‘Dead Space’, ‘Atomic Heart’, & More: Video Games to Look Out For at the Beginning of This Year
2023 is upon us with fresh video game releases. Which ones deserve your time? Look out for these games during January and February.
January and February tend to be dump sites for movie releases. But more and more, the video gaming industry has taken the beginning of the year as an opportunity to release some genuinely interesting titles. Past years saw early-year titles like Street Fighter V, Resident Evil 7, and Dragon Ball FighterZ released in the first 2 months of the year. Last year alone having Pokemon Legends Arceus, Horizon Forbidden West, and Elden Ring. This year is no different with many amazing titles to look forward to.
via EA
Fire Emblem Engage
In a war against the Fell Dragon, four kingdoms worked together with heroes from other worlds to seal away this great evil. One-thousand years later, this seal has weakened and the Fell Dragon is about to reawaken. As a Divine Dragon, use rich strategies and robust customization to meet your destiny—to collect 12 Emblem Rings and bring peace back to the Continent of Elyos.
Fire Emblem Engage is the latest title in the long-running tactical RPG that also doubles as a shipper’s favorite simulator. This time you find yourself as Alear, a divine dragon with red and blue colored eyes. He’s awoken from a long slumber to help defeat a long-dormant evil. This one promises some very unique mechanics that let you summon past Fire Emblem characters such as Marth, Ike, Lyn, Lucina, and more with “Emblem Rings” to turn the tide in a fight.
‘Fire Emblem Engage’ is set to release on January 20th for Nintendo Switch.
Dead Space(2023)
Something has gone horribly wrong on board the mining ship, USG Ishimura.
Dead Space(2023) is the upcoming remake of one of the greatest space horror games ever made back in 2008. Return to the USG Ishimura as engineer Issac Clarke to survive against horrifying monsters to find out what happened to the crew and your girlfriend. This remake is built from the ground up with updated visuals, audio, lighting, and gameplay improvements to make the game feel like something more than a simple HD remaster. After The Callisto Protocol underwhelmed many gamers and critics, EA is primed to take back the space horror genre with Dead Space‘s returns.
‘Dead Space(2023)’ is set to release on January 27th on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Deliver Us Mars
Uncover the truth behind the ‘Outward’ organization, and learn the fate of Kathy’s father.
Deliver Us Mars is the sequel to a puzzle adventure game back in 2018 called Deliver Us the Moon. Set 10 years after the first game, you play Kathy Johannson who joins a mission to Mars to recover stolen ARK colony ships that don’t go as planned. The sequel promises an adventure with action, suspense, and an emotion-fueled narrative that will keep players engaged.
‘Deliver Us Mars’ is set to release on February 2nd on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Atomic Heart
Science, equality, and fraternity are the main symbols of Freedom in this reality. But what kind of effort does it take to build an ideal society? And what is the price of such a society? Will Major of Intelligence “P-3” have to find out what forces are behind the Utopian dream? And what secrets are hidden in the depths of Facility 3826? The truth will have to be paid in blood.
Atomic Heart is a first-person shooter developed by Russian studio Mundfish and I can only describe what we know like this, what if BioShock was Russian? Set in the Soviet Union an alternate 1955, advances in robotics caused WW2 to end much faster. You play a mentally unstable KGB special agent named Major Nechaev who has been tasked with a secret mission that finds himself at odds with robots that have gone insane and horrifying science experiments. Promising some crazy shooting, art design, and an interesting narrative, I was completely sold on this game and I can’t absolutely wait to play it.
‘Atomic Heart’ is set to release February 21st on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Like a Dragon: Ishin
Set in 1860 in the city of Kyo, another legend begins for the revolutionary hero Sakamoto Ryoma!
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Like a Dragon: Ishin is a spinoff of the Yakuza series that originally came out only in Japan back in 2014 and is finally being released in the West. Set in the late Edo period of Japan in 1860, you play Sakamoto Ryoma who is after revenge for the death of his mentor, but ends up wrapped up in events that will reshape the future of Japan. The game sports updated visuals, brand new content, and will be an absolute joy to any Yakuza fan.
‘Like a Dragon: Ishin’ is set to release February 21st on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Octopath Traveler 2
Eight new travelers journey through the land of Solistia, each with their own story to tell. What will happen when their paths intertwine, and where will their adventures lead them … and you?
Octopath Traveler 2 is the sequel to the original Nintendo Switch JRPG hit back in 2018. In this one, you take control of 8 different protagonists in with their own reasons for exploring the world of Solistia in a more 19th or 20th-century look than the previous medieval setting. It is similar to the last title’s gameplay and story in that you have many different “paths” to choose from for each character, but with some new things such as doing things in the day or night changing what your options are for moving forward as well as the bringing in to combat “Latent Powers” which are super moves similar to Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy. If you have been missing the turn-based JRPGs Final Fantasy used to be, this is a great series to pick up.
‘Octopath Traveler 2’ is set to release February 24th on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC.
Scars Above
Uncover the mystery of Scars Above!
Scars Above is a third-person sci-fi shooter that shares somewhat the visual feel of 2021’s Returnal. In this one, you play Dr. Kate Ward, a scientist and astronaut, who is stranded on an alien world after she and her team are sucked through a mysterious floating object in Earth’s atmosphere that they were sent to investigate. Kate now has to survive, find her team and uncover the secrets of this new world they find themselves on. Unlike Returnal, Scars Above is not a roguelike that changes the environment every time you die, so you can have more fun exploring the world and not worrying about losing weapons and progress, making for a much smoother experience.
‘Scars Above’ is set to release February 27th on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
There are plenty of other titles coming out soon. Let us know what you are looking forward to in these beginning months of the year!
Happy Gaming!
