Games Inbox: What’s the most anticipated game of 2025?
Doom: The Dark Ages is one of 2025’s most tempting games (Microsoft) The Tuesday letters page is worried about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, as readers recommend the best places to buy physical video games in the UK. To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected] 25% doneSo we’re closing in on 2025 being a quarter done and I just wondered what games other people were looking forward to for the rest of the year? (Not counting GTA 6, which hasn’t got a date and probably everyone is looking forwards to, to some degree.) I know that list is probably going to change a lot once the Nintendo Switch 2 is properly announced but I can’t afford a new console this year, so that’s not really an option for me. Instead, I’m looking forward to Atomfall, depending on the reviews, and the same for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Doom: The Dark Ages. I’m not convinced by Elden Ring Nightreign yet, so I don’t know about that, but I think I will try Forza Horizon 5 when it come out on PlayStation 5, as I’ve never played any of the series. If you assume that a lot of games for the second half of the year haven’t even been announced/confirmed yet I think it’s looking like a pretty good line-up. Especially if you assume the Switch 2 and GTA 6 are coming too. I’m not saying that will make this a ‘good’ year, but it’s something at least.Woody Dream ticketI would be very surprised if Metroid Prime 4 was promoted as the main game at the Nintendo Direct in April but if the launch line-up is Mario Kart 9 and it then I would be very happy with that: a crowd pleaser and something for hardcore fans seems the dream ticket to me. My only other request would be that we also see at least one big budget new IP. I don’t mind if it doesn’t come out at launch – there wasn’t one for the Switch 1 – but I would like to see some commitment to things beyond the core franchises. I’d say that the lack of new franchises was the one flaw of the Switch 1 era, so if the Switch 2 can do better then that will be an improvement. I get that with the original Switch they weren’t sure if it was going to work but now we know that the Switch 2 is an almost guaranteed hit, so I’d like to see them run with that.Lobo Full Spectrum StarsI don’t know whether going open world is the answer for Resident Evil 9, but it does seem like an obvious thing to try and I would certainly be interested to see if they can get it to work. Constant reinvention is the secret for any long-running franchise and Resi has done it plenty of times before. One idea I thought of though, is trying to make the game a squad-based shooter, maybe like the old Full Spectrum Warrior game, if anyone remembers that. It could be more action-based; that doesn’t so much as the idea of controlling multiple characters at once. There are so many in Resident Evil now you could have whole squads made up of fan favourites. I’m sure they wouldn’t do that for the main game, but I’d be interested in a spin-off like that. Although they might be put off by Operation Raccoon City being such a flop and I guess that’s a similar idea, except for some reason they used no-name bad guys instead of characters people like.Heathcliffe GC: There was actually an online mode where you could play as some of the heroes, but it was still a terrible game. Email your comments to: [email protected] The opposite of usI’m curious as to whether anyone is actually looking forward to Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet? A new IP from Naughty Dog should be such an exciting moment but from the name on down everything about it looks and sounds so bad. And now we find out that they’re trying to mimic Elden Ring in terms of gameplay and storytelling? That seems very unlikely to me. Naughty Dog has been making the same basic game, in terms of how it plays, since the first Uncharted almost 20 years ago now. I guess they could try and hire a bunch of Soulslike experts, but I don’t know who that would even be in terms of Western developers. Maybe I’m wrong but I worry that success has gone to Naughty Dog’s head and now they just assume they can do anything. What FromSoftware does is the absolute opposite of Naughty Dog and if they can pull off a Western Elden Ring I will be amazingly impressed. But if they mess it up, I won’t be surprised at all.Johnson
The Tuesday letters page is worried about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, as readers recommend the best places to buy physical video games in the UK.
To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]
25% done
So we’re closing in on 2025 being a quarter done and I just wondered what games other people were looking forward to for the rest of the year? (Not counting GTA 6, which hasn’t got a date and probably everyone is looking forwards to, to some degree.) I know that list is probably going to change a lot once the Nintendo Switch 2 is properly announced but I can’t afford a new console this year, so that’s not really an option for me.
Instead, I’m looking forward to Atomfall, depending on the reviews, and the same for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Doom: The Dark Ages. I’m not convinced by Elden Ring Nightreign yet, so I don’t know about that, but I think I will try Forza Horizon 5 when it come out on PlayStation 5, as I’ve never played any of the series.
If you assume that a lot of games for the second half of the year haven’t even been announced/confirmed yet I think it’s looking like a pretty good line-up. Especially if you assume the Switch 2 and GTA 6 are coming too. I’m not saying that will make this a ‘good’ year, but it’s something at least.
Woody
Dream ticket
I would be very surprised if Metroid Prime 4 was promoted as the main game at the Nintendo Direct in April but if the launch line-up is Mario Kart 9 and it then I would be very happy with that: a crowd pleaser and something for hardcore fans seems the dream ticket to me.
My only other request would be that we also see at least one big budget new IP. I don’t mind if it doesn’t come out at launch – there wasn’t one for the Switch 1 – but I would like to see some commitment to things beyond the core franchises.
I’d say that the lack of new franchises was the one flaw of the Switch 1 era, so if the Switch 2 can do better then that will be an improvement. I get that with the original Switch they weren’t sure if it was going to work but now we know that the Switch 2 is an almost guaranteed hit, so I’d like to see them run with that.
Lobo
Full Spectrum Stars
I don’t know whether going open world is the answer for Resident Evil 9, but it does seem like an obvious thing to try and I would certainly be interested to see if they can get it to work. Constant reinvention is the secret for any long-running franchise and Resi has done it plenty of times before.
One idea I thought of though, is trying to make the game a squad-based shooter, maybe like the old Full Spectrum Warrior game, if anyone remembers that. It could be more action-based; that doesn’t so much as the idea of controlling multiple characters at once. There are so many in Resident Evil now you could have whole squads made up of fan favourites.
I’m sure they wouldn’t do that for the main game, but I’d be interested in a spin-off like that. Although they might be put off by Operation Raccoon City being such a flop and I guess that’s a similar idea, except for some reason they used no-name bad guys instead of characters people like.
Heathcliffe
GC: There was actually an online mode where you could play as some of the heroes, but it was still a terrible game.
Email your comments to: [email protected]
The opposite of us
I’m curious as to whether anyone is actually looking forward to Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet? A new IP from Naughty Dog should be such an exciting moment but from the name on down everything about it looks and sounds so bad.
And now we find out that they’re trying to mimic Elden Ring in terms of gameplay and storytelling? That seems very unlikely to me. Naughty Dog has been making the same basic game, in terms of how it plays, since the first Uncharted almost 20 years ago now.
I guess they could try and hire a bunch of Soulslike experts, but I don’t know who that would even be in terms of Western developers. Maybe I’m wrong but I worry that success has gone to Naughty Dog’s head and now they just assume they can do anything.
What FromSoftware does is the absolute opposite of Naughty Dog and if they can pull off a Western Elden Ring I will be amazingly impressed. But if they mess it up, I won’t be surprised at all.
Johnson
