Spirit of the North

Developed by Infuse Studio and releasing for PS4, Spirit of the North is a mellow tale of exploration. It sees a red fox meeting a fox spirit who acts as the Northern Lights’ guardian. Together, you’ll explore the mysterious landscape, traversing meadows and caves inspired by Iceland, and attempt to solve the world’s mystery. Beautiful, relaxing and wholly intriguing, Spirit of the North is out on November 1^st.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Initially met with skepticism, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has had some fairly positive pre-launch impressions. The story revolves around Cal Kestis, a Jedi Padawan who survived Order 66 and lives in secrecy. Of course, that doesn’t last for long and the Empire’s Inquistorius, namely the Second Sister, are after his life. With gameplay reminiscent of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Force powers and a variety of planets to explore, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order could be a dark horse. It’s out on November 15^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Pokemon Sword and Shield

Game Freak’s eighth generation Pokemon title travels to the Galar Region with numerous stadiums and giant Pokemon created by Gigantamaxing (who naturally battle). As usual, your job will be to scour the region, take on gym leaders and ultimately challenge in the Champions Cup. There are open space areas that players are free to explore along with co-op raid bosses to topple and new Pokemon to collect. Pokemon Sword and Shield releases on November 15^th for the Nintendo Switch and the hype is very much real.

Shenmue 3

It’s been a long, long wait for Shenmue 3, the next chapter in Yu Suzuki’s long-running saga. And while there have been ups, downs and delays, the sequel is on track to release on November 19^th for PS4 and PC. Protagonist Ryu Hazuki continues his quest to hunt down Lan Di, his father’s killer, venturing to Bailu Village, Choubu and Baisha in China. With various mini-games, numerous NPCs to talk to, underground fights, training and much more to explore, Shenmue 3 promises to be a worthy follow-up to the series.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts

After the open world slump of Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts is moving back to more mission-based gameplay. Set in Siberia, players will take on contracts to hunt targets, completing bonus objectives for more money. Sniping is still king and the new Dynamic Reticle System promises a realistic experience, though you also get sniper turrets and drones (because of course sniper turrets are a thing). Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts arrives on November 22^nd for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Need for Speed Heat

Electronic Arts has been rather reserved in its marketing for Need for Speed Heat, which introduces the Miami-inspired Palm City as the player’s latest racing playground. Nevertheless, the emphasis is back on street racing and evading the cop. There’s an interesting mechanic where racing during the day rewards money and upgrades but racing in the night rewards rep. Night races are illegal though so you’ll have to evade the cops and return to a safehouse for those rep gains. With 127 cars and no Speedcards, Need for Speed Heat might be worth checking out when it releases on November 8th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Red Dead Redemption 2 (PC)

Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2 is coming to PC, which is a big deal given how the game’s visuals could look even better than they do already. Along with improved graphics, PC players can also look forward to new weapons, bounty missions, gang hideouts and more. Though it won’t be available on Steam until December, you can pick it up on the Humble Store, Epic Games Store and Rockstar Games launcher on November 5^th.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

Mario and Sonic compete, once again, to prove their sporting prowess. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 does look better than previous collaborations. It boasts higher production values and some very cool new features like Classic 2D Events where 2D sprites of the cast compete across 10 events. There also Dream Events like hoverboarding, karate and much more to keep you busy. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is out on November 5^th for Nintendo Switch.

Death Stranding

Regardless of where you stand, there’s no denying that the release of Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding is a momentous occasion. Taking place in the future, the story focuses on Sam Bridges, played by Norman Reedus, as he ventures the country to reconnect its cities following a great disaster. Along the way, he’ll deal with eerie entities known as the B.T.s and the enigmatic Cliff played by Mads Mikkelsen. Death Stranding has looked gorgeous so far thanks to the Decima Engine – with its release for PS4 on November 8^th, we’ll soon find out exactly what it has to offer.

Just Dance 2020

Ubisoft’s next title in the Just Dance series is out on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii, PS4 and Xbox One on November 5^th (with a launch on Google Stadia as well). Yes, we almost forgot about it as well but as a game to play with friends and family, the Just Dance series works pretty well. Just Dance 2020 will continue this trend with songs like Bangarang from Skrillex, Kill This Love by Blackpink and of course, the universally loved and not at all loathed Baby Shark by Pinkfong.

Though it’s out next month for North America and Europe, Sega has released the opening cinematic for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. It’s the latest in a series of crossover sports games between the Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog franchises. However, there’s definitely more here that would appeal to fans of both.

For instance, there are the Dream Events which consist of karate, shooting and hoverboarding. That last bit seems to take inspiration from Sonic Riders, except with the benefit of looking a lot more fun. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, how about the nostalgia-infused Classic 2D Events?

These 10 events turn the characters into their classic 2D sprites, making this a crossover that would have blown minds during the Nintendo vs. Sega days. Overall, the game is looking like a major upgrade over its predecessors. It’s out on November 5th for North America and November 8th in Europe exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.

EVENTS

Mario and Sonic 2020 will once again feature a host of events for players to participate in across a variety of sports and athletics, with their a total of being well over thirty sporting events, all told. Once again, the majority of these will be Olympic Events (with some of them coming with a unique twist, which we’ll discuss shortly), while a few will also be Dream Events, which are loosely based on real Olympic Events, but with a little bit more flourish. These include Dream Karate (set in Super Mario Odyssey’s Mushroom Kingdom), Dream Racing (set in Sonic Forces’ Metropolis), and Dream Shooting.

RETURNING EVENTS

Of the events included in Mario and Sonic 2020, many of them are going to be familiar to those who’ve played the previous games in the series. These returning events include the likes of 100 meter dash, 110 meter hurdles, singles and doubles table tennis, singles and doubles badminton, individual or team archery, football, 110 meter freestyle, discus throw, javelin throw, triple jump, and many, many more.

NEW EVENTS

Of course, not all the events in the game are going to be ones we’ve seen in previous Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games. At least four new Olympic events have bee confirmed for Mario and Sonic 2020 so far. These are kumite karate, shortboard surfing, park skateboarding, and sport climbing. If we move into an entirely new feature in this year’s game though, that list of new events grows significantly…

2D MODE

One of the most interesting new additions in Mario and Sonic 2020 is a 2D mode, which includes events from 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. The 2D mode features, of course, 2D gameplay, which runs on button controls only and is based on older sports games, while using Sonic’s 16-bit sprites and Mario’s 8-bit sprites.

2D EVENTS

Mario and Sonic 2020 will have several 2D-specific events for players to play as well. Some of these are volleyball, shooting, long jump, marathon, 100 meter races, 400 meter hurdles, vaulting, judo, canoeing, and more. Controls and gameplay for each of these will be similar to the good old simplistic sports games we used to play back during the NES and SNES days, so they should provide a nice change of pace from all the other sports and events in the game.

STORY MODE

Mario and Sonic 2020 also has a story mode, featuring characters from both, the Mario and Sonic universes. Notably, the story mode will also feature both, the regular 3D sports events in the game, as well as many of the 2D ones. There will also be 10 minigames in the story mode, five of which will be 3D 2020 ones, and five 2D 1964 ones. 3D minigames include activities such as climbing a tower as Tails or looking for Toads in a large crowd as Luigi, while the 2D ones task players with things such as running along a bridge as Sonic while avoiding obstacles to catch up with a train, or having to find keys as Mario.

CHARACTERS

The point of the Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games titles – at least partly – is seeing the casts of these two universes coming together and playing with and against each other. So which characters from both sides can we expect to see in this year’s game? Nintendo’s representatives will include the likes of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, and more, while from Sega’s side, we’ll be seeing the likes of Sonic, Tails, Shadow, Knuckles, Amy, Dr. Eggman, Blaze, Silver, Vector, and others.

GUEST AND SUPPORTING CHARACTERS

Like previous Mario and Sonic titles, Mario and Sonic 2020 will also feature supporting and guest characters from both side. This year, Rosalina, Todette, Larry, Diddy Kong, Wendy, and Ludwig are Mario’s guest cast, while Eggman Nega, Espio, Zavok, Jet, Zazz, and Rouge will be coming along with Sonic. Supporting characters include Hammer Bros, Boom Booms, Toads, and Birdos for Mario, and Eggrobos, Egg Pawns, and Pockies for Sonic.

CLOTHING

Traditionally in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games titles, all the characters wear the clothes we normally associate them with, regardless of what even they’re taking part in. In Mario and Sonic 2020 though, things are going to be different. While they’ll still be wearing their regular clothes in Dream Events, in actual Olympic events, all of them will be seen in proper, appropriate sports clothing for those events.

SPLITSCREEN

Mario and Sonic 2020 will, of course, include multilayer gameplay – that’s very much the point of these games, some might argue. Meanwhile, using the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers, the game will also support local split-screen multiplayer.

FILE SIZE

You wouldn’t expect Switch games to be too hefty as far as file sizes are concerned, especially not a game like Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Thankfully, for those looking to purchase and download the game digitally, you won’t have to clear up too much space in your system. The game will weigh a total of just 6.4 GB.

A new trailer is out for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the latest sports crossover between the Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, focusing on Dream Events. These events consisting of sporting activities like shooting, karate and hoverboarding (which would explain the “Dream” part). Check it out below.

The events themselves seem straightforward. Hoverboarding is a down-slope race focusing on grinding rails, performing tricks and staying ahead of the pack. Shooting is about, well, shooting targets. Meanwhile, Karate is a throwdown between characters. Super Smash Bros. this isn’t but it looks chaotically fun.

There’s plenty more to expect from Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 when it releases on November 5th in North America for Switch. Classic 2D Events features competition between characters but in old-school sprite form, serving as a nice fusion of classic styles. You can also look forward to events like soccer, swimming, boxing and more.

Sega has announced that Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be releasing on November 5th in North America and November 8th in Europe. It’s coming to the Nintendo Switch but unlike previous entries, it will feature an interesting new feature: Classic 2D Events. Check out the trailer below.

Essentially, there are 10 events which can be played using classic sprites for both Mario and Sonic. It’s pretty surreal to see the two characters racing against each other (and Dr. Eggman effectively being the fastest, as his constant escapes have proven). Overall, it’s a nice addition that will appeal to fans of both franchises.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will include a multitude of events in 3D format as well. Along with soccer, gymnastics, swimming and boxing, there’s skateboarding, surfing, karate and much more. Split-screen local multiplayer is supported along with online play, which could make this a nice fun party game. Stay tuned for more details as the game’s launch nears.