Atlas Reactor

Teams, turns, and tactics

If you take everything that makes XCOM great and mix it with aspects of League of Legends, then add other features that have propelled the multiplayer online battle arena genre to fame, the result is a game like Atlas Reactor. This character-driven multiplayer title uses simultaneous turns instead of the meticulous and sometimes-plodding pace of core strategy titles. Things are fast, fun, and incredibly interesting.

Paladins

An arena shooter with character

We’re in the midst of watching the birth of a new genre. Just as MOBAs sprung from realtime strategy games, a new breed of character-based first-person games is springing up from what came before. At Gamescom, Gearbox’s Battleborn and Blizzard’s Overwatch were joined by a third entry in this as-yet unnamed category.

Headlander

Head over heels for ’70s sci-fi

Headlander was originally pitched as one of Double Fine’s Amnesia Fortnight projects – the studio’s in-house game jam. For years, the company has kept this campy ode to ’70s sci-fi on the back burner, but when Adult Swim Games came to visit Double Fine, the publisher fell in love with Headlander’s oddball antics and immediately offered to help bring the game to market.

Hob

Torchlight creators give nods to Zelda

After garnering critical acclaim and widespread fanfare for its Torchlight series, Runic Games is taking a break from the action/RPG genre with its upcoming adventure game Hob. With gorgeous visuals, Zelda-inspired gameplay, and an intriguing take on storytelling, Runic’s new game is looking good even at this early stage.