3 Major Game Anniversaries in January 2019 to Make You Feel Old

Major Game Anniversaries in January 2019 to Make You Feel Old

Silent Hill – 20th Anniversary

The Silent Hill franchise has been a huge success throughout the early 21st century. Not only is the series itself large, but it’s impacted the survival horror genre across the board and even spawned a movie series.

The first game, simply titled Silent Hill, is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this month, having initially launched on the PlayStation.

The game follows Harry Mason as he searches for his missing daughter in the titular location. Unlike other horror games of the time, your character wasn’t a skilled assassin or master of hand-to-hand combat. He was a normal guy and that limited the gameplay and heightened the scares.

The fog filled setting also made for an unsettling atmosphere. The game was less about in-your-face creatures and more about a constant unnerving tone. It paved way for the psychological thriller genre in gaming and is considered by many to still be the best it has to offer.

How Konami is to treat the franchise going forward, it’s difficult to know, but now’s the perfect time to go back to relive the beginning.

Major Game Anniversaries in January 2019 to Make You Feel Old

Skate 2 – 10th Anniversary

Rarely does an EA press conference pass without a group of fans shouting for the reveal of Skate 4. Since we’ll probably have to wait quite a while to see it, maybe it’s time to revisit the second game in the series.

Skate 2 is ten years old this month, having released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on Jan. 21, 2009.

The sequel was set in San Vanelona, following a skater who was arrested in the first game. You’re tasked with making skateboarding popular in the city again following some devastating earthquakes.

The gameplay is simple, with you skating around the city, performing tricks that earn you points that allow you to buy things throughout the world.

The sales figures of both Skate 2 and the first game were surprisingly high, with the third game being released just over a year later. That one can’t have done so well, however, since we’re still waiting for number four.

Major Game Anniversaries in January 2019 to Make You Feel Old

The Banner Saga – 5th Anniversary

The Banner Saga trilogy ended just a few months ago, but January 2019 marks five years since the series first began on PC and mobile devices.

The game’s creator, Stoic Studio, was founded by three ex-Bioware developers, and the project was crowdfunded via Kickstarter. The campaign was successful, meeting its funding goal in less than 24 hours and going on to make more than seven times the figure.

It then launched on Jan. 14, 2014, before two sequels were also funded via Kickstarter in the following years.

The series is a narrative focused tactical RPG that’s set in Norse mythology inspired world. You follow two characters, with their stories merging together as you play and the events being impacted by your choices.

The full trilogy is certainly worth jumping into if you missed the beginning of it five years ago.