A new Studio Ghibli movie and more Pokemon DLC for the holidays? We'll take it!
The Game Awards 2023 is over, and Grand Theft Auto 6’s first trailer is officially out in the wild. Beyond dissecting both events to death, there’s not much to do now but wait until the next big thing - and that probably won’t happen until next year, so what now? We’ve officially run out of new releases to look forward to this year (excluding some Pokemon DLC), so this is the perfect time to look back at 2023 and think about what you’ve missed. This has been an excellent year to play games, with blockbusters and indies coming out left and right to sate every kind of appetite there is.
The backlog awaits!
What we’re playing this week
There are two noteworthy games coming out this week, if you’re still looking for something new to play. The first is a cosy slice-of-life MMO called Palia, set in a high fantasy world where farming and fishing are how most get by. This game launches on the Nintendo Switch on December 14, so if you’re into games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, give it a looksee. Players will craft, fish, farm and cook their way through Palia, building a life with the land’s colourful inhabitants. The game can also be played solo.
The second game coming out this week is not exactly a game; it’s Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s second expansion The Indigo Disk, arriving just in time for some cosy holiday gaming. This seemingly final expansion to Scarlet and Violet heralds the return of every single one of Pokemon’s starters and a few Legendaries too - from Johto’s Entei and Raikou to Hoenn’s Latios and Groudon. Players will embark on a trip to Blueberry Academy in this expansion, which has its own story campaign, minigames, and additional trainer battles.
Ubisoft games are long. They’re designed to be long, and there’s nothing wrong with that so long as you’re having fun playing them. That’s why we’re still wrapping up our Na’vi adventures in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora this week, a game that takes the tried-and-tested Ubisoft open-world formula and puts a heavier emphasis on exploration than usual.
What we’re watching this week
There are plenty of new things to watch this week, and thank goodness for that. The latest Studio Ghibli film to be helmed by legendary creator Hayao Miyazaki hits Southeast Asian theaters this week, and that’s certainly worth checking out. The story follows a 12-year-old named Mahito who struggles to find his place in a new town following the death of his mother, but a talking heron arrives to make his life significantly more complicated.
Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Yu Yu Hakusho also launches on December 14, so we’ll see if the streamer can replicate One Piece’s success with another beloved manga/anime property. I’m keeping an eye on the animated series Carol & the End of the World on December 14, which follows a woman trying to find meaning in her last moments of life on Earth before humanity ceases to exist entirely. Could make for some fun, lighthearted Christmas binging!
Reacher Season 2 also hits Amazon Prime Video on December 15, giving viewers more of that ‘strong man solves problems with the power of his fists’ fantasy that carried the series to popularity in its first season. What are you watching or playing this week?
