Most Anticipated Games of 2019
We take you through some games of 2019 that have piqued our interests, will they be any good? ... Well, that is something we will find out later in the year.
It's January the 17th, holy heck... how'd it get to Jan 17th already? It seems like only a few short days ago we were celebrating Christmas and New Year. We had a pretty ace 2018 games wise, with some true crackers ending with the Games Xtreme GotY (for me) Red Dead Redemption 2.
Many of you might still be playing game catch-up, and that's great, get on Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, God of War, and Spider-Man on the PS4 (and many more) before the new games of 2019 come to vie for your hard earned cash.
In the next couple of months there are some games on the way which I have my eye on, and might be worth checking out. From the small to the big, these games have already piqued my interest for 2019 and they're in no particular order of preference, or platform unless it's a platform exclusive of course.
This whipped onto my radar recently thanks to the legendary Youtube Channel known as Stumpt. I've been after a fun, chill, and pretty sweet-looking (cartoony) farm style game to while away the hours between face-stabbing fools in Ancient Greece, Web-swinging through NYC, and riding stolen horses in RDR 2 and I believe Farm Together has all that I want and then some. It can be played solo if you prefer, but it can also be played with friends or randoms on various public servers where madness (and farming) are sure to happen in equal measure.
Note: There are plenty of anti-griefing options in this game, so you can limit what people can do on your farm. So playing with people who just want to help out and pick/plant crops is a possibility.
It hits the Xbox One tomorrow and it might be worth checking out if you're a fan of farm sim style games. There's a lot to unlock and a bevy of customisation options which aren't hidden behind stupid click-bait mobile-style game microtransactions.
From Software, synonymous with Dark Souls and Bloodborne, veritable masters of the art of stamina based combat with a difficulty level which is both fair and evil in equal measure are back. But this time, don't expect a version of Nioh for the Xbox One, or even a version of Tenchu for the Xbox One ... this is its own thing and from what I've seen - it looks bloody fantastic. It has numerous features which set it apart from From's previous games, and yet manages to show a little bit of *Souls DNA when it comes to the combat.
In Souls you relied on a delicate balance of attack/defence, it Bloodborne, you had superior mobility and learnt to attack and dodge out of the way. In Sekiro you have a badass prosthetic ninja limb, a sword, and you are a combat badass who pushes the attack and knowns how to weather numerous blows before making an attack which can cripple a lesser foe.
You'll be able to move around the new levels like a grapple-hook launching spider-ninja, and use stealth to take down unware enemies. I really can't wait for this one when it drops later on this year in March.
I'm 50-50 on this one, and I really wish there was an open demo kind of like Anthem's doing, because I'm starting to get horked off with pre-order culture and locking demos/betas behind a pre-order or even pre-purchase of a game.
Sod that noise. Still, I've been listening to numerous folks who've been following the Division 2 for a while now and I have to admit - yeah - I liked the first game once they fixed a ton of stuff in it and it had been patched to hell and back. At launch, I felt burnt by it, just like Skill Up and a bunch of other gamers who desperately hope this iteration of Division won't turn into the same debacle that the first game did.
So far, I have got to say, reading about it, looking at footage, and talking to some folks who've been lucky enough to experience a little of what the game has to offer - I'm optimistic, cautiously so, but perhaps we'll get access to the beta and we can give you a run-down of that before the game launches in March.
Nero and Dante are back!
I actually liked the rebooted DMC; I was one of the few folks who really enjoyed it. I wasn't too struck on the /new/ Dante, but the game play was solid and the whole presentation was slick. Nero has lost his arm in this one, gaining a new badass prosthetic and the demo for the game was pretty neat. I enjoyed playing it (even though it was short) and it had that DMC feel which I always look for.
Fast paced combat, tricky combos, kick-ass visuals and wise-cracking protagonists.
It looks like 5 is set to woo back DMC fans with group of playable characters, a return to form, and a host of secrets. The downside is that the campaign is fairly short from what we've been able to tell and those wanting a bit more of a lengthy DMC experience may find it lacking.
Then again, perhaps it's the right length for the game and any longer would just grate on our nerves?
We'll find out in March!
This will be the first time I play a Kingdom Hearts game, but I feel like I need to play one. Just like Monster Hunter World was the first time I'd played a MH game. KH 3 is coming very soon and it looks amazing. The melding of next-gen visuals with the awesome gameplay associated with KH games (I've watched them being played a lot) looks to be spot on this time, and a trip through the associated Disney Overlord franchises appears as though it's going to be a blast.
I'm pretty excited about it to be honest, and I know quite as few folks who can't wait for this one.
This may or may not be on your radar, and honestly, if you're a fan of shooters and rogue-like style games - it needs to zip onto your radar right now. The game takes place on a ship which you command, through your clone captain. You can customise and build the ship as your Ark is fully constructible as you journey to find a new home for your colonists on-board.
The places you explore will have valuable resources, and alien life, some of that life will be hostile - some of it will get on your ship and it's here where the game meshes FPS, crew management, planet exploration, and resource gathering with an Aliens-like vibe and tower defence. You can place turrets to help combat any sneaky invaders and explore the bowels of your ship looking for the little buggers who like to snack on your power cables.
Fail to do so and you're looking at power loss or worse. Don't worry though, as long as your crew is left alive you can always promote a new clone to captain and continue your journey.
Death is not the end.
Genesis Alpha One rolls out at the end of this month, well worth keeping an eye on.
I'm a huge fan of the Metro series, and it's got a few issues and quirks. What the games do really well though are atmosphere. They are brilliant at conveying the post-apocalypse beyond the tropes of Mad Max and such media. The setting is genius, the author of the books the games are based on is highly supportive of the games, and basically 4a studios have taken their expertise with STALKER to new heights.
Metro Exodus is the canon follow-on to Last Light and sees the hero, Artyom, plus friends taking a huge risk as they traverse Moscow on a badass train. It's not an open-world game per-se, but the various hubs you can explore are massive. 4a have really doubled-down on the STALKER like features here, and included a whole raft of new stuff for Metro fans to get their teeth stuck into.
Customisable weapons have never looked so good, or been so versatile, and anyone who's a big fan of post-apoc survival is going to really love this game. Ammo is scarce, the monsters are monstrous, and the environments are going to test your mettle as you explore above and below ground in new ways.
Plus, vehicles for the first time ever.
Metro Exodus rolls out of the station in February.
Out on the very same day as Metro Exodus, and sticking with the post-apoc theme which seems to be prevalent at the moment - FC: ND is the follow on to Far Cry 5 and takes place after the game's ending which left a lot of fans puzzled and pretty upset they couldn't play in that particular universe post game.
New Dawn has a bunch of new features which build off Far Cry 5 and introduces a new way to explore Hope County.
We've not seen too much about the game beyond a few curated videos, but for fans of 5, this is probably going to be more of the same with polished features. New guns and fangs for hire round out the player's arsenal, co-op is back (yay) and there's also an upgradeable home base this time around to connect you to the world more.
I'm pretty excited with this one, because I enjoyed causing chaos with a buddy in 5 quite a lot.
I'm also a big fan of post-apoc... sooo...
To echo a couple of folks I know, I'm cautiously optimistic about Anthem. I've been keeping up with the news on this one, looking at game play videos, and working on my own feature. I've also been burnt by things like Destiny 2, the early launch of Battlefield V and a few other games in this way. Bioware Edmonton are the studio behind Anthem, and EA are the publisher... this alone gives me cause for concern since EA are still in my bad books for the debacle regarding the Star Wars IP and the horrendous microtransaction bullshit which they introduced in Battlefront 2.
However, core Bioware as I like to call them are usually pretty good. They did Mass Effect, they did not do Andromeda, they did KotoR and even now I still adore KotoR.
Anthem is Bioware's first/third person open world shooter, which has Diablo-like RNG loot and customisable Javelins. It looks great, it sounds great, and it has all the things which should have me salivating and attempting to rip EA's arm off for a review copy.
But... it's EA... and for the reasons I've said above, I'm cautious.
We've been told that the game's microtransactions are going to be only cosmetic, and I'm fine with that. I play Warframe and I'm fine with how that works out. If EA/Bioware adopt the same kind of consumer friendly approach that DE have done with Warframe there'll be no trouble with Anthem at all.
What worries me is that it's EA and after the heat dies down from Battlefront 2, what's going to happen with Anthem. Loot boxes, buying a sticker for a dollar, or a new gun-sight (screw you Activision)...
Good news though, and this should give folks some hope. There's not only VIP demos for those folks who pre-order, but an open demo is coming. Not a beta, the wording is demo, and that is a decidedly pro-consumer move coming from EA.
I'll be watching...
Anthem starts to sing in February.
Don't worry if your favourite game isn't listed, or you think I missed something, I probably did... and for good reason. We either don't have a solid release date yet, or it's way too far in the future of this year to qualify for the early list.
So ... expect me to write something about Cyberpunk 2077 when we know for sure what the release date will be.
It doesn't mean I'm not stoked for it, or the PS4 Samurai game... or dozens of others... they're just not out in the next few months.
Happy Gaming!