Issue 18

Looking To the Future Of Next-Gen Consoles

If you like talking about what next-gen will look like, this is a great article. While most of this article is written by predicting the future based off of the past, it still acts as a great retrospective of the industry. Looking back at last-gen (PS3, Xbox 360), we're in a much better situation than we were then. Even though Xbox didn't do so great this generation, they did a lot right that's putting them on a promising path for next-gen. They have a strong service in Game Pass and they have a huge first-party team under their wing. If they can learn from their mistakes of this generation, next-gen will be incredible for them. I'm looking forward to a super powerful PS5 that hopefully won't break the bank. If Sony comes out with a redesigned UI and a great piece of hardware, I'll be satisfied! They've proved to us that they know how to make great first party games and they have a plethora of IPs that are in desperate need of sequels (God of War, Horizon). Finally, Nintendo is going a different route, similar to Disney. I love the parallel drawn between these two companies, with Nintendo focusing on expanding the entire brand across mobile games and even theme parks. If they can continue to put out great games for the Switch, I'll be happy forever. Plus, they have the "Switch Pro" or whatever it will be called to release sometime down the line, so I can easily see it staying around for a while.

What're you looking forward to in next-gen?

Image credit: Xbox

38 reasons why 2019 was not all bad | GamesIndustry.biz

To end 2019 on a positive note, let's take a look at some of the great stuff that happened in games over the past year! There's a lot more than 38, but this list will do. My favorites of the year were "you're breathtaking!" Super Nintendo Land, and the Beaker in Untitled Goose Game.

Let me know your favorites!

Image credit: IGN

A Great Year For Video Games and A Bright Future Ahead

Hey, you should sign this remake petition for the PS1 classic Legend of the Dragoon! It was my first RPG and I never got to beat it because our second disk (out of four) had a scratch on it that wouldn't let me progress through the story. Sign it here!

Welcome to the last regular issue of Load Save of 2019! It's been a great year and I have a lot of thanks to give for people who take the time to read what I have to say. I'll go more in-depth on how much I love Load Save on the official last issue of Load Save for 2019 (the one after this one), so for now, let's get to the news! This week, we look at the great year that games had and we look forward to next-gen. You can always let me know what you think about Load Save or just say hey on Facebook, Twitter, or by responding to this email! Next week will be a week without Load Save since it's Christmas and the following issue will be a roundup of some of my favorite articles of 2019!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the read!

Development

There's A Lot Of Dungeons & Dragons Games In Development

Dungeons & Dragons is coming back to video games with a vengeance. We got a glimpse of the first D&D game at The Game Awards, a complete remake of the 2001 Dark Alliance (which I hate the trailer of, motion sickness peeps beware). But it's interesting to see this franchise make a huge push onto gaming. Will all of these games make it to market? If I had to guess, one or two of the games will be combined with each other and maybe one of them will be cancelled. Or, we might see a few of these games as mobile games, not huge AAA console games. I'm excited to see what they have to offer!

Image credit: Dungeons & Dragons Twitter

Deals!

Redbox and PlaySation Store Sales!

Just in case you missed a deal or two from the one million sales that have gone on over the past few weeks, here's another one for you. Redbox will no longer rent games out, so they're selling pretty much every game they have in their boxes. This is an "Until Supplies Last" situation, and I'm assuming it will be over at the start of 2020? But it could continue to go on until they sell everything. You'll have to go to you nearest Redbox, but the website should help you find it. I found Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for $24.99, which is a crazy good deal.

If you'd rather shop digitally for PlayStation, check out their Holiday Sale! It ends January 5th, so you got time to spend that Christmas money on it!

Image credit: Redbox

Community

The Top Indie Games Of 2019

Indie games are great for a lot of reasons, but here are two to get you interested: 1. Most of the time, you're helping support a smaller studio, so you can feel like your money is going someplace good and not just a huge corporation. 2. You can usually grab these great games for less than $60, so that's always a celebration! Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night looks top notch, I think that will be my next indie!

What's your top indie off the year? Let me know!

Image credit: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Twitter

Gaming Happy Places

Have I mentioned that I've fallen in love with Rock Paper Shotgun? Their articles are so unique that I look forward to seeing what they have to say, especially in listicles like these. It's good that people are starting to talk about the seasonal depression that months like these can bring and it's incredible that video games can help with those negative feelings. Some of my happy gaming places can be found in Super Mario: Odyssey, like the Snow and Seaside kingdoms, and exploring the woods of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. More recently, Death Stranding has brought peace through completing missions. The metaphorical and realistic relief of delivering packages and being free of burden is incredible. It feels great to unload everything you have to go explore a dangerous place and nor have to worry about damaged cargo.

What are some gaming places that you've found peace or relaxation in?

Image credit: IGN

Long Read

The Best Decade For Open World Games

As someone who has preferred open world games for a long time, it's great to look back at the open world adventures of the past decade. Take into account that this is written by PC Gamer, so some open world games that were huge on console, i.e. BotW, aren't given the spotlight in this article.

What's your favorite open world game from the past decade?

Image credit: Rockstar Games

We Play Games Differently Than We Used To, And We Should Embrace It

If you're anything like me and Aaron San Filipino, the author of this article, you want to recapture the feeling you had of playing video games as a kid. The feeling of committing all of my free time to that one new game I got and knowing that this game better last me a long time because it would be a hot minute until I got another one. Things were different back then too. I had more free time and I didn't have so much to accomplish. So if you're like me, you have this longing in the back of your mind to return to those days of carefree gaming. While it's true that we'll never get back to that point because time doesn't stop or rewind, we shouldn't be discouraged by it. Instead, let's change our mindset to focus on how we play games today. That's what this article says to consider and I'm all for it. Let's enjoy the games we play while we play them instead of wishing that we had more time or stressing about the next task at hand. I think this is a great article to reset our brains during this Holiday season break. If you have it, enjoy your time off from work, play some games, and enjoy the experience. Don't concern yourself with trying to reach that feeling of when you were a child, and just enjoy the games!

Image credit: Stephanie McNeil

Before You Go

Thank You For A Great 2019

As the year comes to an end, I find myself reflecting on the great joy that Load Save has brought me. I love going through articles every week to put on this newsletter and dropping my opinions with them. I love spreading this newsletter around and I hope you love to read it. I gush more about it on the final issue of 2019, so I'll stop for now, but I can't wait to see what 2020 holds for Load Save!

Thanks for reading! I wonder what our first bit of news for 2020 will be!