I’ve been talking about the week of July 14th for a while now. If you read my “Most Anticipated Games For the Rest of the Year” list a few weeks ago, I mentioned it briefly along with my number four game, which was Dungeons of Hinterberg.
But the more I’ve dived in, the more I’ve realized that I was underselling how insane this gaming week is. There are definitely weeks in fall where I’ve seen 2-3 big AAA games all come out in the same week. Because of that, I can’t say this is the “biggest gaming week of all time.” But I will say this. If you are a true gaming sicko, this might very well be the craziest gaming week of all time. There are six games releasing this week that I am almost assuredly playing at some point. And if the stars align and the reviews are good enough, I am at least open to everything on this list. Seriously, that is insane.
If you are unaware of how big of a deal this week is, hopefully, an anticipation ranking of TEN GAMES in ONE WEEK makes you realize how special this is going to be. Video games rule. With that, let’s get to it!
10. EA Sports College Football 25
Release Date: July 19th
The odds of me playing this are microscopic. I just don’t enjoy sports sim games for a variety of reasons. I don’t usually like that aren’t designed to have a definitive end. Also, despite how hard these games try to be realistic, they are still such a far way off that it always feels weird and off to me. This is why I enjoy arcade style sports games more, as they don’t try for that realism.
With football games in particular, I always find defense to be a fair bit more boring to play compared to offense, too. I like having more direct control over whatever happens, which isn’t always the case on the defensive side.
But if I were to play a sports sim, it would probably be College Football 25. The number of paths you can take by building up different schools is pretty cool. These games seem to have more RPG elements than any other sports sim like this with all of its recruiting systems, too.
I’m certainly happy for all of my friends who are excited about this. And I will let you all cling on to the 1% chance that I play it.
9. Magical Delicacy
Release Date: July 16th
Magical Delicacy appears to be a cozy cooking game with some Metroidvania/platforming elements. The vibe and art style look amazing. The cooking looks like it might actually be pretty interesting, and I usually am not super into cooking elements in video games.
The biggest way this game could really pull me in is if the platforming and Metroidvania elements end up delivering. I am not seeing anything that looks interesting in regards to those in the trailer, and I’m not sure why they would withhold showing a little more of their platforming. If that stuff is actually really fun and rewarding, this could skyrocket up my priority list. Thanks to Game Pass, I will be trying it either way at some point!
8. TMNT: Splintered Fate
Release Date: July 17th
I learned today that this game has actually been out for a year. But it was on Apple Arcade. Something about it releasing on that platform kind of diminishes my expectations for the game. That could be totally unfair, but it’s odd for a game to garner zero attention in the hardcore gamer sphere. I see tweets about so many random games and never saw one for this!
I am a huge sucker for this genre. I love roguelites that really lean into the permanent character upgrades, and this seems to be what they are going for according to reviews I’ve seen. The gameplay just doesn’t seem as sharp as many of the better games in the genre. The movement, in particular, seems kind of lackluster. And the sound design around attacks doesn’t feel super impactful. Hopefully, I’m missing something, or this trailer isn’t doing the best job, but I’m skeptical. Despite that, I enjoy this genre, and I have enough TMNT nostalgia to still potentially give this a go, even if reviews are middling.
7. Nobody Wants to Die
Release Date: July 17th
I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this Unreal Engine 5 game until this week. This looks amazing visually, both from technical and art direction perspectives. I love noir sci-fi like this, and it seems to be borrowing from a lot of products that I really enjoy.
With all that said, I do have some concerns. I feel like the detective work looks a bit tedious. The longer gameplay segments I saw made it feel like a lot of work to uncover new evidence, but none of the ways you did that seemed particularly interesting. Hopefully, that is just a misread on my part.
I also find the voice acting to be a touch cringy. It reminds me of Atomic Heart, and I don’t view that as a good thing. Still, there are also elements here that could make it a special game, and if it reviews well, I will definitely move it up my queue. If the story delivers, the world and atmosphere should be more than enough to carry me through some more mundane aspects.
6. Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition
Release Date: July 18th
Ok, hands up. I have a confession. I really don’t enjoy NES games. 16 bit games just look so much better to me, and gameplay evolved a bit more in the SNES era as well. While I started gaming with a few NES games, I truly dove into gaming in the SNES era, so it is very possible that this bias clouds my judgment.
Despite this, I find myself quite excited for Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition. The NES gameplay should be way more fun in short blips, and the “improve your time” element is something that is consistently addictive in a good way for me. There also seem to be so many cool modes and quality of life features that look to make this even more enjoyable. I love instant restarts in particular. There appears to be tons of other accessibility elements for those who want them, and even the multiplayer looks like unexpected fun.
Then, maybe the biggest thing is that it’s only $30 digitally. And the full $60 physical edition looks really neat. This hits a lot of nice notes and has gone from something I had no interest in to something I definitely intend to buy.
5. Schim
Release Date: July 18th
It has been over two years since I last thought about Schim. But I do remember it. The first trailer for this game was at Summer Game Fest in 2022, and I didn’t see one thing about it again until today.
But the concept has stuck with me because of how cool it is. This seems to be a puzzle platformer of sorts, where you traverse levels by exclusively jumping into shadows. And you can adjust shadows in a whole lot of ways, just like real life. It’s pretty damn amazing to see. It sure helps that the art direction is so clever and the sound design and animations are super cute. I feel bad that this is launching in such a crowded field because it feels like it could be a breakout hit if it is as neat as it looks.
4. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Release Date: July 19th
This is the one game I actually played a demo for, and it was a solid bit of fun! This is a tower defense game of sorts, but the end goal is to guide a character to purify the starting point where enemies emerge. So things get a bit harder as you go, as the character that you need to defend is suddenly more in the path of danger. You can also participate in fighting enemies, which is a big plus in any tower defense game for me.
The game feels very different and kind of clumsy in how it introduces some gameplay aspects in the demo. But once things clicked, I was really enjoying myself. There seemed to be a nice array of upgrades in between levels that I was pretty into as well. Hopefully, it keeps building on some of these core concepts and stays fresh the whole way. This is a tremendous game pass game, as I’d feel a little scared to buy it, but I am all in on trying it as part of my subscription.
3. Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus
Release Date: July 18th
This game screams “mix of Okami and Hollow Knight,” and that is a pretty cool combo to put together! This game looks amazing from a visual perspective. The gameplay seems to have the right notes, at least with its platforming, though I haven’t seen quite as much of the combat yet. If that combat hits, this could be a very special game.
But honestly, even if it’s merely competent, the aesthetic and vibe might be enough to still make this a very cool and fun experience.
2. Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
Release Date: July 18th
I really love a lot of elements of the gameplay here. This is considered a “souls-lite,” which is a genre I’ve come to enjoy. The combat looks crisp, and I love the mix of mobility and the easy to use ranged weapons. It makes it look like you can tackle every encounter in a lot of different ways.
The fact that this is a soulsy game with good-looking platforming is an extreme rarity as well. And there seem to be other cool twists. The reputation system, where you can essentially bank the games’ currency at any point, and you lose it if you get hit is a really cool mechanic.
I also dig that this is the second outing for A44 games. They already made Ashen, which I didn’t play, but reviewed well. This seems like a big step up from that game in terms of production values at the very least. This could be the developers big coming out party.
And not to mention, it is on Game Pass. That always ups the excitement a bit when I don’t have to pay any extra for it. This is a contender for the game I spend the most time with this week.
1. Dungeons of Hinterberg
Release Date: July 18th
Dungeons of Hinterberg was #4 for my overall most anticipated games for the rest of the year. Nothing has changed there! I still love so much of what I see here. The art style is immediately striking, the world and vibe seem perfect, and the combat looks like it has enough options to be fun.
Add in Persona style social elements, and some Zelda-esque puzzle solving, and I really think this game has the potential to be something special. It’s also very ambitious, and sometimes that’s scary, but everything I have seen makes me feel like they are going to nail everything they are going for.
Oh, and once again, game pass! So, at least for me, it’s a risk-free investment. That makes it even better. Hinterberg is my frontrunner for the game I spend the most time with in the coming weeks, and hopefully, it is the highlight of a magical week of video games.
Hopefully, everyone reading this is able to hop on one, two, three, four, or maybe all of these games at some point this summer. I can’t wait.
Big Nerd Gaming 
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