The month of March brings with it opportunities to rise from the dead, discover new hunting partners, work as a team, build an army and cook away to your heart’s content.
Stronghold: Warlords
Build your empire one move at a time with this strategy title. Featuring East Asian cultures for the first time, Stronghold: Warlords is a real-time strategy adventure where players will take their empire from humble beginnings to being an all-conquering force. By carefully managing their supplies and people, players will take turns against, or take command of, a wide range of units as they face off against the game’s adaptive AI.
With 31 campaign missions, multiplayer modes, skirmish modes and a free-build mode, there is something for everyone in this latest chapter of the series from Firefly Studios. Away from the battlefield, players will be able to build their own stronghold to suit their needs. Focus on industry and advancement or build the strongest military and strengthen your borders – it is all down to the player’s choice.
Stronghold: Warlords will be available on PC from March 9*
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse
The dead will rise again in this undead adventure. Trying to make a living in 1933, Edward “Stubbs” Stubblefield makes his living as a travelling salesman. While this is good enough for his love, Maggie Monday, it is not for her family and Stubbs’ story comes to a tragic end…or does it?. Rising from the dead 26 years later, Stubbs decides to get his revenge on the people of Punchbowl, turning the city into a zombie hub one brain at a time. With an undead horde at his side, Stubbs will search for the Monday family for a long-overdue reunion.
With the retro-futuristic cityscape setting, Stubbs the Zombie is an updated version of the 2005 classic Xbox release. Players will be able to build their horde their way, with a range of weapons also available to Stubbs as well. From using severed body parts to ray guns, the options are wide-ranging for players. For those looking for another way to play, they can team up with a friend in couch co-op gameplay to relive some classic hijinks.
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse will be available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC from March 16*
Overcooked! All You Can Eat
Step into the kitchen for this collection. Featuring all the levels and challenges from both Overcooked games, All You Can Eat is the definitive collection of culinary capers. Along with the levels that players know and love, this collection will add in new levels, new chefs, and a whole new level of mayhem to proceedings. Create menus and meals against the clock – and each other – to become the best chef in the world, with both offline and online play fully integrated for the first time.
This new collection isn’t just about adding new levels and characters, but also about making the game as accessible as possible for players. The new Assist Mode brings new options for gameplay, including slowing down the timeout counters and the ability to skip levels. All You Can Eat will also include scalable UI and will have options to make the game’s text dyslexia-friendly alongside colour blindness assistance.
Overcooked! All You Can Eat will be available on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch from March 23*
Monster Hunter Rise
New battles are on the horizon in this latest addition to the Monster Hunter franchise. Taking inspiration from ancient Japan, Monster Hunter Rise takes players to Kamura Village, an idyllic village with lush ecosystems. More than half a century after the devastation of the last calamity, Hunters must face a host of new monsters – like the shape-shifting Aknosom or the amphibious Tetranadon – to become the greatest hunter, now with a little help from their hunting partners the Palamutes. These fully customisable creatures can be used in solo and group hunts as well as being a helpful way of travelling across different terrains.
Players who pre-order will unlock Palamute Retriever and Palico Forest Cat costumes and a Novice Talisman, with a limited edition SteelBook case and keyrings also being available through select retailers. The Deluxe Edition includes a copy of the game and the Deluxe Kit, which includes new gestures, a Samurai pose set, Kabuki face paint, a new hairstyle and three additional armour sets. In addition, a Monster Hunter Rise limited edition Pro Controller will be available as will a Monster Hunter Rise themed Nintendo Switch console, which comes with a download code for the Deluxe Edition.
Monster Hunter Rise will be available on Nintendo Switch from March 26*
It Takes Two
The title says it all for this co-op caper. Unable to cope with the reality of her parents Cody and May getting divorced, a young girl named Rose creates two dolls representing her parents so that she can keep her family together. In a twist of events, the dolls come to life in a new world full of obstacles for them to overcome. Along the way, the doll forms of Cody and May must delve deep into their own story together and find the connections they once treasured in order to find a way out of their new reality and back to their daughter.
The second title from Josef Fares and Hazelight Studios, It Takes Two follows the same gameplay style as their debut A Way Out. Two players will work together at the same time on a split-screen, with each controlling one character. Players can connect and play either online with a random player or make use of the Friend Pass – which allows a friend to join a player in co-op for free without their own copy of the game for some more familiar company. Either way, both couch and online co-op play are available in this genre-bending, light-hearted tale all about connections and relationships.
It Takes Two will be available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 4 from March 26*
Free to Play
Xbox players with an active Gold or Game Pass Ultimate subscription will have four new titles to download and play for free this month. On Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, Warface: Breakout will be available from March 1-31*, with VALA: Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse available from March 16 to April 15*. On Xbox 360 – and Xbox One & Xbox Series X/S via backwards compatibility – Metal Slug 3 will be available from March 1-15*, followed by Port Royale 3 from March 16-31*
Over on PlayStation, active Plus subscribers will be able to download and play four titles for free this month. From March 2*, Remnant: From The Ashes will be available on PlayStation 4, Maquette will be available on PlayStation 5, with Farpoint available for PSVR. Rounding out the selection will be Final Fantasy VII Remake on PlayStation 4. However, please note that players who choose to download this version of Final Fantasy VII Remake on PlayStation 4 will not be eligible for the PlayStation 5 upgrade when it launches in the summer.
On Prime Gaming, there are five new titles to download and play for free this month for players with connected Twitch and Amazon Prime accounts. Joining the library of games available will be Blasphemous, Boomerang Fu, Bomber Crew: Deluxe Edition, SkyDrift and Tenagami. Also available on Prime Gaming will be drops for Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, Star Wars: Squadrons and FIFA 21 among others throughout the month. Full details on how to claim these games and the bonuses can be found on the Prime Gaming website.
Also Released This Month
March 2* – Maquette (PS4, PS5, PC), Harvest Moon: One World (Switch), Yakuza: Like A Dragon (PS5), Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 (Xbox One, PS4, Switch, Stadia, PC)
March 3* – 3 out of 10 (Switch), Revita (PC- Steam Early Access), Bang-On Balls: Chronicles (PC – Steam Early Access), Sir Lovelot (Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC, Switch)
March 4* – Kill It with fire (Xbox One, PS4, Switch), Ranch Simulator (PC), Sea of Solitude (Switch)
March 5* – Harvest Moon: One World (Switch), New Super Lucky Tale (Switch), Gun*Gal 2 (Switch), Vectronom (Switch), On The Road – Truck Simulator (PS4), Evoland Legendary Edition (PS4), Eternum Ex (Switch), Dex (Switch), Two Point Hospital: Jumbo Edition (PS4, Switch), FORM/Twilight Path (PS4), Hellpoint (PS4, Switch), Iris Fall (PS4, Switch), Re:ZERO – The Prophecy of the Throne (PS4, Switch)
March 9* – Apex Legends (Switch)
March 11* – Hunting Simulator 2 (PS4, Xbox One), Monster Truck Championship (PS4, Xbox One), Monster Energy Supercross 4 (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
March 12* – Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Switch), Wheel of Fortune (Switch), Trivial Pursuit Live (Switch), Risk (Switch), Yupitergrad (PS4), Baobabs Mausoleum (Switch)
March 16* – Mundaun (Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC, Switch), Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning (Switch), Samurai Showdown (Xbox Series X/S)
March 18* – Minute of Islands (Xbox One, PS4, Switch, PC), Marvel’s Avengers (PS5, Xbox Series X/S)
March 19* – Plants v Zombies: Battle for Neighbourville Complete Edition (Switch), Returnal (PS5), Can’t Drive This (PS4), Root Film (PS4, Switch), Theme Park Simulator (Switch), Nightmare Boy (PS4, Switch), Do Not Feed The Monkeys (Switch), Zenith Collector’s Edition (Switch), Bladed Fury (PS4, Switch)
March 23* – Tunche (Xbox One, PS4, PC, Switch), Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town (Switch), Tennis World Tour 2 (Xbox One, PS4)
March 24* – Tales From The Borderlands (Switch)
March 25* – Dandy Ace (PC)
March 26* – Balan Wonderworld (Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Switch, PC), Terminator: Resistance – Enhanced (PS5), Tanuki’s Justice (Switch), Golden Force (PS4, Switch), Kaze and the Wild Masks (Xbox One, PS4, Switch), Hotshot Racing (PS4, Switch), Spacebase Startopia (Xbox One, PS4, PC), Beholder Collector’s Edition (Switch)
March 30* – Evil Genius 2: World Domination (PC), Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5+2.5 Remix (PC), Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue (PC), Kingdom Hearts 3+ ReMind (PC), Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory (PC)
March 31* – Bugsnax (PS4, PS5), XIII (Switch), WRC 9 (Switch)
*Dates refer to UK release only. International dates may vary and are subject to change. Information correct at time of writing.
Words by Megan Roxburgh
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