Venba, PC, PS4, Xbox Series S/X and Switch
Delayed several times over the last few years and now marked TBD, Venba still looks very special. It’s a narrative cooking game about an Indian mother who moves to Canada in the 1980s. Cooking dishes, rediscovering old recipes and engaging in conversations will slowly reveal a story of love and loss, and the richly colourful illustrated art only makes us more excited.
Naiad, PC, PS4/5, Xbox Series S/X and Switch
Is there a more appealing game due out in 2023? Naiad is a game about wild swimming, about exploring a mysterious and peaceful river, interacting with the wildlife and slowly uncovering its secrets. Glorious water physics blend with a relaxed sensibility to create something that practically sings with the magic of nature. Cannot wait.
Fire Emblem Engage, Switch
Fire Emblem Engage has been in the hands of critics for a short while now, and one of the fascinating things about the recent round of previews based on the first few hours of the game was how different everyone’s experience was; Henry enjoyed its celebration of all things past in this storied series, while elsewhere there was a feeling that the Persona-esque social side that was introduced in Three Houses is ramped up even further here. There’s not long to wait to find out how the final thing lands, but the variety of responses so far have underlined that Fire Emblem now means so many different things to so many different people. Whether Engage will be able to please all of them remains to be seen, but I’m looking forward to finding out.
Forza Motorsport, PC, Xbox Series X/S
Given that its Spring release isn’t too far away we don’t know too much about this soft reboot of the Forza Motorsport series, but the potential is off the charts. With sim racing enjoying a boom in popularity and the Horizon series taking much of the limelight in recent years, this is an opportunity for Forza Motorsport to take centre stage once again, and the early signs are promising. A new dynamic day/night model will help, as will a very welcome overhaul of the all-important physics that underpin it all and more sim-minded features like fuel and tire management are now also in the mix. Will it be able to take the fight to Gran Turismo 7, or even the likes of iRacing and rFactor 2 on PC? Let’s wait and see, but the wind – and the might of Xbox Game Studios – is certainly blowing in its favour.
Forspoken, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
The reception to this has been a little muted ever since it was first revealed at the PS5 showcase under the ‘Project Athia’ banner, though having played a few hours ourselves there’s plenty of reason for optimism. The next project from the equally divisive but extremely characterful Final Fantasy 15, Forspoken is a collaboration between eastern and western devs that can be a little awkward, but there’s plenty to get excited about in its mesh of old school fantasy JRPG and modern day narrative blockbuster – there’s an open world that’s both sumptuous and generous, and a magic system that promises plenty of depth.
Dead Space Remake, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
With The Callisto Protocol not exactly setting the world on fire, I’ve got my fingers crossed that the Dead Space remake will score a point for space horror. A lot’s been said of the oversaturation of the genre at events last year, but there’s not actually been a lot of AAA horror games set in space over the years – and even less good ones. If the remake has even half of the lonely, tense atmosphere the original excelled at, we’re in for a treat.
-Jessica Orr
PSVR 2, PS5
Yes, there’s a new Horizon game and you can play Resident Evil Village again, and yes the tech has been redesigned and is now far more fully-featured. But the real reason we’re excited about Sony’s second shot at PSVR is that it keeps the mainstream VR dream alive a bit longer. It feels really good to see a platform holder putting this kind of passion behind a thing like VR which genuinely takes games to unique places. Will it be a hit? The VR track record is pretty poor in terms of winning over big audiences. But it should be brilliant, regardless.
Kerbal Space Program 2, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
I think I put more hours into the first Kerbal game before my first successful mission with a landing than I care to admit. I have come a long way since then, and have returned many Kerbals back to Kerbin, and been to almost all of the bodies in the Kerbol system.