Don’t worry, we’ll still be doing a more traditional straight-up GOTY vote later in the month, but we thought a bracketed tournament with daily face-offs might be a fun way to keep the conversation going throughout December, plus it’ll be interesting to compare results at the end. We picked the 32 highest-rated new games based on their TA user scores (omitting a handful of games that didn’t really fit the bill of being 2021 releases, mainly new-gen ports like Control Ultimate Edition), then seeded them randomly to keep things interesting. Check out the full bracket below to see what other clashes are coming up — voting for each will be open for 24 hours, after which we’ll kick off the next showdown at 13:00 UTC every day throughout December. But enough chit-chat… to battle!
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
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 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.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Pre-order Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy to obtain an early unlock of the Throwback Guardians Outfit Pack. It allows you to instantly receive one outfit for each of the Guardians, which are faithful interpretations of some of their most iconic looks from the Marvel comics.
The outfits included in this pack are:
– Team-Lord (Star-Lord)
– Black Vortex (Gamora)
– Thanos Imperative (Drax)
– The Stinger (Rocket)
– Impaler (Groot)
Fire up Star-Lord’s jet boots for a wild ride across the cosmos in this third-person action-adventure game, a fresh take on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. With the unpredictable Guardians at your side, blast your way from one explosive situation to another, with original and iconic Marvel characters caught in a struggle for the fate of the universe. You got this. Probably.
Digital download bonus:
– Social-Lord Outfit for Star-Lord (Early Unlock)
The Wild at Heart
Amass your Horde
Collect and deploy a swarm of quirky Spritelings; small magical creatures for you to command. Break stuff, collect loot, fight enemies, build new paths, and more!
Explore
A unique and sequestered world rich with centuries full of lore. Woods, caves, coastline, ancient shrines… The Deep Woods is full of puzzles to be solved and secrets waiting to be uncovered.
Collect & Craft
Gather rare resources like magical crystals, scrap, electrical components and more to build new structures, items, and upgrades!
Battle
Take on precarious wildlife and supernatural foes with the unique abilities of your Spriteling swarm and your trusty vacuum, the Gustbuster!
Nightfall
“The dark is bad!” – A common saying among the denizens of the Deep Woods, and for good reason. Malevolent beings lurk in the shadows here and you may just find yourself wanting to stay near a campfire light until sunrise.
Wield an ever-growing herd of quirky creatures to rebuild broken paths, battle perilous beasts, and solve peculiar puzzles in a rich, interconnected world. Join two young runaways as they unravel the mysteries of a lost realm in this nostalgic storybook fantasy!
