I can hear the internet rage already. Below, I’ve almost certainly stated that your most anticipated game will suck, and that the worst game EVERRR will be amazing. Feel free to disagree, but save your offensive commentary until the games are finished, would you? With that out of the way, go ahead and enjoy this (possibly controversial) list of games to watch in 2015.
(5+1) Mind Blowers – Let’s go developers, prove me right!
The Order 1886 (PS4)
Ready at Dawn – Feb 20, 2015
Sony’s “look at what the PS4 can do! Hell yeah!” title, The Order is still a bit of a mystery on the gameplay front. It revolves around a group of monster hunters in Victorian London, and looks absurdly pretty. The most interesting aspect is how cut scenes transition seamlessly into gameplay, potentially making the experience one of the most immersive to date. Ready at Dawn will be dropping this title on Feb 20, 2015 and is easily one of the most anticipated games of the PS4 line-up. Early impressions have been rock solid and if they hold up, this game will be unreal.
Evolve (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Turtle Rock Studios – Feb 10, 2015
After THQ imploded, this adversarial heroes vs monsters game fell into the lap of 2k games and Left 4 Dead developer Turtle Rock. Combined with multiple “Best of E3” wins, it’s a match made in heaven. The asymmetrical 4 vs. 1 gameplay was shown substantially at E3, and it sounds like there will be enough classes and monsters to keep this game on playlists for many moons. Be the Kraken!
Witcher 3 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
CD Projekt RED – Feb 24, 2015
One hundred hours of game. Larger than Skyrim. Get me a bib for my drool. Where previous Witcher games have felt guided, Wild Hunt is completely open world. Combine that with more refined tactical combat and magic systems and a dynamic world brimming with characters and consequences, and you’ve got a sure fire winner on your hands.
Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Rocksteady Studios – June 2, 2015
Arkham Asylum was astonishingly good, and Arkham City applied the formula to an open world. Arkham Knight is set to make jaws drop far and wide with staggering visuals, and numerous modifications to the already rock steady (see what I did there?) gameplay mechanics. The recent delay does nothing to dampen my optimism for this next-gen titan.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Kojima Productions – 2015
Japanese games are often quirky. Metal Gear is downright weird, with its crazy anime style storyline and absurd gameplay mechanics. However, Ground Zeroes was super entertaining, and I’m very intrigued by the move to a sandbox style of gameplay for the 5th iteration of Solid. I’m sure there will be multiple hour long cutscenes, but attaching bad guys to rocket parachutes looks like way too much fun to ignore.
No Man’s Sky (PS4, PC)
Hello Games – 2015
No word on whether this one will hit in 2015 for sure, but it is without doubt one of the most ambitious games ever created. Promising a literal galaxy’s worth of planets to explore, No Man’s Sky is a wild card that is way too tempting to ignore. Procedurally generated, the devs themselves have stated that there are more than 18 quintillion (NO REALLY, QUINTILLION) planet possibilities.
5 Dream Shatterers – Come on developers, prove me wrong!
Tom Clancy’s The Division (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Ubisoft Massive, Ubisoft Reflections, Ubisoft Red Storm – 2015
From what we’ve seen, The Division is a nice looking multiplayer shooter. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to have a creative bone in its digital body. Generic squad based shooters are a dime a dozen these days, and I don’t see anything here to set The Division apart. I’m not the only one either with plenty of skepticism floating around the internet right now. I don’t want it to be true but maybe good Tom Clancy games died when he did?
Battlefield Hardline (PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Visceral Games – March 2015
Let’s be honest here and say that Battlefield 4 was a complete nightmare. A disaster. It was beyond broken, and EA dropped the ball on fixing it about 17 times. Hardline looks narrow in scope, and generally derivative. Another (sad) nail in the series’ coffin, unless somebody puts on their big-boy(/girl!) pants and changes something tout de suite! I’d certainly like to be proven wrong here but the ball is in EA’s court and they have a lot to make up for to Battlefield fans.
Homefront: The Revolution (PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac)
Deep Silver Dambuster – 2015
Another game that has been affected by the meltdown of THQ, with a few major differences that could doom it. The Revolution has changed hands a number of times (publisher and developer), and is ultimately based on a game that kind of sucked. The open world aspects look interesting, but with so many cooks stirring the pot this game could, and most likely will, be a real bummer.
Mario Maker (Wii U)
Nintendo – Q1/Q2 2015
By rights, this should be the killer app that makes people buy a WiiU (although that name is still HORRIBLE). Nintendo has so far been tight lipped about the specifics of making your own Mario levels, but rumblings about limits on layout, size, and sharing have me extremely skeptical about this game.
Quantum Break (Xbox One)
Remedy Entertainment – Q2 2015
A cover based third person shooter with time manipulation powers. Doesn’t strike me as the most interesting start. A live action TV show is planned to accompany the game – because that’s been super successful in the past, right? Gameplay is mostly unknown quantity at this time, but I’d be hesitant to preorder this one.