The start of a new year often brings a bit of a slowdown in new video game releases, but last month got off to a strong start, and that momentum continues into February 2024 The next few weeks will see new releases of a number of popular franchises on PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, and PC

The highlight of the month is the last one to appear, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth This second chapter of the "Final Fantasy VII Remake" project will reunite Cloud and his friends and promises to be a much larger production than its predecessor Speaking of remakes of popular Japanese games, "Persona 3 Reload," the third mainline installment in the dungeon-exploration series, is getting a facelift and will be released this Friday (February 2)

These are just the tip of the iceberg, with other notable titles including "Suicide Squad," "Kill the Justice League," "Helldivers 2," and the long-in-development pirate sim "Skull and Bones," a pirate sim in long-term development Without further ado, let's take a look at some of the hottest games coming out in February

Platforms PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

It's been almost a decade since British developer Rocksteady Studios last released a game, but finally the development team behind the "Batman Arkham" series is releasing their latest title this month, " Suicide Squad: Take down the Justice League," is ready to be released soon

Set in the same world as the Arkham games, you'll play as members of the eponymous team of bad guys who are forced to band together to save the world after the superpowered members of the Justice League are brainwashed by the villain Brainiac; four playable characters, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and King Shark, and dive into the open-world Metropolis

Designed for co-op play, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was a controversial "live-service" game, but it retains Rocksteady's signature cinematic storytelling and well-crafted characters It could be the surprise hit of the month

Platforms PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

"Persona 3" is the legendary game that spawned the current "Persona" series While the original game is still playable on current hardware thanks to the "P3 Portable" port released last year, "Persona 3 Reload" will likely be the definitive way to enjoy this groundbreaking RPG

Reload is a full remake of the original game, keeping the engaging story and lovable characters, bringing the visuals up to modern standards, and adding some of the quality-of-life improvements brought by the best-selling Persona 5 Royal The game also features some of the quality-of-life improvements brought about by the best-selling Persona 5 Royal In addition, the previously text-only dialogue has been fully voiced and new music has been included

If you've never played a Persona game before, you'll think it's a combination of a social sim and a dungeon crawler During the day, you live a normal student life on a fictional Port Island, attending classes and hanging out with friends, but at night you explore a strange tower full of dark shadows called Tartaros

Persona games are notoriously long, so Persona 3 Reload is guaranteed to get you back on track

Platforms PC, PS5

The original Helldivers, released for PS4 and PC in 2015, became a cult It became a hit After a long wait, "Helldivers 2" is out this month and looks to build on the first game's clear potential while significantly increasing its production value

The biggest change in this sequel is the switch from a top-down perspective to a third-person perspective The fundamentals, however, remain the same The protagonist of the game is a soldier in the Helldiver Squadron, who is on an intergalactic mission to protect the citizens of Earth against a series of mutant creatures that keep attacking

Helldivers places great emphasis on cooperative play, which is quite unique in that friendly fire is turned on by default If a grenade is placed a little too close to a friendly, it will blow up the friendly instead of the enemy This leads to some hilarious situations where an ally becomes a hindrance rather than a help In addition, the game's irreverent tone and the fact that the characters spit out cheesy one-liners at every turn add to the comedic aspect of the game

Platforms PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

The original "Tomb Raider" trilogy, released between 1996 and 1998, had a huge impact on the gaming industry and made Lara Croft a household name

This new remastered package aims to bring the first three Tomb Raider films to an entirely new audience, with a few modern elements sprinkled in It should be noted, however, that the trilogy has been remastered, not completely reworked While the visuals, especially the character and animal models, are promisingly improved, these games still look dated, albeit with a new paint job

Instead, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered offers the original play experience in its best possible form, keeping the soul of the originals intact while cutting out the rough edges In addition, traditionalists can disable some of the new features and switch between the new visuals and the original graphics on the fly

Platform Nintendo Switch

"Mario vs Donkey Kong," released on the Game Boy Advance in 2004, is another remake of a classic

You play as the iconic mustachioed mascot, chasing an oversized monkey through a toy factory to recover a stolen mini Mario figure (yes, the story is a little weird) You can use all the traditional plumber's tricks, such as running, jumping, and butt stomping The side-scrolling stages are filled with conveyor belts, spiky pitfalls, colorful switches, and other disturbing contraptions

The original "Mario vs Donkey" spawned several sequels for the Nintendo DS and 3DS, but has been dormant for nearly a decade now This Switch remake is not an entirely new game, but it's great to see the cult-favorite franchise back in action

Platforms PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

It's pretty surreal that Skull and Bones is launching this month; the game's development woes, announced at E3 2017, were well known, but after years of waiting and several rumored internal restarts After years of waiting and several rumored internal reboots, Ubisoft's pirate game is finally ready to set sail

Inspired by the popularity of the naval battle gameplay in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Skull and Bones is an action game in which players take control of a pirate ship and sail the seven seas in search of booty and sink rival galleons Set in the golden age of piracy, Skull and Bones may be the ultimate oceanic experience

You don't have to navigate the choppy waters alone There is a full cooperative play mode, so you can gather your best crew mates and fight for treasure together If you're feeling particularly brave, you can even venture into disputed waters and engage in epic ship-to-ship combat

Platform PS5

"Final Fantasy VII Rebirth" is not only the biggest game of the month, it is almost certain to be one of the most watched games of the year A sequel to "Final Fantasy VII Remake," "Rebirth" breaks away from its predecessor, which was set in Midgar, and allows players to explore a vast open world

In Rebirth, players will once again take control of mercenary Cloud Strife, along with a party of beloved companions such as Tifa Lockhart, Barrett Wallace, and Aerith Gainsborough While the first chapter of the Final Fantasy Remake project was a mostly linear experience, developer Square Enix has revealed that Rebith will move across a vast map and focus more on engaging side content

In addition, "Final Fantasy VII Rebirth" will feature a small but impactful tweak to the real-time battle system of the well-received remake, and a pre-release trailer teases a rather epic boss battle We're already counting down the days until "Final Fantasy VII Rebirth" arrives in our hands