5 Things Gamers Are Grateful For In 2019

With Thanksgiving approaching, gamers can look forward to a day of turkey and stuffing and being grateful for what we have. Here are a few things that gamers can be thankful for so far in 2019.

1. Breath of the Wild 2 Sequel

Sequels to The Legend of Zelda games aren't a new concept, there are even sequels directly after the first game like Majora's Mask (to Ocarina of Time) and Link Between Worlds (to Link to the Past). However, fans were completely blindsided when BOTW 2 was annouced at E3 2019.

Breath of the Wild is an amazing game with its open world map and gameplay mechanics. With all the exploring, discovering, unveiling, it truly was about the journey. That sort of left the story to be a bit lacking, but since the E3 2019 sequel trailer, fans have been speculating and questioning every possible story angle. It's something to look forward to, and we're grateful for that annoucement.

2. Release of Death Stranding

In true Hideo Kojima fashion, information for Death Stranding were scarce and few when the game was first annouced in E3 2016. All fans had to go with were the few cryptic trailers and the ever ambiguous statements from Kojima himself. The dead and undead, babies in a tube, celebrity cameos, what did it all represent? Even three years later in 2019, fans can only keep guessing until it was finally released in November 2019. Fans can finally see what Trolljima had been up to.

3. Redesign of Sonic for the Sonic The Hedgehog movie

Video game movies are notoriously bad, and the first impressions of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie didn't fall far from the tree. The first trailer released on April 2019 featured a humanized form of Sonic with long arms and legs and a disproportionate face, a farcry from Sonic's cartoony features. Fans were quick to voice their criticisms online, and the outcry was enough to convince the developers of the movie to delay the release date just to fix Sonic's appearance. With the new trailer out, developers can breathe a sign of relief as fans praised the redesign and were grateful their voices were heard.

4. Samurai Shodown V

A lot of mechanics and thrill of a fighting game stems from the complicated and often theatrical string of combos. The Guilty Gear and Marvel vs Capcom series are classic examples of the over-the-top, 30+ marvelous hit combos that are fun to watch and just as fun to execute. Other fighting games such as Street Fighter also depend on the right timing and foe mistakes to unleash devastating blows after blows in a chain of command. Thus is the standard and template for most fighting games that are released these days, and new styles are something to appreciate.

Samurai Shodown is a clean slate for those entering the fighting ring. Instead of button mashing A, B, or C to start a combo, players must carefully bide their time and position, as rushing forward will only leave a character open for an attack. A single swipe from Genjuro (a highly used tournament tiered character), can cleanly slice your life in half. There still are combos in the game and moves can link together, but players can forgo that and still be a challenge. Samurai Shodown is about opportunistic fighting, carefully gauging your enemy and watching for the moment to strike, no different than a real life samurai duel.

5. New Kingdom Hearts In Development

Kingdom Hearts 3 was finally released in January 2019 to vast fanfare. Despite questionable directions and character development, it was enough to satiate hardcore fans and bring a conclusion to the trilogy's story. As the pages of the chapters close, it hints that new adventures are being written, the story of Kingdom Hearts is not over.

Even if it will be years before the next main Kingdom Hearts game will be out, fans can be thankful that the long awaited third game had come and gone, and left them knowing it's not goodbye and can look forward to the next journey with Sora. 

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