Metro 2033

After reading Metro 2033 (Метро 2033) by Dmitry Glukhovsky, it should come as no surprise that it has a video game adaptation. The novel's post-apocalyptic world is practically created for it: the remnants of Moscow's population surviving in the city's Metro network, away from the surface's post-war toxicity and other -- sometimes supernatural -- dangers that tend to seep into the underground too. Of course, the dark Metro also holds the usual hell: other people.

Redfall

At the end of my Dishonored: Death of the Outsider post 4 years ago, I was speculating the direction Arkane Studios would be going. Arkane Lyon's Deathloop was still an unknown at that time and I was afraid that it would be some easy-to-monetize multiplayer cash grab. While that game turned out to have a player-invasion mechanic, it is still very much a singleplayer title. Deathloop had been in development way before Prey's sales were realized; it probably wasn't pressured by the latter's reception. Instead, I should have been worried about the next title from Arkane Austin. I wonder if Arkane's parent company Zenimax Media had laid down the terms after Prey: the next title would need to make more money -- all the money. Raphaël Colantonio probably said no thanks and peaced out to found Wolfeye Studios (he also worked briefly on Ken Levine's upcoming Judas) and Harvey Smith came from Lyon to take control of Austin's reins.

Everspace 2

Everspace 2 (or EVERSPACE 2 as it's stylized) was on my list of most anticipated game releases of this year. I loved the first game: space combat is not a genre I usually play nor like but Everspace was a big exception. And so I hoped this second one would be more of that. Many rejoiced when Rockfish Games decided to abandon the roguelike structure of the first game and make this sequel to have the more usual static locations. I wasn't so sure that would be for the better, and as it turned out, it and other design decisions resulted in Everspace 2 being a stretched and tedious, 100-hour treasure hunt for a completionist like me.