2020 is almost here, so we’ve asked GameSpot’s staff to share which games they’re looking forward to most in the new year. New consoles are going to dominate the headlines, but at the end of the day it’s all about the games, and there are a ton of exciting ones to look forward to. When you’re done reading this entry, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best of 2019 hub and our Most Anticipated of 2020 hub.

In 2019, Valve almost gave Half-Life fans what they wanted with official announcement of upcoming prequel Half-Life: Alyx. But when it announced that the next Half-Life game would be a full-length VR-exclusive prequel to Half-Life 2 rather than the concluding story everyone expected, many grew skeptical. I certainly had my doubts at first. After all, I could easily see its exclusivity as a means for Valve to sell more of its recently-released Index headset. However, those concerns were laid to rest with the game’s first trailer. Now I am convinced that Valve is ready to change the way we play virtual reality games, and will shake up the video game industry once again.

Half-Life: Alyx follows the story of Alyx Vance before Gordon Freeman’s arrival in City 17. As fans know, the events of the first game triggered a massive zombie epidemic from a lab experiment gone wrong at the Black Mesa facility. Half-Life: Alyx will most likely fill in the blanks between the first and second game with plenty of surprises up its sleeves–if the spirit of previous Half-Life games is to be of any indication.

Every detail in the first trailer had me in absolute shock. The game seems to pull from the best ideas that Half-Life 2 introduced while exploring the lingering questions the franchise left us with. But what most excites me about Half-Life: Alyx is the potential in interaction being explored in the game. The truth is, VR has often left me wanting more since I feel that the medium is still several notches shy of true immersion. Based on the trailer, no such concern has been raised, and truthfully, it’s the pedigree that Valve boasted in how Half-Life 1 and 2 radically shifted how we think of first-person shooters has convinced me that VR might be a great choice. I believe Valve’s implementation of VR will be Half-Life: Alyx’s highlight and pave the way for other developers to follow suit. I can already see how the new gloves Alyx uses is bringing gravity gun tricks back into the fray through intriguing-looking combat, and how immersive it might be to peek out from cover or comb through rubble for scarce ammunition. Most of all, I eagerly await and dread the sheer terror I will probably encounter when I turn around just in time to see a headcrab launch itself right at my face.

The early release date is also too much for me to process fully. Here I was accepting that that Half-Life 3 became the gaming world’s favorite meme, and now I’m staring down a March 2020 release date for the only other thing that could get me just as excited. Half-Life: Alyx has its work cut out for it considering the massive expectations fans have from the series, but I’m excited to see what Valve will offer. We at the precipice of a brand new decade of ground-breaking titles, and it is exciting that Valve seems to be cracking its knuckles, eager to get the first shot.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-alyx-david-ahmadis-most-anticipated-game/1100-6472382/

2020 is almost here, so we’ve asked GameSpot’s staff to share which games they’re looking forward to most in the new year. New consoles are going to dominate the headlines, but at the end of the day it’s all about the games, and there are a ton of exciting ones to look forward to. When you’re done reading this entry, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best of 2019 hub and our Most Anticipated of 2020 hub.

So many games have taken inspiration from the mechanics and systems found in From Software’s Soulsborne games, giving rise to the Souls-like subgenre. Without a doubt, my favorite title in that grouping is Hollow Knight, which is scheduled to receive a sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong.

In Silksong, you play as Hornet–the secondary protagonist of Hollow Knight–in the aftermath of one of the original game’s five endings. Captured and taken to Pharloom, Hornet escapes and decides to figure out why she was brought to the haunted kingdom, making her way up through Pharloom’s many layers to reach a citadel that supposedly has the answers she seeks. Hollow Knight: Silksong is scheduled to release for Nintendo Switch and PC. Team Cherry hasn’t revealed the game’s exact release date, writing in a blog post that Silksong will launch “when it’s ready” and “matches the quality and scale of Hollow Knight.”

So, granted, there’s a chance Silksong doesn’t actually release next year. But I’m not the only member of GameSpot staff making out-there predictions for 2020, and after getting hands-on with Hollow Knight: Silksong at E3 2019, I have faith that the game is far enough in development to potentially launch next year.

The original Hollow Knight is a gorgeous game steeped in some of the best written lore I’ve ever read–the history of the Mantis Tribe and backstory for Hornet’s upbringing being two of many notable standouts. Its combat mechanics are simple enough to grasp but dealing with the attack patterns of certain enemies and bosses in the late- and post-game can get excruciatingly challenging–demanding you to push yourself to jump and slash with near perfect precision. It’s a deeply satisfying game to overcome, both in terms of defeating god-like adversaries and better understanding the history of its fascinating characters, because it so expertly toes the line between frustrating defeat and exhilarating victory.

And that’s why I’m eagerly anticipating Silksong. Overall, Silksong plays very similarly to its predecessor. You’re still exploring a uniquely stylized and interconnected world, battling a variety of challenging foes, and enjoying a wonderful soundtrack. Everything that makes Hollow Knight great still seems to be in Silksong–which makes sense given this sequel was originally just an expansion for the first game. Silksong is already building on a good foundation.

That said, I’m more curious to see how Silksong’s differences impact the overall experience. Hornet, unlike the unnamed knight from the first game, can speak and regularly voices her opinions, which could influence the overall interpretation of Silksong’s story. Hornet is a lot faster than the knight too–sporting a longer-reaching dash and downward diagonal aerial slash to better reach her targets. She can also heal much more quickly (and can even do so while airborne). Given that Silksong’s enemies are all much faster than the ones seen in the original game, these gameplay changes seem to encourage utilizing a faster, more aggressive playstyle than the one needed for Hollow Knight. If Hollow Knight is Dark Souls, then Silksong seems to be Team Cherry’s Bloodborne.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/hollow-knight-silksong-jordan-ramees-most-anticipa/1100-6472410/