Now that we’re emerging from the essentially gameless month that is always January – aka the time where you get to beat all the games you received for Christmas – we’re starting to get excited about the year ahead. And so we thought we’d bring you a list of some of the games we’re looking forward to the most this year, in no particular order – as well as some honourable mentions. Well, let’s get started:
Homeworld: Remastered
Console(s): PC
Release Date: 25th February 2015
I whittled away countless hours on the original releases, and I barely need an excuse to start looking forward to replaying one of the best, well-honed strategy games of all time.
Batman: Arkham Knight
Console(s): PC, XBOX One and PS4
Release Date: 2nd June 2015
After Rocksteady took time off and handed the reins over for the ok-but-still-inferior Arkham Origins, to have them back in the drivers seat brings me no small amount of joy. Providing the benchmark for other superhero games, Arkham Knight looks like it’ll deliver on more bang-biff-thwack than you can shake a can of bat-shark repellent at.
Rollercoaster Tycoon World
Console(s): PC
Release Date: TBC 2015
This may be a tentative 2015 release, but precious entries have had me sitting and planning countless thrill rides/death traps for so many hours.
Kingdom Hearts III
Console(s): Xbox One, PS4
Release Date: Q4 2015 (Rumoured)
The first Kingdom Hearts game to make it onto a Microsoft console is shaping up to end conclude the saga – some TEN YEARS since the second game in the series was released for the Playstation 2. That’s right. We’ve been waiting for this game for ten damn years (though admittedly we did receive games like Birth By Sleep on the PSP which was a highlight of the series). And it’s still only a tentative release for the end of the year. But we have a lot to get excited about.
Tai Yasue, a co-director and game designer for III recently said that we should be prepared for a lot of threads to get resolved in the game, “…for example Ventus and Terra in Birth By Sleep, what’s going to happen to them… There is going to be lot of stuff like that in Kingdom Hearts III, so expect a lot of characters, old and new.”
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Console(s): PC, XBOX One and PS4
Release Date: TBC 2015
Enough said.
Evolve
Console(s): PS4, XBOX ONE, PC
Release Date: 10th February 2015
After getting my hands on it for a single round at PAX AUS last year, I’ve had Evolve quietly eating away at the back of my mind. It’s 4v1, humans-v-monster design takes the increasingly by-the-numbers multiplayer shooter genre and seems to be trying to do something really different with it. Really looking forward to getting my hands on this one in the next few weeks.
The Witcher 3
Console(s): PS4, XBOX ONE, PC
Release Date: 19th May 2015
Despite the eye-wateringly high-end specs required to run The Witcher 3 on PC, I’m still really looking forward to getting to hang out with Geralt and his friends again. The brief window I got to play the game recently gave me a hunger for more that has yet to abate. It releases on May 19, which is my birthday so thanks very much, CD Projekt! So thoughtful!
Assassin’s Creed Victory
Console(s): PS4, XBOX ONE, PC
Release Date: TBC 2015
Even though Unity broke my heart, I’m going to come back to the series when the next installment hits shelves in November. I still think there’s a lot to like about Assassin’s Creed and I’m really hoping that the extra year will give Ubisoft the time they need to optimise their new engine and get this one finished properly. Time’s gonna tell on this one. but I’m cautiously optimistic all the same.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Console(s): PS4
Release Date: TBC 2015
Any year with a new Uncharted game in it is a damned good year as far as I’m concerned. I am so pumped to see what kind of crazed climby-shooty-action-movie shenanigans Naughty Dog have in store for Nathan Drake this time around. If the gameplay footage from The Game Awards late last year was any indication, it’s going to be jaw-droppingly beautiful.
Star Fox
Console(s): Wii U
Release Date: Q4 2015 (Rumoured)
IT’S A NEW STAR FOX GAME. The first in nine years. That’s worth unleashing the caps lock key for, that’s how excited for Star Fox I am. We haven’t seen anything substantial yet but I live in hope that Nintendo’s Wii U outing for Fox McCloud and the Star Fox team will be a return to the on-rails Lylat Wars-style format we came to know and love on the Nintendo 64. No more messing around, Nintendo. I don’t want another Star Fox Adventures, I don’t want another Star Fox Assault. Just a straight up, old school style Star Fox game. And make it, like, Dark Souls difficult. Please.
The Legend of Zelda
Console(s): Wii U
Release Date: Q4 2015 (Rumoured)
Zelda in HD (at launch) for the first time? In “Open World”? Everything about the 18th installment in the Zelda series is making this game look like a certain favourite for the year and the most anticipated Zelda release in a long time.
Special Mentions Go To:
Firewatch
Hotline Miami 2
Day of the Tentacle Special Edition
Massive Chalice
No Man’s Sky
Bloodborne
Battleborn
Battlecry
Mighty Number 9
Rainbow Six: Siege
Rise of the Tomb Raider
This article as written by Andrew Wade, David Smith and Larry Heath. All dates were correct at the time of printing. For up to date release dates, head along to our Release Dates page.
