Here at GateCrashers, we’re big fans of finding the latest and greatest in video games. It only makes sense to share that love and hop on the Wishlist Wednesday train to bring you our recs for upcoming titles to add to your list of games-to-get-hype-for. Don’t forget to share your own awaited games in the comments!
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – TBA
Take on the role of one of the notorious Slaughter family, or their victims, in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, a third-person asymmetrical horror experience based on the groundbreaking and iconic 1974 horror film.
The sound of the flashbulb still sends shivers up my spine. The slam & crunch of the meat hammer still makes me gag. Don’t even get me started on how that sound of the chainsaw starting revs me up for horror. Tom Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the few horror films that I would go so far as to say is a perfect film. Now when I heard the team from the Friday the 13th game was working on a video game adaptation, my heart started to pump like I was being chased down the highway by Bubba himself.
Friday the 13th was the first horror game I felt captured the feeling off a slasher. Being Jason made you feel so much power. It was just so exhilarating to don the hockey mask. Because of legal issues, we never got more from the game (RIP JASON X), and since then, I’ve been chasing the dragon. When I found out Dead By Daylight had my favorite slashers minus Jason, I decided to give it a try. So many attempts to enjoy it. It felt so soulless and without the oomph of power you got with Friday the 13th. When I’m playing as a slasher, I want to feel like a killing machine…not like a cow stuck in a tar pit.
But the kings are back with one of my all-time favorite franchises with TCM. It has the distinct look, sounds, and feeling of the film from everything they’ve shown. Sure, it is more violent than what we see, but the video game medium is different than film, so it works for me. There is no game I’m more excited to play. Besides, where else can I hunt my friends in a smock, someone else’s face, and with a chainsaw? Legally, I mean. That trial was overruled. I’m good. – Daniel McMahon (@danthemcmahon)
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 – July 29
Join Noah and Mio, members of the two opposing nations of Keves and Agnus, on a heartfelt journey through a warring world with a dark secret. Traverse massive, fantastical landscapes and master seamless real-time RPG combat as you expose the true enemy pulling the strings.
Okay, okay, okay, if it seems like I’m “speedrunning” this Wishlist Wednesday, it’s because I ABSOLUTELY AM! Do you know why dear reader? Well, that’s because someone doesn’t know time management. That someone? ME!? And what time management do I speak of? Well, I am trying to get done absolutely everything I want before starting Xenoblade Chronicles 3. I mean, have you played any of the previous titles? I have almost 800 hours with Xenoblade Chronicles, 1, 2, and X combined. As you can tell, I adore the series, or maybe I need to escape to another world.
Nonetheless, I’m trying to play four different games, read multiple novels/comics/manga/brochures, and watch multiple movies on top of working out before even starting these games. That’s because when I start Xenoblade Chronicles 3, I won’t stop. Going to the bathroom? Xenoblade Chronicles 3. My daily crying time? Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Cuddling with my wife? Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Driving? Xenobl—okay, I think you understand what I mean.
All that said, I will literally live and breathe the game, so I’m stupidly glad it’s on a portable system.
P.S. If you want to give a Xenoblade Chronicles 2 fan PTSD repeat the following:
“Think you can take me?”
“Don’t forget me!”
“Think you can take me?”
“Don’t forget me!”
– Jason Jeffords Jr. (@JJRwrites)
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 – TBA
Enter the World of Darkness and rise through vampire society. Experience Seattle – a city full of alluring, dangerous characters and factions. In this sequel to the cult classic, your choices, plots and schemes will change the balance of power.
It’s hard to say Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is one of the best games out there; the second half is a great decline in quality, its bugs and glitches are known by everyone, and time shows its influence more and more. But damn it if it doesn’t feel like it’s up there.
The original Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is flooded with issues, almost every one of them thanks to Activision being the absolute worst and pushing the game out before it was ready. They also made sure it made less money than it could’ve by releasing it the same day as Valve’s iconic Half-Life 2.
Despite all of that, the original VTMB is one of the best, most atmospheric experiences in gaming you can go through. Its dialogue rich with tons of different characters with various distinct personalities and backgrounds; its world small but full of depth, people to talk to, and missions to complete; its quests fun and confident to let you decide how to complete them. At its best, the sum of its parts will combine into something unlike any other videogame you’ve played.
Knowing all of this, Bloodlines 2 was one of my most anticipated games. In theory, it could perfect what was already there and avoid repeating all the problems it’s prequel had. And it looked like it was doing exactly that! The footage we saw back in 2019 was very promising, bringing the aesthetic and gameplay of the original to the modern day, with updated graphics that highlighted the amazing neo-goth art direction, more freedom of movement, and a bigger map, and with the original writers and designers back for the adventure, the narrative was going in the same direction.
If you noticed, however, how I mentioned we saw footage back in 2019 and the game still doesn’t have a release date, well, you’re onto something. It seems like it’s not only the vampires who carry a curse, as the development of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is as riddled with turbulence as its predecessor. It got delayed several times, and the last official piece of news we have had was in February 23rd 2021, when Paradox Interactive revealed it parted ways with the developers at Hardsuit Labs who had been working on the game for years. We’ve gotten word that Paradox is working with a new team but declined to reveal who they were, and that the game was almost cancelled but this was ultimately decided against. However the case, the future seems grim for the sequel.
It’s a tragic Wishlist Wednesday for me this month, as there’s a high chance this game will never see the light of day (or the dark of night?). But as a vampire holding onto their last piece of humanity, I remain hopeful. Who knows, maybe we’ll get some more news from Paradox Interactive soon enough and I will be able to sink my teeth into this game. After all, the creatures of the night have a tendency to stay out of their graves. – Gabrielle Cazeaux (gabrielle_doo)
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[…] at GateCrashers, we’re big fans of finding the latest and greatest in video games. It only makes sense to share that love and hop on the Wishlist Wednesday train to bring you our recs for upcoming titles to add to […]