BIG GAME ENERGY.
June 7, 2020 7:48 AM Subscribe
The big video games of summer 2020 [Polygon] “The summer of 2020 is shaping up to be one of the most unusual seasons for video games. It’s an atypically busy summer, in part thanks to a series of delays that have pushed AAA video games like The Last of Us Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima to the summer months. Summer 2020 is also when video game fans will get to experience blockbuster movie properties as games: There are no major Marvel Studios movies this summer, but there is a pair of major Marvel games, one starring Iron Man and the other the full team of Avengers. And in the absences of the massively delayed Fast & Furious 9, we have an original Fast & Furious video game from the team behind Project CARS. It’s a summer full of big adventures, including a new Paper Mario game and the highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077. (Nintendo Switch owners who don’t dig Paper Mario have plenty of ports to play to this summer: BioShock, Borderlands, and XCOM collections just dropped, as did the massive RPG Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition.) And much more.”
• The 8 Can’t-Miss Video Games of Summer [Vulture]
• The 8 Can’t-Miss Video Games of Summer [Vulture]
“On the video-game calendar, summers are for surprises. Compared to the first and last few months of a year, when the buzziest games receive much-anticipated releases, the summer months can seem like doldrums. But in practice, that means there’s more room for last-minute announcements, indie titles (which eschew a rigid release schedule and can arrive at any time) that could steal the spotlight, and the occasional Beyoncé-style drop of a new game that you can play right away. This summer preview comes with an unusual number of caveats given the global pandemic’s effects on the games industry — and just about everything else. Every release date is subject to change, as logistical issues may result in a game missing its planned arrival. The lack of industry conventions and events also eliminates the usual forums for announcements, meaning there are likely notable games inbound this summer that we do not yet know about.”• June Is Absolutely Stacked For Video Games [Kotaku]
“Even under normal circumstances, June is one of those months that's part of the quieter calendar of gaming. Once E3, and to a smaller degree Computex, is done, the industry settles down for a few weeks, using up annual leave or recouperating before the madness starts back up again in August. This year, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and the way releases and virtual events have been forced to spread out, that's not happening. June 2020 is absolutely rammed not just with new announcements, but unusually, a ton of new releases too. I'll start by going through the releases, since that's what will occupy more of people's time (as excited for new games and gameplay as we all are). There were already a couple of games dropping in June that were going to attract a ton of nostalgic attention, but COVID-19 and some late announcements have really filled out the roster.”○ Valorant (June 2)
○ Command & Conquer Remastered Collection (June 5)
○ Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (June 5)
○ The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor
○ Desperados 3 (June 16)
○ Disintegration (June 16)
○ Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Isle of Armor (June 17)
○ Best Friend Forever (June 18)
○ Burnout Paradise Remastered (June 19)
○ The Last of Us 2 (June 19)
○ Destiny 2 Season 11 (June 9)
○ Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated (June 23)
○ Ninjala (June 24)
Ghidorah, I've heard it takes quite a bit of a visual downgrade to run on the Switch and that load times are pretty long. That being said, it runs and if you're wanting portable XCOM2, you now have portable XCOM2. Of the 2K ports, I've heard that the Bioshock collection (especially 1 & 2) are amazing. If you're still wanting to scratch that tactical itch, maybe go with Fire Emblem: Three Houses or Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle.
posted by Fizz at 7:59 AM on June 7, 2020
posted by Fizz at 7:59 AM on June 7, 2020
Funny thing is, after going through all of the articles to learn more... none of the articles have any info about it. It’s for switch? Oh, well. So much for that.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:02 AM on June 7, 2020
posted by Ghidorah at 8:02 AM on June 7, 2020
If it wasn't made clear, it's that 2K ported Bioshock collection, Borderlands collection, & XCOM2 to the Switch. Older games for sure but they hold up. The Switch ports have been hit or miss depending on the specific game. I think XCOM2 is the only one I've heard that really takes a dive on graphics and performance.
posted by Fizz at 8:12 AM on June 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 8:12 AM on June 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
Am I correct in recalling that the developers of Cyberpunk 2077 are a bunch of rightwingers I don't want to give my money to?
posted by egypturnash at 8:15 AM on June 7, 2020
posted by egypturnash at 8:15 AM on June 7, 2020
egypturnash, CD Projekt Red has had very questionable politics with regards to their views on trans people and how they're portrayed in their games. It was discussed last year in this post. They're shitty with their edgelord hot-takes on twitter too.
It sucks that the games they make are pretty good with regards to actual gameplay. Witcher III is such a solid RPG, but I totally get people not wanting to continue to support a company that has those kinds of odious politics. We vote and send messages with our dollars. If people are looking for another open world game that isn't made by CD Projekt Red, I'd recommend Ghosts of Tsushima which is coming out later in July.
posted by Fizz at 8:21 AM on June 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
It sucks that the games they make are pretty good with regards to actual gameplay. Witcher III is such a solid RPG, but I totally get people not wanting to continue to support a company that has those kinds of odious politics. We vote and send messages with our dollars. If people are looking for another open world game that isn't made by CD Projekt Red, I'd recommend Ghosts of Tsushima which is coming out later in July.
posted by Fizz at 8:21 AM on June 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
It's kind of weird to say, but SnowRunner is probably going to be in my top 5 GOTY. I never imagined that a truck simulator would occupy so much of my time, but it is both challenging and relaxing at the same time. It satisfies a really interesting itch.
Other games I'm enjoying laterly are as follows: Nioh 2, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, & Animal Crossing.
I know that Final Fantasy VII REmake is going to be on everyone's GOTY list come December.
I'm most excited for Ghosts of Tsushima. Like, that is all I've ever wanted in a video game. Check out these 18 minutes of gameplay. It even has a mode that lets you play the entire game in 4K black and white mode. It allows me to pretend that I'm in control of a Kurosawa film.
*drools*
posted by Fizz at 8:32 AM on June 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
Other games I'm enjoying laterly are as follows: Nioh 2, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, & Animal Crossing.
I know that Final Fantasy VII REmake is going to be on everyone's GOTY list come December.
I'm most excited for Ghosts of Tsushima. Like, that is all I've ever wanted in a video game. Check out these 18 minutes of gameplay. It even has a mode that lets you play the entire game in 4K black and white mode. It allows me to pretend that I'm in control of a Kurosawa film.
*drools*
posted by Fizz at 8:32 AM on June 7, 2020 [5 favorites]
If you liked the original X-COM but think modern incarnations are too heavyweight (or your laptop sucks) I'd recommend Invisible Inc.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:35 AM on June 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:35 AM on June 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
CD Projekt Red has had very questionable politics with regards to their views on trans people and how they're portrayed in their games. It was discussed last year in this post. They're shitty with their edgelord hot-takes on twitter too.
From a scale of Extreme Meatpunks Forever to Ion Maiden they're certainly on the shittier end, but they've walked back some of their earlier decisions - the game won't have locked-in gender options, and it sounds like gender reassignment surgery might be an option in game now? It's hard to know whether their approach will be as tone-deaf as they've previously shown until the game actually comes out, but it's admittedly been a while since they've last put their foot in it.
posted by Merus at 8:36 AM on June 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
From a scale of Extreme Meatpunks Forever to Ion Maiden they're certainly on the shittier end, but they've walked back some of their earlier decisions - the game won't have locked-in gender options, and it sounds like gender reassignment surgery might be an option in game now? It's hard to know whether their approach will be as tone-deaf as they've previously shown until the game actually comes out, but it's admittedly been a while since they've last put their foot in it.
posted by Merus at 8:36 AM on June 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
Are you telling me that 1985 2020 was a ridiculously strong year for music videogame releases?
posted by miguelcervantes at 8:53 AM on June 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by miguelcervantes at 8:53 AM on June 7, 2020 [7 favorites]
Nintendo Switch owners who don’t dig Paper Mario have plenty of ports to play to this summer: BioShock, Borderlands, and XCOM collections just dropped, as did the massive RPG Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition.
Get back to me when you've got WATTAM for the Switch.
posted by acb at 8:59 AM on June 7, 2020
Get back to me when you've got WATTAM for the Switch.
posted by acb at 8:59 AM on June 7, 2020
As an alternative to big budget games from questionable people with questionable politics, consider this Bundle For Racial Justice And Equality from itch.io - more than 740 projects in total, proceeds from which will be donated to the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Community Bail Fund, split down the middle.
posted by mhoye at 9:07 AM on June 7, 2020 [25 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 9:07 AM on June 7, 2020 [25 favorites]
And there are some awesome ass games in that list mhoye. Thanks for linking it here. So much god damn content.
posted by Fizz at 9:11 AM on June 7, 2020
posted by Fizz at 9:11 AM on June 7, 2020
consider this Bundle For Racial Justice And Equality from itch.io
Yeah wow, that's an instant purchase, thanks for the link!
posted by mstokes650 at 9:54 AM on June 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
Yeah wow, that's an instant purchase, thanks for the link!
posted by mstokes650 at 9:54 AM on June 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
For years now I've avoided fresh video game releases in favor of older games. Money has been part of it (a $5 game beats one for $60), as has raising children and working far too many hours.
Now that my kids are adults and I'm doing more academic work on games, this might be the time to pick one of these and dive in.
posted by doctornemo at 9:58 AM on June 7, 2020
Now that my kids are adults and I'm doing more academic work on games, this might be the time to pick one of these and dive in.
posted by doctornemo at 9:58 AM on June 7, 2020
I bought that itch.io bundle and I don't even play video games that much but I think I'm pretty much set for having games to sample and enjoy for the rest of my life. They're only asking $5, I threw them $20.
posted by hippybear at 10:54 AM on June 7, 2020
posted by hippybear at 10:54 AM on June 7, 2020
It's not just video games, there's also tabletop roleplaying games, assets for making games, and even some project management software.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:14 AM on June 7, 2020
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:14 AM on June 7, 2020
Sending someone that Itch.io bundle is the digital equivalent of sending someone a glitter bomb, only every particle of glitter is a project somebody spent many many hours making.
C&C Remastered is probably one of the best retro remaster packages I've ever seen. Just a strict upgrade from the original without losing anything, along with a ton of making of and interesting B roll.
Clubhouse Games is a great package for family time. The bowling alone will make a lot of people happy.
posted by Reyturner at 11:34 AM on June 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
C&C Remastered is probably one of the best retro remaster packages I've ever seen. Just a strict upgrade from the original without losing anything, along with a ton of making of and interesting B roll.
Clubhouse Games is a great package for family time. The bowling alone will make a lot of people happy.
posted by Reyturner at 11:34 AM on June 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Well, I am looking forward to Cyberpunk.
posted by SoberHighland at 2:27 PM on June 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by SoberHighland at 2:27 PM on June 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's not clear from the article which store the PC games will be on. Which of these will be available on Steam?
posted by I-Write-Essays at 3:08 PM on June 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by I-Write-Essays at 3:08 PM on June 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 comes out in September.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 3:20 PM on June 7, 2020
posted by The Hamms Bear at 3:20 PM on June 7, 2020
Oddly there's not that much I'm super stoked about other than the new paper mario.
Having said that there's stuff that's already out that I haven't got around to buying/playing. Trailmakers released recently for ps4 (though I understand it's been out for xbox/pc for a while) and it looks like a dope spiritual successor to banjo kazooie nuts & bolts.
posted by juv3nal at 4:59 PM on June 7, 2020
Having said that there's stuff that's already out that I haven't got around to buying/playing. Trailmakers released recently for ps4 (though I understand it's been out for xbox/pc for a while) and it looks like a dope spiritual successor to banjo kazooie nuts & bolts.
posted by juv3nal at 4:59 PM on June 7, 2020
It sucks that the games they make are pretty good with regards to actual gameplay.
They also make some of the few games I’ve seen to present women as their own people with rich internal lives. It’s really rough because the state of gaming is so shitty that it’s exciting when something is half-not. But really everything is terrible.
posted by corb at 7:42 PM on June 7, 2020
They also make some of the few games I’ve seen to present women as their own people with rich internal lives. It’s really rough because the state of gaming is so shitty that it’s exciting when something is half-not. But really everything is terrible.
posted by corb at 7:42 PM on June 7, 2020
Invisible Inc.
'X-Com Chimera' is another focused version of the X-Com reboot style game. Strategy has been cut down a lot, and grinding has been mechanistically removed. You can't have a member die-die anymore, but you're very limited to what members are available.
I wish there were more good new games out there like the original Jagged Alliances 1, 2 (all the sequels are terribad), UFO: Enemy Unknown/ X-COM, Silent Storms, etc.
Personally, I found Invis Inc. a little too difficult/ fastidious and gave up on it but loved the infiltration-type missions in the Silent Storm series.
posted by porpoise at 10:12 PM on June 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
'X-Com Chimera' is another focused version of the X-Com reboot style game. Strategy has been cut down a lot, and grinding has been mechanistically removed. You can't have a member die-die anymore, but you're very limited to what members are available.
I wish there were more good new games out there like the original Jagged Alliances 1, 2 (all the sequels are terribad), UFO: Enemy Unknown/ X-COM, Silent Storms, etc.
Personally, I found Invis Inc. a little too difficult/ fastidious and gave up on it but loved the infiltration-type missions in the Silent Storm series.
posted by porpoise at 10:12 PM on June 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Speaking of X-COM Chimera squad, I recently tried Gears Tactics and my goodness what an awful game it was. I initially had high hopes seeing it was a "big budget" attempt at the turn based tactics genre and it seemed like they had no idea what made those games so compelling, guys I need to rant.
So there are 22 story missions, and "side missions in between" so total count goes to about 50+... but in reality there are exactly 4 mission types recycled over and over with no attempt to even disguise them. Rescue 2 soldiers then escape. Collect 3 boxes of loot then escape. Kill all enemies guarding a box. Hold two control points. The maps are even laid out the same with the same size and sequence of events. The only thing that changes is the supposed pretext (who you are rescuing... what you are retrieving). I have never seen anything so lazy before!
Worse still is how the game mechanics and common sense / logic don't add up at all. A key part of the fantasy is that you slowly level up your characters, get to know them, make up some internal story about them. Train their skills, get invested in them. In this game... you get new recruits every mission. Who are usually higher level than your existing soldiers you are trying to level up. So... the only logical way to play is to keep firing your existing soldiers and getting brand new ones after each mission. Doesn't matter how you spec your soldiers, they are expendable and you get new ones later anyway!
It gets worse! Even if the soldiers you can hire are lower / same level as your soldiers, they usually have better sidearms and desired gear sets. So you should hire them anyway, strip them of their weapons and armor to give to your other soldiers, then sack them.
Even more illogical is the fact that new soldiers appear with zero skill points allocated. In theory, skill points grow through the branching trees to represent how they develop related skills over time through practice. These soldiers are like ready made clones that can be instantly "specced" into any tree you like, like downloading kung fu into their brain in the Matrix. And the story is that these are "recruits" you rescue or run into in the wild. How did they get to level 6 without learning any skills, having a blank skill tree? Worse is how you strip them of their weapons and armor and discard them back into the wild to be eaten by locusts.
This $60 game is one of the stupidest games I've ever played lol, it's an insult to the genre, the $10 Chimera Squad can claim to be a better game.
posted by xdvesper at 2:31 AM on June 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
So there are 22 story missions, and "side missions in between" so total count goes to about 50+... but in reality there are exactly 4 mission types recycled over and over with no attempt to even disguise them. Rescue 2 soldiers then escape. Collect 3 boxes of loot then escape. Kill all enemies guarding a box. Hold two control points. The maps are even laid out the same with the same size and sequence of events. The only thing that changes is the supposed pretext (who you are rescuing... what you are retrieving). I have never seen anything so lazy before!
Worse still is how the game mechanics and common sense / logic don't add up at all. A key part of the fantasy is that you slowly level up your characters, get to know them, make up some internal story about them. Train their skills, get invested in them. In this game... you get new recruits every mission. Who are usually higher level than your existing soldiers you are trying to level up. So... the only logical way to play is to keep firing your existing soldiers and getting brand new ones after each mission. Doesn't matter how you spec your soldiers, they are expendable and you get new ones later anyway!
It gets worse! Even if the soldiers you can hire are lower / same level as your soldiers, they usually have better sidearms and desired gear sets. So you should hire them anyway, strip them of their weapons and armor to give to your other soldiers, then sack them.
Even more illogical is the fact that new soldiers appear with zero skill points allocated. In theory, skill points grow through the branching trees to represent how they develop related skills over time through practice. These soldiers are like ready made clones that can be instantly "specced" into any tree you like, like downloading kung fu into their brain in the Matrix. And the story is that these are "recruits" you rescue or run into in the wild. How did they get to level 6 without learning any skills, having a blank skill tree? Worse is how you strip them of their weapons and armor and discard them back into the wild to be eaten by locusts.
This $60 game is one of the stupidest games I've ever played lol, it's an insult to the genre, the $10 Chimera Squad can claim to be a better game.
posted by xdvesper at 2:31 AM on June 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Valorant doesn't seem like it will do well, having to fight against the behemoth that is CS:GO. The story trailer for it is very cool, I suppose the South Korean agent is there to appeal to the hardcore gamer market in Korea.
It's essentially a blend of CS:GO strategy and Overwatch character personality / skills. A major criticism of Overwatch was that the entire game was focused around 6v6 battles on a single point with less emphasis on the strategic layer, and that gun skill was less emphasized. It made battles very same-ish, with every fight optimally being 6v6.
Valorant follows the CS:GO strategic flow of bomb maps, where attackers have to plant a bomb at one of 2 or 3 different sites. Defenders have to split up into 2-3 small groups to scout where the Attackers are hitting. Attackers first expend consumable abilities to "take" a bomb site, forcing the Defenders to fall back because of numerical disadvantage. The Attackers plant the bomb while the Defenders regroup, then attempt to "retake" the bomb site and defuse it. The agent abilities primarily focus around controlling / denying space and lines of attack, but it's a gun game first and foremost. It creates a huge diversity in lines of play that Overwatch never really had. If I were to make the comparison in League, Overwatch is like ARAM mode while CS:GO is like proper Summoners Rift...
posted by xdvesper at 2:45 AM on June 8, 2020
It's essentially a blend of CS:GO strategy and Overwatch character personality / skills. A major criticism of Overwatch was that the entire game was focused around 6v6 battles on a single point with less emphasis on the strategic layer, and that gun skill was less emphasized. It made battles very same-ish, with every fight optimally being 6v6.
Valorant follows the CS:GO strategic flow of bomb maps, where attackers have to plant a bomb at one of 2 or 3 different sites. Defenders have to split up into 2-3 small groups to scout where the Attackers are hitting. Attackers first expend consumable abilities to "take" a bomb site, forcing the Defenders to fall back because of numerical disadvantage. The Attackers plant the bomb while the Defenders regroup, then attempt to "retake" the bomb site and defuse it. The agent abilities primarily focus around controlling / denying space and lines of attack, but it's a gun game first and foremost. It creates a huge diversity in lines of play that Overwatch never really had. If I were to make the comparison in League, Overwatch is like ARAM mode while CS:GO is like proper Summoners Rift...
posted by xdvesper at 2:45 AM on June 8, 2020
That itch.io bundle looks like an incredible deal for a great cause. Too bad I already own all the games in it.
posted by straight at 1:59 PM on June 8, 2020
posted by straight at 1:59 PM on June 8, 2020
There is indeed a new XCOM game. It has been out for PC. https://www.polygon.com/2020/4/14/21219644/xcom-chimera-squad-release-date-price-pc
It's called Chimera Squad. I'm sure someone linked it, but just in case I don't have time to scroll the thread.
I'm excited to play Desperados 3. I need to beat Shadow Tactics.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 2:42 PM on June 8, 2020
It's called Chimera Squad. I'm sure someone linked it, but just in case I don't have time to scroll the thread.
I'm excited to play Desperados 3. I need to beat Shadow Tactics.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 2:42 PM on June 8, 2020
Just everyone play The Sims Mobile with me! It's free! And a terrific, obsessive distraction right now
posted by Red Desk at 11:27 PM on June 8, 2020
posted by Red Desk at 11:27 PM on June 8, 2020
The Itchi.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is now over a thousand games and downthread apparently more and more creators are submitting projects to be added to the bundle. This may be the best $5 it's ever been possible to spend on games and software and TTRPGs.
posted by Pope Guilty at 4:57 AM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Pope Guilty at 4:57 AM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
They've had to add a search interface to the bundle because of the amount of stuff. Of the titles that are new to me as yet I've only tried the one but can recommend A Short Hike (which I'll point out is $8 on its lonesome on steam) though it's probably better with a controller which I don't have.
posted by juv3nal at 7:02 AM on June 9, 2020
posted by juv3nal at 7:02 AM on June 9, 2020
The bundle looks amazing, I purchased it. Having a little trouble running some of the games because they're all stand alone, but I regret nothing.
posted by corb at 9:59 AM on June 9, 2020
posted by corb at 9:59 AM on June 9, 2020
Also, Democratic Socialism Simulator is really great but very difficult. Curious to know if anyone has managed to win on all three axises yet.
posted by corb at 2:10 PM on June 9, 2020
posted by corb at 2:10 PM on June 9, 2020
I'm just biding my time until Baldur's Gate III comes out. Yes, I'm old.
posted by wintermute2_0 at 3:41 PM on June 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by wintermute2_0 at 3:41 PM on June 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
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posted by Ghidorah at 7:56 AM on June 7, 2020 [1 favorite]