November 6th – Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered (PS4/Xbox One/PC)
November 6th – DIRT 5 (PS4/Xbox One/PC)*
November 6th – Tropico 6 (Switch)
November 10th – XIII (PS4/Xbox One/PC/Mac)
November 10th – Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S (if you managed to get a preorder)
November 10th – Destiny 2: Beyond Light (PS4/Xbox One/PC)
November 10th – Descenders (Switch)
November 10th – Planet Coaster: Console Edition (Xbox One/Xbox Series X/PC)*
November 10th – Watch Dogs Legion (Xbox Series X)*
November 10th – Yakuza: Like a Dragon (PS4/Xbox One/Xbox Series X/PC)
November 10th – Gears Tactics (Xbox One/Xbox Series X)
November 10th – The Falconeer (Xbox One/Xbox Series X/PC)
November 10th – Bright Memory (Xbox Series X)
November 10th – Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla (PS4/Xbox One/Xbox Series X/PC)*
November 10th – Observer: System Redux (Xbox Series X)*
November 10th – DIRT 5 (Xbox Series X)*
November 10th – Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition (Xbox Series X)*
November 12th – PlayStation 5 (if you managed to get a preorder)
November 12th – Godfall (PS5/PC)
November 12th – Demon’s Souls (PS5)
November 12th – Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS4/PS5)
November 12th – Bugsnax (PS5)
November 12th – The Pathless (PS4/PS5/PC)
November 12th – Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS4/PS5)
November 12th – Astro’s Playroom (PS5)
November 13th – Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory (PS4/Xbox One/Switch)
November 13th – Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Xbox Series X/PC)
November 20th – Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Switch)
November 24th – Watch Dogs Legion PHYSICAL (PS5)
*Also releasing on the PlayStation 5 on November 12th
It goes without saying that November is all about the release of the next generation of consoles. If you are one of the five people who actually managed to secure a preorder then the 10th and 12th of this month are probably looking mighty tasty. There’s of course plenty of crossover between these generations in terms of backwards compatibility, so even if your little Xbox One might look inferior next to the monolithic Xbox Series X, or if your PS4 jet engines are screaming in protest as they yearn for the quiet ugliness of the PS5, there’s still plenty of jort-stretching fun to be had.
Personally, this year has been a pretty cruisy one in terms of playing new releases, but now November is here to shove my backlog off the bus and dump a whole lot of games that I’m very excited to play at my doorstep. Dirt 5 looks ready to bring back the arcade fun and vibrancy of Dirt 3, also with the option to run at 120 Hz *chef’s kiss*. Ryu Ga Gotoku’s Western team has been working hard on the localisation of Yakuza: Like A Dragon and holy hell am I excited. New cast of characters, new locations to explore and a new combat system are all major pieces of the puzzle that I hope will leave me satisfied and hopeful for what the series can do from here. The snowy, neon-drenched streets of Manhattan give me nothing but great vibes as I look forward to picking up where my 2018 GOTY left off in Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The Pathless has an amazing visual style and interesting mix of combat movement and traversal that has me ready to tackle the darkness with my new eagle friend. And finally there’s Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity, a game that will hopefully keep the hype for BOTW 2 alive as we get to have a look into the pasts of the characters that I loved so much from BOTW.
Is there really anything releasing this month? Oh, right. Tropico 6 and Descenders on the Switch. Cool.
In all seriousness, though, this month is going to pretty much destroy anyone that’s even remotely interested in games. Naturally, the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 are releasing and while I’m only picking up a PS5 this month, Microsoft’s console releases are exciting for people who fancy team green. Onto the games themselves. Demon’s Souls is at the top of my list given my penchant for electronic masochism and (honestly) is the reason why I am picking up a PS5…well that and it makes sense for a game journo to pick up one. Speaking of masochism, I really love coming back to Destiny 2, having a blast with their new expansions and then getting really frustrated and disappointed with their post-expansion support and Beyond Light looks to be no different. Though Bungie at least appears to have figured out some form of narrative direction for the game to take. Yakuza Like a Dragon is also pretty high on my list. I was genuinely surprised at how good Yakuza 0 was when I played it for last year’s pledge challenge, with my only gripe being the gameplay sometimes getting in the way of the storytelling. Like a Dragon’s shift to turn-based combat might actually resolve this issue and everything I have read about the game has been fantastic. The rest of the PS5 launch day is going to kill me too. There’s Godfall, which I have been keen for since it was announced despite everyone telling me it looked crap only for most of them to come around and tell me it looks fun. This is not to mention The Pathless (which I know nothing about but am excited for nonetheless) and Bugsnax which is fuelling my morbid curiosity, if I am being honest. Now excuse me while I go prepare to have no sleep.
Here we fuckin’ go. It’s time to celebrate no-jorts November because I’m going to be busting out of every pair I try to put on this month. Not only are we getting a whole new bloody generation of consoles, but it’s bringing along some top-shelf titles to boot. I honestly can’t whittle a list of the most jorts-juicing games this month down to something reasonable, but let’s just blow through a bunch so I can get back to reviewing a few of them (#flex). If I skip over anything here it’s purely in the interest of time, which is something I wish I could say about my real life. Firstly we have Yakuza Like a Dragon, which is the series’ most bold and bonkers entry yet. Then Ubisoft comes through with a double-header in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs Legion, both of which I’m super keen to bash out on my shiny new consoles. Then it’s the PlayStation 5 launch game bonanza of Bugsnax, Miles Morales, Godfall and Sackboy. But most of all, most importantly, most exciting among the lot is the free game pre-loaded onto the PS5 console itself – Astro’s Motherfuckin’ Playroom*.
Don’t ask me why this is my most anticipated game in November, I honestly don’t know, but everything about it from the tight 3D platforming to the use of all of the DualSense controller’s unique features just has me pitching a jorts tent. Get around it.
*It’s not actually called that.
If only I could show y’all my pre-order receipt for this month (which I’m not going to because I’m superstitious). It’s a big month and aside from buying my first house and making tough COVID-related decisions about my impending wedding, I’m cashing in a lot of hard-earned leave (and literal money) to kick back and be a kid one more time before I begin my adult life experiencing everything next-gen has to offer. Each day in November is booked out with a new PS5 game to experience and it’s going to be a difficult decision deciding what I want to play first. Miles Morales and Astro’s Playroom seem like no brainers for a blockbuster introduction swiftly followed by a campaign run of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. I think I might switch up the pace with the majestic looking The Pathless while I mentally prepare for the crème de la crème; Demon’s Souls. Then somehow, I have to squeeze in Sackboy’s Big Adventure, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Godfall and Watch Dogs Legion somewhere into the mix. I can’t even forget Yakuza Like a Dragon, which looks fantastic but with all these other titles, I might just wait for the PS5 version to arrive in March.
I could also go on all day about how excited I am to see the new UI and DualSense features in action as they take advantage of the aforementioned titles and a whole week explaining why I’m excited for each individual game, but then I wouldn’t be playing them. There’s a lot of variety here and whatever type of genre or style you’re into, I can assure you it’s going to be one helluva month.
