For Honor
What kind of game is this? In For Honor, you fight as a Viking, knight, or samurai with various classes against other players and NPCs. Different modes allow you to either control zones, take enemy positions, or simply slaughter foes until they have no troops left.
What makes it so special? The focus of For Honor is on combat with swords, axes, and the like. The action game places a strong emphasis on making the fight against your opponent as personal as possible.
Combos, parries, blocks, and feints are employed, making For Honor’s combat system unique. Unlike other medieval sword fighting games, the focus is more on one-on-one combat and team play.
The modes of For Honor promote smaller skirmishes, such as in 4v4, rather than large battles with dozens of participants. This distinguishes the game from competitors like Mordhau.
Moreover, each hero has a unique playstyle, their own weapons, and abilities that make them special. Thus, For Honor has a certain feel of fighting games like Street Fighter, where you also select your fighter based on their moves.
Which games come closest to For Honor? Possible competitors for For Honor include Chivalry and Mordhau. Both games also appeal to fans of medieval battles.
However, the aforementioned games are more focused on large battles, similar to what is seen in Battlefield in the shooter genre. This removes the tactical and strategic aspect that makes For Honor so special.
Alternatively, recent entries in the Assassin’s Creed series are somewhat akin to the gameplay, particularly the latest entry Valhalla, which, however, does not have multiplayer in this form.
No real alternatives exist. The colleagues at GameStar also believe that For Honor is still unique in 2021.
Pokémon GO
What kind of game is this? In Pokémon GO, you stroll through the real world as a trainer with your smartphone and catch the little monsters that have been around for decades through movies, series, and games.
What makes it so special? Pokémon GO uses something called “augmented reality.” Your playing field is the real world, which you walk through and in which you can find, battle, and catch the little pocket monsters through the lens of your smartphone or directly on your mobile screen.
The mobile game was the first to successfully make augmented reality interesting for so many players. Instead of playing alone in front of the computer or console, you go outside and actively experience what Ash Ketchum and other trainers in the Pokémon universe experience in other media.
Another feature of Pokémon GO is that it incorporates fitness into the game. Gamers are often said to be lazy. But Pokémon GO forces you to be active. If you do not move by going outside or counting your steps on a fitness device, you will not be able to hatch eggs requiring a certain number of steps.
Which games come closest to Pokémon GO? There are several games that have tried to replicate the success of Pokémon GO, but none have succeeded so far.
From Niantic, the company behind Pokémon GO, came Wizards Unite. It plays in the world of Harry Potter and also tries to incorporate the real world. However, Wizards Unite has a significantly smaller community: 10 million+ downloads in the Play Store compared to 100 million+ for Pokémon GO.
For those who value the fitness aspect of Pokémon GO, alternatives like Wii Fit or Kinect Sports are available. However, both require a console and cannot be played outside easily.
Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
What kind of game is this? After your unit is betrayed by a former comrade, you fight your way through Ghost Recon: Breakpoint on an island occupied by paramilitary units. Your objectives are revenge on the traitor and uncovering what the heck is happening on this island. You are a “Ghost,” an elite soldier who has received excellent training in various disciplines.
What makes it so special? The Ghost Recon series combines military simulations with the thrill of strolling through enemy territories as a lone wolf or in a small squad. The soldiers are not overly powerful, and too many adversaries can easily overwhelm you.
The games convey the feeling of playing a real elite soldier who is part of a special unit of the best fighters around. The realism serves to make the character not feel like a super-soldier, as is often the case in games with a similar approach.
Breakpoint offers a massive world to explore, which immediately becomes dangerous if you are not careful. Different specializations such as scouts and medics enhance the immersion to fit your soldier into exactly the fantasy you envision for him.
Ghost Recon: Breakpoint had a rough start, but it has developed into a really good shooter for 2021 through constant updates and improvements .
Which games come closest to Breakpoint? The best alternative to Breakpoint is likely its predecessor, Wildlands. Many fans still enjoy it, and at the release of Breakpoint, it was considered the better Ghost Recon.
Otherwise, the military simulation ARMA allows you to play your own soldier in a realistic setting. However, you have fewer gameplay mechanics like specializations and dedicated squad play, focusing more on military operations and planning.
Scavengers
What kind of game is this? Scavengers belongs to the rare genre of PvEvP games and combines the gameplay of battle royale, survival games, and open-world shooters. After the world is trapped in eternal ice due to the destruction of the moon, you are tasked with retrieving important data from Earth and bringing it to humanity’s last bastion in a space station.
What makes it so special? The combination of different genres creates something completely new in Scavengers. You start like in a battle royale with nothing and must first find weapons and equipment.
Then, instead of shooting other players dead, you must collect data. This works through PvE missions in which you defeat NPC enemies and analyze crystals or take down boss adversaries. The latter are so strong that you won’t be able to succeed just with your team; you’ll need help.
Thus, you forge fleeting alliances for the greater good and can later decide whether to betray your ally or risk being betrayed. It is only after a certain amount of data is collected that you can escape and win.
Scavengers features various characters with unique abilities and survival content. The big storm that constantly limits the playing field is accompanied by smaller storms. If you stay in these, you will get cold and need to warm up. Additionally, you need food to restore your stamina.
There is also a crafting system with two tiers. In the rounds themselves, you can craft equipment and even the special weapons of the characters. In the menu, you use collected materials to unlock new items and thus continually adapt your playstyle.
Which games come closest to Scavengers? The Cycle is also a PvEvP shooter that we really enjoyed during testing. The gameplay is similar; however, weapons and equipment cannot be found but only purchased with gathered currency.
Additionally, the survival aspect and the selection of different characters that make Scavengers unique are missing. The focus in The Cycle is more on the gameplay itself.
However, Scavengers is yet to come. A beta for PC will start in March, with early access planned for 2021. The director spoke with us about how Scavengers intends to succeed.
Do you know one or more of these unique games, or do you even play them? What do you think of them? Do you know any other games that have no alternative and are absolutely unique in what they are and do? Discuss with us in the comments!
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