2024 Summer Games Previews

Like many others, I’ve spent the past few weeks paying a fraction of my attention to all the video game previews from Kind-of-E3-but-Kind-of-Not. And while the majority of those previews fell into either the "not for me” or “looks good on paper, but I’m going to need some proof” categories. But a few surprises got me excited, and here they are.

Astro Bot: Every PS5 comes with a free game: Astro’s Playroom. It is a delightful 3D platformer with little robots and almost Nintendo-levels of color and imagination. Now, the caped robot is getting a full-sized game and I’m pretty pumped.

Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom: The Zelda franchise has been around for about 38 years. And finally, Nintendo’s like, “what if Zelda… were the star of Zelda?” But hey, I’m excited. This one looks like a puzzle adventure. Well, it looks like a wonderful little cartoon that will play like a puzzle adventure, and that’s good enough for me.

Mario and Luigi Brothership: My first Mario RPG was Mario and Luigi Partners in Time for the Nintendo DS, a game where you played as Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi. It was REAL weird. This one looks real weird, too. Bring it on.

Life is Strange Double Exposure: The original Life is Strange was a great, stylish Sci-Fi/coming-of-age story. This is the first direct sequel to protagonist Max Caulfield’s story. Here’s hoping they do it justice.

Unbeatable: And last but not least, my wild card. This is the only game on my list that isn’t a part of an existing franchise. It’s a rhythm game, which is usually outside of my wheelhouse, but it’s also advertised as a “game where music is illegal and you do crimes,” so I’m back in. And just look at it. Don’t let me down, Unbeatable.