Shack Chat: What do you want to see from gaming in 2019?

Shack Chat is back once again, our weekly feature where each Friday where we’ll ask the Shacknews staff to give their opinion on a particular topic, then open the floor to our dedicated Chatty community to provide a diverse mixture of thoughts on the subject. It’s a great way for us to get to know one another better while inspiring healthy debates with all of you passionate gamers out there.

Question: What do you want to see from gaming in 2019?

F-Zero on Switch - Asif Khan, at CES 2019

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ THIS
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ WILL
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ BE
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ THE
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ YEAR
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ F-ZERO
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ COMES
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ OUT
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ ON
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ NINTENDO
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ SWITCH
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ U GUISE!

Cyberpunk 2077 - Bill Lavoy, Made Asif log into Facebook

As someone who believes The Witcher 3 is a 10/10 game, I want to see Cyberpunk 2077. My faith in CD Projekt RED is through the roof, and Cyberpunk 2077 being an amazing experience is a safe bet in my opinion.

I would also like to get my hands on The Witcher 4 where the protagonist is Ciri, but given how much time passes between CD Projekt RED games, I’m not going to start freaking out over that possibility until 2022.

Augmented Reality - Blake Morse, Reviews Editor

As augmented reality advances and becomes more intuitive I’d like to see a push towards more creative concepts that break the traditional mold of what a game can be. Take a look at what Pokemon Go did a few years back. It got people out of their homes and comfort zones and interacting with total strangers all in the name of catching them all. But last year we didn’t really see anything that built upon that core concept, but we did see the release of the Oculus Go. I think I’d like to see something that falls in between both Go’s: a blend of passive and active that fits into day to day lives. And no, I do not mean something like Google Glass. I mean something that can not only gamify reality but alter our perception of it. Maybe it’s a little far-fetched to hope we’ll see something come to market this year that changes how we think of games, but it’s what I want to see.

SNES Games on Nintendo Switch - Kevin S. Tucker, Skáld

I was never terribly fond of Virtual Console support on past Nintendo consoles primarily because I was never terribly fond of the past Nintendo consoles with Virtual Console support. I have a Switch now of course, and it's rad, but I still can't help wishing that I could use it to play my favorite old-school SNES hits.

The collection of NES classics made available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers is certainly nice, but for me personally, the real meat of Nintendo's back catalog rests with the Super NES. Many of my fondest gaming memories were forged with that 16-bit system, and to be able to cart those games around with me wherever I feel like playing feels like something the Switch was always intended to do.

I wouldn't even be picky about it. I'd buy games a la carte as it was with the Virtual Console, or I'd pay an extra 20 or whatever dollars for another classic games library, if that's the direction Nintendo decided to take. Barring any real SNES support, I'd even be willing to purchase something akin to the recent Link to the Past 3DS remake on Switch, or any other SNES-based retro collections the developers feel like putting together. Hint hint, Nintendo.

Updates on the Final Fantasy 7 Remake - Brittany Vincent, Senior Editor

Look, it's been long enough. All I want to know at this point is if the game is still coming, if there's been any real progress made, and if I'm going to be seeing anything even remotely related to this game in 2019. Should I ever hope to hear anything about it again? I know Square Enix was talking about hiring some people to work on it, but will I be in my mid-thirties before the new version finally arrives? I know I'll at least be 30, because it won't be coming out before May, so that's something. But seriously – some more video footage would certainly be nice.

The Square Enix Avengers Initiative - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Editor

It's almost two years to the day since Square Enix first revealed a multi-game partnership with Marvel Games. Crystal Dynamics, fresh off the success of the rebooted Tomb Raider franchise, was put in charge of crafting a new action game for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. There has been no word regarding this project since that initial announcement. And with Shadow of the Tomb Raider putting Lara Croft's story to bed (at least for now), one would imagine that this will be the year that Crystal Dynamics offers an update on their progress. With "Avengers: Endgame" set to hit theaters in April, interest in Marvel's premier team of heroes has never been higher and curiosity in Square Enix's Avengers Initiative is sure to hit new heights.

EA BIG and return to form for Square Enix - Charles Singletary, Avalanche Prospect

We’ve already published a list of the most anticipated games for 2019, so I’ll refrain from talking about how I just want to see Shenmue 3 now be really bad. Instead, I’ll wax poetic about two things that are pretty unlikely: The return of EA BIG and a shift back to classic JRPGs from Square-Enix.

Square-Enix has worked itself into a tight corner by shift their formerly niche JRPG genre into something way more mainstream than most would have imagined. They’ve done it, no matter what my gripes may be with the Fabula Nova Crystallis collection of games and Kingdom Hearts 3, but I worry where the studio will go next.

Octopath Traveler is a testament to how a traditional JRPG design still has a home in gaming and also may serve as a blueprint for how to do it, at least as far as art design goes. The massive worlds that Square Enix has become known for are difficult to create while sticking to visual styles like Final Fantasy 15 and the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 remake. I’d like to see the studio reel things in and pour more resources into games like I Am Setsuna and Children of Zodiarcs in the Square Enix Collective. A new numbered Final Fantasy game with a 2D mixed art style, turn-based combat, and tighter writing would be a dream.

On the case of EA BIG, I’ve pretty much always wanted the Street sports games to come back around. More importantly, a world without a new SSX entry is a world in which I feel I’m being cheated.

Donovan Erskine, Intern

I want to see Game Freak take a leap of faith with Pokemon on Switch this year. It was confirmed back in 2017 that a new mainline installment for the franchise would be coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2019, so we know it’s been in development for a long time. Pokemon Lets Go Pikachu/Eevee served as an appetizer. A cute and comfortable adventure through the beloved Kanto region filled with familiar faces and moments. Game Freak has gotten a lot of slack for their efforts in recent titles (deservedly so), and this is their big chance to swing for the fences and create a Pokemon experience like none other.

I’m not exactly sure what I want Pokemon 2019 to be, I’ll leave that to the much smarter devs in charge. I just hope that they take this opportunity to revitalize the franchise. Mix up the formula, make gameplay uniquely challenging, do whatever you must to make Pokemon a legitimate RPG. I want to see Pokemon 2019 do for the pokemon franchise what Breath of The Wild did for the Zelda series.

ESPN NFL 2K20 - Chris Jarrard, Sufferer of CTE

It’s been 15 years since the release of the greatest football video game of all time and I think it would be great if the fans got an updated version of the game, even if the chances of this happening are nearly non-existent.

EA has held a firm grip on the exclusive license to make NFL football games for PC and consoles since SEGA and 2K Sports ate their lunch with the release of ESPN NFL 2K5. That year, the team at Visual Concepts released one of the greatest sports video games of all time, featuring many advancements that have yet to be matched by the Madden series all these years later, and they did it with a price tag of only $20. Momentum was building in 2K’s favor and then the NFL license was gone in a flash.

I would love a new version of the game made with the same level of dedication and polish that ESPN NFL 2K5 received, complete with modern graphics and online capabilities. While I’m wishing for things that won’t happen, I’d also like to ask for a date with Kathy Ireland and for The Kellogg Company to bring back Frosted Double Dip Crunch cereal.

Jet Set Radio Future - Sam Chandler, Guides Editor

There are countless new games I have to play, and now that I have a Switch I need to complete Breath of the Wild, but I do love me some original Xbox title. I’m also a massive advocate for Microsoft’s backward compatibility program, which is why I hope to see a greater number of games added to the service this year.

One game that sticks out in my mind as a title I’d replay in a heartbeat is Jet Set Radio Future. The stylistic choices made by the team at Smilebit back in the early 2000s always stuck with me. The gorgeous cell-shading, the flow and feel of the skating, or the mesmerizing soundtrack that I can still sing to this day are all reasons why it’s my pick. If I have to be specific, I hope JSRF comes to the back compat program, if I can be broad, I really want to see a solid push from the team at Xbox in bringing far more original titles to the Xbox One this year.

More info about Metroid Prime 4 - Josh Hawkins, New to Shack Chat

With over ten years having passed since Metroid Prime 3, many fans of the first-person adaption of Nintendo’s beloved series have been fiending for a new fix. Thankfully, it seems Nintendo has heard our pleas for help and revealed Metroid Prime 4 late last year. Of course, nothing is known about it so far, but that isn’t going to stop me from riding the hype train as long as I can. Hopefully this year leads to some more information about the game, if not a release window of when we can expect to pick it up off the shelf.

I can’t wait to see what Nintendo does for the newest entry in the series and the fact that I’ll be able to play it on my Nintendo Switch--and take it anywhere I go--only raises the bar for my excitement of once more being able to dive into the Metroid universe and experience it through Samus’ eyes. I just hope Nintendo doesn’t keep us waiting too long.

Disagree with our picks? Think we're a bunch of clowns? Let us know in the Chatty below.