Top and Trending in gaming this week – August 20th, 2021

Addicted to refreshing Twitter every thirty seconds? Reddit permanently sorted by “new”? Drawn to the latest gaming fads? Checkpoint’s got you covered. Take a look at this week’s ‘Top and Trending’ to see the best selling and most popular video games around, and find out what all the cool kids are talking about!

Unfortunately, last week’s Australian game sales came out too late for this weekly feature to be published in time. Last week’s figures are instead featured below with corresponding commentary.

Last week:

The fifth entry in the bombastic Far Cry series has received a lot of love and attention thanks to a recent free-to-play weekend, which clearly tickled the playful bones of a nation mostly locked in their homes. Nat reviewed this title back when it launched in 2018, finding it “absolutely worth your time” – you can read all about it here. While the rest of the charts looks like typical Aussie gamer fare (multiplayer, open-worlds, desperate attempts at maintaining a physical routine while the world crumbles), a darling of the past month stands out: the official Olympics tie-in game has actually made a decent impression. Whether you’re an avid artistic swimming die-hard or you just like to watch the men’s gymnastics (I see you), Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 lets you fulfil your fantasy of attending the event that recently spent two weeks as the only topic of conversation at every Woolies nationwide.

This week:

We’re back to our usual cycle of locky-D favourites this week, with isolated gamers blowing off steam by mutilating strangers in Grand Theft Auto V‘s robust online mode. It’s heartening to see perennial multiplayer fave Mario Kart 8 Deluxe occupying the top positions below Rockstar’s less-than-wholesome romp, providing a colourful and kid-friendly outlet for pent-up aggression. The rest of the chart remains similar to previous weeks, with AAA open-worlds acting as wonderful escapes from life, and fitness-encouraging tools Ring Fit Adventure and Just Dance 2021 inspiring gamers to exercise once or twice before going back to their silly little tasks in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Last week:

You’ve been Left 4 Dead one too many times, and now you’re Back 4 Blood in Turtle Rock Studios long-awaited follow-up to the 2008 zombie-slaying shooter. The title entered into its “Open Beta” phase on Steam last week ahead of its October launch – check out our preview and interview with the game’s creative director here. New releases The Ascent and Tribes of Midgard continue to sell well, with Alex advising that the latter “isn’t for everyone” in his review. Cheeky homage to Rick Moranis classic “Honey I Shrunk The Kids” Grounded is trending some time after receiving its “Shroom and Doom” update, while a surge of interest in 2015’s Call of Duty: Black Ops III has mysteriously appeared.

(It’s worth noting that SteamDB have explained why titles like New World sometimes occupy two places in the top ten: some titles have multiple purchase options, and Steam categorises them as two duplicate titles.)

If you’re looking for some virtual reality to distract you from endless lockdown malaise, Luke has compiled a list of VR shooters to get your blood pumping and your brain engaged. Featuring titles like the colourful Swarm and the hardcore tactical Onward, Luke’s list is sure to occupy your virtual shooting needs. Check it out here.

This week: 

I’ll be honest: I wasn’t expecting “melee grapplehook battle royale” on my 2021 bingo card, but NARAKA: BLADEPOINT has cropped up anyway and is delighting players with its unique combat system, gorgeous presentation, and (to quote a Steam review): “boob physics”. Lovely. We first heard about this title way back in 2019 at The Game Awards, so it’s nice to see it hit its stride. Back 4 Blood continues to soar, while the odd runaway hit Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 is delighting motorheads with its intense attention to detail – it’s not clear whether you actually drive the cars that you work on, making this seem like a kind of Animal Crossing experience for the automobile-obsessed. HUMANKIND is a new strategy title attempting to break into the 4X genre, and it introduces a few little neat tweaks to the traditional Civilization formula to set itself apart. Edie checked out this title, finding it “a solid addition to Amplitude’s library of strategy games”. You can read her review here.

There’s no VR Corner this week, but make sure to check out Luke’s dissection of the latest Elder Scrolls Online update from the point of view of a “filthy casual”, and Tom’s caffeinated dive into Necrobarista: Final Pour on Switch.

Last week:

A couple of little switcheroos on the Twitch trending charts this week, with VALORANT overtaking Fortnite despite the latter playing host to an Ariana Grande concert last week – although the concert event was repeated over five sessions to account for different player timezones, it didn’t quite reach the viewership of the Travis Scott concert back in April. Elsewhere on the charts, newcomer Back 4 Blood is hitting its stride in its open beta with almost 11 million accrued watch hours throughout the week. Viewers just can’t get enough of their big ol’ zombie shootouts.

This week:

No major upsets to our usual Twitch charts this week, with the top spots cemented relatively firmly. A constant stream of content for Dead by Daylight ensures the title continues to pique interest, with the latest killer “Pinhead” from Hellraiser sticking horrifyingly in fans’ imaginations. This comes as the title has also revealed it will soon stop selling content from the Stranger Things franchise, with Nancy, Steve, and the Demogorgon set to disappear from the title in November.

Don’t forget to take a look at all the games Coming Out this week, and let us know what your predictions are for next week’s top and trending!