The Game Awards, Cyberpunk, and Sephiroth OH MY: 12/6-12/13 News Roundup

Too busy to keep up with gaming news? Need one place to get updated on all the biggest GAMER™ news out there? Every Sunday, we'll write a quick round-up of all the important headlines in games, with a few hidden gems that even those in the know might have missed.

This week, The Game Awards makes our job real hard, Cyberpunk finally comes out, and Sephiroth leaves the entire internet thirsty... Read on for more details!

The seedy dark underbelly of Night City... well actually it's kind of one of the cleaner streets.

Headline: Cyberpunk 2077 comes out!

Bright Side: A long awaited and very delayed game finally comes out! Years of work finally pays off and reviews are averaging around 91, with many stating the game doesn't revolutionize like it seemed it could at first glance, making for a very good hybrid Fallout-Deus Ex game instead.

Dark Side: It's ridiculously buggy at launch, basically unplayable on PS4 and Xbox One, and something based on a device that is literally meant to cause seizures made it into the game and that's just this week's bad news on the title. Yikes.

Geoff Keighley was placed in gamer jail for his shameful words and deeds.

Headline: The Game Awards oohs and ahhs audiences with over 53+ brand new reveals!

Bright Side: There was tons to love in the latest grand event put on by Grand Poobah Geoff Keighley. Indies on full display, big budget reveals, and announcements of some major new titles. Read here for a full UNBIASED ranking of all of The Game Award's big reveals.

Dark Side: ... No Elden Ring still. :( And no God of War. :( But really there isn't too much to hate when Keighley puts on a party.

We really weren't sure where this one was gonna go, but congrats TLOU II!

Headline: The Last of Us Part II wins Game of the Year at The Game Awards!

Bright Side: A deeply respected team full of developers who undoubtedly worked themselves to the bone gets honored with one of the industry's all encompassing awards. A story featuring a queer relationship and a non-binary voice actor is honored as one of the best in the biz. And another domino falls in a season of awards.

Dark Side: Years of crunch are swept under the rug and seen instead as a positive thing because it ends in an award. This is not a good thing and the industry needs to be better. Unionize game devs today.

Headline: Sephiroth is the latest fighter to join the battle in Smash Bros!

Bright Side: Nintendo always zigs when we think they're gonna zag. Fortnite characters, Crash, Doom Guy, or Master Chief. The rumors went every which way but Sephiroth. And so the shock hit hard and folks were excited. Especially when he killed Mario. Sephiroth is a character with a storied history and will undoubtedly be a worthwhile addition to the EVERYBODY'S HERE arcade fighter.

Dark Side: Square-Enix is notoriously closed off from major crossovers, though they've been more open in the past few years. Regardless, hopes for Crono from Chrono Trigger and Sora from Kingdom Hearts have deflated quite a bit with this reveal. And as many Smash fans must have lamented since the reveal, sword fighters maintain a strong strong chokehold on the Smash Bros roster.

Look at him... let him rest.

Headline: Casey Hudson and Mark Darrah leave leadership roles at Bioware, Mass Effect's next title announced!

Bright Side: Two highly influential members of the game development scene are free agents now, able to go where the wind takes them. We've seen countless examples of development teams sprouting up around folks at this level and making fantastic new works. This allows for a different look at the company, giving an opportunity for some new minds to step up and make noticeable change.

Dark Side: News like this always ends up feeling emblematic of greater problems at the company and Bioware has had its fair share of problems these last few years. After two major disappointments (Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem), one can only wonder if their brightest days are behind them.

Headline: Oscar Isaac cast as Solid Snake himself in Jordan Vogt-Roberts' Metal Gear Solid movie!

Bright Side: An incredible actor is given the chance to give fans one of the best gaming movies yet, alongside a passionate director who has been a fan of the franchise for years. Isaac fits the role while providing some much needed Latinx representation to a fairly prominent role. Kudos all around.

Dark Side: Hollywood has proven time and time again that they'll suck the creativity out of any property and there is no piece of entertainment that could end up more disappointing without its quirks than Metal Gear Solid. Keep in mind that a solid chunk of the game's original appeal were its game-specific twists (codec code on the back of the box, Psycho Mantis reading your memory card), and you have to wonder how this movie might turn out.

Honorable mentions this week include Sea of Thieves figuring out how to do the living game thing and finally implementing seasons, ARK Survival Evolved apparently being a bigger franchise than I expected with Vin Diesel starring in its sequel and an all-star cast voicing the animated series, and finally... IT'S A FEW WEEKS OLD NEWS NOW BUT THEY'RE MAKING A SEQUEL TO THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU AND I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT.

And that's it for this week. Keep your eyes open for even more exciting news in the coming week. If there's anything you REALLY want us to know about email nate@videogamesgood.com with your headline submissions. Thanks!