Hello! There is plenty of good stuff coming in 2018 and beyond, so I decided to make a top 10 of my favorite upcoming games. You know, the games that will burn a whole in my pocket. This is all based on my personal gaming preferences, and what I’m hoping will turn out to be awesome games. This top 10 is in no particular order, but I rated my anticipation to detail just how much I want each game. Let’s begin.
The Last of Us Part 2
Naughty Dog is returning with a sequel to its masterpiece and clearly ramping up on the gore, judging by the newest trailer. Futile controversies aside – it’s a zombie apocalypse, isn’t it supposed to be chaos, all hell breaks loose – The Last of Us Part 2 is still a bit mysterious. Hate appears to be the big theme of this sequel, and it’s easy to see why. Ellie is saying stuff like “kill every last one of them” and Joel isn’t exactly known for his peaceful moves. I’m fairly confident The Last of Us Part 2 will be more of the same, with some amazing visuals and a deep, emotional storyline, and that is pretty much what I want it to be.
Anticipation meter: 9.5/10
Death Stranding
Freed from the death shackles of Konami and the eternal work on the Metal Gear series, Hideo Kojima is finally doing something refreshing. Sadly, it’s not Silent Hills (aka PT) – as you should know, that project went to hell and Kojima, Guillermo del Toro and Norman Reedus were left without a game… That is, until Kojima called them back, asked his friend Mads Mikkelsen to drop by and started planning Death Stranding. This is a very cryptic game, the trailers are completely surreal and involve disappearing babies, dog tags and the quantum field theory. Don’t ask. All that we really know is that it’s an open world action game and should feature some awesome acting.
Anticipation meter: 9.5/10
Life is Strange 2
It’s a bit odd when you want a game so much and you don’t know even the slightest detail about it. In fact, all that we know is what it won’t be – it won’t be set in the same universe of the first Life is Strange, and won’t feature the same characters. I can’t wait to see the first glimpse of the new cast, and I’m crossing my fingers, hoping that the main characters will be just as likeable as Max and Chloe. The other big question that remains concerns the gimmick from Season 1, the time rewind ability – will Season 2’s star character possess some other powerful ability that can change how the game is played? I’m hoping so, and also that we get the options to forge our own path as we did before, and with an actual effect on the ending.
Anticipation meter: 9.5/10
Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption doesn’t need any more compliments. Rockstar would be completely nuts to pass on making a sequel to one of the most cherished open world games ever created, and the lack of competition in the western setting seals the deal. Sure, there’s the upcoming Wild West Online, but I’m still waiting to see how that turns out. Details on Red Dead Redemption 2 are still few and far between, but we know that there’s a new character to control, Arthur Morgan, an outlaw, and that single player and multiplayer are included. If this one isn’t another colossal hit, I don’t know what happened.
Anticipation meter: 9.5/10
Cyberpunk 2077
If there’s one thing that CD Projekt Red has to learn, it’s that they have to keep silent about their projects for some more time. Cyberpunk 2077 was announced in 2012 and now, almost stepping into 2018, there’s not a single actual screenshot or gameplay video to be seen. I’m pretty sure that it’s going to be a Blade Runner fan’s wet dream, an RPG set in an open world larger than The Witcher’s, and we all know just how great the Polish studio is at that. The potential addition of a multiplayer mode is also an oddity, and not something that I would request, but as long as it doesn’t hurt the single player mode, all is forgiven. It’s a shame that we’ll have to sit tight until 2019 to play it, more likely.
Anticipation meter: 10/10
Agony
Electronic Arts’ Dante’s Inferno had some interesting depictions of hell, and so did the Doom series, but Agony is taking it up a notch. This game has already stirred up some controversy, because… yeah, a game set in hell wouldn’t feature hellish creatures, deformed beasts, nude demons and twisted babies. The big twist comes from the ability to control demons that cross your path, something that should give the player some interesting powers. This vision of hell will probably go down as one of the most disturbing and least pleasant ever created for a videogame, and that will surely be the biggest triumph of this survival horror game.
Anticipation meter: 8.0/10
A Way Out
From the makers of the hit Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, A Way Out is your own, playable Shawshank Redemption or Prison Break, whichever you prefer. But there’s a massive twist that makes it stand apart from the crowd: it’s a co-op only game, something that you don’t see that often. A Way Out goes for realistic graphics (instead of the cartoonish style of the studio’s previous game) and it’s looking mighty good. Even better is the apparent focus on a decent storyline to guide inmates Leo and Vincent through their plan, from the initial grudges to ultimately escaping the prison, with the game continuing when they are out in the open. Teamwork is essential in this game and there’s plenty of puzzle-solving, but action scenes and chases will also be a part of it. The split-screen presentation might seem surprising to some players only used to online gameplay, but with today’s massive screens, this won’t be a problem.
Anticipation meter: 8.0/10
Shenmue 3
Shenmue 3 is the kind of game that I thought would never be made. The previous games weren’t a huge commercial success, mostly due to the high development costs, but the reputation of this series skyrocketed. The first game surprised everyone when open world games were in its infancy, with plenty to do besides following the main storyline. For Shenmue 3, Ryo Hazuki returns and series creator Yu Suzuki is planning on offering a gameplay similar to the previous games, including open world, hand-to-hand combat, and living villages with plenty of distractions. With Sony, Sega and Deep Silver supporting the development and marketing of Shenmue 3 in some shape, Yu Suzuki isn’t lacking support to make a great game for fans and everyone else.
Anticipation meter: 8.5/10
God of War 4
Kratos is rightfully fed up with the Greek mythology and for God of War 4 he is going to explore – read eviscerate – the Norse mythology. This time there is an added emotional gimmick in the shape of Kratos son Atreus, and maybe this means that the game won’t be an endless display of rage as it happened in previous episodes. Maybe this is what the series needed to balance the over-the-top violence and place itself alongside series such as The Last of Us – some quieter father and son moments to give more impact to the brutal gameplay.
Anticipation meter: 8.5/10
Detroit: Become Human
David Cage tries hard, but he’s not exactly known for being the best writer when it comes to conveying emotions. Heavy Rain, Fahrenheit and Beyond: Two Souls have a lot to learn from Life is Strange, but maybe this time it’s for real. Detroit: Become Human is the game that sparked from the Kara tech demo, and she is back in this game as one of the three playable androids in a futuristic Detroit. Once again, it’s an ambitious work with gorgeous visuals and a script that includes many, many options – Detroit: Become Human is a game about choice and consequence, and one of the main characters may die without this putting an end to the game. Oddly enough, maybe the androids from this game will mark the time when Cage managed to get the most human emotions into a game.
Anticipation meter: 8.5/10
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Get ready for more feels with the sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest, one of the most surprisingly emotional games of late – if you didn’t feel sadness during the intro cinematic, then you’re a very cold person. This stunning and incredibly playable platformer with a heart was a much deserved success and the follow-up, Ori and the Will of the Wisps takes us back to this beautiful universe, but to explore new places from the Nibel forest. There isn’t much info floating around yet, but could it be that Ori will find a partner in the sad little owl? Will they go even further by adding a co-op mode? That would be crazy, but who knows what they can come up with. Hey, as long as the OST is as good as the first one, I’ll take whatever they come up with.
Anticipation meter: 9.0/10
These are my most wanted games for 2018, and some of them may slip into 2019. What are your favorites?
