Biggest game releases: 5 games you need to play in May 2024

June is set to be a huge month for the video game industry, with Summer Game Fest, EA Play, and the next Xbox Games Showcase all taking place early next month. In the meantime, we’ve got a roundup of the biggest game releases of May 2024.

This month is punctuated by a few ridiculously long-awaited sequels, an indie game from a new publisher, and a remaster of one of Nintendo’s best turn-based RPGs. No matter which systems you own, there’s something worth playing this month.

Biggest games releases of May 2024

Animal Well

• Release date: May 9
• Systems: PS5, Switch, PC

The first title published by Jason “videogamedunkey” Gastrow’s Bigmode Games, Animal Well is a 2D, pixelated platformer from developer Billy Basso. You’ll take control of a small creature who hatches from a flower and begins exploring a world filled with items to collect, puzzles to solve, secrets to find, and enemies to avoid.

Homeworld 3

• Release date: May 13
• Systems: PC

More than two decades after the sci-fi real-time strategy game Homeworld 2 launched on PC, we’re finally getting a full sequel. Homeworld 3 picks up many years after the last game, as the Hyperspace Gate Network has suddenly begun to fail.

Take control of a massive fleet of ships in a fully 3D space as you destroy dangerous enemies while avoiding particle storms and asteroid fields. There’s a new three-player co-op mode called War Games in which you and your friends take on randomized challenges, as well as 1v1, free-for-all, and team PvP battles for those who prefer competition.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

• Release date: May 21
• Systems: Xbox Series X/S, PC

The sequel to 2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Senua’s Saga is set in 10th-century Iceland and again follows the titular Celtic warrior as she battles the Draugar and searches for hope in a dangerous world while experiencing psychosis. While Hellblade emphasizes the story, there are plenty of puzzles to solve and a skillful combat system to master.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

• Release date: May 23
• Systems: Switch

One of the best games on GameCube was Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, a sequel to the classic Nintendo 64 turn-based RPG. 20 years later, we are getting a remastered version of the game for Switch with better graphics, new music, and fresh gameplay additions.

In this adventure, Mario and his friends have to find the treasure behind the Thousand-Year Door before the X-Nauts do. In order to do so, you’ll use timing-based attacks against enemies, collect badges to boost your stats, and take full advantage of Mario being made of paper.

World of Goo 2

• Release date: May 23
• Systems: Switch, PC, Mac, Linux

The original World of Goo was a hit when it came out in 2008, but like Homeworld 2, we never got a sequel. At least, not until now. World of Goo 2 introduces a fresh collection of physics-based puzzles with new mechanics and updated visuals for the modern era.