Ah the traditional look forward into 2019 and this time just being a little more obvious that it’s a look at the AAA games for now (I will be picking up Indie titles as the year goes along). I’ve still a few December titles that I’m sure we all want to have a look over and get to playing. I know GRIS and GRIP are high on my list to tinker with, not to mention Christmas presents. For me it was Everybody’s Golf and Moonlighter but also Into the Breach and a few others to last minute review. There’s the big Atelier trilogy review in the works still but for now lets all chug down that last minced pie and left over novelty beer and have a butchers at what 2019 will be bringing us!
11/1/19 – New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
If you missed it the first time around on WiiU then you owe it to yourself to give it a go. I played the WiiU version to death and even bought the Luigi DLC just to play more of it. A spiritual successor to Super Mario World on the SNES and chock full of amazing level design and some cracking gameplay. It’s unlikely to be anymore than that game bundled up with some easier modes for newcomers but that’s not such a bad thing if you never had a WiiU. If you have a Switch then get on it when it launches.
11/1/19 – Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition
10 years from release and I’ve still not gotten around to playing Tales of Vesperia. Originally launched on the xbox 360/PS3 and now bundled up with DLC and given a HD polish, ‘Tales of’ ports are always well made and worth keeping an eye on (for consoles obviously not the PC ports) It’s coming to Switch as well, so might be worth keeping an eye on if you enjoy epic jrpgs. Tales Of Abyss was absolutely amazing on 3DS.
17/1/19 – Yakuza 4
Love it or hate it, Yakuza 4 has the same brilliant mishmash of gameplay and humour as every title in the series. 4 was the first Yakuza game I played through to the credits and although the PS3 isn’t exactly that old it’s nice to hear they are porting this to newer consoles and giving it the usual HD bump in graphics. Lets be fair it’s worth playing for Akiyama’s story alone. Nobody can convince me otherwise.
25/1/18 Resident Evil 2
I have a confession to make. I’ve never played Resident Evil 2. I enjoyed the crap out of Resident Evil 3 Nemesis despite its ridiculousness and it’s not like I’m a newbie to the franchise. I’ve sat and played through Resident Evil 1 on the Saturn, Resident Evil Zero on Gamecube and a few others on and off throughout the series but just for some reason never got around to 2. It looks like from preview news and reactions Resi2 is the best remaster in years and it’s covering all the bases. Time for me to tuck away my gaming shame and get this one done and dusted.
29/1/18 Kingdom Hearts III
I know it’s a full number! Not a 3.25 Revelations Dreaming exe.castform Total Edition. It’s just 3. It felt like there were good moments in the FF15 demo (the only part of that saga I’ve finished) that were running off the Kingdom Hearts engine. I know the HD remaster set of 1.5 and 2.5 for the PS4 is looking over at me from the pile of shame, reminding me to stop playing the stupid spin offs and finish 2. Still 3 does look good doesn’t it.
8/2/18 God Eater 3
Give me the dub-step anime opening. That’s it. The games are great Monster-Hunter-like action rpgs that have ported between handhelds and console all over the place. They always have terrible dubs and fantastic designs blended into enjoyable gameplay. Hopefully 3 fixes the audio issues and is just what the dub-step promises.
15/2/18 Dead or Alive 6
Now that SoulCalibur VI has become the extreme jigglefest it’s up to DOA of all people to step up and focus more on the fighting and less on the boing. The news is slowly leaking that it’s the same old song and dance but we’re still a few months from launch so I’m adopting a wait and see approach. The tag system and arena damage in combat has always been fantastic in DOA so I’m looking forward to seeing what this will be like.
15/2/18 Jump Force
Love or hate the aesthetic a new Jump video game is always worth a look. They’re always a bunch of fun to be had and a predictable mix of characters and fights. It’ll be interesting to see if this is the big title that explodes into a franchise like the fantastic DS Smash Bros like games or if it will remain another oddity.
19/2/18 Death end re;Quest
Idea Factory and Compile Heart keep releasing games that I love the idea of and systems that are fantastic but the characters are just 80% fan-service. Hyperdimension Neptunia games are lovely playful JRPGs which fit perfectly on the Vita and a new IP from them with a dot hack story at its heart? Sounds brilliant! The characters look to be relatively toned down for Idea’s standards. Totally one to keep an eye out for then.
22/2/18 Anthem
Love or hate the AAA marketing machine, any game by Bioware will be worth a look at. A new IP with such insanely lush visuals (so far) and gameplay that does look to be interesting in an action Xenoblade sort of way. I’ll take a wait and see approach but it will be worth looking at regardless.
12/3/18 The Caligula Effect: Overdose
The PsVita was the best machine for jrpgs. There were so many titles that you need at least a daily commute of 5 hours or more to cram them all in. The Caligula Effect was another Vita gem buried in diamonds and as with other polished ports, Overdose is going to have more content and a lot of work to bring it up to the PS4 scratch. Also it’s NIS so I maybe a little biased but it’s still worth a look-see.
20/3/18 Super Robot Wars T
I can’t remember the last Robot Wars game I enjoyed more than OG. Playing a PS2 Japanese strategy game without being able to read any of it can be challenging but it was so worth it to see little voiced Gundam clips battling out in turned based bliss. It’s now coming to Switch and adding in Cowboy Bebop to the mix. I think it’s time I suited up again and launched into this mess.
22/3/18 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
This is the kind of title I’ll hear is out from other people before I realise. The first reviews will be, “Is it Dark Souls with Samurai?” and numerous lengthy in-depth looks at all its subtle intricacies. I’m holding out for Ghost of Tsushima for my samurai fix but this is definitely a game worth keeping an eye on. The preview footage at the moment is looking amazing and early impressions are great.
4-6th April EGX Rezzed Event
Now that EGX has shifted to London I think I can only justify planning one trip down to London for an event and it’s going to be Rezzed. As with last years EGX this will be a new experience for me, look forward to seeing more pictures and words of hype as I continue to work on this weird site that you know and love.
23/4/18 Mortal Kombat 11
As underwhelming as the trailer was, a new Mortal Kombat is always worth some attention. There’s already been TMNT, Hellboy and the like thrown into Injustice2 so I’m looking forward to seeing Constantine, Bucky O’Hare and James Bond.
21/5/18 Team Sonic Racing
As underwhelming as I found the demo at EGX (check that out here) I’m still all for a new Sonic Racing game. Then again I’m all for any new Sonic title so that’s not too surprising. Given I already have Mario Kart 8 on the WiiU with all the DLC I can’t justify a re-purchase on Switch so this might just be the carting title to scratch that itch.
21/6/18 Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
It’s carting brawl this year! A month from SEGA and their new Sonic racer we’ll have the remaster of the old Playstation classic Crash Bandicoot spin-off. Now all we need is Diddy Kong Racing to be announced and it’ll be a carting year (I really expected to hear about the n64 classic by now) Personally I was a Saturn teen so Crash doesn’t hold a lot of nostalgia for me. Still, even I’m looking forward to a vibrant madcap carting game on all systems. Lets just hope for cross-play for a truly updated mashup.
?-2019 Untitled Animal Crossing game
It’s about time. I’ve bought a few systems just to play Animal Crossing games in the past. Come on Nintendo! Announce a ‘new’ Switch with a bit more oomph with Animal Crossing so I can justify getting one to myself and the wife can play her Minecraft and Stardew in peace without me asking to borrow it constantly.
?-2019 Code Vein
Anime Dark Souls? Sure, why not! Every preview build has hyped this one up and said, “It’s different enough to be worth its own merit” Not much else to say really. We’re a long way off a new Yoko Taro game so this will have fill that void for strange but delightfully Japanese video games.
?-2019 Fire Emblem: Three Houses
A new Fire Emblem that isn’t a mobile/spin-off? Keep a beady eye on this one. I’m still working my slow-ass way through Awakening (the first 3ds title) It’s fantastic and with each sequel game receiving glowing reviews the series isn’t going to stop anytime soon. It therefore stands to reason you’ll want to keep an eye on the new big budget release. Hell you can then demand more Fire Emblem characters be added to Smash!
?-2019 Mario Kart Tour
Sure it’s a smart phone app. We all know it’s going to go one of two ways; The pay for a game system or the oh god why did you even bother fee-to-pay system. Mario Kart is always worth a punt whatever system it finds itself on. It’ll be fun, frustrating and a blast regardless of how it’s worked out, we’ll just have to wait and see if it’s going to be fair.
?-2019 Man of Medan
As part of the Dark Pictures Anthology we’ll see how big and varied this series is going to be from it’s first entry. The high pedigree of their previous smash (Until Dawn was amazing) helps boost the hype for this. Lets hope Man of Medan follows through to the end just as well as the original works before it.
?-2019 Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
Largely overlooked by most, this will probably be associated with the many smart phone games Marvel has been advertising heavily of the last few years. Disney Infinity and Lego games have shown how good you can have Marvel IPs when made into big budget titles, lets hope this gets the same level of polish. A return to form and heavy upgrade from the lazy ports of 1 & 2 would be just the ticket.
?-2019 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Come on now EA. Don’t cancel this one. The final of the new Star Wars films is coming for the end of 2019 and nobody needs another microtransaction disaster. Let’s just have our good fleshed-out Star Wars singleplayer extravaganza like we all want and prove everyone who keeps telling you to use the licence to release more titles spot on by making your greedy overlords a bucket of money. Please don’t cancel it!
?-2019 The Princess Guide
Something about this game reminds me of Dragon Force on the Saturn. Action rpg doesn’t seem the right fit for the genre of game where you bring your army along and manage them as you progress further through the 4 stories. Pet jrpg perhaps? Still it’s another interesting new IP from NIS that’s all you need to know for now!
?-2019 The Outer Worlds
Woah this one snuck up on me! A new New Vegas but set in space? Yes please! Everything about the trailer was pure Obsidian. You’d be bananas not to keep an eye on this one. Granted I’ve avoided much of the gameplay trailer just for fear of spoilers so I’m only going by what I’ve read and seen so far. Still you know when people were insanely hype for even a video sneak peak of Cyberpunk 2077? This games sneaky trailer was that moment for me.
ElderlyGoose 