Cole Montag

Original artwork representing multiple games releasing in the coming months

2023 had a lot to take in, and there was, like every other year, some good and some bad to look back on. For gamers, however, it was one of the best years in a long time. There were absolutely some fantastic games over the past few years, take the modern God of War games, Elden Ring, the Last of Us Part II, etc, but 2023 was different.

There truly was a game for everyone to play and enjoy (except online shooter fans funnily enough, COD Modern Warfare III and Overwatch 2 were quite disappointing). Fans of fighting games got a new Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat to play, and indie developers put out works of art like Venba and Sea of Stars. Popular franchises outside of gaming like Star Wars, Spider-Man, Harry Potter, even RoboCop and Avatar, all have great games out to play. Not to mention the countless RPGs, Nintendo titles, and remasters that were met with applause.

The one bad thing about having such a spectacular year is that this year might not be so great. Even if it doesn’t pan out, there’s a lot of new content for released games to look forward to, including:

• Mortal Kombat 1: Both Omni-Man and Quan Chi have already been released, but there are more in the Kombat Pack to come, including Peacemaker (DC), Ermak (Mortal Kombat), Homelander (DC), and Takeda Takahashi (Mortal Kombat). There are also leaks surrounding a second Kombat Pack, but it’s best to be patient and wait for an official announcement.
• Street Fighter 6: While Rashid and A.K.I. have already been released, players are waiting for Ed and Akuma to come out in the coming months.
• Spider-Man 2: Insomniac Games released a disappointing statement regarding the planned December update the other day. Features like New Game+, changing the time of day, swapping Symbiote tendril colors, mission replayability, and supposedly more will be arriving in early 2024. This means it could come out from January to March or April, but I’d estimate late February.
• Shooters like Fortnite, Call of Duty, Overwatch 2, and more will undoubtedly continue updating into the far future

Finally, here are the major games you should keep your eyes on in the coming months:

• The Last of Us Part II Remastered: While I don’t appreciate how Naughty Dog has more remasters than original content, this remaster will include expected improvements like 4K, better loading times, more accessibility, and DualSense support. It will also include brand-new content, like Lost Levels to peek into earlier development of the game, Guitar Freeplay allowing you to strum the guitar and play other instruments, and even a brand new Roguelike mode. This will be released on January 19th for the PS5.
• Tekken 8: This is a brand new fighting game in the Tekken series, which hasn’t been seen since Tekken 7, released in 2015. Bandai Namco made sure this game was quality, stating that all character models have been remade and voice actors have returned for all new lines, rather than recycling content. There is also a new Heat Gauge system, which rewards the player’s aggressiveness. This will be released on January 26th for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
• Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League: Rocksteady announced the indirect sequel to Batman: Arkham Knight back in 2020, which was supposed to be released in 2022 and got delayed to this February. It is an open-world shooter featuring Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang, well, killing the Justice League. It will have both a single-player game mode and 4 player online co-op. This will be released on February 2nd for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
• Skull & Bones: Ubisoft has made themselves another pirate game after Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag released over a decade ago. This game seems to have a focus on naval battles, having wind positioning and different ships to use. You can either voyage the Indian Ocean in the single-player campaign or engage in real-time battles against other players. This will be released on February 16th for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Amazon Luna, and PC.
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: As Final Fantasy VII is one of the most iconic video games of all time, Square Enix wants to capitalize on it as much as possible. This is the second part of a FFVII trilogy started by Final Fantasy VII Remake and it will focus on the character’s escape from Midgar. It will include features present in other remakes and seems to be a similar game apart from its story. This will be released on February 29th (Leap Day) for the PS5.
• Chasing the Unseen: This is one of the first indie games of the year and Strange Shift Studio’s debut game! It is a single-player experience that focuses on peaceful exploration rather than fighting. You have to make your way through a maze of wonderful creatures, walking and climbing on them at times. This will be released on March 7th for PC.

Many more games will be released this year, but these all have confirmed release dates and will most likely be successful. Some games coming out sometime this year include Ark 2, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, MultiVersus (again), and Star Wars Outlaws. There are also many games without release dates such as Metroid Prime 4, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Marvel’s Wolverine, but there’s no telling when information will be revealed for any of them.