Written by Antai 2022 Cohort
Due to the impact of Covid, many games got held back in recent years. That could make 2023 a year of games re-thrives. Many games were launched in the first two months, an exciting time for gamers. I played some, and these are my thoughts about those games, only related to the gameplay, music, art style, etc., any other social impact and “gates” are not in the discussion.
The first game that caught my eye is Forspoken. The game is a role-playing action developed by Luminous Productions and published by Square Enix. Like many other reviews, I played the demo version and think the game is not good. It feels like a byproduct of Final Fantasy, such as Devil May Cry to Resident Evil 4, but this time it failed.
The second is Dead Space Remake. Almost everything got enhanced from the old game. Better graphics, of course, and more interactable objects, make the game more realistic. However, the most significant upgrade is the sound design. More detailed than the original game, you can feel the monsters roaming around you, waiting for a chance to attack, which vastly increases the thrill of the game. So, headphones or a surround sound system are recommended if you want to play this game. It is better than its older sibling, The Callisto Protocol; it could be the top 5 horror games.
And we have two transmedia products, OnePiece: Odyssey and Hogwarts Legacy. I’m a fan of both IPs but not excited about both games. Because this kind of game is usually not good, there are many shackles of original story settings, and they are not easily converted into something that can fit in a game. For example, the OnePiece game is unlike other RPGs; you can not change
characters’ outfits because the outfit is part of their trademark. However, Hogwarts Legacy did an excellent job, they chose a storyline way before the main Harry Potter story, and it won’t create many conflicts with the original story. And they made a detailed interactable Hogwarts castle, only that it’s worth the money.
The most recent one is Atomic Heart. The game has been on my playlist for as long as I can recall; two or three years ago, they released a trailer. At that time, I felt this game could be exciting. The game that interests me the most is its art style, which is like Bioshock with art deco. More reviews of Atomic Heart and Hogwarts Legacy will come soon.