THQ Nordic, the publisher behind recent titles such as Biomutant and Desperados III, hosted their first-ever showcase this morning. The showcase, though only clocking in at just under half an hour, revealed six new titles that the company are working on. Here is all you need to know about what went down!
Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed
I reviewed Destroy All Humans! last year when the first title in the series was remastered and boy did I have a fun time with it! What’s cool about the sequel is that Crypto, our little alien protagonist, is now destroying humans in the 1960s, another iconic time period that I’m sure the game will poke fun of successfully just as much as they did with the 50s in the previous release. The game also isn’t just set in the United States, with Crypto hopping around to the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Japan and even a cheeky trip to the moon! The game is being developed by the devs who re-launched the Destroy All Humans! franchise last year and they will be using Unreal Engine 4 visuals to rebuild the game. Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed will be coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S sometime in the future.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake
This new SpongeBob game seems like a cross between Rick and Morty, Ratchet and Clank and… SpongeBob! Yup, SpongeBob and Patrick “unintentionally” open a bunch of portals to a place called Wishworlds. All is cool until they realise that all their friends are becoming lost in these portals that they are responsible for (awkward). The game lets you explore seven unique worlds and you can dress up your characters in over 30 skins. SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake will release on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. A release date is yet to be announced.
Outcast 2 – A New Beginning
This announcement is an interesting one! Outcast, the original game, came out on PC back in 1999 and its sequel was announced two decades ago. Of course, the sequel never came to fruition due to financial issues, but now THQ Nordic is making Outcast fans’ dreams come true by teaming up with the original Belgian devs, Appeal Studios, for the very long-awaited sequel! The narrative centres around Cutter Slade and his return to the alien world Adelpha which finds itself being controlled by a big corp who are using and abusing the planet and its people. Slade has to help the people of Adelpha rise up and conquer the baddies! The game will be an open-world adventure, 3rd person combat sci-fi game where choices matter. Outcast 2 – A New Beginning is in development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Jagged Alliance 3
Another blast from the past, the original Jagged Alliance came out on PC and the Nintendo DS back in 1995 and was a tactical turn-based game that saw you play as a gang of mercenaries that help run dictators out of certain countries. The unique prospect of the original Jagged Alliance was that you could customise your gang by choosing from a list of 60 mercenaries, all with different skills and personalities. In Jagged Alliance 3, the first since 1999’s Jagged Alliance 2, you take over a group of mercenaries in Grand Chien, a fictional land that has been taken over by a corrupt force known as “The Legion.” THQ have teamed up with developer Haemimont who were behind Tropico 3, 4 and 5 and Surviving Mars. They are a Bulgarian studio that is looking to “finally create a true successor to the beloved series”. The third instalment in the series will once again focus on turn-based combat and making up your gang with well-known mercenaries from past Jagged Alliance instalments. It will also feature a co-op multiplayer mode. Jagged Alliance 3 will be coming soon to PC.
Superpower 3
Superpower, the geopolitical strategy game, came out on PC in 2002 with a follow-up in 2004 that was then re-released on Steam in 2014. The world has changed in a massive way since 2004 and Superpower 3 is hoping to reflect these changes in technology and politics. Superpower 3 has original devs GolemLabs once again at the helm and they promise that this new instalment will challenge player’s demography, economics and military strategies. Explore events in the past and see if you can come up with a better, or worse, version of Earth as you play as the ruler of the world! Superpower 3 will release on PC but no solid release date has been announced.
MX vs. ATV: Legends
Get your extreme sports vehicles ready because the famous MX vs ATV franchise is releasing a brand new edition! With your favourite bike, ATV or UTV, you can explore new career modes, huge open-world environments that are all brand spanking new, experience a 16-player online mode, customise your rider and vehicles and many more awesome new additions on your way to becoming a world-famous pro rider! MX vs. ATV: Legends is coming soon to PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.
Tenth-anniversary presents!
Birthday celebrations need presents and THQ Nordic have also announced some special deals and freebies to celebrate their decade long ride. Firstly, there will be a Steam publisher sale that will be available until the 23rd of September 2021 which includes every game and franchise from THQ Nordic. Console players can also find THQ Nordic deals via Xbox Marketplace, the Nintendo store and the PlayStation store. Also, PC players can claim two THQ classic games, Titan Quest Anniversary Edition and Jagged Alliance Gold Edition for free via Steam. PC players can also enjoy THQ and devs Mimimi Games’ 2020 hit, Desperados III, for free over the weekend, a great pressie for those who are still in Lockdown!
Phew! That’s a wrap on the THQ Nordic showcase! Be sure to check out those free games and give Desperados III a whirl this weekend; Taylor reviewed the title last year where he gave the western an 8/10 and said that “a creative mix of strategy and satisfying execution makes for a surprisingly fresh take on the Old West genre that I didn’t think was needed or necessary.”
About the Author
Lisa Pollifroni
she/her
PS5/PC gamer with a passion for RPGs . Other obsessions include eating/making good food, reading, Queer history/theory and puppies, especially her own - a Beagle Staffy x rescue named Boo.
