2018 was a pretty good year for games, yeah? 2019 could be too. We know there are some big sequels on the way, the launch of some major new franchises, and some quirky potential gems.
Let's not faff around like idiots; here are all the games I'm looking forward to this year, and several I couldn't give less of a plump fig about.
Plummmmmppp-pp.
Let's not faff around like idiots; here are all the games I'm looking forward to this year, and several I couldn't give less of a plump fig about.
Plummmmmppp-pp.
HERE BE THE GAMES I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO
CRACKDOWN 3 (XBOX ONE, PC - FEBRUARY)
I don't know what it is about the Crackdown franchise, but those games turned me into a completist. Most games I play for the experience, the exploration. Crackdown makes me a rabid collectaholic, scouring the vast, open cities sucking up those delicious green orbs, as I froth at the gob: "Must... gather... all... shiny... things..."
They make me think of apples!
The fact that these orbs are often at the top of extremely tall buildings, and that in order to reach them you have to transform into an insanely powerful superhuman, is the USP of these games.
If I'm brutally honest, what we've seen of Crackdown 3 is all a bit neon-and-chrome for my tastes, but it looks as if it'll be more of the same tongue-in-cheek power fantasy, only even more insane-ier.
They make me think of apples!
The fact that these orbs are often at the top of extremely tall buildings, and that in order to reach them you have to transform into an insanely powerful superhuman, is the USP of these games.
If I'm brutally honest, what we've seen of Crackdown 3 is all a bit neon-and-chrome for my tastes, but it looks as if it'll be more of the same tongue-in-cheek power fantasy, only even more insane-ier.
SKULL & BONES (PS4, XBOX ONE, PC - TBC)
Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remains one of my favourite games ever - and that's because you got to fanny about on pirate ships in the Caribbean, and do pirate things.
The excellent Odyssey reintroduced many of the same mechanics to the series, and while it's a splendid game - probably my favourite of 2018 - you're still not a pirate, with the funny hat, and the big coat, and the "Yaaaarrr"-ing and the doubloons, an ting.
Skull & Bones, however, is all pirates all the time. I've got a few reservations, admittedly; I worry that the focus will be too much on ship combat, whereas Black Flag and Odyssey keep it varied with your shore excursions. Nevertheless, it's certainly gorgeous, and that seawater looks good enough to drink.
Mmm. So good. So salty...
The excellent Odyssey reintroduced many of the same mechanics to the series, and while it's a splendid game - probably my favourite of 2018 - you're still not a pirate, with the funny hat, and the big coat, and the "Yaaaarrr"-ing and the doubloons, an ting.
Skull & Bones, however, is all pirates all the time. I've got a few reservations, admittedly; I worry that the focus will be too much on ship combat, whereas Black Flag and Odyssey keep it varied with your shore excursions. Nevertheless, it's certainly gorgeous, and that seawater looks good enough to drink.
Mmm. So good. So salty...
THE LAST OF US: PART 2 (PS4 - TBC)
There aren't many games I get excited about because of the story, but I'm desperate to spend more time with Joel and Ellie, and the fungal post-apocalypse seen in the The Last of Us.
The first game ended on a cliffhanger unlike any you'll find elsewhere; specifically, an emotional cliffhanger. That's what Naughty Dog do best; the action beats, just like in the best movies, have an emotional foundation. It's never just action for the sake of it; they make you care.
And I care very much about The Last of Us Part 2.
The first game ended on a cliffhanger unlike any you'll find elsewhere; specifically, an emotional cliffhanger. That's what Naughty Dog do best; the action beats, just like in the best movies, have an emotional foundation. It's never just action for the sake of it; they make you care.
And I care very much about The Last of Us Part 2.
STAR WARS: FALLEN ORDER (PS4, XBOX ONE, PC - TBC)
Other than it being set post-Revenge of the Sith, and you'll be playing a Jedi padawan on the run from the Empire, almost nothing is known about Fallen Order.
What gets me excited isn't so much that EA listened to all those who want a decent, story-led, single-player Star Wars game in the wake of the risible "That'll do" nature of Battlefront 2's single player campaign, so much as it's being developed by the studio responsible for the Titanfall series.
Titanfall 2 had one of the best single-player adventures since Half-Life 2 - a salvo of clever ideas and original action. Surely there's nothing more true to the spirit of Star Wars than that?
What gets me excited isn't so much that EA listened to all those who want a decent, story-led, single-player Star Wars game in the wake of the risible "That'll do" nature of Battlefront 2's single player campaign, so much as it's being developed by the studio responsible for the Titanfall series.
Titanfall 2 had one of the best single-player adventures since Half-Life 2 - a salvo of clever ideas and original action. Surely there's nothing more true to the spirit of Star Wars than that?
UNTITLED GOOSE GAME (PC, MAC, SWITCH - TBC)
In the works from Australian indie studio House House, Untitled Goose Game is an open world stealth 'em up, in which you play the role of "a horrible goose". With that synopsis alone, it's already contender for my game of the year. You'll be tasked with ruining the lives of a village's residents by honking at them, stealing their hats, dropping soap in their ponds, and generally causing mayhem.
Honk!
Goose!
Honk!
Goose!
RAGE 2 (PS4, XBOX ONE, PC - MAY)
Rage was meant to be Id's next big IP, following Doom and Quake. That didn't quite happen; the Mad Maxian open world shooter/drive 'em up failed to resonate with audiences.
And yet, somehow, it's getting a sequel. I can't say I loved Rage, and all the glimpses of Rage 2 so far have felt like it's trying a bit too hard to be edgy, but I nonetheless played Rage a lot during a rough few months, and consequently I've got a soft spot for it.
Just pull back on the crunching rock guitars, yeah? It doesn't make you seem any cooler.
And yet, somehow, it's getting a sequel. I can't say I loved Rage, and all the glimpses of Rage 2 so far have felt like it's trying a bit too hard to be edgy, but I nonetheless played Rage a lot during a rough few months, and consequently I've got a soft spot for it.
Just pull back on the crunching rock guitars, yeah? It doesn't make you seem any cooler.
METRO: EXODUS (PS4, XBOX ONE, PC - FEBRUARY)
Yeah, it's all getting a bit too heavy on the post-apocalypses, but the Metro games don't get enough credit for doing something original with the genre.
Metro: Exodus takes the series out of the Moscow subways and puts the action into open countryside. Whether it can reverse the malaise I feel towards open world forests and mountains remains to be seen, but if they can keep the tension as high as the previous games, then I remain optimistic.
Metro: Exodus takes the series out of the Moscow subways and puts the action into open countryside. Whether it can reverse the malaise I feel towards open world forests and mountains remains to be seen, but if they can keep the tension as high as the previous games, then I remain optimistic.
YOSHI'S CRAFTED WORLD (SWITCH - TBC)
A return to the handmade aesthetic of the stunning Yoshi's Island and Woolly World, Yoshi's Crafted World looks to offer another barrage of platforming imagination. The uncharitable may suggest that it rather too closely resembles Little Big Planet, but developer Good-Feel was responsible for the cracking Kirby's Epic Yarn, so I'm very much looking forward to doing the throwing of the eggs at the things.
DAYS GONE (PS4 - APRIL)
I'm sorry. I just really like zombies. And in this one you get to ride around on a motorbike, like Daryl from The Walking Dead.
METROID PRIME 4
Nintendo, in typical fashion, is playing its cards close to its chest when it comes to Metroid Prime 4. We don't even know for certain if it's coming this year - though signs suggest that it is. A proper Metroid Prime game on the Switch? Yes.
GAMES I'M NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO
KINGDOM HEARTS 3 (PS4, XBOX ONE, PC - JANUARY)
I love Disney - pretty much all I do when I'm not working is watch YouTube videos about Disney theme parks - so you'd think a game in which loads of characters from various Disney and Pixar movies get together would tick my boxes. Regrettably, the Final Fantasy-esque style of the Kingdom Hearts series has always jarred for me. I'd like an RPG with JUST Disney characters. Get rid of all the spiky-haired anime kids.
ANTHEM (PS4, XBOX ONE, PC - FEBRUARY)
Basically Destiny with flying exosuits. Nothing about this interests me, despite how much money they've clearly spent on it. It looks achingly generic, and I've no interest in the multiplayer elements.
It'll be huge, of course.
It'll be huge, of course.
MORTAL KOMBAT 11 (PS4, XBOX ONE, SWITCH, PC - APRIL)
Literally couldn't care less.
THE OUTER WORLDS (PS4, XBOX ONE, PC - TBC)
Fallout: New Vegas in space. Whatevs.
GEARS 5 (XBOX ONE, PC - TBC)
I lost interest in the Gears of war series about three games back. I'm not seeing anything here that'll. change that. Unless whatshisface finally coughs up the bucket that he's eveidently had stuck in his throat over the previous four games.
CYBERPUNK 2077 (PS4, XBOX ONE, PC - TBC)
I used to play a lot of Cyberpunk 2020, the tabletop RPG upon which this is based, but back in the early-90s cyberpunk was an original genre. It's less so now, and I remain on the fence. If they can avoid this being too po-faced, and make it feel like a proper, open world, environment, I may come back on board.
DEATH STRANDING (PS4 - TBC)
Given everything we've seen of it so far, it remains to be seen whether Hideo Kojima - unshackled from the more conservative Konami - has produced a classic, or something so esoteric and out-there that we it fails to click with players.
Kojima fails to explain: "Most of your tools in action games are sticks. You punch or you shoot or you kick. The communication is always through these ‘sticks.’ In this, I want people to be connected not through sticks, but through what would be the equivalent of ropes. But of course you will be able to use the sticks too.”
Gotcha.
Kojima fails to explain: "Most of your tools in action games are sticks. You punch or you shoot or you kick. The communication is always through these ‘sticks.’ In this, I want people to be connected not through sticks, but through what would be the equivalent of ropes. But of course you will be able to use the sticks too.”
Gotcha.
HALO INFINITE (XBOX ONE, PC - TBC)
We know nothing about the next instalment in the Halo franchise, save for the fact it's coming, and it'll have more of a focus on Master Chief. There'll be a big multiplayer component, though in its favour there'll also be four-player split-screen gameplay. Frankly, though, I've always wavered when it came to Halo - I never feel connected to the game or the worlds - and Halo 5 was massively underwhelming.
DOOM ETERNAL (PS4, XBOX ONE, SWITCH PC - TBC)
I loved the Doom reboot - particularly on the Switch - so I'm surprised I'm not more excited for this. It's no fault of the game, or the series, just where my tastes are at the moment. I think I'm just after something a little deeper than this will likely offer. Still, it's coming out for the Switch, so I'll be getting it regardless, and hoping to be pleasantly surprised.
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