Square Enix Gaming Gift Guide 2021

Continuing with our Holiday gift giving guides, we now are to Square Enix. Last year was pretty big for Square with some really cool titles to check out if you haven’t already. Below are some of our highlights from 2021:

• Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy

Launch Date: October 26, 2021

Platform: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, GeForce NOW, Nintendo Switch

Description: Fire up a wild ride across the cosmos with a fresh take on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. In this third-person action-adventure game, you are Star-Lord, and thanks to your bold yet questionable leadership, you have persuaded an oddball crew of unlikely heroes to join you. Some jerk (surely not you) has set off a chain of catastrophic events, and only you can hold the unpredictable Guardians together long enough to fight off a total interplanetary meltdown. Use Element Blasters, tag-team beat downs, jet boot-powered dropkicks, nothing’s off-limits. If you think it’s all going to plan, you’re in for a world of surprises, with the consequences of your actions guaranteed to keep the Guardians on their toes. In this original Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy story, you’ll cross paths with powerful new beings and unique takes on iconic characters, all caught in a struggle for the galaxy’s fate. It’s time to show the universe what you’re made of. You got this. Probably.

This was easily one of my favorite titles this past year, I was pleasantly surprised with the execution on this one. Its Mass Effect with a Marvel flair, there are lots of easter eggs and deep cuts for fans of the comic series to enjoy. Check out our full review HERE

• Life Is Strange: True Colors

Launch Date: September 10, 2021

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, GeForce NOW, and Google Stadia

Description: Players take on the role of Alex Chen, a young woman navigating early adulthood in Haven Springs, a small mountain town where she quickly becomes a part of a tight-knit community. There, Alex reconnects with her long-lost brother, Gabe, who had moved to the town in search of their missing father. Amid this backdrop, Alex struggles to accept a ‘curse’ she’s dealt with all her life: the psychic power of Empathy, a supernatural ability that allows her to experience, absorb, and influence the strong emotions of others – emotions she sees as blazing, colored auras. When her brother dies in a suspicious ‘accident’, Alex must at last embrace her volatile power, to find the truth and uncover the secrets of Haven Springs. Alex Chen’s journey, power, and future are all fully under the player’s control.

While I wouldn’t say I was ever really a fan of the Life is Strange series, however, this one won me over big time. With an amazing small-town atmosphere, great character development, and fantastic storytelling this was a thrill to play through. This would be a great game to play with your significant other, or a great introduction to gaming for someone more casual as well. Check out our full review HERE 

• Outriders

Launch Date: April 1, 2021

Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Descriptions: Outriders is a 1-3 player co-op RPG shooter set in an original, dark and desperate sci-fi universe. As mankind bleeds out in the trenches of Enoch, you’ll create your Outrider and embark on a journey across the hostile planet. With rich storytelling spanning a diverse world, you’ll leave behind the slums and shantytowns of the First City and traverse forests, mountains, and deserts in the pursuit of a mysterious signal. Combining intense gunplay with violent powers and an arsenal of increasingly twisted weaponry and gear sets, Outriders offers countless hours of gameplay from one of the finest shooter developers in the industry – People Can Fly.

Outriders is a very interesting experiment and take on multiplayer gaming, while not a game as a service it would be interesting to see if they offer anything beyond the campaign down the line because there is nothing there to drive me to get better loot or return to the game outside of creating a new character of a different class. But it is a very FUN game to play with friends if nothing else grabs you about it. Plus it was an excellent addition to Gamepass, which is helping the player count I think a lot. I think this is a great building block for future installments with this style of game. Check out our full review HERE

• Circuit Superstars

Launch Date: October 12, 2021

Platform: Available now on PC and Xbox One. It will also be coming soon to PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch

Description: Circuit Superstars is a top-down racer built by racing fans, for racing fans. The game celebrates generations of multi-disciplinary motorsport, focusing on driving that feels great – but with a high skill ceiling, that will have players spending hours honing their perfect lap. Starting is simple but learning the nuances of each car’s handling and finding the best racing line through each corner of each track will be a challenge for a long time to come. Not only that, but with the option of fuel usage, tire degradation, and racing damage, even a good pit stop strategy could make the difference between hero and zero. Feel the rubber bite into the road as you pass the start/finish line and dive, brakes squealing, into the first corner!