Games Inbox: Doom 3 release date predictions, Switch 2 controllers, and Halo Infinite co-op disaster-GameCentral-Entertainment – Metro

Doom Eternal – what happens next? (pic: Bethesda)

The Tuesday letters page considers the similarities between Stray and As Dusk Falls, as one reader is confused about the Saints Row hype.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Hail to the king
I was looking through the list of upcoming Xbox releases again yesterday and I realised there wasn’t anything from id Software. They don’t seem to have announced anything since they released Doom Eternal in 2020 (which I would’ve sworn was even older than that but I guess the pandemic screws with your perception of time).

Obviously, the best guess for what they’re doing next is Doom 3 (or whatever they’ll call it) but there have also been quite a few rumours about a single-player Quake reboot, and I kind of flip over which I’d prefer.

I hope something is announced soon though, as I feel id are very underappreciated in modern times. They basically invented the first person shooter but nowadays I don’t think many people have even heard of them. I was also very frustrated by Rage 2 as while all the open world stuff in that game was bad the gunplay was top notch – at least Bungie quality – but that kind of overshadowed.

It’s time for them to make a big comeback and reclaim their crown as the kings of first person shooters.
Cheddar

Indie future
Interesting that on Monday we got reviews of two indie games that are exclusives to their respective consoles and free to play from day one through their subscription services. What’s also interesting is that neither Stray or As Dusk Falls sound like something you’d really want to be paying circa £20 for, but are perfectly reasonable timewasters for ‘free’.

This feels like the future of gaming right there. Not in terms of what the games themselves are but how medium budget games are going to being funded and sold, and how Sony and Microsoft (and even Nintendo) are going to fill their schedules, now that triple-A games take so long to make.

And I’m fine with it. Neither game sounds amazing but they do sound different and that’s got to be a good thing. Looking forward to seeing both companies making more such deals in the future.
Marv

Slow progress
Are there only two people working on Halo Infinite or something? How can it possibly be taking this long to add campaign co-op?! I thought today’s story was going to be about it finally being added but it’s only a beta, that you have to sign up for?

No wonder Microsoft’s other games are taking so long if this is how they treat their top priority. As far as I’m concerned 343 have been bad ever since Bungie left. I bet Microsoft would secretly like to get rid of them, but the trouble of getting someone else in after all this time is probably too much. I do wonder how much they can continue to mess up though, before something is finally done.
Fungus

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No clue
So there’s a free trial for PS Plus Premium, for a week, but Sony hasn’t told anyone? We only know because fans and websites happen to have noticed? I don’t want to pile onto them, considering people have been complaining about their communication issues for a while now, but this is beyond weird.

Do we have any idea when they’re going to have another State of Play? A proper one where they talk about their own games and announce something new? I know Sony have a delayed E3 event in September but as far as I know Sony hasn’t so much as hinted at anything, not even for God Of War Ragnarök.
Onibee

GC: There’s really no way to even guess. There’s no precedent for the way Sony’s been acting this year, particularly the last few months, so a new State of Play could happen at any time… or not at all.

Fan complaints
I’m surprised to see how soon the Saints Row is out, in just a month’s time, and yet nobody seems to be talking about it, either here or across the wider internet. Are fans still upset because it doesn’t have the old characters any more? I don’t like the look of the new ones but I can’t pretend the old ones made much of an impression either.

Was that the only problem they had with the game? I didn’t really understand the outrage on that one. All I know is that the original Saints Row games were a lot more fun to play than GTA and they had a really good character customiser. Is that not enough anymore?

Maybe there’s a legitimate complaint I’m not aware of, I don’t go over the trailers with a magnifying glass as I imagine some did, but sometimes it does seem like people just complaint when something is different or is not 100% subservient to the past. If that’s what’s going on with Saints Row it won’t be enough to put me off.
Blackbolt

VR control
Assuming Nintendo does release new hardware next year I still have trouble believing it’d be something as simple as the Switch Pro, that is basically the same console but with more power. I mean, it could be, who knows, but it seems to me that too much time has passed now for that not to be seen as too little too late.

I think it’s got to be the Switch 2 itself and yet I can’t believe that will just be the Switch but with better graphics. I guess there’s the argument that they got too whacky with the Wii U but while the GamePad was something new the rest of the console was basically too similar to the Wii, so I have a feeling they’ll try to make the Switch 2 very distinctive in its own right. But how?

Keeping it hybrid seems a given but what else would you do? What weird controls or features could it have? And then it hit me. The modern style of VR controller are basically motion controllers but a lot more precise and better at 3D movement. So how about combing a couple of those with the Switch 2?

It doesn’t have to have anything to do with VR, as I’m sure Nintendo could figure out lots of interesting things to do with it on a normal screen. If that turns out to be their plan then I’d like to pretend that my uncle who works at Nintendo told me.
Focus

Pre-order now, dude
Just a quick reminder that the pre-orders close for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles physical editions this Sunday on 24th July on Limited Run Games. So if you don’t order before then, then you won’t be able to order it, apart from the standard versions on Amazon etc.

From this Sunday it takes four to six months for production and delivery, so you don’t get it straight away.
Andrew J.
Currently playing: It Takes Two (Xbox Series X)

The psychology of fakes
I do wonder at what some of these fans get out of making up such complicated and time-consuming fake leaks. I can kind of see the technical challenge in making a fake video or photo but writing pages and pages of fake GTA 6 info and the trying to pass it off as real… what’s the point? It must’ve got quite a bit of coverage too, to have the guy from Bloomberg to comment on it, so I guess maybe that was what the person wanted?

I do expect we will get real GTA 6 but probably not until much closer to release (which I assume is not before 2024). As I remember things did leak out about Red Dead Redemption 2, particularly the map a couple of times, but that was only about six months before it came out, I think.

It’s probably best if we all resolve ourselves to that and just continue to wait. Making up fantasy descriptions of what the game is going to be like just doesn’t seem healthy, especially if everything is just the same as GTA 5 but one better. Given how many developers have left Rockstar in the last few years, including the head writer, we should feel lucky if the new game is as good as GTA 5, let alone expect it to be better.
Barney

Inbox also-rans
I gave Citizen Sleeper another go, after watching a review. I now get it and am finding it quite compelling.
EvilMoomin

GC: Well done to you, we thought you’d like it if you gave it a chance.

Can we just celebrate the fact that Bayonetta 3 is a thing that’s actually happening. None of the previous games have ever sold well, on any format, and yet life finds a way!
Chissum

This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Tolly, who asks what’s the longest games session you’ve ever had.

Put simply, what’s the longest you’ve ever played a game without any substantial break? Did you purposefully set out to play for that long and if so, what preparations did you make for it?

Have you ever sat down to play and been surprised by just how long you’ve been there once you finished? Did you consider this a good thing and generally speaking what’s your preferred length of time for a gaming session?

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The small print
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You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

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MORE : Weekend Hot Topic: Most wanted upcoming video games

MORE : Games Inbox: Restoring the old Assassin’s Creed formula, Uncharted 5 without Nate, and Bayonetta 3

MORE : Games Inbox: PS Plus Premium a waste of money, Bayonetta 3 excitement, and Trover Saves The Universe

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