May 2023 is here, and the excitement around video game releases for the month is high as it has always been. But unlike previous months, May doesn’t seem to be offering too many exciting titles.
Anticipation is the highest for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which will release only on Nintendo Switch. Besides that, only one other game has got everyone very interested — The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. Both games are the talk of the gaming community for at least one obvious reason — their respective legacies.
These two games have taken up almost every space of gaming conversations around May 2023 releases over the last few months. The Legend of Zelda is, of course, a game franchise like no other. It has been going strong since 1986, making it one of the longest-running franchises in video games. On the other hand, The Lord of the Rings has its own special place in the hearts of both literature and cinema lovers. The game has its lens on Gollum, who has been immortalised on screen as one most famous characters in cinematic history by the inimitable Andy Serkis. This makes it all the more interesting to see if the game will be able to reach anywhere close to the appreciation both the books and the movies have garnered to date.
Besides these two games, the best upcoming video games in May are titles which look quite entertaining from what their trailers and plot reveal. Among these are games that fit perfectly in the action-adventure genre and others that are likely to be purchased by those who like racing games with a dash of fun such as Ravenlok and a new LEGO game on racing.
It is also worth noting that most of the video game release dates converge towards the end of the month, especially on 23 May.
The top video game releases of May 2023
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Ravenlok
Release date: 4 May
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Ravenlok is an action-adventure game developed and published by Toronto-based indie studio Cococucumber. The game’s design follows a 3D pixel art aesthetic, making its almost fairytale-like story more engaging.
Its eponymous protagonist is a young girl who is transported by a magical mirror to a fantastical kingdom ruled by the evil Caterpillar Queen. There, Ravenlok has to defeat monsters and bring an end to the terrifying reign of the queen by using her sword, shield, magic and an arsenal of bombs.
Image credit: Cococucumber
Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2
Release date: 11 May
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch
Developed and published by Japanese video game studio CyberConnect2, the game is a sequel to 2021’s Fuga: Melodies of Steel.
The single-player role-playing game (RPG) is set a year after the events of its predecessor, in which the protagonists won a major war and established peace.
The sequel follows Malt, the main protagonist of the previous game, on a mission with others to prevent their highly advanced but haywire tank, Taranis, from causing untold destruction. In order to stop Taranis, they must take the help of Tarascus, a similar tank which was their enemy in the previous game.
Like the original, decisions taken in the sequel affect the outcome of the game.
Image credit: CyberConnect2
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Release date: 12 May
Platforms: Switch
Fans of The Legend of Zelda franchise have been waiting with bated breath for the release of Tears of the Kingdom, a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017). A Kotaku report revealed on 1 May that physical copies of the game, which were sold ahead of its release, were reselling for hundreds of dollars in the secondary market. The report also said that some players even tried to pirate it after its online release.
The craze around the game is particularly high as Nintendo has kept the story a secret. All that the company has officially revealed is that it is an “epic adventure across the land and skies of Hyrule” where players will “harness the power of Link’s new abilities to fight back against the malevolent forces that threaten the kingdom.”
Even the trailers of the game do not reveal details, which means gamers will know of the story only when it officially drops. The trailer, however, reveals some key characters, including the primary ones Link and Zelda, alongside famous characters such as Lady Riju, Prince Sidon and Ganondorf. Some new roles are also teased in the trailers.
Image credit: Nintendo
Trinity Trigger
Release date: 16 May
Platforms: PS4, PS5, PC, Switch
Trinity Trigger is set in a mythical land called Trinitia, where a young man named Cyan lives with his companions Elise and Zantis. The land is torn between a battle between the Gods of Order and the Gods of Chaos, who agree to decide the fate of humanity with a battle of champions picked by the gods.
When Cyan is chosen as the Warrior of Chaos to fight the Warrior of Order, he decides to defy the task and save Trinitia with the help of his companions as well as creatures that transform into weapons.
The game is an action RPG developed by and was originally released in Japan in September 2022. It is now set for an English release via American game publisher XSEED Games. The game can be played by up to three gamers working as a team. It can also be played solo in which the player can switch between Cyan, Elise and Zantis throughout the game.
Image credit: XSEED Games
LEGO 2K Drive
Release date: 19 May
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
LEGO 2K Drive is a racing game where players battle it out in the fictional Bricklandia to win the Sky Trophy. It is like any other racing game, with the difference being that the cars and the environment, including racetracks, off-road terrain, and open waters, are designed like LEGO creations.
In the game, players can explore Bricklandia at any length. This is because of the open-world environment. The cars can quickly convert into just about anything the players can imagine, from one that looks like a high-speed racer to another that looks like a van with a rooster body. There are multiple game modes to choose from, including Story and Cup Series as well as mini-games.
The game has been developed by Visual Concepts Entertainment, and its publisher is 2K.
Image credit: LEGO.2K
After Us
Release date: 23 May
Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
After Us is a beautifully drawn, atmospheric game which is set in an apocalyptic world.
There is no life on Earth anymore and so, Gaia, a spirit-like entity that has the power of restoring life, must travel the world and give the planet a second chance. While doing so, Gaia will also have to save the souls of the last animals who died and bring them back to something known as Mother’s Ark. But Gaia will also have to fight oil-covered things known as Devourers that may have brought the Earth to its destruction.
Private Division is the publisher of this single-player game, which has been developed by Piccolo.
Image credit: Private Division
Amnesia: The Bunker
Release date: 23 May
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch
The fourth instalment of the acclaimed Amnesia horror game franchise, The Bunker is one of the best upcoming video games in May 2023.
It is set during World War I. The player character, a French soldier named Henri Clément, has to escape a bunker by any means possible because lurking in its dark corners are terrifying monsters.
Players have to help Henri craft new weapons and keep the lights on at all times for survival. At the same time, Henri must also find out the truth behind what happened to his fellow soldiers and what has caused the haunting of the bunker.
The game has been created by Malmö-based Swedish independent game developer Frictional Games, who are known for their critically lauded horror titles such as Soma (2015) and the Penumbra trilogy (2007-2008).
Image credit: Frictional Games
Miasma Chronicles
Release date: 23 May
Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Miasma Chronicles comes from Swedish game developer The Bearded Ladies, best known for the widely praised Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden (2019) around which an animated movie was announced in 2020.
Like Mutant Year Zero, Miasma Chronicles is described as a tactical RPG where player characters take turns to defeat opponents. The story of the game is set in the not-so-distant future. It follows Elvis, who joins his older brother, a robot, to find answers to why a powerful force called Miasma turned America into a wasteland. Elvis, however, is in possession of a glove that can control Miasma.
Image credit: The Bearded Ladies/@TheBeardedLadies/Facebook
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
Release date: 25 May
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Set in the universally beloved The Lord of the Rings franchise, Gollum gets its name from the iconic character created by J.R.R. Tolkien. According to its makers, the story of the game is completely original as it is set between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) books.
“We have the story that we all know from the book [LOTR], but everything that happens to him before he appears in the book are the main things we will see in our game,” Carsten Fichtelmann, CEO and co-founder of Daedalic Entertainment, told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019.
In a way, this means that everything in the game will be about Gollum before fans saw him in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), the first film in Peter Jackson’s acclaimed trilogy.
For this purpose, German developer Daedalic Entertainment inked a deal with Middle-earth Enterprises, which holds rights to literary elements of the two works by Tolkien.
Even though the story will be around Gollum and several new faces could be seen in the game, some reports say that famous characters such as the wizard Gandalf and Elven King Thranduil could also feature.
The game is one of the most-anticipated video games of 2023 not only because of its LOTR connection but also because of Daedalic Entertainment’s history of developing or publishing some of the best-known video game titles in recent years, including Deponia (2012) and Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (2016).
Image credit: Daedalic Entertainment and Nacon
Company of Heroes 3
Release date: 30 May
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S
The real-time strategy game is set during World War II, with its focus on battles in Italy and North Africa on either side of the Mediterranean Sea. Players can pick from any of the four warring forces — the US forces, the British, the Wehrmacht and the Deutsches Afrikakorps.
There are also the international Battlegroups, which are forces from Italy, Canada and India who fought in the war.
The game has a feature called Full Tactical Pause, which lets players pause the game, set multiple commands for the troops, and then resume a combined follow-up action based on the commands. Strategy, which changes according to terrain and forces, is key to winning the battles in this game.
Published by SEGA and developed by Relic Entertainment, the game was originally released on 23 February 2023 to universal critical acclaim. The makers are now bringing the game to the players of PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Image credit: SEGA
This article first appeared on Augustman India
(Hero image: SEGA; Featured image: Daedalic Entertainment and Nacon)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
'Elden Ring' won Game of the Year 2023 at the Game Developers Choice Awards.
Around 15-18 games are releasing in May 2023.
Multiplayer first-person shooter or action games, such as 'PUBG,' 'Fortnite Battle Royale' and 'Counter-Strike: Global Offensive,' remain popular games in 2023.
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Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.
