BENGALURU: Wasteland 3 made a massive splash on Kickstarter, and released to critical acclaim in 2014. InXile Entertainment turned to crowdfunding once again to create the inevitable sequel, and Wasteland 3 is set to release in May. Anybody who misses the older Fallout games should give this one a try!
Desperados III
Here’s another blast from the past — the original Desperados and its sequel came out during a Golden Age for the real-time-tactics genre, marked most prominently by the Commandos series. Not only are they bringing this Wild West classic back, they’re putting it in the hands of Mimimi Productions — the folks behind Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, which was one of the best games of 2016.
Cyberpunk 2077
Of course we had to start with Cyberpunk. What else could it have been? It’s been almost seven years to the day since that first trailer came out and got everybody hyped for a release that...just never came. Well, now it’s here and if they can come anywhere close to the heights they managed with The Witcher 3, we’re in for a wild ride.
Nioh 2
The original Nioh always felt a bit under-appreciated — everybody who played it was raving about its take on the ‘Souls’ formula, but people just weren’t talking about it all that much. Still, it did well enough to get a sequel which should hopefully receive the attention it deserves.
Ghost of Tsushima
After the Infamous series, Sucker Punch Productions was clearly a studio to watch; and the first trailer for Ghost of Tsushima only reinforced that. Every game looks good in trailers, of course, but this looked utterly gorgeous. Of course, you need substance to go with style, so here’s hoping the gameplay lives up to the aesthetics.
The Last of Us: Part II
Almost as unexpected an inclusion as Cyberpunk, The Last of Us sequel is scheduled to release in May. The original game is still the finest work that Naughty Dog have done (and one of the best games of the last console generation to boot) and, even though there’s been quite a bit of upheaval at the studio since, we’re hoping they can pull it off again.
Diablo IV
Okay, we’ll admit that this is wishful thinking more than anything else but there is a chance that Diablo IV could come out this year. Blizzard must surely have learned from the issues surrounding Diablo III’s rocky launch, but word is that the sequel’s hewing even closer to an MMO-style experience, which is worrying. Still, it’s Diablo — it might just be wonderful.
Streets of Rage 4
Now there’s a name to trigger nostalgia like few others! The venerable Streets of Rage series released in the 1990s, and was one of the finest examples of the side-scrolling beat-em-up genre in existence. Now, 26 years later, the franchise found an extra life somewhere and is getting a new entry.
Skull & Bones
Although it’s been delayed multiple times, excitement is still high for Skull & Bones. Just about everybody who played Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag loved the sailing-the-high-seas-as-a-pirate portion of gameplay, and now that’s been refined and spun off into a standalone game. Here’s hoping that it can provide a slightly more fleshed-out experience than the similarly-themed Sea of Thieves did.
Half Life: Alyx
It’s a new Half Life game. Yes, it’s in VR. Yes, it’s a prequel. Yes, it’s got no Freeman (that we’re aware of, anyway). But it’s a new Half-Life game, 13 years after the last one. Oh lord, please let it be good!