Red Dead Redemption 2 – American Dreams Quest

While Red Dead Redemption 2 features a rapidly changing America where the law and civilization are making their way into society, acts of heinous criminal activity are still running rampant that still show the signs of the Wild West that this place once was. During their travels, players will come across some brutally murdered people with deformed corpses lying around. Upon closer inspection though, Arthur Morgan comes to the conclusion that all these are acts of a serial killer. If you use Arthur’s detective mode around here, the trails will lead you to pieces of a map. Once all map segments are collected, an American Dreams side quest is triggered which entails bringing the serial killer to justice.

Days Gone

Perhaps the most recent example on this list is Days Gone. First revealed at E3 2016, its main calling card was the sizable hordes of undead on-screen that players could battle. It was originally slated to release in 2018 but faced a number of delays before finally launching in April 2019. On Metacritic, it averaged a 71 out of 109 reviews from critics. Some gameplay and world building aspects were praised but critics were ultimately harsh on the game for its mission design, writing, performance and myriad of bugs. While not an outright terrible review average, it was a shock to PS4 players, especially with how revered Sony’s exclusive first-party offerings had become.

After its launch, however, Days Gone attained a relatively strong following with players becoming attached to the characters and the overall world design. Bend Studio would also update the game frequently, adding new challenges, difficulty modes and bug fixes. It eventually became clear that Days Gone wouldn’t be getting a sequel or even a major expansion. Earlier this year, Jason Schreier spoke to sources that revealed a sequel proposal being rejected due to the first game’s mixed critical response and long development period. Nevertheless, a PC version arrived in May and fans have started a petition for a sequel. Bend Studio is currently working on a new IP built on “the deep open-world systems that they have developed with Days Gone” as per PlayStation Studios head Herman Hulst so at the very least, its DNA carries over in some ways.

Alan Wake

Alan Wake travels to Bright Falls with his wife, who subsequently goes missing, but must also contend with the darkness within. Remedy’s high-profile Xbox 360 title was touted as a visually accomplished action-adventure game before launch. However, the story went beyond a traditional format, playing out in episodic fashion with dollops of Stephen King and David Lynch influencing the plot, and the writer’s will influencing the overall medium.

Gravity Rush 2

There’s some insane creativity at SIE Japan Studio, and that’s no more apparent than in Gravity Rush 2. Developed by the Team Gravity division, the world is larger, livelier and more destructible than its predecessor. But it’s the sheer imagination, in gravity-defying encounters to exploring Kat’s mysterious backstory, that lent the game its own unique charm. Despite good reviews and the developer’s pedigree, Gravity Rush 2 averaged roughly 103,000 copies in Japan during its launch month. Its online service was subsequently discontinued in July 2018.

Drakengard

The endings for Drakengard range from tragic to straight up “WTF”. In one ending, you can choose to seal the Watchers, the main antagonistic force, away in another dimension. But this requires protagonist Caim and the dragon Angelus to give up their own lives. It also doesn’t help that Caim’s sister Furiae, who he’s trying to rescue, is also killed. Even in the default ending, the world is saved from The Watchers but Angelus sacrifices herself to become the new seal (plus Furiae still dies).

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT

It seems fitting to kick off with one of the most maligned PC launches for a major game in recent memory. Batman: Arkham Knight – the game itself – has a few issues of its own that don’t sit well with a large number of people, but the game’s PC version in particular has become an infamous example of a poorly handled PC launch for a game. WB Games are no strangers to bad PC releases, but Arkham Knight in particular drew all the negative attention in the world for pretty much every reason possible.

Nintendo really brought the fire for their Direct today. We saw various announcements, some expected and some less so. But things took a turn to the very unexpected, and the very weird, when it was announced that the Switch would get a sequel to the cult classic Deadly Premonition, as well as the original itself.

First up we got the sequel announcement of Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise. Unfortunately, that’s about all we got from it outside a few brief scenes in the video. There was no mention of the original Director, Swery, but he confirmed via Twitter he will be writing and directing the sequel thankfully. So whatever it’ll end up being, it’s going to be quite the ride.

If you’re not familiar with the first game…well, it’s hard to describe. Despite some real janky gameplay, it might be a strong contender for the weirdest game in recent memory, with a bizarre storyline and meta-narrative heavily inspired by the works of filmmaker David Lynch. It was never released on a Nintendo console, until now. The game will launch today on the system as Deadly Premonition: Origins. If you want a physical copy, you’ll have to wait until November.

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise releases in 2020, and as of now only a Switch version has been announced. Deadly Premonition: Origins is available digitally as of today.

Finally, we announced "DEADLY PREMONITION 2". I am feeling that "CLEAR AS A CRISP SPRING MORNING". Absolutely, I am Director / Writer for that. See you guys in Boston and Louisiana.#deadlypremonition… https://t.co/sDoZXFQRak

— Hidetaka SWERY SueHERO (@Swery65) September 4, 2019

The Elbow – Double Dragon

The Elbow trick is one of the most revered moves in Double Dragon history, particularly because it knocks down enemies faster and does lots of damage. It’s also not a trick – it depends on the number of points one has because that leads to more hearts. With five hearts, you can execute the elbow, smashing foes behind you and knocking them down for those quick, no-death speed-runs.

The Joker – Batman: Arkham Knight

When the Joker died in Batman: Arkham City, it was a pivotal moment. It even made us ponder about WB’s focus on exploring the beginning of the Batman-Joker in Arkham Origins. By the time Batman: Arkham Knight rolled around and Scarecrow’s ACE Chemicals plan was foiled, we knew why. The Joker was alive. In Batman’s head. Rocksteady does a decent job explaining why this is the case but honestly, this moment came out of left field.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Undertale

Toby Fox’s Undertale possesses a ton of charm underneath its relatively archaic visuals. Whether it’s the quirky gameplay, freedom of choice or utter wit, it’s a game whose art-style pays homage to the retro era of gaming. For a retro-styled game though, it could look a little bit better. Regardless, if you want a compelling story with significant consequences, Undertale is your ticket.