Games to look forward to this holiday season

This year saw many big games released, from gory Dead Island 2 to From Software’s Armored Core. We got a new Zelda, Resident Evil 4 remake, Diablo IV, Street Fighter 6, Jedi: Fallen Order sequel, Final Fantasy and more. Expect Bethesda's Starfield, Mortal Kombat reboot, Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 update, Phantom Liberty expansion, EA Sports FC 2024, Assassin's Creed Mirage, Spider-Man 2, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Alan Wake 2, RoboCop Rogue City and Modern Warfare 3 remaster.

After all those COVID years of game-launch delays and cancellations, this year many big games are being released — from the gory Dead Island 2 to From Software’s Armored Core. We got a new Zelda game, Resident Evil 4 and Tears of the Kingdom, which saw legions of players create their own unique machines using the Ultrahand powers. Diablo IV launched as a live service game with an incredible storyline, even though the first season was lackluster. We got a new Street Fighter 6 with a unique metaverse spin, the Jedi: Fallen Order sequel, Jedi: Survivor, and a new Final Fantasy game. Here’s what to expect in the latter half of 2023. 

From the house of Bethesda, an American video game publisher known for making open world games like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, action-packed Starfield is a new IP set in space with over thousand planets to explore and factions to double cross. Yet millions of players are finding themselves spending time building spaceships and basking in the serenity of Starfield’s worlds as a means of relaxation.

Freshly launched, the latest iteration of Mortal Kombat marks a fresh start with new roles of all your favourite heroes and villains. With its 80’s kung fu storyline and action movie camp, that really fleshes out the universe, this one-on-one fighter offers new signature fatalities and beautiful locations. On that note, it’s not for the faint-hearted, so make sure you have a stomach for gore.

After three years, Cyberpunk 2077 got multiple fixes, but none more extensive than the 2.0 update. Its rejigged cyberware system introduces new weapons and new ways to play . Plus, many aspects, like the Police AI have been reworked for a more challenging experience, should you choose a life of crime.

Along with the 2.0 update, there is the new Phantom Liberty expansion, which features an increased level cap, new story quests, gigs, dynamic events, abilities and more. Plus you get a new area called Dogtown to explore. More importantly you get a new storyline featuring Idris Elba and a bit more time with Keanu Reeves, reprising his role as Johnny Silverhand. Now while the expansion is free to install, Phantom Liberty is a paid update..

This year marks a big change in one of the best soccer games out there. Dropping the FIFA name, this year EA Sports changed its name to EA Sports FC 2024. It features HypermotionV, which applies data captured from hundreds of Mens’ and Womens’ football matches to simulate the real flow of the game. If you are a fan of playstyles of your football heroes, then the Opta tech realistically captures unique motions of signature players. To top that all, FC gives you a chance to start a career as a player or even as a coach.

With Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla being absolute gigantic games, Mirage is smaller in scale, going back to older Assassin’s Creed games, yet it retains the same formula of killing people in exotic past locales. This time the setting is 9th Century Baghdad and you follow the exploits of Basim Ibn Ishaq, who you may recognise from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. While the world size is smaller, the scope is focused on letting you be an assassin, doubling down on the parkour elements and letting you take multiple routes to take down targets. Ubisoft seems to be diversifying with the IP and Mirage seems to take the game into more classic territory while the mysterious Assassin’s Creed Hexe seems to be exploring horror through the lens of history.