What to play this weekend: story-filled role-playing games galore!

Happy Friday, Watchers! Welcome to the weekend. It’s time to grab a beverage, sit down, and take a nice deep breath. Settled in? Good.

We have a slew of story-rich games for your adventuring pleasure this week. Let’s check them out!

Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes (JRPG)

Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes is the sequel to the 2022 Eiyuden Chronicles: Rising Japanese role-playing game, releasing this week after two COVID-19 delays. EC:HH was led by Yoshitaka Murayama and is considered a spiritual successor to his Suikoden series (created during his tenure at Konami). The game was funded on Kickstarter in 2020, its $4.5 million making it the third-most successful video game Kickstarter.

Explore through the war-torn continent of Allraan with a party pulled from over 100 distinct characters, each of whom you recruit during the story to wield their unique abilities. Progress through the storyline through 6-party turn-based battles, broad wars, 1-on-1 fights, minigames, town building, and more. Your choices in game progress the fate of Allraan and the development of your own fortress town, which acts as your central hub for both story and character growth.

Get Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes for $49.99 for Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC on Steam.

SAND LAND (ARPG)

Our next title, SAND LAND, is an action role-playing game based on a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama (creator of the original Dragon Ball series). Bandai Namco announced both anime and video game projects based on the comic series in 2023. The first half of the anime series premiered in mid-March on Disney+ and Hulu, but fans had to wait until this week for the release of the video game.

You are adventuring as the Fiend Prince, Beelzebub. You and your companions, Sheriff Rao and demon chaperone Thief, are on an zany adventure in search of a hidden spring (did I mention the extreme water shortage in the desert world?). But finding this rumored water source is just the beginning, as it opens up a full realm beyond its discovery. Learn your powers and lead your band of misfits in exploration of the world, unlock and level up vehicles (culminating in battle tanks, motorbikes, and jump-bots) with weapons, engines, and suspensions, and tackle the many dangers that populate the vast world such as bandits, wildlife, and the Royal Army.

Get SAND LAND for $59.99 for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC on Steam and Epic Games Store.

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU (Metroidvania)

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, a metroidvania-style adventure, has both a rich and creative story and gorgeous original score behind it. Voice actor Abubakar Salim (who voiced Rokhan in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth) is both the game’s creative lead and founder of Surgent Studios, the developer behind Tales of Kenzera. The title was inspired by Salim’s experiences of grief at the loss of his own father, who inspired a love of video games in Salim in the 90s.

You start as the grieving Zau, a young shaman, reading a Bantu tale written by your recently-deceased father. As a shaman, you wield the cosmic powers of the Sun and the Moon through two masks, but you are new and untested. It’s your job to survive the beautiful and treacherous lands of Kenzera to bargain with the God of Death to return your father from darkness. But beware — you’re entering mythological lands inspired by Bantu tales, haunted by lost ancestral spirits, untold lore of chaos and order, and three mighty beings waiting to challenge your progress in saving your father’s soul.

Get Tales of Kenzera: ZAU for $19.99 for Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC on Steam, Epic Games Store, and EA app for Windows.

Fallout 4 (RPG)

It’s time for our bonus round! Fallout 4 received a free next-gen update on all platforms this week. The major patch includes huge graphics improvements (including performance and quality modes with fixed graphics targets), additional content and quests, free creation club items, and support for widescreen and ultra-widescreen monitors. This is the title you want to play if you enjoyed the TV show but don’t want to tackle multiplayer. And if you already have Fallout 4 but want to obtain the next-gen update, we’ve got instructions for download ready.

Since I have never played Fallout 4, I turned to my fellow writers for feedback on the popular, game-of-the-year winning title:

• “You should be playing Fallout 4 for its rich narrative that you can just right on ignore from any subsequent play through, its gorgeous scenery of post apocalyptic Boston, its compelling companions (most of which you can romance) and to give Dogmeat skritches. You wouldn’t want to make Dogmeat sad, would you?” Rob F.
• “I shot someone in the knee and his skull exploded. I don’t know if that helps but it made me laugh.” Nick M.
• “Biggest problem with Fallout 4: Dogmeat can get hurt :(” Liz H.
  “Biggest plus of Fallout 4 (compared to others) Dogmeat can’t die.” Rob F.
• “It probably bears mention that one of the companions you can romance is voiced by Matt Mercer… he’s one of the few of them who doesn’t get all uppity when you start stealing stuff from people so I usually end up romancing him.” Anna B.

Get Fallout 4 for $19.99 for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC on Steam and Epic Games Store, though if you’re ready to get sucked into the post-apocalypse, we recommend getting the Game of the Year edition for $39.99. Fallout 4 is also available through Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus Extra subscription game catalogs.

Now tell us, Watchers — what are you playing this weekend? Share in the comments below, and we’ll feature your new interest in next week’s round-up!