Let’s take a look at where the standings are at as of Jan. 30th:

This month of course started with our Draft Night which was on January 9th @ 9pm EST. It was my first draft as League Manager and my blood was pumping! (I can tell you now that I was unexpectedly nervous to be “in charge” and was hoping not mess this night up for everyone.) I don’t know about all of you, but I’m not so sure that I had the best draft night. I like some of my picks of course, but there are some other options out there that I’m actually wondering now (in retrospect) why I didn’t jump on it.

Well, after one month it looks like Marshall’s “Ranch Walker Inc” (31pts) has started us off with an early lead. “Momodora: Moonlit Farewell” (11pts) got some impressive reviews to start off the year for him, closely followed after by that juggernaut of a fighting game, “Tekken 8” (20pts). 

There were only three other games that released in January (as far as the Deer Critics League is concerned), but they were all stand-out games that we should definitely mention.

On January 18th was Luke’s 1st-Round choice of “Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown” (17pts) which definitely seemed to surprise some mainstream video-game pundits with how polished and fun the game turned out to be. Maybe it shouldn’t have been such a surprise since it was developed by the same team (Ubisoft Montpellier) that brought us “Rayman Origins” & “Rayman Legends”. Then on January 25th, Eddie’s 3rd-Round pick was released in “Under Night In-Birth II: [Sys-Celes]” (13pts). The early response seems to be looking very good for this under-the-radar, smaller budget, fighting game. Look for more positive reviews soon, also look to hear this game mentioned again come summer for EVO 2024. Lastly, Jeff’s 1st-Round pick released on January 26th (the same day as Tekken 8). “Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth” (20pts) seemed to almost be in danger of getting over-hyped by all the marketing and previews that this game was dishing out pre-release. The Yakuza games have always scored well for sure, but this latest title seemed poised to bring it to the “top-tier” of well reviewed games. Would it be able to live-up? Well, it seems that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio delivered a great experience for Yakuza RPG fans the world over as the reviews have averaged near 90/100!

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Next, I’d like to talk about upcoming games in February for our league. I see 10 games that will be releasing in February as of right now (pending any pickups). I’m sure that we could talk about the potential of all of these, however I will choose 4 to mention that I think we will all be looking at this month ahead:

• Granblue Fantasy: Relink – Feb. 1st / Dougsvest Digital
• Helldivers II – Feb. 8th / Bearded Champions (Ranch Walker Inc*)
• Pacific Drive – Feb. 22nd / Bearded Champions
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – Feb. 29th / DadBod Dev

Granblue Fantasy: Relink [CyGames / Xseed Games]

Coming on the 1st of February is Micah’s 3rd-Round pick. I’m interested in seeing just how well-received this game will be after the long-long wait. It was first announced back in 2016 and was initially being co-developed by CyGames and PlatinumGames, but Platinum ended up leaving the development of the game sometime before February 2019. The Action-RPG is still looking to impress by having other big names involved like, composer Nobuo Uematsu & artist Hideo Minaba. One of the main things that differentiates this game from some other JRPGs is that you can play co-operative with up to 4 people or you can choose to play on your own with three AI companions. Hopefully we look at this game as more than just another JRPG in the sea of many as I’m personally really looking forward to this game.

Helldivers II [Arrowhead Game Studios / SIE]

On February 8th comes the long awaited sequel to the top-down shooter, Helldivers, which was released for the PS3, PS4, & Vita back in 2015. After some extended polishing and what looks to be a rather sizeable “glow-up”, Arrowhead & Sony Interactive are trying to make a bigger splash with the sequel than it ever did with the original. In our Deer Critics League, what makes this game so important is that this is not only Adam’s 3rd-Round pick, but it is also Marshall’s Counter-pick! I know that Marshall is hoping for some payback for all the smack-talk that Adam dished out last year, and I’m sure that Adam is looking to capitalize on not only grabbing a great game, but taking away some well-earned points from Marshall who is currently in 1st place! This is definitely one to watch!

Pacific Drive [Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive]

I chose “Pacific Drive” as a game to really watch because I believe that most of us in the league trust that when Sony takes the time to promote a game (especially when it promotes it multiple times), it will most likely be a game that is not only worth playing, but worth picking up for our fantasy team. While it may be easy to want to snag “FF7 Rebirth”, or “Tekken 8”, Sony tries to make the claim that maybe Pacific Drive is worth your attention. But what do we know about Pacific Drive? It’s a first person, driving, survival, adventure game where you seem to be dealing with paranormal events in the Pacific Northwest with the help of a station wagon. We know it comes from a smaller developer in Ironwood Studios. We are hoping that we can learn to rely on their publishing partner, Kepler Interactive, which has brought us “Sifu”, “Scorn”, & “Tchia” in the last few years. Can we trust Sony to still know what indie darlings are worthy of our time? We’ll find out on February 22nd.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth [Square Enix / Square Enix]

There really is no other reason for putting this game on the list of what to watch for in February other than, THIS will probably be the biggest game that releases this year. Not only will this take up much of the discussion in March (since it releases on Leap Day, Feb. 29th) but this has the chance of being the highest rated game on FantasyCritic this year. It’s one of those games. Nate had this games as his keeper this year, meaning that it was his default 1st-Round pick, so that is also a pretty significant reasons to watch how this game does. I have a feeling that if this game scores above a 90 or 91, Nate will be a very cocky and pompous individual in the chat for several days afterward. BUT, if it does not reach the 90s… what will happen to his mood? Maybe we can make some predictions about that in the Facebook Messenger chat or you can leave a comment if you’d like and I’ll take a look.

Okay, let me know what you think of this monthly format. Is it worth the time? Or do we basically have all of these conversations more naturally in the Deer Critics chat? Maybe if I find the time I can try to learn how to edit videos and try to start up the Quarterly Deer Critics League Round-up videos like Micah used to do, but for now, this maybe the best that you’re gonna get from me. LOL

God Bless,

Alex C.