Posted Jan 20, 2023 at 6:47pm. Updated January 20, 2023 at 7:09 p.m.
The Les Echos editorial staff selected five games earlier this year to wait until the release of the highly anticipated Hogwarts Legacy: Hogwarts Legacy.
One Piece Odyssey
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Robin and Franky are on a boat… Zoro falls into the water, what’s left after the storm? A crew scattered on a strange island, lost in the middle of nowhere, and a boat, the Thousand Sunny, in a very sorry state. This is the new adventure of anime lovers’ favorite pirates. Bandai Namco once again gives fans of the Straw Hat Pirates the chance to control the destiny of this merry band in turn-based role-playing games. A real game for fans (my valid son of the head) with a new scenario and a band of filibusters in great shape. You can even increase the pleasure of playing in the original version with subtitles.
One Piece Odyssey offers exploration of the island and its mysteries with many fights against strange looking enemies. Each character has special talents that are useful in the face of many dangers. The cutscenes are beautiful and the animations (for the fights) are even more eye-catching. The game is still quite slow to build. But you don’t risk wasting time while exploring with a very interventionist game (my son was in no hurry to save Nami from a drooling King-Kong, who knows why). It almost seems as if it was designed for the youngest. Despite everything, One Piece Odyssey offers a beautiful journey into one of the most majestic manga universes.
the most : One Piece universe. The least : slightly repetitive fights.
Available for PlayStation4, PlayStation5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Marvel’s Midnight Sun
It’s definitely the season for turn-based tactical video games. Like the Bandai Namco game, this 2K game offers a refreshing and muscular experience set in the Marvel Universe, with multiple star superheroes and others less highlighted by the license. We can therefore get our hands on Doctor Strange, Iron Man but also Blade, Hulk, Captain Marvel or even Scarlet Witch, Ghost Rider and a new kid, Hunter, created especially for the occasion. There, too, a real joy for the many fans of the genre.
At the helm of Midnight Suns? A turn-based pro. Firaxis has the XCom series, one of the best alien resistance games and strategy game series in history (that’s subjective), Civilization. Hell isn’t coming, it’s already here. you have been warned Published by 2K and Marvel Entertainment, the game is set on the dark side of Marvel. In superheroes, we win together or we die together.
The game is based on a card system, including hero cards. Each hero and enemy intervenes with one of these cards in turn. The tactical and strategic aspect is essential, but the developers also play the role-playing card since it will be possible to improve your deck. In turn, you must select the enemies, aim at them and destroy them. Some are harder to destroy than others. It will also be necessary to think a little before acting and also to know how to use the environment decorations to maximize damage. This leads to fierce and sometimes indecisive battles.
Midnight Suns is also based on high-quality graphics, beautiful, with particularly remarkable animations during the superhero attacks. Finally, the discussions between the heroes also lead to some sessions of cowardly Marvel-movie-style humor. It’s relaxing and feels good. Supers will also be able to build relationships, with friendship which will then lead them to work better as a team. Marvel Midnights has all the cards in hand to be one of this year’s games.
the most : addictive. The least : A bit slow.
Available for Windows PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation5 and Xbox Series X|S
Cuphead
It’s a bit like the hidden side of Disney’s magical world… It’s happening on Inkwell Isle, and two brothers, Cuphead and Mugman (recognizable among thousands by their coffee-cup-shaped heads and colored straws) are going to go on an adventure. Her task: to convince debtors to repay the devil… This will teach her to try her luck in the casino run by the master of the underworld. If they fail, he will take their souls. Brrrrr. We are very, very far from Beauty and the Beast tea set.
Released in 2017, the game has just been released on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch with a bonus DLC. The game from the Canadian studio MDHR is deliciously subversive with outdated but effective graphics: one of the strengths of this indie game. Cuphead risks taking the lead from more than one player, with a high base difficulty (despite the addition of an easy mode at certain stages). But it offers a fun and entertaining experience between platforming stages, boss fights and dogfight sessions.
The developers have taken an onslaught of inventiveness to come up with this game with incredible bosses. We wide-eyed at the spectacle unfolding on screen and enjoying the combat and shooting phases. A game like no other at a friendly price (between 20 and 40 euros depending on the seller…)
the most : Epic battles against the game’s bosses. The least : error… still lost.
Available for PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC.
Jurassic World Evolution 2, Dominion Malta
It’s become a habit that publisher Frontier has released a new DLC for its dino park management game just before the holidays. They actually developed a new campaign inspired by the movie Jurassic World: The World After. Objective: Creation of parks in three new locations in the Mediterranean, on islands, to limit the risk of proliferation of living beings. The DLC also comes with new buildings and, importantly, new dinosaurs, including the Atrociraptor, which bears its name well.
A way to prolong the pleasure of this excellent management game, even if the price remains a bit high. But hey, it takes everything to discover the Moros Intrepidus, a miniature version of the Tyrannosaurus. He was still the size of a deer and weighed a good eighty kilos… Fine, Rex, fine.
the most : A new scenario. The least : The bill is rising.
Jurassic World Evolution 2 and its DLCs are available for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox Series.
chia
Once is not usual, I decided earlier this year to highlight a game that is still in development, a game of passion and very promising. No, I’m not talking about Hogwarts Legacy, which will land in early February, I’m talking about Tchia. Developed by Montreal studio Awaceb, Tchia is a love letter to New Caledonia. Two of the studio’s founders are from there and are developing a beautiful tropical adventure game.
The game is still being tested on Steam and EpicStore and I’ve already been able to appreciate – in a preview – the beauty of this enchanting archipelago that you have to explore and discover in complete freedom. This game has a crazy charm and not only because of the values it carries. In the beginning we feel a bit like a Robinson Crusoe discovering a kind of paradise. But the island was invaded by evil creatures.
Tchia, an intrepid young girl, must save the local fauna, find her kidnapped father and triumph over the invaders, lulled by a haunting musical atmosphere. We must start by learning to play the ukulele and summon animals that will help us in this dreamlike quest. A floating, jumping, surfing and exotic game.
Successful first steps that call for others. Although there is still a little work to do to stabilize this universe on PC, PS4 and PS5 until the planned release in spring 2023.