Missing in Action Video Games–The PlayStation Edition

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I hate to do this, but I’m going to have to call out one of my favorite YouTube channels, Eurogamer. I generally find the Eurogamer’s video game coverage, especially on their YouTube channel to be very fair and mostly unbiased. They have a love for all the systems and (generally speaking) don’t play favorites, although it often appears that PC is their platform of choice (and while not appearing on the channel a lot, I can tell the the Switch is near and dear to most of the team). However, what actually gets the views are the Playstation and X-Box games even though they generally are considered second-fiddle to the PC & Switch (Switch, while popular, doesn’t really seem to get the same level of views as PCs, Playstation, and X-Box.)

However, in one of their latest videos (of this writing), they focused on games that have been missing in action for a while. That’s not what got my dander up–it is good to point out games that have been announced, but not actually released, especially when that goes over the normal 2-3 year development cycle for most games. No, my problem is that Eurogamer chose games that were either X-Box/PC specific and completely left out several, super interesting games from the Playstation side. There is at least one game for the Playstation that have been missing in action for the ENTIRE 7 year life-cycle of the Playstation 4 and yet it didn’t receive a mention. Two games that are then ENTIRE reason that Microsoft (aka Micro$oft) bought Zenimax (the parent company of Bethesda, the game publisher) are EACH ON THE FREAKING LIST, taking up two slots. To imply these two games are “missing in action” is disingenuous at the least, and (if I’m not in a gracious mood), more of a marketing move than anything else. These two games ARE COMING OUT and they are coming out for the X-Box. Microsoft/Micro$oft bought the company for these two games! There is NO WAY that Microsoft/Micro$oft would have purchased this company had those two games been in distress.

So, this is my attempt to correct the imbalance and discuss some very intriguing games on the Playstation side that should have made the list and we, as customers, should inquire about at every opportunity.

Deep Down (2013, Capcom)

Yup, that’s right. This one is in the announcement stream for the Playstation 4, a full seven years ago. Now, normally when you don’t hear about a game for this long, it generally means it has been cancelled along the way. However, the last time the creator spoke about it, he specifically said that it wasn’t cancelled. I don’t believe there’s been any significant information since that last interview, but here we are–in the giddy honeymoon period for the Playstation 5 seven years later, and a game that was announced for the previous generation of game consoles STILL hasn’t been released. And this one wasn’t worthy of finding out more information on, but Elder Scrolls 6 was, even though E.S. 5 was ported to every major (and minor) system since its release (with the running joke that if Bethesda could find a way to port it to your refrigerator, they would).

Below is the trailer for the game, but in essence, it is a medieval role playing game that had some insanely impressive graphics (especially for 2013), but which still hold up decently well with 2019/2020 games. I’m not sure that it will hold up in 2-3 years time, so if Capcom does have plans of releasing this game, I would hope they do it fairly soon because, to me, in about 2-3 years graphics will have probably surpassed the innovations in the trailer and the game will need a graphical overhaul (which means more time and expense) for a game that is already 7 years late.

Deep Down YouTube Video



Biomutant (2017, Experiment 101)

This one is a particular “bug-a-boo” of mine. This game was shown off in 2017 and really seemed like a game right up my alley. I kept my eye on it and the preview coverage gave the impression that it was far along in development and that it would only be approximately another year/year and a half of normal development time before it would be released (generally games get preview coverage at the 1-2 year mark.) Sometimes, if development is particularly fraught, it often slips to 2.5 to 3 years after the game as been initially shown to the public for the first time. However, this has been (for the most part–especially where Sony is concerned–become less frequent due to fan backlash).

This game is post-apocalyptic game that takes a squirrel-like creature and pits it against the many different creatures to survive in this new post-apocalyptic world. Biomutant features an open world and a “kung-fu” weapon-based combat (martial arts and guns). I thought this one looked awesome and kept an eye on it as time passed and passed . . . and passed. And here here we are in 2020 and about to go into 2021, and so far, no Biomutant. This one has actually a bit of an update as the developers released a trailer (3rd, 4th, 5th) for the game in the middle of the year with a cheeky update that said the release date would be “when it’s ready.” Now, normally I don’t mind that sentiment as I would prefer a well made game rather than a rushed release (Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem I’m looking at you). However, I don’t believe that the developer should have shown their game that early–as it was an extensive gameplay demonstration. See for yourself and judge if what they showed looked like a polished game that was only a year or so out from release:

BioMutant YouTube Video



Project Awakening (2018, Cygames)

So, this is the game that I really thought that Eurogamer was going to cover in their video as this game caught the attention of the gaming public (although most of its thunder was undercut by Elden Ring–a game in the over-popular Souls-Born series that includes a collaboration with George R. R. Martin which is enough to make games media and gamers alike salivate.) However, for the brief time before the ER trailer was released, Project Awakening garnered massive amounts of attention and generated massive amounts of hype. This game is one that really resonated with many gamers–me included, especially after the success of Monster Hunter World.

Basically, this game’s video (linked below) puts me in my of a cross between Elden Ring and Monster Hunter World. However, it is the animation and textures that really set off this particular project and makes me think that it really could be an awesome game. However, like all trailers, I’m aware that it is something that is a project that is in-progress, but the idea of playing a fantasy warrior going up against fantasy monsters (without the “dark world”/”grim dark” that the Souls-Born games fall into).

Project Awakening YouTube Video



Final Thoughts

So, to be clear–these are not the only games out there that have been announced, but have gone MIA. These are just 3 that I’m interested in and want to know more about — I don’t need the entire development cycle, but having periodic updates would be nice (even a yearly/bi-yearly update would be helpful). I wanted to point these out as Eurogamer should have featured these three games in their roundup. Elden Ring, Starfield, and Elder Scrolls 6 aren’t really “M.I.A.” games (instead they are just games with popularity and internet cachet.) The latter 2 will eventually come out (and will have a sizable coverage on Microsoft’s/Micro$oft’s stage–as probably will Elden Ring knowing Micro$oft’s penchant for having “the MOST POPULAR” game series on their systems — the same Halo/Gears of War strategy that they’ve been using since the late Xbox/early Xbox 360 era). I had hoped that we would hear more about these games that I discussed earlier in this post during the 2020 Video Game Awards, but that wasn’t the case. Hopefully, in the upcoming year, we’ll get an update on all 3 of these games as I feel like each one has significant potential (especially over the hype-generating games that were originally covered the Eurogamer article).

Until next time!

Sidney

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