Looking back at 2020, it’s clear that it was a very big year for games. But it seems that we may have been too distracted by other events to notice. Big releases like Cyberpunk 2077 and the Last of Us Part II. Sleeper hits like Hades and Immortals: Fenyx Rising. And of course the release of new consoles in the Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and Oculus Quest 2 cannot be misremembered, even if they are still sold out everywhere. We here at Hit ‘n’ Run had a very long and arduous year. But the team is ready and willing to go into this new year and bring more, consistent, and quality content for all of you. But to do that we may need some more games to play!
Looking forward, these are a handful of games the team is excited to play this year:
12 Minutes
As far as independently developed games go, we all know how fantastic they can be in comparison to massive AAA projects. Small studios can pack a big punch, and with an experienced developer like Luis Antonio (Ubisoft, Rockstar Games) it seems his project, 12 Minutes is set to take critical and commercial success. His team was able to secure big names for the project with the cast headlined by James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley, and Willem Dafoe. The game seems unique in that you play through the same 12 minutes on repeat, unraveling the story one piece at a time. Your choices have an impact and it seems like a fresh take on the ever-cliched Groundhog Day story. While no release date is set, the team has shared they wanted to release it in the winter of last year if not Q1 of 2021. Here’s hoping!
Breath of the Wild 2
Perhap’s BlueMuztang needs to take a break from Immortals Fenyx Rising, perhaps he needs Nintendo to just show up and give him a true sequel to one of the grandest Zelda adventure’s out there. Breath of the Wild’s release in 2017, reinvented the open world genre, and we are now starting to feel it’s influences in recent and other upcoming games. However when it comes to Nintendo, the amount of care, polish, and innovation can not be understated. Where does the story go from here? Will this be what Majora’s Mask was to Ocarina of Time? How much influence will Nintendo take from games like Immortals or even Red Dead Redemption 2? Will the game even release this year? All these questions need answers, and we can’t wait to find out.
Deathloop
Arkane cemented themselves as the master’s of action adventure with the Dishonored series. They crafted experiences that allowed a player to choose the stealthy approach or the balls to the wall run through a level. They encouraged players to go for multiple playthroughs in a single game, making the jump to a title like Deathloop seem almost necessary. This game is all about playing through a section multiple times. Almost in the vein of 12 minutes, it seems the story will unfold a little more with each run. The art style bleeds a wonderfully clear inspiration from Saul Bass. This 60’s heavy aesthetic combined with the rogue-like tendency of having to restart as you uncover more or in the event that you die in the game seems gripping and immersive like nothing before it.
Gotham Knights
The bat is dead, Gotham is without protection. With no one to defend Lady Gotham, it may surely fall. Oh wait, what's that? You and your friend turned up at just the right moment!!! Gotham Knights plans to take what Rocksteady and WB Montreal already proved could work and tell a new story without the caped crusader, and with the addition of co-op gameplay. Playing as either Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, or Red Hood, you are tasked with defending Gotham and upholding everything the World’s Greatest Detective stood for, all without him around to help. While the game isn't set in the Arkham universe, it's still clear that everything WB learned from Arkham: Origins will help to shape how they tell this story, and Hit 'n' Run can't wait to jump in and save the city in 2021.
Hogwarts Legacy
As the winter months rolled in, the crew began to watch the Wizarding World movies. Finding themselves enthralled with the wonderful world of Harry Potter, they all agreed that Hogwarts Legacy needs to come out and it needs to come out now. The promise of a living, breathing school of wizardry to walk around and role play as a student seems too good to be true. Even with as little as was shown at last year’s PS5 reveal, it's obvious to any fan how much of this world would translate so well to a game, be it an MMO, simple 4-player co-op story, or even a single player adventure. We all want this experience, and Portkey Games show a lot of promise, particularly when looking forward to more games and stories being told around witches and wizards.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
LEGO and Star Wars go together like Bryson and hot chocolate on a cold thursday evening. But like Luke Skywalker said... “ow, my hand” and you’ll say it too after you get carpal tunnel from the countless hours you spend defending the galaxy as your favorite plastic characters and defeating the dark side, brick by boring brick. Throughout the years countless properties have been LEGOfied to perfection, and with the Skywalker Saga coming to a fitting conclusion in The Rise of Skywalker (no matter what others tend to say, AND YES THIS IS SQUDAH). The culmination of years of storytelling comes together for an action-packed, painful-to-step-on experience, like no other.
Mass Effect (5)
You know, Ryan is pretty freakin stoked for a new entry in the series he hasn’t even finished. Maybe we make a big deal about that in the future… Maybe we don’t.
The Medium
Bloober Team has shown that they are quickly earning their spot as top dogs amongst horror developers such as Red Barrels, Capcom, Toys for Bob, and Tango Gameworks, as showcased with their Indie smash hits, Layers of Fear and Blair Witch. In their next project, you’ll get to see your Series X|S at work with a Silent Hill-esque dual reality function, as you seemingly investigate strange happenings, make nice with a creepy/kickable ghost girl, and try your best to survive. Man, with the sheer volume of spooky goodness, they may have been better off calling it “The Large”...
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Okay look, you know just as well as we do that Insomniac helped to shape the 3D Platformer genre. The original Spyro trilogy on PlayStation was all you needed to have a good time. But as the medium (see above) has evolved, collectathons, performers, and mascot games have fallen out of popularity for some time. But Insomniac are back under Sony's legal handcuffs and ready to prove why they have remained a coveted developer by going back in time to their Ratchet and Clank franchise. Their humor and signature style seem on full display in all the pre-release footage and coverage. The selling point for this game however is how it's going to utilize the PS5's SSD to its advantage and prove why this game needed the new generation. We can't wait to justify ripping apart our wallets this year, with Rift Apart.
Resident Evil Village
Sorry Ethan, looks like your wife’s dead, and Chris killed her, and there are werewolves, and creepy witch ladies, and it’s really cold out, so bring a jacket. Man, things sure aren’t looking great for our first person perspective protagonist, Ethan. But that’s ok, Resident Evil is back, baby! And better than ever with Resident Evil 8: Village. Capcom has been on a three year hot streak with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and the Resident Evil 2 & 3 Remakes. So be ready to be scared in what looks to be a mysterious cult run village in Europe. And be sure to get the popcorn as we force Bryson to play it on release.
Unplugged
Remember Rock Band? How about Rock Band VR? No, the rest of the world doesn't remember Harmonix's first foray into the virtual landscape either. With the Oculus Quest beginning to utilize hand tracking in more games, a small company Anotherway is partnering with the publisher, Vertigo Games (Arizona Sunshine) to bring a new rhythm game to the platform that utilizes hand tracking to read your fingers on an imaginary guitar fretboard. Everyone at Hit 'n' Run has loved music games since their first dawning, and to be able to experience a fresh take in VR of all places, has us pretty excited.
Of course aside from new titles, we also have remastered games like Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. This year will also see optimization patches being released for titles like Marvel’s Avengers, Grand Theft Auto V, Cyberpunk 2077, and Control. Our new consoles may finally see the games that begin to push their boundaries and prove why the generation shifted.
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