2023 is almost over; gone, done, finito, so it’s time to look ahead at what’s to come. Okay, so what can we expect in 2024? As is usual for for this time of year, a lot of games have been announced but most games don’t have a solid release date. We’re also moving into the fifth year of next generation of consoles and by this point in the console lifecycle we’d normally be talking about what’s next. Instead, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it only just now feels like things are getting started. Publishers seem intent on leaving behind the 8th generation of consoles, with several new games only coming out on 9th generation hardware, so it’s going to become more and more difficult to keep up if you don’t upgrade. Grab your notepad and set aside some cash now folks because, as always, it’s going to be another expensive year in gaming.

January

As is typical each year, January starts of slow the first couple of weeks and the, BAM, big title after big title. Beginning with Jan. 16th’s Alone in the Dark, a remake of the 1992 original that looks to return the series to its survival horror roots. While we still have no word on that Sands of Time remake, Ubisoft is putting out a new game in the series on Jan. 18th with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Believe it or not, this is the first new entry in the series since 2010 and appears to be a mix of the original 2D side scrolling with the more modern 3D entries. Jan. 26th is going to be a busy day when two huge titles release, Sega’s Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Bandai Namco’s Tekken 8. Infinite Wealth will return to the RPG gameplay seen in Yakuza 7 and, of course, features several mini-games, including an Animal Crossing/Sims style game in which players design and maintain their own island resort town.

Of course we couldn’t start off the new year without a few collections/re-releases. Nintendo’s big January title is a re-release of the Another Code DS games, subtitled Recollection, containing the US game Trace Memory and the Japan only exclusive Another Code R – A Journey into Lost Memories. It will be out on Jan. 24th. That isn’t our only collection of DS games releasing in January. On the 19th, Capcom is giving us Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy, which collects three games in the series; Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice. Finally, also on Jan. 19th, Sony is releasing a PS5 version of The Last of Us Part II because the PS4 version looks like dog shit, I guess?

February

February looks to be a really big month in 2024 (assuming nothing is delayed). Starting things off on Feb. 2nd is Rocksteady’s long awaited follow-up to the Batman Arkham series with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Set in the same universe as the Arkham games, Suicide Squad promises to maintain the events of that series, including the death of The Joker. There has been some concern from players that the game will be a “live service/always online” title, so we’ll see if Rocksteady addresses any of that backlash. Feb. 13th brings us Don’t Nod’s latest title, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, while Feb. 16th see’s Nintendo putting out Mario vs. Donkey Kong, a continuation of the series that started back on the Game Boy Advance in 2004. Another title coming on Feb. 16th is Ubisoft’s long, LONG, awaited pirate game Skull and Bones. To be honest, I won’t believe this game is coming out until I see it sitting on store shelves.

Another long awaited game, the narrative title Open Roads, releases on Feb. 22nd. Published by Annapurna Interactive, the game stars Keri Russell and Kaitlyn Dever as a mother and daughter taking a long road trip. Secrets are revealed, leading both to learn things about one another that they never expected. Capping off February is probably the biggest game (so far) releasing in the first quarter of 2024, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, coming Feb. 29th. The third entry in this remake series, Rebirth picks up after the events of the 2020 remake and features the protagonist from Crisis Core Reunion, Zack Fair, in a prominent role.

This month’s re-releases and remakes include Persona 3: Reload (Feb. 2nd), Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered (Feb. 14th), Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake (Feb. 28th), and Star Wars: Dark Forces (Feb. 28th).

March

March is a little slow at the moment, though I expect this to pick up as we move further into 2024. The month starts fairly strong with the horror title The Outlast Trials on Mar. 5th, followed by the highly anticipated Homeworld 3. Dormant since the release of Homeworld 2 in 2003, the franchise found new life when Gearbox purchased the rights in 2013 after THQ went bankrupt. This outer space RTS game has a huge cult following, let’s hope they aren’t let down.

Vanillaware is back with their latest game, the tactical RPG Unicorn Overlord, on Mar. 8th, while Capcom returns players to the world of Dragon’s Dogma with the second entry in that series on Mar. 22nd. Nintendo has yet another big title this month, Princess Peach Showtime, also on Mar. 22nd, which is a new platformer starring the perennial “damsel in distress”. This will be Peach’s second time in the lead role, with her first being 2005’s Super Princess Peach on the DS. Sony appears to be doing a bit of counter programming with Rise of the Ronin, also on, Mar. 22nd. This is a new “soulslike” from Team Ninja, the same developer behind Nioh and 2023’s Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. Finally, South Park: Snow Day! will be releasing on the 26th. While the previous two South Park games have been turn based RPGs, this new title appears to have more in common with the “looter shooter” genre.

“Confirmed” for 2024

In the five years that I’ve been doing this, I have to say that 2024 is one of the most stingy with its release dates. Granted, there have usually been a ton of delays in the past, which hopefully means that these companies are learning their lesson and giving more vague release windows. Still, here’s what’s coming that has concrete dates (though they may change):

• Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (Apr. 23rd)
• SaGa Emerald Beyond (Apr. 25th)
• Braid, Anniversary Edition (Apr. 30th)
• Black Myth: Wukong (Aug. 20th)
• Warhammer 40k Space Marine II (Sep. 9th)

In the early part of the year we are supposed to get a couple of neat looking indie titles. First there’s Animal Well, which is being published by Bigmode, a company founded by YouTube’s videogamedunkey. Then we have Penny’s Big Breakaway, a new 3D platformer from Evening Star, a studio founded by the team that worked on Sonic Mania. Also coming early in 2024 is Contra: Operation Galuga, a remake of the first game in the series.

The following titles should be coming sometime in the first quarter of 2024 (Jan. – Mar.). There’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, the point & click murder mystery Loco Motive, the dating sim Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid on the Block from Team Lazerbeam (one of my most anticipated games of the year), and the 2D side scroller Blade Chimera.

Looking forward to Summer, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak is supposed to hit sometime around June, along with a couple of re-masters, Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP and Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon HD. Moving to Fall, there are only two confirmed games for the end of the year (and will probably be delayed), the new Atlus RPG Metaphor ReFantazio and the already oft-delayed Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2.

The Rest…

As always there are a ton of games that have been announced but have no release date aside from either a generic “2024” or “Coming Soon”. Some I expect to arrive this year, like Switch remake Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, while some I would not be surprised to see in 2025 (or later) like Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws and Nintendo’s Metroid Prime 4.

• Avowed
• Bandle Tale: A League Of Legends Story
• Dragon Ball Z: Sparking Zero
• Earthblade
• Everwild

• Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
• Front Mission 3: Remake
• Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game
• Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
• The Plucky Squire

• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
• Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution
• Skate Story
• Spy X Anya: Operation Memories
• Star Wars: Hunters
• Star Wars Outlaws

• John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando
• Visions of Mana
• The Wolf Among Us 2
• World of Goo 2

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What are the odds we see something wild come out this year, like Death Stranding 2, The Outer Worlds 2, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf or Metroid Prime 4? Be sure to call out anything I’ve missed, and chastise me soundly if I’ve messed anything up. I won’t pay attention to it, but it’ll make you feel better. Next week will see this column go back to regular coverage, however I would not expect it to be full of notable or big titles, so maybe catch up on your 2023 backlog for now. Be safe this week, have a happy New Year’s Eve, and here’s to another great year of gaming!