Right, so new year's arrived. I still haven't holistically accepted that we're living in another year. Been the case for half a decade now, but the games man. I do look forward to playing them, much as the ones I have from this year. I can say with genuine curiosity.
And this one might be packed. Especially from both Xbox and PlayStation's camp. Could this also be the year Silksong comes out? A new Monster Hunter title for the next generation. Grand Theft Auto V? Yeah, you have your picks, but my list has particular unique choices that are pretty underrated and not in many people's radars. After this, I might convince otherwise.
Lastly, Happy New Year, everyone. Here's to living through the rough times. I badly need to get out of my situation as well. If I decided to have a life, I'd miss more than half of these. From the upcoming indie darlings to the megasellers, here's my 2025 lists:
What's that? You don't like the art style? Too basic, tumblr-ish, and lacking vibrant colors? Well, I feel sorry for the fact that you never played the original, which from the overall cyberpunk aesthetic, future wave soundtrack to the immersive narrative and interactive gameplay absolutely slaps.
For me, it was a unique experience that captured my attention till the last hour. So yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to playing this. I'm also glad to know that the original won an award from GDC, as well as capturing the spotlight around multiple award shows and expos. I look forward to the impact it'll make once more. Hopefully hitting a higher ceiling around this time.
If Sid Meier can deliver another Civilization, well, we're in for a heck of a time. Sets to feature new timeline approach with the three-age structure. Towns replaces settlements, districts are now further expanded on, rivers can be navigated, and now we have leaders that can be in charge of any kind of civilization from pick. Gwendoline Christie also replaces Leonard Nimoy.
I haven't finished Like A Dragon Gaiden, and sure as heck haven't touched either Lost Judgment and Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth. But, I am not missing this one out. It's been a long time since we all played as Majima-san in a Yakuza/Like A Dragon title.
Taking place in Hawaii, and is a sequel spin-off to Infinite Wealth. Yes, this dude still has some juice left in him, and he is going for treasure hunting within 4 main areas to explore, and plunder. One of them being a remote island near Hawaii, and the other being back to Honolulu. It is yet another beat-em-up game with cutlasses and pistols, and the ability to do jump attack combos. The mad dog himself is at it again, with the perfect energy to boot for this occasion.
I've given Microsoft the benefit of the doubt for so long, till the last few years, realizing they still haven't learned a lot from their mistakes. And then I saw the gameplay reveal for this, and my wanting need to play a Deus Ex kind of sim might soon be filled.
Hard to explain it, so I'll link the video. It's an open-world action adventure FPS, with plenty of options in approaching missions, and seems more grounded than the earlier titles too. I've heard the stories about its troubling development, and I'm hoping this trailer isn't all it's only cracked up to be.
Yes, fangirled soon as the trailer and announcement came. But there was no gameplay footage, so what am I expecting here? Well, from what Microsoft told us, the game will be more rooted in grounded combat, with an emphasis on survival. It is a prequel, so the developers will be threading on familiar grounds. While also emphasizing on the sense of dread as well.
It's all up in the air, but it seems they're leaning on the tone, with new tech, and gameplay that will be authentic to the originals yet will experiment with different approaches to the shooting. I mean, the tried and true cover shooter always work, you can get away with better weapons, more gore and violence, and destructible environments. But please make the story work this time.
So a sequel taking place in the north of Japan during the Edo period, where Hokkaido is now. I'm actually all for that, and if you have gripes about the female lead, just know that Sucker Punch has done this before, and they can again. It's nothing to do with chasing trends. The list of things they're going to do is big, so I'll just boil it down to 17th century based combat with rifles probably replacing bows. Enemies will mostly be Ronin, and I don't mean just the sword wielding types.
Ok, what's this? Ah, you know, FMVs have gotten interesting in the past few years? You can thank Sam Barlow for that one. This is coming from the publisher that brought us Untitled Goose Game, and Thank Goodness You're here. Yeah, it looks funky as heck.
I like the 80s vibe, the low quality static tone, and damn, not even sure if this is a video game. More like some esoteric social experiment. Kind of like black and white Max Headroom.
Leave it to Devolver to give us another eclectic title on their list. Though, honestly speaking, the past few games of theirs have not met the quality that many other publishers like Annapurna, Team17, Raw Fury, and many other indie publishers have been bringing. So what is Skate Story about? Well, demons, skating, acid trips, kick-ass music, just oozes so much cool stuff.
Should have never sold that Xbox 360 I had too soon. But maybe all isn't lost. Especially after last year's Silent Hill 2 remake, maybe Konami can deliver on a proper remake of their most prestigious game. Specially of one made by the guy they sacked all those years ago.
Hard feelings aside, I felt a sting when I abandoned the story. I saw the gameplay footage, and it looks fantastic. It didn't have to be entirely faithful, just true to the Metal Gear identity, and plays out like a solid title. Yet, it's mostly a 1 on 1 recreation of the old with contemporary updates to the mechanics, and game design. They definitely can't mess this one up.
That's it. Yes, no Mike Gordon. But how can anyone say no to this? Everything I want is in this 2 min trailer. Dear god, I need to go finish Doom Eternal. No rest for the slayer.
