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!
Top Selling Games in Australia
(16/08 – 22/08) Data sourced from IGEA
1. Ghost of Tsushima
2. HUMANKIND
3. Grand Theft Auto V
4. Madden NFL 22
5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
6. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
7. Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
9. Ring Fit Adventure
10. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
This week’s top Aussie chart contains quite a few new(ish) stars amidst the regular crew, indicating that gamers in lockdown may have exhausted their libraries and are hungering for fresh worlds to escape into. Last year’s excellent Ghost of Tsushima has recently launched its equally brilliant Director’s Cut edition, adding a host of extra content and a few performance enhancements for the PS5 version. A new map in “Iki Island” with a corresponding storyline makes this a hot title, with Nat saying there is now “no excuse to not experience one of the greatest new IPs PlayStation has to offer”. Check out the details in Nat’s review here. A successful Steam performance in last week’s charts has been reflected among local gamers this week for HUMANKIND, a fresh take on the 4X strategy genre pioneered by the Civilization series. Edie had a pretty good time with this one, which you can read more about in her review.
Outside our trending chart staples, the nostalgic romp Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart has surged in popularity thanks to a generous Amazon sale (worth picking up, according to Elliot’s review) which may also have contributed to the rise of 2017’s Middle-Earth: Shadow of War (also reviewed by Elliot on release). Of course, sports fans remain represented on the charts with the recent Madden NFL 22 titillating connoisseurs of American football.
Top Selling Games on Steam
(16/08 – 22/08) Data sourced from SteamDB
1. HUMANKIND
2. NARAKA: BLADEPOINT
3. HUMANKIND
4. Valve Index VR Kit (hardware)
5. DOOM Eternal Deluxe Edition
6. The Elder Scrolls Online – Crown Packs
7. Car Mechanic Simulator 2021
8. Twelve Minutes
9. Fallout 4: GOTY Edition
10. NARAKA: BLADEPOINT
Strategically claiming the top spot after a stellar performance last week, HUMANKIND is smashing the top ten alongside chart pal NARAKA: BLADEPOINT (last week’s #1, a dynamic battle royale with lots of personality). Luke must have some powerful friends, since his foray back into The Elder Scrolls Online seems to have led to players gobbling up the title’s in-game currency. Once again DOOM Eternal is passing the vibe-check for the current state of the world, while Car Mechanic Simulator and Fallout 4 seem to be teaching gamers vital skills to manage the pending climate apocalypse.
A new title on this week’s charts is the unusual Twelve Minutes. A unique premise (time-looping narrative puzzler), a star-studded cast (Daisy Ridley, Willem Dafoe, and James McAvoy) and a gorgeous presentation has led to this mysterious game capturing the imaginations of Steam players. Sam reviewed this one, finding it a “game of dualities” – check out Sam’s thoughts here.
Most Watched Games on Twitch
(19/08 – 25/08) Data sourced from SullyGnome
1. Grand Theft Auto V
2. League of Legends
3. Minecraft
4. Apex Legends
5. Fortnite
6. VALORANT
7. Call of Duty: Warzone
8. CS: GO
9. Dota 2
10. Twelve Minutes
Another week on Twitch, another 34 million hours of people watching streamers play Grand Theft Auto V. Blocky cultural staple Minecraft is getting some attention thanks to some swish new unofficial Lego textures, as well as its Java Edition’s “Experimental Snapshot 5” pending release. This update for beta players is a testing preview of the title’s next “Caves and Cliffs” update, which promises… caves and cliffs. Elsewhere the charts are as expected, with the latest craze Twelve Minutes proving fascinating among streamers and viewers alike.
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!
About the Author
David McNamara
he/him or they/them
David is a proudly queer performing artist and software developer. He spends most of his downtime with a controller in his hands and a lazy beagle on his lap.
