All the games to watch out for in November 2019
This is a pretty hard month for the wallet.
Welcome back to our monthly Save the Date segment! Sometimes, there are just too many games out there in the world for you to remember, let alone their release dates. Well, that’s where I come in. Looking for something new to pick up in November? You’re in luck then, because this might be the biggest month in gaming for quite a while!
Planet Zoo (PC) - November 5, 2019
Planet Zoo is essentially a spiritual successor to Zoo Tycoon, with gameplay similar to Frontier Developments’ other game - Planet Coaster. In this, you can build a zoo with more than 50 animals, which all have AI that allows them to behave just like real animals.
Care must be taken to ensure each species’ requirements and needs are met. The game also has a story mode! So essentially, you build zoos. If you’re not sold yet, you can also just build a zoo and delete all the fences. Boom, it’s a Jurassic Park game now!
Red Dead Redemption 2 (PC) - November 5, 2019
One of the greatest games of the PlayStation 4’s console generation is finally arriving on PC. You play as Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van Der Linde gang - set years before the first Red Dead Redemption. There will be gunfire, betrayals, horse-riding, alligator-fighting and plenty of crying, rest assured. Even if you’re not in it for the fantastic story or online mode - you always have those insane PC mods to look forward to!
Death Stranding (PlayStation 4) - November 8, 2019
Let’s face it, most of you already have this game marked on your calendars. For the rest: Death Stranding is Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima’s first game since his big split with Konami. Norman Reedus stars as Sam Porter, a man tasked with reconnecting a fractured America.
He does this by carrying cargo around a vast, and can I just say, gorgeous open world to make connections between people. B.T.s (Beached Things) all around the map make the journey dangerous, alongside other antagonists. This game also boasts star power, with actors like Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Lindsay Wagner, Troy Baker and many, many more making up its main cast. Who isn’t looking forward to this?
Need for Speed Heat (PC, PS4, Xbox One) - November 8, 2019
We’re getting another Need for Speed! This time, we’ll be racing in the open world streets of Palm City, based on Miami, Florida. Players can take part in sanctioned races in the day, and illegal street races at night to earn different kinds of rewards. Police will chase you aggressively during illegal races, and that becomes particularly important in the game’s campaign. There are 127 cars from 33 different brands - take your pick!
Pokemon Sword and Shield (Nintendo Switch) - November 15, 2019
We’re finally getting the Nintendo Switch Pokemon game! Pokemon Sword and Shield take place in the Galar region, based on Great Britain. Players will visit idyllic countryside towns and steampunk-style cities in equal measure. Pokemon Gyms take the form of football stadiums - because of course they do.
The game also comes with a ‘Wild Area’, the series’ first attempt at an open world setting. Many Pokemon will just roam freely here in changing weather settings. You can even participate in multiplayer raids, and meet other players there. Your Galarian starters are the grass-type Grookey, the fire-type Scorbunny and the water-type Sobble. If you don’t choose Sobble, you’re a monster. Sorry, but them’s the rules.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PC, PS4, Xbox One) - November 15, 2019
Yes, we’re finally getting a new singleplayer Star Wars game! Developed by the always-amazing Respawn Entertainment (Titanfall 2, Apex Legends), this game takes place years after Revenge of the Sith. Padawan Cal Kestis is one of the few surviving Jedi, but gets discovered by the Empire when he openly uses the Force to save a friend. The Empire dispatches the Second Sister to hunt Cal down, and kill all remaining Jedi Knights.
This game is equal parts metroidvania and Souls-like - meaning that environments offer renewed potential for exploration every time you unlock new abilities. Its core gameplay loop is modelled after FromSoftware’s Souls series, with limited health regeneration items and places to ‘meditate’ and save your game, which also respawn enemies around you. Respawn hasn’t made a single bad game yet - so this game is very, very high on my personal list of must-plays.
Google Stadia - November 19, 2019
We still don’t have word on a Singaporean release for Google Stadia - but hear me out. We’re looking at, potentially, a whole new way to play videogames. You could play games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey on your phones, or even play games at 4K resolution, with 60 frames per second on your trashy old laptop. That’s huge.
Sure, you need a stable internet connection to play Stadia games - but this just might be a make-or-break moment for the game industry’s streaming efforts. If Stadia works out, more companies might start reaching out to Stadia. We might see Stadia become a name as big as PlayStation, with exclusives that are just as massive. If not - it will die, and bring game streaming down a notch with it. It will be interesting to see how well its launch works out, for sure.
Shenmue III (PC, PS4) - November 19, 2019
Shenmue III simply shouldn’t exist. Shenmue II came out all the way back in 2001 when the Dreamcast was still a thing - to give you an idea of how long it’s been. The game continues the story of Ryo Hazuki, a teenage martial artist who searches all over Japan and China for his father’s murderer, Lan Di.
Ryo meets Ling Shenua, an enigmatic girl who embarks on a new journey with him in Bailu Village, in the mountains of Guilin, China. There will be turtle races, gambling, martial arts, phone calls to Japan and a siege game - need I say more? Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Shenmue III will conclude the series’ story. Creator Yu Suzuki intends to create more games in the series, which seems… risky, to say the least.
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There’s a little something for everyone this month. From Star Wars, to Pokemon, to a new weird Kojima game - making it a great month for players and a bad one for their wallets. What are you going to play? Let us know!
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