November 2018 Video Game Releases: What to Play This Month?

Attachment 18505

2018 is nearly over but there's still a long list of video games that have yet to launch. This fall has already seen a number of titles become massive hits, like Marvel's Spider-Man, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, and of course, the record-breaking Red Dead Redemption 2. And much more is still to come for the final two months of the year.

November is crowded with major releases. Overkill's The Walking Dead starts the month off with a co-op adventure in a zombie-infested Washington D.C. Another post-apocalyptic game releasing in November is Bethesda's first MMO, Fallout 76. Highly-anticipated sequels and first-person shooters Hitman 2 and Battlefield V are packed with new features to bring in new players, while more family-friendly fun can be found in Pokémon: Let's Go Pikachu! and Let's Go Eevee!

Let's take a look at some of the biggest video games to look forward to in November 2018:

OVERKILL'S THE WALKING DEAD

Attachment 18506

• RELEASE DATE: November 6
• PLATFORMS: PC (February 2019 for Xbox One and PS4)
• DEVELOPER: Overkill Software
• PUBLISHER: Starbreeze Studios

Announced way back in 2014, Overkill's The Walking Dead is a four-player co-op FPS game set in the world of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead from the makers of Payday: The Heist and Payday 2. Players choose between four original characters with their own unique skills, playstyles, and backstories. The gameplay, which focuses on teamwork, is reminiscent of the fan-favorite Left 4 Dead series, though The Walking Dead has a much darker tone. The game's story will see the four main characters work together to survive a post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. that's been flooded with zombies. Players will have to use both stealth and strategy to adventure through the capital, complete objectives, and gather supplies.

Since the game is based in the same universe seen on TV and in the comics, don't expect to encounter "special" zombies like the ones in Left 4 Dead and other popular zombie games like Dying Light. Instead, zombies in the game will be the slow, shambling kind that can be killed with a melee weapon. However, dealing with them will require a great deal of strategy when encountered in large hordes.

The game was recently delayed until February for consoles, but PC gamers will be able to get their copy November 6th.

HITMAN 2

Attachment 18507

• RELEASE DATE: November 13
• PLATFORMS: PC, PS4, Xbox One
• DEVELOPER: IO Interactive
• PUBLISHER: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

The sequel to the extremely successful 2016 stealth game Hitman continues the story of Agent 47 as he hunts down and assassinates targets in six different open-world maps: Miami, Colombia, Hawke's Bay in New Zealand, a suburb in Vermont, Mumbai, and the Isle of Sgail in the North Atlantic. In Hitman 2, Agent 47 is on a mission to take down the Shadow Client, a mysterious villain whose past will be unraveled over the course of the game's story. To accomplish his task, Agent 47 can use all sorts of insane, improvised weapons, which could provide hours of fun.

Unlike its predecessor, Hitman 2 won't be released in episodes. The game will feature a new mode called "Sniper Assassin", which will bring online co-op to the series for the first time. In "Sniper Assassin", players will team up to assassinate targets from long-range.

SPYRO REIGNITED TRILOGY

Attachment 18508

• RELEASE DATE: November 13
• PLATFORMS: PS4, Xbox One
• DEVELOPER: Toys for Bob
• PUBLISHER: Activision

Originally slated for a September release, Spyro Reginited Trilogy was moved back to November at the last minute. The upcoming platformer is a remastered collection of the first three games in the Spyro series: Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!, and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. The trilogy features modern graphics, a reimagined soundtrack, smoother camera control, and re-recorded voice lines from Spyro voice actor Tom Kenney. Though much has been improved, the level designs will remain unchanged.

The original Spyro games were a big hit when they were first released in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. At the time, Spyro was able to provide competition for Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Crash Bandicoot. Unfortunately, Spyro eventually dropped off the radar with his last solo title, Spyro: Shadow Legacy, releasing in 2005. The success of Crash Bandicoot's remastered trilogy gives hope to Spyro fans who believe that the purple dragon may be able to mount a comeback with Reignited.

FALLOUT 76

Attachment 18509

• RELEASE DATE: November 14
• PLATFORMS: PC, PS4
• DEVELOPER: Bethesda
• PUBLISHER: Bethesda

Announced in May, Fallout 76 will move away from single player campaigns to focus on online multiplayer for the first time. As games in the Fallout series have always included an engaging story, Fallout 76 is considered to be a major departure for the franchise. Fallout 76 completely dispenses with human NPCs, which means that every character encountered in the game is controlled by another player. This will of course change the way players receive quests.

Fallout 76 will send players to West Virginia, a world that's four times the size of the map in Fallout 4. An important new tool for survival in Fallout 76 is C.A.M.P, which can be used to set up a stronghold for the player and their teammates as they fight for survival in the apocalypse. Nuclear missiles can also be acquired and unleashed on the enemy.

POKÉMON: LET'S GO PIKACHU! AND LET'S GO EEVEE!

Attachment 18510

• RELEASE DATE: November 16
• PLATFORMS: Nintendo Switch
• DEVELOPER: Game Freak
• PUBLISHER: Nintendo and the Pokémon Company

Pokémon: Let's Go Pikachu! and Let's Go Eevee! are the first installments in the main Pokémon series to launch on a major console instead of a handheld system. The upcoming RPGs will send players back to the Kanto region, which was first explored in the first two Pokémon games for the Gameboy, Pokémon Red and Blue. Let's Go Pikachu! and Let's Go Eevee! will only incorporate the original 151 Pokémon. Like Yellow, the new games will focus on the player character's relationship with one of two characters, Pikachu or Eevee, who will accompany the protagonist on their adventures. A second Pokémon can be chosen to follow along as well.

One of the main selling points of Let's Go Pikachu! and Let's Go Eevee! is the addition of local co-op support, which allows two players to explore Kanto together and defeat challenging opponents in tag-team battles.

BATTLEFIELD V

Attachment 18511

• RELEASE DATE: November 20
• PLATFORMS: PC, PS4, Xbox One
• DEVELOPER: EA DICE
• PUBLISHER: Electronic Arts

Battlefield V, the 16th installment in the series and the sequel to Battlefield 1, takes the franchise back to World War II for intense party-based combat in both single-player and multiplayer missions, though many of which won't be available until next spring. Co-op modes like "Combined Arms" lets a team of four complete objectives together, and the competitive mode "Grand Operations" is a continuous battle taking place across several stages that leads into a dramatic finale called the "Final Stand".

Battlefield V, which launches with eight maps, will receive a 64-player Battle Royale mode called "Firestorm" in March. A new customization feature called the Company system gives the player plenty of options for not only the main character, but his troops as well. Female soldiers are also available and are heavily featured in the story, causing many to question the game's historical accuracy.

DARKSIDERS III

Attachment 18512

• RELEASE DATE: November 27
• PLATFORMS: PC, PS4, Xbox One
• DEVELOPER: Gunfire Games
• PUBLISHER: THQ Nordic

In the hack and slash action-adventure game Darksiders III, players take control of Fury, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. A different Horseman is the protagonist of each game in the series, with War and Death being the main characters of 2010's Darksiders and 2012's Darksiders II respectively. In this game, Fury is determined to destroy the Seven Deadly Sins.

Fury is a mage whose signature weapon is a whip, which can be utilized in various ways in combat, and in solving puzzles. Fury's magic powers are a big part of the game's gameplay mechanics. Fury is also capable of transforming into different elemental forms, including her Flame form. Each of her forms gives her access to new weapons and abilities. The game features a leveling system that will see Fury grow stronger as she collects the souls of her enemies and explores a post-apocalyptic world.

TOP INDIE TITLES

Attachment 18513

While some upcoming releases may be overshadowed by titles like Fallout 76, Battlefield V, Pokémon: Let's Go Pikachu! and Let's Go Eevee!, there's still plenty of lower profile games that are worth paying attention to. Releasing on Tuesday is Steel Rats, a futuristic side-scroller with motorcycle action. Brawlhalla, which is an indie fighting game in the style of Super Smash Bros., comes to the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on the same day, along with Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don't Dry for the PC, and GRIP on PC and consoles. Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus is a turn-based tactical game that launches on PC on November 15. Prehistoric sandbox survival game Ark: Survival Evolved, which is already available on PC and consoles, hits the Switch on November 30. Other indie titles coming to the Switch this month include Moonlighter, Crashlands, The Bug Butcher, and Forgotton Anne, which has been well-received on Steam.