Wildermyth

Play it on: Steam
Buy it from: Best Buy | Eneba
Current goal: Write another story

When we put together these Kotaku Weekend Guides, typically I try to write something I’m currently playing or have at least played recently. This time, I went looking through my Steam library for a game to recommend, and Worldwalker Games’ Wildermyth caught my eye. The tactics RPG was one of the best games to come out in 2021. It lets you create a party of heroes and play through branching campaigns, all with excellent writing and interesting spins on fantasy combat mechanics. I only played through one campaign in 2021, but I have a lot of fond memories of playing as my mage Kenjamin Shepardson and using the magic system that’s more akin to an Avatar: The Last Airbender bending than your usual spellcasting system, requiring you to manipulate the elements in the environment. Those made each battle compelling, but the attachment I had to my custom party made the stakes feel incredibly high. Wildermyth’s storytelling is its greatest strength, and its ability to let you nudge the story in drastically different directions while building your party’s relationships is still head and shoulders above games with 10 times the budget. It’s finally coming to consoles on October 22, but the PC version is exceptional and well worth your time. —Kenneth Shepard