Tag: saints row

Ten Games To Play While You Wait For GTA 6

Ten Games To Play While You Wait For GTA 6

Dennis

Spoiler Warning: Minor spoilers may be present for some of the games on this list.

The recent trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 has got a lot of gamers salivating! We really ought to try and avoid boarding the hype train, but with Grand Theft Auto 6 being the long-overdue sequel to the most successful and profitable video game of all-time, a bit of excitement is understandable! However, the game won’t launch until sometime in 2025 – and probably even later for PC players like me, unfortunately – so until then we’re all facing a dilemma: what should we play?

I’ve picked out ten games that I think could be fun substitutes for Grand Theft Auto 6. I’ve tried to avoid the most obvious pick: Grand Theft Auto V! But I’ve selected games in the same open-world space, with comparable driving and third-person action gameplay, or with a focus on crime and criminality. There are bound to be hundreds of “what to play before GTA 6” lists floating around… so you may have seen some of these ideas already. But maybe – just maybe – there’ll be something a bit different in the mix this time!

A screenshot from the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer showing the fictional Vice City from above after sunset.
Vice City after dark.

As always, this list is the entirely subjective opinion of one person only! If you hate all of my ideas, think they’re too obvious, or you’ve seen a far better selection of games elsewhere – that’s okay! There’s no need to take anything too personally or get into an argument.

I’ve already shared my thoughts on the recent trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6, and you can find that article by clicking or tapping here.

With all of that out of the way, let’s get started!

Game #1:
Saints Row 2 (2008)

Promotional screenshot of Saints Row 2 featuring a character firing a handgun.
Running and gunning!

For me, Saints Row 2 is where the series managed to strike the right balance between being a pure “GTA-clone” and the utter silliness and wackiness that would come to define its later entries. There was an attempt to reboot the Saints Row series earlier this year, but unfortunately it wasn’t well-received so I can’t recommend it. But if you don’t mind stepping back to the Xbox 360 era, Saints Row 2 could scratch that open-world crime itch!

Saints Row 2 is comparable to Grand Theft Auto 4 in terms of graphics and gameplay – but with a less-realistic physics engine that seemed (to me, anyway) to make driving a bit more arcadey and fun. It also has a bit more of a grounded story when contrasted with later Saints Row games – there’s no visiting Hell or battling aliens from outer space in this one. There’s an open-world city to cruise around, cars to jack, missions to get stuck into, and basically all of the Grand Theft Auto trappings with a less-illustrious name attached. It was great fun in 2008 – and although I haven’t played it in a while, it’s still a game I heartily recommend!

Game #2:
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition (2012; 2014)

Promotional screenshot of Sleeping Dogs showing protagonist Wei Shen holding a shotgun.
Wei Shen in Hong Kong.

Sleeping Dogs takes the Grand Theft Auto formula but puts two very distinctive spins on it. Firstly, the player character is a cop, not a criminal – albeit an undercover cop who seems to have no qualms about breaking a few laws! And secondly, the game is set in Hong Kong, not the United States. Both of these elements help it stand out from other open-world crime games!

You’ll occasionally hear Sleeping Dogs discussed in conversations about underrated games – and rightly so! It’s a fantastic title that was criminally under-appreciated when it was released. The game’s underwhelming sales at launch led to the cancellation of a potential sequel – but Sleeping Dogs is still a fantastic standalone experience. If you play on PC, the game is frequently available at a steep discount during Steam sales, and with the winter sale coming up soon, you might be able to pick it up for less than the price of a coffee. Surely it’s worth a shot for a few pounds or dollars!

Game #3:
Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game (2024)

A promotional screenshot of Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game showing first-person driving.
Driving up-river!

You won’t have to wait too long for this sequel to Mudrunner and Snowrunner; it’s due for release in March. I’ve had a surprisingly fun time with Saber Interactive’s off-road vehicle simulation games, so if the driving side of Grand Theft Auto is what you liked the most, I’d happily recommend all three. If you’re sick of racing games and are looking for a different kind of vehicular challenge, Mudrunner, Snowrunner, and the upcoming Expeditions could be just what the doctor ordered!

Snowrunner has several large open maps and plenty of vehicles to choose from – and the off-road part of the driving simulation is really the focus of the game. I expect Expeditions will do something similar – but according to the developers, it’ll also be adding new features like a recon drone, metal detector, and of course, new vehicles!

Game #4:
Red Dead Redemption II (2018)

Promo screenshot of Red Dead Redemption II featuring protagonist Arthur Morgan and a horse.
Howdy, partner!

Alright, I suppose we couldn’t put together a list like this without talking about Rockstar’s most recent title! Red Dead Redemption II is, in my humble opinion, Rockstar’s magnum opus – and one of the most incredible video games ever made. If you haven’t played it… what are you waiting for? I’ve only played it once, and I’m seriously considering going around for a second playthrough sometime soon.

Red Dead Redemption II takes Rockstar’s open-world formula to the 19th Century, with an incredible map based on parts of the American midwest, the Rocky Mountains, the Deep South, and more. The single-player campaign features one of the best stories ever told in a video game, with incredible characters and an intense, deeply emotional narrative. I can understand being put off by the time period if you’re craving a game set in the modern day… but give it a shot, especially if you can find it at a discount. I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

Game #5:
Crime Boss: Rockay City (2023)

Promotional screenshot of Crime Boss: Rockay City featuring Chuck Norris' character.
Outer space exists because it’s afraid to be on the same planet as Chuck Norris.

I’d argue that Crime Boss: Rockay City was unfairly criticised upon release by folks who’d either over-hyped it or had set the wrong expectations. If you go into it expecting a first-person Grand Theft Auto experience with all of the bells and whistles of a Rockstar game… sure, I guess it’s fair to say it comes up short. But if you look at the game for what it is – a fairly straightforward and linear FPS that’s more comparable, in some respects, to the Payday series – there are more than enough charming features to make it worth playing.

Crime Boss: Rockay City has voice acting from the likes of Chuck Norris and Danny Trejo, and its ’90s setting is something a bit nostalgic. The game is also set in a fictional city based on Miami – just like a certain upcoming crime game that we’re all looking forward to! Crime Boss: Rockay City is reasonably priced, and didn’t try to overcharge. That being said, it could well be available at a discount when holiday sales get going this month – so keep an eye on it!

Game #6:
Cyberpunk 2077 + Phantom Liberty (2020; 2023)

A screenshot of Cyberpunk 2077, looking out over an apartment building.
The view from V’s apartment.

As I said recently, I never thought I’d be in a position where I could recommend Cyberpunk 2077 to anyone in good conscience! However, the addition of the game’s big 2.0 update and the Phantom Liberty DLC has been a game-changer – quite literally! Cyberpunk 2077 had been slowly but surely rebuilding its reputation after a disastrous launch three years ago, and by the time I got around to fully playing through it, the worst and most egregious of the bugs and glitches had been fixed. But the 2.0 update and Phantom Liberty have genuinely transformed the experience.

Many of the complaints that I had about Cyberpunk 2077′s gameplay – from the way clothing and armour worked to how police would randomly spawn in Night City – have been addressed and completely fixed, and the addition of a new story campaign has been fantastic, too. I can understand not wanting to play the game or to support a developer who behaved deceitfully – and we should never forget how CD Projekt Red acted in the run-up to the game’s release. But if you haven’t played Cyberpunk 2077 yet… you are honestly missing out on a great story and a fun experience.

Game #7:
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)

Loading screen art from the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City featuring protagonist Tommy Vercetti.
Protagonist Tommy Vercetti.

Is this one too obvious? With a return to Vice City on the cards in 2025, it could be fun to step back in time to see its first appearance! I really enjoyed Vice City at the time – it felt like a step up from Grand Theft Auto III with a bigger map, more vehicles, and a fully-voiced protagonist. I’d go so far as to say that Vice City’s homage to the likes of Scarface and Miami Vice has me genuinely questioning how well Grand Theft Auto 6 will work when it takes the iconic Miami-inspired city out of the ’80s and into the modern day.

If you grew up on Grand Theft Auto V and other games of that generation, stepping back to Vice City could feel like a downgrade – and I fully appreciate that. But the game has a fun story, and if you can overlook the admittedly outdated graphics and the technological limitations that come with a two-decade-old game, it’s absolutely worth playing. I had a blast with it in 2002 – and knowing that that was more than twenty years ago makes me feel absolutely fucking ancient!

Game #8:
Shenmue I & II (1999; 2001)

Cropped poster of Shenmue I & II.
A promo poster showing some of the games’ characters.

Before Grand Theft Auto III came along, the original Shenmue on the Dreamcast was an early open-world pioneer. In some ways, its world is more detailed than even Grand Theft Auto V’s, with a day-night cycle that actually matters to characters’ schedules, dynamic weather, mini-games, and more. I absolutely adored Shenmue back when I owned a Dreamcast – and I never miss an opportunity to recommend the game to players who might’ve missed it when it was new.

Shenmue tells a compelling story of revenge. Protagonist Ryo Hazuki must track down the man who murdered his father, and his quest takes him from his home town in Japan across the sea to Hong Kong and beyond. It’s a relatively slow-paced game with a lot of dialogue and investigating, but these sections are broken up by intense hand-to-hand combat battles that use a variety of martial arts moves, as well as quick-time events… which Shenmue can claim to have invented. For better or worse! Both games are available in one package, and this could be another one to add to your wishlist and keep an eye on.

Game #9:
Mafia: Definitive Edition (2002; 2020)

A promotional screenshot of Mafia: Definitive Edition featuring a character holding a gun walking past two cars.
Promo screenshot of Mafia: Definitive Edition.

When I first played Mafia on the original Xbox, I thought it was basically going to be “Grand Theft Auto in the ’30s” – but that hardly does it justice. The game – and its two sequels – have been remade from the ground up in recent years, putting to shame Rockstar’s appalling Grand Theft Auto III Trilogy “remaster” from a couple of years ago. Of the three, the original Mafia is probably the title I’d recommend most highly – but the entire trilogy can be picked up as one set.

All of the elements of a Grand Theft Auto game are present, but the ’30s setting and heavy focus on the titular mob makes for a completely different kind of story. Many of the gameplay elements will be familiar, but different and distinct enough to make this open-world crime title stand out from the crowd. I enjoyed the story of Tommy Angelo, a “made man” in the mob, and Mafia: Definitive Edition is an easy game to recommend to any fan of the GTA series.

Game #10:
Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023)

A screenshot of Baldur's Gate 3 showing a dice roll.
Ready to roll some dice?

I know, I know: this one’s a bit “out there,” as Baldur’s Gate 3 seems to have very little in common with the Grand Theft Auto series. It’s a completely different style of game – but as players, we’re willing and able to try out new experiences, right? If you’re at all interested in games with incredibly strong and compelling narratives, give Baldur’s Gate 3 a chance to show you why it’s my “game of the year.”

A turn-based role-playing game with a branching storyline, incredibly fun characters, and one of the best character creators I’ve ever seen, Baldur’s Gate 3 seemed to come out of nowhere this year and completely blew me away. I had an absolute blast playing it this summer and autumn, and even after sinking more than eighty-five hours into a single playthrough, there are characters I haven’t met, whole areas of the map that I missed and didn’t explore, and so much more to try! I really need to start that second playthrough sometime soon!

So that’s it!

A screenshot from the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer showing characters on a beach during the day time.
Characters on the beach as seen in the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer.

We’ve taken a look at ten games to play while you wait for Grand Theft Auto 6. I hope I managed to pick one or two that you might not have been expecting! I’m sure I’m not the only one putting together lists or compilations like this one; there’s a lot of buzz around the next Grand Theft Auto title, and people are definitely going to be looking around for comparable experiences in the meantime. If I helped even one person find one game to try, then I’ve done my job and contributed something positive to the discussion!

Because I play on PC – and because Rockstar, despite its insane financial resources, is cheaping out on Grand Theft Auto 6′s PC release – it might be 2026 or even 2027 before I’ll be able to get my hands on it. I might not live that long… but if I do, I hope you’ll swing by Trekking with Dennis for a review! If there’s significant news about the game between now and then, I’ll do my best to cover it and discuss it here on the website. And if you missed it, you can find everything I had to say about the December 2023 trailer by clicking or tapping here.

Have fun out there – and happy gaming!

Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently in development and will be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X in 2025. No PC release date has been set. All titles discussed above are the copyright of their respective studio, developer, and/or publisher. Some promotional screenshots courtesy of IGDB. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Saints Row: Boss Factory – impressions

Saints Row: Boss Factory – impressions

Dennis

We’re about a month away from the release of Saints Row – the long-awaited reboot of the open-world crime franchise. In the run-up to the game’s launch, developer Volition released Saints Row: Boss Factory, which is the game’s character creator. I took a look at this free download (because you know I love freebies!) and I wanted to briefly share my thoughts today.

First of all, it’s nice to get a demo for once! Demos used to be commonplace in the games industry, particularly in the 1990s and early 2000s, but have more or less disappeared since then. Downloading and booting up Saints Row: Boss Factory felt like somewhat of a throwback to the days when game demos came on CDs attached to magazine covers!

Choosing teeth in Saints Row: Boss Factory.

I put Saints Row on my list of games to check out in the second half of 2022, and it’s been a project I’ve watched from afar since it was first announced. I don’t think it’s fair to say that the Saints Row series is just a “Grand Theft Auto clone,” because over the course of fifteen years it’s carved out its own niche in the open-world space. But there’s no denying that, with Grand Theft Auto V wearing out its welcome and Grand Theft Auto 6 nowhere to be seen, Saints Row has the potential to fill that void for many players.

This reboot aims to tone down some of the silliness that has typified the franchise’s most recent instalments – and if you ask me, that’s probably for the best! Rebooting the series and taking it back to its roots feels like a good move, especially in an environment where many players are looking around for a new open-world crime experience.

There are a huge range of colour options in Saints Row: Boss Factory (and note the prosthetic arm!)

So for all of those reasons and more, Saints Row has been on my radar! But that isn’t really what prompted me to talk about Saints Row: Boss Factory. Sure, it’s nice to get a demo. And it’s a great way for Volition and Deep Silver to remind players that the game is coming up! But from my point of view, Saints Row: Boss Factory actually serves as a great example of what in-game character creators can look like in 2022.

Games like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Fallout 76, and many more have put together great character creators in recent years. And that’s important because having a customised, personal character is a big part of what makes (some) video games the immersive experiences that players can get lost in. Speaking for myself, I love tinkering with a character creator, choosing every aspect of my character’s appearance, and really tailoring them to the gameplay experience I want to have.

For all the game’s issues, Cyberpunk 2077 has a stellar character creator.

One of the disappointing things for me about Cyberpunk 2077 (aside from the shocking state that the game was in at launch) was that, despite having an absolutely excellent character creator and seeming to bristle with hundreds of clothing and outfit options, the mandatory first-person perspective meant that you almost never got to see the face and body you spent so much time making! That was combined with the fact that, in order to get the best gameplay experience, every few minutes you needed to pick up some new article of clothing because it offered better armour stats.

But we’ve drifted off-topic! A good character creator can absolutely make a difference, and a bad or mediocre one can drag down a game. Just look at last year’s Mass Effect: Legendary Edition as an example. The game used Mass Effect 3′s character creator – a character creator that was already limited even by the standards of the game’s original launch in 2012, so by 2021 it felt very basic with only a handful of different hair and other options. Remaking or expanding the character creator would’ve made Mass Effect: Legendary Edition so much better.

The character creator in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was a bit of a let-down.

So that brings us to Saints Row: Boss Factory. The character creator is incredibly impressive, with customisation options for basically every aspect of the character’s face and body. Every race is represented – including hair styles – and players can make their character a male, female, cis, trans, or non-binary thanks to a huge variety of options.

Whether you’re trying to make a photo-realistic copy of yourself (something I always struggle with, for some reason!) or create the weirdest-looking creature ever glimpsed by mankind, I daresay you can do it with Saints Row: Boss Factory. I’ve had a blast messing around with all of the different options already, and if Volition has put as much care and effort into the rest of Saints Row as they have to its character creator, I think we’re in for a fun time when the game arrives next month!

Some of the skin tone options in Saints Row: Boss Factory.

One thing I loved about earlier Saints Row games that returns this time are the different voice options. There are eight different voices in Saints Row: Boss Factory – four masculine and four feminine – and they offer a variety of different accents and personalities to really bring a custom character to life. It must be one heck of a task to record all of the dialogue for the game eight times over, but this level of dedication is something special! I’d love to see other games, particularly role-playing experiences, offer something similar.

Most of the sliders in Saints Row: Boss Factory move a long way in both directions – meaning you get a lot of customisability for each individual feature. Not only that, but each one can be moved in tiny increments, allowing for anyone with the time and attention to detail to really nail each and every aspect of their character. It’s a lot of fun for someone like me – but in the right hands this powerful tool with so many different options should allow players to create basically any character that they can imagine!

Look at all of these different options just for one single facial feature!

So I think that’s it for now. Saints Row: Boss Factory has surely succeeded at getting me even more interested in Saints Row – which is due out in just over a month’s time. But beyond that, it’s another great example of what a character creator can (and should) be in 2022. Creating your own character and being in control of every aspect of their appearance is part of what makes video games the immersive and engaging experiences that they are, and while there’s nothing inherently wrong with playing a set character, if the choice is there I’ll always opt to change up my character’s look.

Saints Row: Boss Factory was a fun little experience in and of itself, and I’m genuinely looking forward to the full game’s release.

Saints Row: Boss Factory is available to download now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. Saints Row and Saints Row: Boss Factory are the copyright of Volition and Deep Silver. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

We’re halfway through 2022!

We’re halfway through 2022!

Dennis

Spoiler Warning: There may be minor spoilers for some of the entries on the list below.

The end of June marks the halfway point of the year, and I think that makes it a great time to take a step back. There are a lot of entertainment experiences that lie ahead over the next few months, and with the nights already starting to get longer it’ll be autumn and then Christmas before we know it! There’s a lot coming our way before we must bid farewell to 2022, though, so today we’re going to take a look at a few of the projects on my radar.

Since the vaccine rollout peaked last year we’ve seen an easing of pandemic restrictions, including in the entertainment industry. That bodes well for at least some of the projects that have been in development! While there are still regulations and guidelines being enforced on film and TV sets, it’s much easier for many productions to work than it has been for the past couple of years. There may be disruptions to come thanks to lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine, though… so watch this space!

I’ve broken down my choices into three categories – films, television shows, and video games – and I’ve picked six titles in each category that I’m hoping to pick up and enjoy before the sun sets on New Year’s Eve!

Film #1:
Avatar: The Way of Water

I took a look at Avatar: The Way of Water when we got a brief teaser trailer earlier in the year, but suffice to say I’m curiously interested to see what writer-director James Cameron has to offer this time around. I never felt that the original Avatar was the genre-defining epic that its creators hoped it would be, and over the course of the past decade I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the world of Avatar has largely dropped out of the cultural conversation.

The Way of Water has a lot to do, then, to reintroduce viewers to a fictional universe that many haven’t revisited since 2009 or 2010. It also has the task of expanding the world of Avatar beyond the events of the first film, showing us more about the world of Pandora, the Na’vi, and this future version of Earth and humankind. There have been some clever technical feats that have gone into the production of this sequel – including gruelling underwater motion-capture shoots – so I’ll be interested to see if it all comes together when the film releases in December.

Film #2:
Jurassic World: Dominion

Technically Jurassic World: Dominion has already been released – but as my health prevents me from doing things like taking trips to the cinema these days, I’m waiting for it to become available to stream! The teaser trailer for the film, which was released back in December, looked great, and the prospect of a reunion of the main cast members from the first film – Sam Neill as Dr Alan Grant, Laura Dern as Dr Ellie Sattler, and of course Jeff Goldblum as Dr Ian Malcolm – is a pretty significant draw.

There is always going to be the question of whether the premise of the original Jurassic Park – which was based on a novel by Michael Crichton – can really sustain a multi-film franchise. The first film was brilliant in both premise and execution, but was it a one-trick pony? I’m curious to see what director Colin Trevorrow can do to make dinosaurs both fun and intimidating once more! I’ve been trying to avoid reading reviews and spoilers for this one, and when it’s available to stream I hope to get a review written here on the website – so stay tuned for that!

Film #3:
Minions: The Rise of Gru

Despicable Me was a fun film that managed to be surprisingly heartwarming, and the franchise it spawned has gone on to become one of the biggest animated properties of all-time. The last Minions film was released back in 2015, and this sequel will reintroduce Gru – the antihero/evil villain from Despicable Me – as he teams up with his Minions for the first time.

There’s potential for a lot of fun, kid-friendly hijinks in The Rise of Gru, and I’m genuinely looking forward to another outing with the Minions. Steve Carell has been on top form in previous entries in the franchise, and the film will also feature Star Trek: Discovery’s Michelle Yeoh as part of a star-studded cast.

Film #4:
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

I had a good time with Rian Johnson’s “whodunnit” Knives Out a couple of years ago, so this follow-up definitely holds appeal. Without wanting to give away any spoilers for the first film, suffice to say that I’m excited for one character in particular to make a return!

From what I can gather, Glass Onion isn’t so much a direct sequel as it is a follow-up; a film set in the same world and that will bring back at least one familiar face, but that will also introduce an ensemble cast of new characters and perhaps a new setting as well. Hopefully what results will be just as fun and dramatic as the original!

Film #5:
Hocus Pocus 2

I missed the original Hocus Pocus when it was released in 1993, and it wasn’t until years later that I finally sat down to watch it at the insistence of a friend. What I eventually found was a fun, even somewhat clever film; a light-hearted take on Halloween that’s just right for someone who isn’t a big fan of horror!

The sequel aims to bring back Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, and Kathy Najimy as the three witches from the original for a new adventure that sounds like it will be a riff on the original concept. Keep an eye out for Star Trek: Discovery’s Doug Jones, who will also be reprising his role from the original film. Hocus Pocus 2 might be just right for Halloween 2022!

Film #6:
Beast

Could Beast be “Jaws but with a lion?” Because the marketing material released by the studio makes it sound like that! I quite like a good thriller or monster flick, so maybe Beast will be a bit of fun. I don’t have especially high expectations; it’s unlikely to be a cinematic masterpiece. But it might just be entertaining enough to waste a little time.

Idris Elba is always fun to watch regardless of what he’s doing – see last year’s The Suicide Squad as a case in point! So at least on that front there’s a solid star in the leading role, and the film’s South African setting appeals to me as I used to live there. I’m curiously interested to see what Beast will have to offer when it’s released in August.

Television Show #1:
Lego Star Wars: Summer Vacation

Lego Star Wars: Summer Vacation will be the third Lego Star Wars special released on Disney+, and the first two were fantastic! 2020’s Holiday Special was a barrel of laughs, and last year we enjoyed Terrifying Tales in October, a lightly spooky Halloween special featuring Poe Dameron. The trailer for Summer Vacation had me in stitches, so if the special itself lives up to its marketing then we’re in for a wonderful time!

Expect to see some cheeky marketing for Disney’s “Galactic Starcruiser” themed hotel (which hasn’t been doing particularly well) in a special that will star “Weird Al” Yankovic and will bring back Finn, Poe, Rey, Rose, and other Star Wars characters.

Television Show #2:
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3

At time of writing we don’t have a confirmed premiere date for Season 3 of Lower Decks, but if it follows the same pattern as it did in 2020 and 2021 we might see it in late summer, perhaps mid-to-late August. Season 2 actually ended on a cliffhanger – which I won’t spoil – and I still have a few theories and ideas kicking around that I’ll try to get written up before the new season arrives!

Lower Decks took a couple of episodes to fully get going, but it’s been an absolute blast across its first couple of seasons. Consistently high quality has left the series with only a couple of boring or unenjoyable episodes, and there’s a surprising amount of emotion at the heart of the Lower Decks crew. It’s a Star Trek show through-and-through, and one I find myself getting surprisingly invested in. I’m hopeful for more of the same when Lower Decks returns.

Television Show #3:
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Although The Rings of Power is already (and prematurely, in my view) proving to be controversial in some quarters, I have high hopes for what will be the most expensive television show ever produced! A return to Tolkien’s world is, of course, hugely enticing, but The Rings of Power is aiming to be a spiritual successor to Game of Thrones, telling a multi-season serialised story set in the realm of high fantasy. With a massive budget to back it up, I couldn’t be more excited about that concept!

However, with a high budget and high expectations come dangers. The Rings of Power has a long way to fall if it fails to live up to expectations, and no matter what the producers and creative team try to do, the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy will be the yardstick by which this new series is measured. I hope it can compare favourably!

Television Show #4:
House of the Dragon

Take everything I said in the entry above, copy-and-paste it, and that’s how I feel about House of the Dragon as well! This Game of Thrones prequel is one of several projects currently in production, but as far as I can see the biggest hurdle it has to surmount is not its predecessor’s reputation as one of the best television shows of all time, but the deep disappointment practically all Game of Thrones fans felt at its finale.

Just convincing people to show up for House of the Dragon in light of Game of Thrones Season 8 feels like a big ask… but if the show learns from those mistakes and makes changes, we could be in for something genuinely exciting. The first five-plus seasons of Game of Thrones were some of the most tense, atmospheric, and exciting ever brought to the small screen, so a return to Westeros – and to the writings of George R R Martin – could be fantastic. Could be.

Television Show #5:
Star Wars: Andor

A prequel to a prequel (or should that be a spin-off from a spin-off?), Andor will follow Rogue One’s Cassian Andor in the years before the events of the film. We might get to see more detail about the early days of the Rebel Alliance prior to the Battle of Scarif, which would be interesting in itself, but more than that I’m curious to see what Star Wars can do with a genuinely different premise. In this case, we’re talking about a spy thriller.

Is there room in the Star Wars galaxy for stories that aren’t just about Jedi Knights, the Force, and lightsaber duels? The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett could’ve begun to show us what the Star Wars galaxy looks like away from those familiar elements, but chose not to do so. So it falls to Andor to potentially become the first Star Wars series to really broaden the franchise’s horizons and show us what’s possible. Is that too much to hope for? Maybe… I guess we’ll have to see!

Television Show #6:
Five Days At Memorial

When done well, a miniseries can be a great format for storytelling. Five Days At Memorial aims to adapt the true story of doctors and nurses working at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Based on a book from 2013, the miniseries will take a look at some of the events that transpired – including how patients were triaged when the hospital’s systems failed and supplies ran low.

Most controversially, some patients were euthanised by doctors at the hospital – leading to a legal case against them in the months and years afterwards. Hopefully the miniseries will be faithful in its adaptation and won’t try to over-sensationalise these difficult events. I’m really curious to see how it turns out.

Video Game #1:
Star Trek: Prodigy – Supernova

You wait years for a Star Trek video game and then two come along at once! This year should see the release of Star Trek: Resurgence – a narrative adventure game – as well as Star Trek: Prodigy – Supernova, a kid-friendly adventure title based on the new animated series. With new episodes of Prodigy’s first season set to air later this year, the time is right for a tie-in.

I was disappointed (and a little concerned) that Prodigy kicked off its first season with no toys or tie-in products, but that is slowly being addressed. Supernova looks a little last-gen in terms of its graphics, and I’m not going to pretend it doesn’t, but I’m still hopeful for a fun game that ties in with the show, and one that can appeal to the younger audience that the show has been targetting.

Video Game #2:
Stray

Stray has been on my radar for a while, and it’s finally due for release in July! Getting to play as a cat is already a huge part of the appeal, but it sounds as if Stray will have a genuinely interesting mystery at its core: what happened to all of the humans in its world? Players will assume the role of a stray cat in a cyberpunk-inspired city, and solving that mystery will be top priority.

I’m really looking forward to what I hope will be a different experience with Stray. Many games do mystery, third-person exploration, and create atmospheric worlds, but Stray feels like it could offer something that I haven’t experienced before.

Video Game #3:
Grounded

If a game has been in early access for more than two years, should its “release” even count on a list like this? Regardless, I haven’t played Grounded yet – because I largely avoid early access titles – so I’m looking forward to seeing what the full release will have to offer. I loved Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, and even visited the attraction at Disney World… could Grounded let me live out a long-held childhood fantasy?

There are survival aspects to Grounded that could either work exceptionally well… or feel annoying, depending on how good the rest of the game is and how much fun I’m having! But I’ve heard good things from players who’ve enjoyed the early access version, so I’m going to give Grounded a shot when it officially releases in September.

Video Game #4:
Return to Monkey Island

Despite loving the first three games in the series, I seem to have fallen behind on my Monkey Island adventures! The fourth and fifth games in the series ended up on my “pile” of unplayed games, and despite meaning to get around to them I still haven’t! Perhaps I should rectify that before Return to Monkey Island – the sixth game in the series – arrives.

Updated versions of the first three Monkey Island games proved that point-and-click adventure titles could still find an audience when they were released a few years ago, and there’s still an appetite for this kind of comedy-adventure. I’m hopeful that Return to Monkey Island will deliver more of the same humour and excitement as the series did in its early days.

Video Game #5:
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum

After being on my radar for a while, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has finally set a release window. All being well we’ll see the weird-sounding game in September. I honestly don’t know what to expect from this one, as Gollum would never be the kind of character I’d have expected to build a game and a story around. However, there’s clearly more to his story than we saw in the films – or even the books – so this could be an interesting adventure!

With a renewed focus on the world of Tolkien and high fantasy thanks to the Amazon show and other fantasy films and TV shows, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum could be a surprise hit. I don’t want to go overboard with the hype, but I’m definitely interested to see what the developers have come up with.

Video Game #6:
Saints Row

It does the Saints Row series a grave disservice to call it simply a “Grand Theft Auto clone,” even if that’s where it might’ve begun. This soft reboot of the series aims to take it back to its roots, setting aside at least some of the over-the-top hijinks of the third and fourth games in favour of a return to the gangland roots of the original Saints Row from 2006.

With no Grand Theft Auto VI on the horizon any time soon, Saints Row might just scratch that open-world crime itch for players who are getting tired of Grand Theft Auto V – but hopefully Saints Row can continue to carve its own niche and stand on its own two feet.

So that’s it!

Those are just some of the projects that we can look forward to in the weeks and months ahead. There are plenty more, of course, and I’m sure there’ll be some surprises along the way, too! Although 2022 has been much better than the past couple of years, there’s still the potential for disruption and delays, so keep in mind that any of the shows, films, and games listed above may not make their currently-scheduled launches. Such things happen, unfortuately!

I hope that this was a bit of fun and a glimpse at what lies ahead. It’s always interesting (to me, at least) to research different upcoming projects to see what piques my curiosity, and as someone who takes an interest in the world of entertainment I’m always keeping my ear to the ground to see what might be coming up! I hope you’ll stay tuned here on the website for reviews, impressions, and write-ups of at least some of the projects we’ve talked about today.

Until next time!

All films, television shows, and video games listed above are the copyright of their respective owner, company, distributor, broadcaster, publisher, etc. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.