2015 has been a banner year for video games. Every month amazing games piled up on the COG desks, and we struggled mightily to cover everything. From incredible indies like Rocket League and Axiom Verge to big budget blockbusters like The Phantom Pain and The Witcher 3, 2015 has had something for everyone. But enough about now, what’s coming next? What’s going to melt our collective faces and be the best games of 2016? What’s going to suck our will to live? Here’s what I think.

 

**Note: I think all these games have potential, but some of them are going to be subpar. It’s inevitable. These are the ones that I get a distinct vibe about. Disagree? Great! Tell me all about it in the comments or on Twitter @yvr_paul.**

 

Games of 2016 That Will Be Great

Don’t make me look like an idiot developers!

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Nathan Drake’s swan song is shaping up to be his finest outing yet – all signs point to yet another incredible entry from Naughty Dog. With their industry leading environmental design, enhance path branching, improved mechanics, and some of the finest graphical fidelity ever produced, A Thief’s End is as close to a lock as we get in this industry.

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Straight from left field, Horizon blew our hair back harder than standing in a 747’s wake on take off. Freed from the drab and unexciting Helghast, Guerilla Games is being creative for the first time in multiple generations. All signs point to awesome thanks to the intriguing story possibilities, badass female hero, and robot freakin’ dinosaurs.

Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst

What if you could do the cool parkour moves from the original Mirror’s Edge in any direction at any time? That’s what Catalyst is. From the thin vertical slice we played at E3, EA has the right idea with Catalyst, focusing on flow, speed, and style. Origin stories are a bit tough to swallow usually, but I’ve got a good feeling about this one.

Final Fantasy XV

Sure, Final Fantasy has been on the ropes for a while. Since XII, the franchise has been really subpar. XV is poised to change that with a healthy dose of exploration, royalty, summoned monsters, and an intriguing combat system. If Final Fantasy XV can deliver a whole world’s worth of what we saw in Episode Duscae, it could be one of the best games of 2016.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Let’s be honest. Augment your preorder was a really bad idea, and left a bad taste in the mouths of many. But Mankind Divided looks CRAZY good. The variety of approaches to all situations seems to have ramped up even higher than in Human Revolution, and the cyberpunk world of Deus Ex has never looked better. Square Enix likely has another winner of their hands here.