The key games of November; the flood never abates

After such a packed October, you might be looking forward to a more relaxing month in November, to give you the time to enjoy those many games that have been added to your backlog over the last couple of weeks.

Unfortunately, folks, that won’t be happening, because November is absolutely jam packed with games as well. If you’re a fan of the blockbusters, you’ve got Call of Duty, Star Wars and the almighty Fallout 4. If you’re a fan of niche Japanese games, there’s Norn9 or Stella Glow. There’s a couple of Wii U games (including one from a third party publisher of all things), the 2016 edition of Football Simulator, and really good rhythm game.

So, yes, you’re going to be busy. Be sure to let us know what you’ll be grabbing in the comments!

Norn9: Var Commons – 3/11/2015

Yet another brilliant little visual novel, Norn9: Var Commons has a science fiction edge to go with the romance of an Otome story, and couples that with some lovely characterisation and a gorgeous soundtrack. Pulled together, Norn9: Var Commons continues to develop the Vita’s already excellent visual novel library.

Anno 2205 – 3/11/2015

It’s been a while since we had a quality Anno game, but Anno 2205 looks like it might be that game. This series has always been about building and maintaining a city on a strategic level, and is all about carefully placing buildings so that they can have a positive influence on other nearby buildings, thus helping the overall city to grow. Balance is obviously key here, but we’re always itching for a good city builder, so we have our fingers and toes crossed for this one.

Need For Speed – 3/11/2015

EA and Ghost have decided to reboot the Need for Speed series, and this is the first game in the series that will be specifically designed for the new generation of consoles. Using the Frostbite 3 engine Need For Speed looks gorgeous, and we’re promised a large open world to hoon around. Of course, key will be Ghost’s ability to give us thrilling chases and excellent road design to speed around, but this series has been on the up for a few years now, so we’re expecting big things.

Yo-Kai Watch – 6/11/2016

What a nice surprise this was when Nintendo announced that it was being localised. Yo-Kai watch is, like Pokemon, a game that is all about collecting little monsters and getting them to fight for you, while levelling them up to become more powerful. Unlike Pokemon, however, Yo-Kai watch is heavily representative of Japanese culture and unique quirks of life over there. Whether it will resonate in English or not remains to be seen, but in its homeland, everything is about Yo-Kai Watch these days.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III – 6/11/2015

There’s not much that can be said about this one, really. Call of Duty is an annual series and has always been about big explosions, big action, loud noises, and excellent multiplayer. It is very unlikely that this year’s edition will be any different, but there is a reason people keep buying these games year after year; they are the ultimate in popcorn gaming.

Superbeat: Xonic – 10/11/2015

The PlayStation Vita is no slouch when it comes to rhythm games. Not even close. But that’s not to say Superbeat: Xonic won’t be an essential addition to that library. In fact, we’re betting it will be. Acid trip visuals, combines with pulsating music might well make for the perfect combination to tune out to with a good pair of headphones and a six pack of beer.

Fallout 4 – 10/11/2015

Without a doubt the biggest game release this month, there’s not much we can really say about Fallout 4 that you don’t already know. It’s going to be a post-apocalyptic RPG with an absolutely massive world filled with every distraction you could possibly imagine to keep you buried in its world for weeks. While we tend to be more partial to the Elder Scrolls series here at DDNet, we’re certainly not going to protest about having this game to tide us over while we wait.

Rodea the Sky Soldier – 10/11/2015

Having the distinction of being the last officially licensed Wii game, the western release is coming to the Wii U and 3DS, and is apparently very, very good. Coming to us from the mind of Yuji Naka, Rodea has drawn comparisons between Nights into Dreams and Sonic titles, and, really, that has enough to catch our interest. It’s also a rare example of a third party Wii U game with a notable profile, so that’s a nice novelty as well.

Football Manager 2016 – 13/11/2015

We won’t pretend that the Football Manager series is not niche but for those people that happen to be its niche, it’s a hard game to pass up. Each year brings with it new refinements, additions, and improvements that make it a more comprehensive and in-depth simulation of the management side of football than what has come before. And, sure, Football Manager 2016 will essentially be a case of looking at spreadsheets for fun, but who’s to say that can’t be fun? There is little more rewarding experience than managing those spreadsheets to take your team to the premiership.

Star Wars Battlefront – 17/11/2015

The big competitor in the shooter genre for Call of Duty this year is EA’s Star Wars Battlefront. Coming to us from DICE, this is a large-scale team-based competitive multiplayer game that is all about recreating the grand, epic battles that we lived vicariously through in those movies over so many years. For Star Wars fans (and we hear there are a lot of you out there), this is going to be something special.

Stella Glow – 17/11/2015

It’s quite sad that Imageepoch’s final game is being released among all those blockbusters, but we do hope that there are a couple of people out there that manage to look past those games and spot this one. Essentially it’s a Luminous Arc title, and that series was a far better SRPG franchise than anyone gives credit to. As a 3DS exclusive, it’s also a real highlight in an otherwise surprisingly quiet Christmas period for Nintendo’s masterful handheld.

Sword Art Online: Lost Song – 17/11/2015

Sword Art Online’s previous video game outing worked well in borrowing some MMO elements and spinning them into a single player JRPG. Sure it was a heavy grind, but it was a lot of fun. Sword Art Online: Lost Song allows you to create your own characters to take into battle, which is a first for the series, and otherwise offers a few new enhancements and tweaks to the core system that existing fans will no doubt appreciate.

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash – 20/11/2015

We haven’t had a Mario Sports game on the Wii U yet, and that’s a pity, because when they’re at their best, the Mario Sports series are some of the best local multiplayer you will ever experience. Kicking back over a lazy Sunday with some beers and some intense tennis action sounds good, right? We’re sure this is going to be a good one, because the series has a lot of recovering to do after the disappointing Mario Tennis outing on the Nintendo 3DS some years back.

Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon – 20/11/2015

Last, but certainly not least, for this month is the latest edition in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon franchise. Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon promises a lot more of what we have grown to love about the series to date, with plenty of randomly-generated dungeons to delve through, and plenty more Pokemon to recruit into your team.

So, what’s on your gaming agenda in November?

– Matt S.
Editor-in-Chief