I’ve been wanting to get another selection of upcoming games I’m excited about up on the blog for a while but games kept getting announced or revealed and adding to the list! So I’ve narrowed it down to ten, as below, in no particular order.
In addition I’d like to quickly highlight a handful of other titles that didn’t make it onto the shortlist – namely Back 4 Blood, Cris Tales, Goodbye Volcano High and Ghostwire Tokyo. All games I’m really looking forward to checking out.
Not all of the below are out in 2021 but here’s the list!
Aliens: Fireteam
I know after the Aliens: Colonial Marines debacle a few years back I shouldn’t get my hopes up for a squad based Aliens game but I just can’t help myself. Alien: Isolation nailed the horror aspect of the first Alien film, might Fireteam finally be the Aliens game we’ve always wanted? The footage shown so far looks promising and I am keeping everything crossed for this title. Release date is currently scheduled for mid 2021 but we’ll have to see if it actually makes it out this year.
.
Horizon: Forbidden West
The first Horizon game was a fantastic achievement from Guerrilla Games (the studio previously known for the Killzone series) and went on to have such huge success that a sequel was more or less inevitable. We are back with Aloy in Forbidden West and I’m interested to see how Guerrilla deal with the age old problem of an end game level hero starting out on a new adventure. The trailer looks excellent and I can’t wait to get my hands on this title.
Lemnis Gate
This intriguing title comes from small indie developer Ratloop Games. It’s a tactical 1v1 first person shooter in which you take turns of 25 seconds to play. With each turn the time loops over and starts again, taking into account your new actions. So for example if an enemy captured an objective on their previous turn, you might position a sniper to take them out when the time loop starts again on your turn. On the new run your enemy will no longer complete their objective but again, now it’s their turn to control the round. Sounds complex but fun and with a host of characters/abilities to use it might be a nice change of pace from your average shooter.
Division Heartland
While I’m still to fully get to grips with The Division 2, I really liked the first game. Although it was a bit light on story the gameplay was excellent while the gunplay felt tight and responsive. Mixing abilities and weapon tech into the equation gave the game a different feel from other third person shooter games out there. So perhaps a free to play version of the game, possibly with shorter, story based seasons within the larger mode could be a really smart move for Ubisoft. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on news for this one.
Cyberpunk 2077 (PS5)
I know that this might be a slightly controversial pick with everything that happened around it’s original PS4 release last year but I’m hoping the technical issues will have been ironed out by the time the official PS5 version of the game arrives. Whether that will be enough to gloss over the other problems people had with game length and story content is something I’ll have to wait to find out. The idea of this game is something I’ve lived with for so long I feel like I have to at least see how it turned out.
Circuit Superstars
This title is a throw back to the pre-pandemic days for me. I played it at the big EGX event back in 2019 and had an absolute blast with it. Reminiscent of classic racing titles like Super Off Road and Micro Machines this is a really fun driving game in which nailing the fastest lap time is the aim of the game. The cars handled so well and it had that ‘just one more lap’ vibe that is so important for games like this. What I played was an early version of the game but was full of promise so hopefully the final product can add to what was there and deliver a top notch driving experience.
Overwatch 2
Come on, you must’ve known this one would be on the list 🙂 As someone who still regularly plays, and enjoys, the original Overwatch some 5 years after it’s release, I am very excited for the sequel. A switch to 5v5 (as opposed to the first game’s 6v6) has me interested but the reduction in the number of tanks does concern me a little. Graphically the game looks great and the new maps seem to be well designed. They need to deliver a really strong package to pull people away from the first game but fingers crossed they can pull it off.
Deathloop
I was a big fan of the Dishonored series and Deathloop looks set to follow in it’s footsteps but with a fresh setting and a cool time loop mechanic added into the mix. The style of the game is a really big plus for me and the gameplay looks very strong. In a way it also reminds me of the recent Hitman games, in which your first objective is often to work out your target’s routine and see when is the best opportunity to strike. Another delay (from May of this year) will hopefully mean a very polished game and, with Microsoft having bought the developer, a nice swansong to end my relationship with Arkane Studios game titles.
Battlefield 6
I think I’m in the minority but I really liked Battlefield V. I still play it regularly and it feels fantastic. While I do believe Dice bungled the ‘Grand Operations’ mode (see here for what I felt it could’ve been), the general moment to moment gameplay is very rewarding. With the promise of an upgrade on PS5, the content of which at this stage hasn’t been confirmed, I’m hoping for an improvement in scale, player count and destructability as well as graphics. The vehicle play and map size really marks Battlefield out from the competition so I’m excited to see what advances the developers have made with the new consoles.
Dark Pictures Anthology: House Of Ashes
Supermassive Games make great narrative titles that often host a wide variety of dialogue options and branching storylines. The latest episode in the Dark Pictures Anthology is House Of Ashes, a horror story with a slightly different background to previous titles. Taking place in Iraq during 2003, two opposing military factions fall down sinkholes during an earth tremor. They find themselves stranded in an old temple as an ancient evil awakes to greet them. The games are known for their choice based gameplay and it will be interesting to see what changes are made now that we will be handling trained military people as opposed to the regular civilian characters we have controlled previously.
.
As well as everything mentioned above I’d also like to quickly highlight that I am SUPER excited to keep tabs on whatever both Jade Raymond and Amy Hennig announce via their new studios. Two industry legends that are long overdue a game release!
So, there you have it! Anything else I should be keeping an eye out for? As always feel free to give me a shout on Twitter @greghorrorshow
GregHorrorShow 