Almost a month into 2023, and this past week has been the first one in which the video game launch train has really kicked back into gear. The week kicked off with everyone arguing about Forspoken and ended with no one having a bad thing to say about Dead Space. Even better, if neither of those games tickles your fancy, GoldenEye is finally back.
The only bad news is The Day Before is definitely not here, and Marvel's Avengers won't be soon either. Everything you need to know about all of the above and more as we recap all of the biggest news from the last week in video games.
No One Knows What To Make Of Forspoken
Forspoken had the honour of being the first major video game launch of 2023. Hitting an average review score of somewhere just south of 70, which is apparently a bad thing, all of the discourse since has revolved more around its dialogue than the quality of the game. Whichever side of the fence you fall on, what definitely wasn't good for the game was footage of its final boss fight leaking before the game had actually arrived. It's also been added to a list of games that haven't properly credited their localization teams.
The Dead Space Remake Is A Hit
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Fast-forward a few days and the Dead Space remake became the second major launch of 2023. Receiving a far warmer reception than Forspoken, the general consensus appears to be that EA has hit the remake out of the park. Aside from the obvious about the remake being celebrated, it was also discovered ahead of launch that the new Dead Space includes an alternate ending, and that its new game plus will include phantom necromorph variants. Someone who worked on the game also labelled the remake's sound design “too f***ing scary”. Still trying to decide whether that's a compliment or not.
GoldenEye Is Back
Nintendo and Xbox sent the video game world into a state of panic last year when it confirmed both NSO and Game Pass would be getting slightly different versions of GoldenEye. Those versions will be available on both platforms by the time you read this and if you haven't already sunk hours into the Bond game's iconic multiplayer mode on Switch, well, you're certainly not me. Even a classic as well-loved as GoldenEye has its issues, though. It was pointed out ahead of its triumphant return that the pause music on the Switch version is wrong.
What In The World Is Going On With The Day Before?
Whatever game you're playing this weekend, spare a thought for the countless people who have wishlisted The Day Before. The mysterious game was meant to be getting a gameplay reveal before the end of the month, and launching on March 1. That is no longer the plan. As Fntastic revealed the launch of its maligned game has been delayed until November, it blamed the removal of the game's Steam page on the realization that someone else owns the trademark for the game's name. A bizarre twist in an increasingly worrying tale that has led to members of The Day Before's Discord questioning whether the game even exists.
Hi-Fi Rush's Successful Shadow Drop
Xbox held a Developer_Direct this week and despite big names like Redfall and Minecraft Legends assuming the spotlight, it was a game no one had previously heard of that stole the show. A rhythm game from Tango Gameworks called Hi-Fi Rush. As viewers were getting their heads around how they had never heard of a game that looked that good until now, the trailer ended with the reveal that Hi-Fi Rush is available now. Tango's new game has been deservedly making headlines ever since, and its early success may serve as a lesson to other studios that telling people nothing about a game before it launches might actually be the way to go.
Marvel's Avengers Is Shutting Down
Since more than a week will have passed by the time you read this, and the amount of stuff that has happened since (see above), it might feel like confirmation Marvel's Avengers is shutting down was already weeks ago. Alas, the reveal that the updates will stop and support will end later this year was only officially made a few days ago. The game will remain playable after September 30, but for those of you still hopeful the game would eventually get new heroes, that ain't happening. Voice lines for She-Hulk and Captain Marvel were found in the game's files this week, but we'll just have to imagine what those characters would have looked like, and how they would have been implemented, in-game.