Best games you can play this week – hunger and homeworlds

As July heads into the darkness and August steps out, the gaming release calender begins to heat up, with some notable titles arriving this coming month. Things get off to a slower-paced and intriguing start with the likes of The Long Dark and Aven Colony releasing this week.

The Long Dark

1 August (PS4) | Also on: Xbox One, PC

The Long Dark is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies – only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster.

The game prides itself on having no hand-holding, as The Long Dark challenges players to improvise by providing the information but never the answers. You have to earn the right to survive by monitoring your vitals, hunting, exploring, collecting, and overcoming immense obstacles.

Aven Colony (Retail release)

1 August (Xbox One, PS4, PC)

Fans of SimCity and management games, who are also looking for something a little edgier, may find Aven Colony incredibly alluring, and it releases in retail form this week.

Instead of building a new town on Earth, Aven Colony hands players a new, unexplored planet, which they’ll have to colonise and build their new home for humanity on, but there are dangers with this new world. A low-oxygen atmosphere, extreme electrical storms, shard storms, dust devils, deadly toxic gas eruptions from geothermal vents, and days so long they have their own seasons, and of course, aliens. How you handle this new territory is up to you.