We all know by now that Cyberpunk 2077 is pretty great but, with Christmas approaching, we thought we’d highlight some alternative titles.
2020’s most anticipated video game was finally unleashed on an expectant audience on December 10th and since then it’s been, to put it mildly, inescapable. Hours and days have been devoted to exploring its dense open world. Laughs have been shared at its comical bugs (especially that dick glitch that imprints on your mind and never leaves).
Maybe, though, you need a little escape from the sheer immersive world of Cyberpunk 2077. Or maybe, with Christmas just around the corner, you’ve got an annoying little cousin who just won’t shut up about their experiences in Night City and you really need to distract them for, like, at least a day.
With such things in mind, we thought we’d make a list of 5 alternative games if you need a break from Cyberpunk 2077!
Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4)
This one’s perfect if you still want to explore a dystopian cyberpunk environment, just not in 2077. Players control a mercenary, Cloud Strife, as he joins AVALANCHE, an eco-terrorist group trying to stop the powerful megacorporation Shinra from using the planet’s life essence as an energy source (best play this one before its storyline becomes all-too real).
The game title says it all: it’s the first in a planned series of games remaking the 1997 Playstation utter classic Final Fantasy VII, probably one of your older sibling’s favourite games. Original staff members, including the character designer and director, returned, meaning that the remake stayed welcomingly faithful. It was expanded where it needed to be though, updating the battle system for modern audiences. This remake will either make that older sibling cry about missing the 90’s or appreciate the updated effort.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows)
You all know this one. Valhalla is the 12th major instalment and the 22nd release in the Assassin’s Creed series; the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia of action role-playing video games in its longevity if you will. This one takes you to an equally brutal landscape but back in time. Set in the rosy time of 873 AD, it takes place during the Viking invasion of Britain. You control Eivor (as either male or female impressively), a Viking raider who naturally gets involved in some major conflict.
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Anyone who loves a vast open world to conquer will find much to enjoy in Valhalla. And, if you’ve ever had the misfortune to see the movie adaptation of Assassin’s Creed, hopefully Valhalla can help erase it from your memory.
Wasteland 3 (PS4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows)
Wasteland 3, like the second in the series that it followed, was a collective effort: it was crowdfunded from 2016, raising over $3million, highlighting the appetite the public have for this game. Set in a post-apocalyptic Colorado, this tense game is a good one if you want to play with a mate. The main campaign can be played cooperatively with another player, if rebuilding a collapsed world is just too much to handle alone.
Featuring a highly reactive story and exciting turn-based combat, this is one not to sleep on. Some series grow tired by their third showing but Wasteland seems to be continuing to grow. Get that chequebook ready when crowdfunding inevitably comes around for the fourth follow-up.
Disco Elysium (Microsoft Windows)
A twisting and haunting murder mystery as you play an amnesiac detective, Disco Elysium is high art. Featuring a distinctive watercolour aesthetic, noted English post-rock band British Sea Power provided music for the game which was written by a novelist, Robert Kurvitz. Compared to the blood and thunder of the other titles in this list, Disco Elysium is cerebral and slow-burning, rewarding a different approach.
There is no combat, the narrative instead being progressed through dialogue trees and skill checks. The writing and art style saw it unsurprisingly named one of the best games of the year by several publications. Prepare to be moved and overwhelmed by Disco Elysium. An expanded release of the game, The Final Cut, is scheduled for release in March 2021 for the PS4 and PS5. It will then be released for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch later in the year.
Doom Eternal (PS4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch)
The only first-person shooter in this list, it has to be a good example of the genre, and Doom Eternal undeniably is. The fifth instalment in the acclaimed Doom series, it’s set some time after the events of the previous 2016 game. The story again follows the Doom Slayer, on a mission to end Hell’s consumption of Earth and foil the alien Maykrs’ plans to exterminate humanity.
Aggressively engage your enemies in a firing shooting frenzy, now with an expanded arsenal of weapons to choose from. Doom Eternal received five nominations, including for Game of the Year, at this year’s The Game Awards, highlighting its almost unanimous acclaim.
