 2018

July 5, 2018

July 10, 2018

July 13, 2018

July 17, 2018

  • Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion (PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
  • Hand of Fate 2 (Switch)
  • Sonic Mania Plus (PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)

July 24, 2018

July 31, 2018

  • Flashback: The Quest For Identity (Switch)
  • This Is the Police 2 (PC)
  • Titan Quest (Switch)
This entry was posted in Features, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.