My Most Anticipated Games of 2024

As a massive simulation and strategy nerd, it’s no surprise that my list of most anticipated games is dominated by that genre. Take a look below. Did I miss anything? Let me know here.

Nivalis

I played this game at WASD in 2023 and fell in love. The graphical style feels really unique, combining pixel art with the 3D fidelity of a game like Cyberpunk 2077. I spent a good chunk of the demo just wandering the streets of Nivalis‘ futuristic city and gawping at the scenery.

Nivalis can best be described as a life sim, perhaps in the vein of Stardew Valley, but set in a Cyberpunk world.

You start by owning a humble noodle shop, but aim to build a business empire. There is tons to do, including farming, fishing, relationships, quests/missions, crafting and the business management aspects.

Check it out here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1488490/Nivalis/

Metropolis 1998

This is a game with the aesthetics of a 90’s business sim such as Rollercoaster Tycoon and Transport Tycoon, but with the depth of strategy and gameplay from Sim City. Then, for added excitement, add in a splash of ‘The Sims’; caring for individual citizens and designing houses… This is the ambitious premise for Metropolis 1998 and it looks great!

Check it out here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2287430/Metropolis_1998/

Lightyear Frontier

Imagine a farming game, but all the work is done from the comfort of your own giant ‘mech’. That is Lightyear Frontier.

PC Gamer did a great preview of this game, check it out here: https://www.pcgamer.com/one-of-my-most-anticipated-games-of-2024-is-the-one-where-mechs-do-farming/

Nova Roma

Feels like the Caesar games, mixed with the brilliant Kingdoms & Castles which I played tons.

Check it out here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2426530/Nova_Roma/

Skull and Bones

One my favourite Assassins Creed games was Black Flag.

If you never played it, it was a pirate sim disguised as an Assassins Creed game. Now, Skull and Bones captures that spirit and brings it up-to-date in a brand new game.

Check it out here: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/game/skull-and-bones

Visions of Mana

I have never dived deeply into the Mana series of RPGs. But they’ve always intrigued me. The art style, the world-building and general respectability in the community means that they are games that are hard to ignore.

Visions Of Mana is the first mainline entry into the series in 15 years.

Check it out here: https://mana.square-enix-games.com/en-gb

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Final Fantasy 7 defined my childhood. So its no surprise that I have been following closely with the remakes.

This next entry is due February 29, 2024. It continues where the last game left off, just as the hero party are leaving the mighty city of ‘Midgar’.

Check it out here: https://na.store.square-enix-games.com/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth

Dragon’s Dogma 2

I loved the first Dragon’s Dogma game. It was a medieval fantasy RPG with dragons! It had quite a bit of freedom to explore and develop your character, which was enough to keep me hooked.

As a bonus, there was also a great anime show to accompany the game – search it out! (Netflix?)

Dragon’s Dogma 2: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2054970/Dragons_Dogma_2/

Special Mention: Merchant Legends

I can’t do a most anticipated list without mentioning my own game, Merchant Legends: The Founding. This has been a passion project of mine for many years and I’ll finally be releasing it in 2024.

It is a retro RPG where you build a town in a Game Boy styled world. There is a huge land to explore, lots of collectibles, trading to do and enemies to defeat.

If you have a Steam account, do me a favour and add me to your Wishlist – it helps the algorithm gods massively: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2262120/Merchant_Legends_The_Founding/

Thanks for reading! I am a games consultant with expertise in entrepreneurship, website development, marketing and game design, and I am available for hire. Contact me: https://danwiseman.co.uk/contact/