Just a few months into 2024, it is already turning out to be quite an extraordinary year for gamers. Titles like Dragon’s Dogma 2, Pacific Drive and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown are all-time favourites for many of us. The upcoming video games releasing in May 2024 promise to continue this trend.
What are some of the titles one should play this month? Braid Anniversary Edition, the remake of the iconic 2008 puzzle platformer called Braid, was supposed to come out in April, but it was delayed to May, adding to an already strong list of games.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 once again takes the player on a journey through myth and mystery through the eyes of Senua, a woman of great courage and determination. Meanwhile, Song of Silence presents a beautifully artful fantasy world and boasts of fun, fast-paced gameplay that nevertheless forces you to use your wits and strategic thinking.
PC gamers who were waiting to role-play as a samurai taking the war to Mongol invaders in 13th century Japan on his lonesome in Ghost of Tsushima are going to get their wish fulfilled this month finally. It is the Director’s Edition, which means you are getting the absolute best version of the game.
Those with a literary bent will have fun with Playing Kafka, an educational game inspired by Franz Kafka’s stories. For sports video game enthusiasts, there is the 2024 edition of F1.
Get your nostalgia fix with games like System Shock, a remake of the 1994 classic of the same name, Animal Well, with its pixelated aesthetics and Skald: Against the Black Priory, with its 8-bit graphics, wistfully reminding us of Nintendo games of the 1980s and 1990s.
Whether you wish to be a samurai or a vampire (vicariously, of course), this month has got you covered.
Best Upcoming Video Games Of May 2024: Vampires, Samurais And More
1V Rising
Release date: 8 May
Platforms: PC, PS5
PC minimum system requirements:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 64 bit
Processor: Intel Core i5-6600, 3.3 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X, 3.5 GHz
Memory: 12 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti (Maxwell or newer), 2 GB or AMD Radeon R7 360, 2 GB
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 7 GB available space
A survival action role-playing game, V Rising lets you play as a vampire. While the concept is not new (remember Dontnod Entertainment’s 2018 hit, Vampyr?), this game is set in an open world. Your blood-sucking character, quite naturally, has to avoid lethal sun rays and find fresh, warm humans to feed on. But you go a step further and build a castle to serve as a base for your operations. You can also empower yourself by acquiring new abilities and mastering deadly weaponry.
In multiplayer mode, you can either compete or play coop with other players, raiding their castles or forming alliances. Judging by the promotional material and trailers, the game looks absolutely stunning with fluid animations and an engaging combat system. The system requirements are quite modest for a game this ambitious.
Image credit: Stunlock Studios
2Animal Well
Release date: 9 May
Platforms: PC, PS5, Switch
PC minimum system requirements:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10
Processor: 1 GHz
Memory: 1 GB RAM
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 40 MB available space
A Metroidvania game, Animal Well invites players to explore a dense, labyrinthine world full of secrets. Metroidvania games, for the uninitiated, are all about exploration and non-linear progression through the story. They are mostly, but not always, 2D sidescroller platformers.
The thing with this genre of gaming is, you either adore it or avoid it. For those who do like these kinds of games, Animal Well looks just about perfect. Its gameplay mechanics nicely combine discovery and puzzle-solving. The pixelated aesthetic and sound design are also pleasingly atmospheric.
Image credit: Bigmode
3Gift
Release date: 8 May
Platforms: PC, PS 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch
PC minimum system requirements:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i5-2300 | AMD FX-4350
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 570, 1 GB | AMD Radeon HD 7850, 2 GB
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 4 GB available space
With a visual look that is a cross between realistic and cartoonish, Gift is an action puzzle game in which you are stranded on a sinking luxury cruise ship. As the story progresses, you enter new locations that serve as levels and since the ship is sinking, some areas also change appearances. You have to use your environment and puzzles to make your escape.
Apart from the water that threatens to engulf you, there are also other dangers in the form of falling objects or even fellow passengers who have lost their sanity. You can also meet and have to assist other, sane characters in your journey.
Image credit: Toydium
4Homeworld 3
Release date: 13 May
Platforms: PC
PC minimum system requirements:
OS: Windows 10 64-bit/Windows 11 64-bit
Processor: Intel i5-6700/AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
Memory: 12 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 1060/AMD R9 480/Intel ARC A380
Storage: 40 GB available space
Sound Card: OpenAL Compatible Sound Card
Homeworld 3 is a direct sequel to Homeworld 2 and the fifth overall entry in the Homeworld franchise of science fiction RTS (real-time strategy) games. This time, you can do a lot more. The battles are more fun since you have so many options to choose from. For instance, you can attack head-on or flank your enemies and since this is space, you can also wreak havoc from above or down below.
The detailed visuals and art design make the gameplay quite immersive. If you get bored of AI opponents, you can always fire up the multiplayer mode to take on fellow gamers from around the world. Both coop and PvP (player vs player) modes are available. If gameplay videos are anything to go by, this should be a bang for your buck.
Image credit: Gearbox Publishing
5Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut
Release date: 16 May
Platforms: PC
PC minimum system requirements:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i3-7100 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 or AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT
Storage: 75 GB available space
Additional Notes: SSD Recommended
A Director’s Cut version of one of the most beautiful games ever, PC gamers will get to witness Ghost of Tsushima in all its glory. Set on Tsushima island in 1274 during the first Mongol invasion of Japan, the game offers an experience unlike any other.
Visually, it does not try to be realistic. Instead, it has a highly stylised aesthetic that echoes classic samurai films, including Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954). There is, in fact, a dedicated mode that allows the gameworld to resemble the starkly beautiful black-and-world cinematography of Kurosawa movies. This truly is a one-of-a-kind game when it comes to visuals.
Ghost of Tsushima also packs in engaging gameplay and combat that instantly transports one to the world of feudal Japan. You play Jin Sakai, a samurai warrior who has to decide whether to stick to the samurai code or adopt unconventional and dishonourable tactics to protect his homeland from the Mongols. Jin’s decisions affect the story and the world around him.
Image credit: Sucker Punch Productions
6Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Release date: 21 May
Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S
PC minimum system requirements: NA
A sequel to Ninja Theory’s 2017 atmospheric and haunting action-adventure video game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 continues the tale of Senua. This time, she is on a journey through stunning and forbidding landscapes of Iceland.
While in the first game, her motive was to rescue her lover from the clutches of Hela, the Norse goddess of death, this time she wants to save those who are suffering under oppression. The promos augur a game whose presentation is as cinematic as the original. The game looks even more detailed in terms of its visuals with the use of Unreal Engine 5 (as opposed to the first game’s Unreal Engine 4). The soundtrack comes from Scandinavian folk music band Heilung, giving a mythic feel to the gameplay.
Image credit: Ninja Theory
7Playing Kafka
Release date: 21 May
Platforms: PC
PC minimum system requirements:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10
Processor: Core i5-4440
Memory: 4096 MB RAM
Graphics: Intel Iris
Playing Kafka is based on the works of Franz Kafka, a Bohemian Jewish novelist known for his exploration of absurdist stories about modern bureaucracy and society. His best-known novella The Metamorphosis is considered one of the 20th century’s greatest literary works.
This game adapts his posthumously published dystopian novel The Trial, his unfinished last novel The Castle and a letter Letter To His Father (which is exactly what it says it is). An educational game made by Charles Games in association with Goethe-Institut, this game takes the player into a labyrinthine story and echoes the themes of his work like identity, alienation and indifferent, impersonal nature of bureaucracy.
Telling a branching story (in that your decisions affect what happens in the story), the game offers puzzles as well. The gameplay looks basic, but if you are a Kafka fan Playing Kafka is definitely worth trying.
Image credit: Charles Games
8System Shock
Release date: 21 May
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
PC minimum system requirements:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS *: Windows 7/8.1/10 (64-bit only)
Processor: Intel Core i5-2400/AMD FX-8320 or better
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 670 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or better
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 10 GB available space
RECOMMENDED:
Processor: Intel Core i7-3770/AMD FX-8350 or better
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 970 4GB/AMD Radeon R9 290 4GB or better
A remake of the 1994 first-person cyberpunk action-adventure game System Shock, it was released for PC last year and was received extremely well by both critics and audiences. Now, it is coming to more platforms.
This version is a completely new game with modernised visuals, new controls, user interface, gameplay mechanics, sound design and music. In the story, a psychotic artificial intelligence programme called SHODAN takes control of a space station (called Citadel Station) and turns your fellow crew members into her side. Now, her purpose is to do the same for the Earth. And it is your job to stop her designs.
Image credit: Prime Matter
9Wuthering Waves
Release date: 22 May
Platforms: PC, iOS, Android
PC minimum system requirements:
OS version: Windows 10 64bit or Windows 11 64bit
CPU: Intel i5 (9th Gen) / Ryzen 2700
Memory: 16GB
GPU: GTX 1060 / RX 570
Storage: 30GB
In this free-to-play game (might contain in-game purchases for additional content or features), you embark on an adventure in a ravaged world. The official description of the game promises a deep backstory and many secrets to uncover.
The traversal is engaging with options like grapple and wall dash. The combat looks fun and allows the player to master many abilities and mechanics like dodge and evade tactics. The visuals, and the gameplay, suggest that the game is quite similar to Genshin Impact.
Image credit: Kuro Game
10Song of Silence
Release date: 23 May
Platforms: PC
PC minimum system requirements:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS *: 64-bit Windows 7 or newer
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-8400T CPU @ 1.70GHz
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1050
DirectX: Version 10
Storage: 5 GB available space
RECOMMENDED:
OS: 64-bit Windows 10
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-7700T CPU @ 2.90GHz or better
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1070
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 5 GB available space
With its gorgeous painterly art style and a lore-rich fantasy setting, Song of Silence pits the player against the invasion of… Silence. In this game, Silence appears to be an all-devouring monster.
The gameplay looks a lot of fun with auto-battler mechanics and there are combat cards, spells and a variety of units. The skirmishes are very short and last only a minute, so plans must be formulated quickly. Essentially, the game combines elements of RTS and turn-based games with an excellent presentation, visuals, gameplay and music. If these things appeal to you, don’t miss this one.
Image credit: Chimera Entertainment
11F1 24
Release date: 28 May
Platforms: PC, Xbox X/S. PS4, PS5
PC minimum system requirements:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 64-bit Version 21H1 or newer
Processor: Intel Core i3-2130 | Core i5-9600k (VR) or AMD FX 4300 | Ryzen 5 2600X (VR)
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1060 (6GB) | GTX 1660Ti (VR) | RTX 2060 (RT) // AMD RX 480 (8GB) | RX 590 (VR) | 6700XT (RT) // Intel Arc A380 (VR/RT)
DirectX: Version 12
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 100 GB available space
Sound Card: Direct X Compatible
VR Support: Keyboard and mouse required
Additional Notes: GPU must support D3D_SHADER_MODEL_6_6.
F1 2024 is the game for you if you wish to have a definitive Formula One gaming experience. There are multiple improvements from F1 2023, including a Dynamic Handling System, which is quite involving, as well as updated graphic quality. Though these probably do not warrant a whole new game, but that is the nature of licensed sports games.
If you do own the last year’s game, it might be better to wait a year for the next year’s edition.
Image credit: Electronic Arts
12Skald: Against the Black Priory
Release date: 30 May
Platforms: PC
PC minimum system requirements:
OS: Windows 7+
Processor: x64 1 GHz or faster
Memory: 1 GB RAM
DirectX: Version 9.0
Storage: 200 MB available space
RECOMMENDED:
OS *: Windows 7+
Processor: x64 1 GHz or faster
Memory: 2 GB RAM
DirectX: Version 10
Storage: 200 MB available space
With a forbidding name, SKALD: Against the Black Priory takes the player on a journey through a fantasy world formed of retro pixel graphics. If you played games like Super Mario and Contra on those Nintendos (or their counterfeits that flooded the Indian markets), you can imagine the visual style. If it doesn’t appeal to you, skip this game. If it does, there is quite a bit of pleasure to be had from this title.
There is even a CRT filter to make the game look like what it would have looked if we were playing it on those boxy CRT monitors or TVs we used to have before LCD screens became cheaper. The well-realised game world is full of creatures, branching stories and engaging battles all rooted in Lovecraftian mythology.
Image credit: Raw Fury
