My 50 Most Anticipated Games of 2016 - Part Two (#35-#21)

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DevourerOfTime

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Part Deux time everybody! If you didn't read the first part, I'm posting a quick summary of why I'm excited for 50 different video games in 2016. Today, I'll be running down fifteen more games and I'll hopefully have the rest done by the end of next week. Again, this is a subjective list, so don't expect something popular I have no interest in to take #1 (sorry, Deus Ex). Hopefully this list will get you more hyped up for the games coming out this year, remind you of a few you've forgotten about, and maybe introduce you to a few new games.

This is a collection of posts from my tumblr, so a few of them might contain information that is outdated and/or are about games that have already been released.

If you didn't catch the first post I made check it out here:

#35 - Rime

No Caption Provided

Platforms: PS4

Release Date: 2016?

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGhNL4uB8uI

When Rime was revealed at Gamescom 2013, I took two things away from it: the visuals were as breathtaking as the first time I saw Wind Waker in motion and it was the first game since Journey that I just wanted to explore just for the sake of it’s beauty. The following year, Tequila Works put out another trailer (embedded below) that was even more stunning, with lush, colourful landscapes and superb lighting, but it also hinted at how the game will actually play. The best we could decipher was that it was a sort of hybrid between an open world combat-less Zelda game and a more puzzle focused game from Team Ico. Sure, that’s entirely speculative, but everything about the game that was shown or talked about was striking home.

Then, after that Gamescom, *poof* Rime vanishes. The developer continues to update their company’s site enough that you can tell the game hasn’t been cancelled, but no new information about the game has been released. Which is a shame. As the industry is praising another gorgeous open-world puzzle game, I find myself thinking of that latest Rime trailer on a daily basis. I respect The Witness and am glad it’s finding success, but it is a game that is decisively not for me. It’s too reminiscent of the Myst-style adventure game or the Fez-style puzzle game, both games eliciting the same respectful disinterest. So I am green with envy that The Witness is getting all this buzz and my Puzzle Treasure Island game of choice is still on the horizon, somewhere.

#34 - Mass Effect: Andromeda

No Caption Provided

Platforms: PS4, Xbone, & PC

Release Date:Late 2016

Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG8V9dRqSsw

I’m so hesitant to put this on this list.

Despite not being that big of a fan of Bioware, Mass Effect 2 might just be the game of the last generation for me.
Despite not being that big of a fan of Bioware, Mass Effect 2 might just be the game of the last generation for me.

Sure, I was never a huge fan of the original, but something about Mass Effect 2made the whole Bioware formula click after decades of trying. The characters were more alive and their relationships mattered to me, the worlds felt more real (despite restricting access to them to a few hallways and launching probes haphazardly across them), the side quests all felt like they had value to them beyond just getting x reward, and the story was basically just Ocean’s Eleven in Space, which was fucking rad. The gameplay, while not quite as tight as pure third person shooters like Gears of War, was satisfying and tense no matter what class you were playing or team you brought into battle. And don’t even get me started on how much I love the Loyalty Missions and their insights into both your squad and the Mass Effect universe.

Yes, Mass Effect 2 was the finest Western RPG, Bioware game, Third Person Shooter, and Dating Sim I ever played, but along came Mass Effect 3 a few years later, a sadistic destruction of everything within it’s predecessor I held dear.

And that wound is still in the process of healing. I still am filled with negative emotions about the series. I am still so wary to get excited about a new game in a franchise that had such a high high and such low lows.

On the other hand, the developers behind Andromeda are (so far) taking the steps they should to distance themselves from Mass Effect 1-3. By having Andromeda take place on a Noah’s Ark of a spaceship that left prior to the potentially disastrous ending of Mass Effect 3 on a 2.5 million light-year trek to the Andromeda galaxy, Bioware has effectively looked at the mess that surrounded the ending of that original trilogy and just start waving their arms yelling “NOPE NOPE NOPE” across the local group. While it might be an excuse to make more Mass Effect games without touching the Mass Effect 3 landmine, it’s the right excuse. Andromeda can safely jettison a lot of the baggage that has stuck with this series for a decade. The whole “your decisions matter and will stick with you for multiple games”? The needlessly binary (and prone to mood swings) Renegade and Paragon system? The need for a morality metre at all in 2016? The whole stale and static way the plots unfolded with exploration of the galaxy as merely a feature on the back of the box? The overreliance on humanity’s place in the universe and every matter in it as a way to keep the plot “engaging”? The problematic storylines that “had” to be hastily all wrapped up with a nice bow by the end of the original trilogy? The sloppy in-universe explanations that prevented more LGBT relationships in the game? Hell, even the way that basic mechanics works justified by arbitrarily chosen technologies in place within the universe? All of that could be (and hopefully will be) tossed out into the vacuum of space safely without (most of) the fans being up in arms.

I can feel the nightmares coming back just looking at it...
I can feel the nightmares coming back just looking at it...

It’s because of this that Andromeda has the most potential of any game in the series. Bioware has a fictional universe that they can safely chop up and carry over only the best parts, as the rest will be literally left behind in the Milky Way. Mechanically they can shape this new entry around the heart of what made Mass Effect 2 so great and the original Mass Effect…. uhhh… so full of potential! Whatever they feel isn’t worth bringing forward, they make from scratch. This means that we’ll have new races to meet, new planets to explore (with hopefully better results mechanically), new situations to choose between diplomacy or a gun, new approaches to storytelling and gameplay alike the series has never seen before, and new friends to meet, romance, and, sometimes, kill (you always kill Ashley).

When making this list, I was both tempted to put Andromeda in the top ten based on how much pure potential it has and tempted to keep it off the list altogether based on my still lingering aversion to it. There are too many questions about it’s direction left unanswered, too many ways it could go wrong, and there have been too many times I have been burned by Bioware in the past, but I can’t help but acknowledge that Andromeda is making the perfect first impression. Though there are safer bets and more exciting games to look forward to playing in 2016, Mass Effect: Andromeda is the game I am most looking forward to E3 for, just so I can see how far Bioware Montreal is willing to take this.

#33 - Gravity Rush 2

No Caption Provided

Platform: PS4

Release Date: 2016

Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPu7GKzqKeM

Position in 2015: #32

Kat was a fantastic heroine in the original.
Kat was a fantastic heroine in the original.

The original Gravity Rush is the best superhero origin story game ever made. Through introducing a character with an unwieldy super power such as gravity control, it used the limitations of game controls to create a deeper connection with Kat, the main character. Every time you stopped in the middle of the air and struggled to get your bearings, you felt Kat was doing the same thing. Every time you were frustrated by barely missing a hit on a flying monster, your frustration mirrored her own. And every little improvement you made, every little mechanic you slowly mastered as you played the game was Kat transitioning from an awkward girl trying to grasp her disorienting superpowers into a confident, badass superhero who was hellbent on protecting the people of the foreign city around her. Gravity Rush was not a perfect game, but this connection you had with the Kat on a mechanics level was something completely unique and exhilarating to experience.

As exciting as it is for there to be a sequel to a game that had a lot of flaws on the periphery of it’s core design (the sidequests, the upgrade system, and the limited colour palette all hurt the original), I’m worried that the connection you make with Kat carried the original game more than I would like to admit. I’m worried that, now that Kat is a full grown superhero in a bright colourful world, that the player might not connect with her as well as in the original, exposing just an okay action game that lost it’s identity.

Those fears are unfounded so far, as it’s really only something you can judge once you’ve experience the game in full, but it’s something I think about whenever I see something new about Gravity Rush 2. It’s another one of those “only time will tell” scenarios on this list.

P.S. Gravity Rush: Remastered came out on PS4 last week. If you have not played the original, this seems like the ideal way to play it, as the Vita controls… well, it was a near-launch game, so every single hardware feature of the Vita was used, most being detrimental to the game. So yeah, pick up that first game if you haven’t!

#32 - Firewatch

No Caption Provided

Platform: PS4 & PC

Release Date: Released

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGfd1MwL-T4

Position in 2015: #31

It’s less than a week away fromafterFirewatch's release, and your idea about what the heck is Firewatch is as good as mine. How branched out will this narrative become? Is it largely a (and I use this term with all the love in the world) a walking simulator? Is it some sort of linear tale that can be driven through non-linearly and with a breadth of choices? Is the tale a Thriller? A Horror? Or is it just a Mystery? Is it’s painstakingly detailed approach to the world to accent the realistic approach to the storyline? Or is there something supernatural going on? Why are there racoon jump scares? Is it a Dating Sim? Can you keep that jukebox with you the entire game?

There are more questions than answers on what exactly Firewatch is, but it’s because it can’t be pinned down by mechanics and conventions of traditional found in games that makes it so exciting. Sure, the jury is still out on whether I’ll even like what the end product has become, but I sure as hell respect it for the risks it’s taking and the conventions it’s disregarding.

Note: This was originally posted on my blog on February 3rd. Guess there has to be one already released game in each batch of these, eh? OOPS

#31 - Videoball

No Caption Provided

Platforms: PS4, Xbone, & PC

Release Date:2016?

Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IR67E2bSZY

If Videoball isn’t the next super popular local multiplayer game, then somebody, somewhere fucked up. It’s simplistic nature, ease of control, intuitive design, and underlying strategy communicates to you wordlessly exactly how to play it in under a minute and just how deep the strategy can be in just a few rounds. The only reason this isn’t higher on this list is due to my own personal inundation with local multiplayer games and the looming realization that, by the time this game is released, I probably will be in another city, province, and/or country than I am right now. Not exactly conducive to enjoying Videoball to it’s fullest…

#30 - Ratchet & Clank (2016)

No Caption Provided

Platforms: PS4

Release Date:April 12th, 2016

Gameplay:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGFZWf6Ix_k

The first Sly game is like... really fucking good, people. Like unbelievably so.
The first Sly game is like... really fucking good, people. Like unbelievably so.

Ratchet & Clank was always the black sheep of the three Sony PS2 platformers for me. The first Jakgame was underwhelming, but the later games were the best open world games of their day. On the other hand, the first Sly was a masterpiece of platforming design, while the rest of the series leaned on their wonderful characters and varied gameplay to be engaging. And Ratchet & Clank was just… there. I always find people fall on different sides of this debate, but Ratchet just felt like the odd one out, an underwhelming 3D platformer that didn’t really rise above your average mascot 3D platformer to something special like Sly and Jak.

A year ago I decided it was time to give the series another shot and, while I still hold that it’s weaker than it’s cousins, the first two games (which is all I managed to get through) were a lot better than I remembered them being. I had a blast. I don’t know what changed in the decade since I played them last, but why people liked the Ratchet games finally started to click with me. It was just unfortunate that I discovered that so late, because as good as the core of Ratchet & Clank was, everything around it…. well… understandably plays like a game from 2002, which is not a good look nowadays.

So a new remake of that first game built completely from the ground up sounds like just what the doctor ordered. Reworked level design to fall in line with the standards of today; a retelling of the story in a much more vibrant, expressive, and natural way; and graphics that make me confuse the game footage with that movie their making. I don’t care if it’s remake at this point: getting to experience a brand new, modern take on this series should be a treat.

#29 - Unravel

No Caption Provided

Platforms: PS4, Xbone, & PC

Release Date:Released

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVLzQMqWER8

It’s weird to say, but nature is such an underused aesthetic in games. There are countless games that take place in the wilderness in some way or another, sure, but when I think of games that truly make use of all the little things in the natural world around us, both in a visual and mechanics way, ThatGameCompany’s Floweris the only game that comes to mind. And it’s understandable. Why make a detailed bush or icicle on a tree or a pile of dirt that behaves and looks like it should when your player is going to just run right by it? It’s just a huge sink in resources for not a lot of gain in immersion.

But Unravelforces those details to be crucial to immersion by significantly reducing the scale in which you interact with the world. Each branch is not a texture on a tree or tied to your “foliage” slider in the graphics menu, but an obstacle to surpass that bends and sways as you put pressure on it or as the wind blows and the rain falls. Snow is not just a tileset that makes the ground slippery or your footsteps more crunchy, but a field of snowflakes to be parted, compacted, and/or molded.

So while games like Yoshi’s Woolly World have made the whole yarn aesthetic cute and it definitely makes little Yarny an adorable character, it’s the way that Unravel uses nature that has me in awe of it’s visual design and salivating at the chance to experience more.

Note: This was originally posted on my blog on February 4th. Did I say "one" game that was already released in each batch of these? hoooo-boy.

#28 - World of Warcraft: Legion

No Caption Provided

Platforms: PC

Release Date:Q2/Q3

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYNCCu0y-Is

Bow down to the might of the Burning Legion.
Bow down to the might of the Burning Legion.

Ah, World of Warcraft. You are barely the game I fell in love with during The Burning Crusade era, but you remain the unyielding Warcraft lore delivery service that I find irresistible. Since I stopped playing you seriously when you wrapped up your Warcraft 3loose ends during Wrath of the Lich King, your world has been torn asunder in Cataclysm (and, subsequently, barely recognizable from the time I played you), you have traveled to the homeland of my favourite Warcraft race in Mists of Pandaria, and you have made a bizarre time traveling jump in Warlords of Draenor to retcon the hell out of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans to have the orcs fall in line with your modern, sympathetic, shamanistic vision. Yet, even though that all sounds appealing, the hooks were never set in again. Sure, I make a vacation back to Azeroth (and Draenor (and Outlands)) now and again, but reading up on your world was enough to keep me satisfied while your events played out for millions of other players to experience first hand.

Legion, though… Legion I don’t think I can resist. It’s the third invasion by the Burning Legion (if you don’t count the first and second Orcish invasions which were pupppeteered by Gul’dan and his demonic masters). This is it. This is the big one.

If it isn’t clear by now, I’m a GIGANTICWarcraft nerd and I will attempt to boil this down to those who don't follow every book, comic, and short story released as best I can: this expansion is the single biggest event that has happened in the entirety of World of Warcraft. All the major players in this universe are going to be there, from leaders on both factions to heroes that have had books written about them to villains that Blizzard literally had to break it’s own timeline to be all in one spot. And not all of these beloved characters are going to make it until the end. We already know a handful of them that have died in just the limited content available in the beta. What will the world look like when this is over? Who will fill the roles that others leave behind? How will this change the power dynamics between the two factions? Inside of each faction? What new characters will step up like Yrel did in Warlords to become new heroes, new fan favourites? These are the questions that keep me thinking and speculating about this game constantly.

Of course, we’ll win in the end. Blizzard isn’t going to allow their cash cow to die a graceful death just yet. But Blizzard is putting a lot of chips on the table, more than they’ve ever put down before, and are hoping the gamble brings back more players as it continues to shed millions off of it’s once insurmountable subscription numbers. And I know this. I know Blizzard is playing me…

..but it’s working.

#27 - Horizon: Zero Dawn

No Caption Provided

Platforms: PS4

Release Date:2016

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkg5UVTsKCE

ROBOT DINOSAURS!
ROBOT DINOSAURS!

Sony has a real gap in their first party output this generation. Sure, Sony doesn’t exactly have a stable of amazing franchises like Nintendo, but I just finished gushing about Sly, Jak, and Ratchet a few posts ago, so obviously there is quite a few of them that I love that aren’t showing up. This is largely due to Sony shifting from a developer into even more of a publisher, being the backer of risks for AAA studios like Capcom or From Software (STILL weird to put them in that category) and Indie Studios alike in exchange for exclusivity (even if it’s timed) on their platforms. And this strategy is working. If you compare the line-ups for the PS4 and the Xbox One, you’re seeing a lot more content on the PS4, especially as indie games become a bigger priority.

But just because Sony is shoving a lot of other games into the void their leaving behind doesn’t mean I don’t miss their first party efforts. Especially the side of them that has always been that weird, scrappy, risk-taking developer that creates games like PaRappa The Rapper, Ico, Patapon, and that trio of PS2 platformers. It’s that Sony that has been missing this generation.

Horizon: Zero Dawn isn’t quite…. THAT unique when it comes to games. It’s a sci-fi third person shooter from Guerrilla Games (the people known for making sci-fi first person shooters), but the world it lays out, a post-apocalyptic hunter-gatherer society where the robots have devolved into basically hi-tech animals to be hunted for supplies, is just goofy and hokey enough for me to wrap around on it and be 100% on board. Who cares if the core idea of the game has about as many holes as swiss cheese when you can hunt robot dinosaurs?! It’s the right kind of video game immaturity I can get behind.

Plus, the whole big game hunting feels sort of like a third person shooter Monster Hunter. If we need a third person shooter about hunting robot dinosaurs to stars popularizing those mechanics in other genres and within the mainstream outside of Japan, so be it.

#26 - NieR: Automata

No Caption Provided

Platforms: PS4

Release Date:2016

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m4jkS66zKk

Please. If there is any sort of video game god out there... no fishing this time. Please!
Please. If there is any sort of video game god out there... no fishing this time. Please!

I’ve heard a lot of complaining from NieR fans about Automata, mostly revolving around Platinum games involvement with it. Fans see the original as a unique gem of the last generation that deserved to have another game that builds off what they love about the original, not for it to transform into the next Platinum character action game. And I totally understand that and respect that, in an ideal world, a sequel should build off the strengths of the original.

But here’s my counterpoint: the combat of NieR was not what made it unique, it’s what held it back. Throughout my brief time with the original, it was the characters, the story, and the weird little gameplay hooks they sprinkled in that made me want to keep playing, not the stale, aggravating, and wholly unsatisfying moment-to-moment action RPG gameplay. On the other hand, here’s Platinum Games, batting 1.000 when it comes to making action games, a perfect candidate to swoop in, redesign the core of the game, yet keep all those little touches that made the original great.

It would be nice if all games had a core to them that was worth redeeming, worth refining, worth touching up and perfecting, but NieR was not one of those games. It was a game that you take a hacksaw to, removing it’s good parts and leaving the rest to rot. And that’s what I expect out of Automata, that’s why it’s on this list. The story, characters, music (oh dear god the music), and moments where the game is suddenly a text adventure were what made NieR great. So please… salvage them, Platinum. Salvage them as you create the rest anew.

#25 - Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past

No Caption Provided

Platforms: 3DS

Release Date:Summer

Announcement:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44-FDI8dJlk

The Dragon Quest series is built on approachability in it’s game design and mature storytelling that effortlessly spins heartfelt tales of comedy and tragedy alike, but Enix’s last entry in the series before their merger with longtime rival Squaresoft was so obsessed with 1UP-ing the heavy competition in the JRPG genre that it lost it’s soul. Dragon Quest VII retained the simplistic core gameplay and medieval-fantasy-by-way-of-Akira-Toriyama, but it was bloated to the point of being well over 100 hours long, had gameplay systems that felt needlessly arcane, and a story that was impenetrable as compared to its predecessors. Fragments of the Forgotten Past is a chance at redemption for this misstep and word from those who’ve played the Japanese release has been unanimously positive. I’m excited to see just how much a more streamlined and focused version can realize the original’s potential, even if it’ll retain it’s ungodly length.

P.S. I’m also very excited for the Dragon Quest VIII remake on the 3DS, but I’m much more interested in seeing a disappointing game get a second chance in a complete remake than an already fantastic game get a graphic downgrade handheld port with a few new features (though the new characters in the story is super cool!). Maybe that’s just me though…

#24 - The Banner Saga 2

No Caption Provided

Platforms: PS4, Xbone, & PC

Release Date: Q1 2016

Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGOd-oyx7bw

The Banner Saga was a fantastic video game, but by its nature, felt underwhelming, underdeveloped, and unfulfilling. It’s the first entry in a trilogy, after all, and, from a narrative perspective, carries with it all the problems inherent to that, from The Fellowship of the Ring to The Force Awakens, but it's how the interaction of games cooperates with that story that worries me. Games that promise a lot of player interaction with the story that carries on through multiple games have had… mixed results over the years (*cough*masseffect*cough*). While the same story beats are hit regardless of playthrough, who you meet, how you treat them, and who meets their untimely end could have significant impact on the story’s conclusion, at least in the player’s mind and expectations. How Stoic balances the need for every player to have a satisfying journey and have their choices have real impact is a balancing act I do not envy, but is one that will be instrumental in whether The Banner Saga 2 ends up being a fantastic video game or just a good SRPG combat delivery system.

#23 - Ace Attorney 6

No Caption Provided

Platforms: 3DS

Release Date:2016?

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqZOzoSEQa4

One day you'll get your own game Athena. One day...
One day you'll get your own game Athena. One day...

Look, I love the Ace Attorney games and thorough enjoyed Ace Attorney 5, even if a lot of fans dismiss it and it didn’t quite live up to the high points of the series (still beat the hell out of Justice for All and Investigations). But from what I’ve seen of the new game… I’m just not feeling it like I was in the lead-up to Dual Destinies. Sure, it seems like a good story for the series to go down (exploring more of the supernatural elements of the game and their place in the world) and we’ll likely see what Maya has been up to over the past…. however many year gap this has been since Trials & Tribulations(a decade?).

I just feel the game is shaping up to be unfocused, split between expanding Phoenix’s story further and Athena & Apollo holding down the fort in good ol Los Angeles. Both sides of the game sound great on their own… and that’s the problem. I would much rather see a new game just about Athena getting her chops after the end of AA5 & Apollo struggling as a mentor to her as Phoenix is absent on his trip (with some more about Trucy’s success as a magician to boot). I would much rather have a new game that takes an in-depth look at a new court system as Phoenix meets new people in a new culture which culminates in a reunion with Maya. Mashing these storylines together is going to do them both a disservice.

Still, it’s more Ace Attorney. It’s still going to be more thrilling cases, more clever adventure game puzzles, a new prosecutor, and a suite of dastardly villains and colourful witnesses. It’ll be a joy to play through, but I am more than wary of it’s approach.

#22 - Project Setsuna (Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna)

No Caption Provided

Platforms: PS4 & Vita

Release Date:2016?

Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7yG0BhNwc8

Chrono Trigger? Chrono Trigger?! CHRONO TRIGGER!!!
Chrono Trigger? Chrono Trigger?! CHRONO TRIGGER!!!

It’s been two decades since Chrono Trigger was released, yet no JRPG has yet to duplicate it’s special mix of old school combat, engrossing story, and memorable characters. No, the genre had to evolve, not iterate for there to be games that stand by it, whether it be through the gut-wrenching personal story of Mother 3 or through incorporating high school simulator elements in Persona 4. There are games out there that still try to chase after Chrono Trigger, trying to get the mix exactly right, but they never quite pull it off. That doesn’t mean that developers will stop trying to make a newer, better Chrono Trigger or even that they should. It’s just that… well, I’ve been on this merry-go-round ride before and it’s gotten to the point where I’m more interested in what your JRPG with Active Time Battle combat, dual/triple techs, and on-map battles brings new to the table than just “hey, remember CHRONO TRIGGER?!”

As you may have guessed by now, Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna is one of those games, but what sets it apart is how it embraces winter in it’s world. I live in a cold climate, a climate where winter isn’t so much a season as a year on it’s own, with rainy springs, hot summers, and breezy autumns whooshing by between the harsh, oppressive cold of winter. Despite this, I rarely see winter portrayed as anything other than a cartoony winter wonderland or as a mere ice level to cram all that wintery goodness into. Winter isn’t that. Winter is a season that casts your whole world in a new perspective, from the trees to the wildlife to the culture of the people living through it. Lakes become passable by foot, rivers impassable due to ice flows, and forests become sparse, peaceful, and serene. Setsuna embraces this: characters sport practical, yet fashionable, winter-ready clothing; areas you visit are diverse and really show off how snow can change landscapes; and how the towns are built.

I could gush on and on about it, but it’s just one of the details that has me hoping that Setsuna makes it way over to North America. It launches next week in Japan and am excited to see how it received over there as, again, I’ve seen how this song and dance can go in the past.

P.S. Regardless of how it turns out, I am also glad to see Square-Enix get back into making original traditional JRPG games like this and Bravely Default. Hope to see more new titles like this from them in the future.

Note: Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna does not have a western localization announced at this time.

#21 - Owlboy

No Caption Provided

Platform: PC

Release Date: 2016??

Music?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JHq-jJZUlw

Position in 2014: #12

2015 was a quiet year for Owlboy. While it made appearances at a few shows, the developers were interviewed here and there, and a handful of updates on D-Pad Studios’s development blog let fans know that the game was still alive, it wasn’t anywhere near the spotlight. And maybe that’s for the best. It’s hard to juggle all the hats you have to wear as an indie, so I don’t blame the developers for taking a step back from the marketing and promotion just to actually make their game in peace. There still isn’t an announced time frame as Owlboy enters it’s eighth year in development, but I’m not exactly holding my breath. This game will be finished when it’s finished and I wish the best of luck to the developers as they’re (hopefully) heading down the homestretch.

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And that's it for Part Two! Thanks for reading! I'm hoping to have Part 3 and 4 up by the end of next week, so look out for those. And, once again, if you haven't read the first part, check out #50-36 right here!

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riostarwind

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#1 riostarwind  Moderator

This list gets my stamp of approval. I may not be hyped for all of these games but your tastes line up with mine. I won't go over your entire list but I will pick out a few to talk about.

I do wonder if Bioware is willing to cut away everything from the previous games. Sure the characters and world will be entirely different but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the mechanics are carried over. But really any statements on it now are just speculation since we know very little about it.

You have some good points about Ace Attorney 6 and Gravity Rush 2. If done well two different perspectives can lead to a well told story for both sides. For example I thought Professor Layton Vs Phoneix Wright did a good job splitting the focus. But they were both characters we already know a lot about compared to Athena/Apollo. I never quite thought of Gravity Rush as a superhero origin story but now that you mentioned it that is true. Crafting a good follow up story is always tough but I hope they manage to do it. Either way I'll be buying both of these games.

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DevourerOfTime

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@riostarwind: Thanks for the approval!

The changes listed for Mass Effect are pure speculation and all things that would like to see jettisoned from the series, but not exactly what I expect to. The point I was trying to make is that so much of what made Mass Effect Mass Effect in people's eyes could be gone (Renogade/Paragon, for example). Andromeda is going to be a brand new direction for the series and, really, nothing from the original series has to stay. And that's why it's so exciting.

The difference between Layton vs. Wright and Ace Attorney 6 is that Layton and Wright were both a part of the same events, where as Ace Attorney 6 the events are, unless they get pretty hokey, completely separate. There's ways to do it, obviously (a Broken Age style "switch when you're stuck" mechanic would actually be pretty sweet), but there's a lot of ways they could fuck it up as well.

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Dussck

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How come I never heard of Videoball! Looks like so much fun!