December has a status for being a quieter month for the online game trade, however that was removed from the case in 2023. This month noticed a brand new, controversial iteration of The Game Awards, the primary trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6, a headline-making ransomware assault on Insomniac Games, and the discharge of plenty of new titles. While larger releases like Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora disillusioned, loads of different new video games have been nonetheless very a lot price your time.
These nice December video games are unfold throughout a pleasant number of platforms and genres. We have strong RPGs within the console and VR house, indie video games punching above their weight, and extra. As 2023 wraps up and 2024 begins, take the time to take a look at any of those seven improbable December video games throughout the early January lull.
Asgard’s Wrath 2
Meta
VR gaming had began to really feel stagnant, however the launch of the Meta Quest 3 this fall has revitalized that house. Last month, we beloved Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR; this month, Sanzaru Games and Meta launched the bold 60-hour RPG Asgard’s Wrath 2. It’s actually one in every of, if not the, greatest and boldest VR video games to be launched, rivaling the scope of motion RPGs that one can play on consoles. For followers of VR gaming, it’s a must-play.
“Asgard’s Wrath 2 feels like a maximalist vision of everything VR gaming could possibly deliver at its current level,” Digital Trends’ Giovanni Colantonio wrote of Asgard’s Wrath 2 after enjoying by means of its early hours. “It’s enormous, full of complex systems, features satisfying traversal, and is packed with blockbuster action made possible by a technically advanced new headset. Though that undoubtedly makes it the most impressive VR game ever built, I’m more interested to see what happens when developers begin deconstructing it into more digestible experiences that bridge the gap between it and those early “Atari” VR experiences that impressed me a decade in the past.”
As somebody who at the moment solely owns a PlayStation VR2, I’m very jealous of the Meta Quest 3 house owners who’ve this recreation locked down as an unique or acquired it free of charge after they bought the headset. Hopefully, extra VR video games try to match Asgard’s Wrath 2’s ambition throughout all VR platforms.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
Owlcat Games
If you have been on the lookout for one other strong CRPG to play after dumping a whole lot of hours into Baldur’s Gate 3, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a strong decide. Based on the favored Warhammer tabletop and online game franchise, Rogue Trader is an expansive RPG journey entrenched within the collection’ lore and stuffed with tense turn-based fight and dialogue decisions.
“Owlcat Games has crafted a title that’s a cut above other Warhammer tie-ins available now,” Jason Rodriguez wrote in a three-and-a-half star evaluation of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader for Digital Trends. “It has a rich narrative that’s filled to the brim with references, and a keen attention to detail that’s a testament to the grandness of the 40K universe. Battles are tough, but they often reward me for experimenting with various classes and builds. It’s just going to need some polish over time to remove some unwanted friction from an incredibly long RPG.”
Rogue Trader is certainly on the extra hardcore finish of the RPG spectrum, so attempting this recreation out is finest for these aware of Warhammer or this recreation style. Thankfully, Baldur’s Gate 3 popularized CRPGs and hopefully paved the way in which for the success of comparable video games like Rogue Trader. It’s out there now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
House Flipper 2
Frozen District
Sometimes, a job you’d by no means discover satisfying in actual life is extraordinarily entertaining in a online game. House Flipper 2 just isn’t about simply cleansing messes, but in addition redesigning a home to suit particular standards or your individual picture. You can renovate particular rooms, clear up and alter the textures on explicit objects, or go into Sandbox mode and construct a home from scratch.
“I just love diving into new spaces and uncovering their stories under layers of filth,” Colantonio wrote of House Flipper 2. “I piece together what happened in the aftermath of a rock concert when I follow a trail of paint-soaked footprints from the garage inside the house. In another home, I fix a shoddy bathroom DIY project gone awry by cleaning uneven stencil patterns off the tiled walls. They’re often funny, but charming household mishaps that bring something human to the mechanical series. House Flipper 2 gives us a chance to laugh at our own accidents before granting us the power to clean them up.”
For those that love constructing and customizing their very own areas in video video games, House Flipper 2 gives a sandbox that you may get misplaced in for dozens of hours. House Flipper 2 is on the market now for PC.
A Highland Song
Inkle / inkle
In a 12 months stuffed with improbable indie video games, A Highland Song stands out as probably the greatest. Players management a younger lady operating away from dwelling and venturing throughout the Scottish Highlands in what’s really a mesmerizing coming-of-age musical expertise. It steadily offers off a way of awe-inspiring discovery and tense moments as gamers run and climb by means of the Scottish Highlands whereas managing the younger heroine’s stamina and protecting her wholesome and unhurt alongside the way in which.
“A Highland Song is a meditative quest for self-discovery that successfully translates the freedom of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to a grounded indie adventure,” Colantonio mentioned in his four-star evaluation of A Highland Song. “There may be frustrations and setbacks along the way, but imperfection is part of the journey. It’s our job to learn from those mistakes and be better for them.”
If its coming-of-age story or the thought of a 2D Breath of the Wild-like intrigues you, A Highland Song is effectively price attempting. A Highland Song is on the market now for PC and Nintendo Switch.
Sonic Dream Team
Sega
Sonic Dream Team is a 3D platformer set in a dream world, and though it’s fairly brief, it nails the momentum and speed-centric design wanted to create a improbable 3D expertise. It’s small in scope, however it understands that typically protecting issues easy and nailing the sport really feel can elevate a platformer to better heights.
“Though it ends just as it’s getting into its top gear, Sonic Dream Team is a wise direction for the ever-changing series,” Colantonio mentioned in his three-and-a-half star evaluation of Sonic Dream Team. “It’s not another radical reinvention, nor a tired nostalgia act, but a sharply designed Sonic adventure that puts snappy 3D platforming at the forefront. If nothing else, it’s a successful audition for a developer who seems best equipped to take the series’ reins moving forward”
Even although it’s a cell recreation, it appears to be like and performs a lot better than 2022’s Sonic Frontiers. For our cash, that makes it one of the best 3D Sonic recreation in over a decade. Sonic Dream Team is on the market now by way of Apple Arcade.
Fortnite
Epic Games
While Fortnite technically isn’t a brand new recreation, December 2023 marked the beginning of a brand new period for the liv- service title because it transitioned to being extra of a platform for various sorts of video games. In addition to the standard Battle Royale and Zero Build modes, Epic Games additionally created the survival recreation Lego Fortnite, arcade racer Rocket Racing, and rhythm recreation Fortnite Festival. All of those are full-sized video games or experiences that may be accessed proper from Fortnite’s primary menu.
Digital Trends has spent a number of time with every expertise since launch, with principally optimistic ideas. Colantonio wrote that Lego Fortnite “feels like the ultimate kid’s game,” and that Rocket Racing is a “top-notch, all-ages racer that developer Psyonix was always destined to make.” We have been much less impressed by Fornite Festival, however it’s nonetheless effective for many who’ve at all times loved the music points of Fortnite and need to play a simplistic, but approachable rhythm recreation.
With a brand new season and the addition of those three video games inside a recreation, Fortnite feels as recent because it did in 2017. If you dropped the sport some time again and have been ready for a cause to return, Epic Games simply gave you three of them.
The Finals
Embark Studios
As our closing decide for the 12 months, we fittingly finish on The Finals. It’s a live-service, aggressive first-person shooter that emphasizes destruction with a number of the most spectacular environmental destructibility this aspect of Teardown. It’s a sophisticated shooter in its personal proper too, with the Battlefield DNA of its builders shining by means of. Its modes additionally stand out from these of different shooters by focusing extra on amassing and depositing money whereas working tactically along with your teammates.
“Ahead of its stealth release at The Game Awards 2023, I went hands-on with the launch version. It retained the exhilarating spirit from my previous times trying it out, and I get the feeling that The Finals could catch on and become another mainstay live-service game,” Digital Trends’ Tomas Franzese wrote in an article about The Finals‘ shock launch.
While it hasn’t set the world on hearth, The Finals is shaping as much as be a strong shooter that I’ve added to my live-service recreation rotation. The aggressive FPS house desperately wanted some new blood to shake issues up, and Embark Studios and The Finals could also be precisely what it wanted. The Finals is on the market now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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