Today was The Game Awards. Probably the best show that they've done thus far. Props to Geoff, I appreciate him sharing with the public that his dad passed away earlier this year. Mine did as well, so I know what that's like. For him to put on such a good show after having just gone through that, I find that impressive.

The Awards themselves are what they are... Expedition 33 cleaned house. I lost track of how many awards it won. Congrats to those guys, they deserve it. I have my own misgivings about the game, but those are my personal issues and I acknowledge that. My opinions are in the minority, and so the general consensus is dictating that it's a great game.

All things being equal though, we know The Game Awards are really the The Game *Adverts*. There's nothing wrong with that. I get excited for new games, and as mentioned above, Geoff puts on a good show. There's a live orchestra, usually at least one pejorative word, and one muppet. Sometimes we get lucky and there are multiples of each.

Without further adieu, here are the new games coming out that caught my attention:

Star Wars Galactic Racer

Part of why the show was so good has to do with the games that are in the pipeline, and the reveals and... Honestly, a Star Wars Pod Racer game was very much unexpected but also welcome. I'm just praying for sim aspects where you get to customize your pod racer throughout the course of the game. I don't know anything about the game other than the trailer that we saw, however, I would very much enjoy a game that functions similar to Forza or Gran Turismo, but I'll settle for NFS car customization.

Exodus

This game is highly anticipated by my friends and I. We're all Mass Effect fans to some degree or another, and the hope is that Wizards of the Coast can deliver. At the end of the day, a lot of good sci-fi is just someone's take on the heroes journey.

So, this year we got to see a really good story trailer for Exodus. I am slightly concerned that it's going to be too much like Starfield, in that main character is just another “prophesied/chosen” one who becomes a space knight or wizard... Looks like it definitely has heavier science fantasy vibes rather than space opera vibes, yet, it was written by Drew Karpyshyn (who also wrote Mass Effect).

The way that Mass Effect handles the hero's journey is exceedingly good on an overall arc (1, 2, and 3). But especially within just the first game. After seeing this trailer I have some hope that it's more (or less) a refinement of the space opera hero's journey, with some new flair.

Divinity

It did leak yesterday that Larian's new game was going to be “Divinity” and that it was related to the statue/art installation that was put up in the desert in Joshua Tree, CA. However, after an amazing debut cinematic, we still don't know exactly what the game is. They've had other games with “Divinity” in the title and each of those games have different gameplay styles; some are classic CRPGs, but as is the case with Divinity II, at least one of their games is an action title.

I'm assuming that they are going to continue the work that they did with Baldur's Gate 3 just because that game was such a massive success for them, but that's not a given. They could pivot and do something entirely different this time.

Regardless of the fact that we don't know exactly what the game is going to be... Blizzard used to be the King of CGI cinematic trailers and cut scenes, but Larian just took the crown by force. People are being burned alive, orcs and elves are engaged in coitus, it's quite a sight to behold.

Warlock

It has been known that Larian weren't going to work on any new D&D titles in the near future. However, Wizards made a big push to expand their digital offerings after Baldur's Gate 3's release, and there was a public announcement some months back about how they were courting other development studios. We're finally seeing the fruits of those partnerships, and what D&D IP looks in the hands of others.

With Warlock, they certainly got my attention. TOOL's “46&2” is a unique song to pick. The only thing I could think was, “who was able to get TOOL to license their music?!?” I'm sure WotC shelled out some serious cash to get the rights for the trailer.

Again, we don't know much about this game, it's entirely a cinematic trailer. Eagle-eyed Redditors will probably be picking it apart to figure out whether the game is set in the Ravenloft, Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, or Dragonlance campaign settings... And I'm sure there are hints. I thought I was that kind of nerd, but nothing in particular really stood out to me. Based on the opening shot I would bet on a Ravenloft game, but as far as I know, nothing is official. According to IGN, the gameplay reveal is scheduled for June 2026, and with that I'm sure we'll get more information.

Highguard

Who left from Respawn to go start Wildlight Entertainment?? Because Highguard looks awesome! Yes, I will absolutely play this game for FREE.

I've always liked HeXen and Heretic, and I revisited those games when the remasters dropped earlier this year on GamePass. For me, those id Software classics have been the benchmark for Fantasy FPS games. Still, in my opinion, they were always a bit dark. I don't mind serious themes, but I do like more whimsical visuals with my fantasy games. Highguard delivers that, and in a way, this is almost science fantasy as well. My only hope is that there will be more than just a battle royale mode.

Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about how Geoff opened up the show with this bombshell. The best WORLD PREMIERE of the night was Fate of the Old Republic.

All of the rumors suggested that there was going to be “a Star Wars game with Old Republic in the title,” so everyone assumed that it was the KoTOR Remake returning. Depositions were done in conjunction with a legal proceeding that just settled last month. An Aspyr executive testified that the KoTOR Remake was still in development. Along with it, there is also supposed to be a remake of the second game that also includes the cut content... Why? Well, the suit was brought under false advertising claims, because there has already been a “remaster,” or port, of of KoTOR II to the Nintendo Switch. It was advertised quite plainly that the Switch version would get the cut content.

None of that really matters though, because Casey Hudsen is back! And he's directing a NEW entry in the Old Republic games. I'm stoked, as much as I want to play the old games with some modern features, I don't mind a modern interpretation.

Seems to be a bit of a resurrection of old BioWare alumni. A lot of hype this year, and I was there for it. I needed a hype-filled year of hopes and dreams.

Honorable mentions

• Both Tomb Raider Games I'm slightly more interested in Legacy of Atlantis over Catalyst. Their respective release dates are a year apart (as of the writing of this article), and I never play games on launch anyway. Also, there's the possibility that one or both could be delayed... That being said, Legacy showed off a lot of environmental puzzles and actual tomb raiding with Lara's primary enemies being all the wildlife and traps that want to kill her. So that I'm super down for. In fact, I don't think I saw another human character in the entire trailer. Seriously though, just give me Lara by herself, that's a fantastic game. Catalyst appears to be a game for fans of the newest trilogy, Lara comes straight out of the gate and is ready to start murdering bad guys with those Desert Eagles! I'm glad that they're trying to please both audiences, and stagger the releases.

• Control: Resonant This game looks fantastic. I have the first Control in my games on Steam, I just need to actually sit down and play more than a couple of hours of it. This new game coming out could be a good reason to go back and play the first. Not sure how much of the first game you need to have experienced to appreciate this second one.

• Mega Man: Dual Override Sure, I'm down to see more of this game. It looks like the classic gameplay. This is a series that I've always wanted to get into, but have just never been good at. The only ones that I ever did play were the Legends and X games.

• Gang of Dragon Toshihiro Nagoshi departed Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, the developer who makes the “Like a Dragon/Yakuza” game series and is apparently doing his own take on that style of game. I'm eager to see more. I think there is room in the market for more than one company to make Yakuza-style semi open world action adventure titles.

• No Law Who knows if I'll ever have time for a an open world FPS RPG... It does look kind of cool, but I need to see more of it if I'm going to consider sinking multiple tens or hundreds of hours into it.

I needed something to publish to my blog this month, why not talk about The Game Awards?!? This was a big year for Geoff Keighley and his celebration of video games. Each year we watch it, and each year we joke about it, but honestly, it does keep getting better. There is measurable progress for the production, and in its 10th year now, I think they've mostly hit their stride.

Also, for the last few years my friends and I have played “The Game of The Game Awards” where we do a fantasy-style pick of all the games we think will win, and also came up with some wild predictions that may or may not have scored us any bonus points. I encourage you to check it out even if you've already watched the TGAs.

There were still rapid-fire and throw away awards given out, but the awards that did get the main stage I felt had meaningful acceptance speeches.

Every year there is room for at least one feel-good award. In the past that spot has generally been the lifetime achievement award or something to that effect. This year it was the “Game Changer” award. I legitimately almost started to cry, it was a really heart felt sizzle reel about Amir Satvat's life and what he's done for game industry folks who have been hit hard with all the layoffs. But then he gave his acceptance speech and it was obvious the the guy is pretty genuine. In a world where getting ahead and living comfortably means screwing other people over, it's an unfortunately rare treat to celebrate the more selfless ones among us.

Thank you to Amir Satvat for always keeping the wellbeing of the game developer community close to his heart! #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/pgjsic2J4p

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 13, 2024

BUT, that was only a few minutes out of an extremely bloated show. Clocking in at three and half hours, I'm surprised that I managed to make it through the entire presentation without skipping through shit... Well, I did step outside for a quick toke between the “Opening Act” and the show proper. And there were plenty of games that I could talk shit about or be negative on... Undoubtedly, the mainstream gaming enthusiast media will be talking about Intergalatic until at least the end of the year. Nerds will be analyzing the trailer and talking about all the Naughty Dog Easter eggs, and pontificating on what they think the game will be. Well, I can tell you exactly what it's going to be:

Intergalactic will be a third-person linear action game with semi-openworld areas that lasts about 15 hours on the average playthrough.

Those are the games that Naughty Dog makes, and I don't necessarily care for them, or play those games very much. I did enjoy Uncharted 4, though... So I'll reserve full judgement until I see more of the game, but I'm just not as interested in something like that, whereas most other people would probably call that their game of the show. I'm sure the I, Robot (2004) style product placement discussion will eventually subside as more details and gameplay emerge.

And really the awards take a back seat to all of the adverts and announcements, and I'm not mad about it. It's a nice Winter showcase for everything that's out and everything that is coming out. So, with that in mind, here are my top 5 adverts of The Game Awards 2024.

5. Steel Hunters

Wargaming looks like it's going to out-Titanfall Respawn with this awesome new mecha title that combines elements of Gundam and Zoids to create something entirely new... Thankfully it does not have a “World of” prefix, so it's possible that it won't be a pay-to-win sink hole of microtransactions... but I'm not going to get my hopes up until it actually releases, or we get to see more of the game. One would expect it to be free-to-play, so if that is the case, it's at least worth a download and a couple hours of my time.

4. Project Century

It was kind of a shocker to see that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is working on a new Virtua Fighter game, and I'm eager to see what that is going to be like. However, this trailer was definitely the highlight. I imagine this is probably going to be very similar to their Yakuza (Like a Dragon) and Judgement (Judge Eyes) games. Nevertheless it looks like a pretty healthy evolution of their brand of semi-openworld beat-em-ups. Generally speaking their combat systems are both worthy of mastery but also serviceable for button-mashing because they usually also deliver engaging stories as well.

3. Turok Origins

There were whispers and rumors that Turok could make a return after NightDive snatched up the rights to resurrect and publish the retro titles (the ones most people remember playing on the N64). There was a 2008 game, but I don't think anyone remembers it fondly, if at all. This is intriguing since the game is going from first to third person, and there appears to be possibly some asymmetrical multiplayer, or co-op elements to the game as well. A pleasant surprise that I'm eager to see more of in the near future.

2. Dispatch

With former TellTale developers working on this, it looks to be just another dialog driven narrative adventure game, but potentially far more animated and engaging than The Wolf Among Us or The Walking Dead. Also, I'm happy to see a game essentially embracing a very 2D-inspired comic and/or cartoon art aesthetic. Games like this are a nice break from the plethora of titles out there that strive for photo realistic graphics.

1. The Outer Worlds 2

For anyone that knows me, it is no surprise that this would be my personal highlight of the show. I've been anticipating this game for a while now. I think it's just more of the same, but also slightly longer. They've also been leaning much more heavily into the campiness—at least for the trailers. But I hope that it is also more pronounced in the final game as well. There were moments throughout the first game which sort of hinted at satirically comedic elements, but it never fully realized that aspect, opting to rely more on the retro/atomic sci-fi elements of the game, and it took itself more seriously than it needed to at times. If they go full Cable Guy style dark humor, then I'm all for it.

Honourable Mentions

Okami Sequel is definitely something that I didn't see coming. I imagine it'll be more of the same, a Zelda-like with an art aesthetic reminiscent of impressionist paintings. I'm sure it'll be full of clever atmospheric puzzles as well, and will be a very rewarding game to play through.

The Warframe 1999 update/content release. It's amazing to me that this f2p game has lasted for over twelve years. I've played it before, but never got heavily interested in the game. An update like this is enough reason for me to download it again and check out what they've been working on.

Witcher IV looks pretty fucking awesome... Well, that trailer was really cool. IMHO all of the Witcher games have been riddled with bugs and are janky as fuck. The last entry was VERY close to being a good game for me, but the lack of feedback in combat was a deal breaker. I never felt engaged enough to spend time learning all of the magic and potions. CDPR has shown with Cyberpunk 2077 though that they can do good combat (albeit of the FPS variety), so Witcher IV not a total write-off for me. Also, it's still early days... If nothing else Witcher IV be worth playing when they release the GOTY “next gen” updated version in 2032.