A great year for gaming?
T’S a brand new year, and that can only mean one thing – brand new games.
Last year saw a wealth of amazing games hit our consoles, and you’ll be glad to hear that 2019 promises even more.
The eternally delayed Crackdown 3 is – for now – on the horizon for February, and a new Resident Evil is arriving imminently. Later there’s Mortal Kombat 11, a new Battletoads adventure, and a sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest. Here’s just a snippet of what to look out for.
RESIDENT EVIL 2
Release: January 25, PS4
ALREADY being mooted as an early contender for game of the year, Capcom’s remake of Resident Evil 2 arrives 21 years after the original.
Packed full of the classic action, tense exploration, and puzzle solving gameplay that defined the series, this newly polished version comes with better looking graphics and a more serious undertone.
Leon’s ungainly shoulder pads are gone, the gameplay has been overhauled, and the team has focused on horror over action in an attempt to preserve the claustrophobic feel of the first. Early reviews are already praising how lovingly the source material has been treated – with old environments recreated so they are instantly recognisable, but still hold fresh horrors.
FAR CRY: NEW DAWN
Release: February 15, PS4, XBOX ONE, PC BILLED as a narrative sequel to Far Cry 5, most of the excitement surrounding this game stems from its post-apocalyptic setting.
With the action taking place 17-years after Far Cry 5’s devastating ending, New Dawn shows how nuclear war has reshaped the landscape.
Early footage seems to show the huge open-world map painted with vibrant colours and interesting personalities. Players can fully customise their playable character, down to gender and race.
The Guns for Hire and the Fangs for Hire systems from Far Cry 5 return, meaning you’ll be able to recruit human survivors and animals to your cause.
METRO EXODUS
Release: February 15, PS4, XBOX ONE, PC
THIS third instalment of the Metro series, based on the novels of Dmitry Glukhovsky, follows a band of survivors fleeing the shattered ruins of the Moscow Metro. Their journey will take them across the Russian wilderness, with players able to explore vast, non-linear levels in the sandbox survival experience.
Set two years after the events of Metro: Last Light, Exodus will be the final part of a trilogy which has, so far, been astonishingly enjoyable.
BATTLETOADS
Release: March 2019, XBOX ONE, PC
IT WAS hard not to be intrigued by last year’s announcement that Rare was working on a new Battletoads title. Created in 1991 as a rival to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games series, the delightfully named Rash, Zitz, and Pimple joined forces on the NES to defeat the Dark Queen.
Appearing to be a brand new game rather than a remake, this new addition to the series is said to boast 2.5D graphics, and will support three-player co-op.
While the trailer hints at some sort of speeder-bike action, the franchise’s roots are firmly in the beat ‘em up camp, so it will be interesting to see in which direction the developers decide to take it.
DAYS GONE
Release: April 26, PS4
DAYS Gone is yet another title with a post-apocalyptic open world setting.
Playing as a former outlaw-turned drifter/bounty hunter, the game’s story unfolds two years after a global pandemic killed most of humanity.
Millions of those who survived were transformed into ‘freakers’, zombie-like creatures now more animal than human – and continuing to evolve into something terrifying.
There’s a dynamic weather system, and crafting, which means you’ll be able to make items to improve your combat efficiency.
MORTAL KOMBAT 11
Ori and The Will of the Wisps
Release: April 23, PS4, XBOX ONE, PC, Switch
THE trailer for the new Mortal Kombat outing is nothing short of brutal – so it bodes well for the action in the game itself.
Boasting what developers NetherRealm Studios are describing as ‘unprecedented control’ to customise your fighter, this new addition to the Mortal Kombat series feels fresh and vibrant. That’s possibly down to the game’s new graphics engine which promises to showcase every skullshattering, eye-popping moment.
So far the trailer is the only glimpse we’ve had of the game, but there’s purportedly a proper gameplay reveal on January 17.
ORI AND THE WILL OF THE WISPS
Release: TBA 2019, XBOX ONE, PC
JUST thinking about Ori’s previous journey through the Blind Forest causes me to well up.
Now Microsoft is preparing to release an XBOX exclusive sequel, The Will of the Wisps, which follows the further adventures of Ori, the White Guardian Spirit.
Unveiled at E3 in 2017 by Moon Studios, lead developer Thomas Mahler said: “Will of the Wisps should be to Blind Forest what Super Mario Bros. 3 was to the original Super Mario Bros.”
Scant details have been revealed surrounding the new release, but what we do know is that there’s expected to be a system called ‘soul links’, which allows players to save at will, and Ori seems to have an owl friend to join him on his journey.
ONE of my personal favourites from 2017, Cuphead gets a new adventure towards the back end of the year.
Cuphead and Mugman are joined by Ms. Chalice for this DLC add-on which opens up a whole new island for our porcelain pals to explore.
With new weapons, charms and a new character, expect fresh frustrations, insane new levels and hard-asnails new bosses to test your abilities. Battletoads
CRACKDOWN 3
Release: February 13, XBOX ONE, PC
FINGERS crossed Crackdown 3 finally gets an airing this year as it’s already been delayed since 2016.
The first two Crackdowns were insanely good fun, and this threequel sounds no different. As a super-cop in an open-world city, you fight crime and smash up the environment in the process – delightful, mindless fun. And you don’t have to do it alone, as the game supports online co-op for up to four players.
The icing on the cake though is the addition of Terry Crews as a playable character.
GEARS 5 CUPHEAD: THE DELICIOUS LAST COURSE
Release: Late 2019, XBOX ONE, PC
Release: TBA 2019, XBOX ONE
MICROSOFT is racking up the XBOX exclusives this year, with the direct sequel to Gears of War 4 expected to land late in 2019.
Gears 5 will focus on Kait Diaz, an Outsider of Locust descent who must journey back to uncover the origins of the Locust in order to save the future.
Fighting alongside your squad, you’re all that’s left to stop Sera from crumbling, and its enemies from uniting to finish it off. Developers The Coalition, say the game will support local split screen or online co-op.