New Game News - December 2020

(New Game Tuesday is now New Game News! When New Game Tuesday shifted to a monthly format, I still had it come out on Tuesdays. However, as sometimes the first Tuesday of the month fell late into the month, some games were already out. Game Infinite has recently gone through a massive update in visual design. Our new uniform look brings a design aesthetic across posts regardless of news, game content, or community content. With this redesign, I am updating NGT into New Game News, which will come on the first of the month, to better prep our followers for major and exciting games coming out each month. This article will focus on new game releases, not necessarily games that launched previously but have their next-gen versions are arriving, but may include major game seasonal updates or expansions.)

December is here. December is usually a pretty tame month in terms of game releases as most of the years hottest titles are usually released by end of November to maximize sales ahead of Holiday, but this year with the impact of record numbers of delays, some games have been pushed into December. Some games were even meant to release, with several studios opting to get the hell out of the way of 2020 mega-title Cyberpunk 2077. After countless delays, and even statements of completion, I am not alone in that I don't think I will fully believe Cyberpunk will release on time until it is sitting in my hard drive.

One thing important to note, as mentioned in a previous article post, we have aligned our review years to be closer in strategy to that of the Game Awards. Any games released in December 2020 will be counted on next years lists. This will give me more time to play, review, and enjoy several titles on this list, without having to rush to complete in time for this years end of year lists. Haven, Immortals, and of course, Cyberpunk 2077 are all amazing games I am looking forward to playing. They will be eligible for 2021 lists and reviews.

"New Game News" showcases some major game releases of the month! Scroll down to see if any of the major releases appeal to you!

1. Cyberpunk 2077

Release Date: 12/10

Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia, (PS5 and Xbox Series X via backwards compatibility with larger update coming 2021)

Developer: CD Project Red

Publisher: CD Project Red

Could it be? Could it actually be? With just 9 days to go, still many of us can hardly believe that Cyberpunk 2077 will actually release. This may have had something to do with it's countless delays in some Borg-like pursuit of perfection, including a delay that happened razor thin close before release, with much controversy with CDPR calling it the final date. Cyberpunk needs no introduction, as it is easily the most anticipated title of 2020. It is such a juggernaut that at three games that I know of moved their December release dates just to get out of its way.

2. Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 5

Release Date: 12/1-12/2?

Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC, Switch

Developer: Epic Games

Publisher: Epic Games

Fortnite is coming to a major upheaval with the ending of the current season today with the arrival of Marvel's Galactus, destroyer of worlds! At the time of this writing, little is known about the next season other than rumors of more Star Wars content, as well as the exciting announcement of a subscription service called Fortnite Crew.

3.Haven

Release Date: 12//3

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 5

Developer: The Game Bakers

Publisher: The Game Bakers

I played Haven during the 2020 Summer of Gaming Xbox demo event, and it was the game I was most excited about coming out of that event. I got vibes from Breath of the Wild, Journey, and Gravity Rush. Overall the art style was absolutely gorgeous, the characters and environment were intriguing, and I just can't wait to get my hands on the final game.

4. Immortals Fenyx Rising

Release Date: 12/3

Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Stadia

Developer: Ubisoft

Publisher: Ubisoft

Gods and Monster-er I mean Immortals Fenyx Rising? I honestly can't remember the last time a AAA game was announced, and even available to actually preorder under one name, and have it release under a completely different name. It wasn't even the standard "project" placeholder like "project gods and monsters" or something like that, the previous title had box art and was available to preorder as Gods and Monsters. We may never known the story behind the name change, but Immortals Fenyx Rising is almost upon us. Honestly, Ubisoft has been more delay happy than most other developers even before COVID with many of their games receiving mixed reviews, With the last Ghost Recon being widely panned Ubisoft delayed everything on the books. They said they wanted to give all their developers more time to work, which is why I find it incredibly odd that Ubisoft seems to be backtracking this "let them bake all the way" strategy and rushing everything out the door. Watchdogs Legion and Assassin's Creed Valhalla literally just came out, so why Ubisoft feels the need to cram a third title into the already over crowded holiday season, and put it up against the Cyberpunk 2077 juggernaut is all way beyond me. With two AAA games out, and Valhalla reportedly selling very well, Ubisoft surely can't be hurting for sales. I really feel like Immortals is doom to fail. A really weird late stage name change, only recently revealing gameplay to the public, having it release within days of Cyberpunk 2077, all spell bad timing to me worthy of the Titanfall 2 / Battlefield 1 fiasco.

5. Medal of Honor Above and Beyond

Release Date: 12/11

Platforms: PC (VR)

Developer: Respawn

Publisher: EA

I know I have said that EA has a gold goose with Respawn single handedly carrying the positive reputation of anything EA has published in recent history, and because of this they should just write Respawn a blank check and let them do whatever they want? Well, I am going to go back on that with this. Yes, I am convinced that Respawn's amazing track record and wizardry is why EA allowed Jedi Fallen Order to exist, and Apex Legends is one of my favorite multiplayer addictions ever; however, I really don't know why they wasted their time on an awful looking VR only game. I own a PSVR, I tried to be an early adopter of modern VR, but the games just aren't there. They're hallow, flat, stationary, and just not the best experiences. I feel like VR is 10 years away from providing the phenomenal experiences that I know Respawn is capable of. I'd rather they had focused on JFO2 or dare I say it please for the love of god give me Titanfall 3! Instead we have this.... if you are excited about this than I am happy for you, but current era VR games don't excite me.

As always, stay tuned here on Game Infinite News for the latest gaming news! Check back next month for New Game Tuesday!