BG’s Game of the Month for July 2018 is Octopath Traveller

The dry spell of July has ended. There were, however, several interesting new titles released that caught our eyes. So the staff conferred, and we have decided upon July’s Games of the Month.

Beating The Heat

Usually, summer is the time to sit back, relax, and catch up on the gaming backlog that’s been tempting us during the year. July of 2018 was a bit on the slower side of blockbuster releases. as has been standard for the industry. But while the coming months will see the release of plenty of big-name franchises, some sleeper hits surfaced as the toast of July.

With a hectic Fall release schedule bringing about new and exciting games, keep these three titles on the brain for a fun romp around.

Game of the Month – #1: Octopath Traveller

The darling new Switch exclusive Octopath Traveller blew everyone’s expectations right out of the water. A beautiful art style and some great world design endeared most of the staff to the 2.5D JRPG. Eight branching protagonists, each with their own personal narrative, showcased Octopath’s unique approach to storytelling.

And along with a deep combat system and an obvious reverence for classic genre influences, Octopath won our game of the month by a landslide.

#2: No Man’s Sky NEXT

The initial release of No Man’s Sky can’t be described as anything other than an utter debacle. The hype surrounding Hello Games’ dream project reached a fever pitch due to lofty promises made by Sean Murray and the marketing team. When gamers found out that many of those promises remained unfulfilled upon release. the backlash was angry and merciless.

I don’t envy being the developers of Hello Games at this point in time, having that backlash front-and-center while having to continue their work. But Hello Games quietly kept introducing significant updates to their game, slowly but surely introducing features such as base building, ship customization, and actual narrative elements. With the release of No Man’s Sky NEXT last month, a whole slew of initially promised features were added to make this the game that it should have been.

We at Brutal Gamer salute your efforts and recognize No Man’s Sky NEXT as our second place winner for July.

#3: Mega Man Legacy Collection

The sad fate of Mega Man as a forgotten gaming phenomenon still continues, as SEGA struggles to produce a new title for the guy. But for those of you nostalgic for the older titles, SEGA released the Mega Man 1 & 2 Legacy Collection on every modern platform under the sun during July.

Now, you can relive Mega Man 1-6 and Mega Man 7-10 with both Legacy Collections in your library. Metal Man, Fire Man, and Plant Man await their renewed beatings by our intrepid hero. Face off against the cadre of classic bosses with our third place Game of the Month winner.

Interested in releases for the month ahead? Check out the upcoming games of August here.