Beat the Backlog
“Hello, my name is Drew and I have a problem.
I can’t stop buying games that I never play.”
And if I’m honest, this isn’t a new problem – it’s been going on for years. It started off pretty innocently – I just bought two new games that had the same release day; before I knew it a few weeks had gone by and one of those games was still in its cellophane and I was playing something else that had just come out. I didn’t worry about it really. I honestly didn’t think that it would end up like this. I’d tell myself anything to deny that something was wrong, but really, things were getting worse.
“I have loads of time – I’ll play that one next. This one’s only short. Won’t even take me a day to finish. It’s on sale – when else will I get the chance to buy it at such a low price?”
I’ve tried to stop before, and I can go months without buying a game and then, after a bad day, I find it so easy to creep onto the eShop with my Switch in handheld mode so that my partner doesn’t know. I’ll buy almost anything to scratch the itch. My bosses at VGamingNews know about my problem and are very supportive – but it’s a role that comes with a lot of temptation. Sometimes I might have to write up a digital games sale, or put out a news piece about a classic being rereleased on a new platform. Those can be difficult days.
And social media doesn’t help. I’ll be minding my own business, scrolling through twitter to pass some time and it’s just image after image of pixel art vistas, 3D character models, and WIP updates. I know that deep down it’s me that has the problem, so I’m here to try and start making some changes. The first step in my recovery is admitting the problem, so I’m making my ridiculous Switch backlog public to show how big the issue is. There’s a lot more on other consoles, but let’s tackle one problem at a time, eh?
Jokes aside, my Switch backlog is pretty out of hand. I absolutely love reviewing games, but doing so over the last year has meant that I only made time to play two games in my backlog while probably adding another ten to the pile. Beat the Backlog is going to be an ongoing feature where I’m hoping to play something off my backlog alongside my usual review schedule, in the hopes of publishing a review at the end of my playthrough. Some of these games might be ancient and have been reviewed a million times over the years, and some of them might be plain awful, but I’m hoping that committing to writing about whatever I’m playing will encourage me to get things done.
I’ve collated my backlog on the incredibly useful HLTB (HowLongToBeat.com), and you can find the full list here.
As I finish and write up each game I’ll hyperlink it below so that we can track my progress without backlog games getting lost amidst all the general reviews. I’m going to regularly ask for votes over on our social media accounts about what to play next – it’d be awesome if you could head over there and send some encouragement! Wish me luck everyone!
Games completed so far:
(Click on an image to read the review)
While the intro above is written with tongue firmly in cheek, we at VGamingNews know that gaming addiction is a real problem some people struggle with on a daily basis. We’ve included some resources below to help if you think you might be suffering from gaming addiction.
Black Friday Indie Bundle Giveaway
With Steam’s Black Friday discounts in full swing, we’ve scoured the sale and bundled together five brilliant games into one nice bundle and we’re giving them away to one lucky winner!
We’re giving away a Steam code for all of the following five indie games:
- Hollow Knight
- Stardew Valley
- Little Nightmares
- Binding of Isaac
- Guacamelee! 2
To enter, fill out the form below and make sure you read the terms and conditions. We’ve have to be a little stricter in claiming the prizes this time!
VGamingNews’ Black Friday Indie Bundle Giveaway
Terms & Conditions
Since this is a Black Friday promotion, we have to be a little stricter on the terms with this giveaway. The competition closes at 23.59 GMT on Monday 29th November 2021. We will draw a winner from Tuesday 30th at 9 AM and notify the lucky person.
They’ll have 3 hours to respond, we need to send a friend request over Steam in order for you to get your prizes. If there’s no response within that time, we’ll have to redraw the winner. Please make sure you are contactable during this window.
If the winner owns any of the games above, they can nominate another person to receive the game or if they have no one they can gift it too, we will draw another winner.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the competition the bundle above is set in stone, we are unable to offer other games or cash as an alternative to the games listed above.
VGamingLate: Halo Combat Evolved
Created by Bungie, and stuck in development hell for nearly 7 years, Halo: Combat Evolved released to critical acclaim as an Xbox launch title in 2001 (for us Europeans, it released in 2002, but that’s by the by), and set a number of standards that are seen in console shooters to this very day. Even now, the Xbox launch title, and the numerous sequels it has spawned, sits as one of the highest rated franchises on Metacritic. Apparently Halo is one of those games that you have to play before you die.
I say apparently because up until a few months ago, I’ve never so much as held the box in my hands, let alone played a single minute of it. You see, in the 20 years since the Master Chief made his debut on Microsoft’s first home console, I’ve been busy making excuses not to play the darn thing. It’s not because I don’t have any interest in first-person shooters – quite the opposite – I’m old enough to have played the original Doom when it was released on the PC in the 90s, and I thoroughly enjoyed Unreal Tournament in the early 2000s, and heck, I’ve put more hours into Bungie’s current space epic, Destiny 2, than I care to count. I actually chalk up not playing Halo to being a teenager and not having the money to risk on a new, unknown player in the market, and putting all my faith in the more established Sega and the Dreamcast. Yep, I completely bet on the wrong horse with that one. But times change, and now I’m a fully fledged ‘adult’ I was able to chuck £20 on an original Xbox and a few games that came with it at a carboot sale, and it was time to see what I was missing out on after all of those years.
Playtime: 1-3 hours
Getting started was an adventure in itself, as the game didn’t want to be played at all, and I had to make sure the disc was absolutely spotless before it even loaded up. I don’t know if that was a feature of the original Xbox but it annoyed me to the point of almost giving up before I’d even chosen my difficulty level. But I persisted and got the game working, and… well I don’t know if you have played Halo recently, but the opening cutscene definitely hasn’t aged well. Characters look like blocky polygons akin to the Canadians from South Park with their mouths either open, or shut. I know, it’s a harsh critique considering this was the very beginning of the 128-bit era, but first impressions count and I couldn’t initially see what all the fuss was about.
At any rate, the opening cutscene was to set up the story, where alien bugs known as The Covenant have attacked a spaceship called “Pillar of Autumn”. The Pillar is about to collapse so the dear Captain decides to wake Master Chief (that’s me), up from his slumber in order for him to save Cortana, an AI system that holds all of Earth’s defence secrets, while he gets the marines safely to a nearby planet.
To begin with, the janky graphics and wooden lines such as “Here, take my pistol, I never have it loaded so you’re going to have to find ammo”, reminded me of the late 1990s B-movie Starship Troopers. I half expected a cut away to a small child shouting “I’m doing my part”, but alas it didn’t happen.By the time all of the cutscenes and obligatory control walkthrough is complete, you’re given the reigns to start shooting stuff and this is where my skepticism quickly fell away. The combat was instantly fluid and the movement was perfectly balanced and silky smooth. Aiming was a delight and the triggers on the controller felt satisfying to press whether shooting or lobbing grenades at the bugs. It goes to show thatfirst impressions aren’t everything and I was already enjoying myself, just a few minutes in.
As the spaceship started exploding around me (Spoiler Alert… LOL), I ended up on a thin, ring shaped planet that looks suspiciously like a Halo. Knowing this little fact was like taking my first step towards being initiated into the Freemasons – I had learned a secret only a select few know.
When landing on the vast open environment, things really start to kick into gear. My mission isn’t to destroy anything that moves, but rather look for survivors, and by this point I’m surprised that Halo: Combat Evolved isn’t the game I thought it would be. After such a hammy opening I thought we’d be in for a mindless shooter, set in a ridiculous backdrop that took itself far too seriously, but it’s rather the opposite. Halo really doesn’t care if it appears ridiculous, nor does it stick to conventional norms of shooting bugs, as the name suggests, this is an evolved form of combat. Instead it’s a huge open world that lets you approach the game in any order you like, although it does prefer if you follow the in-game markers.
Playtime: 4-6 hours
I’ve been exploring the Halo for a few hours now and my expectations are in tatters. I’ve been sauntering around a giant open world, enjoying the sights and trying to save as many survivors from the earlier ship wreckage as possible. I found a buggy which was cool to drive, even if the controls were a little fiddly.
I did find myself getting angry at the people around me during my teenage years for not putting an Xbox controller in my hands and getting me to play this game. I can feel myself writing harshly worded MySpace messages and I’m taking out a squadron of bugs. Speaking of which, the enemies faced in the opening levels are limited to either scurrying evil Ewoks that can be stepped on, or overdramatic locusts that, when shot, sound like a child who has stubbed their toe on a cushion. They may have been limited in design but they were a delight to listen to, and then blast in the face with your weapon of choice.
Speaking of weapons, oh boy was I impressed with the variety on offer. The rifle was the standard weapon and did its job just fine, but picking up one of the many Covenant guns was where the fun started. The sniper felt like a beast to control and the reload felt like it had heft to it. The variety of grenades and powerups completed the package nicely, but my favourite had to be the gun with the spikes that had homing and delayed explosive qualities (you know the one), as I’d fire at a few unwitting enemies as I was running for cover, and the confusion before inevitable explosion was highly amusing.
As the story progressed, a simple search and rescue turned into something more nefarious. Bungie had built a lore around the Halo planet and it became clear that it was the gatekeeper to something more horrific, and it was up to the Chief and Cortana to put an end to it. As the story unravelled into a battle to save the galaxy, which is a simplification of what happened, as you seasoned professionals will understand, I found myself absolutely enthralled with the story from the moment I arrived on the Halo ring, until the final moment I escaped from it.
The more Halo took shape, the more it became clear that it had a depth that only a few established series, like Legend of Zelda or Star Wars, had displayed at the time. It had that epic feel which was accompanied by a blistering soundtrack, most of which I’ve since heard from like reveal trailers and various video game concerts etc. I’m sure if I’d have played the game first rather than hearing the opening bars to the intro a thousand times prior, it would have aroused some more powerful emotions, but listening to it in context was still rather fitting.
While the story could be wrapped up in one game, playing through the title felt like this was always meant to be a series, no matter what the sales figures or finance lackeys told the developers. Yes, I have the benefit of hindsight and we all know how the game panned out, but the world building introduced was thought through from the off and part of that lore made me want to learn more.
Conclusion
My first interaction with the Master Chief might have come twenty years after most people’s, but I now get the hype. The controls for this first person shooter are impeccable and something that other developers are still trying to imitate today. The world building and lore behind the game lifts Halo above the mindless shooters that litter every console, and the fact it never takes itself too seriously means we have a down to Earth game… Ironically set in space. While Halo Combat Evolved is not perfect – visually it is certainly a relic of its time and the vehicle controls are a bit guff – I can absolutely see why people hold the game in as high regard as it is, heck I went straight onto eBay and purchased the sequel as the credits were still rolling.
Giveaway – G Darius HD
These are UK/EU digital codes so make sure you have access to the relevant store front before entering.
G Darius HD GiveawayOur Nintendo Switch Online: Expansion Pack Wish Lists
In the latest Nintendo Direct, the Big N announced that there will be an ‘Expansion Pack’ to the Nintendo Switch Online services, which will introduce a plethora of N64 and Mega Drive games to the service. While we know about the first wave of games launching at the end of October, it left us wondering what the future could hold. Joe, Ian & Drew got together to draft up their wish list of classic games they’d like to see on the Switch.
Nintendo 64
Here’s the first two waves of games we’ll see as part of the NSO Expansion Pack.
Phase One (October 2021) | Phase Two (TBC) |
Super Mario 64 | Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask |
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | Mario Golf |
Mario Kart 64 | Pokemon Snap |
Lylat Wars | F-Zero X |
Yoshi’s Story | Kirby 64 |
Sin and Punishment | Paper Mario |
WinBack | Banjo-Kazooie |
Mario Tennis | |
Dr. Mario 64 |
Here are our suggestions:
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
If you know the history of our site, you’ll know that Konami’s 3rd person adventure-game-slash-sitcom, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, was at the top of both Ian & Joe’s lists. No one, not even Drew, could convince them otherwise. We reckon that more people need to experience the story of Goemon trying to save Mt Fuji, which has been teleported into space, at least once in their lives. The bonkers plot, well written characters and a sequence based on the 1970s movies where two men in mech suits battle it out over a town, has everything you could want from a late 1990s video game and we only hope that this will happen and reignite Konami’s passion to making more games in the series.
Superman 64
The NSO is full of good games, but what if Nintendo decided to put one of the worst games ever made onto the service? That honour should undoubtedly belong to Superman 64, with graphics that barely work, controls that don’t work, and a level of fogging so bad that not even the Man of Steel’s vision let’s you see more than 3 feet in front of you. Not only would it bring back some rage inducing memories, but the younger generation can see how we used to cope without game patches.
Pokémon Stadium
Pokémon Stadium was incredible when it was released in 1999 – it let players battle pokémon in 3D and play minigames such as ‘Magikarp Jump’ and ‘Clefairy Says’, but the main selling point was the ability to play Pokémon Red, Blue & Yellow on the TV from your N64 and to bring your party to battle in the stadium. A lot has to happen for Pokémon Stadium to be a viable option, primarily the release of the original Game Boy games and some sort of magic to connect the two games but we think it would be a popular choice if it all came together.
Tetrisphere
Drew was oddly vocal about Tetrisphere. It was an exclusive game to the N64 and as the name suggests, you play a game of Tetris, but instead of arranging falling blocks into lines, you have to match 3 blocks on a sphere in order to get to its core. It’s a frustrating puzzler that had Drew tearing his hair out as a kid, but one he’s keen to repeat.
All Games By Rare
Ok, so this one is a bit of a cheat but we all picked at least one Rare game in our lists and rather than argue about who is better, we decided to go all in. And when you see the quality of titles it’s easy to see why we wanted to get on with it. During the N64 era, Rareware churned out some of the best games of the generation, and although they are now owned by Microsoft, the appearance of Banjo Kazooie has given us hope that we’ll see the likes of Blast Corps, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark, Jet Force Gemini, DK64 and of course, the granddaddy of console shooters, GoldenEye some day. Just imagine playing an online deathmatch of 007, slaps only, no Oddjob and you can see why we’re excited to see if Rare will once again play a big part in Nintendo’s plans.
Mega Drive
Next up we have Sega’s machine, the one that does what Nintendon’t. The announcement of the console making its way onto Nintendo’s handheld-hybrid was a pleasant surprise to us as it brings some more brilliant 16-Bit nostalgia to the table. Arguably, we’re more excited to play Mega Drive (Genesis for you North Americans), than Nintendo’s own console as this list was a lot harder to put together as there are so many games to choose from. Honourable mentions go to the Mega Collection series (especially Alien Storm and Super Hang On), Earthworm Jim & James Pond.
The first wave of confirmed games for the Nintendo Switch Online – Expansion Pack Sega Mega Drive are:
Castlevania: Bloodlines | Contra: Hard Corps |
Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine | Ecco the Dolphin |
Golden Axe | Gunstar Heroes |
Ristar | Shining Force |
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Streets of Rage 2 |
MUSHA | Phantasy Star 4 |
Shinobi 3 | Strider |
And now for our picks:
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
It will come as no surprise to regular readers that the Blue Blur would be at the top of this list in some form or fashion, and while we love Sonic 1 & 2, they’ve been done to death. What would be lovely is seeing Sonic 3, and the add-on Sonic & Knuckles being added to the collection. Not only for something different, but because both of the games together are some of the best 16-Bit platforming you’ll experience. Due to *rumoured* issues with the soundtrack between Sega and the estate of Michael Jackson, Sega doesn’t seem to tout Sonic’s third outing as much as the previous games and it’s often missing from various collections. We know an enhanced version is coming out next year as part of the Sonic Origins collection, but that also includes Sonic 2, so why can’t we play the original now?
Castle of Illusion / World of Illusion
The Illusion games from Sega and Disney jumped out at us for a number of reasons, chiefly they were some of the best designed 2D scrollers on the system. Unlike the brutally difficult movie tie-ins like Aladdin and Lion King, both of the Illusion games gave a tough but manageable approach. World of Illusion was slightly on the easy side but with two players playing as Mickey and Donald, there is a lot of replayability nearly 30 years later.
ToeJam & Earl
ToeJam & Earl is a favourite of ours at VGamingNews, the mad-cap collectathon has you and a friend running around a map looking to rebuild your ship so that ToeJam and Biiig Earl can return home to the planet Funkotron. Its bright coloured aliens and utterly stupid mechanics perfectly sum up the 90s. If it came to NSO with online play, we’d be very happy indeed.
Kid Chameleon
The mask swapping mechanic in Kid Chameleon was out of this world back in the 1990s and was frankly way ahead of its time. Each mask would change Casey into a different creature or character and give specific power ups to help progress through the levels. As kids, both Drew and Joe struggled to get to the end of the massive 100+ levels; now they’re older, they are itching to finish what they started.
Strike Collection
Desert Strike, Jungle Strike and Urban Strike were the top tier shoot ‘em ups on the Mega Drive, so we couldn’t pick just one. You play as a lone helicopter pilot where the sole mission is to kill the bad guy at any cost. Each one of the Strike games were well received and even though EA tried to continue the series into the PlayStation and N64 era, they didn’t capture the audience in the same way. With other Shmups getting a new lease of life on the Switch, we think it’s about time a new audience is introduced to some classic shooters.
These are our picks and obviously not confirmed in any capacity, but what games would you like to see? Let us know below!
Metroid – The Top Ten Coolest Power-Ups
Like seemingly all sci-fi franchises with an armoured protagonist, Metroid is littered with some truly awesome upgrades to our heroines power suit and weaponry, and has a myriad of gadgets that makes every single entry unique and fun to play. We’ve run through the entire franchise back-catalogue and chosen the top ten coolest power-ups that not only make Samus a certified badass, but also highlight how the little-by-little upgrade style came to spawn an entire genre that is still much beloved today.
10. Spider Ball (Metroid II: Return of Samus)
Introduced to the franchise from the second installment and a regular feature since, the Spider Ball is an upgrade that significantly opens up the world of Metroid and doubles down on the exploration element of the genre. Originally allowing Samus to cling to any surface in Return of Samus things needed to be toned down a little to keep things manageable for the FPS installments, but it doesn’t dampen how cool it is to magnetise Samus to Spider Ball Tracks, defy gravity and allow players to explore the world of Metroid in all three dimensions.
9. Light / Dark Beams (Metroid Prime 2: Echoes)
The Light and Dark Beams form central elements to Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and the game would be entirely different without their introduction. Allowing Samus to fight off the Ing horde using polarising energies is a simple but very cool idea, and the portals between the Light and Dark worlds of planet Aether might be a little old-hat but it’s implemented perfectly. The Luminoth weapons bring a real duality to the world of Echoes that underpins the entire experience and makes Prime 2 a much loved sequel that stands the test of time.
8. Charge Beam (Super Metroid)
The Charge Beam isn’t the flashiest of power-ups but its inclusion in every game since Super Metroid has set it up as a franchise staple with an impressive breadth of use. Offering Samus the ability to inflict some higher damage on an infinite-ammo basis, the Charge Beam really comes into its own from Metroid Prime onwards where the tractor beam function and introduction of specific effects for each beam weapon adds a lot of character to the weaponry. A significant weapon in the much maligned Other M, the Charge Beam deserves more love than it gets, we think.
7. Grapple Beam (Super Metroid)
Another entry that is all about adding depth to the exploration element of the series, the Grapple Beam is dripping with coolness. While the implementation in its debut (Super Metroid) is incredibly clunky and often infuriating, it cannot be denied how much scope the Grapple Beam added for designers to block areas off for later discovery. For anyone aged 30 or older it also conjures up Indiana Jones vibes that are just too strong to ignore, and swinging over great cravasses in the Prime series gives the enclosed areas a sense of grandeur and scale that would otherwise be missing from the games entirely.
6. X-Ray Scope / Visor (Super Metroid)
In a series riddled with secrets, being able to pierce the veil and highlight hidden passages, items and destructible walls is an invaluable asset. The introduction of the X-Ray Scope in Super Metroid is a game changer, encouraging players to backtrack over previously ‘completed’ areas with a fine tooth comb and discover countless secrets that they’d unknowingly trekked over hundreds of times. The X-Ray Visor in Metroid Prime deserves a special shout out too; adding the ability to track invisible enemies is awesome, and seeing the bones in Samus’ arm through the cannon adds a layer of realism that continues to be incredibly cool even 20 years later.
5. Command Visor (Metroid Prime 3: Corruption)
While the Command Visor only makes a single appearance in the series, it’s undoubtedly one of the cooler entries in the franchise, and one that feels entirely overdue. Samus’ gunship has long been a silent ‘character’ in the franchise, and it was about time that it took a more active role in the gameplay when the Command Visor was brought in for Corruption. Let’s keep this one simple – being able to summon your ship to rain missiles down on enemies is quite simply badass and something that should be expanded upon in future. (We’re predicting a Jarvis-type AI assistant within the next few releases to give another character for Samus to interact with. It would offer Nintendo the opportunity to ‘redeem’ Samus’ character after the fan backlash from her depiction Other M.)
4. Missile Launcher (Metroid)
Are Dr Martens boots rare? Absolutely not – they’re everywhere, but them being all pervasive does nothing to dampen just how cool they are – and it’s the same for the Missile Launcher. Available in every franchise entry to date, the Missile Launcher is a faithful companion that carries Samus through some tough times and opened up the opportunity to add some tougher enemies with specific weaknesses. Nothing is more memorable than spamming 150 missiles into the mouth of Mother Brain in Super Metroid and wondering how it still wasn’t enough to kill the damned thing – it’s truly a classic boss fight. The final thing the Missile Launcher has going for it? Shooting rockets out of your hand makes you feel like Iron Man and the coolness factor of that cannot be over exaggerated.
3. Varia Suit (Metroid)
The Varia Suit isn’t the best power suit in any of the games but by God, we’ll fist fight anyone who says it isn’t the most iconic. Almost always depicted in this orange beauty with the red breastplate and helmet, it’s the look for which Samus is most well known. The delicate waist hints at a femininity beneath the armour but the hulking shoulder pads give off an aura of pure power, and that contrasting green visor gives a cold, unwavering look that summarises Samus Aran’s character perfectly. Undoubtedly the coolest suit in the series thus far, but that white Dread power suit may just give the Varia Suit a run for its money…
2. Morph Ball (Metroid)
The Morph Ball is an upgrade that showed up back in 1986 and hasn’t missed a beat since. Another absolutely iconic piece of equipment that defines Samus Aran and the Metroid series, being able to collapse to half your size and roll through pipes or destroy an enemy from the inside will never not be enjoyable. Surely introduced due to the sprite size limitations of the NES, the Morph Ball was added in lieu of a crouch/crawl, much to the confusion of some fans. It is a little ridiculous that Nintendo has stuck with it all these years but it injects a wonderful bit of whimsy in an otherwise bleak universe watching enemies chase a spherical Samus around like giddy puppies after a tennis ball. (There are some fun fan theories about exactly how it works out there too which are definitely worth a read if you get the fancy.)
1. Scan Visor (Metroid Prime)
“How can a standard piece of equipment be crowned the coolest power-up in franchise history?” I hear you cry. Frankly it’s because the Scan Visor changed absolutely everything about the Metroid series; it levelled up Prime from just another sci-fi FPS into a deeply atmospheric shooter that is positively dripping with lore and countless incredible details. In the earlier 2D entries in the series atmosphere was added with creepy music and some rather grisly sprites, animations and sound effects, but it was mostly left to the player to conjure up ideas in their own mind about what had happened to leave the world in such a frightful state. But the Scan Visor changed all that by offering the player detailed descriptions of exactly how a Space Pirate had died or specifically what malfunction had caused an explosion and sealed the doors closed – ON TOP of a stellar soundtrack and visuals. It added a cold analysis that put Samus’ technology front-and-centre and opened a real opportunity for Metroid to evolve from a simple platform-shooter into a deep adventure with a meaningful plotline.
GIVEAWAY: Golf Club: Wasteland
We’re celebrating the recent launch of Golf Club: Wasteland, by giving away a copy of the game for Xbox players.
Check out Rob’s review of this post-apocalyptic Golfing Simulator.
One winner will get a copy of the game which is compatible across Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S platforms. Entries close at 11.59 on 22nd September.
To enter, follow the details below:
Golf Club Wasteland GiveawayGamescom 2021
With everything going on in the world, the annual gamescom convention is going all digital this year. Taking place between Wed, 25 Aug 2021 – Fri, 27 Aug 2021, there will be a lot of news from the world of video games coming in thick and fast. We’re rounding up all of the news, trailers and announcements in one place for your enjoyment. Keep checking back to see what’s been added!
23/08/21 – 27/08/21: Indie Booth
Indie games are great for the world of video games. We can relate to the smaller teams working insane hours crafting their games for love rather than reward. As such VGamingNews wanted to celebrate those smaller games and give them a chance to shine. At gamescom 2021, the Indie Booth opened to us a few days early and gave us a chance to find new games we might have missed. While we can’t cover all of them, we’re going to try. This list will keep growing until we’re forced to stop.
24/08/2021: Bungie’s Destiny 2 Presentation
An hour before Microsoft took to the stage, Bungie announced details of where their online shooter – Destiny 2 will be heading in the next six months.
We had details on the new season: Season of the Lost, updates on much requested features like cross-play, their plans to celebrate the studio’s 30th Birthday, as well as a big blowout for the next expansion Destiny 2: The Witch Queen. All details can be found here.
24/08/2021: Xbox Stream
Microsoft were the only ones of the big 3 console companies to show up to gamescom 2021 with a full press conference. During the 90 minute presentation they showed off various updates as well as a few new games that are coming out in 2021 & 2022.
Here’s a summary of all the games featured in the show:
- Dying Light 2 Stay Human
- Flight Simulator
- Game Pass Update – Humble Games
- Into The Pit
- Age Of Empires IV
- Wasteland 3 – Cult of the Holy Detonation
- Sea of Thieves
- State of Decay 2 Homecoming Update
- Stray Blade
- Crusader Kings III
- Psychonauts 2
- The Gunk
- Forza Horizon 5
The full round up can be found here (opens in a new tab)
25/08/2021 – Gamescom Opening Night
During gamecom’s opening night live presentation, and the preshow there were a lot of games announced and discussed. Here’s all of the games featured:
26/08/2021 – Team 17 Provides Updates On 11 Games
Team 17 have provided a sizzle reel of 11 indie games, coming out between now and next year. There’s a few new games in the mix so check out the details here.
Thinking of Flute Boy
Even as a child, I was a goofy romantic with a penchant for storytelling. I remember I would forever be conjuring up fantastic scenarios, fictional allies and terrible enemies; babbling on to myself excitedly as I dashed around with a toy sword or laser gun, swooshing and pew-pew-pewing to my heart’s content. No universe was left unvisited.
As I grew a little older and my imagination turned inward, I would find myself pondering on things more than other kids my own age seemed to. I couldn’t just watch a film or read a book — I would become completely absorbed by them. I’d spend hours thinking about the characters and what might have made them the way they were; their motivations and their fears. Looking back, I think it was this period of my life that inspired my love of writing and nurtured my desire to conjure complex beings from imagination alone and share them with the world.
My hobbies were changing around this time too; books and films were becoming secondary to videogames — suddenly the breadth of fictional universes and stories available to me were interactive, with characters I could direct through their highs and lows until they were victorious or defeated. It was exhilarating and I’ll admit I was hooked early on.
I remember to this day, one of my earliest character infatuations in videogames was the mysterious fellow known as ‘Flute Boy’ from A Link to the Past.
Playing the game as a youngster, I tried to rush through — not taking the time to talk to all the NPCs and missing some of the ins-and-outs — I struggled to understand how certain elements slotted together. There were a great many intrigues in the game, but the one that I find the most memorable is stumbling into the Haunted Grove and seeing the animals gathered around that ocarina playing boy, and watching him fade away and scatter his companions as I approached.
With my mind, as active as it was, how could I not fall in love with the mystifying child of this woods?
When I finally saw out his story; easing him to his slumber, retrieving the flute and the boy’s pet bird, I enjoyed how much a simple quest made me care about a pair of pixelated characters using only a smattering of dialogue. Looking back now, I think I took for granted how wonderfully poignant Flute Boy’s backstory really was.
A boy, hearing of a magnificent treasure able to grant wishes, leaves home and heads to the mountains in search of adventure. He eventually wanders into a mysterious other world, and the boy, unable to return, leaves behind a father who misses him terribly without ever truly knowing what happened to him. Eventually, a precious keepsake returns to the father and he understands and accepts that his son was lost in pursuit of his dreams.
Whilst not a father myself, I can see the parallels in true-life parenthood.
Children will dream their dreams and go off in search of them — some succeeding and others falling short. They will potentially begin to drift away as their lives become more complicated and other factors take precedence — they move for their career and start their own family and you might not see them for some time. Years can pass into obscurity but the sight of one small memento — a photo, an old toy, a favourite song or film — brings it everything back; hopes, dreams and all. You share the memory with friends and other loved ones, remembering the adventure that your child went on in search of their dreams. You can be proud of that, I think.
Thanks for everything, Papa Bear – I love you. And you too, Flute Boy.
Forever Physical: Celebrating The People Keeping ‘Digital Only’ Games Alive
I don’t know about you, but there’s something magical about heading to a shop, store or supermarket to buy a video game. Even though I said goodbye to my twenties a few years ago, there’s still the excitement of picking up that plastic box, examining every piece of art on the front looking for clues to the story on the back, then excitedly but begrudgingly handing it over to the shop assistant to scan and take your money.
Over the last few months, we might have relied on the postie to drop off our latest game but that hasn’t detracted from the excitement. Putting the newest addition into your collection and admiring your ever growing lack of space gives a sense of pride. This is great for the latest AAA blockbuster, but what about those classic indie games that you can only buy digitally? What if I had a hankering to play an indie game made by 2 people in a shed in Stockport and it had been pulled from the e-shop? What if I was happy for even less space in my house?
This is where our indie-angels from across the globe step in. Limited video game production companies have sprung up over the last couple of years with one goal – giving gamers the feeling of excitement as they unwrap a tangible copy of a small, independently developed game.
In 2021, we’re going through a period of time where digital games are at risk of disappearing forever due to the threat of console e-store closures and that just won’t do. At VGamingNews, we want to celebrate physical media and the indie games getting their time in the spotlight by having a product you can pop on the shelf to admire and as such have put together a list of brilliant companies doing all of the work in making sure those smaller indie games have a chance to be proudly displayed on your shelves.
If you’re a collector of games, or simply refuse to go digital, these companies can hook you up with some brilliant independent games that you might have missed. To entice gamers further, they usually come wrapped in a deluxe box and with a plethora of goodies to give a luxurious feel usually reserved for premium titles.
These are in a randomised order:
Limited Run Games
- Where: Based in the USA
- International orders: delivers worldwide
- Website: https://limitedrungames.com/
- Platforms offered: Switch, PlayStation and retro
- How they work: Preorders open for a month then manufactured to order. Their focus is digital only games with a mix of indies and larger publishers such as Capcom and Ubisoft.
Super Rare Games
- Where: Based in the UK
- International orders: delivers worldwide
- Website: https://superraregames.com/
- Platforms offered: Switch
- How they work: Limited number of copies for each indie game, usually around 5000 copies. Occasionally, they’ll sell warehouse finds (returns, overstocks etc) or offer competitions.
Special Reserve Games
- Where: USA
- International orders: Worldwide postage
- Website: https://specialreservegames.com/
- Platforms offered: Switch, PS4 & PC
- How they work: Limited editions of games, additional goodies such as prints. Not all games are exclusive to the site, however their editions are limited and exclusive to the site.
Premium Edition Games
- Where: Based in USA
- International orders: handled through approved third parties
- Website: https://premiumeditiongames.com/
- Platforms offered: Switch (for now)
- How they work: How they work: limited number of copies per indie game. Once they are gone, they are gone.
iam8Bit
- Where: USA
- International orders: Worldwide posting
- Website: https://www.iam8bit.com/
- Platforms offered: Switch, PlayStation and retro
- How they work: Games aren’t as limited as others and they do fully publish physical games on behalf of indie developers such as Untitled Goose Game. They also offer artwork, all kinds of apparel and vinyl for all kinds of games.
Pixel Heart
- Where: France
- International orders: Worldwide Postage
- Website: https://www.pixelheart.eu/
- Platforms offered: All of them. Seriously, from NES to PS5
- How they work: Limited allocation of games, usually in the 000s. They also sell retro games at reasonable prices.
Red Art Games
- Where: Based in France
- International orders: Worldwide postage
- Website: https://www.redartgames.com/
- Platforms offered: PlayStation 4, Vita, Switch and retro
- How they work: Limited run of digital only, indie games.
Strictly Limited Games
- Where: Based in Germany
- International orders: Worldwide postage
- Website: https://www.strictlylimitedgames.com/
- Platforms offered: Switch & PS4, Mega Drive
- How they work: As the name suggests, the print runs are more limited than others. Usually around the 2000 game mark. They do have smaller indie titles though so they don’t always sell out on preorder.
Playasia
- Where: Based in Hong Kong
- International orders: Worldwide postage
- Website: https://www.play-asia.com/
- Platforms offered: PlayStation 5, PS4, PS3, Vita, Switch, 3DS, Xbox One & PC
- How they work: Primarily deals with importing games from various regions, however have started branching into books and figures.
Gamefairy
- Where: Based in Germany
- International orders: Worldwide postage
- Website: https://gamefairy.io/
- Platforms offered: Switch, PS4 & occasional retro platforms.
- How they work: Limited physical runs of digital games, various merch & vinyl soundtracks.
Again, we want to highlight as many of these limited run & indie publishing companies as possible. If you think we’ve missed a company that should be featured, reach out to us on Twitter or Facebook and we’ll look at adding them.
None of our links are affiliated, nor have we been sponsored to promote any of these people – we genuinely love the work they are doing to preserve physical media and to shed light on games that could potentially get lost among the AAA heavyweights.