2019 is upon us and with all of the hope that a new year brings, it also brings us some amazing games to play. Some game series will be renewed, some will release a sequel long-waited for, while some were just officially announced a little over half a year ago. Here are my top five most anticipated games, along with a few honorable mentions, of 2019!
1. Kingdom Hearts 3
Kingdom Hearts 3 is the biggest game of my life. Kingdom Hearts 3 is the culmination of over 15 years of my life. I remember sitting in my childhood, slanted ceiling bedroom playing Kingdom Hearts, and subsequently playing Kingdom Hearts 2 in the basement in sixth grade. Kingdom Hearts 3 will be played in my post-college bedroom now. The story this game has told throughout all these years has been both confusing and beautiful. Confusing because a majority of people will probably have no idea what is going on if they’ve only played the two numbered games, and even series veterans get confused by the convoluting story. Beautiful because the entire theme of Kingdom Hearts is essentially friendship. One of the most famous quotes is; “My friends are my power.” So while the story is confusing at most points, the overall message is the driving force of the entire series. This message does not seem to go away in Kingdom Hearts 3, with Sora trying to defeat the new Organization 13, all with the help of his friends. Sora is also trying to save people he has been connected with, that he already considers friends because Sora knows what his power is. The new additions I am stoked for new worlds like Toy Story, Monsters Inc., and Big Hero 6. New gameplay additions I am excited for new summons bringing in Disney World rides themselves which is one of the first things Square Enix showed off and Keyblade transformations such as the Monsters Inc. Keyblade turning into two claws in one form, and the other form into two yo-yos. Overall, I need Kingdom Hearts 3 in my hands at this very second. Soon! January 29th soon to be exact!
2. Pokemon 2019
Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee was a grand and joyous experience on the Switch. Having Pokemon on the go is nothing new, but Nintendo is trying to experiment with the Switch. Experimenting the Pokemon franchise is one of the reasons Let’s Go exists, and for Generation 8 I hope they do the same. Wild Pokemon battles are not truly necessary for a core Pokemon game. The perspective of Pokemon has been the same for a good while, so why not switch it up in some way. Maybe a 3rd-person perspective would do the trick, or you could go back to the top-down experience of yesteryear with just better looks. The main appeal for me is going to be how much they change and if they continue to expand the changes made in Sun & Moon. I got away from the series as a high schooler, mainly because it was losing my interest. It was always eight gym battles with a few types not getting a gym, and always the same story of world domination of some sort. The main concern is, they do not implement a lot of new ways to play, and just wait until the next game on the Switch, or not even experiment at all. Please, try new things now Game Freak!
3. Days Gone
Days Gone is a zombie-like action-adventure game mixed in with Sons of Anarchy made by Sony Bend Studio, who have made the Syphon Filter series and Uncharted: Golden Abyss, a great spin-off on the Vita. The thing that Days Gone stands apart from other zombie-like games is that the “Freakers”, the zombie-like enemies, come in hundreds and seems a lot more menacing than other games. You must use your motorcycle as a weapon at times and effectively get away from them all. The combat is very strategic in how you maneuver non-infected enemies. You can go through the enemy encampment on your bike, guns blazing. However, you might run through a tripwire, which puts you at a disadvantage early. So, the strategy of attack is a heavy component in this game, which I am all for in a zombie game. Days Gone will release on April 26th of this year!
4. Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing on the Switch will be the first Animal Crossing game I have played since Wild World came out on the Nintendo DS. For a few weeks, I was enthralled by that game and loved creating my own things and building my own town. In September of last year, Nintendo tricked us with a Smash Isabelle announcement and then dropping an Animal Crossing Switch announcement trailer right after. It did not say much of anything. Having actual information would be nice, but just doing all of the great Animal Crossing things on the Nintendo Switch is going to be amazing. It will probably take up a lot longer of my life weeks after release. I never experimented with the online in Wild World, but I am too excited to try all of that out with my friends. So Nintendo, please release this game or just a new trailer!
5. The Outer Worlds
The Outer Worlds looks like a game that is so much up my alley. It is an RPG in space. Customization and choices are two heavy components. Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, two founding creators of the original Fallout games, are directing this which gives this game so much hope with that kind of pedigree. Obsidian themselves have made two great games that are heavily coincided with customization and choice in Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic 2 and Fallout: New Vegas. These two games are pretty far away from where we are now, but that still gives a lot of experience to this type of game. The game has a humor to it that is pretty rare in RPG games today also. 2019 is the release date right now, and I am ready to play it already.
Honorable Mentions
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a game we know very little about. However, it has so much potential to be a great Star Wars game. It is made by Respawn Entertainment who makes the Titanfall games. Both of the Titanfall games have had a decent amount of success, and have had many good gameplay elements, and ideas for the shooter genre. With this knowledge, Respawn can create a focused and polished Star Wars console game, which under Electronic Arts, we have not had. Both Battlefront games had their issues coming out, with no single player in the first, and the microtransaction fiasco that occurred within the second. I trust Respawn enough to not make these decisions even if they’ve only made two games as a studio. Remember though, a majority of this studio was part of Infinity Ward, so they have enough pedigree to be trusted. Jedi Fallen Order shall hopefully release at some point later this year!
Sekiro
Sekiro is a samurai action game made by Dark Souls’ developers, From Software. The only game I played by them was Bloodborne. I lasted only a measly two hours until I gave up. So, this game will most likely be the same hence why it is only in my Honorable Mentions. However! I am highly interested in watching people more skilled than I playing this game. So in that sense, I am truly excited for this game!
Resident Evil 2 Remake
This game is in the same situation as Sekiro. I am excited to watch people play this game. I hate horror games, or anything horror related. Zombies, in a horror setting, are not a strong suit of mine either. I will probably try to play it for a day through Redbox or something, but that could be it unless that changes my mind to buy it in general. Either way, this game looks beautiful and the detail in the amount of gore is pretty astounding, even disturbing sometimes. Overall, I am ready to watch people get excited about this game for many hours, but I am not ready to play it.
Metroid Prime 4
The Metroid series is a new love I have. I have been playing all of them, with the exception of a couple, since last summer and have loved every single one. When Metroid Prime 4 was announced at E3 of 2017, it was a monumental moment for a lot of people. I never felt this monumental feeling due to me not playing the games, but after playing a few of them, I am truly ready for this game. The Prime trilogy is still mostly unknown to me, besides a few hours of the first Metroid Prime. I am waiting for a possible trilogy announcement from Nintendo on the Switch, but who knows if that will actually happen. Regardless though, having the first major, non-remake Metroid game to come out in a while is going to be a beautiful experience, even if it does not have any sort of release date whatsoever. If it comes out in 2019, I will be mentally prepared. If not, I will still be mentally prepared.
Update: On January 25th, Nintendo announced that the development of Metroid Prime 4 was not going well, and they scrapped the game. Metroid Prime 4 is now being developed by the original trilogy's developers, Retro Studios. This game will now come out, at the earliest, 2021, and that is a heavy maybe.
2019 overall seems like a great year for games, even with some not on this list. The potential of having a new Metroid Prime game and Bayonetta 3 would be a great way for how 2019 is in general; letting dreams become reality. Speaking of dreams, Media Molecule, please release Dreams this year, that game looks intense.
Till next time!
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