April’s Full of Games, So Get Hyped for These 8

You’d think that at the end of the financial quarter, video game companies would cool it and slow down their releases but that apparently isn’t the case in the year of our Lord 2019. We’ve got the first big absolute exclusive for the PlayStation 4, the return of a legendary fighting game franchise and the ascension of a beloved retro-style classic to full blown multiplayer action.

1. Dauntless

Releases on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch

This cooperative Monster Hunter-style action RPG tasks players to take on powerful Behemoths and using the goodies they reap from them to craft and upgrade their gear. The game is billed as an experience that’s meant to grow wide not tall, focusing on depth and diversity rather than numerical progression and reward player’s for their skill and tenacity rather than the amount of time they’ve devoted to grinding.

2. Shovel Knight: Showdown

Releases April 9, 2019 on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Wii U

The critically acclaimed pixel retro-legend ascends to a new domain: multiplayer brawling. Up to four players can duel and scramble for loot as their favorite hero or villain like Plague Knight, Treasure Knight, Shield Knight and of course the eponymous Shovel Knight! Endless multiplayer clashes and a story mode all in this free update to all existing versions of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove.

3. Dangerous Driving

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3XX1B7Heb8

Releases April 9, 2019 on PC via the Epic Games Store

While mega-publisher EA seems content to sit on the rights to the classic arcade racing series Burnout, some of the original developers behind it want to bring it back. Their studio Three Fields Entertainment released Danger Zone back in 2017 and now they’re coming in hot with Dangerous Driving. It’s a slick looking homage to everything Burnout was: rival races, police chases, road rage events, sick takedowns and hopefully a crash mode.

4. Katana Zero

Releases April 16, 2019 on Nintendo Switch and PC

This super stylish and brutal action game inspired by revenge flicks like Oldboy and John Wick casts you as a deadly assassin who lives in a crappy apartment who talks to his therapist about the various murders he’s committed. These play out as different stages where you hack and slash your way through cops, criminals and bounty hunters, with a VHS rewind mechanic as the in-game conceit behind multiple lives.

5. Mortal Kombat 11

Releases April 23, 2019 on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4

The fighting game franchise that sent American congressmen into a tizzy returns. Following the immensely successful Injustice 2, developer NetherRealm Studios is delivering the klassic characters in a past meets present tale to square with the krazy stuff that’s happened in Mortal Kombat kontinuity. There’ll be twenty-five characters at launch, with more to be added via DLC and loads of brutalities and fatalities to sate your gore lust.

6. Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen

Releases April 23, 2019 on the Nintendo Switch

Enter the high-fantasy setting of Gransys, and embark on an epic adventure in an open world filled with chimeras, dragons and other fabled monsters. Choose from a variety of vocations to unlock different gameplay styles and tactical options while managing your “pawns,” a trio of AI-driven companions who aid you in combat and exploration. Dragon’s Dogma got a lukewarm reception on its first release but it’s become a cult classic since.

7. Days Gone

Releases April 26, 2019 exclusively on PlayStation 4

This open world zombie road adventure will fill in this year’s slot of “a big deal PlayStation exclusive in the spring.” While it’s not received the same amount of attention as last year’s God of War, there’s hope that between the story, the acting and the novelty of open world zombies, this one is a gem waiting to be discovered. That being said it can’t be any worse than The Order 1886.

8. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Releases April 30, 2019 on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is a no-brainer for anyone who didn’t already pick it up in 2017 for the PC or PlayStation 4. Originally the red-headed step child of the PlayStation 2 installments of Final Fantasy, this one is a cult classic for its highly tactical real-time combat and dynamic leveling and growth systems. The Zodiac Age adds numerous quality of life improvements as well as improved visuals over the original 2006 release.

Which of these would you want to play? Tell us below!