This has been the most disappointing console generation I’ve experienced. Sure, I’ve had fun playing games like Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart… but those experiences have been few and far between. For the most part, the new games for the PS5 and Xbox Series X have consisted of remakes, cross-generation titles, and indies. If you’re into that then you’ve eaten well. Unfortunately, those of us into brand-new “AAA” exclusives have been starving for the better part of three years.F
Thankfully, we’ll soon have a feast of blockbuster titles to gorge on.
As we saw during the recent Xbox Showcase, we’re due to receive a slew of big-name games in the coming months. And the best part is that almost all will be exclusive to the PS5 and Xbox Series X. We're about done with cross-gen titles also available on PS4 and Xbox One. Delays may happen, but if we get even a quarter of the titles announced for late 2023 and 2024, I’ll be one happy camper.
While I’m not glad it’s taken so long for current-gen systems to finally receive titles that take advantage of their hardware, I’m grateful we’ll soon have more games than we know what to do with. Here’s why I’m finally excited about this console generation.
2023: The year the console generation truly started
I’m looking forward to 2024’s game releases but 2023 has already had a handful of awesome titles I’ve enjoyed. The rest of the year is promising as well. As things stand, it’s the best year of this current console generation. I'll go a step further and say 2023 is the real start of this console generation.
Street Fighter 6 is my favorite game of 2023 right now. Not only does it have all the classic modes you’d expect in a Street Fighter game, but its new World Tour mode is brilliant. Going through a story mode with a character I create where I get to engage in legit street fights is more fun than I expected. As I said in my Street Fighter 6 review, World Tour mode is the closest we’ll get to a 3D Final Fight revival.
Though it’s not perfect, I enjoyed Star Wars: Jedi Survivor quite a lot. Like the first game, it did an excellent job of drawing me into the Star Wars universe thanks to its meticulous level design and engaging characters. I still think the first game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is better overall, but Jedi Survivor is pretty solid — especially on PS5.
And the year isn’t over yet. Final Fantasy XVI arrives on June 22, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Mortal Kombat 1, Starfield and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty all release this fall. I expect all of these games to eat up most of my free time — and I couldn’t be more hyped. 2023 had a good start but it will have a stronger finish.
2024 will be insane for gaming
The Xbox Showcase gave us the best glimpse of what to expect in 2024. Though this was an Xbox event, most of the titles shown are also coming to PS5 (and PC, naturally). Compared to the disappointing PlayStation Showcase that streamed a couple of weeks ago, the Xbox Showcase was stellar. In fact, it rekindled my enthusiasm for gaming after I thought I was losing my passion for the hobby. Good games fix all woes!
So what am I excited to play in 2024? Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is my most anticipated game since it’s the long-awaited sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake released in 2020. That previous game mostly stuck to the core story of the original from 1997 but took a huge unexpected turn during its climax. Because of that, I have no idea what to expect in Rebirth — which is exciting. I’m sure some won’t appreciate whatever divergences we see from the original story, but I’m here for it.
Another game I’m eager to play is one I wasn’t expecting to see anytime soon — Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. The previous title, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, was one of the best experiences I had with a game this generation and I expect the sequel to be just as enjoyable. This entry is set in Hawaii instead of Tokyo so it will be fun seeing protagonist Ichiban Kusaga interacting with Americans.
Ubisoft’s Star Wars: Outlaws should be a massive hit in 2024. We don’t know a lot about this title, but Ubisoft had me at an open-world Star Wars game. As its name suggests, you’ll play as an outlaw and no doubt get into all sorts of trouble across a variety of planets. I’m curious to see how expansive each world is and how they’ll differ from one another. And since Star Wars: Outlaws is only for current-gen systems, I expect Ubisoft to take full advantage of these consoles’ respective hardware.
The last game I want to spotlight is Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. Ninja Theory is one of my all-time favorite developers, with fantastic games like Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, DmC: Devil May Cry, and of course, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. The latter was an indie game with AAA production values so I can’t wait to see how big the sequel is now that Microsoft owns the studio. Hellblade 2 could be Xbox’s answer to God of War… which would be killer.
Outlook: Looking good!
I didn’t list all my anticipated titles, but the ones I talked about above should give you a good idea of why I’m finally excited about this console generation. I’m sure there will be some games that’ll come as a complete surprise as well. It feels great to be optimistic about gaming again, which is something I haven’t felt in a while.
As things stand, I can rest easier knowing my PS5, PC and Steam Deck will get a good workout in the coming months with all the games I plan to play on them. My patience has paid off and I can’t wait to see what other titles release this generation.
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