Paige FTW: The Fall 2019 Landscape
We all know that Spring 2020 is absolutely overloaded with big-name releases. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, we have a well-stacked fall to get through. What follows is a brief overview of the biggest titles coming out this holiday season.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Oct. 25, PS4/XBO/PC)
The latest installment of that evergreen war franchise is looking to “reboot” its Modern Warfare offshoot. Story-wise, it promises Apocalypse Now vibes, as well as a realistic morality system, which would put it in line with the general industry trend to include as much player agency as is possible. It sure looks like a COD game to me.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Oct. 31, Switch)
Perhaps it’s just me, but I’ve always enjoyed Luigi’s more atmospheric romps over Mario’s sunshine and galaxy hopping. This time, Luigi and Co. are at a haunted hotel, whereupon Luigi must fearfully vacuum ghosts to save his brother and friends. The biggest mechanic change is the, uh, Gooigi, which can slide through tiny cracks.
Death Stranding (Nov. 8, PS4)
Hideo Kojima’s long-hyped, highly anticipated action title has revealed its all-star Hollywood cast, emphasized its key themes of “connection” and offered a lengthy demonstration of its exploration-based gameplay. Kojima even explained what happens when the camera spends too long on main character Sam’s crotch (he punches it). Time will tell if it lives up to the mania.
Pokemon Sword and Shield (Nov. 15, Switch)
The eighth generation of the storied franchise places players in Galar, a new region modeled on Great Britain. The new gimmick this generation is “Dynamax” and “Gigantamax,” which make your Pokemon really big. Meh. Otherwise, the more “open world” look to the environment seems promising.
Shenmue 3 (Nov. 19, PS4/PC)
The long-awaited, Kickstarter-funded sequel to a classic (and now very old) franchise will see the continuation of Ryo Hazuki’s journey to find his father’s murderer. The game seems likely to continue its predecessors’ focus on quick-time events, resource management and exploration.
