2015 May have been a great year for video games, but 2016 is certainly shaping up to be no slouch either. Let’s take a look at some of our most anticipated games for 2016. We’re only going to include games that either have a release date, or are hugely likely to appear in 2016.
Wills Picks!
Tom Clancy’s: The Division
Ubisoft have had a chequered couple of year for games. Assassins Creed Unity, Watch_dogs just a couple to mention that didn’t live up to expectations. But I’m hopeful that Tom Clancy’s:The Division is going to change that. I’ve actually had the chance to play it a couple of times too and feel that it will live up to my expectations.
Set in New York after a cataclysmic event, you take on the role of an agent of the Division and have to take back the city. First revealed… yonks ago, the RPG third person MMO style shooter had me drooling with anticipation and my hype for it has pretty much never dwindled.
Now, I’ve never been to New York, but I’ve seen some people comparing the real city to the one in the game and I have to say, it looks pretty amazing.
I’m sure regular readers know by now that I love a survival game and I feel like The Division is going to be a great blend of survival and co-op shooter. I can see it being a great game to play with friends and I honestly think it could replace a Destiny as my most played game.
Quantum Break
Another game that feels like it was announced a long, long time ago is Quantum Break.
When it was first announced I wasn’t entirely sure what it was all about and I think that was Remedy’s plan – keep it a little under wraps. But piece by piece we’ve got to see more of it and with every little bit of info it just seems to be getting better.
The time bending sci-fi adventure game has seemed to have changed over time with a whole new cast of characters coming – who will also be in the TV show that comes along side it. But it certainly seems to have changed for the better.
The action sequences we’ve been able to see in demos look amazing, both from a technical point and a gameplay point. I basically can’t wait to play it and it actually comes out pretty early in the year so that’s a bonus!
Mass Effect Andromeda
The Mass Effect series is one of my all time favourite game series – yes I even liked 3 despite its slightly botched ending.
We always knew there would be more to come from the Mass Effect universe it was just a matter of time to see what it would be. Well, now we know and now I’m hyped.
Obviously there is still so much we don’t know about the game, but from what little we’ve seen and heard so far it’s enough to get me very interested with a whole new Galaxy to explore, new characters, new everything basically.
Whilst we’ve only really seen one short teaser trailer and a few images here and there I’m feeling very optimistic about it. Plus Bioware have a pretty good track record so I trust them to do a good job!
At the moment it’s slated for a holiday 2016 release and I guess there is chance that, that date could slip but right now it’s looking like it will be a great game to finish off the year with.
Below
Have I ever told you that I love survival games? Well Below from Capybara is another game sitting comfortably in that genre with the addition of some RPG and rogue elements too. The game will feature perma death and if you drop something valuable you’ll have to head back in with a new character to find your body. I know this is going to end up frustrating a lot of people, but I’ve played my fair share of games with perma death now and I love it. It makes everything you do so much more meaningful.
Even though we’ve know about Below for a long time there is still so much that is unknown about it and I love that. The story is vague, the world is mysterious, why your exploring is even more puzzling. I cannot wait to set foot on that island a head in to the depths of the caves to find its secrets.
The game looks fantastic too, the scale of it is so grand with your adventurer looking so small compared to it all. It’s an interesting design decision to make, but I think it will work very well.
Honourable Mentions
The excellent games don’t just stop there though, there are still so many others that I’m looking forward to like ID@Xbox title Cuphead, PC and PS4 exclusive No Man’s Sky, the new theme park building game from Frontier – Planet Coaster. then we have a new Gears of War game to look forward to and Halo Wars 2 just to name a few. 2016 is looking amazing.
Murrs Picks!
Ni-oh
Perhaps not the first game on everyone’s mind for 2016. If you’ve not got a PS4, you’ve probably not heard of it. But at Tokyo Game show in September Koei-Temco re-revealed this game that was originally announced in 2004 as a PS4 exclusive. Why have I picked this as one of my most anticipated 2016 titles? Well one of my favourite franchises back on the PS2 was Onimusha. I loved the series and had been hoping that Capcom would bring the series back from the dead. Especially since Capcom are still dabbling with the Devil May Cry Series and bringing Resident Evil HD remakes to this generation. I always had hope Onimusha would make a return. So far we’ve not been lucky enough, but Ni-oh looks like a “Spiritual successor” if you will and has me incredibly hyped.
The Last Guardian
One part of the “Holy Trinity” of E3 2015 will be apparently (and hopefully) released for PS4 exclusively in 2016. Let that sink in. Ni-oh from 2004 and The Last Guardian from 2007 are both coming out… finally.
I think the reason I’m looking forward to playing this so much is genuinely down to the intrigue of it and it’s status of being dead and buried every E3 since 2007 up till E3 this year. It’s curiosity that’s got me wanting to play The Last Guardian so badly.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Why wouldn’t I be hyped for this. The Uncharted series comes to a close (or does it?) in what looks to be Nathan Drakes best adventure yet. Each gameplay video we see of this game has be so excited to play it. For so many conferences we’ve had an Uncharted trailer or gameplay video, I can’t wait to finally play it myself.
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Another announcement from Sony’s legendary 2015 E3 show. We were aware that Guerrilla Games were working on a new project away from Killzone. And we had some teaser images of mechanized dinosaurs that looked pretty bad ass. But no sooner had the dust settled from seeing The Last Guardian we were treated to an incredible first look at Horizon.
The demo we saw looked awesome, the heroin sneaking through long grass to avoid detection, and then going to battle with a mecha-tyrannosaurus. Just jaw droppingly good.
Honorable Mentions
There’s plenty more to look forward to in 2016 too (If they all hit the release date in time) one of my anticipated for 2015 that slipped again No Man’s Sky should finally hit in 2016. Final Fantasy XV will hopefully release. Square-Enix also treating the PS4 to more helpings of Nier in Nier Automata. Hitman returns, Legend of Zelda returns in 2 games for WiiU with Twilight Princess HD and Zelda WiiU and Fire Emblem returns to the 3DS with Fire Emblem Fates. It’s truly shaping up to be another incredible and expensive year ahead. Enjoy it!
