New year, old games! What are you starting off the year playing?
Happy New Year! If nothing else, a new year gives us loads of new stuff to sink our teeth into, and that’s always a cause for excitement. The fabled Hollow Knight: Silksong is finally set to release this year, along with Tekken 8 and more games we’ve been looking forward to for months or more. Several really exciting blockbusters - like Dune: Part Two and Deadpool 3 - are also set for release this year, though we are unlikely to see a repeat of the Barbenheimer phenomenon this year. 2024 is fresh and full of possibilities, and there’s lots to get excited about already.
What we’re playing this week
In terms of new games: nothing! There’s absolutely nothing noteworthy launching over the next two weeks, as most game studios sleepily return to life after a well-deserved holiday break. Live-service games will continue to chug along with winter-themed content, but even that will change as most of them transition into new seasons and events this year. Still, it’s a great time to catch up if you had your hands tied during the holidays and still have a few battle pass tiers to grind through.
If you’re looking for something old-but-new to celebrate the new year, there should be end-of-year sales running on most game storefronts right now with pretty big discounts! Personally, I scored Disco Elysium - The Final Cut for 70% at $12 from the PlayStation Holiday Sale, and it’s proven to be quite the wild ride thus far. Between talking ties and unhinged dialogue options - all of which are now voiced in The Final Cut - I’m starting the year off on a high note.
What we’re watching this week
There will be lots of TV to enjoy throughout this dearth of new game releases, thankfully. Disney+’s excellent adaptation of Rick Riordan’s book series Percy Jackson & The Olympians returns with a new episode this Wednesday, hopefully with more Greek Mythology-inspired monsters in tow. Pokemon Concierge also premiered on Netflix last week, and I highly recommend tuning into that if you’re in the mood for 40 minutes of warm, feel-good stop-motion animation. The only problem is that it’s so short!
The 81st Golden Globes Awards are also scheduled for January 7, and I can’t quite tell if it’s going to be fun or rage inducing to tune in and see which of 2023’s best movies and TV series pick up awards during the show. Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Anatomy of a Fall and Killers of the Flower Moon are all going head-to-head in the Best Motion Picture - Drama category and any of those could walk away with a win! Who do you think should take it?
