Songs of Silence is free on Epic

Monday, nothing happened and GTA VI totally wasn’t delayed again, so go check out Prime/Luna, or whatever it is called now. Tuesday, there is a game sequel to a Miley Cyrus and John Travolta film in Barkour. Wednesday, Sony did a State of Play that was so focused on Japan that a new PS5 was announced and you can’t have it, and Ranger’s Path has you watching some bears before they steal some pic-a-nic baskets. Thursday, Nintendo did a direct so short that most people call it a movie trailer, and Valve made an Xbox Series X|S that’s worth buying, maybe. Awful controller design though.

Moving on to the Epic Games Store and it is a triple bill, simply to make me want to jump in the river and drown myself. We’ll start with the mobile and PC offering, because at this point it is easier to do that than faff around working up to that: ScourgeBringer.

Released in 2020 and set in a mysterious monolith that appeared in the sky, you play as Kyhra, a young woman from a clan who is tasked with taking on the titular ScourgeBringer – i.e, the monolith. Given the number of Rogue-likes/lites we see daily, I don’t want to blow smoke up another one for it to underserve to some people, but of the 2020 offerings, ScourgeBringer does stand out effectively as an arena battling title with nice movement. I do love a bit of nice, smooth movement with my action games.

Something else I do love, to the point it is a bit detrimental to my Steam Wishlist being manageable, is games with a clear and interesting sense of style that feels somewhat unique. Songs of Silence is just that. Released this time last year (a year and one day now), Songs of Silence focuses on a world beleaguered by what we might call religious strife, or a typical old-firm Sunday in Scotland. A race of people is attacked by the crusade that wants to disrupt what these people call the “divine hymn,” and as usual, we can blame White people.

The crusade wants nothing but silence – again, this just sounds like a Karen who has too much sway with the HOA. However, that isn’t why I’m excited about this one, but rather that it is absolutely stunning with unique art direction from Christian Reiner and the art team, which is really unique in terms of 4X games. “What about the cards? It looks like a cardbuilder,” it’s sort of not – those are abilities and resources, not so much about RNG but rather more about actions and how to proceed. Songs of Silence is a turn-based strategy that can be slightly bogged down by some of those elements, but it is stunning all the same.

The third and final game on offer this week is an odd one that I’m surprised to see for a number of reasons. Zero Hour is a tactical FPS title similar to Ready or Not, albeit without that high expectation of replacing SWAT 4. Released into early access in 2020 and full release last September, the Bangladeshi developer AttritoM7 Productions sets Zero Hour closer to home in grounded, fictional settings. The difference between Zero Hour and Ready or Not are starkly apparent, as the former is noted as being quite buggy, but also for its options of modes.

Ready or Not and VOID Interactive have several problems, but one thing I do love about them is the focus on slower, team-based co-op. Zero Hour, on the other hand, goes a bit more “traditional,” offering those modes as well as your typical online PvP offerings in bomb defusal and team deathmatch. Of course, there are going to be comparisons. However, that’s what’s important to highlight here: Despite the similarities, both are going for different experiences in different settings.

All this week, you can pick up Zero Hour, Songs of Silence, and ScourgeBringer on the Epic Games Store for PC, with the latter also available for Android worldwide and iOS in the EU. Moving on to next week, and I’ll be honest in saying I don’t have the highest opinion of the art style for Zoeti. A turn-based Rogue-like deckbuilder with art from those people who love to tell you about Japan, despite never going, Zoeti does seem like an odd choice to send out on its own for a week.