Steam charts: it's the end of the world
Check out the hit parade
Wotcha gang. Your old chum Alice here for this week's charts, as everyone else has been fired. Out of a cannon. Blown into a jillion little pieces. Hence the Apocalyptic yellow tone to the skies today. Hold your breath when outside, and hold your breath while we count down last week's top ten of the top-selling games on Steam.
10. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands
A free weekend trial coupled with a 50% discount bring Ubisoft's open-world imperialist fantasy into the top ten. Brendy's Wildlands review did not dig it but hey, it lets people lark about with their mates in a lush murderjungle and that can be fun for the right price.
9. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Though conduct and morals differ wildly across the world, one thing is agreed to be globally offensive: sticking your chewed gum in someone else's shower.
8. Total War: Warhammer II
I am glad Total War has wandered so far from historical warfare. Swordmen and arrowplingers can only be differentiated in so many ways, and playing in a wacky fantasy world opens up so many more design possibilities. I am quite curious to see what developers The Creative Assembly might learn from this for future games.
Suggestion: a historical Total War game which leans into Apocalyptic prophecies. Shock horror, they were right and the end is nigh. Nations clash, collapse, and coalesce as omens develop into terrible demonic doom.
7. Grim Dawn: Ashes of Malmouth
Grim Dawn players like clicking so much that they've clicked all over the buy button for the action-RPG's first full expansion. Ashes of Malmouth introduces new zones, enemies, items, character classes, and whatnot. I don't have the time and mindset for action-RPGs anymore but I do hear good things about Grim Dawn and am always tempted by necromancers.
And in the game.
6. The Evil Within 2
Ooh! Olivia White's Evil Within 2 review just went up on RPS, and this sounds a good'un:
"The Evil Within 2 feels like something of a departure from the first game, but also an extremely fitting follow-up. Its structure, enemy design, immaculate audio production and constant tension make it one of my favourite survival horror experiences to date, and while it doesn't push the envelope in terms of providing anything new, it focuses on what it is and attempts to provide a definitive, well-produced classic survival horror experience. It succeeds at this on basically all counts, with the minor combat quibbles doing little to dull the overall experience."
Yes please!
5. Divinity: Original Sin 2
Larian's fab fantasy RPG keeps on strong, which is great news. Original Sin 2 is what memory will say old RPGs were (but which they definitely weren't). It's mighty impressive in many ways but, to be honest, I'm most delighted by watching poison clouds explode when exposed to fire. It's the small things in life, isn't it?
4. Middle-earth: Shadow of War
I've not had a go yet but I have thoroughly enjoyed everyone's stories about orcs who became bezzies or loathed enemies. I'd love to see these sorts of dynamic personalities in other games. It seems a shame to confine such surprising and delightful life to a game where we end up enslaving it or stabbing it through the forehead. 2019's hit game will be a Tetris knock-off where rivalries and friendships develop with each tetromino. An L will make you cry, a + will teach you how to love.
3. Cuphead
CUPHEAD!
The mega-pretty shooty platformer has sold over one million copies across all platforms, which is a big number indeed. A big number well-earned, our Cuphead review will tell you.
2. Middle-earth: Shadow of War
Oh! Hello again. Er. Come here often?
1. Playerunknown's Battlegrounds
My weekend's Plunking careened downhill after a fantastic start with a duo win in the rain while wildly outgunned. It was never terrible but too many games ended up too long or too slow then ended with a disappointing 2nd or 3rd. Some good spicy drops, though. I do enjoy rounds which are very exciting for three minutes, where I rack up a few kills then get megamurdered. Two minutes later, I'm back on the plane to go again.
Oh. Sorry. It's tradition to sack off the end the charts with a song? With Apocalypse hanging in the air, here's this:
