4 Best PS4 Games to Have on Your Radar in July 2018

Shining Resonance Refrain (July 10)

Best PS4 Games July 2018

It’s been a long time since the Shining series made its way west, almost 15 years to be exact. Now after all that time, Shining Resonance Refrain is finally making its way west, a remastered and remade version of the game that originally released on the PS3 in Japan. The game focuses on a young boy named Yuma Ilvern, whose body houses the spirit of the legendary Shining Dragon. Yuma is captured and experimented on by the Empire, before being saved by the peaceful country of Astoria.

Shining Resonance Refrain sports a real-time action combat system, very similar to other JRPGs like the Tales series. Your character’s weapons also double as musical instruments, which plays into the game’s B.A.N.D. system in combat. You can grant various beneficial effects to your party by playing songs during battle, and the effect will change depending on which character you put at the center, and which song you play. On the other side of things, Shining Resonance Refrain also has elements of a dating sim, letting you get closer to certain characters and take them on dates.

JRPG fans should be keeping an eye on Shining Resonance Refrain, and it looks like a classically traditional experience with a few wrinkles thrown into the mix.

Sonic Mania Plus (July 17)

Best PS4 Games July 2018

Fans flocked to Sonic Mania last year when it released, it was one of the best Sonic games we’ve seen in years, and even a contender for the best Sonic game of all time. Sonic Mania returned to the roots of the series with sprite art and fast-paced 2D gameplay. The original featured some fantastic level design with inventive new areas, and Sonic Mania Plus promises to expand on that even more.

Sonic Mania Plus adds on a fully playable Angel Island Zone, new story elements, and two new playable characters with Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel. These characters play similarly to the main three, but they do have exclusive moves too, like Ray’s air glide that lets him cover wide gaps or spaces. There’s a handful of other changes and additions coming like Competition Mode now allowing up to four players, an Encore Mode that features remixed stages, and optimized difficulty for boss fights, to name a few. Sonic Mania Plus is the definitive version of an already great game, and it’s the perfect time to jump back in, or pick it up for the first time if you happened to miss it on the first go.

The Banner Saga 3 (July 24)

Best PS4 Games July 2018

The Banner Saga series has been a resounding Kickstarter success, one on a short list of titles that can actually claim the same thing. Stoic Studio, the developer behind the series, was founded by former BioWare alumn, and it shows. Over two games, players have made gut-wrenching choices that can decide the lives of characters in your party, and all of that comes to a head in The Banner Saga 3.

The third game in the trilogy brings a few new options and enhancements, adding on even more unit classes and enemy types to mix up combat. A new battle waves system makes combat even more challenging and pits your team against a variety of enemies that’ll require you to adapt your strategy to overcome. Decisions from the first two games will carry over into The Banner Saga 3, and there you can expect some hard-hitting consequences if the previous games are anything to go by. The beautiful hand-painted aesthetic of The Banner Saga looks better than ever, and if you haven’t tried out this emotional strategy series yet, you really need to get on that.

Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2 (July 24)

Best PS4 Games July 2018

Mega Man is a prolific series, and for good reason, as it’s had a profound effect on the platformer genre and gaming in general. The main series is, of course, beloved but just as well-loved by fans is the spinoff series Mega Man X. The Mega Man X Legacy Collection will actually be available as two separate titles, the first four games in one and the fifth through eight games in another, but you can buy them in one all-inclusive package.

Of course, the Legacy Collections come with a host of new features and improvements. The fantastic rewind feature of the Mega Man Legacy Collections returns, letting you turn back the clock for a few seconds to avoid a hazard or take down an enemy. It’s a great tool for learning the ins and outs of each Mega Man level. You’ll also have access to a new X Challenge Mode that pits Mega Man against two different bosses at the same time, Chill Penguin and Frost Walrus for example. There’s a huge in-game museum of everything Mega Man X, including concept art, catalogs of merchandise, old commercials, an animated prequel detailing the origins of Mega Man X and Sigma, and more.

The Mega Man X Legacy Collection is tailor-made for fans of the series, but it’s also immediately accessible to any newcomers.