Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 – far from the only big name game out this autumn (Activision)
As 2024 approaches the halfway mark, GameCentral takes a look at the most important new games left for the rest of the year.
Up until a few weeks ago there was very little scheduled for release in the second half of this year, beyond the usual Call Of Duty and EA Sports FC sequels. Some of the recent summer showcases may have been disappointments, but the preview events from all three console manufacturers helped to fill out the release schedules, with a number of previously unannounced titles.
There’re still a few games we don’t know the dates for, such as Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, but it’s now unlikely that any major new games are going to be announced for release this year. In turn, that means we now have an all but complete picture of 2024’s biggest games.
In some cases, there’s surprisingly little information about the games, which makes it hard to know whether to be excited about them or not, but these are the most prominent releases for the second half of the year. There’s no way we can include everything though, especially when it comes to indie titles, so if one of your favourites is missing from the list let us know via the usual email address.
Thank Goodness You’re Here!
1st August – (PS4/NS/PS5/PC)
The most Northern game ever made looked amazing from the second it was announced, with its first trailer using Lily the Pink as its soundtrack. We’re still not entirely sure how it plays, but it seems to be a platform puzzler where you take on increasingly odd jobs in a cartoon Yorkshire town. Also, Matt Berry’s in it.
Black Myth: Wukong
20th August (PS5/PC)
It’s always a little worrying when a game becomes best known for its graphics but it’s hard not to be impressed by the trailers for this interactive take on the classic Chinese novel Journey To The West. How it’s going to be play is a different matter altogether, especially as the developer is something of an unknown quantity outside its home country.
Concord
23rd August – (PS5/PC)
Whether you’re looking forward to or fearing its arrival – and the effect it’s going to have on Sony’s future first party plans – Concord is undoubtedly one of the most important releases of the year. The initial reveal was extremely underwhelming but then nobody was looking forward to Helldivers 2 before it came out either…
Star Wars Outlaws
30th August – (XSX/PS5/PC)
Another game you would’ve thought the publisher would have gone out of their way to show off, and yet very little has been seen of it since it was announced last summer. The graphics look fantastic, and the scope seems impressive, but whether there’s any depth to the gameplay and story remains to be seen.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart Of Chornobyl
5th September – (XSX/PC)
Repeatedly delayed for very obvious reasons (the developer is Ukrainian), this mix of first person shooter and survival horror is arguably the most interesting Xbox exclusive this year. Not entirely dissimilar to the Metro 2023 series, but more open-ended and unpredictable, the physics engine alone looks very impressive.
Astro Bot
6th September – (PS5)
The closest thing Sony has to a big Christmas exclusive was the light in the darkness of their summer State of Play. Its cartoonish enthusiasm is positively infectious and while it’s a shame there don’t seem to be any VR options this could be the best 3D platformer ever, that Nintendo has had nothing to do with.
The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
26 September – (NS)
Speaking of Nintendo, their summer showcase had a much greater variety of interesting games, but this is arguably the most exciting thing they have planned for this year. It’s Zelda’s first proper starring role and features some wonderfully imaginative gameplay, involving the cloning of tables and monsters in order to save Hyrule.
Silent Hill 2
8th October – (PS5/PC)
Another game that’s been talked about a lot this year, but whose final quality remains up in the air. The last trailer looked better than the first few but there’s already been two dud Silent Hill games recently and it remains to be seen how well developer Bloober Team really understand the old PlayStation 2 classic.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
11th October – (PS4/XSX/PS5/PC)
New IP is always to be celebrated and this is one from the makers of Persona. It doesn’t seem to be straying too far from that template, especially as the combat is still turn-based, but the fantasy medieval setting should hopefully give it an identity of its own.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6
25th October – (XO/PS4/XSX/PS5/PC)
It’s easy to be cynical about the yearly Call Of Duty release but this one looks to be a significant improvement on Modern Warfare 3, even if that wouldn’t be too hard. Treyarch’s return to the Black Ops universe seems to be channelling the energy of the franchise’s golden era in the early 2010s and that can only be a good thing.
Life Is Strange: Double Exposure
29th October (XSX/PS5/PC)
One of the best surprises from the Xbox Games Showcase is the return of Max Caulfield, from the original Life Is Strange game. It seems to be following the continuity from the comics but considering the good work the developer has done on Before The Storm and True Colors there’s every reason to be optimistic here.
Mario & Luigi: Brothership
7th November – (NS)
The biggest surprise from the recent Nintendo Direct was a new entry in Paper Mario sister series Mario & Luigi, which most fans thought died along with original developer AlphaDream. It’s not clear who’s making this game but it definitely looks the part, with some fun looking turn-based combat.
Slitterhead
8th November – (PS4/XSX/PS5/PC)
Veterans of both Silent Hill and Forbidden Siren are working on this promising looking survival horror game, which will hopefully buck the recent trend of horror games being neither scary or gory. The visual designs seem appropriately disgusting, with what seems to be a strong influence from The Thing.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
15th November – (XSX/PS5/PC/Luna)
Although making historical figure Yasuke one of the playable characters is an interesting choice, it’s so far the only surprising thing about the latest entry in Ubisoft’s long-running franchise. But Assassin’s Creed success is built on predictability and this looks to be giving fans everything they could want from a Japanese adventure.
skate.
TBA – (XSX/PS5/PC)
EA has been unusually quiet about this game so far, especially since it’s been playtesting since 2022 and only a few small details have leaked out since then. Everything so far has been positive though, with the game clearly aimed at a hardcore skating audience first and foremost, which is unusual for a free-to-play EA game.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
TBA – (XSX/PS5/PC)
Any game without a release date is at an elevated risk of being delayed into next year but as far as anyone knows this sequel to the surprise hit historical role-player will be out this autumn. The graphics look incredible for what must be a modestly budgeted game and hopefully it’ll be less prone to bugs than the original.
Indiana Jones And The Great Circle
TBA – (XSX/PS5)
We’re big fans of developer MachineGames and their work on the modern Wolfenstein game, so we hope the success of this game isn’t going to be affected by the (understandably) lukewarm reception to the last film. It does look very promising though, even if the first person perspective is a surprising choice.
The Plucky Squire
TBA – (NS/XSX/PS5/PC)
A game so inventive and clever you’d swear Nintendo themselves made it, this charming indie game may well have the best visuals of the year, with its clever mix of 2D and 3D graphics and gameplay. It’s another one where we wouldn’t be surprised if it was delayed till next year, but we really hope not.
Avowed
TBA – (XSX/PC)
A new role-playing game from Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars Of Eternity developer Obsidian should be something to be excited about, but Microsoft has shown so little of the game so far it’s hard to know what to make of it, but hopefully Obsidian’s pedigree will ensure an interesting new adventure.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
TBA – (XSX/PS5/PC)
After years of silence, it’s still hard to believe this is out this year, even if it doesn’t yet have a release date. Despite an off-putting reveal trailer the subsequent gameplay footage for BioWare’s fantasy role-playing sequel looks like exactly what fans have been hoping for, and hopefully it’ll be a return to form for both them and the franchise.
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