The sun is making more regular appearances and finding a table in your local beer garden gets a bit more difficult by the week, but as alluring as the outdoors is during the summer months, staying inside and playing video games is also pretty tempting.
Especially when you look at this particular summer’s release calendar.
Gone are the days when the summer was a barren period for new game releases. This year we’ve even got a new console too, as the Nintendo Switch 2 finally arrived last week.
So without further ado, get those curtains closed and start pressing buttons. Here are three games we can’t wait to play over the summer months.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
When Hideo Kojima puts out a new game, the world takes notice. The Metal Gear creator’s post-Konami studio, Kojima Productions, is back with the sequel to its 2019 debut Death Stranding.
Once again, it falls to the post-apocalyptic postman himself, Sam Porter Bridges, to save humanity and rebuild a disconnected world. What to expect? Well, a lot more walking, naturally, a lot more Hollywood cameos, and more of a focus on action than its strangely meditative predecessor.
Beyond that? Well, this is Kojima we’re dealing with, so anything is possible.
The first game was an acquired taste to say the least, and we expect Death Stranding 2: On the Beach to be just as divisive, but there’s nothing else in the AAA space quite like it, and we can’t wait to see the stunning-looking sequel running on the PS5 Pro.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4
2020’s remake of the first two Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games remains one of the most impressive we’ve ever played, so of course we can’t wait for the next two (and arguably best) games in the legendary skateboarding series to get the same treatment.
First released in 2001 and 2002 respectively, the third and fourth entries featured some of the most imaginative levels in the series, as well as a perfection of the already strong mechanics established in the first two games.
Like its predecessor, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 lets you pick from a roster of new and returning skaters, and there’s even a brand new level called “Waterpark”, which looks precisely as fun to trick your way around as it sounds.
Donkey Kong Bananza
Like a lot of people, we were slightly miffed not to get so much as a hint of a new 3D Mario game at the Switch 2’s unveiling earlier this year, But if we can’t have the plumber, a new game starring Nintendo’s original simian mascot is almost as good.
Especially when Donkey Kong Bananza is the first 3D outing for DK since the Nintendo 64 era.
From what we’ve seen of this one so far, it looks like Donkey Kong’s answer to Super Mario Odyssey, with the big gameplay hook here being that the tie-wearing ape can use his incredible strength to smash not only obstacles, but through the earth itself.
We still don’t know exactly how deep (in both senses of the word) this system gets, but we can’t wait to find out.
