January is the worst month of the year. All the fun things about Christmas are over, and now you have to spend a weekend putting away all the decorations and figuring out how to get rid of an entire tree. You’re broke, the weather sucks, and it’s time to go back to work, school, or both. I have to pay my car insurance for the entire year in January, and the next holiday isn’t until May. And worst of all, there are no new video games.
There are a lot of reasons publishers don’t release games in January, but they all boil down to financial concerns. People have the least amount of disposable income right after Christmas. You’d think all thosePlayStationgift cards kids got from their aunts and uncles would still make January an attractive month for new games, but they’ve all been used up onFortniteskins and battle passes before New Year’s Day. A January game has never won TGA’s Game of The Year award either. If you have a big game, it’s just not a good idea to release it in January.
This does leave some room in the schedule for smaller games to seize the spotlight, thankfully. Unlike movies that treat January as a dumping ground for films the studios want us to forget, it’s still a great month for indie games and new entries in niche series. This January brings us both, but there’s really only one game you have to play this month.
Old Favorites Return
Withthe recent announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2,Donkey Kong Country Returns HD(launching January 16) may be the last Wii port we get on the original Switch. It’s been seven years since the last Donkey Kong, the Switch port of Tropical Freeze, first released for the Wii U in 2014. They’re both great Donkey Kong games, and as nice as it will be to revisit Donkey Kong Country Returns this year, it’s a harsh reminder that DK never seems to get the love he deserves.
Speaking of which, the OG Musou series is back withDynasty Warriors: Originson January 17. Long-time fans are skeptical about this reimagining because it has a drastically reduced roster compared to past entries, butour preview, from a newcomer to the series, was optimistic. This is probably going to be the most hackin’ and slashin’ you’re going to get until Elden Ring: Nightreign launches later this year.
If you’re a patient PC gamer, you can look forward to both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 this month.
Sniper Elite: Resistancelaunches January 30. The next entry in the sniper simulator series is another WW2 tactical stealth shooter featuring a story that runs parallel to Sniper Elite 5. Along with the campaign, Resistance has quite a few multiplayer options, including the classic Axis Invasion mode, 16-player battles, and a co-op Survival mode.
If You Only Play One Game This Month…
I’m sure the suspense is killing you. January 31 is the release date of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, a dice-driven RPG and the sequel toTheGamer’s Game of the Year 2022. If you haven’t played the original Citizen Sleeper, you’ve got a few weeks to correct that mistake. It only takes about seven hours to complete, or 13 to finish 100 percent, which you’ll likely want to do.
The sequel takes the same premise from the first - an escaped android on the run from the space-age mega-corporation that created them - but rather than building a life for yourself on a derelict space station, this time you’ll be hopping from planet to planet with a crew of of your own.
Citizen Sleeper is one of the most compelling RPGs of all time, andthe sequel aims to be bigger and better in every way. If you only play one game this month, this is the one you can’t miss.
WHERE TO PLAY
The highly anticipated sequel to one of 2022’s most acclaimed RPGs, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector takes players to the Starward Belt, a richly realised, ramshackle set of habitats in an asteroid belt full of secrets, stories, and characters trying to make ends meet.You are a sleeper, an emulation of a human mind housed in an artificial body. You are on the run from the corporation that made you and the gang that seeks to control you. Commandeer a ship, build a network of crew and allies, and take on challenging contracts as you seek to build a future for yourself.Choose a class, configure your skills and assemble your crew in unique tabletop-inspired gameplay. Your future depends on the roll of a dice, as you make difficult choices in a complex world. Reinventing the award-winning systems of Citizen Sleeper, this dice-driven RPG will satisfy both fans of the original game and new players alike.
