IGN Summer of Gaming 2022 – Games I’m Excited For

I can’t believe we don’t have E3 this year but instead we have IGN Summer of Gaming, which has been just as good in all honesty! Since me and Dane have been together we’ve always tried to catch E3 every year to check out the newest games coming out on consoles and PC and the more years we’ve been together, the more invested we have been with E3. This year with it being taken over by IGN and the Summer of Gaming, everyday since Wednesday 1st June has been jam packed with game news, which has been amazing!

Last year I shared with you all games I was excited for after E3 2021 (which you can read here), so I thought I’d do it all over again this year… Because why not! I hope some of the games I share with you today are ones you’ve not yet heard about and end up liking the sound of getting yourselves.

At the time of writing this post, there hasn’t been a Nintendo Direct, which is making me sad. I think there’s been rumours of one coming later this month, but we shall see! I’m going to be mainly talking about and sharing games from Wholesome Direct, as well as Xbox & Bethesda, as they were two of my favourites this year.

So, sit back grab a hot drink and enjoy this weeks blog post! 😀

When Wholesome Games host their direct, it fast becomes one of my favourite time of year as majority of the games that are announced find their way onto my Steam and Nintendo Switch wish lists very quickly. I love wholesome games where you can sit down and play a relaxing game after a stressful day. I’ve discovered some amazing games the past two years since they started up and I really love them for that. I’ll try not to go into too much detail about all the games below as there’s quite a few to talk about… Twelve in total! 😛

Little Bear Chef – Release date TBH, on Steam and possibility on games consoles.

A game where you play as a tiny bear chef in a regular sized kitchen. Little Bear Chef is a cosy 3D cooking platformer where you play as a tiny bear chef in a regular sized kitchen. It’s all about coming up with creative and funny solutions to cook the recipe at hand.

Little Bear Chef looks adorable and one that I reckon would be so much fun to play! I love cooking and the little honey bottle inspired bear looks adorable to boot! I was hopeful this might be a multiplayer game, but the creators have stated there’s no plan for this in the future. There isn’t a lot I can really say about this right now as there’s no release date and no website either, just a Twitter page. Keep eyes peeled for this one, I reckon it’ll do really well!

LumberJack – Out now on Steam, Nintendo Switch and Xbox.

Jack is a humble Lumbearjack with a simple dream: to return to nature what is hers with the help of his trusty axe and his animal friends. Through real-time physics puzzles, fight destruction with destruction to thwart the sinister plans of up-and-coming industrial giant Evil Works.

I saw the trailer for this and thought it looks really interesting with the smash up style, but not going to lie, I didn’t quite realise it was a puzzles based game, which let me add I’m not the best at sometimes. This game is out now, so if I ever fancy giving something new a go and it’s on sale, I’ll definitely think about picking this up!

Usagi Shima – 2023 on iOS, Android and Steam.

You’ve been tasked as caretaker of an abandoned island — as you decorate and rebuild it over time, curious (but adorable!) visitors start to appear… Buy toys and and build structures on an abandoned island to entice curious bun tourists to pay you a visit! Discover, take photos, and even befriend a variety of bunnies that visit based on how you’ve decorated and arranged the island.

This game is RIGHT UP MY STREET and looks adorable! I got a quick glimpse of this on the preview at the start of the Wholesome Direct and was curious what it could be! This would be great as a mobile game as I can play it on the go and during lunch breaks at work. I honestly cannot wait for this game, it reminds me a little of Animal Crossing. 😀

Puffpalls: Island Skies – 2024 on PC, mobile, MAC and Nintendo Switch.

PuffPals: Island Skies is a game about eliciting the nostalgic memories of growing up as a kid; exploring the world and discovering everything for the very first time! From traversing new biomes, meeting new friends, and customizing your very own home, there is no shortage of things to do on these magical floating islands! The cozy, warm, yet adventurous and curious nature of being a kid is something we want our players to embrace when embarking on their journey in PuffPals: Island Skies!

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it on my blog yet, but I actually backed this game on Kickstarter about a month ago now and I’m so excited for it! It was awesome to see it advertised on the Wholesome Direct, but not going to lie, I don’t think they needed to advertise it anymore. The adverts were EVERYWHERE recently with the Kickstarter being live. This being said, I am excited for it. It’s pretty much like Animal Crossing but a little bit different and with Fluffnest‘s original characters. I highly recommend checking it out if you love Animal Crossing.

Fall of Porcupine – Release date TBH on Steam.

FALL OF PORCUPINE is a unique story adventure. The collision of work and daily life – an exciting reflection of an unhealthy healthcare-system.

I wasn’t 100% sure about this game at first but since the Wholesome Direct, I’ve watched the trailer quite a few times and really do like the sound of it. Plus the art style of it looks really cute! I’m definitely going to pick this one up at some point.

Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly – 2023 on Steam and games consoles.

Dust off your coffee machine and prepare your warmest smile to meet your customers again in the second episode of the much loved coffee brewing and heart-to-heart talking simulator; Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly.

I remember buying Coffee Talk not long after I picked up my Nintendo Switch Lite back in 2019 and I really did enjoy the game, but I forgot to download it onto my Switch, so I’m only just continuing the story since the Wholesome Direct last week! I really love playing Coffee Talk, it’s a relaxing game of talking to your customers in the coffee shop and making them drinks. Nothing much to it other than that! The fact they are bringing a second game out, I must get it! Especially with the slight mystery behind the new characters revealed in the trailer too. 😀

Pekoe – 2023 on Steam. 

Blend tea and friendship in the flavourful world of Pekoe, a cosy cat-filled tea-making simulator about taking the time for self-care and connecting with what makes you happy. Build relationships, upgrade your teahouse, and discover new recipes as you work towards creating a place you can call home.

Pekoe was announced last year at the Wholesome Direct for 2021, which I mentioned at the end of last years blog post all about E3. I’m so excited to see this coming back for the Wholesome Direct this year and especially as it’s now come with more game footage too! Pekoe is such a cute little game about running a cat teahouse, whilst building a home for yourself and making friends. Perfect game for relaxing to.

Snacko – Out 2022 on both Steam, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 and 5.

Former big city kitties Momo and Mikan are starting a new life on a seemingly deserted island. Unravel its mysteries while you rebuild a community, farm, fish, and explore the island and beyond! Lift a curse and revitalized a ruined island in Snacko, where former big city kitties Momo and Mikan are starting a new life! Grow crops, raise fluffy cows, go fishing, exploring, customize and decorate as you please, and much, much more in this farming cat-venture.

This is actually a game I backed on Kickstarter a while ago now and whenever I hear news about it in anyway shape and form, I get so excited about it! I’m also part of the Discord so I’m constantly hearing updates form the developers. Snacko reminds me of Animal Crossing but with cats! I’m definitely swaying towards getting my copy on the Nintendo Switch, I love playing PC games, sure, but I love how easy it is to move around to play you Switch. I’m literally counting down the days now for Snacko to announce when this will release!

Super Mini Mart – Release date TBH on Steam.

Super Mini Mart is a cosy take on the management genre with a charming 3D aesthetic and an endearing cast of characters. Stock, supervise, and manage store activities in a laid-back environment, befriending locals and turning those one-off bargain hunters into life-long loyal customers!

I love games like this one so when I saw the trailer for it at the end of the Wholesome Direct, I knew I’d want to get it! I used to work in retail and I’d never go back to it, but alas I’m happy to play a game all about looking after a shop. Ironic, huh? 😛 I hope this comes out on Nintendo Switch too, as I’d really love to give it a go on there rather than Steam.

Love, Ghostie – Release date TBH on Steam.

Be a wholesome ghost matchmaker and grow relationships between the mansion’s residents! Gift items to brighten their lives, set them up on dates, and watch their love bloom! What romances will you create?

This game is adorable and one I may not pick up straight away, but maybe when it’s on offer or I fancy something new to play? I love kawaii ghosts and that’s exactly what these ghosts are! You need to match match people up in a house and become a ghost cupid!

Bloom – Out now on Playdate.

Bloom is a real-time narrative-driven social sim about starting up a flower shop made exclusively for Playdate. Tend to Midori’s garden while texting friends and family as she starts a new chapter of her life. The game takes place over many real-life days.

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen the trailer for Bloom and it semi breaks my heart. I really love the look of this game, but unfortunately it’s currently only available to buy and play on Playdate, a new handheld console. Set in Japan you play as a young woman who has moved to create her own flower shop. It just looks like such a cute game, I’d honestly look at buying a Playdate to play this!

Now that I’ve mentioned the games I liked from the Wholesome Direct, I’m going to talk about Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase. This was one Dane watched before me but we spoke about it as I watched it. It was a good showcase to say the least, much better than PlayStation/Sony, let me put it that way… I’ll be talking about five games in total!

Redfall – 2023 on PC and Xbox.

The quaint island town of Redfall, Massachusetts, is under siege by a legion of vampires who have blocked out the sun and cut the island off from the outside world. Trapped with a handful of survivors against diabolical enemies threatening to bleed the town dry, choose your hero from a diverse roster, grouping up with others to create the perfect team of vampire slayers.

This was the first game to be shown during the showcase and I really liked the look of it from the get go. It reminds me of a mixture of Borderlands and Left 4 Dead, which are both two of my favourite games to play with Dane and friends! Not only is this a co-op game, but it’s also open world, both sound like so much fun! This isn’t due to come out until 2023, but as it’ll be on Xbox Game Pass, both me and Dane will get this for “free” from day one to play together!

ARK 2 – 2023 on PC and Xbox.

Starring Vin Diesel (Fast Franchise) as Santiago and Auli’i Cravalho (Moana) as his daughter Meeka. Survive the past. Tame the future. Awakened on a primal world filled with dinosaurs & humans struggling for dominance, you must team-up with legendary heroes to confront dark forces. Saddle up, & join the definitive next-gen survival experience with ARK 2!

During Covid, me Dane and some friends decided to start playing ARK and we played it for months! It was so much fun to jump on and play altogether each evening and it’s something I do miss. We’re all excited for ARK 2 to come out and as it’s on Xbox Games Pass, I’m pretty sure we’ll all download it to play all over again, but this time it looks like we’ll have a story to play with it too!

As Dusk Falls – July 19th 2022 on PC and Xbox

As Dusk Falls is an original interactive drama. Join friends or play alone, making choices that impact characters’ lives in this uncompromising story of betrayal, sacrifice, and resilience.

I love these types of games and always give them a go at some point or another! I’d love to play this with Dane as you can play with friends! It reminds me a little bit of a mixture between Life is Strange and one of the Quantic Dream games. It was commented on that it was made like a UK drama? I don’t personally see that, but I may when I play it myself? This will also be on Xbox Games Pass, so I’ll try it out for sure.

Diablo IV – 2023 on Xbox and PlayStation 5.

The endless battle between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells rages on as chaos threatens to consume Sanctuary. With ceaseless demons to slaughter, countless Abilities to master, nightmarish Dungeons, and Legendary loot, this vast, open world brings the promise of adventure and devastation. Survive and conquer darkness – or succumb to the shadows.

As Dane is a huge Diablo fan, I knew he would want this game and that I would be “dragged” in to play it with him, which is fine. I started to watch the cinematic trailer and didn’t realise it was Diablo IV at the time, so when it announced it was, I KNEW I would want to play it! I really love the necromancer class, it looks so badass and awesome! I think me and Dane are playing to try and binge play the other Diablo games before this one comes out.

Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden – 2023 on PC and Xbox.

When I heard about this I was super excited! As regular readers of my blog will know, I LOVE Persona 5 and I’m currently on and off playing Persona 5 Royal. I do also own Persona 4 Golden, but I’ve gotten stuck and plan to reply at some point on Steam. However, with Persona 4 Golden AND Persona 3 Portable coming to Xbox Games Pass, I’ll be playing them both on Xbox in the future for sure! The latter was only available on PlayStation Vita and I wasn’t able to get a copy, so this makes me so happy! Of course, I would have loved these to come to PlayStation, but meh.

Finally I want to share a couple of other games I’ve heard about! I’ll mention when talking about each of these where they were announced. 🙂

Super Zoo Story – 2023 on Steam.

Build and manage your own personal zoo in the pixel marvel RPG Game, Super Zoo Story. Construct your park, care for your animals, and ensure the happiness of both critters and humans alike. Maybe even find that special someone while building the zoo of your dreams!

Dane actually showed me this game which I really like the look of! It’s apparently heavily inspired by Stardew Valley, which I’m not a massive fan of… Purely because I just don’t get the hype around it, which in turn surprises everyone. This being said I really love the look of Super Zoo Story and I discovered whilst researching for this post that it’s got a Kickstarter coming soon, which I’ll link here. Make sure to go and check it out if you love building/managing games. I really hope this will come out on Switch, but Steam is fine too. 😀

Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet – November 18th on Nintendo Switch.

Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet offer an open-world experience that only the Pokémon series can deliver—one welcoming even to newcomers to the series.​ You can experience a new style of adventure, with a world that you’re free to explore at your leisure and not in an order dictated by the story. You will, of course, journey to hone your skills as a Pokémon Trainer, but many more discoveries and stories await you. Meet a variety of people and Pokémon, and adventure in the world of Pokémon the way you want to.

OBVIOUSLY I have to share Pokemon announcements here! I know I mentioned a while ago on here about how excited I am for the new Pokemon game, Scarlet and Violet and I already have both pre-ordered with Gamersheek for me and Dane. They’ve announced more details about the game, which, if you’re a Pokemon fan you’ll have seen already I’m sure. 😛 I’m really excited for it and contemplating booking the day off work so I can just play it as soon as it arrives! 😛 I need to talk to Dane about whether or not he fancies us booking off the day to binge play this gen like we did with the last gen. At the time of writing this post there are supposedly leaks from the new games… I’m going to have a nose into those later. I’m never fussed about seeing leaks myself, if anything it gets me more hyped for the game. xD

Roots of Pacha – 2022 on Steam.

Roots of Pacha allows you to build, harvest crops, make friends with animals and help grow your village in single-player or co-op mode. This trailer for Roots of Pacha gameplay shows off some new elements you can experience while playing.

Another game similar sounding to Super Zoo Story, we have Roots of Pacha which looks like such a chill and cool game to play! I especially love that this has co-op mode so it means me and Dane can play together if we wanted to! I’m going to look into this sooner rather than later as this looks to be launching sooner rather than later. I didn’t know that this was a Kickstarter game until researching for this post too.

Choo-Choo Charles – 2022 on Steam.

Choo-Choo Charles is a survival horror, open world, shooter game. Navigate an island in an old train, upgrade it over time, and use it to fight an evil sentient train that terrorizes your home. Charles is hungry; don’t be his next meal.

This is actually one of the first games I saw to be announced from the IGN Summer of Gaming and it’s one I’m not 100% sure about. The concept of it sounds fucking hilarious and one I’d love to try, but at the same time it sounds so scary and I don’t know if I’d like it? I think Dane was interested in this game too, so if there’s a chance to play co-op I can see us both playing this at some point for shits and giggles!

So, there we have it guys, all the games (so far anyway…) that I’ve really loved the look of from IGN Summer of Gaming!

What games have taken your fancy so far? Have you discovered any new ones from this blog post today? Make sure to let me know in the comments below! I’m especially excited for a lot of new games to add to my library!

Until next time guys, take care and I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Games I’m Loving This Month

This is a post I’ve been so excited to share with you guys this month. It’s all about games, which you guys know I love. 😛

November is a month where LOADS of games (including updates and DLC too) have been released that I’ve been looking forward to for years/months/weeks, so I thought it would be awesome to share them all with you. Some of these games you may have heard about, whereas some you may not have due to them being indie/by small developers.

I hope you enjoy this weeks post, I know I’ve really enjoyed talking about the games and sharing them all with you. I’ll be sharing them in order of their release!

Unpacking – 2nd November 2021

Available on Steam, Xbox and and Nintendo Switch.

I can’t 100% remember when I heard about Unpacking coming out, but from memory I have a feeling it was during E3 2021 (mid June) through the Wholesome Games stream/community on YouTube.

Unpacking is a relaxing game all about… Well… Unpacking! You’re unpacking someone’s life out of boxes through various stages of their life, from child/teenager, student, adult, etc. You unpack their items and place them around their room/house until everything is away in its rightful place. It’s incredibly relaxing game and I spent most of launch day playing it. It’s not a game you feel you need to rush through and can pick it up and take your time. You don’t ever find out what the person looks like (not 100% anyway), nor their name, anything about their family and more. You get snippets into their life through unpacking their items, which is something I really loved. It was nice to try and put together your assumptions of their life, what has happened and more. I would go more into my thoughts story wise, but it could spoil the game for others.

Alongside the accomplishment of popping away all the belongings, you do also earn stickers for placing items in certain ways and places, which I love! I need to go back to the game again soon to replay through the levels to earn all of the stickers, as well as maybe change things up? Honestly, this game is incredibly therapeutic and I can really see it helping with my anxiety when I just need to zone out for a while.

To The Rescue! – 2nd November 2021

Available on Steam and Nintendo Switch in 2022.

This is a game I discovered one afternoon whilst browsing through Kickstarter back in August/September 2019. I cannot believe over two years have passed and the game is now out, and let me tell you, it was worth the wait for sure! To The Rescue! is a dog shelter simulator game, where you run a dog shelter, helping dogs to get fostered/adopted, all whilst looking after the at the same time. You can hire people to help you, run charity events to get funds for the shelter, as well as encourage people to come and view dogs to adopt. That’s the main part of the game really, getting the dogs happy enough to be adopted and prevent any euthanasia. This game is very realistic about that fact, you can turn off the euthanasia however if you don’t wish to have that theme in your game. I know I have.

I’ve only played the game once so far and that was the date it launched. On day one of the game coming out there were quite a few bugs, so I’ve decided to wait playing anymore since until a lot of the bugs have been fixed, which they sound like they have from release notes. So, I’ll be picking it up again at some point soon.

One thing I want to comment on so far with playing this game is, the story mode is fucking hard! It’s very stressful and takes away the nice, happy vibes that game shows and comes with. Dane is really good at games and even he commented how hard the story mode is. However, the (sandbox) mode is a lot nicer and you feel like you have a lot more control over what you can do with your shelter, and more. I do need to play some more of this game however as this could have changed since the last time I played the game.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Update – 4th/5th November 2021

After the Animal Crossing Direct aired in October, I was ecstatic. I’d not felt so happy and excited about anything for a while and alongside that, a massive part of the community I love were all excited for the update too! Everyone was in good spirits, sharing what they were excited for the most and even some people restarting their islands! I couldn’t do that, I love my island and villagers too much. :’)

Anyhoo, the update came out a day early by mistake! I’d booked the week off anyway before the direct had even aired, so I was READY for the update! Dane woke me up around 6am on the 4th to say, “Nat… The Animal Crossing update is out a day early…” I shot up, updated the game, grabbed us breakfast and a coffee and we spent most of the morning/early afternoon in bed playing the update. It was amazing to sit with Dane and cuddle as we both discovered the updates in the game. Poor Dane, he went on an island trip with Kapp’n before speaking to Blathers, so missed out on seeing Brewster… 😛

I’ve been playing Animal Crossing almost daily since the update came out and have really been loving all the things you can do now. I especially love going on the island trips, as well as grabbing my daily coffee (or two) in The Roost and getting gifts for doing just that! I recently gifted Cookie a takeaway coffee after unlocking it and she carries it around with her every now and then. It’s so precious!

One thing however that DOES disappoint me with The Roost is how you can’t help Brewster anymore like you could back in New Leaf. It was my favourite part of the day (especially as I WAS a barista at the time) when visiting my town and it’s such a shame that’s now gone. I’d like to hope it’ll come back in the future, but I don’t think it’s going to happen, unfortunately. I know quite a few people who were gutted this previous feature has been removed… Maybe if we all moan about it enough, Nintendo might bring it back 😛 Who knows!

Aside from that, I am loving the update. With Pokemon coming out, I may end up playing Animal Crossing a little less, but not too much. I’m really enjoying playing it and will be sad when the time comes where I won’t be playing it as much again.

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise – 5th November 2021

I’m not going to lie, Happy Home Paradise has been out for two weeks now and admittedly, I’ve only played it twice.. Shameful, I know. As my mental health hasn’t been too great since the release of the Animal Crossing update and DLC, I’ve not really been in the mood to play the DLC after the main game. This being said, when I have played it I’ve enjoyed it so much. It’s relaxing to put together villagers paradise homes, as well as see their cute interactions on the beach before and after you create their perfect paradise homes!

On the day it came out me and Dane sat together playing it and compared the homes we’d put together, which I really loved. It was nice comparing what we’d done, who we had on our beaches and more. At one point Willow (sheep villagers) turned up on Dane’s beach and he kept commenting how cute she is, which warmed my heart. Now I’m on the hunt for her amiibo card. 😛

The DLC has brought a lot more to the game than just the usual island life, which I love. I remember back in 2015 when Happy Home Designer came out. I was so hyped for it, but the game itself was so boring and mundane, that I didn’t play it as much as I’d hoped to. Happy Home Paradise is so much different. You can do different things, change things up, invite villagers, design facilities and more!

I highly recommend the DLC if you love Animal Crossing and can’t get enough, I know I’ve hardly played mine, but with what I have done so far it’s so relaxing to play. Personally I think my reason for not picking it up to play as much is I worry the homes I design look shit, poor and tacky. This is due to social media and nothing personal to anyone. I’m not as creative as others when it comes to Animal Crossing, but that’s okay! As long as I’m happy with what I’ve done, it shouldn’t be a problem.

I wanted to pop that reminder here as I know due to social media lately, a lot of people don’t like their islands and have stopped playing Animal Crossing due to high expectations. You do you!

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl – 19th November 2021

At the time of writing this post, I am yet to play either Diamond or Pearl. It’s ready to go on my Switch, but I wanted to get this post written and scheduled ready for the weekend! 😛

I’m pretty busy this weekend of doing stuff at home, as well as binge playing either of these games, so I’ll hold off sharing my thoughts on Diamond and/or Pearl until the November favourites in a few weeks!

However, I’m still going to talk about these games because why the fuck wouldn’t I? 😛

I am beyond excited to play Diamond and Pearl. I pre-ordered both as I planned to keep Pearl for myself and give Diamond to Dane. However, Dane isn’t fussed about playing it, so I’ll just keep Diamond!

My reason for choosing Pearl is a simple one, it’s what I picked up and played back in 2008. Back in Christmas 2008 my dad asked what I wanted for Christmas. I’d always wanted a Nintendo DS, but never got one. The red DS Lite was out and as they were only £100 at the time, I asked for that. They were out of stock EVERYWHERE! I called all the GAME, Toys R Us and Curry’s stores nearby with no luck, all gone. This was a week before Christmas by the way. In one last effort to try and bag the red DS Lite, I called an independent games store in the hopes they had them, the guy has one left in stock so I asked him to pop it to one side and we’d be down soon. My dad took me to go and get the DS Lite, as well as some games as well, which I bought myself. These included Pokemon Pearl and Animal Crossing: Wild World. Pokemon Pearl was the only one in stock out of the two, but I didn’t mind.

That Christmas I binge played both of those games. It introduced me to Animal Crossing, but also re-introduced me to Pokemon. I completely bypassed gen 3 due to my dislike of the Game Boy Advance and had spent around five years playing Pokemon Silver… Until the cartridge broke. 😛

Pokemon Pearl really did re-ignite my love for the games again and since then I’ve pretty much played most of the new (and remade) gen games… Apart from Black 2 and White 2 as I didn’t see the point and I’m not even going to talk about Sun and Moon. 😛

I did also play Pokemon Platinum too, but I doubt we’ll get that added to the series this time around with the remakes.

I’m really excited to be able to replay through the game(s) that helped fuel my Pokemon addictions more, I’m especially excited to get Leafeon and Glaceon, as well as go mining, it was one of my favourite things about the game and I was gutted they never brought it back.

So, there we have it guys, just some of the games I have been loving and also been VERY excited for throughout November. I can’t quite believe the start of December is just around the corner now. Maybe if you like the sound of some of these games, you can stick them on your Christmas lists in the hope someone might gift you with them. 🙂

What games have you been enjoying recently? Any of the same ones as me? If you’ve picked up Pokemon, which version did you get? Honestly, share away! I love talking about games!

Until next time all, take care and having a great weekend.

Games I’m Excited For After E3 2021

The last time I wrote about E3 on my blog was back in 2018 when me and Dane wrote our his and hers reactions. I honestly don’t know why I stopped writing about E3 since then… Maybe so much good stuff happened that I just couldn’t fit it all onto one post? 😛

E3 is actually one of my favourite times of year! Ever since me and Dane have been together we’ve cuddled together with yummy food and drinks and watched the E3 presentations. Granted since COVID it’s not quite the same, but it’s still been good. I’m not going to lie, E3 2021 for us felt a bit rubbish in regards to the bigger presentations such as Xbox, Nintendo, Bethesda, Ubisoft and Square Enix.

The majority of the games I have fallen in love with (both new announcements and previous from last year) are indie and I just had to share as many with you all as possible! Especially since starting to stream on Twitch. Games is something I was introduced to from a young age thanks to my older brothers with Tetris on the Game Boy, as well as various games on the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System).

I’m going to start with my favourite presentation of E3 2021, which was Wholesome Games. It was one of the first ones I watched and I’ve now found out about twelve games! Some of these are games I already knew about or have backed on Kickstarter, but even so it was definitely my favourite direct and I’ve been talking about it and sharing as much as possible!

I’m going to be jumping straight into this! I’ll try and add trailers where possible as well information about when the game will be released and what platforms. Some I may talk about in a bit more detail, whereas others I might not at all. I don’t want to cause the blog post to be too long! I really hope you guys enjoy reading this post, I’ve had so much fun writing it and sharing some cool games with you all.

Snacko – Out 2022 on both Steam and Nintendo Switch.

Former big city kitties Momo and Mikan are starting a new life on a seemingly deserted island. Unravel its mysteries while you rebuild a community, farm, fish, and explore the island and beyond! Lift a curse and revitalized a ruined island in Snacko, where former big city kitties Momo and Mikan are starting a new life! Grow crops, raise fluffy cows, go fishing, exploring, customize and decorate as you please, and much, much more in this farming cat-venture.

This is actually a game I backed on Kickstarter a while ago now and whenever I hear news about it through the Wholesome Games directs I get so excited about it! I’m also part of the Discord so I’m constantly hearing updates form the developers. Snacko reminds me of Animal Crossing but with cats! It looks so damn cute and to hear it’s now also coming out on the Nintendo Switch has got me even more excited!

Behind The Frame – Out 2021 on Steam.

Combining escape rooms and narrative games, Behind the Frame presents a profoundly interactive storytelling of characters’ emotions and plot development. With 360°panorama techniques and an exquisite hand-painted art style, the game takes you into the world of Behind the Frame. Listening to the brisk chirping of birds under warm sunshine, the painter once again picks up her paintbrush as usual. Sometimes she would look out the window and enjoy the scenery outside when she’s having a quick break. However, a short interlude happens during her regular days. A lost cat, the old man painting next door, some handwritten notes… Everything seems unrelated yet familiar…

Loddlenaut – December 2020 on Steam and HOPEFULLY Nintendo Switch. KICKSTARTER LIVE NOW!

A creature-raising survival game on an ocean planet. Explore the depths of GUP-14 as you clean up a polluted ocean, repurpose marine debris, and take care of axolotl-like alien creatures!

This was actually the last game to be announced during the Wholesome Games direct and I’ve fallen in love with it! I’m planning to back the Kickstarter soon, but I’d love to hear about it coming to the Nintendo Switch first before I do finally back the game. I’ll see how I feel, but the Kickstarter ends on July 12th 2021, so make sure to go and check it out!

Yokai Inn – Release TBC.

You are forced to take shelter in an abandoned inn, and the place springs to life with otherworldly patrons as soon as the sun sets! Yokai Inn is a slice-of-life sim game, inspired by titles such as Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing, that is currently in the early stages of development.

Bear & Breakfast – Out 2021 on Steam and Nintendo Switch.

Build and run a Bed+Breakfast in the woods, but you’re a Bear. Tourists are flooding in, your decoration senses are tingling, and the woods are making a kooky noise.

This is another game I have been hyped for for MONTHS now! Bear & Breakfast looks like so much fun, especially as you’re playing as a cute little bear running their bed and breakfast in the woods. I just love games like this, so when I see animals involved too, I’m always hooked! I’ll be getting this on the Nintendo Switch.

Shashingo – Release TBC.

Learn Japanese Vocabulary! Explore a bright, fictional Japanese city street filled with details and interesting objects to capture with your camera. Each photograph you take will translate the name of the content into Japanese and English so you can learn with your surroundings.

Unpacking – Out 2021 on Steam and Nintendo Switch.

Unpacking is a game about the familiar experience of pulling possessions out of boxes and fitting them into a new home. Part block-fitting puzzle, part home decoration, you are invited to create a satisfying living space while learning clues about the life you’re unpacking. Over the course of eight house moves, you are given a chance to experience a sense of intimacy with a character you never see and a story you’re never told.

This is another game that I am so excited for and I think in the list this is probably number one for me right now! I’ve played the demo of the game twice now and I’m just craving more each time! Unpacking is such a relaxing game where you unpack your life out of boxes and into your new room/home. It’s nice to arrange items around the room and get to know the character who’s items you’re organising. It was announced recently that Unpacking would be coming out on the Nintendo Switch which has made me so happy!

The next directs I’m going to be lumping together are Nintendo and Xbox. I wasn’t too impressed with Xbox, but I was incredibly disappointed by Nintendo. It’s the direct I was looking forward to the most and it really let me down. I know a lot of people were disappointed by either no news about Animal Crossing, Pokemon or even both! I wasn’t bothered about this, it just felt like the majority of games mentioned from Nintendo were remakes of previous classics.

I really wanted to hear news about more retro consoles coming to the Switch Online. I wanted to especially hear the Game Boy/Game Boy Colour and Game Boy Advance coming for us to play! Having the NES and SNES is great, but I want more now!

Mario Party Superstars – Out 29th October 2021.

I’m excited for this game, but at the same time I’m a bit miffed… As someone who already owns Mario Party, it would have been good to get some DLC instead of a brand new game. Eventually I’ll buy this as I love playing Mario Party with both Dane, as well as our friends.

WarioWare: Get It Together! – Out September 10th 2021.

I’ve never played a WarioWare game but I’ve ALWAYS wanted to! Finally I’m going to be getting that chance and I’m super excited for it. The best bit is this is (apparently) the first WarioWare game where two people can play at the same time! I’ll be pre-ordering this as soon as Gamersheek have it up for pre-order. 😀

Back 4 Blood – Out October 12, 2021.

When me and Dane first got together he would always encourage me to play the Left 4 Dead games. I never played games like that previously and I was shitting myself! It really brought me out of my shell in playing shoot ’em up games more and I’m glad for that now. Sadly about five years ago Dane decided to sell loads of his old Xbox 360 games, which including both of the Left 4 Dead games. I was gutted we couldn’t play them anymore and we haven’t since. Back 4 Blood is meant to be just like Left 4 Dead, so I am HYPED for it!

Party Animals – Out 2022.

Party Animals is a crazy and fun fighting game where it’s pretty much a free for all! Me and Dane fell in love with this game purely for how cute the animals are! The otter has stolen our hearts, that’s for sure! As this is a Games Pass game, I know for a fact Dane will be getting it.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands – Out Early 2022.

Tiny Tina—the beloved bomb-chucking star of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. In the game, Tina is your guide through an extraordinary and chaotic fantasy realm.

Borderlands 3 is the game that really did get me into playing shooter games. When Dane got it in 2019 he really encouraged me to join him in playing it. I don’t regret it and if anything I am so fucking excited for a Tiny Tina game/DLC to be coming out to play in the future!

Any other games mentioned now are ones that me and Dane have heard were featured or discussed during E3.

Tunic – Release TBC.

TUNIC is an action adventure game about a tiny fox in a big world where you don’t belong. Presented by Finji.
Developed by Andrew Shouldice, TUNIC is a game shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Crafted to evoke feelings of classic action adventure games, TUNIC stars a heroic little fox as they explore a foreign land that hides danger around every corner. Discover unique items, new combat techniques, and arcane secrets as our hero forges their way through an intriguing new world.

I remember this game being announced in 2018 and I even mentioned it on my blog all those years ago! Tunic is a cute little fox who resembles Link from the Zelda games. It’s a fox, so I instantly fell in love with it three years ago when it was announced. Nothing has really been said about it much until now, which is good! I remember back in 2018 saying I was hoping it would be out the end of that year, haha!

Life is Strange: True Colours – Out September 10, 2021.

Alex Chen hides her ‘curse’: the supernatural ability to absorb and manipulate the strong emotions of others. When her brother dies in a so-called accident, she must embrace her volatile power to find the truth — and reveal dark secrets buried by the town.

I am a massive fan of the Life is Strange games. I especially love the first one and have craved a game like that since. I’m so hopeful for True Colours to be more like the first game than Life is Strange 2 was. I’m popping this mention of the game here as I’m planning to pick it up on the PS4. I have all my other Life is Strange games on that console, so why break the pattern?

I will pop some honourable mentions, as well as link to directs or trailers of the games!

Recolit

Pekoe

Button City

Pupperazzi

Amber Isle

Woodo

12 Minutes

Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!

So there we have it guys! All the games I loved discovering through E3 2021! I have a feeling there a lot more games I’m yet to discover, but at the moment these are all the games I have seen and fallen in love with. I just had to share them, they’re all so bloody cute and with me now playing games on Twitch, I cannot wait to play some of these games with my friends and viewers. 😀

What did you guys think about E3 2021? Did you love it, hate it? Which game(s) have grabbed your attention? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time guys, take care and have a lovely weekend!

His & Her E3 2017 Highlights

Image taken from Latest News Explorer

So E3 2017 has come and gone and me and Dane made sure to tune in whenever we could, missing only two live shows, which we caught up on the next day.

I’ve never watched E3 so religiously before and only ever tuning into the conferences and talks after they’ve been live. It was pretty awesome to be honest cuddling with Dane to tune into the talks and at some points we even chatted to our friend Lee via Xbox Live whilst watching the Microsoft talked. We have now both said it will be a tradition to watch E3 every year.

BUT enough of that, let’s talk about what games we’re excited for and what we thought about E3 overall!

I’ll go first! I was tempted to try to do a top 5, but that shit isn’t going to happen. I may only want a select few but Dane wants loads of games… And I can’t say I blame him. 😛

I have to be honest and say my favourite conference out of all of them had to be a mixture of Ubisoft and Sony, I sway more towards Ubisoft however due to two of their announcements.

I am a huge South Park fan and have been eagerly awaiting for The Fractured But Whole to come out. I’ve been waiting a year longer than expected in the first place too due to Ubisoft pushing the release date back since late 2016. A new release date has been announced though AND Ubisoft showed off another trailer for the game!

The game play and story looks like it has completely changed from the one at E3 2016. I had heard rumours that Trey Parker and Matt Stone weren’t happy with how the story was going so scraped what they had and started all over again. Although I get pissed off with having to wait for the game to come out, I am grateful that Parker and Stone want what’s best for the fans. They’ve never worked so closely with game companies when South Park games have come out in the past and they’ve commented how they regret it due to how poor they turned out. As usual from the gameplay being shown and played at E3, the guys never fail to be rude and crude and make me piss myself laughing. The footage I’ve watched is set in a strip club! You even have to do a strip dance mini game and your just constantly farting on the guys crotch. NICE! The graphics look so much better than The Stick of Truth which already makes me really happy! It just runs smoother. I’m never ever arsed about that sort of stuff either. Like the first game your character doesn’t talk and is fully customise-able. The battles are completely different now from how they used to be. You still take it in turns to fight your enemies but you can move all around the area now to attack people, which I think is pretty cool! It also looks like you’ll be able to play alongside more characters than before which is exciting! I really can’t wait for this  game and closer to the release date I’ll be pre-ordering it.

South Park fans were spoilt though as after The Fractured But Whole we were given the above trailer for Phone Destroyer, which is obviously a phone game. I’m just so damn excited for what this game will bring! I’ve been after a decent game to mong out and play on my phone for ages, and alas it’s finally here!

One of the first games that was announced and I was excited for was Life Is Strange Before The Storm. I LOVED Life Is Strange when it came out and I was addicted to it for a while. I loved it so much that after playing it on Dane’s Xbox I ended up buying it to play on my PS4 too. This game is a prequel to the first and follows Chloe three years before the first game and won’t contain time travel, that’s Max’s thing. We follow Chloe after her dad has died in the car accident and basically from what I can tell, how she’s dealing with it and becomes who she is when she is reunited with Max. We see her befriend Rachel and if anyone else is like me when playing Life Is Strange, I was constantly asking myself, “What the fuck happened with Chloe and Rachel? Are they lovers? Or was Chloe being clingy due to what happened to her dad and thought it was more than what it was?” I’m really excited to find out all about Rachel though as she felt like a main character in Life Is Strange even though she wasn’t existent. From what I have gathered so far though from the gameplay she heavily influenced Chloe to become the person she was when Max saw her. We will find out in the prequel all about Rachel though! FYI this is not the second Life Is Strange, that is currently in development. I’m so damn excited for this game though and I WILL be getting it on PS4!

Holy shit this is a game I have been excited for for as long as I can remember now. Quantic Dream are the people behind Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, which are both two of my favourite games! They work exclusively with Sony and PlayStation, which in turn makes me happy as I’m a PlayStation girl at heart. 😛 Detroit: Become Human was announced a couple of years ago and since then has been worked on! I was really hoping for a release date to be announced after the trailer was shown at E3 this year, but sadly we still haven’t been given a date. From what I can gather from gameplay footage and trailers you play as various different droids who are trying to (as the name suggests) become human. They use their abilities to free the droids who aren’t able to control their abilities and basically make the world between them and human equal and fair. It looks amazing to be honest and the story behind it sounds unique and full of twists and secrets, like the previous games really. To think this game only started off as a way for Quantic Dream to show off what they were doing after Beyond: Two Souls. I’m so glad they decided to go with it though.

Do I really have to talk much about this game? It’s definitely one of my favourites that Microsoft announced during their conference. It’s a new game, Super Lucky’s Tale and it’s coming out towards the end of the year, only to Xbox One. It reminds me of Spyro and you know what? I REALLY miss games like that. I wish people would bring them back, and I’m hoping that this is just the start. It’s also equally appealing to me due to the main character being a cute little fox! I cannot wait to get this when it comes out! A part of me hopes it’s co-op so me and Dane can play it together, but I highly doubt that!

I don’t recall watching the trailer for this at first and due to that Dane was confused whenever he mentioned it to me and I didn’t get excited. “Nat you will want Ooblets!” he kept saying to me over and over again. He popped the trailer on to refresh my memory and I knew straight away that he was right, I would want it. It reminds me of Animal Crossing to be honest… But not as good as Animal Crossing will always have a warm spot in my heart. This will be on the Xbox One so that’ll be the platform of choice for playing this cute game.

Now that I’ve spoken about some of my highlights from E3 2017 it’s now Dane’s turn to take over the rest of the post and talk about his thoughts on the games announced this year, as well as the new Xbox One X.

From the looks of it I will be going against the grain with the populous and say I was and still am pumped from E3. Peoples excited reactions from this years E3 seems to have fizzled out and there are even some people who found this year to be wholly underwhelming. I completely disagree.

First things first is the elephant in the Microsoft shaped room with their new console.

It actually took me approximately 2 years into the Xbox One’s life before I made the transition from the Xbox 360 and I am glad I made the jump. I had serious reservations and complaints about the way Microsoft were handling their launch of the One and did not think it was worth my time and money. Since then they have gone back on many of their plans and with the announcement of the Scorpio (development name of the X) they have rebuilt my faith in Microsoft.

The best thing to do is watch the video above to find out about the specifications but it is all POWER!

In terms of games though there are way too many for me to list here so I will copy in the Xbox game showcase.

Natalee has already mentioned her big ones she’s excited for and I too am also excited for those games, particularly Ooblets and South Park: FBW but she has already spoken of them so I won’t say anymore. For me there is really just too many to discuss and I will most likely forget about some things but I will try to pick a few things out to share my excitement.

Crackdown 3. JUMPING, SHOOTING, THROWING and BLOWING SHIT UP.
The multiplayer for this game will be where it’s at. Making the most of the power of their Azure servers Crackdown is hoping to cause citywide destruction in an online environment. What can I say? I like blowing stuff up… and Terry Crews. NUFF SAID.

Player Unknowns: Battlegrounds is one I never expected to come to Xbox exclusively. I don’t have a PC good enough (yet) to play many games like this. I have always wanted to play a survival/arena game with my friends but the consoles are very limited with what you have available so this is a welcome treat. Here is the trailer from E3:

Sea of Thieves is one more multiplayer game that I have had on my watch list since it was first announced a while back. Open world, multiplayer pirating. There is not really anything more to say. Well, I should also mention it is a Rare (the developer) game who have a brilliant development record until Microsoft bought them out and forced them to do Kinect games. So hopefully this is a return to form for Rare which I am truly excited to go plunder with my friends when it is released.

Anthem was a surprise showing at E3, others may have been expecting a new IP from Bioware but I most certainly was not. This game was gorgeous and also online coop. This is one I am definitely keeping my eye on. I don’t really know much more than it is a 3rd person RPG in power suits. It looks good, take a look!

That’s the main ones from the Xbox conference that made me excited, I just can’t wait till November! I could talk forever about all the games on show so I have really tried to limit myself, but a few honorable mentions are:

Black Desert – Online RPG that looks pretty epic.

The Last Night – Funky retro adventure game akin to the original Flashback.

Cuphead – Bullet hell platformer in the style of the old-timey cartoons.

Ashen – Dark and desperate RPG.

Deep Rock Galactic – Mining with friends!

I am only going to really talk in detail about three more games. Two from the EA conference and one from the Playstation conference.

So first let’s go for the interesting epic that is Days Gone from the Playstation conference. Zombies may be overdone but this really overdoes it in a good way. SO MANY FUCKING ZOMBIES. It actually makes the zombie scary again, not like Dead Rising where the sheer amount is awesome but they are just cannon fodder to have fun with, but a true zombie horde.

I wasn’t so impressed with the Sony conference as much, put that down to me being a fanboy but this year it just wasn’t there for me. There are some games I know I am excited for but there just wasn’t enough for me. Here’s a few honorable mentions:

God of War – An epic story about a gratuitously violent beefcake with a child.

Spiderman – Shame its PS4 Exclusive! No achievements for me on my Xbox. 😦

Shadow of the Colossus (Remake) – Never played the original but damn I want to play this.

EA had a massive show, second only to Microsoft. One of their new and VERY intriguing announcements was their split-screen adventure A Way Out.

Games and their developers seem have forgotten what it means to play with your friends. You may have noticed the majority of my highlights are largely multiplayer, but these are mostly online multiplayer. Gone are the days of playing on the couch with your friends sharing a tiny little CRT TV. A Way Out says fuck that and forces you to play with someone and share the screen regardless of where you are. The story is there too.

Finally from EA is this.

I can safely say both Natalee and I are extremely excited for this. I had the first one and it did not live up to the hype. Yes it was one of the best looking games but there was no substance. EA have promised a single player campaign, free dlc and ALL THREE TRILOGIES. I cannot wait to be playing as the clone troopers in the frostbite 3 engine. The thought makes me moist with anticipation.

YAY after days of asking Dane to write his part of this post, he’s finally done it! 😀 I can safely say I am so damn excited for both Days Gone and Star Wars: Battlefront 2. They’re both going to be amazing games! Spiderman is also one I was surprised to see as a PS4 exclusive! This makes me really happy of course due to being a Playstation gamer. The gameplay for it was gorgeous and obviously is steps above games from back in the PS1 days, but it reminded me of the Spiderman game from back in the day. I loved that game so much and would spend hours after school playing it.

I cannot wait for November to come now so we can play new games together, as well as with our gaming friends Lee and Sam!

What were your highlights from E3 this year? Make sure to let me know in the comments, as well as over at Twitter @maybeecoffee ^_^

Until next time all, take care! I hope you’re enjoying the gorgeous weather, I know we are.