Total War: Thrones of Britannia artwork of a viking ship

The upcoming Thrones of Britannia is the very first of the Total War Saga series. What this means is that instead of trying to capture an entire historical era, Thrones of Britannia will offer a detailed look at some of the most interesting events that happened in a relatively short time frame. In terms of gameplay improvements you can expect to see the most detailed Total War map to date, ten playable and diverse factions, a variety of victory conditions that align with each faction's history, and perhaps most importantly, some major changes to how recruitment, politics and research is handled.

The Windows version of Thrones of Britannia is set to arrive this April 19th, but if you prefer to do your gaming on Mac or Linux there's no need to worry as the developers have just confirmed that it will be making its way there as well. Unfortunately, there is currently no release date set, but according to Feral Interactive the Mac and Linux ports are going to arrive "shortly after the Windows version."

Vampyr screenshot of a vampire attack at night

Vampyr is an upcoming vampire themed action-RPG from Dontnod, the studio behind Life is Strange and Remember Me. You'll be taking on the role of a doctor trying to cure a deadly plague that's sweeping through London, while also wrestling with the vampiric curse that forces the otherwise noble doctor to feed on his fellow citizens in order to survive. The more you feed the stronger you will be, though as a result the already chaotic state in the city is likely to get even worse as militias rise up in response to the rampant vampire attacks. In other words, expect to make some rather difficult choices!

If this sounds like the type of game you would like to try out, you might be interested to hear that Vampyr will be coming to PC and consoles on June 5th. This information comes to us from the most recent developer video, so if you're looking for a few more details you'll find it right below. Have a look:

Secret of Mana remake screenshot of the team

The classic Secret of Mana is an action RPG released for the SNES in the ancient times of 1993. While nothing special these days, Secret of Mana received quite a lot of praise back then for avoiding the genre standard turn-based system and going with a more action-orientated real-time combat. Combine this with a lengthy and story-focused campaign and it's easy to see why Secret of Mana got quite the cult following over the years.

Given its popularity it was only a matter of time before Square Enix attempted to do a modern version, which is where the newly released 3D remake of Secret of Mana comes into play. However, unlike the usual remakes that only offer improved visuals and support for widescreen resolutions, the modern Secret of Mana also brings with it a variety of gameplay tweaks meant to modernize the combat, as well as English voice acting. Whether these improvements were a success or not, that is currently the big question.

Screenshot of Tracer from Overwatch

If you're looking for a brand new shooter or team-focused game to fill your time with, you might be interested to hear that Overwatch is now having a free weekend on both PC and consoles. As you can probably guess from the title, the whole event will run until 11:59pm PT on February 19th, so if you're curious you might want to jump in as soon as possible.

In terms of content you will be given access to Overwatch's full roster of 26 heroes and 16 maps, as well as all of the various game modes. You will only be restricted from the competitive mode, even if you somehow manage to reach level 25, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem since it's not exactly the most beginner-friendly place anyway. Speaking of levels, all of your progress and cosmetic unlocks will carry over, so if you ever decide to purchase Overwatch you will be able to continue from where you left of.

Ciri from The Witcher 3 in Skellige

This shouldn't come as much of a surprise given that it was leaked multiple times last month, but Steam's Lunar New Year Sale has now arrived with a whole bunch of discounts. Unlike the usual sales, however, the Lunar New Year Sale will only last for a couple of days, or until February 19th to be specific. So if you were planning to fill out your backlog, you might want to hurry up lest you miss your chance.

If you're not exactly sure what to grab, allow me to give you a couple of suggestions. These are obviously going to be biased towards my specific tastes, but since all of them are fairly cheap games I'd say it's well worth giving them a look regardless. Anyway, here's the somewhat brief list:

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 screenshot of a Dwarf Slayer in action

If you would like to help the heroes from Vermintide expand their pest control business to include the forces of Chaos as well, you'll be glad to hear that Fatshark has just announced that Warhammer: Vermintide 2 will be coming to PC this March 8th. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions are also planned, though their release date has not been revealed just yet. The announcement is expected to arrive in the near future, however, so make sure to keep an eye out.

In terms of content you can expect a whole bunch of new maps, three new specializations for each of the heroes, a reworked equipment system that will give you far more control over your character's playstyle, and naturally, a whole bunch of spiky Chaos forces to endlessly battle against. If you're wondering what this might look like in-game, wonder no more as the developers have also released a brand new gameplay preview. Have a look:

Dungeons 2 screenshot of Goblins reveling in their piles of gold

Dungeons 2 is a faithful homage to the original Dungeon Keeper, and it pretty much hits all of the same notes when it comes to the gameplay. In other words, Dungeons 2 is all about creating you very own underground fortress, populating it with a variety of monsters and traps, and then crushing anyone even remotely heroic that dares enter your domain. 

If this sounds like something you would love to try out, you're in luck as Dungeons 2 is currently free to grab over at GOG. That said, the offer will only last for another 20 hours as of time of writing, so do make sure to snatch it before it goes away. You don't even need to install it, just add it to your GOG account and you'll be golden.

Official artwork for Total War: Arena

Total War: Arena is a free-to-play spin-off of the main Total War series. Instead of the usual Total War duels, Total War: Arena features 10vs10 RTS battles where each player controls only three units, though each of those can be customized in a variety of ways. It's a bit of a different take on the Total War formula, but from what little I've played it is one that has a decent amount of potential.

So if you would like to give Total War: Arena a try and see if it's something you could sink your teeth into long-term, you'll be glad to hear that it will be heading into Open Beta this February 22th. The transition to Open Beta will also be marked by the release of Hannibal Barca and his Carthaginian army... and yes, they will have elephants!

For Honor screenshot of a knight from up close

For Honor is a highly competitive game that relies on precise movement, attacks and blocks. As such, it was quite strange to see For Honor launch with absolutely no dedicated servers, essentially leaving players at the mercy of other people's Internet connections, with the results being about as predictable as you would imagine.

A whole lot of time has passed since launch, but I am quite happy to say that For Honor will soon be getting its much-requested dedicated servers. And when I say soon, I really do mean soon because the fifth season "Age of Wolves" will be coming later today, while the dedicated servers will be following suit only a few days later, on February 19th!

Total War: Warhammer 2 screenshot of Malekith attacking on the Steps of Isha maps

Sega's annual Make War Not Love event is currently ongoing, with each day bringing with it a brand new challenge and brand new prizes. And what better way to kickstart the event than with a bit of free DLC for Total War: Warhammer 2 - the "Steps of Isha" map pack.

The four new maps offer "striking visions of the High Elven lands, with a focus on their highly magical landscape." In terms of gameplay, however, the maps are focused around formidable defensive positions that discourage direct attacks, though with plenty of side-routes to take and potentially ambush from. It's nothing too out of the ordinary for Total War: Warhammer 2, but having more maps to endlessly wage war on is always a good thing in my book.