And that’s what’s coming up first on the gaming calendar this year. A lot of us are still catching up on last year’s games, but some of those are bound to hit the backlog once this month kicks into gear.
The Witness – PS4, PC – January 26
The Witness has been hanging around for a while; 2009 to be exact. It has long been touted as one of the PS4’s most prominent indie titles, and finally we are in line to get our hands on it. Jonathan Blow, the game’s creator is famous for his work on the classic platformer, Braid, and is looking to follow up that success with a game he refers to as a “very deliberately an homage to Myst”. Despite the amount of time that has gone by since the game’s initial announcement, very little is actually known about the game, outside of heavy puzzle elements and a First Person perspective. In a few short weeks we will see what The Witness is all about.
Final Fantasy Explorers – 3DS – January 26
Final Fantasy is diving into the Hunting/RPG genre with Final Fantasy Explorers, borrowing mechanics from classic games like Monster Hunter and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles to create a spinoff that Square Enix is hoping will prove fruitful. No, it isn’t Final Fantasy XV, but if you are starving for some new content from the long running franchise, Explorers is as good a place as any to get your fix.
LEGO Marvel Avengers – Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3, Wii U, 3DS, Vita, PC – January 26
LEGO Marvel Avengers is the second Marvel game that Traveller’s Tales has tackled; the first being 2013’s LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. Avengers features characters and storylines from the blockbuster films, Marvel’s The Avengers and Age of Ultron, so the game is looking to be a much more focused experience.
This War of Mine: The Little Ones – PS4, Xbox One – January 29
This War of Mine is yet another PC exclusive making its way to consoles. The game takes the idea of war and turns the perspective around on to the civilians that are forced to survive amidst the chaos. Suffering and death are prominent in a world where heroes are irrelevant and the only thing that matters is living to see another day.
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen – PC – January 15
Dragon’s Dogma is finally making its way to PC after being a console exclusive for the last three years. The game is an open world action RPG that borrows elements from games like Skyrim, Dark Souls and Shadow of the Colossus, making it one of the most unique games of the last generation. Dark Arisen is the re-release of the original game with add-on content that came a year after the game initially came out. PC players have been hoping to get this game for some time now, and for good reason. In a world that sees a lot of sequels and retread ideas, Dragon’s Dogma is a brave attempt at trying to create something unique to its genre.
Darkest Dungeon – PC – January 19
Early Access can be a real crapshoot, but Red Hook Studios got it right with Darkest Dungeon. The game is a 2-D gothic roguelike RPG that focuses on difficulty and the psychological stresses of adventuring. Players take control of a group of four heroes and side-scroll their way into the depths of subterranean dungeons where they will fight off hordes of dangerous enemies, disease and famine all while struggling to maintain the sanity of the group. The game encourages tactical retreats, as if you stay too long in the darkness, the group becomes more and more vulnerable. The result is a tense and personal experience in a game that doesn’t require a meaty PC to be able to run.
Resident Evil 0: HD Remaster – Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC – January 19
Last year, Resident Evil HD Remaster, an HD port of the original game, released to a largely positive reception. And now exactly one year later to the day, the prequel, Resident Evil 0 is getting its own HD remaster, that can either be purchased on its own digitally or as a physical disc bundle called the Resident Evil Origins Collection. Relive the classic horror game in beautiful HD, the way it was meant to be played.
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam – 3DS – January 22
It’s crossover time! The Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi franchises have come together to create an all new RPG adventure (with a very creative name). Although the game’s framework primarily focuses on the Mario and Luigi franchise, there are mechanics from the Paper Mario series sprinkled in to enhance exploration, combat abilities and puzzle solving.
Fresh off making that New Year’s Resolution that you swear you will keep this time around, it’s time to take a look at the games on tap for the first month of the year. In January we have a lot of PC exclusives making their console debuts (and vice versa) but there are a couple of new games looking to steal the spotlight. Arguably the biggest release of the month comes from Jonathan Blow’s The Witness, which has been long awaited for some time now coming to PC and PS4 and one of last year’s most popular Early Access titles, Darkest Dungeon, finally releases in full. We’re very excited for what the new year holds for the gaming industry so here is the first batch of releases for 2016.
Amplitude – PS4, PS3 – January 5
Amplitude was a rhythm game that released for the PS2 back in 2003 and went on to be something of a classic for music and rhythm game fans. It wasn’t 2014 that Developer Harmonix took to Kickstarter, and announced that they were rebooting the series on the PS4 and PS3. The campaign went on to earn over $840,000, and this month, the final product will finally be released. The music and rhythm genre has fallen by the wayside in recent years, but we are hopeful that this version of Amplitude can rekindle some of that lost fire.
The Banner Saga – Xbox One, PS4 – January 12
The Banner Saga is another Kickstarter success story that came out for PC about two years ago. It is a narratively driven, turn-based strategy game steeped in viking culture where players guide a massive caravan of warriors and villagers across a harsh and unforgiving land all presented in a beautiful hand-drawn art style reminiscent of old animated motion pictures. The game is a constant barrage of frigid winter weather, personal squabbles and dangerous mythological enemies that lurk everywhere. Death is prominent and unavoidable. You will lose countless numbers of people along your journey, and every decision you make can have devastating consequences.