We’ve just seen the scope of Final Fantasy 16, and hoo boy does it look like a big game. It’s the perfect summer blockbuster, arriving mid-June to lead us into July and August with a spring in our steps. It looks huge, but we’ve got all the time in the world, right? Turns out, not so much. Buckle up gamers, June might end up being the death of us all.
Recently, my colleague Eric Switzer warned us of the perils of April, and he has a point. This month will see Minecraft Legends, Dead Island 2, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor arrive on the shores of Thumbsticksia. Alongside the most recognisable titles, there’s Afterimage and The Last Case of Benedict Fox that I have my eye on, as well as DLC for Horizon Forbidden West and the arrival of Cassette Beasts on Steam (console release is later in the year).
Eric is right, this is a big selection of games. But individually, they’re pretty manageable. Our reviewer beat Minecraft Legends in six hours. The first Dead Island and Jedi games were around 20 hours each. The longest game here is probably Afterimage, which unfortunately, is likely to be the least played too. While April has a wide selection though, June’s offerings have depth.
As I already mentioned, Final Fantasy 16 is arriving in June, and it’s gonna be a big ol’ game. Final Fantasy 15 took most people 40 hours or more, and I suspect this one might even be a little bigger. There’s also Street Fighter 6 in June, which some will play casually with friends, maybe bounce off and dabble over the next few months, but many will be playing for keeps right from the start, and there’s no real way to finish it. Speaking of games that you’ll play forever, Diablo 4 arrives in June too.
Diablo 4 will have its campaign, but once that’s done with, there’s a lot to contend with. Blizzard has revealed that each battle pass will take around 80 hours to complete - that’s more than April’s three biggest games, and Horizon’s DLC, and probably Benedict Fox and Cassette Beasts too. That’s pretty much all of April’s games wrapped up in one event for one of June’s games, which also comes out in the same month as Street Fighter and the biggest non-MMO Final Fantasy ever. Oh, and it arrives just three-and-a-bit weeks after Tears of the Kingdom.
It’s true that not everyone will play these games. All three of them, even Final Fantasy 16, which Sony is marketing as its major crowd-pleaser of the season, have somewhat niche fanbases. Diablo players and Street Fighter players both tend to be extremely committed to the cause, which is why both games are colossal in scale and endlessly replayable. The individual fans of those two, who are waiting this year to play either of those games and not much else, will be eating well in June. The buffet players among us, who like to sample all the delights on offer, will have plates too full and bellies uncomfortably stuffed.
This has been a trend in recent years. Famine and feast. In 2022, February held Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West, Dying Light 2, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, and several other strong releases, but parts of the rest of the year drifted. Likewise, the first three months of 2023 have held fleeting releases, and the back end of the year only has a handful of tentpole games like Starfield and Spider-Man 2. But in the Spring into Summer, we have April stacked with games that respect your time, May dominated by Zelda, and June fit to bursting. If you’re looking to experience them all, you’d better strap in.
April might have a lot of games for us to get through, but with some careful planning we can navigate the waters safely. For June though? If you’re planning on playing the biggest titles, it just might be the death of you.