The Last Of Us meets Far Cry in gorgeous new open-world adventure

Featured Image Credit: VG Entertainment

If you are a fan of The Last of Us, Fallout or just the post-apocalyptic genre in general, then you will love this upcoming open-world RPG.

Games such as The Last of Us or the multiple entries in the Fallout series show that the average consumer will always be drawn to a post-apocalyptic story.

In related news, check out the season two trailer for The Last of Us below!

Is it due to the genre's desolate and gritty setting? Or is it a human’s fight to survive that captures our interest? It is hard to know but what we do know is that we will welcome any new game that explores the concept.

Luckily, BLACKFROST: The Long Dark 2 is just that as not only is it a survival sandbox game set in a world gone dark, but it is also the highly-anticipated sequel to 2014’s The Long Dark.

Developed by Hinterland Studio, BLACKFROST: The Long Dark 2 is the “evolution of the survival sandbox, refining every aspect of the original, and introducing co-op to the formula”, according to its team.

Set during the Quiet Apocalypse, a year after the Aurora first appeared in the sky and cut all communications and technology, survivors are finally starting to emerge to face their brand-new world.

With vast wilderness as far as the eye can see, it is going to take every bit of strength and strategy to survive in an isolated society.

It will be up to you whether you wish to try and go it alone or team up with other survivors.

If you become a lone survivor, you will have to depend on NPC survivor communities across cities, towns, forests and farms.

However, if you team-up with friends, you will all be able to lean on each other and combine skills in order to survive the hostile environment.

BLACKFROST will easily adapt to how you choose to play but the outcome is the same.

“Build your own survivor, customise traits and skills, collect scars and stories, and experience a life as a survivor in this beautiful yet dangerous world,” the synopsis continues.

“Many games have tried to bring survival mechanics to their open-world RPGs, but BLACKFROST is the first survival game built ground-up as a survival RPG.”

There is no official release date yet but if it follows its prequel, its early-access will be made available soon with updates and patches being added regularly.

If you are after a new post-apocalyptic RPG that gives you a bit of a Fallout or The Last of Us vibe, then look no further than Forest Reigns.

The newly announced Forest Reigns is being developed and published by the indie studio VG Entertainment, some of whose team members worked on the critically acclaimed S.T.A.L.K.E.R series.

Check out the Forest Reigns trailer below!

“Forest Reigns is an emergent FPS set in post-apocalyptic Paris overrun by an evolving forest and its deadly creatures. Adapt to use the ever-changing environment in your favour. Modify your guns, bond with factions and explore the world freely,” reads the description on the Steam store.

After watching its first gameplay trailer, I’m getting good vibes with Forest Reigns, and not only does it remind us a little of Fallout and The Last of Us, but also a hint of the Metro series developed by 4A Games.

It seems like Forest Reigns will be a challenging game that will encourage the player to explore, scavenge for resources, customise weapons, survive in harsh environments and, of course, take on deadly foes. Oh, and it looks quite gorgeous too.

Forest Reigns is also said to feature a non-linear story which might suggest that players wander off from the main path to see what secrets and encounters may await. It will also feature multiple-choice moments that will impact the ending of your story.

There’s no release date for Forest Reigns at the time of writing but we do know that it will be released on PC. There’s also no console version announced just yet but I suspect that will eventually happen one day (hopefully).

With the release of The Last of Us: Part II Remastered for PC, Naughty Dog has announced that preorders will unlock two features early.

As announced on Twitter, fans will be able to unlock two items by preordering the PC release of the smash-hit game via Steam or Epic Games.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered will be available soon for PC

The two items available are the Crafting Training Manual, which you’d usually unlock during your playthrough.

This gives you access to more items and abilities through the crafting bench in-game.

You’ll also get an Ammo Capacity upgrade, also usually unlocked by playing, but you’ll get it much earlier.

The ‘DLC’ items you’ll receive for preordering should help you get started in the game a little quicker if the need arises.

This will be the first time the remastered edition of the game will be playable on PC, and it will feature overhauled visuals as well as full Dual Sense support for those opting to play on controller.

Players will be able to experience Ellie and Abby’s journeys of vengeance across the wasteland from 3 April 2025.

If you are yet to experience this remastered edition, you’ll notice a bevy of improvements that will be sure to pull you back into the world of the rampant virus that has devastated humanity.

Of course, our expert on The Last of Us, Kate, played the game when it launched for PS5 originally.

In her 10/10 review, she said, “We all thought Part II was Naughty Dog’s magnum opus, but Part II Remastered shows that there’s plenty more gas in the tank. If this is insight into what’s to come from the studio, I cannot wait to see what Naughty Dog is cooking up next.”