Games to Watch 2024 - Sports & Driving
It’s time again to peer into the future, all so I can highlight games that I think are worth watching. It is worth noting two things, the first is that this list is for announced games only and the second is due to the nature of classifying genres these days, I have placed the games where I feel they fit best so don’t shoot me if your most anticipated game isn’t here, it may be in another list. With that in mind, let’s get to the games. Strap in sports fans and racers need to buckle up because it is your turn. As is our tradition we are not talking about the annual franchises here.
Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game
Imagine the goal in a car game not being to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Imagine if your goal was simply to make it from point A to point B at all. That is the premise of the Mudrunner franchise and the third game in the series, Expeditions, is taking that concept to the next level.
Tasked with the goal of getting science crews and their gear to remote locations, Expeditions will see players planning their trip, using their gear and looking after their vehicle as they try to negotiate extremes and get to their desired spot without getting lost or destroyed.
I have enjoyed the strategy in the previous games in the series, it is something unlike any other driving game out there and while it may not be for everyone, I feel like Expeditions will really open up the franchise to new players in a way that the previous two titles didn’t.
Skate Story
Skate Story is shaping up to be a wild journey. Revealed a few years ago, it comes across as something of a cross between What Becomes of Edith Finch and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. If that combination seems odd to you then you aren’t the only one but boy does it look interesting.
I am captivated by the art style present in the trailers and there is the promise of something more than a simple skating game with trippy graphics. Apart from that, there isn’t much known but honestly, I think that is for the best. I really get the feeling that Skate Story is going to be best experienced first hand and not watched by others.
The one concern is the skating mechanics. They have to be perfect, anything less will hold this game back too much. But if the devs can nail it, well this could be the sort of game that has everyone on the internet talking when it releases.
Wreckreation
What happens when you combine the crazy track-building fun of the old MS-Dos and Amiga classic Stunts with the head-on collisions and all-around mayhem of Burnout? Well, I imagine it looks something like Wreckreation, a new game coming from THQ Nordic this year.
Wreckreation looks absurd, ridiculous and a whole car-boot load of fun, with loop-de-loops and corkscrews the order of the day. Forget realism and strap in with some physics-defying racing that isn’t seen enough these days.
We have had the Lego racing games recently that have scratched a lot of this particular itch, this looks to take the concept even further and if they can nail the feel of the driving I have no doubt that Wreckreation will be a winner.
Mutant Football League 2
Mutant Football League was a love letter to the classic Mutant League Football from the Sega Mega Drive days that was released a few years ago thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign. It seems that it did well enough that a sequel is coming and frankly that is more than ok with me.
I love these sorts of silly arcade titles and I have played quite a lot of the original game. It is the perfect title for the Switch and Steam Deck, with short, silly fun that has a good grasp of what makes a solid Grid Iron game. It wasn’t perfect but it was a blast to play
As a result, I can’t wait to see where the sequel goes. A more involved career mode? Better upgrade paths and management? New gruesome ways to kill your opponents? I hope it is all three and more.
Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown
A franchise that holds a special place in my heart, Test Drive Unlimted: Solar Crown looks to be a long way from the 4 colour graphics and simple coast road track that made up the game when I first played the series.
In fact, it is taking on the might of Forza Horizon with its own, festival of driving in a detailed location. This time the setting is Hong Kong and it looks pretty stunning in the footage we have seen.
The thing is, with this type of game, it is going to have to be absolutely amazing to take people away from the near-perfection that is the Horizon franchise so it is a bit of a risk to take. That said, I like the idea that this, along with last year’s The Crew Motorfest are coming out and creating a competitive marketplace that will only continue to push innovation in the genre.
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