Another month, another selection of incredible games. As you procrastinate and put off your Christmas shopping or that stack of presents waiting to be wrapped – take a look at our list of top 5 game drops for this month.
In preparation for these exciting new releases, why not treat yourself to an early gift and upgrade your CPU. I’ve selected some of the latest 12th generation Intel Processors that are available at Overclockers UK and paired them with my favourite games being released this December.
Solar Ash – December 2nd
‘Mario Galaxy meets Shadow of the Colossus, and then sprinkle in a bit of Jet Set Radio’
Alx Preston (Description Creator for Heart Machine
Meet the latest game from the creators who brought you Hyper Light Drifter – Solar Ash. Solar Ash is all about speed. Play as Rei and skate across incredible fantasy 3D landscapes whilst you engage in battle against enormous bosses. Combat involves climbing and racing across the huge creatures, almost as if they are a part of the landscape. Adding a completely different tone, compared to Hyper Light Drifter, is the 3D world. You are free to now effortlessly glide and dash across areas – with no loading times or delay in graphics. Plus, take advantage of the new addition of the assistant, who will offer you upgrades to buy. Use the plasma-like currency to upgrade your health or purchase items to give Rei special abilities. Solar Ash will be available to purchase on the Epic Game Store for PC, along with the PS5 and PS4.
The official system specifications for PC have not yet been released on Epic Games, therefore I’ve decided to pair Solar Ash with an Intel Core i7 12700KF CPU. Packed with everything you need to play the latest games and Halo Infinite. Engineered with dual cores – one for performance, one for efficiency. Pair this with Intel Thread Director technology, which prioritises your heavy-duty tasks, such as gaming or streaming, to ensure you achieve superior performance.
Intel Core i7 12700KF Processor
- 12 Cores / 12 Threads
- 3.60GHz Clock Speed
- 5.0GHz Single Core Max Turbo
- 25MB Cache
Halo Infinite – December 8th
Return to Master Chief in the latest instalment in the Halo series – Halo Infinite. Following the events of Halo 5: Guardians, get ready to uncover the mystery surrounding Cortana and The Weapon. All whilst, trying to vanquish the Banished Forces that have taken over Zeta Halo and are headed for Earth. You play as Master Chief on your battle across Zeta Halo to take down War Chief Escharum. In addition to the single player campaign, you and your squad can now team together in the free multiplayer mode! Halo Infinite will be available to play on PC, XBOX X/S, and XBOX One. For more details on this release, check out our dedicated article.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64bit | Windows 10 64bit |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 1600 / Intel i5 4440 | AMD Ryzen 7 3700X / Intel i7 9700K |
| Graphics | AMD RX 570 / NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti | Radeon RX 5700 XT / NVIDIA RTX 2070 |
| Memory | 8GB RAM | 16GB RAM |
| DirectX | Version 12 | Version 12 |
| Storage | 50GB available space | 50GB available space |
To provide you with the required processing power for Halo Infinite, I’ve recommended the Intel Core i7 12700K CPU. Engineered with the new hybrid P and E core architecture, along with twelve cores/twenty threads, you will have plenty of processing power for all the latest gaming titles. Plus, take advantage of Intel Turbo Boost Technology to enhance the frequency up to 5.0GHz! Paired with intelligent Intel Thread Director, experience blisteringly fast performance thanks to the prioritising of heavy-duty applications. Perfect for those looking for a CPU that can power gaming, streaming, and content creation!
Intel Core i7 12700K Processor
- 12 Cores / 20 Threads
- 3.60GHz Clock Speed
- 5.0GHz Single Core Max Turbo
- Onboard Intel UHD Graphics
The Gunk – December 16th
From the team that brought you SteamWorld Dig 2, comes The Gunk. This latest action-adventure features a rag-tag duo of space haulers, Rani and Becks, who have arrived on an alien planet covered in mysterious gunk. Play as Rani, who has a robotic glove that can remove the gunk and restore the planet’s natural environment. Venture through the 3D landscape and defeat monsters, solve puzzles and journey through different sub-biomes – including jungles and caves. You will even work to uncover the secrets of a fallen civilisation. All whilst battling mistrust between the two friends. The Gunk will be available to play on PC, XBOX X/S, and XBOX One.
As the official PC system specifications are yet to be released, I’ve paired The Gunk, with the Intel Core i5 12600K CPU. Armed with 10/16 cores and threads, along with the hybrid P and E core design, the Intel Core i5 12600K is packed with everything you need. In addition, with Intel Turbo Boost, you can overclock this CPU and achieve frequencies of up to 4.9GHz, to unlock a lightning-fast performance.
Intel Core i5 12600K Processor
- 10 Cores / 16 Threads
- 3.70GHz Clock Speed
- 4.9GHz Single Core Max Turbo
- Onboard Intel UHD Graphics 770
Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach – December 16th
Get ready for the next instalment in the infamous Five Nights at Freddy’s series – Security Breach. Taking place after Special Delivery, you play as Gregory, a young boy who is locked in a shopping mall full of animatronics. You need to complete various missions to survive until 6 am and escape the mall. As the night progresses, the animatronics will get stronger so you have to adapt and strategise the best way to get past your enemies. In addition to all of this, the game features office escape games, boss battles, more unique enemy types, and playable arcades hidden throughout the mall. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach will be available to play on PC, PS5, and PS4.
With the official PC system specifications yet to be released, I’ve paired Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach, with the Intel Core i5 12600KF CPU. Tailored for those who want to game and multitask effortlessly, take advantage of the dual P and E core technology to power all your favourite games and much more. Plus, with support for the latest PCIe 5 generation along with DDR5 RAM, this CPU is packed with a blisteringly fast performance which can be boosted further thanks to Intel Turbo Boost. The Intel Core i5 12600KF is unlocked and ready for overclocking, meaning you can reach frequencies of up to 4.9GHZ to achieve an optimised experience, even during demanding applications.
Intel Core i5 12600KF Processor
- 10 Cores / 16 Threads
- 3.70GHz Clock Speed
- 4.9GHz Single Core Max Turbo
- 20MB Cache
Crimson Desert – Winter 2021
The latest game from the creators of Black Desert Online is Crimson Desert. Scheduled to be released in Winter 2021, this open world action-adventure is set in the war-torn world of Pywel. You play as a mercenary trying to survive after the iron rule of the King of Demeniss. Venture through swamps, runes, and forests, to discover the unique fantastical characters, including dragons. Crimson Desert will be available to play on PC, PS5, PS4, XBOX X/S, and XBOX One. There is still a lot of details that are yet to be released about Crimson Desert – but we’re certainly looking forward to getting our hands on this game! It’s one to watch as it approaches the mysterious Winter 2021 release.
As the official PC system specifications are yet to be announced, we’ve paired Crimson Desert with the incredible Intel Core i9 12900KF CPU. Packed with the latest in gaming technology, eight of each P and E cores are integrated into one CPU to deliver intelligent workload prioritisation. This ensures you achieve a superior performance every time, even during demanding tasks. What’s more, the increased L2 and L3 Cache, means you will unlock lightning-fast data transfer speeds and load times.
Intel Core i9 12900KF Processor
- 16 Cores / 24 Threads
- 3.20GHz Clock Speed
- 5.2GHz Single Core Max Turbo
- 30MB Cache
Share with Us!
If you get your hands on any of these incredible games – let us know your thoughts either in the comments below or share over at @OverclockersUK.
- 9 min read
Ruth Rowley
Author
Ruth has been with Overclockers UK for over a year and has gone on to write about everything ranging from in-depth hardware guides to monthly game releases.
Outside of writing blog posts, she can be found wrapped in a blanket with her black cat, engrossed in a book or playing life-simulation games such as The Sims, Stardew Valley, and Animal Crossing.
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