One More Go

2023 was an all timer year for video games, with almost every genre and fanbase well catered for. Some of the games I’m most excited for right now (Death Stranding 2 and Monster Hunter Wilds) are targeting 2025 releases, so 2024 by comparison feels a little lighter. That kind of suits me, it will make keeping up to date a little easier and leave plenty of room for games I might otherwise have overlooked. While there are certainly new games to be excited about, this year’s release schedule has me thinking more about the games that came before, something that’s reflected in this installment of The Wishlist.

Dragon’s Dogma (2)

I have to confess, I never actually finished Dragon’s Dogma, a game I own on almost every device. While the first time around I loved the setting and the enormous monsters you could climb all over, at some point I just fell off. In the intervening years I’ve read so many great discussions on the games ending, and watched plenty of videos that recognise something special in Dragon’s Dogma if you can see past its flaws. With hype building for Dragon’s Dogma 2, I’m torn between giving the original one more go, or holding off to start afresh in the sequel where the UI won’t be quite so horrible, and the textures not so muddy.

Children of the Sun

Like a shot from the darkness, Children of the Sun has emerged as one of the most lauded titles featured in Steam’s Next Fest. This is a game where you play a sniper set on clearing out enemy filled arenas with only a single bullet. Each stage begins by observing the arena, marking targets and searching for the right place to take your shot. Once fired, the world slows to a crawl, giving you the chance to bend your trajectory mid flight. As you hit your target, you’re given control again, to find another of your marked targets, ricocheting from skull to skull until everyone has been eliminated. There’s an element of competing for high scores, but the most satisfying reward is an aerial view of your bullet’s flight path as it twists and bounces between foes.

Gotham Knights

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League seems to have landed on the scene with a wet slap, and while I certainly have a morbid curiosity to see for myself just where that game does and doesn’t shine, I’m finding myself far more drawn to Gotham Knights. A game which was labelled (at least in my mind) as knock off Arkham upon release, dismissed while I waited to see what Rocksteady were able to deliver with Suicide Squad. It now seems that the two might be more similar in quality than we’d initially hoped, but with the ranged combat being one of the more maligned elements of Suicide Squad, Gotham Knights‘ watered down Arkham combat system might not be so bad in hindsight.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

I’ve tried a few different Yakuza games, but none of them have really stuck. With the recent release of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, I’m finding myself desperately jealous of everyone diving into its weirdness. Ever since its Austin Powers-esque reveal, I’ve had it on my radar as something to check out, but as I’ve not played the original, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, I figure I should start there. Featuring a new protagonist and an all new turn based combat system, it’s mostly unrelated to the many other games in the series, hopefully offering the perfect opportunity to hop on board and get to know Yakuza’s fictionalized Japan.