News | Wanna play, might play - The whole 2023rd?
by Foggy, 30-12-2022 , edited by Foggy, 30-12-2022
Next year looks awesome! And cramped up. If you look at what will be released, I think it's going to be one of the best years for gaming. This article will name what I plan to pursue, hopefully these titles underneath will get their reviews and guides as well. The problem is that everything that was pushed back fell right into the next year. It's a tight schedule!
Without futher ado, let's name the upcoming whishlist of year 2023!
Wanna play (and probably will play)
One Piece Odyssey
Release date: 12.1.2023 on PlayStation 5, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
One Piece is a modern attempt to return the genre to the classic turn-based combat system, and many of you may know this one as an anime series. A promising fusion of multiple worlds could be just what fans of the genre like, and it is irresistibly reminiscent of Dragon Quest XI, which is certainly the top of the genre. Will the story be up to par, will the teammates have that "something", and what kind of boss fights are waiting for us, remains to be seen on 12.1.2023. Expectations are high, and you never get enough of turn-based games.
Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden
Release date: 19.1.2023 on PlayStation 5, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC
Persona 5 certainly brought the popularity of this Atlus gem, whose series is one of the best you can play. Persona 3 and 4 are out for the PC platform, and it's finally time to play these 2 sequels on the current and last generation of consoles. Although dungeon desing in these is few steps back when compared to the latest entry, the Persona games come with brilliant stories and teammates, so this is a must-play for all fans of the genre. Turn-based battles and combining demons; so-called "personas" hidden within yourself - should be enough incentive for this to play out.
There are three versions of Persona 3 available out there. At this time, these versions can be found on select platforms:
- Persona 3 (PlayStation 2)
- Persona 3 FES (PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 Store)
- Persona Portable (PlayStation Portable, PS Vita Store)
Persona 3 FES is the same as Persona 3, and it includes an extra epilogue section with the final part of the story and a large area to explore and battle in. Persona Portable is the trimmed version of Persona 3 for the PlayStation Portable. It mainly has the same story as Persona 3, but it does not include the epilogue of Persona 3 FES, nor does it have characters acting out each scene.
Persona 4 Golden (P4G) is an enhanced re-release of Persona 4, which launched for the PlayStation Vita. The port adds a variety of new content and convenience features to update the original game. It's the best version to play, so with this one we got lucky (while Persona 3 miss that point for us).
Fire Emblem: Engage
Release date: 20.1.2023 on Nintendo Switch.
In Fire Emblem Engage - the seventeenth installment of the Fire Emblem franchise; 1000 years have passed since four kingdoms cooperated with each other and with heroes from other worlds to seal away the Fell Dragon on the continent of Elyos. As the evil prepares to reawaken, you emerge as Alear the Divine Dragon, a chosen hero who can bring back the heroes from other realms and seal the chaos dragon again. Engage features characters and other content pulled from across past entries in the series, and considering how big of a hit was the last entry (The Three Houses), we expect much from this one as well.
My only issue is the lack of time to play all of the games that are being released, so this one may sit on the shelf a bit as I still need to play the last game. I just hope the permadeath will be present, but I don't mind if you can turn it of - not every gamer is crazy about this mechanic.
Monster Hunter Rise
Release date: 20.1.2023 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One. It's already out on Nintedo Switch and PC.
What can I say about the Monster Hunter series and this particular title? Not much except that it's a must-play. I did spend couple of hours over Steam, but I just want to play this one on the consoles, so the recent news about porting it for Xbox and PlayStation consoles had my blood pumping. Rise is a great game with new MH mechanics such as the Wirebug, new arenas, new monsters, and much more. Maybe the difficulty level is going down with this entry, but it's still a ton of fun. I also remember spending 700 hours to get that platinum trophy on World and Iceborne, but neither of these 700 hours were in vain or dull, especially when playing with a team.
Let's wait for this one and play it. It looks worse than World and Iceborne, but it's the gameplay that counts.
Dead Space (Remake)
Release date: 27.1.2023 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
What to say about this one? It looks stunning, the rest was already top-notch - they just need to follow what they have and maybe improve some aspects, although I don't remember much issues from the original game. The Callisto Protocol never delivered what we all wanted from the former Dead Space developer team, so this is what we want now.
I miss the survival horrors in space, especially this one.
Tales of Symphonia
Release date: 17.2.2023 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
One of the best, and some say the best Bandai's Tales title, is finally getting its remaster for current and past generation of consoles. The game was originally released only for the Nintendo Gamecube, where a large number of fans must have been deprived, but with some ports after that, there was an opportunity to enjoy this title. Although the sequel didn't do well, it's definitely been enough years for us all to remember what trully genius Tales games were (in case of the base game). Tales is an action JRPG that combines an action segment instead of a turn-based system,with its own vision and a lot of unique content. Maybe one day we'll get Tales of Grace F, which for me personally is the best when it comes to Tales games. Don't worry about 30FPS performance mode, we don't need JRPGs always in 60.
Wild Hearts
Release date: 17.2.2023 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Will the Monster Hunter wannabe shine? It remains to be seen. Wild Hearts is looking nice, but I'm quite sceptical about titles that are obviously copying long-running franchises. Monster Hunter series is improving for the past 20+ years, so trying to establish another title that wants to deliver something similar is a tough one. For sure I will first wait for some impressions or a demo if they release one. I don't mind clones if they deliver, the more the merrier.
Atomic Heart
Release date: 21.2.2023 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Mick Gordon is releasing his new album, and once again, a game will be released alongside of it. Yeah, I'm a big fan! Atomic Heart is set out to be new Doom game, but with a totaly different setting. I'm curious what Mick came up with, his music is what drives the games underneath. At first I was not impressed with the game itself, but I must say, things are looking much, much better. I guess this will be my only FPS for the year, I just can't miss out on the new Mick riffs.
Like a Dragon: Ishin!
Release date: 21.2.2023 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Yakuza with katanas? Sold!
Ishin! is a spin-off game in the Like a Dragon series, formerly known in English localization as Yakuza. It was produced by Sega and released in February 2014 for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, but only as a Japanese launch title for the latter platform. A remake, Like a Dragon: Ishin!, is being developed using Unreal Engine 4, and will receive a worldwide release unlike the original game. Yay!
The story is set in the chaotic Bakumatsu (1853-1867) phase of the Late Edo Period. Despite being the second Like a Dragon series spin-off set in the samurai era instead of modern-day Japan, this game is unrelated to Kenzan!, which was released in 2008 on the PlayStation 3. Kenzan! is set two centuries before Ishin!, hence the plots are not related with each other. Each game focuses on a different characters, and they can be played independently.
Finally, we can enjoy former Yakuza spin-off titles in West like this one. It's looking so good, I can't even describe the happiness levels inside of my head.
Octopath Traveler 2
Release date: 24.2.2023 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
Originally also a Nintedo exclusive, but for the Switch; now it gets a sequel for all platforms. What the first game has brought was nothing new, but for the fans of classes/jobs, turn-based combat system that innovates through a slightly different approach from other games. I encourage you to play Octopath Traveler if you never did (available for Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One).
A little retro nostalgia is within reach. I'm curious if they've worked on the story, which was the worse aspect of the first game (well, not that bad, just bland and shallow). JRPG games are known for their brilliant soundtracks, so I expect a lot from the continuation of this game series. If they fix what was not working, we are in for a treat (I hope they listened to the criticism of all us out there ).
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
Release date: 3.3.2023 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Nioh 3 is getting close. Yeah, I know it's Wo Long, but the game is basically Nioh with jump and even more faster. Being a sucker for anything that is similar to From games is great when games from Team Ninja keeps coming. They know their stuff, and that is exacly what I felt during the demo of the game. More about everything you need to know can be found in my article about the Demo:
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
Release date: 9.3.2023 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.
It seems like we're getting Fatal Frame remasters in reverse. I liked the last one (Maiden of Black Water), although they say it's the worst in the series. The forth entry is out in March (well, its remastered version), so prepare Camera Obascura and let's go! It was too bad that this title only got released on Nintendo Wii back in days.
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is a survival horror video game that has players taking control of four different characters while exploring the traditional Japanese houses - all in dark of course, while the ghosts are chasing you. Night is your enemy, as usual. I always had issues with playing Fatal Frame games for a couple of hours in one go - they are just scary.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure
Release date: 14.3.2023 on PlayStation 4, Switch, PC.
It's ridiculous how long we have to wait for english ports of Trails games. Azure is a direct sequel to Trails from Zero, which was recently released for the same platforms in West. My opionion is that this detective Trails games are one of the best when it comes to writing of the entire The Legend of Heroes universe (Trails in the Sky being my personal best). Azure should answer a lot of questions that are built upon the end of the Trails from Zero, so I'm eager to try it out, I just need an extra 100 hours.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Release date: 17.3.2023 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is an upcoming action-adventure game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. It's a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - the last Star Wars game that was more than decent. The timeline is set five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, making its story fall around the same time as the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
I for one am really excited, I hope they will fix some issues and bad decisions from the first game in the series. March is just cramped up with games, damn.
Resident Evil 4 (Remake)
Release date: 24.3.2023 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
What more can I say about this game than you all don't know already? Not much, but let's sumarise some stuff. Resident Evil 4 brings back Leon from RE2, and the game has awesome mechanics that are heavily used in RE: Village (enemy ammo and mony drops, shops and upgrades etc.).
Development reportedly began around 2018, led by the studio M-Two. Capcom then brought the development in-house in early 2021, led by the Division 1 team, with "many team members" who worked on the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2 returning for this game. Following its reveal on June 3, 2022, Capcom stated that the game is being developed "by reimagining the storyline of the game while keeping the essence of its direction, modernizing the graphics and updating the controls to a modern standard".
In short - the team that made the best remake of all times (RE2) will also work on this one. There is a lot to hope for here, and we all know that RE4 was a popular RE game, for many the best in the series. I can't wait to shoot some chickens and steal their golden eggs.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Release date: 12.5.2023 on Nintedo Switch.
That one title that always inovated and receives the highest grades is Zelda. Zelda games shaped the industry so much that every gamer out there knows about the series. It's fascinating how the team behing all of these games always has some vision of their own that they shape into a masterpiece. Not every Zelda game is one, but most of them simply are.
We can look at this one a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, but this time with floating islands and hopefully diverse-looking puzzle dungeons and temples. And I sure hope that they fix the break weapon system - that was just plain bad.
Final Fantasy XVI
Release date: 22.5.2023 on PlayStation 5, and PC.
Team behind the current best MMO out there (Final Fantasy XIV) will try to return the glory to main FF titles. After bad FFXV (if you ask me that is the worst FF game in the series), we will get a DMC-like FF game with summons and new formula. I prefer the older days of FF instead of the new ones, but I will look with my eyes opened for the news about FFXVI - maybe I will not play it on the day 1, but if the game really shines, I will buy it after hearing about it. Until then Square, you just lost me with bad games that came out from your factory (minus Reunion and FFVII Remake Part 1, which I loved).
The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie
Release date: 7.7.2023 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC.
If you want to learn what happened after Trails of Cold Steel IV, you need to pla Trails into Reverie. It's the newest Trails instalment, which as usual comes out localized in West few years after its initial release in Japan. I'm really sad about it, so much time has passed and Nihon Falcom just can't do a day 1 for all regions somehow (I think they are getting recognized more and more, but they still lack the proper plans for West).
Turn-based JRPGs are back, and Trails knows how to do that part the best. If not the best, then on a high level, which we all want and like.
Baldur's Gate 3
Release date: August 2023 on PC.
The small studio from Belgium responsible for Divinity: Original Sin 2 has become one of the greatest hope of the RPG world. Both Divinity titles are among the best this genre has to offer, and they are developing Baldur's Gate 3. I don't mind the change, I simply love Divinity games with all my heart. With great pressure to fulfill the wishes and greetings of die-hard fans of this legendary series, and at the same time to attract fresh blood, Larian has a huge responsibility.
The first chapter is already available in Early Access on Steam. The full version is coming to us in August. Until then, we can enjoy the more than positive development direction of one of the most anticipated games of its genre.
Sea of Stars
Release date: Mid 2023 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, and MacOS
At this point I don't want to spoil anything more than I already know about the game, but games inspired by Chrono Trigger are always on the radar. Sea of Stars will for sure be my RPG retro dose. No release dates yet, just the mid-2023 information. At least we now know the game comes out on more platforms.
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
Release date: Winter 2023 on PlayStation 5.
Will we finally find out if they touched our holy grail or are they still afraid of the anger of the fans? There are many questions and questionnaires, but one thing is certain - Final Fantasy is one of the most beautiful games of this style. Will modern times still deny players the world map, everything that opens on disc 2 of the original game, or try what Reunion did - left the story untouched and just focused on the fixes while making the game next-gen. A sea of fans must be waiting for their answers, including me. It's time to leave Midgar and experience the world to the fullest. What Rebirth has to respect is a lot of content, and it would be nice if we didn't have to wait years for parts of a game that once came out in one piece. Strange times.
Suikoden I Remaster, Suikoden II remaster
Release date: 2023 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows (Steam).
The next year should be the one where we finally get Suikoden remasters. Oh my God, it has been so long. I love the series, I've played them all. This remaster looks like a remake a bit, but a remake withing the 2D era. They are remastering some backgrounds, which looks really decent! Maybe Konami wants to bring back the series and show us what we loved in their games. For me, games with better visuals and improvements in the soundtrack area while keeping the 1:1 story and the core of the game is what I need, nothing else.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
Release date: 2023 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S.
Sukoden successor is still to be release in the year 2023. We don't know much more about it, but I'm sure that a lot of gamers are waiting for more news. If you want, you can learn more lore for Thousand Heroes through Rising spin-off, but I was not really impressed with that one. I'm sure that the main game will be the one we are all waiting for - a drama in the middle of the war accompanied by 100 heroes on the way.
Alan Wake 2
Release date: 2023 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
There is not much about Alan Wake 2, but it should be a direct sequel to the first game, which had its remaster recently. It's a good game, and based on the trailer this should be even darker. The release date is still set to 2023., but considering the lack of news, it's possible they will postpone it. Let's see!
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
Release date: 2023 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
I played some of Armored Core games, they were ok. Last one came out in 2013. They are nothing special, but mecha fights and From Software after getting another GOTY award? Yes, bring it in. I'm not sure will I find the time for this one, but I will try my best.
Don't wanna play (and probably will play if I find the time)
Ah, there are always games that you want to play, but you don't and instead you play the ones you want to play more. I just don't feel that "something" for the below list, but I want to include them in this article. I'm sure a lot of you will play these and that is perfectly fine.
P.S - Diablo IV is not on my list on purpose. I hate the politics of Blizzard, the microtransactions, pay-to-win, and the store they installed through Diablo Immortal. I just don't respect them anymore, and I will not spend my money until I'm 100% sure that the next Diablo game is the real deal (I disliked Diablo 3, it's not what I wanted from a Diablo game).
- Forspoken - 24.1.2023 (PC, PS5)
- Hogwarts Legacy - 10.2.2023 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC), 4.4.2023 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
- Horizon Call of the Mountain - 22.2.2023 (PSVR 2)
- Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key - 24.2.2023 (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch)
- Destiny 2: Lightfall - 28.2.2023 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC)
- Skull and Bones - 9.3.2023 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
- Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon - 17.3.2023 (Nintendo Switch)
- Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores - 19.4.2023 (PlayStation 5)
- Diablo IV - 6.6.2023 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC)
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