Which is just under a year from when it was originally meant to launch. Well at least Microsoft has all the indie games to keep their fans satisfied.

Facial animation technology captures every nuance of a performance, worlds look real enough to live in, and ray tracing is resulting in the lighting that gives life to these environments looking better than the real deal. There’s going to come a time when video games are indistinguishable from reality, and Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick believes that it’ll only be a mere decade to reach photorealistic visuals within video games.

After eight years of waiting, Cyberpunk 2077 is finally out this week, 57 years ahead of schedule. Reviews have been mostly positive, praising the game’s bleak nature and incredible RPG mechanics while also taking note of its many, many bugs, but there’s a good time to be had. And a possible seizure procedure waiting in the wings as well.

Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is fascinating from a nostalgic point of view, but it’s arguably more valuable as a reminder of just how good current Fire Emblem currently is.

Like any RPG starring nigh-unkillable zombie super-soldiers who protect a giant golf ball in the sky, Destiny 2 is all about power and the grind to increase your status in a hostile universe. Now that Beyond Light has kicked off and I’ve spent actual cash on its Season of the Hunt golden ticket so that I can unlock some bitchin’ gear, I’ve got a daily routine of grabbing bounties, heading to my favourite lost sectors and mowing down enemies in pursuit of that locked loot.

2020 was a strong year for story-focused games but before we celebrate the best of the best, let’s cover those honourable mentions…

Tis the season…to celebrate video games! It has been a monumental year for gaming, and even though the vastly superior (and infinitely cheaper to produce) Critical Hit Game Awards are in full swing, I’ll give some credit to that Geoff Keighley fella who puts on an alright show every year. Even if he does steal all my guests who I invite to the Crit awards. I mean my mom even made Bovril sammiches with the crusts sliced off this year, but no one rocked up.

Eight years, plenty of hype, and one breathtaking Keanu Reeves moment later, Cyberpunk 2077 is officially here. The entire situation regarding early reviews has been an odd one. Only a handful of outlets and influencers got their hands on code early enough to allow them to dedicate a chunky portion of time to playing the game, with other sites and reviewers receiving their code this week.