Gaming
Games
You need to check out these games in January
2018 was a spectacular year for gaming, and 2019 starts with a bang with the release of these top titles.
The holiday season is over. Gone is the overeating, the festive cheer, the songs that refuse to go away; replaced with the long, dark January. It’s not all bad, though! Make no mistake, 2018 was a top year for gaming, but 2019’s slate is not to be sniffed at, with a host of great gaming releases set to hit our screens from the off. So, quit your moping and take a look at the titles you’ve got to look forward to in January.
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (January 11, Nintendo Switch)
Given the glut of amazing titles already available on Nintendo’s hybrid console, it seems a little churlish to complain about what the Switch doesn’t have. Yet, there’s a very real hole in our hearts that only a Switch-based 2D Mario platformer can fill (it’s a very specifically shaped hole). Thankfully, Nintendo are rectifying this with the upcoming port of the extensively-titled New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe – a classic from the Wii U destined to find a new fanbase on Switch.
For those unfamiliar with the original, it’s very much what you’d expect from a 2D Mario, only with the ability to play as multiple characters as you jump, power up and bop enemies to your heart’s content through a typically colourful world. Even better, the game offers a co-op mode for you and your friends to help (and occasionally hinder) each other’s progress through the levels. The new version comes with a new lick of paint, the DLC content from New Super Luigi U and a raft of other features. If anyone can get us through January, it’s Mario.
Onimusha: Warlords (January 15, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC)
The first of two Capcom classics getting the remake treatment in January, this 2001 PS2 smash took the foundations laid by the developers’ zombie-based survival horror series (you know the one) and transplanted the action to feudal Japan. Telling the story of a ninja and a samurai tasked with saving a princess from a demon-beset castle, Onimusha: Warlords is much-loved and for a reason. The brutal combat, deep lore (which is expanded upon in later instalments) and enjoyably stoic characters meant that whoever fell under Onimusha’s spell found it pretty difficult to get out. The reboot will keep the fixed camera but add a visual upgrade and controller updates, much like the one Resident Evil received for the PS4. A seemingly less ground-up reboot than Resident Evil 2’s receiving, we’re still very much looking forward to revisiting this cult hit.
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes (January 18, Nintendo Switch)
A new project from Goichi 'Suda51' Suda is always something to look forward to, given he was behind the incredibly stylish, frequently bonkers and always fun Killer7 and No More Heroes, which have been praised for their incredible style and intuitive gameplay. And while fans may have been a little underwhelmed when it was announced that No More Heroes 3 wasn’t next on his slate, what we’ve seen from Travis Strikes Back: No More Heroes should quieten even the most vocal doubters.
The plot is as chaotic as you’d expect: an action-adventure where Travis Touchdown gets transported into the Death Drive MK-II, a demonic video game console, after the previous events of No More Heroes 2. While in the console, he must navigate through six different worlds based on games that Suda51 grew up with, each sporting a different type of gameplay style. The brilliance of the concept is that it has allowed Suda51 to experiment with different types of games, all within one title, and the developer was supposedly inspired by releases from the ‘80s and ‘90s. We’re expecting nostalgia and eccentricity in equal measure, and we’re pretty confident that Suda51, and Travis Strikes Again, will deliver.
Resident Evil 2 Remake (January 25, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC)
Leon’s back in Raccoon City
© Capcom
2017’s Resident Evil VII was brilliant, and a little underrated. It experimented with the long-running series’ well established tropes to great effect, yet, this doesn’t mean it’s time to disregard the classics. Thankfully, Capcom seem to have realised this, bringing back arguably the series’ zenith (though 4 has a strong claim, too) for a full reboot, aping the over-the-shoulder approach of Resi 4 rather than the (admittedly dated) fixed camera of the earlier titles. The glimpses we’ve seen so far give us high hopes that this will be a remake worth waiting for – seemingly capturing the terror of the original, while bringing something new to proceedings. We’re more than ready to visit Raccoon City once again.
Kingdom Hearts 3 (January 25, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
The wait for the next main entry in the Disney/Square Enix crossover series has been a long one – over a decade, in fact. 2017 brought us Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue (catchy!) compiling three games in the franchise for your PS4 in high-definition, but since then, the wait has been interminable, but it looks like it may be finally at an end.
If you know Kingdom Hearts, then you’ll know how difficult it would be to recap the series’ extensive lore in any paragraph-long recap, so let’s keep it simple: the Disney/Square Enix RPG crossover series is charming, jam-packed with cameos and wildly entertaining. We fully expect the third full sequel to deliver these same goods, with new favourite characters, from Wreck-It Ralph to the cast of Frozen, set to make an appearance. We hope this is worth the wait.
