Pretty slow month for posts on my side, with 2 semi-long JRPGs being reviewed. I do have a few other posts on the way, I’m playing Ziggurat 2 and Voice of Cards and I have some other “backlog” kinda things to jump into once that’s done, so it’s not like I don’t have things prepared (and a rant that I’m making sure I’m fully satisfied with before I post it). And I’m gonna play a few new releases in December as well, including maybe looking at the 1$ game pass PC trial for some of them.
So December 2021 is a bit weird. In the sense that it actually has several interesting games. December is usually, weirdly, an off-month for game releases, with sometimes a game or two worth looking at. But this time there’s a couple cool ones actually, and this is with some big-ish games getting delayed. For December 2021, I’m listing: 8 multiplats and 4 Switch releases. I’ll probably be playing 3-4 of these games.
Disclaimer: I only list games that I think are worth mentioning. This includes games I’m personally interested in, games that will likely be popular, highly advertised games, small interesting ones I may notice and such. Not just games I care about myself, I highlight as much as I think makes sense. And of course I can’t see the future, so I may be missing games and I may be listing games that may get delayed.
MULTIPLATFORM RELEASES
Chorus 12/03 (PC, PS4, Xbone, PS5, Xbox X/S)
This was announced I think at the PS5 reveal event. It’s a space shooter that, in some segments, gives me some Star Fox-like vibes, with it feeling like all-range mode combat, but way swifter, the movement looks super cool. It seems open world and seems to have loot and stuff too (which may or may not be a good thing). It actually looks possibly quite good, though I don’t see too many people talking about it. I’ll probably be giving this one a look.
Halo Infinite 12/08 (PC, Xbone, Xbox X/S)
It’s Halo. The multiplayer has been out, I know some people have had issues with it technically, but I think people have been enjoying it from the little I’ve seen. The single-player is a separate thing (with the multiplayer being free-to-play). It seems to be a mix of open-world with linear missions within that open-world, we’ll see how that works out. I’m not the biggest Halo fan out there but I might be giving this a try alongside the new Forza with the 1$ game pass thingy.
Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX 12/09 (Switch, PC)
Oh hell yeah. I get this is just old games, and I don’t generally celebrate re-releases (because most of them are dumb), but Monster Rancher is a series that needs more recognition (and has been dead since the DS, with the last game in the series coming out in 2008 in Japan). Those games will look a bit outdated, being PS1 games, but they’re great stuff gameplay-wise. It gets a bit lost in-between similar concepts like Pokemon and SMT and Digimon and such, but this is a very different kind of game where the goal isn’t collecting and adventuring, but rather time and health management to train your monsters (as much as possible before they’re too old to fight). It’s good shit. Buy it please.
I wasn’t even expecting this collection to get a western release.
Demon Gaze Extra 12/09 (Switch, PS4)
Back when this came out on Vita I gave it a good review. It’s one of these first-person grid-based classic-style RPGs, with JRPG mechanics for combat and leveling. It’s pretty good stuff. This version has more content, not sure what it is. If you missed it on Vita, it’s a good time to check it out.
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon 12/13 (Switch, PC, PS4)
I’m not 100% sure how this will end up playing, even after watching many gameplay videos. It’s an action puzzle game, with what looks like roguelite mechanics, that looks pretty fun. I’d say look at a couple trailers see if it looks good to you. I’ll probably be checking it out.
Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach 12/16 (PC, PS4, PS5)
It’s FNAF. This one looks very different from any previous FNAF though, with the free movement and such, and the visual style feels very different. Not entirely sure how it’s actually supposed to play based on the trailers. And of course all the fan stuff on youtube looking at lore will be going crazy for this as usual (and then MatPat will copy their homework).
At most I’ll watch some Vtuber playing this.
The Gunk 12/16 (PC, Xbone, Xbox Series X/S)
I vaguely remember this looking kinda interesting and I took note to look back into it when it got close to release. And now that it is… there still isn’t a proper gameplay video for this from the devs that gives an idea of game design and progression or… anything. The longest official video is below 2 minutes, with very little actual gameplay. I’ll have to look at reviews for this, right now it’s not convincing me. (and also the voice acting is below amateur hour).
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth 12/16 (Switch, PS4, Xbone, PS5, Xbox X/S)
I have this on PC. I have not played it yet. Huh. Maybe I should, I bought it after all. It looked pretty cool, it’s a metroidvania based on the classic anime. Looks good.
SWITCH RELEASES
Danganronpa Decadence 12/03
It’s all the Danganronpa games, on Switch. They are pretty good, worth checking out if you haven’t, from what I know (I’ve only played, like, half the first game).
Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain 12/03
I’m not particularly familiar with Big Brain Academy. Not really my kind of thing. This is a fun version where you play against other players, seeing who is better at being intelligent or whatever. Looks okay. Still not my kind of thing.
Disney Magical World 2: Enchanted Edition 12/03
I think this is a remaster of something on 3DS that I never heard about. It looks like ass.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush: Dawn of the Battle Royale!! 12/07
It’s a new Yu-Gi-Oh game, using the Rush Duel style of gameplay… I have no idea what that means, let’s go check… okay so it’s speed duel rules (3 monster slots, 3 spell/trap slots, no pendulums (thank fucking god), no Main Phase 2), except you have infinite normal summons, 8000 LP, infinite hand size, full hand redraw every turn and probably a few other small different things. Huh. Not sure I really want to try this, I’ll put it on the maybe list and probably never get it.
Haven’t really kept up with the card game since… high school. Let’s just say the last set I bought a booster for was Pharaonic Guardian I think. So never had to deal with things like Chaos Emperor Dragon. I did buy a starter deck in 2010 to show the game to a friend (it was the “Duelist Toolbox” deck, had no idea what synchro summon was when I got it).
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