As open world games and 50-100 hour epics become increasingly prevalent, the demand for a return to shorter and more focused gaming experiences grows as well. Thankfully, there’s a number of them for us to look forward to. Here, we’re going to talk about upcoming linear games coming out in 2024 and beyond that we’ve got our eyes on.
SENUA’S SAGA: HELLBLADE 2
Following up on one of 2017’s most acclaimed games, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 has a lot to live up to, but Ninja Theory seems equal to the task based on everything we’ve seen so far. With the promise of another captivating story and some much-needed gameplay improvements with combat and exploration, Hellblade 2 is looking like the ideal sequel, especially with Ninja Theory confirming it to be another 7-8 hour experience. Add to that the technical and visual accomplishments it looks like it’s boasting, and it looks set to be one of 2024’s standout games.
INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE
We’ve been waiting for MachineGames’ next game for a while now, but the Wolfenstein studio is set to return to the spotlight sometime this year with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The famous archaeologist hasn’t had the best luck with his big screen revival attempts, but everything that we’ve seen of The Great Circle has looked incredibly promising, from its mix of combat, traversal, exploration, and puzzles, to how well it seems to be capturing the Indy aesthetic.
LITTLE NIGHTMARES 3
Unlike the series’ first two instalments, Little Nightmares 3 isn’t being developed by Tarsier Studios, with Supermassive Games of Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures fame taking the reins this time, but the developer seems like a great fit from what’s been shown of the game so far. That simultaneously charming and creepy aesthetic of the series looks present and accounted for in Little Nightmares 3, while having two central protagonists with unique gameplay abilities is sounding like an intriguing wrinkle for the series’ formula. There’s also the addition of co-op, which should shake things up in interesting ways as well.
SILENT HILL 2
The Silent Hill franchise has certainly been through the wringer, but Konami is gearing up to at least try and give it another shot in the arm with multiple upcoming games. The Bloober Team-developed Silent Hill 2 remake will be one of those, and it’s fair to say that it’s going to have a lot to live up to. Not only does it have to properly bring Silent Hill back from the dead, it’s also the remake of one of the most beloved games ever made. Whether it will prove equal to the pressure or buckle under its weight remains to be seen, but it’s fair to say that there’s no shortage of people who’ve got their attention fixed on it like the Eye of Sauron.
METAL GEAR SOLID DELTA: SNAKE EATER
Silent Hill 2 isn’t the only legendary Konami game that’s getting a remake. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is going to bring the beloved stealth series’ third entry back into the limelight in hopes of breathing new life into the dormant franchise- and given the stature of Metal Gear Solid 3 (and Metal Gear as a whole), it’s hard not to be curious about how things will shake out. We’ve seen very little of the game so far, but if the remake can successfully capture the design and narrative genius of MGS 3, it’s going to be a hell of a game.
UNTIL DAWN
Until Dawn is nine years old this year, but its popularity remains high, which is something that Sony is looking to capitalize on with a new, enhanced version of the game. With one foot in remake land and the other in remaster kingdom, the upcoming PS5 and PC version of Until Dawn will boast a number of improvements over the genre-defining original, including overhauled animations and audio, new narrative content, a third-person mode, and more, all rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5 by British studio Ballistic Moon. To date, Until Dawn is probably Supermassive’s best game, so the chance to experience it in enhanced form is an exciting one.
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS
Sega has declared 2024 the year of Shadow the Hedgehog, and while the upcoming film Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will obviously have a big role to play in that, everyone’s favourite edgelord will also be looking to steal the spotlight with Sonic X Shadow Generations. The chance to play a remastered version of Sonic Generations, one of the best 3D Sonic games ever made, is an exciting one in and of itself, but when you throw an entirely new and standalone campaign focused on Shadow on top of that, that becomes an infinitely more irresistible package.
STILL WAKES THE DEEP
The Chinese Room has plenty of experience with psychological horror games, from Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs to Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, so it’s no surprise that so many fans of the genre have their eye on the studio’s next game, Still Wakes the Deep. Set on an oil rig in the 1970s, the game tasks you with surviving the onslaught of everything from catastrophic failures aboard the rig to the hard weather of the North Sea to a terrifying creature stalking you through the rig’s cramped interiors. For anyone that enjoys a good scare, it’s a mouthwatering setup.
MARVEL 1943: RISE OF HYDRA
Marvel fatigue is at an all-time high where movies and TV are concerned, but in the world of games, there’s still plenty of demand for good, single player Marvel games. Skydance New Media’s Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is looking like it’s going to scratch that itch. Led by Uncharted creator Amy Hennig, Rise of Hydra is promising a fascinating narrative-driven blockbuster with two of Marvel’s most widely beloved heroes sharing the spotlight. We’re yet to see any gameplay, but what little we’ve seen so far has certainly caught our attention.
THE WOLF AMONG US 2
Even after Telltale Games’ resurrection and the re-announcement of a new and overhauled The Wolf Among Us 2, questions about whether or not the long-awaited sequel will ever actually release remain relevant. Delayed from 2023 to 2024 to accommodate a switch to Unreal Engine 5, The Wolf Among Us 2 hit another major roadblock last year when Telltale was hit with significant layoffs in October. Even though the studio said the game was still in production, former Telltale staff reported at the time that most of The Wolf Among Us 2’s dev team had been let go as part of the layoffs. The project’s status is, as such, murky (at best) right now. Hopefully, we’ll be getting a concrete update in the not-too-distant future (and hopefully it’ll be a positive one).
THE PLUCKY SQUIRE
Even though we’ve seen very little of The Plucky Squire, the action-adventure title has been high on our list of anticipated games ever since its announcement in 2022. Its charming art style and storybook aesthetic have obviously done a lot of the heavylifting on that front, while snippets of gameplay showing seamless transitions between 3D and 2D have only piqued our curiosity that much more. Publisher Devolver Digital says The Plucky Squire is due out this year, so hopefully we’ll be seeing more of it soon.
JURASSIC PARK: SURVIVAL
How has a media franchise as wildly popular as Jurassic Park had such a poor track record in the gaming medium? That remains as big of a mystery as it ever has been, but Saber Interactive is nonetheless looking to remedy that with Jurassic Park: Survival. Set a day after the classic first film and putting you in the shoes of an InGen scientist who got left behind on Isla Nublar, Jurassic Park: Survival is being billed as a first-person action-adventure experience that will have you exploring familiar and iconic locations while avoiding a bloody death at the claws and fangs of vicious prehistoric beasts brought back to life. Given that we’ve seen no gameplay so far, it’s hard to be too confident, but we’re certainly intrigued by the premise.
WARHAMMER 40,000: SPACE MARINE 2
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine fans have been waiting for a sequel for a long time, and Saber Interactive is finally set to deliver that sequel later this year. The original was an excellent Gears of War-style shooter that captured the Warhammer universe’s unique aesthetic perfectly, and expectations are high that Space Marine 2 will be similarly successful in those areas and more. What we’ve seen of the game so far has been quite promising, so hopefully it’ll be worth the wait when it finally launches this September.
UNKNOWN 9: AWAKENING
From its period setting to the high-flying magical abilities it will let players unleash to its promise of a focused, cinematic, narrative-driven experience, Unknown 9: Awakening seems to have all the pieces in place to deliver exactly the sort of linear action-adventure game that we just can’t get enough of, especially in an age where games insist on being multiple dozens of hours long. Developer Reflector Entertainment is billing the game as an entryway into a larger, interconnected multimedia franchise, so hopefully, the game will have the narrative weight to back those lofty ambitions.
MAX PAYNE 1 AND 2 REMAKE
Remedy Entertainment keeps touching new heights with every game it releases, but Max Payne 1 and 2 still hold a special place in the hearts of the studio’s many fans- which is why it’s so exciting that the studio is now developing a combined, ground-up remake of the two games with the full financial backing of IP owner Rockstar Games. We’ve seen and heard nothing of the game so far other than the fact that it exists and is being worked on, but given Remedy’s track record and the high demand for the franchise to return, we’re still incredibly excited to see what this remake is going to look like.
INSTINCTION
Touted as a “wide-linear” game, Hashbane Interactive’s Instinction sees players controlling Izzy, who discovers a gorgeous hidden world where dinosaurs roam free. As with any Jurassic-sized adventure, there are plenty of prehistoric creatures to encounter in the Valley of the Rift, with puzzles to solve and mysteries to unravel. There’s combat as well, as Izzy can use melee and ranged weapons on top of powerful abilities. Of course, if you want to sneak around or escape from any fights that aren’t in your favor, that’s also an option. Instinction will receive an alpha in Q3 2024 for PC, with the full game expected to arrive in Q4 2025, but further details are still pending.
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