Hype is one of the undeniable evils of our industry, if only because it diverts people’s attention to a core group of games that seem to very poorly represent the breadth and diversity of our often misunderstood past time. If you’re tired of hearing about more sequels involving space marines showing up next year and want some fresh and off-kilter games to get excited about, then look no further than our countdown of ten great games set for next year that not enough people are championing.
Tales of the Abyss 3D
“But Tales of the Abyss 3D has already been released,” I hear you cry. Whilst this may be technically true, most European retailers have yet to actually see a copy on account of a blunder involving safety information leaflets that caused Namco to recall most Abyss cartridges. If you live in Europe and love RPGs, then consider this a must, as it’s the first time that Tales of the Abyss has made it over to our ever neglected shores. Even if you live in a locality where Tales of Abyss came out at the tail end of 2011, you should still keep raising your voices about its quality, as we need more Tales games to make their way out of Japan.
The Darkness 2
I’d be the first to admit that the original Darkness had its problems, the largest of which being it coming at a time when seemingly every game on the market took on the mantle of a first person shooter. To see The Darkness as a mere FPS game though denies it the impressive characterisation and aesthetic design it so effortlessly weaved. Though it disappointed on a gameplay front, it was one of the more thematically engaging games of 2007, so we can only hope potential buyers won’t overlook The Darkness 2 when it hits stores later this year.
Fez
Having kept myself poorly informed on the indie gaming scene as of late, I’ve only just heard about the magic of Fez in the past few weeks. Seeing is believing with this one as, whilst it may superficially seem like a cheap retro platformer, the multi-dimensional gameplay looks insane. With a tentative first quarter release date on XBLA, now would be a good time to start preparing your mind in case it gets blown when Fez comes out.
