Sometimes a spiritual successor is more promising than the sequel you wanted

Some of last night’s most exciting announcements didn’t have numbers in the title

I haven’t been active in fandom spaces for years now, but lurking on the edges of social media forums dedicated to games I find cool does technically fall under the remit of my job. And let me tell you, the lead-up to a night likeThe Game Awardsis always something else. Fringes of theTomb Raiderfanbase were getting hyped for the announcement of the next game because… well, it just feels like about time, right? The same went forLife Is Strange, but then, Life Is Strange fans have been predicting the imminent reveal of LIS3 literally on a weekly basis ever since True Colors launched, so they’re bound to be right eventually.Ace Attorneystans were using numerology to predict that AA7 would finally get announced. Incredible scenes of completely baseless hype, and despite myself, I wanted to believe.

TakeJudas, for example: the upcoming game fromBioShockcreator Ken Levine. Judas is a very BioShock-y looking game, but it’s untethered itself from the expectations of belonging to a franchise… well, no actually, it’s placed itself at the intersection of several different franchises while being beholden to none of them, which is also fine by me. When I hear a sea shanty fashionably remixed for a trailer song, you bet I’m going to think ofDishonored. And remember whenPreyfirst leaked and people thought it was going to be a BioShock sequel set in space? Looks like that’s exactly what we’re getting here. Plus BioShock in space is technicallySystem Shock, and both Prey and BioShock are themselves spiritual successors to that. Good times; I can’t wait!

There were plenty more announcements to get excited for last night if your preferred genre is “clear homages”. EA Originals are always a delightfully random grab bag, and I can’t wait to see what amodern Hexen-esque magic FPS from the creator of Dead Spaceends up looking like under the label.Post Traumaclearly remembers all the fixed-camera horror games I grew up with in the early 2000s, and wants us to hang out and get all nostalgic and covered in gore and tentacles.After Usis a hauntingly beautiful 3D platformer along the lines ofJourneyorSea Of Solitude, but your pal is a happy ghost dog. What’s not to love?

It’s not the diet of familiar comfort food I might have been secretly hoping for. But fresh tastes better, and trying different combinations of flavours from time to time is definitely good for you in the long run.