You might have noticed that things have been a little light around here in the past week in terms of new content, but I assure you that it’s mostly due to unfortunate timing and there’s a slight bit of apathy on my part if I’m being perfectly honest.
This week sees a few of my most anticipated releases of the year which is very exciting for me, but as of this being posted only one of them has come out. The three games in question are Ooblets, a mix between farming styled life simulation games and Pokemon which releases today, Paper Mario: The Origami King and Ghost of Tsushima which are both dropping on Friday.
All three of these games are pretty big blips on my radar and the wait for them has felt fairly excruciating since I’ve run out of things to do in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Unfortunately I won’t be able to give my thoughts about any of these games until next week at the earliest, but I assure you that they’re coming.
The other problem that I’ve run into is just general apathy for everything, including my own hobbies. I’m sure everyone has felt the crushing anxiety of the world weighing down on them lately, and I’m no different. It’s been really hard to muster any enthusiasm for anything in the past few months, and finding joy in playing and writing about video games has gotten harder and harder.
I’m hoping that these games spark something in me that can ignite my fire once more because I truly love what I do. It’s just a hard time in general, and I’ve felt like my hobbies aren’t bringing me the satisfaction that they once did. It mirrors my relationship with Netflix, where I have nearly infinite choices of things to watch but I’d rather just watch the entirety of The Office again.
I don’t know how everyone else is dealing with this situation, but I know that I’m having a harder and harder time as days go on. I honestly miss working and being able to decompress with my hobbies when I come home. But now that I’ve got endless access to the things that i like doing, I find myself doing nothing at all more often than not.
Late last year the Epic Games Launcher was released to much cynicism and side eyeing from the gaming audience, myself included. I won’t lie, I was very skeptical of the product and in some regards I still am, but I’m ultimately glad to see that there’s some real competition in the PC games marketplace for once. My issues with the Epic Games Launcher are mostly directed towards the very limited feature set which to be fair, they’re working on, but most of the anger and vitriol amidst the discourse revolves around how “aggressive” Epic appears when lining up exclusives.
A few months ago, Metro Exodus was gearing up for its PC release on Steam. It had been available for pre-order on Steam for quite a while and people were eager to play it. Weeks before it launched however, it was announced that the game would be a timed exclusive on the Epic Games Store. The Steam pre-orders would be honored and activated on release day, but people were not happy with the abrupt jump to this new platform. I’m guessing that was the start of everyone getting angry with the platform in general. Even I thought it was a questionable move, but I also had no intention to play Metro Exodus, so I moved on.
Since then, Epic has been courting developers of all sizes, encouraging them to release on their platform and enjoy a healthier cut of profits from sales. There should be no question that developers should get paid for the work they put into making these games, and if there’s a platform out there that better facilitates that, then it’s an easy decision to make.
But the internet is still a nightmare emporium where people will take any reason to raise their pitchforks and try to ruin the lives of others. That’s where Ooblets comes in. Ooblets is a game that appears to be mixing the elements of Animal Crossing and Pokemon together into one colorfully charming experience. Unfortunately, this post isn’t about how excited I am to check the game out (which I am), instead it’s about how on July 31st the studio behind the game announced that they were signing a deal with the Epic Games Store for a few reasons, income being the primary motivator. Let’s be clear, an indie studio doing what they have to in order to get paid more for there work is not something we should be grousing about. Developers need money to survive, and if the Epic Games Store is offering them a bigger cut alongside of a signing bonus, they should take that opportunity.
I bet you can guess what happened next. See, the team behind Ooblets put out a pretty hilarious and snarky blog post outlining the decision, while also making fun of how much people on the internet lose their minds when they hear about Epic grabbing another exclusive. I thought it was pretty hilarious but the internet did not. The internet found it so unfunny in fact, that they responded in some pretty shitty ways including racial slurs and death threats. You know, completely rational responses to a video game going to another store.
WARNING: If you want to see some of the garbage people have said, it’s here, but there’s some really horrific stuff in there, so click at your own risk.
So here we are in the aftermath of all of this, left with yet another tragic example of targeted hate campaigns over the stupidest and most inconsequential shit. The amount of hatred and anger over this move should seem unbelievable, but unfortunately the internet continues to remain a smoldering crater full of mutants with keyboards. I don’t have the solution to this problem, I can only encourage people to spare a thought for the people behind the product. It isn’t worth getting so wound up over a game that you verbally assault someone or threaten them. Nothing should prompt you to be that kind of person, especially not a video game.
It’s a shame that the developers and their insanely charming game have to be associated with this nonsense and I hope the developers are able to rise above the noise and push on. I’ve been interested in Ooblets for quite a while now and fully intended on playing it, regardless of what storefront it eventually wound up on.
Maybe it’s hard for people to wrap their heads around how to install a new launcher. Maybe they don’t like having two whole icons on their desktop for game related things. Those excuses are bullshit. None of it is worth threatening people. Get the fuck over yourselves.
With 2018 on the out, it wouldn’t hurt to take a quick look at what confirmed 2019 releases I’m interested in, and think you might be as well. Most of these are games I’m genuinely looking forward to, and some are pure curiosities.
The first part of this list is going to highlight games that I am actually excited to play. I’m not saying they’ll all be winners, but these ones are things that have really captured my interest.
The Last Campfire
Announced at The Game Awards of 2018, The Last Campfire is being produced by Hello Games, the folks behind No Man’s Sky. While my feeling on their previous release is mixed at best, I am interested to see what Hello Games does with a smaller, more focused project. Considering how much I enjoy the aesthetic of No Man’s Sky, it’s no surprise that The Last Campfire has piqued my curiosity.
Control
I’m not entirely sure what Control is or what it’s going for, but it gives me this weird Psi-Ops vibe and I’m okay with that. The game certainly has a style and looks like it’s going to do some pretty abstract stuff aesthetically.
Afterparty
Maybe you remember Oxenfree, maybe you don’t, but the folks at Night School are making another intensely charming game, yet this time it has an even more unbelievable premise: You have to beat the devil in a drinking contest to come back to life. Regardless of whether you think this game would be for you, you have to admit that it has a pretty amazing premise.
Sable
I have no idea what is going on in Sable, but I know that I love everything about the way it looks already. It’s pitched as a “coming-of-age tale of discovery through exploration across a strikingly rendered open world desert.” and I think that sounds pretty exciting. Plus, just look at it.
Cloudpunk
You know what would make 2019 an infinitely better year? More cyberpunk themed games. Cloudpunk certainly nails the aesthetic, but I’m genuinely curious if it delivers on more than the cyberpunk standard tropes that talk about how evil the corporations are. Like, yeah, we know they’re evil, but tell me about your cool robot arms. Hopefully Cloudpunk delivers a fresh take on this well-worn territory.
Tunic
Every time I see Tunic, I’m reminded of just how impressive it looks. I really like the style it’s going for, but the game-play looks like it’ll hold up it’s end of the bargain. But first impressions can be deceiving. We’ll find out soon, I suppose.
My Friend Pedro
Just look at this darn game. It’s absolutely bananas and I don’t actually believe that it’s going to be anything more than a “cool moment” generator, but just look at some of the stuff you can do. I don’t think anything else has been said about the game, but I’m super interested in what’s been shown off so far.
Ooblets
Ooblets looks like the beautiful lovechild between Harvest Moon, Pokemon and Animal Crossing. It’s such a delight to look at and it just seems like it’s gonna make you feel good to play. I’m always up for a game that charms me so much that my cheeks hurt from all the smiling.
Body of Evidence
I’ll be the first to admit that Body of Evidence doesn’t necessarily look like a game that’s gonna take the world by storm, but I just really like the pitch that it puts forward. Cleaning up the evidence from a crime scene? Count me in. I already have a weird fascination with these simulation games, so this just seems like a fun spin on one of those.
Untitled Goose Game
Yeah, you know this game had to be on the list. I aspire to be a horrible goose prankster everyday of my life, and soon there’s going to be a game that allows me to do that? Yeah Untitled Goose Game, I’m picking up what you’re putting down. And I sure hope they never change the name of the game.
Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing is so good. It’s such a wonderful and pleasant game that I wish had a better mobile version than it got. While in my mind I’ve envisioned a fully realized version of Animal Crossing existing on my iPhone, having on the Switch is the next best thing. Here’s to hoping it lives up to expectations.
The Zone of Curiosities
Whereas everything you’ve seen up till now are games that I’m actually pretty excited for, the next few are games that I’m still not entirely sure how to feel about.
Anthem
The first game I’d like to highlight in The Zone of Curiosities is Anthem. I was not a very big fan of Destiny, and I know this is a different thing, but that’s the comparison that EA has opened themselves up to with Anthem. I would love for Anthem to be it’s own unique thing and really impress me, but I’m just so weary of multiplayer focused games these days.
Crackdown 3
I want Crackdown 3 to be good, I’m just afraid that the Crackdown formula doesn’t work in modern games anymore. Even when Crackdown came out on the Xbox 360 it felt a little archaic. I would love to see a modern take on the franchise, but somehow Crackdown 3 doesn’t seem like it’s doing much to innovate. But I guess I don’t really know anything about it.
Shenmue III
Even if you aren’t a fan of the Shenmue games, you have to be curious right? I have no real issues with the Shenmue games, but I haven’t played them in years so who knows how I’d feel today. But damn, I am so curious to see how this thing pans out.
In the Valley of Gods
I loved Firewatch and that alone is reason for me to be excited for the next game from Campo Santo, but I just feel like I know literally nothing about this game. It sure looks like it’s got the Firewatch vibe nailed down, but I want to know more.
Psychonauts 2
Psychonauts is one of my favorite games, and for years I’ve wanted a sequel. It’s actually happening and I’m eager to take a look at what the sequel to a game released in 2005 actually looks like. Psychonauts was a good platformer that won so many people over because of it’s charm, but I wonder if they can replicate that in a a sequel over a decade later.
The Bonus World 