The Best New Games December 2020
December 2020 we’re in the last month of what’s been one hell of a year. Let’s give a moment of silence for video games and the wonderful journeys they’ve brought us on. It’s not really bad staying at home if we have games to play! Undoubtedly the biggest game out this month is the long-awaited Cyberpunk 2077 as well as Immortals Fenyx Rising. I’m personally excited for what looks to be another Dontnod Entertainment classic Twin Mirror. So make sure to book your leave (you weren’t using those days anyway) and get in some well-deserved gaming time.
Twin Mirror by Dontnod Entertainment – December 1st
Dontnod, the studio behind Life Is Strange, is embracing its next surreal adventure in Twin Mirror. A Twin Peaks-inspired detective thriller starring former investigative journalist Sam Higgs. Sam returns to his hometown of Basswood, West Virginia to attend his close friend’s funeral only to find that things aren’t as they seem, and it’s up to players to explore both the real world and Sam’s “mind palace” to gather clues and discover the truth. A bit of a darker undertone than the angsty teenage drama of the Life is Strange series. Twin Mirror looks like a gripping psychological thriller and because its Dontnod Entertainment be ready to be faced with impossible choices.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC – Epic Games Store
Chronos: Before the Ashes by Gunfire Games – December 1st
Chronos: Before the Ashes is a prequel to Gunfire Games’ Souls-like shooter Remnant: From the Ashes. It tells the story of a lone hero who spends their entire life attempting to navigate an ancient Labyrinth. Wherein it’s rumoured the evil of the Root lies. Your entire life is this Labyrinth and when you die, because you will you come back a little different. Each time you die, your character ages a year. But with every decade you’ll be able to get some permanent buffs that improve things like your HP, defence, and attack power. The way you’ll play the game will change from when you’re younger to when you’re older.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC – Epic Games, Stadia
Haven by The Game Bakers – December 3rd
Haven is one of the best games we saw from this year’s PC Gaming Show and it’s out now. Haven is a game about relationships, the ups, the downs and surviving together on a new planet. The story is about two lovers Yu and Kay that have given up everything and escaped to a lost planet to be together. Glide through a mysterious landscape, explore a fragmented world and fight against what’s trying to tear them apart. But Haven isn’t all adventure and survival, it’s intermixed with the simple joy of everyday life. Cooking meals, crafting, collecting resources, you have to work together to make it through the day.
Platforms: PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC – Steam
Tinkertown by Headup Games – December 3rd
I have three words for you – Multiplayer Sandbox Experience. Team up with three people to build up your town, explore the magical little pixel world and loot and adventure together! Your land is limited only by your creativity build your own village – from small shacks to impressive castles and townships. Are you a rogue? a warrior? or a wizard? Create your character as you want and invent your own playstyle. There’s plenty of challenging dungeons to conqueror and a town to build!
Platforms: PC – Steam
Immortals Fenyx Rising by Ubisoft – December 3rd
“If Zelda and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey had a baby”. Formerly known as Gods & Monsters, Immortals Fenyx Rising is an open-world epic steeped in Greek mythology. Play as Fenyx the somewhat clumsy demigod who never thought they’d be a hero. I don’t know if anyone had the Hercules from Zero to Hero soundtrack playing in their head as they saw the trailer but I sure did. The deadliest of titans has been unleashed and now Fenyx must save all of the Greek Gods from their untimely fate. It looks like a fun and colourful game but if you’re pretty much done with Greek mythology don’t worry because Ubisoft has some very interesting post-launch content as well. Including three DLC expansions with one coming from Chinese myth.
Platforms: PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC – Epic Games Store, Uplay and Stadia
Call of the Sea by Out of the Blue – December 8th
It is 1934, in the far reaches of the South Pacific. Norah has crossed the ocean following the trail of her missing husband’s expedition and finds herself on a lush island paradise – a nameless, forgotten place, dotted with the remnants of a lost civilization. Explore a stunning tropical island, brimming with fantastic sights, lost ruins and occult mysteries. And meet Norah who’s on her quest to discover the truth of the disappearance of her husband and to find out who she really is. The character is fully voiced by Cissy Jones from Firewatch and The Walking Dead: Season 1.
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC – Steam
Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Projekt Red – December 10th
Cyberpunk 2077 has been a long time coming but for those of us not sending death threats to the developer it looks like the game will be worth the wait. The developers behind the high fantasy Witcher games, are taking us to the dystopian future of Night City. In Cyberpunk 2077 you play as V, an outlaw mercenary who goes after “a one-of-a-kind implant that is the key to immortality”. In this megalopolis city of endless opportunities are slews of gangs and factions that can be befriended or attacked. Play the game or don’t your playstyle will be your choice in Night City.
Platforms: PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC – Steam, Stadia