2018 is coming to a close. Kratos punched people, Rico blew things up, and Spyro kept our nostalgic hearts warm. Games that were once anticipated new releases are an old hat and it’s time for us to start looking forward to the future. We asked the team to chime in on what upcoming games they care about most in this next year.

 

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – Jason

It’s no secret that I am a raging (dedication and rage quitting) Dark Souls fan. Demon’s Souls had me hooked right away and ever since, I’ve been a Day One buyer of anything FromSoftware. The reveal of Code Vein was a personal letdown as it departs from the FromSoftware that I endear so much. I so desperately wanted the infamously elusive trailer to be a Bloodborne sequel reveal.

But the more I see of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the more excited I become. The more FromSoftware releases new information about the upcoming samurai title, the more I become convinced that this is the game they’ve been wanting to make but were bound to finishing the Dark Souls trilogy first. It’s apparent that FromSoftware has taken a new approach to gameplay and narrative so I’m very excited to experience what they’ve been building up to for so long.

 

Resident Evil 2 – Kyle

Resident Evil has always been a bit of an odd series, routinely shifting genres and not having a clear direction moving from horror to full blown action. In 2017 Resident Evil 7 put the series back on track with a return to its survival horror roots, where resource management and scares were part of the series’ identity. When the remake of Resident Evil 2 was announced I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. But when they finally unveiled gameplay at E3 2018 it was everything I wanted and more. The Resident Evil 2 Remake appears to be much more than a standard remake, it’s a complete re-imagining of the original game. I’m excited to relive the horrors of Raccoon City from an entirely new perspective.

 

Devil May Cry 5 – Leo

Not only did Capcom announce a brand new Devil May Cry game slated for 2019, but they also decided to bring back my personal favorite Nero, as well as let me play a jaw-dropping demo back at Brasil Game Show 2018. From that moment onward my most anticipated title for the next year went from one over-the-top demon murdering simulator showered with unhealthy doses of heavy metal (Doom Eternal) to another over-the-top demon murdering simulator showered with unhealthy doses of heavy metal. My body is ready Capcom, bang bang bang pull my devil trigger.

 

Ori and the Will of the Wisps – Heidi

In one of our previous articles, Perfect Score Games Before Way Too Many Games, we talked about games that we felt were worthy of the ever elusive perfect ten. Ori and the Blind Forest was one of the games that was almost unanimously agreed upon as a masterpiece worthy of such a score. Needless to say, I have have high hopes for Ori and the Will of the Wisps, especially since one of own, Leo Faria, had the pleasure of getting some hands on time with it at this year’s E3 and he couldn’t stop raving about how beautiful and fantastic it was. There are tons of titles I’m anticipating in 2019, but none of them have my interest quite as much as Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

 

Wasteland 3 – Thomas

While the recently announced Outer Wilds from veteran RPG studio Obsidian piqued my interest as a pseudo-spiritual successor to Fallout: New Vegas, Wasteland 3 remains my most anticipated title of the year. I loved Wasteland 2, from the XCOM-esque combat to its dark humor. Set in the frozen wastelands of Colorado, Wasteland 3 will also bring plenty of new features to the series such as a customizable Ranger Base, vehicles in and out of combat, and full two-player multiplayer in a similar style to Divinity: Original Sin‘s. Toss in the writers of the sublime Torment: Tides of Numenera penning the story and dialogue for the game, and you have a classic in the making.

 

Control – Todd

It doesn’t have the large title pedigree or exclusive flair, and I am also first to admit that Quantum Break just never felt right to me. But Remedy is one of my favorite developers and Control looks like the follow-up to Alan Wake that was always meant to be. Gone are the gimmicks and the TV style episodic production emphasis. What is left is classic, beautiful, and glorious gameplay to go along with that dark sci-fi lore and twists that Remedy does so well. Remedy finally seems to be back in control and I can’t wait.

 

Honorable Mention: Gloomhaven: Forgotten Circles

We just had to include the upcoming expansion to Gloomhaven. Originally, Jason was the only Way Too Many Games team member who owned the game. But shortly after he published he review, four other staff members bought their own copies of Gloomhaven and will soon begin their own descent into the bottomless box. As if the original game didn’t have enough content, Gloomhaven: Forgotten Circles is adding twenty new scenarios, some new enemies, and a new character class. The expansion runs at a much more affordable entry point of $30 and will be a great addition for any fans.

 

---

 

These are the games that have us excited for the new year. What are the upcoming releases that has you ready for 2019?