The Best Game of May 2016

Honorable Mention #1: Doom

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Associate Editor Chris Jecks: id Software’s DOOM doesn’t shy away from its roots. It’s brutal, gory, and a heck of a lot of fun. With a huge arsenal of insane weapons that steadily increases on your journey to hell and back, you’ll never be short of options as to how to put the waves of demons baying for your blood to rest. Tear them open with a chainsaw, rip them in two with your hands, or just pepper them with rounds from your Super Shotgun. Every kill feels just as satisfying as the last. All of this action is crammed into a visually stunning package that helps to bring gore to the forefront of your experience.

id Software has managed to make what many would expect to be repetitive and old, into an incredibly enjoyable game. The challenge is there for those who don’t want a simple walk in the fiery depths of hell, the levels are bursting with secrets and collectibles, and the controls are slippery smooth to help you pull off some incredibly bad-ass combos. All of this comes together to make DOOM a journey to hell that you won’t mind taking more than once.

Honorable Mention #2: Overwatch

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Managing Editor Ed McGlone: The competition must have been stiff if we’re sitting here in May 2016 and the fantastic, exemplary, and incredibly fun Overwatch is only a honorable mention.

Still even though it’s technically a runner-up this month, Overwatch is an instant Game of the Year contender for us and it’s going to be on gamer’s radars for years to come. Out of the gates, it has that fabled Blizzard shine that has eluded fans of the famed studio for some time. It was really important that Blizzard nailed Overwatch’s release, lest they feel the wrath of fans that were starting to get tired of being scorned. Luckily for them, they totally did.

Overwatch is everything you want in a class-based shooter. It’s fast paced, frantic, and chaotic. It features distinct characters/classes that are not only unique on the battlefield, but off the battlefield too. Even without a single-player campaign to introduce us to Overwatch’s world, so many people have fallen in love with its heroes and lore anyway because of how charming they are.

I may have lost out in voting this month to our well-deserved Game of the Month coming up next in this article, but believe me, I’ll be fighting the good fight come Game of the Year time in December when Overwatch will still be very relevant.

May 2016’s Game of the Month: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

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Senior Editor Ishmael Romero:  It’s not an easy task to close a series that has grown to be so recognizable. Naughty Dog had its work cut out for them for sure. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is the last in a series that took us to mythological cities searching for treasures nobody believed existed. We all got to witness grand adventures as we fought through waves of enemies without a care in the world. But to provide the franchise a proper sendoff, Naughty Dog decided to take a different approach with Uncharted 4.

Uncharted 4 serves more as a reflection on the life of Nathan Drake rather than one last dance with the devil. Yes, there is a new adventure that will lead players on a wild ride in search of yet another treasure; but Nate is older, wiser, and has responsibilities. As he moves through this final tale, he is forced to look back on the past and the decisions that have led him to this point in order to figure out his future. There is more to the tale of Uncharted 4 than just surviving impossible situations, as players face the reality of the games that came before.

Uncharted 4 humanizes Nathan Drake in a way that every other entry has failed to do before. Between the gunfights and puzzles, the weight that a life of danger and excitement can bring to one’s life is put on full display. A man can put himself at risk for only so long before having to pass the torch, and Uncharted 4 does a great job of helping fans accept that fact right along with the hero we’ve followed for so long.

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That does it for our May 2016 Game of the Month. Congratulations to Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End! What were your favorite games this month? Let us know in the comments!