{"id":899,"date":"2020-01-24T00:47:54","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T22:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/?p=899"},"modified":"2020-01-24T16:14:39","modified_gmt":"2020-01-24T14:14:39","slug":"lostwolfes-15-games-to-look-forward-to-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/lostwolfes-15-games-to-look-forward-to-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Lostwolfe&#8217;s 15 Games To Look Forward to in 2020."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Warning! There are MANY LINKS ahead. They will open in separate pages.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Well, it\u2019s certainly been a while, hasn\u2019t it? The last post I made here was several years ago now, and that\u2019s pretty bad. It means I haven\u2019t been writing about games and gaming and movies and music and all that nonsense for <em>two [and a bit] years!<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>We-ll, it\u2019s time to rectify that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>So, without further ado, we\u2019re going to do what we\u2019d ordinarily do at the beginning of any given year: we\u2019re going to look into the games of 2020 and see what\u2019s piqued my interest. Maybe you\u2019ll be interested in these games, too, by the time I\u2019m all done.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>This year, I\u2019m going to break the list up into three sections:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>games that are confirmed for 2020 and where we more-or-less know the release date.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Games that have no firm release date, but the hope is that they\u2019ll release in 2020.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>games that have been on my list before and that have STILL not shown up in any playable form at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Without further ado, here\u2019s the lists:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Games with Fixed release dates that I\u2019m aware of.<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Journey to the Savage Planet Release<br \/>Date: 28 January, 2020<br \/>Platforms: EGS, PS4, XBO<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/savageplanetgame.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" https:\/\/savageplanetgame.com (opens in a new tab)\"> https:\/\/savageplanetgame.com<\/a>\/<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Journey to the Savage Planet got me interested just for it\u2019s name. I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ll be interested in actually playing it, but my very visceral reaction to just hearing the words \u201cjourney to the savage planet\u201d said out loud was something like, \u201cwait a moment! That sounds VERY Jules Verne.\u201d And I guess you\u2019d be forgiven for thinking that it\u2019s the name of a book that he wrote. But nope. Instead, he wrote \u201cJourney to the Center of the Earth\u201d and \u201cJourney to the Moon,\u201d but no savage planets for him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Anyhow, this is a shooter [Boo!] where the aim of the game is to catalogue everything you see and to shoot everything you come across. Fundamentally, you\u2019re a grunt that\u2019s been put down on a planet that wasn\u2019t supposed to be inhabited by anyone, but surprise! There\u2019s sentient life down there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Along the way, there\u2019s a mysterious tower for you to discover and guns and upgrades aplenty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Gods and Monsters<br \/>\r\nRelease Date: Somewhere in 2020<br \/>\r\nPlatforms: PC, PS4, XBO, Switch, Stadia<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/gods-and-monsters.ubisoft.com\/game\/en-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"https:\/\/gods-and-monsters.ubisoft.com\/game\/en-us\/ (opens in a new tab)\">https:\/\/gods-and-monsters.ubisoft.com\/game\/en-us\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Gods and Monsters is a game made by the original team who made Assassin\u2019s Creed: Odyssey. So expect a lot of questing and looting and fighting very much in that vein, but with a FAR more stylized and beautiful look. The trailer floating around on the internet is pre-rendered footage, but I am rather hoping that they stick to the lush, green look they showcased. I\u2019m not sure I can stand much more brown desert-y muck in that sort of world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In keeping with that sort of design, Gods and Monsters will be drawing from Ancient Mythology, with your foes being literally mythical beasts from the old, old school.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I\u2019m hoping that they lean WAY more into the RPG half of the Odyssey design and that they flesh out the fighting style a lot more, because this sort of historical era is way up my alley.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Tell Me Why<br \/>\r\nPlatforms: PC, XBO<br \/>\r\nRelease DAte: Mid-2020<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"http:\/\/dont-nod.com\/en\/projects\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"http:\/\/dont-nod.com\/en\/projects\/ (opens in a new tab)\">http:\/\/dont-nod.com\/en\/projects\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I am VERY much in favour of the new wave of adventure games that have been creeping up over the last few years on PC and elsewhere. We\u2019ve had many a brilliant indie adventure game and Dontnod\u2019s new outing looks to be more of that style of thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>As with all Dontnod games, this one features an interesting story which \u2013 I hope \u2013 they can turn into an interesting game. In it, you pilot a pair of siblings who return to their original home. One of the siblings has undergone surgery to transition from being a lady to being a man. Some of the plot is all bound up in how events in their childhood home informed that decision. As the game progresses, you visit different rooms of the house, see visions of how things were from both perspectives and make choices for the siblings based on what you feel is \u201cthe most right\u201d version of events you\u2019ve just witnessed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I love that we\u2019re starting to tell very personal stories like this one, and I hope that this particular game picks up some good traction when it launches.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Way to the Woods<br \/>\r\nPlatforms: PC, XBO<br \/>\r\nRelease Date: 2020<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.waytothewoodsgame.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"https:\/\/www.waytothewoodsgame.com\/ (opens in a new tab)\">https:\/\/www.waytothewoodsgame.com\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/01_gtlft_2020_way_to_the_woods.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-900 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/01_gtlft_2020_way_to_the_woods-150x150.png\" alt=\"an image of a deer with their fawn as they traverse water that has fish in it.\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Before we get to talking about the actual gameplay here, I\u2019d like to say that this is a BEAUTIFUL looking game. The stylized art and colour scheme are wonderful and \u2013 as the developer has said \u2013 suggest Miyazaki and the like.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In this particular outing, you play a pair of deer: a large one and a small one. We don\u2019t know yet if they\u2019re connected [Mother and son, etc] but I think it\u2019s safe to say that they perhaps are. This pair of deer are creatures that inhabit a ruined world \u2013 man has gone and only his buildings and detritus are left strewn across the globe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Your job \u2013 as a pair of deer \u2013 is to get from your starting position to the woods. [Of course!]<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I love games like this that tell stories through their visuals and so on. One of my VERY favourite games that let you make up the story as you went along was The Endless Forest and this seems like it draws from that same well. Hopefully none of the deers die in the end, but \u2013 like with my other supposition, I almost think it\u2019s safe to say that the older one probably <em>will<\/em> die near the end of the journey. :(<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>[Fingers crossed that they won\u2019t.]<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Games with No Firm Release Date<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>My hope is that these will show up somewhere in 2020. But&#8230;life has a way of demolishing the plans of mice and men and game designers. Since none of these has been given TRUE release dates other than \u201c2020,\u201d I\u2019m expecting that at least a few, here, will slip. [And have, indeed, slipped before.]<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Holding thumbs for some of these, because some of them look right up my alley.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Among Trees<br \/>\r\nPlatforms: PC<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amongtreesgame.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"https:\/\/www.amongtreesgame.com\/ (opens in a new tab)\">https:\/\/www.amongtreesgame.com\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Part of the problem with most of the survival games that have come out in the past is that they also have some sort of horror theme creeping in underneath everything else. It\u2019s often not enough to just survive. You have to survive <em>and<\/em> take on the stuff of a thousand nightmares.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Well, Among Trees has figured out that that\u2019s not the only way to make a survival game. So, here we have a game where you\u2019re in the woods and you have to fend for yourself, but you don\u2019t have to worry about some dire beast coming to get you every night. It makes for a change.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I\u2019m interested in this one because I really like it\u2019s beautiful style. There\u2019s a lot of colour and sunshafts and scenes shot through with light. Initially, I was absolutely worried that this beautiful setup WAS the precursor to \u201coh no, horror game ahoy!\u201d But it seems like I am mistaken. I certainly hope I am. I\u2019d love to stroll around in this world and experience it if it looks THIS beautiful. Buuuuut&#8230;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>&#8230;well, we\u2019ll just have to see. Among Trees has already been delayed once and I suspect that it\u2019ll be delayed again. Such is the nature of indie development.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Biomutant<br \/>\r\nPlatforms: PC, XBO, PS4<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/biomutant.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"https:\/\/biomutant.com\/ (opens in a new tab)\">https:\/\/biomutant.com\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/02_gtlft_2020_biomutant.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-901 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/02_gtlft_2020_biomutant-150x150.png\" alt=\"the biomutant in repose, sitting on a hill and looking off into distance that features a sunset or sunrise.  they're headed to a forest, next.\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Oh gosh. Biomutant. I could write a novel about you, but I won\u2019t.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In short, Biomutant is an open-world game in which you play a creature that sets out to either save or destroy the world, because the world is dying. Because it\u2019s an open world game, you can do this in many ways. You also get a whole collection of traversal methods, weapons to play with and fighting styles that you can learn.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The problem with Biomutant? It\u2019s been pushed back a number of times already. Which \u2013 in one way \u2013 makes me happy: I\u2019m hoping beyond hope that they\u2019re polishing the game so that it shines like a diamond on release, but in another way? Well, it has me very, very worried.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I desperately want this team \u2013 making what seems like their dream game \u2013 to release something excellent. But I also don\u2019t want us to have another Duke Nukem: Forever situation on our hands, where the game takes ten years and is, then, lackluster for having been in the oven for so long.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>This is PROBABLY the game I\u2019m looking forward to the most on this list. The only thing I hope? You can turn that narrator off. He just seems to destroy the flow of combat, completely.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Elden Ring<br \/>\r\nPlatforms: PC, XBO, PS4<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.bandainamcoent.eu\/elden-ring\/elden-ring\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"https:\/\/en.bandainamcoent.eu\/elden-ring\/elden-ring (opens in a new tab)\">https:\/\/en.bandainamcoent.eu\/elden-ring\/elden-ring<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Elden Ring started a buzz mainly because of who was behind it: on one hand, you have the folks at FromSoft promising another vast, open world game in the vein of their previous work [CF: Demon\u2019s Souls, Dark Souls I, II and III as well as Bloodborne.], but the game picked up some pedigree, too, by way of having George RR Martin \u2013 yes. <em>That<\/em> George RR Martin as a consultant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I expect that he\u2019s there to help the worldbuilding and to shape the general themes of the game, but I don\u2019t envision him having TOO much to do with the actual gameplay. But that\u2019s neither here nor there. The promise of From dealing with sort-of-Norse mythology is intriguing. The hope, of course, is that they can build something interesting around that sort of lore that works well as a Souls-y sort of experience.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>This is one of those games where I\u2019m a little ambivalent. I want more Souls. For sure. But I want the From folk handling story creation duty. I\u2019m about to have my nerd card revoked in a moment, and that\u2019s OK, but I\u2019ve never really LIKED Game of Thrones. Too much of it is too dark and too mired in politics for my tastes, and I don\u2019t know how that can be translated well into video game form.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Ah well. The internet is certainly happy about this one and I have to admit that I\u2019m a little curious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>No Straight Roads<br \/>\r\nPlatforms: PC, PS4<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.metronomik.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"https:\/\/www.metronomik.net\/ (opens in a new tab)\">https:\/\/www.metronomik.net\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>So, there\u2019s this game series. You may have heard of it. It goes by the name of Final Fantasy. It hasn\u2019t been Final for a very long time now, but you have to do something after you make one of those games. The problem is&#8230;what do you make?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Well, for the folks who made Final Fantasy 15, that seems to be a game that takes music and puts it front-and-center of the game. Here, that means that you\u2019re a rock star and you\u2019re fighting EDM. Yes. Really.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>This is a game I\u2019m curious about for one of several reasons: the first is that I want to see what these folks \u2013 who are used to working with a much bigger budget \u2013 can do as a smaller, indie studio. That might be interesting, just in and of itself \u2013 how they\u2019ll have to bend and twist to get the kind of game they envision. But I\u2019m also curious about this one for the obvious reason:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>I want to SEE EDM go up against Rock. We sort of saw that this might be an interesting setup for something in the Scott Pilgrm movie, where his band went head-to-head against an actual dance group \u2013 and I loved the outcome of that battle [it was all projected sound where the sound took on animalistic forms \u2013 dragons and the like] \u2013 so there\u2019s certainly something here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>You know, just thinking about it, I want someone to make that Scott Pilgrim concert sequence into a game. Go to it, internet! You\u2019ve been given a free game idea! Just make sure you credit me. ;)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Sable<br \/>\r\nPlatforms: PC, XBO<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shed-works.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"https:\/\/www.shed-works.co.uk\/ (opens in a new tab)\">https:\/\/www.shed-works.co.uk\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you\u2019ll pardon me for a minute: sable is a fable about a boy and his gloverbike.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Well, no. Not really. That last word wanted to be hoverbike, but I also wanted to push that dumb rhyme to it\u2019s breaking point ;)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Anyhow, Sable is a beautiful looking game by Shedworks. Already once-delayed, it is billed as a coming-of-age story set in a desert-y setup where everything is rendered in a very cartoony style. A couple of the screenshots and the one video I\u2019ve seen of it remind me a little bit of Okami in motion. Which may be a good thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In Sable\u2019s case, I am hoping that the visual style is paired with an arresting story because while those visuals are beautiful, indeed, all of that will count for nothing if there\u2019s no substance underneath that wonderful looking exterior.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Plus: I\u2019m kind of hoping we get to drive the hoverbike around and that it\u2019s not just set dressing that we use to get from one place to another. I DID like that conceit in Dune, [the CD version of Dune had little rendered interstitials while you went from place to place so that it was a little more immersive than just \u201cpoint at hotspot and arrive.\u201d] but I dunno if a modern audience would be into something like that at this late date.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Spiritfarer<br \/>\r\nPlatforms: PC, XBO, PS4, NS <\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/thunderlotusgames.com\/spiritfarer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"https:\/\/thunderlotusgames.com\/spiritfarer\/ (opens in a new tab)\">https:\/\/thunderlotusgames.com\/spiritfarer\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/03_gtlft_2020_spiritfarer.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-902 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/03_gtlft_2020_spiritfarer-150x150.png\" alt=\"you on your boat at what's probably sunset with some of the spirits that you're faring.  these are all animals, like a stag and a snake and so on.\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>I love Biomutant. And I desperately want it to be with us.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>But&#8230;I also want Spiritfarer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Of all the games on this list this year, Spiritfarer\u2019s the one that speaks to me the most. But then \u2013 and to be fair \u2013 I champion The Dig any time someone\u2019s interested in an existential game that takes topics that we don\u2019t normally see in games and uses them as a sort of engine to power the narrative.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Spiritfarer looks like it\u2019s doing the same sort of thing, but from a slightly different angle. Where The Dig was primarily concerned with immortality and what that could mean and how we might achieve it, Spiritfarer is about the dead and what it might mean for the dead to move on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In Spiritfarer, you play as Stella. Stella\u2019s job is to ferry the deceased from where they\u2019ve died to the afterlife. To do that, you have to care for them. This means \u2013 I hope \u2013 that you will forge some sort of connection with them and that you will get to hear their stories and that you will be able to engage with the idea of mortality in a way that isn\u2019t just the surface level we get from games. [Oh, you died? Well, here\u2019s a spot to respawn in, there\u2019s nothing more to see here.]<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Plus: everyone who ends up on your boat turns into a talking animal. And that\u2019s always good in my books.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>The Pathless<br \/>\r\nPlatforms, EGS, PS4, Apple Arcade<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/thepathless.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"https:\/\/thepathless.com\/ (opens in a new tab)\">https:\/\/thepathless.com\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>There are some developers where it\u2019s very easy to just trust.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>To trust that they\u2019re making a good game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>To trust that they\u2019re telling an interesting story.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The folks at Giant Squid \u2013 some of the same folks from thatgamecompany, who were responsible for Journey and then ABZ\u00db [they split from tgc to make ABZ\u00db], are back again with another beautiful looking game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If I have one minor point of concern, it\u2019s that they are straying from their sort of meditative roots \u2013 the gameplay in both ABZ\u00db and Journey was simple to grasp and easy to work with once you learned how \u2013 and The Pathless seems to have abandoned that mellow quality for something with more oomph \u2013 and more combat to it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>That may be OK? Who knows? But I don\u2019t want them to make a combat focused game for the sake of making a combat focused game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>It does have that same sort of arresting quality as ABZ\u00db, of course. All those beautiful colours!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>But man, seeing that you were going to fight things made me a little sad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Even if those things are The Darkness. [I guess Giant Squid believe in a thing called love?]<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>And even if you\u2019re just using a bow and arrow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The Greywolfe Anti-Shooter Gods are INCREDIBLY displeased :)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>VirtuaVerse<br \/>\r\nPlatforms, PC, MAC<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thetadivision.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"http:\/\/www.thetadivision.com\/ (opens in a new tab)\">http:\/\/www.thetadivision.com\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/04_gtlft_2020_virtuaverse.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-903 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/04_gtlft_2020_virtuaverse-150x150.png\" alt=\"a perfectly cyberpunk night made up of purples and whites and blues.  you're in an apartment, possibly looking for something.\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>You know what style I sort of miss?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>That old-school 80\u2019s neon and chrome style.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Imagine my surprise when a game tapping directly into that whole Zeitgeist \u2013 with the VR and the Cyberpunk and the kind of synth-generated soundtrack that seems to dominate the NewRetroWave \u2013 sprung into being somewhere at the beginning of last year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Imagine, then, my further surprise when they suggested they were planning to launch in 2020. Which seems like a great, very Cyberpunk-y year to be releasing a game like this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Imagine my giddiness when I learned that it was an old-school point and click adventure game. Well, let me tell you. I think I\u2019m in love a little bit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Though I do worry that this game will take itself a little <em>too<\/em> seriously, given all the history it\u2019s trying to pull from.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>We\u2019ll just have to see. In any case. In this one, you play as Nathan, a hacker guy. Nathan\u2019s trying to rescue his girlfriend. But the problem is, evil AI\u2019s control everyone, making that a tricky proposition. Is that a tale as old as time or what? It sure is. Even the Neanderthals knew you should never let your rogue AI loose.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>This is one of those where I worry that we\u2019ll get a style over substance game [like with Sable], but..man. That 80\u2019s aesthetic will make it much easier to forgive that particular sin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Witchbrook<br \/>\r\nPlatforms: PC<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/chucklefish.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"https:\/\/chucklefish.org\/ (opens in a new tab)\">https:\/\/chucklefish.org\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Once known as Spellbound, Witchbrook bills itself as a kind of \u201cStardew Valley with Wizards.\u201d In this particular game, you go to wizard school. It even has that same sort of Stardew Valley look wit the pixelated tilesets and that so-particular lighting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Details are pretty light just at the moment, but since it\u2019s the developers of Starbound, who are also the publishers of Stardew Valley well, then there\u2019s already a sort of precedent there for what we can expect: large, open spaces, crafting \u2013 which probably means brewing potions and little quests that you can do to advance yourself as a character and as a student among other students.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Hopefully, some Stardew Valley bleeds in there and we\u2019ll have relationships and something to look after [a pet?]<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>One thing\u2019s for sure \u2013 if those two games are the template for this particular experience then the mods are going to flow like wine for this one. Which would be great. Even if the game isn\u2019t billed as Pixelated Hogwarts, well&#8230;someone will build that and the players will come.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Let\u2019s just hope there\u2019s no Lord Voldemort. One of the things that [somewhat] turned me off about Stardew Valley was the very timed nature of that game. The world doesn\u2019t need that in this day and age.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Anyhow. I\u2019m looking at least a little forward to this one, given it\u2019s pedigree. Let\u2019s hope it ships in 2020.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Games I\u2019m still waiting for<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In almost all of these cases [as with Biomutant in particular, I suppose] I spotted these somewhere in the past \u2013 before 2019. I think I started seeing references to Eitr \u2013 for example \u2013 in 2015. And back then, it was hoped that it\u2019d show up in 2016. I even had it in my last list like this, in fact. So, the jury\u2019s out on these. Maybe they\u2019ll be a nice surprise for 2020? Maybe not. Anyhow, the two most interesting games for me are:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Eitr<br \/>\r\nPlatforms: PC, Linux, PS4, MAC<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.devolverdigital.com\/games\/eitr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"https:\/\/www.devolverdigital.com\/games\/eitr (opens in a new tab)\">https:\/\/www.devolverdigital.com\/games\/eitr<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Of course this is on the list. I just mentioned it up top ;)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Anyhow. One of the things that I\u2019ve grown to appreciate since that fateful post in 2016 is the Soulslike. When they\u2019re done right, they\u2019re sublime games that are \u2013 in no small part \u2013 about patience and about how we\u2019ve sort of lost our way with that style of play in the modern era.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Everything is signposted. Everything is tutorialized. Every bit of the story is offered up to you on a platter. Well, in a Soulslike, none of that is true and all of it is great. [In a GOOD Soulslike, I mean.]<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>So far, we\u2019ve had Dark Souls III come and go while waiting for Eitr. We\u2019ve had variations on the idea in the form of Salt and Sanctuary [mostly black and white. Very platformy. 2D] or the marvelously scored DarkMaus [Top down. You\u2019re a mouse! Your dead shades help you beat other enemies.] or the Sci-Fi stylings of The Surge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>All of these are great games, and yet&#8230;I\u2019m waiting for Eitr. Why? Well. A lot of it has to do with Eitr\u2019s very isometric style. But \u2013 like Blasphemous \u2013 some of it is tied up in the way it takes that whole gothic spin Dark Souls had and supplants it into a different time and place. For Blasphemous, there\u2019s a lot of religious iconography and symbolism. For Eitr, we get a game in this genre that deals predominantly with Norse ideas and Norse mythology. Which \u2013 I think \u2013 could be a GREAT fit for this style of game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Here\u2019s to hoping we see Eitr sooner rather than later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Tunic<br \/>\r\nPlatforms: PC, XBO<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Website: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tunicgame.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"http:\/\/www.tunicgame.com\/ (opens in a new tab)\">http:\/\/www.tunicgame.com\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/05_gtlft_2020_tunic.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-904 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/05_gtlft_2020_tunic-150x150.png\" alt=\"your little fox protagonist standing on a ruined bridge.  every which way he looks, there's water.  so it's probably not a great idea to fall off.\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>I never thought I\u2019d actually like Zelda-like games. The handful I saw in the past demanded too much of your reflexes. Or they had design tropes that forced exploration on you whether you liked\/wanted that or not. But then I started playing a handful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Yes, yes, I tried the original Legend of Zelda in 1986. And no, the game didn\u2019t stick with me then.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>But I swung back around after buying Ittle Dew. That game sat in my backlog for almost a year before I had the itch to try it out. And then I blew through it fairly quickly. [All except for one boss very near the end that made me tear [more] of my hair out.]<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>And you know? There\u2019s something endlessly charming about this style of game. Sure. You\u2019re forced to explore. And yeah, some of that twitch combat can be ridiculous. But the thing is that in <em>most<\/em> of the games that are released under this banner, there\u2019s a lot of bright colours and cheerful play that we don\u2019t see enough of in regular games.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>And Tunic is exactly that sort of thing. You\u2019re a fox. You don\u2019t know how you got on this island and maybe you should get off of it. Buuuuut while you\u2019re here, you\u2019re going to jump and puzzle your way through rooms and fight cool boss monsters. And it\u2019s going to be an adventure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>And that, I think, is what gaming should be about: going on fantastic adventures. Tunic seems to fit that bill quite well, so I hope it\u2019s with us when it\u2019s ready.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>And those, friends, are the games I\u2019m most looking forward to. You\u2019ll notice [though I guess you won\u2019t be surprised] that there\u2019s no Cyberpunk 2077 or anything like that on this list. While that\u2019s probably a good game, it\u2019s just not up my alley enough for me to be keeping tabs on it. It\u2019s a shooter, after all ;)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>What games are you looking forward to?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Feel free to let us know in the comments.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Have a happy 2020!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>And a productive year of gaming!<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Warning! There are MANY LINKS ahead. They will open in separate pages. Well, it\u2019s certainly been a while, hasn\u2019t it? The last post I made here was several years ago now, and that\u2019s pretty bad. It means I haven\u2019t been writing about games and gaming and movies and music and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,124],"tags":[346,347,348,349,350,351,352,353,354,190,355,189,356,357,358,359,360,175,186,361,362,363,364,365,366,367,368,369,370,371,372,373,374,375,376,377,117,378,379,380,381],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":906,"href":"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899\/revisions\/906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/greywolfe.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}