2023 was a messy and horrible year that, despite itself, gave us some excellent games. You could even argue that this year gave us too many games! If you were looking for a break to catch up on what you missed, well, next year doesn’t seem to be offering much of a reprieve—at least not at the outset. Big titles like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Helldivers 2, Suicide Squad, Tekken 8, and Skull & Bones (and more) are all dropping early in the year.
Historically, the first two or three months of the year are not the busiest time for video game releases. Sure, you always get a few big and small games early on (like Elden Ring dropping in February 2022), but often it’s a quiet time, letting us all catch our breaths before the next wave of big titles. Recently, this has started to change—in 2023’s first months we got the Dead Space Remake, Hogwarts Legacy, and Hi-Fi Rush. And this trend looks to be continuing in 2024. Within just the first eight weeks of the new year, over a dozen notable games are launching, many of which I’m excited to play.
Here are some of the games arriving in January and February:
January
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown — January 18
The Last of Us Part II Remastered –-January 19
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy — January 25
Tekken 8 — January 26
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth — January 26
BlazBlue Entropy Effect — January 31
February
Granblue Fantasy: Relink — February 1
Persona 3 Reload — February 2
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League — February 2
Helldivers 2 — February 8
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden — February 13
Mario Vs. Donkey Kong — February 16
Skull and Bones — February 16
Nightingale — February 22
Pacific Drive — February 22
Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons Remake — February 28
Star Wars Dark Forces Remaster — February 28
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth — February 29
Can 2024 compete with 2023’s historic output?
Of all the games dropping over the next two months, I’m probably most excited for Prince of Persia, the next entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake saga, Helldivers 2, and the creepy post-apocalyptic road trip game, Pacific Drive. I’m also curious to finally play Skull & Bones after all the delays. Will I enjoy that game? Will I even remember I played it by October of 2024? I’ll find out soon.
And if you were hoping that maybe this avalanche of games was going to stop after February, well, bad news. Looking ahead into March, we’ve got Dragon’s Dogma 2, Homeworld 3, Princess Peach Showtime, that Alone in the Dark reboot, and Rise of the Rōnin
Will 2024 be able to stand toe-to-toe with 2023 as a historic year of great games? I’m not sure, but if every month is as packed as these opening weeks, it just might. Sorry to all your wallets out there.
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