Monitoring Desk
Seems like we’ll all be spending a lot more time indoors soon. So we’ve selected the best games set for release in 2020 to help pass those hours in self-isolation
Resident Evil 3 (Remake)
After the success of Capcom’s “Resident Evil 2” remake, it was only natural to expect it to do the same for episode three of its popular zombie-killing gorefest, originally released in 1999. Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira will be reunited in their attempts to escape Raccoon City. Unfortunately for them, Jill’s somewhat rage-y stalker — Nemesis — is back too.
Release date: April 3
Final Fantasy VII (Remake)
News that Square Enix was revamping its game-changing 1997 “Final Fantasy VII” RPG has induced significant blood-pressure rises in gamers of a certain age. It was a game-changer on its release, with Cloud Strife and his oversized sword taking up hours of many lives. Whether it’s good or not, it’s going to sell millions. Thankfully, judging by the demo at least, it’s going to do so deservedly.
Release date: April 10
The Lastof US 2
This might be the release with the most to live up to this year. The first instalment of this post-apocalyptic action game, released in 2013, was a work of art — as immersive and engaging as a great movie, with characters that demanded real emotional involvement. (It’s now being developed as a TV show by HBO.) Part 2 is set five years after the original, and sees a grown-up Ellie (without her guardian Joel, at least at first) set on taking bloody revenge against a group of antagonistic adversaries, while still needing to dodge/destroy the infected hordes roaming the world. Like the original, it seems other humans are just as — if not more — dangerous than the monsters.
Release Date: May 29
Ghost of Tsushima
This stunning action game set in ancient Japan pits the player (a samurai swordsman known as The Ghost) against the forces of the Mongol Empire. The trailer promised all-out meleé action combined with stealth slaying, set against gorgeous backgrounds.
Release Daste: TBC, Summer
Marvel’s Avengers
Crystal Dynamics is the developer tasked with turning Marvel’s movie behemoth into a decent game. The voice cast augurs well, as does the gameplay revealed so far. The storyline, wisely, steers clear of the film scripts. Instead, players can choose from Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow or Hulk and set out to save the world five years on from disbanding after being blamed for a disaster in San Francisco.
Release Date: September 4
Cyberpunk 2077
The footage released so far for CD Projekt Red’s newest game looks incredible. Set in Night City — a scuzzy, crime-ridden metropolis “obsessed with power, glamour and body modification” — this first-person open-world action-adventure (players can customize their character, a mercenary known as V) demands mastery of heavy, high-tech weaponry and digital spying skills from protagonists.
Release Date: September 17
Dying light 2
The popular parkour/zombie-killing horror game from 2015 gets a much-anticipated sequel helmed by acclaimed designer Chris Avellone (“Fallout,” “Prey”). Set 15 years after the original, you play as Aiden Caldwell — a gifted free-runner and fighter — navigating urban open-world setting The City. Player choices will have major effects on how The City develops (or doesn’t) and on who holds power there. Oh, and night time is still a very, very bad time to be out on the streets.
Release Date: TBC
Spiritfarer
Indie developer Thunder Lotus is behind this intriguingly billed “cozy management game about dying.” It’s a low-key, gentle, and artfully illustrated management sim in which you play Stella — a ferrymaster in charge of preparing spirits for — and transporting them to — the afterlife. From trailers, it looks like a sweet and genuinely moving game about letting go of loved ones.
Release Date: TBC
12 Minutes
There’s been a lot of hype around this title since its trailer debuted at E3 in 2019. You play a husband stuck in a 12-minute time loop. A really bad 12 minutes in which a very aggressive police officer breaks into your house and accuses your wife of murder. The game plays in real time, and — as creator Luis Antonio explained at E3, “Each time you play a loop, you’re gonna learn more about the situation. And you use your interpretation of the events to decide what to do. The game never gives you any objectives or tells you what to do (next).”
Release Date: TBC
Skull and Bones
In a smart, if unimaginative, move, Ubisoft has taken “Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag,” removed the assassins, and kept the awesome pirate battles. Gamers aim to take control of the 18th-century Indian Ocean, whether in a huge solo campaign, or online against other players’ customized warships.
Release Date: TBC
Courtesy: (arabnews)
