The New and Upcoming Games Thread

[Guest]

I really appreciate the 20xx in Music threads as a way to keep up with new stuff and although we've got all sorts of threads for specific games/genres/platforms, I feel like they tend to get a bit lost amidst the broader remit of the Entertainment Forum. I thought we could perhaps do with a similar topic dedicated to discussing and highlighting new games. My thinking is to do a post at the start of each month (if I remember) mentioning a handful of notable upcoming releases and stuff I'm personally looking forward to, and then if there's anything you're interested in that's slipped under my radar - I don't really keep up with anything Nintendo for instance - you can chuck it into the mix.

 

Without further ado, here is some of what's coming up in October.

 

8th - Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred (PC/PS/Xbox) -  first expansion for the base game with a new questline, region and class. I've not touched it since around launch but apparently stuff like loot, crafting and the endgame have seen pretty comprehensive changes since then so this could be a good time to jump back in.

 

8th - Silent Hill 2 (PC/PS5) - remake of what I understand to be one of the best horror games ever made despite not having played it, partly because I was a young child when it came out and partly because I am a coward who hates being scared. The recent Resident Evil remakes seemed generally well-received and this looks a similar sort of deal with the modernised camera and fancy graphics.

 

11th - Metaphor: ReFantazio (PC/PS/Xbox) - Persona but with modern Japan and anime schoolgirls replaced with medieval fantasy and anime elves. If that sounds like your sort of thing, or it really doesn't and you are looking to punish yourself for something, there is a demo available now that covers roughly the first five hours with your save carrying over to the full game.

 

11th - Undisputed (PC/PS/Xbox) - a new boxing game for anyone still mourning the loss of Fight Night. Made by a British team I believe and has been on Steam Early Access for a while so maybe some of our PC users can shed some light on how it's shaping up.

 

25th - Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (PC/PS/Xbox) - you probably know what to expect from this by now. I played the beta which was OK but if you are tired of the franchise I can't imagine this is going to do anything to change that.

 

31st - Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PC/PS5/XSXS) - it is quite a long time since BioWare made a good game and yet I find myself cautiously optimistic about this. I don't think the combat looks like anything to shout about and I don't expect a return to anything like the glory days but I reckon we can probably expect a slightly naff but broadly enjoyable 7/10, which would represent a sizeable improvement on the likes of Andromeda and Anthem.

 

If you're interested/profoundly disinterested in any of those or indeed any game coming up over the next month, have at it.

 

 

 

[dmayne7]

11 hours ago, Guest said:

I really appreciate the 20xx in Music threads as a way to keep up with new stuff and although we've got all sorts of threads for specific games/genres/platforms, I feel like they tend to get a bit lost amidst the broader remit of the Entertainment Forum. I thought we could perhaps do with a similar topic dedicated to discussing and highlighting new games. My thinking is to do a post at the start of each month (if I remember) mentioning a handful of notable upcoming releases and stuff I'm personally looking forward to, and then if there's anything you're interested in that's slipped under my radar - I don't really keep up with anything Nintendo for instance - you can chuck it into the mix.

 

Without further ado, here is some of what's coming up in October.

 

8th - Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred (PC/PS/Xbox) -  first expansion for the base game with a new questline, region and class. I've not touched it since around launch but apparently stuff like loot, crafting and the endgame have seen pretty comprehensive changes since then so this could be a good time to jump back in.

 

8th - Silent Hill 2 (PC/PS5) - remake of what I understand to be one of the best horror games ever made despite not having played it, partly because I was a young child when it came out and partly because I am a coward who hates being scared. The recent Resident Evil remakes seemed generally well-received and this looks a similar sort of deal with the modernised camera and fancy graphics.

 

11th - Metaphor: ReFantazio (PC/PS/Xbox) - Persona but with modern Japan and anime schoolgirls replaced with medieval fantasy and anime elves. If that sounds like your sort of thing, or it really doesn't and you are looking to punish yourself for something, there is a demo available now that covers roughly the first five hours with your save carrying over to the full game.

 

11th - Undisputed (PC/PS/Xbox) - a new boxing game for anyone still mourning the loss of Fight Night. Made by a British team I believe and has been on Steam Early Access for a while so maybe some of our PC users can shed some light on how it's shaping up.

 

25th - Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (PC/PS/Xbox) - you probably know what to expect from this by now. I played the beta which was OK but if you are tired of the franchise I can't imagine this is going to do anything to change that.

 

31st - Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PC/PS5/XSXS) - it is quite a long time since BioWare made a good game and yet I find myself cautiously optimistic about this. I don't think the combat looks like anything to shout about and I don't expect a return to anything like the glory days but I reckon we can probably expect a slightly naff but broadly enjoyable 7/10, which would represent a sizeable improvement on the likes of Andromeda and Anthem.

 

If you're interested/profoundly disinterested in any of those or indeed any game coming up over the next month, have at it.

 

 

 

Dragon Age is probably my favourite game franchise. Looks like there's plenty of things to potentially be concerned about but like you, I think at worst, it's still going to be a 7/10 (which is an automatic 9 for personal preference).

 

Actually delighted about the combat as I much prefer action combat and having replayed them all recently, Inquisition's was neither one thing nor the other. I don't think it will be amazing but if the story, characters, lore are on point, and the combat is decent that will elevate the game.

I've got over the art style now and don't think I'll care about it once I get playing. Frustrating that the marketing has been absolutely awful for the game and has just allowed YouTubers and the like to hammer the game for being childish and woke etc. So want to block that out a bit. Previews (which not entirely reliable) were extremely positive across the board so let's hope it's a good as that.

 

Been counting down the days for months now which considering I've got engaged, been to the Olympics, on another holiday and planning a wedding, probably shows I'm unreasonably excited . Haven't really been excited for a game for a couple of years and the last game I was this excited for was Inquisition, which ended up being my most disappointing game ever. Not because it was bad but more because it took ages to feel like Dragon Age and the pacing was atrocious. Let's hope this fairs better!

[Zear0]

Am looking forward to Dragon Age, but have lost all faith in Bioware so don't have high hopes.

 

Personally looking forward to New World: Aeternum as the game did have promise when was first launched but got dry very quickly due to lack of things to do.

 

However the geek in me is looking forward to Flight Sim 2024 and new Farming Sim...

[RoboFox]

Starship Troopers: Extermination is coming to consoles next week I think. Could be fun with a bunch of mates. 

 

Like with basically every annual-release franchise these days, CoD will just be largely a reskin with a few arbitrary new features and an absolute con. "Look everyone! You can run in every direction! That'll be £80 please. Oh, and you can buy this cosmetic item for only £10. And the season pass is only £15 per month." 

 

Edited 3 October 2024 by RoboFox

[whoareyaaa]

Silent Hill was such a good game when young, shame I don't have a PS5.

 

Two games that are still a way off but GTA 6 and Fable 4 are the ones I am looking forward to the most, don't really play many games now days but those will be fully enjoyed.

Edited 3 October 2024 by whoareyaaa

[moore_94]

Lego Horizon Adventures probably the only game I am looking forward to coming out the rest of this year

Edited 3 October 2024 by moore_94

[VLC86]

Buzzing for Silent Hill 2. That game made me absolutely shit myself as a kid.

[Legend_in_blue]

I had every Silent Hill game back in the day on PS2.  Great games.  The second one is the best one.

 

[sharpylcfc]

I've got Undisputed coming next Friday. I've got the deluxe WBC edition ordered which should give you 3 days early access according to the PlayStation store. According to Amazon it won't be released 11th though? So I'm slightly confused anyone got any idea?

[Guest]

On 03/10/2024 at 09:36, dmayne7 said:

Dragon Age is probably my favourite game franchise. Looks like there's plenty of things to potentially be concerned about but like you, I think at worst, it's still going to be a 7/10 (which is an automatic 9 for personal preference).

 

Actually delighted about the combat as I much prefer action combat and having replayed them all recently, Inquisition's was neither one thing nor the other. I don't think it will be amazing but if the story, characters, lore are on point, and the combat is decent that will elevate the game.

 

I've got over the art style now and don't think I'll care about it once I get playing. Frustrating that the marketing has been absolutely awful for the game and has just allowed YouTubers and the like to hammer the game for being childish and woke etc. So want to block that out a bit. Previews (which not entirely reliable) were extremely positive across the board so let's hope it's a good as that.

 

Been counting down the days for months now which considering I've got engaged, been to the Olympics, on another holiday and planning a wedding, probably shows I'm unreasonably excited . Haven't really been excited for a game for a couple of years and the last game I was this excited for was Inquisition, which ended up being my most disappointing game ever. Not because it was bad but more because it took ages to feel like Dragon Age and the pacing was atrocious. Let's hope this fairs better!

Yeah the first couple of trailers were not great but it looks a bit better with every new look at it they give. My only experience with the series is a few hours of Inquisition but I'm intrigued to see how this does, partly because I like fantasy RPGs but moreso because I want to know how worried I should be about the new Mass Effect

[Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot]

Silent hill 2 I would have played when I was 12-14ish I think, and remains one of the scariest games I’ve ever played, along with PT and fatal frame 2. 
 

55 quid seems like a lot though, when it goes on sale (hopefully before Christmas) I’ll definitely get it.

[RonnieTodger]

On 04/10/2024 at 14:15, sharpylcfc said:

I've got Undisputed coming next Friday. I've got the deluxe WBC edition ordered which should give you 3 days early access according to the PlayStation store. According to Amazon it won't be released 11th though? So I'm slightly confused anyone got any idea?

Looking forward to this. Have been following the journey since they announced that they were making it. 
 

Some animations still look janky but the level of variety and choice of boxing is amazing. 

[sharpylcfc]

30 minutes ago, RonnieTodger said:

Looking forward to this. Have been following the journey since they announced that they were making it. 
 

Some animations still look janky but the level of variety and choice of boxing is amazing. 

The fighter roster is huge which is brilliant too.

[sharpylcfc]

Beyond frustrated knowing I went for Undisputed deluxe edition to play it 3 days early. Now knowing that I won't get it until Friday. 

Edited 7 October 2024 by sharpylcfc

[Legend_in_blue]

 

This is excellent news.  

[RoboFox]

Subnautica 2 announced and coming to early access next year. Absolutely pumped about this.

 

I wish I could experience the original for the first time again. Such a special game. Some of the most shit-pant inducing moments.

 

 

Edited 22 October 2024 by RoboFox

[Trav Le Bleu]

On 22/10/2024 at 12:03, RoboFox said:

Subnautica 2 announced and coming to early access next year. Absolutely pumped about this.

 

I wish I could experience the original for the first time again. Such a special game. Some of the most shit-pant inducing moments.

 

 

I'm a little worried that it seems to be going down the multiplayer route. There's increasingly fewer games with good storylines.

[RoboFox]

3 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

I'm a little worried that it seems to be going down the multiplayer route. There's increasingly fewer games with good storylines.

Whilst Subnautica is an amazing single-player experience, I think it's just 2 player co-op which would also be great. Playing through the whole game with a mate will be a blast IMO. 

 

I hope they just don't make the same mistakes they did with Below Zero - having a protagonist that constantly witters on, and too many human NPCs. What made the original so great was the sense that you're there completely isolated as the last survivor of the Aurora with the only human contact being the voice logs of long dead crew. No protagonist narration breaking immersion, just the excellent sound design and minimalist music.

 

...Now I'm going to have to go back and play it. 

 

Edited 25 October 2024 by RoboFox

[Zear0]

Extremely varied reviews for Dragon Age going from best Bioware game ever to meh. Will see for myself I guess but unusual to have such a variation in scores from "established" media. Soon the game will be dragged into the review bombing from the culture war scene which will be painful. 

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Zear0 said:

Extremely varied reviews for Dragon Age going from best Bioware game ever to meh. Will see for myself I guess but unusual to have such a variation in scores from "established" media. Soon the game will be dragged into the review bombing from the culture war scene which will be painful. 

Yeah I wasn't hugely optimistic but even compared to my relatively low expectations I think it looks properly crap, which is a shame because in theory it ought to be exactly my sort of thing. Maybe it improves the more time you spend with it but the writing, particularly where the companions are concerned, seems so lifeless and bland which for a story-focused RPG is a dealbreaker for me in a way something like wonky combat isn't.

[Guest]

Well the only thing I was particularly looking forward to in November was Path of Exile 2 which has been delayed, but you certainly shouldn't let that dampen your own enthusiasm for any/all of the following:

 

8th - Slitterhead (PC/PS/Xbox) - hot off the heels of the Silent Hill 2 remake we have this very weird-looking survival horror offering from the creator of Silent Hill. Not my thing but the setting looks cool and the monster design is appropriately bizarre in the way Japanese devs seem to specialise in.

 

12th - Farming Simulator 25  (PC/PS5/XSXS) - I cannot imagine you need me to describe this for you.

 

12th - The Rise of the Golden Idol (PC/PS/Xbox/Switch/Mobile) - indie murder-mystery puzzler and sequel to 2022's The Case of the Golden Idol. The mobile release is via Netflix apparently and for us PC folk there's a demo on Steam.

 

14th - Lego Horizon Adventures (PC/PS5/Switch) - it's Horizon made out of Lego which is not an enormously attractive proposition for someone who found the Horizon games quite boring and doesn't care about Lego, but it does look to have a certain charm to it.

 

19th - Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (PC/XSXS) - please refer to the entry for Farming Simulator 25.

 

20th - S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl (PC/XSXS) - post-apocalyptic survival shooter, first entry in the series for 15 years and the product of a troubled development even before its creators had their country invaded by Russia. Despite everything it looks great and supposedly it'll be arriving on PS a few months down the line too.

 

 

[Legend_in_blue]

 

[Finnegan]

On 29/10/2024 at 19:57, Zear0 said:

Extremely varied reviews for Dragon Age going from best Bioware game ever to meh. Will see for myself I guess but unusual to have such a variation in scores from "established" media. Soon the game will be dragged into the review bombing from the culture war scene which will be painful. 

 

The culture war weirdos do make user reviews a whole load less reliable than they used to be, sadly. 

 

I'd say three things, though:

 

1. Bioware refused to send review codes to basically anyone they thought would give a vaguely negative review. This meant a lot of the early reviews were obviously quite positive but equally created an enormous amount of backlash. I mean, they didn't even let Fextralife see it and they're one of the biggest RPG content creators out there. Not a good look. 

 

2. Personally, I think Dragon Age and Bioware have gotten steadily worse with every release. DA1 was a brilliant game, by the time they got to Inquisition I thought it was very middle-of-the-road console rpg fodder. It's not much better than Kingdoms of Amalur, which is the most 6/10 game ever, it just had a well known IP to its name. 

 

3. You don't get more "woke" than Baldurs Gate 3. There is a phenomenal amount of representation in BG3, it's beloved by the LGBT community and it's done a lot to bring a somewhat niche rpg style in to the mainstream. It is near universally acclaimed and you'll struggle to find anyone with much bad to say about it. 

 

Yeah, there's one or two fringe weirdos making mods that make Wyll white or Dame Aylin more feminine but any culture war review bombing was near universally drowned out by an overwhelming wave of support. 

 

When you put all of this together, my interpretation is that - as expected - Veilguard is just a massively average, middle of the road, 6/10 RPG trying to convince everyone it's worth 60 or 70 odd quid because it had a AAA budget. 

 

If it was a great game, that's what you'd be hearing, the fact people are so easily distracted by "diversity" or "woke" tells me the game itself isn't all that interesting. It's like the reverse of that recent PlayStation Neir-clone where literally the only selling point was the waifu main character's arse in latex. 

 

TLDR: If the hype isn't about the actual gameplay or story telling you can usually glean what you want from that. 

 

[RoboFox]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl out tomorrow and I believe on Xbox Game Pass at launch. 

[Guest]

On 19/11/2024 at 12:27, RoboFox said:

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl out tomorrow and I believe on Xbox Game Pass at launch. 

It sounds like a proper diamond in the rough which I understand is basically the grand tradition of Stalker. I will definitely be having a crack a few big patches down the line when hopefully it's a bit more stable and the performance has improved to the extent I'm not going to have to set everything to low, crank up the upscaling and turn on frame gen just to stop it running like a slideshow.