You’re the inspiration

There are no new ideas under the sun, as the old saying goes, but there are certainly new ways to implement and express them. This issue’s selection may draw from a range of sources, but several of them manage to be much more than the sum of their influences.

Valorant (p96) is as good a place as any to start, since of all this month’s games it surely has the biggest boots to fill. Actively welcoming comparisons with Counter-Strike and Overwatch is a heck of a gamble for any game, but Riot’s shooter walks the walk, boasting the character and tactical depth to earn a place alongside those giants. In spite of the toxicity of its player base, it’s a runaway hit – and its momentum looks likely to continue for a good while yet. Meanwhile, Monster Train (p105) comes at the king of deck-builders and doesn’t miss. While Shiny Shoe’s combination of CCG and Roguelike might lack the careful balance and precision of Slay The Spire, it has enough ideas of its own – not least its transformative decision to have your opponent strike first – to stand by itself.

Naturally, however, there are certain risks to this kind of approach. Bungie vet Marcus Lehto’s Disintegration (p94) fails to find the right balance between its familiar FPS loops and its undercooked RTS elements; as such, it’s more likely to have you pining for Halo’s 30 seconds of fun. Sucker Punch’s

Ghost Of Tsushima (p86) aims high, hoping to capture the spirit of classic chanbara films. But despite a Kurosawa filter, its sword fights don’t live up to the widescreen grandeur of its world. The fact that neither game quite emerges from the considerable shadow of its influences isn’t to diminish their attempts to do so. After all, as the thrillingly exacting

Desperados III (p90) proves, the gap between triumph and disaster can be narrow indeed.