5 Biggest Games of April 2021

While many of 2021’s expected game releases are still up in the air, April is beginning to heat things up with some notable titles hitting consoles and PCs, including a third-person looter shooter with some notable pedigree behind it, along with a mysterious but excellent-looking PS5 exclusive.

Outriders

Release date: 1 April 2021 (Xbox One | PS4 | Xbox Series X/S | PS5 | PC)

Coming from People Can Fly, who helmed the underrated Gears of War: Judgment and Bulletstorm, Outriders is a cooperative looter-shooter, where you play as an Outrider, sent to colonise a new planet but are forced to fight scavengers, beasts, and other hostile enemies across a large open-world environment. While the game does have classes and loot, it does take a more traditional third-person shooter form, full of taking cover, fast-paced gunslinging action, and an interesting story to provide some purpose behind the grinding.

Oddworld: Soulstorm

Release date: 6 April 2021 (PS4 |PS5 | PC)

That creepy but lovable alien is back, as Abe and his Gongan friends have a host of new obstacles, puzzles, and enemies to overcome. Like the previous games, Abe’s Oddessey and Abe’s Exodus, Oddworld: Soulstorm is a 2.5D adventure where you have to use timing, problem-solving, the environment, and telekinetic abilities to move through levels and get as many friends to safety. It’s great to see Abe back on the Playstation platform and we can’t wait to see how Soulstorm turns out.

Star Wars: Republic Commando

Release date: 6 April 2021 (PS4 | Switch)

Not necessarily a new game, but one which Star Wars fans should be excited for, Republic Commando is a re-release of the 2005 squad-based first-person shooter set in the Star Wars universe. Taking on the role of a Republic Commando leader, you have to blast your way through some of the galaxy’s toughest baddies while directing your squad around the battlefield. If you never played it, it’s worth a go.

Returnal

Release date: 30 April 2021 (PS5)

While the PS5 has had a few game releases since its launch, most have been cross-gen releases. Next to Godfall, Returnal is one of the first PS5 exclusives you’ll get your hands on, and it looks like one of the most fascinating too. Part third-person shooter, part bullet-hell, Returnal is a sci-fi adventure which stars Selene, a space pilot, equipped with a suit and armed with high-tech weapons and who is stranded on the alien planet Atropos — in a time loop. After every death, Selene is resurrected, following a pattern of traversing across foreign environments and combating extraterrestrial entities with growing visions in an ever changing world.

Terminator: Resistance – Enhanced

Release date: 30 April 2021 (PS5)

While not necessarily a fantastic game, Terminator: Resistance, which released on last-gen consoles in 2020, is getting an enhanced edition on PS5, and admittedly, it is pretty fun. The game is a run-of-the-mill first-person shooter, but getting the chance to join the resistance and blast away Terminators always adds a whole lot of novelty to the formula. The enhanced version features an upscaled 4k resolution, gameplay running at 60 frames per second, higher texture resolutions, improved lighting, shadows, and more detailed particle effects.

Which gaming releases are you most excited for? Let us know by tweeting @MenStuffZA, posting on our Facebook page, or commenting below.