My review of the new God of War will be coming soon, but first it’s time to talk about writing! Just as I did last year, I’ll list my writing goals for 2019 ahead of time. So in addition to my video game backlog goals…
By 2020, I will:
Complete my final edits of A Prince’s Price and send it to a beta reader.
Edit The Nightbringer based on feedback I recently received.
Edit A Prince’s Price based on the feedback I receive.
Once they are completely edited, search for an agent for The Nightbringer and A Prince’s Price.
Edit The Sunken Sapphire.
Create an outline for the revisions of either The Threshing Night or Mage’s Test.
Write at least 3 more short stories.
Continue to manage my two side websites and get them to a level where they do bring in income.
Add an additional “event” of some sort to the three book signings I currently participate in.
I’d noticed that a lot of my writing goals tend to be pretty safe bets, so this time I wanted to focus on some more specific goals, such as working on the outline for one of my two rough drafts that need major work and writing three new short stories.
The website goal is the one most out of my control, but improving my management of the sites should help.
Do you have any writing goals for 2019? What are they?
Last year, I once again vowed to play at least 40 games to create a dent in my backlog.
Once again, I played more than 40 games and my backlog did not shrink.
This is because of free game promotions, Humble Bundles, and the sort of decision-making that led me to buy six God of War games instead of just the new one.
So we’re doing it again, and for Operation Backlog Completion: Round 4, I challenge myself to beat 50 games in 2019!
Operation Backlog Completion 2019
For the past two years, I’ve also listed specific games I wanted to complete during the year: my most-anticipated games and games I backed on Kickstarter.
Of the games I listed last year, I played Cosmic Star Heroine and Vampyr. I decided to skip Octopath Traveler, Kingdom Hearts III was delayed, and The Wolf Among Us: Season 2 was cancelled, which still hurts.
(I was waiting for my physical copy of Yooka-Laylee to arrive.)
This year, I’ll play the games I skipped, my most-anticipated games of 2019, and also The Great Gaias, which gives us the following list:
Happy New Year! 2019 is here, and we already have some great games lined up.
My most-anticipated games from last year didn’t work out too well… and that’s not even getting into my misguided belief that an unannounced Ace Attorney game might qualify.
(Seriously, when will Ace Attorney 7 be announced?)
But from the game lineup that has been announced so far, here are the five games I’m most excited for in 2019.
5. Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition
Tales of Vesperia for the Xbox 360 had already been on my list of games to play for quite a while, but I did regret that I’d never get to see the content from the Japan-exclusive PS3 version… until Bandai Namco announced Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch!
It includes all of the PS3 version’s content, and it’s getting a global release in January. I’ll probably get the Switch version, so I can take it with me if I want to.
4. Resident Evil 2 Remake
My feelings on the Resident Evil 2 remake have gone back and forth since its announcement. The remake of the first Resident Evil is one of my favorite games, and it’s exciting to think about Resident Evil 2 getting the same treatment.
Then it was unveiled, for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The over-the-shoulder camera disappointed me a little, and I didn’t care about how dark or gory it looked. Until I saw puzzles, I wouldn’t be convinced. Since then, they’ve released gameplay videos that show locked doors, puzzles, and all the other little survival horror features I love.
Now I have faith in the Resident Evil 2 remake to feel like a modern version of a traditional survival horror game, and I hope it will spur Capcom to make more games in that style.
(With the puzzles… no matter how “unrealistic” they might feel.)
3. Luigi’s Mansion 3
Speaking of games I hope follow a particular style, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is supposed to be released in 2019 for the Switch, although we’ve only seen a tiny teaser for it.
I loved the original Luigi’s Mansion, while I didn’t enjoy most of the changes in Dark Moon. Since the Luigi’s Mansion 3 reveal included a shot of a very tall building, I hope that is the mansion that we get to explore during the game… and I really hope the game isn’t split into missions.
Are there too many unknowns for me to rank it this highly, considering how I felt about Dark Moon? Maybe. But if Luigi’s Mansion 3 plays more like the original, it’s definitely one of my most-anticipated games of the year.
2. Judgment
When the Yakuza team announced Judge Eyes for the PS4, titled Judgment in the west, I wanted it immediately. It earned a spot on this list from the very first reveal. A Yakuza series spin-off about a lawyer, with a thrilling story trailer and what looks like a fantastic amount of side content? Sign me up!
Judge Eyes is already out in Japan and seems to have been well-received. It’s due out here in Summer 2019, and I can’t wait.
But yes, there is still one game I’m looking forward to even more than Judgment, and you should know what it is…
…especially since it was on my list last year, until it was delayed to 2019…
1. Kingdom Hearts III
We are less than a month away from Kingdom Hearts III.
Even as someone who got into the series late, it’s crazy to think the conclusion of the Dark Seeker Saga is practically upon us. Kingdom Hearts III will be out on January 29 for the PS4 and Xbox One, I’ve been avoiding spoilers and trailers for a while now, and I have high hopes that this game will be incredible.
(Will I be disappointed if there is no playable Young Eraqus and Young Xehanort flashback? Yes. Will that be enough to ruin it for me? Of course not.)
Ending a long-running story like this saga can be difficult, but everything I’ve seen about Kingdom Hearts III fills me with hope that this will be the epic conclusion I hope to see.
Conclusion
Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, Resident Evil 2, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Judgment, and Kingdom Hearts III are the five games I’m most looking forward to in the year ahead. Here’s hoping it goes better than it did last year.
