The final month of what feels like the longest year in existence is finally upon us — Logan Paul in that forest was this year, if you can believe it. While December 2018 feels like a month of two halves for game releases with the latter half being understandably empty, the first two weeks are absolutely stacked.
Carnage is the keyword for December, whether that’s with tornadoes and skydiving or pitting the unlikeliest of rival against each other in what might be the Switch’s biggest game yet. If you need to finish your year off in style or need inspiration for Christmas gifts, here are the biggest new games of December 2018.
1. Just Cause 4 | December 4th
Developer: Avalanche Studios
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform(s): PC, PS4, XB1
While there may not be enough here to persuade the unconverted, Just Cause multiplied by tornadoes seems like simple math for any fans of the series. Rico returns to perform ridiculous stunts and some casual genocide once again in what you would expect to be one of the most silly and downright fun games of 2018. My only question is how it performs on console this time, though. It’s been years and Just Cause 3 still runs like complete and utter ass on PS4, which everyone involved seem to have just been given a pass for.
2. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden | December 4th
Developer: The Bearded Ladies Consulting
Publisher: Funcom
Platform(s): PC, PS4, XB1
You have to applaud the balls on the developers to release a game where you can play as a badass duck in the middle of the run-up to Christmas. Anyone who loves XCOM will find something to veer towards here, especially if you’re the sort of gamer who enjoys putting top hats on ducks. Featuring stealth and an intriguing story that depicts outcasts trying to find their way to some kind of paradise, this adaptation of a cult favourite tabletop RPG might be one of the year’s sleeper hits. Quick bonus: it will be included with Xbox Game Pass.
3. Subnautica | December 4th
Developer: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Publisher: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Platform(s): PS4, XB1 (already out on PC)
Anyone who’s played Subnautica on PC will know what to expect from its console ports, the PS4 seeing it for the first time and it graduating from the Xbox One’s Game Preview program. You can look forward to a mature and deep survival game set underwater that features plenty of things to micro-manage and a sense of claustrophobia that’s hard to shake. Consoles really are starting to get a decent line-up of the best survival games.
4. Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight/Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight | December 4th
Developer: P-Studio
Publisher: Atlus
Platform(s): PS4, Vita
To be upfront with you here, I can’t even begin to understand this but respect those that do. The Persona games have always been a little off-kilter and these rhythm game spin-offs look like no exception. Already available in the east, these western localisations are bound to bring the guilt-filled funk and plenty of bops. If you’re interested in Persona but don’t have a hundred spare hours, this might be a good entry point.
5. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds | Dec 7th
Developer: Bluehole/PUBG Corp
Publisher: Tencent
Platform(s): PS4 (already out on PC/XB1
PUBG finally makes it way to the PlayStation 4, though it may be a little late to the party. The PS4 already has a tonne of battle royale options with established playerbases, so can a notoriously buggy and generally unreliable game on console really be expected to make many moves? There hasn’t been much in the way of preview footage shown yet, but judging from how bad the Xbox One version was at launch, maybe hold off on buying this on day one.
6. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | December 7th
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform(s): Switch
Here it is: the biggest game of December and arguably all of 2018 apart from that cowboy one. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the most ambitious game in the franchise and includes every single character featured in a Smash game to date as well as a very interesting looking World of Light mode. Only time will tell if it can dethrone Melee as the quintessential Smash eSports game after all these years, but it’s shaping up very promisingly indeed.
7. Gris | December 13th
Developer: Nomada Studio
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Platform(s): PC,Switch
Trust Devolver to sneak out one of the most beautiful games of 2018 just as the year is wrapping. Gris looks like a watercolour dream, a game which might be described as a walking simulator by some and a narrative-based experience by others. You play as a young girl who is lost in her own world with her sorrow manifesting itself as her dress. It sounds like an absolutely bizarre but also serious and contemplative ride and I am all here for it.
Honourable Mentions
– Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales | December 4th – PS4, XB1
– Jagged Alliance: Rage! | December 6th – PC, PS4, XB1
– Gwent: The Witcher Card Game | December 4th – PS4, XB1
– Desert Child | December 11th – PC, PS4, XB1, Switch
– Gungrave VR | December 11th – PS4 (VR)
– Hello Neighbor: Hide & Seek | December 7th – PS4, XB1, Switch
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