{"id":40103,"date":"2020-11-10T13:29:17","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T21:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/?p=40103"},"modified":"2020-11-11T12:20:15","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T20:20:15","slug":"novembers-video-games-even-without-cyberpunk-are-quite-memorable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/features\/novembers-video-games-even-without-cyberpunk-are-quite-memorable\/","title":{"rendered":"November’s Video Games, Even Without Cyberpunk, Are Quite Memorable"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s been a tough year on many fronts, and that\u2019s translated to an awkward, yet not entirely off-course year in the realm of video games.  The proof of that comes in the fact that we\u2019ve reached November and, that\u2019s right, the new systems from Microsoft and Sony are set to be released in the second week of the month.  With that comes launch titles and games that will eventually be modified into next-gen titles through updates, though that release lineup ended up a bit slimmer than one might expect \u2026 and, unfortunately, even slimmer still with the delay of one of the most hotly anticipated games, Cyberpunk 2077. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, November essentially look about the way you\u2019d expect a big, beefy pre-December lineup to look in the lead-up to the holiday season, rendered a mess to keep track of due to the numerous re-releases and quasi-ports of last-gen games coming over to the shiny new consoles.  Let\u2019s take closer look, specifically at the games hitting both current and next-gen consoles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"valhalla<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Assassin\u2019s Creed: Valhalla \u2013 November 10 & 12<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

From Elder Scrolls: Skyrim<\/em> and God of War<\/em> to the TV show Vikings<\/em> and adjacent stuff like the blacksmithing reality show Forged in Fire<\/em>, the essence of Viking culture has become observably popular again in modern culture. It\u2019s unsurprising, then, to see Ubisoft adopt the frigid, iron-born historical atmosphere in their latest game, especially since they\u2019ve started down the path of crafting games with lesser ties to the titular \u201cbrotherhood\u201d of the franchise and more of a focus on general open-world games set in different time periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thing is, the chronology and the geographical proximity of Assassin\u2019s Creed: Valhalla<\/em> places this one much closer to the genesis of the warfare between the Assassin\u2019s Guild and the Templars, propelled by Nordic settlers \u2013 led by Eivor, who may be male or female depending on the player\u2019s choice \u2013 who are expanding into the Anglo-Saxon region in the 800s. Essentially a Viking raider simulator, we\u2019ll soon see whether Ubisoft hammers it home or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla at Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yakuza: Like a Dragon — November 10<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Further signs that times are changing can be found in this third installment of the Yakuza s<\/em>eries of action-RPG games. The markers are three fold, and pretty significant. First, Like a Dragon<\/em> is the first main entry in the Yakuza<\/em> series where the iconic protagonist Kazuma Kiru isn\u2019t the focus of the story, instead falling on the shoulders on new character Ichiban Kasuga, a brasher and more emotive presence.  Second, Like a Dragon takes the storytelling away from the metropolis of Tokyo and into the area of Yokohama, the second largest city in Japan based on population, though it also revisits previous smaller regions from past games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third big shift, and perhaps most significantly for those with interest in Yakuza<\/em>: the martial arts gameplay has been reworked from being a twitch action-RPG into a turn-based, squad-based RPG.  For many, that may raise a red flag, as they\u2019ve grown accustomed to the quick responsiveness of the previous entries and might not have a desire to shift to traditional JRPG design ideas. Reports from the Japanese release of Like a Dragon <\/em>have hailed this shift in battle design as a success though, despite its difference in energy, and should be worth a look from both longstanding fans and new RPG enthusiasts. It’s worth noting that Like a Dragon <\/em>will be coming to most consoles on November 10, with a planned PS5 edition arriving at a later date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get Yakuza: Like a Dragon at Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"spider-man<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Spider-Man: Miles Morales – November 12<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Sony\u2019s animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse<\/em> succeeds in a broad number of ways, but it\u2019s arguably most significant for bringing the character of Miles Morales \u2013 a black character who takes up the Spider-Man identity — onto a bigger, mainstream stage. He\u2019s different from Peter Parker in a number of other compelling ways, from his resistance to becoming a superhero and how that ties to his family\u2019s history to differences in his abilities and costume, which help provide a convincing case for him becoming as popular as he has over the past few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insomniac Games have embraced this popularity with their sequel to the immensely successful Spider-Man<\/em> open-world videogame, simply titling it Spider-Man: Miles Morales<\/em>. Originally suggested to be an add-on to the original PlayStation 4 exclusive, it was later revealed to be its own standalone experience \u2026 though the budget-conscious $50 tag suggests that plans may have changed when they saw the excitement for the concept. As Parker leaves Miles Morales watching over New York as its Spider-Man for a period, this game operates similarly to the original, but with its own next-gen tweaks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get Spider-Man: Miles Morales at Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demon\u2019s Souls: Remake — November 12<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a reason why the Dark Souls<\/em> franchise often gets called as such by most players. While some do refer to it as just the \u201cSouls\u201d line of videogames to account for Demon\u2019s Souls<\/em>, it didn\u2019t fully reach the expanses of its audience until the sequel came out and delivered a much more polished, challenging, grander-scale iteration of the concept that did nothing but improve upon the first game. As several sequels and remastered versions of said sequels have come out across platforms, Demon\u2019s Souls<\/em> has taken on the reputation of existing in a niche within a niche: a tough, dated precursor to better games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the blessing of developers FromSoftware and co-developed with Sony Japan, the team at Bluepoint Games \u2013 responsible for remakes that span from the God of War<\/em> PS3 collection to the astonishing Shadow of the Colossus<\/em> rebuild for the PS4 \u2013 hope to spruce up Demon\u2019s Souls<\/em> for the coming generation. Their directives have been to loyally adhere to the design of the original game while overhauling the smoothness of its functionality and the aesthetics \u2026 and boy, based off gameplay footage out there and reports of how they\u2019ve handled the music, voices, and graphics, it looks like they\u2019ve really done it. PS5 exclusive, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get Demon’s Souls at Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"call<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Call of Duty: Black Ops \u2013 Cold War — November 13<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re 16 proper titles deep into the Call of Duty<\/em> franchise now, and the popularity of the first-person shooter juggernaut doesn\u2019t seem like it\u2019ll be significantly slowing down anytime soon. Part of that stems from the exciting, explosive campaigns created by its first-person shooter environment, but let\u2019s be honest: it\u2019s mostly about the multiplayer, about squad-based and free-for-all competitions between folks either in the same room or online. That doesn\u2019t mean Call of Duty<\/em> doesn\u2019t have a few tricks up its sleeve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The title of this installment speaks for itself, transporting to the \u201880s during the US-Russian Cold War to tell its semi-historical story, which centers on tracking down the spy Perseus. What\u2019s interesting about Cold War<\/em> is that the development team of Treyarch and Raven have pursued the possibility of multiple endings in the game, calling back to the surprisingly adaptable choice-and-consequence aspects of Black Ops 2<\/em>. Previous advances in creating custom classes and progression in multiplayer return and also add onto the versatility of the experience, while players should be excited about new multiplayer modes, including a giant 40-player fire team option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War at Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity — November 20<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In case it wasn\u2019t obvious from the above, there\u2019s a whole lot going on with the two new major consoles throughout the month of November, enough that it wouldn\u2019t exactly be a wise use of resources to try and fight for much attention from it. Nintendo gets that, but they\u2019ve still managed to enter the fray with what could be seen as a viable contender and contemporary against some of the other launch titles. Hyrule Warriors<\/em> gained a fine, if overlooked reputation as a fast-moving and reverent crossover series that meshes together Dynasty Warriors<\/em> and The Legend of Zelda<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Age of Calamity<\/em>, the focus jumps back 100 years before the events of Breath of the Wild, illustrating what happened as the lands of Hyrule battled Ganon within the events known as the Great Calamity.  Applying brisk beat-\u2018em-up controls to the broad warfare that serves as the world-building for the most recent, highly-praised Legend of Zelda<\/em> installment, the game employs the multi-opponent chaos hallmarked in the Dynasty Warriors<\/em> franchise for a distinctly more energetic and high-powered experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity at Amazon<\/a><\/strong>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"maneater<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Xbox Series and PS5 Re-Releases \/ Upgrades<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is a pretty unique new-console release year for a number of reasons, all of which have built into both company\u2019s awareness that gamers will want to continue playing their older, favorite, and backlogged titles for the years to come. Instead of the \u201cforce to adopt\u201d strategy so often employed with new consoles to make players gets systems specifically to have access to significant titles, and to ignore their older consoles and games, both companies are mindfully adopting a strategy of backwards compatibility. That means games from the previous consoles will be playable on the new ones, but also that many will receive updates to their data to get them up to snuff with the new tech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the noteworthy titles include (click each to order at Amazon):<\/p>\n\n\n\n