After a LEGO Edition of What I’m Waiting For, it’s time again for another regular edition. What I’m Waiting For Volume 12 will cross of those games added to the waiting for list that appeared in both the LEGO Edition and Volume 11. Then, I’ll be adding two new games to that list. While all those crossed off are big studio games, the ones being added are from smaller studios. To start, let’s recap those previous games.
LEGO 2K Drive was a great surprise, and the reason for the LEGO Edition existing in the first place. A LEGO racing game! Such a joy of an announcement. The ability to build completely wild creations and drive them in an open world. I took full advantage of that, even building a house on wheels to race around. Of course, I mostly spent time trying to build an accurate representation of a Space Kicker from my Space Race Championship novel.
Away from the building aspect which I loved very much, even if it could be a bit fiddly, there was a great racing game here. Four open areas, each visually distinct, hold many things to discover. Along with the races, there’s plenty of challenges and a few things to find. As per LEGO tradition, there’s a lot of humour. Humour I found a lot of fun, even if some felt a bit flat. It was a great time with a lovely campaign all the same.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Spanish-inspired region was known as Paldea, and one that truly was open world. As a world, it was nice to explore. Even if there was the giant gaping chasm in the middle of it that meant it was once again a loop. One that you had to keep going from one side to the other to stay within reasonable levels of the enemy. Or do like me and just travel counter-clockwise visiting every Pokécenter possible and being in the 50s before doing a single main encounter.
The story of the game was an enjoyable character-based one, with three separate strands granting you three separate friends who would join you for the finale down in that giant gaping chasm known as Area Zero. The expansions coming to the game also include a lot of character interactions, with part one being a small if fun introduction to those who will continue to play a part in the events that will be revealed in part two. The expansion locations are also fun to explore, even if smaller than Paldea.
Sonic Frontiers felt a new direction for the series, but one that wasn’t fully realised. The open world areas were a lot of fun to run around, though it felt as though Sonic Team weren’t sure how to make interesting platforming challenges without a load of floating platforms and forced 2D sections with them. This felt the best Sonic has controlled in a long time, but the world design meant such couldn’t fully be utilised, even in the actual levels.
Most levels here were recreations of levels from Sonic Generations, Sonic Unleashed, and Sonic Adventure 2. Such levels were fun, but it’s just unfortunate that there’s only four themes used across all of the levels, with three of them being the Generations’ classic era. For the story, there’s a more serious undertone here that works a lot better than the likes of Forces. Which comes down to the writing being a lot more competent than previous games.
The first of the new games being added to the waiting for list is Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator. Developed by Simteract, their last game was a lot of fun. Train Life was a great simulator, travelling the rail networks of Europe to deliver passengers or goods. Plenty of what was a part of Train Life will be a part of this new game. But, rather than travelling across a large portion of Europe on rails, Taxi Life is fully based in Barcelona – being a 1:1 recreation of a large part of the city.
As an owner of a taxi driver business, it is your job to safely bring people to their destinations. This being a city, of course there’s traffic to be aware of. But it’s not just traffic, as accidents, roadworks, and diversions are also staples of navigating a city. While at first, you’ll be alone in this venture, in time you’ll be growing the business with new workers who will also take fares.
To do this, you’ll be buying new taxis, upgrading and customising them to represent your company (or go for wildly different designs per vehicle), then hiring people to put into those taxis. Each worker needs a schedule to work by, and a district of Barcelona to be based. Each worker comes with a perk and a drawback, which makes the perfect hire a matter of what you personally want from your workers.
The city of Barcelona looks great with Taxi Life, with a bit more than just the business management side of things to get stuck into. After all, what good is a city without the ability to explore it? Such exploration is encouraged with interesting architecture to find which will grant experience. Various challenges are also dotted around the world, putting your driving skills to the test. When it releases in February, I am sure to have such a great time with it.
The second game being added to the waiting for list is Little Kitty, Big City. When the first trailer was shown at the April 2023 Indie World, I found a joyful game that I knew I wanted. And that trailer advertised the game perfectly. A little kitty, lost in a big city, needing to find their way back home. No urgency, though. No matter how you phrase the importance of doing so.
Because, let’s be honest, a game such as this is a playground of discovery. And the trailer shows that off perfectly. Plenty of things within this Japanese-inspired city can be interacted with, allowing you to do plenty of cat-like things such as jumping into boxes and pounce onto things. It’s not just play this kitty will be doing, however. There’s tasks to complete that other animals will offer to you before they will offer help on this journey.
The art style of the game helps a lot with the pure joy of being a little kitty in a big city. One who is curious about everything they encounter. There’s a very soft, almost comic book-like visual style here that is also a delight to look at. It makes everything pop and contrast very nicely. The kitty and other animals also have a very soft fuzzy look to them, replicating the fur well. Humans have no facial features, but still look to be expressive.
The writing also looks to be pretty fun, with a fair bit of humour in the interactions. Scattered across the world are many collectibles. And hats! Ladybug, frog, fruit such as an apple and a banana… There’s a lot of them to find. I can see myself spending a lot of time playing as this kitty in the big city, with the joy that Double Dagger have infused it with. I hope it’s not too far into the new year before it releases.
Images Taken From:
LEGO 2K Drive | Xbox Series S
Pokémon Scarlet | Nintendo Switch [Handheld]
Sonic Frontiers | Nintendo Switch [Handheld]
Little Kitty, Big City | Steam
Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator | Steam
