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!
Paradise Marsh – Out Now!
Stars have vanished from the sky and scattered around in a perfect wetland crawling with wildlife… Catch bugs and chat with delightful characters while wandering through peaceful scenery. But don’t lose sight of the night sky, the constellations need help!
The constellations need help. What more of a call to action do you need? These brackish waters are brimming with bugs, foraging affairs, and delightful denizens to fill up your journal with your adventures—which are endless! This game is procedurally generated, so no two playthroughs are the same. The art style of this game is this adorable mesh of Donut County and Katamari Damacy but with a first-person perspective. As a youngling, I used to keep a science journal where I cataloged all the fun bugs and flora I found in my backyard, and this game brings me right back to do it again. I can’t wait to catch some beetles, skip some stones, and save the stars.
Assassin’s Creed: Mirage – Coming Soon
Experience the story of Basim, a cunning street thief seeking answers and justice as he navigates the bustling streets of ninth–century Baghdad. Through a mysterious, ancient organization known as the Hidden Ones, he will become a deadly Master Assassin and change his fate in ways he never could have imagined.
Assassin’s Creed holds a special place near my heart; sooner or later, it was going to be featured on a Wishlist Wednesday. It’s the first videogame franchise I fell in love with as a kid, back with the second installment of Ezio Auditore’s adventure in beautiful Rome, Monteriggioni, and Vienna, meeting all kinds of fun characters like Leonardo Da Vinci or Machiavelli. Growing up with these games, I had the typical parkour phase, the history-nerd phase, and even a Leonardo Da Vinci fan phase. Keeping up with the convoluted lore, waiting anxiously for each new setting to be announced, it never ceased to be exciting.
My love for the franchise peaked with the one, the only: Assassin’s Creed Unity. Yeah, it doesn’t have the best story, but I’ll be damned if I don’t love getting lost in the streets of Paris during the French revolution. Most AAA games’ attractiveness revolves around fantasies; you don’t play Doom for the fantasy. You play it because you love the feeling of a nigh unstoppable demon slayer. In the same way, a lot of people play Assassin’s Creed because of the simple assassin fantasy: you are a member of a secret organization dedicated not only to saving the world but to help the little people from evil, power-abusing institutions with the power of a blade, all the while looking as stylish as possible during incredibly memorable time periods.
Unity is the epitome of that fantasy; no other setting in the franchise is as detailed and well-designed as Paris. You run through luxurious mansions made out of marble and gold and then see giant crowds of people protesting outside some of these mansions, calling for justice. It has the most fluid and best-looking parkour system out of all the games, great customization for your assassin equipment, and challenging but (mostly) satisfying combat. It has its issues, like the very talked-about bugs I never really came across (although I started playing well after all the patches), but the good far outweighs the bad in my opinion. Unity perfected the formula, and then it all crashed and burned. Kinda.
After Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, a game that I enjoy but feel is much more flawed than its predecessor, the franchised transitioned to the Action RPG genre, starting with ancient Egypt as its setting. Origins is an incredible game, but it also marked the beginning of a very clear change in these games. The fantasy was no longer about a stealthy, stylish, agile character that stalks the shadows and can defeat a group of people before they even notice. You could no longer climb buildings with precision and skill. You became a warrior, and the assassin fantasy was no more.
That’s why I needed to include this upcoming Assassin’s Creed: Mirage on Wishlist Wednesday. Even if I enjoyed Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla, they didn’t have what made me love the games. Mirage seems to be a return to that. You are Basim, a young thief in the dense, colorful streets of 9th-century Baghdad, and follow his journey as he becomes a master assassin in a journey of justice. It may be too soon to be this excited, considering we’ve only seen a cinematic trailer, but I feel there is reason to be hyped. Different mechanics have been described, such as a three-part progression system where you begin as a street thief, go on to become an apprentice assassin, and finally reach the master assassin level, with different traverse and combat skills, and more abilities for each; a dense, interactive city tailored to your needs for your missions; parkour inspired by Unity. The objective is clearly returning to the roots, yet it seems they are coming up with new interesting ideas to progress the formula they left behind many years ago.
To be honest, this won’t be the last time I’ll be talking about this franchise, either in this Wishlist Wednesday or outside of it. So, welcome aboard; wanna talk about Assassin’s Creed?