Next-Gen is Just Getting Started, and So is The Hype Train
It’s been a long hard road through 2020 to get here, but the 4 new consoles have officially been released and a slew of shiny fresh games are available to play on them. Now, some have lamented that they’re not finding the launch lineup for the new hardware particularly exciting – especially Xbox fans. But the PS2 had a pretty unfortunate launch lineup as well, and that’s one of the most successful consoles of all time. All good things come to those who wait, and in 2021 we’ll really start bearing the fruits of our labor. As delayed launch titles and other games start showing up in the first-quarter holiday rush extension that’s become a trend over the past few years, players will be able to dive into experiences pretty regularly that remind them why they spent ~$700 on a console in “The Year That Sucked All the Ass” (official name of 2020 moving forward). So all aboard the hype train, and indulge in these 20 trailers for all the games set to release next year for the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
1. Deathloop
The team at Arkane has been releasing masterclasses in game design for the past decade, and it doesn’t look like they’re giving up that track record with Deathloop. This sci-fi shooter with a badass 70’s aesthetic has a neat feature where players can drop in and hunt another player right in the middle of the narrative – an exciting opportunity for griefers worldwide.
2. Halo Infinite
Shortly after this gameplay demo was released the team at 343 delayed the game citing issues with development due to COVID-19, which deflated a bit of the excitement around the Series X/S. That being said, delays more often than not lead to a better final product, and I’m actually more excited for Halo now than I was even before this trailer.
3. Ghostwire Tokyo
Gaming’s master of horror Shinji Mikami is bringing his latest creation to the PS5, and it actually looks more like an action game with yo-kais – an interesting departure from his traditional survival horror wheelhouse. The timed exclusivity is being honored in Xbox’s Bethesda buyout, but it’s basically guaranteed that the game will come to Xbox as soon as that contract is up.
4. Kena: Bridge of Spirits
The first game from Ember Lab – a studio made up of professional animators who made the 2016 Majora’s Mask short film – looks absolutely gorgeous, and will surely capture the hearts of players young and old when it drops sometime in 2021. We haven’t seen a whole lot of the game just yet, but I have a feeling merch for those little dudes called The Rot (a very unfortunate name for something so cute) will be flying off of shelves as soon as its available.
5. Gotham Knights
A Batman game without Batman actually looks pretty wild, instead putting players into the boots of Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Red Hood. The game doesn’t take place in the Arkham Universe for some reason, but you can team up with a friend to kick some evil ass in Gotham.
6. Horizon: Forbidden West
Holy crap, this looks gorgeous. Not much else is known about the game.
7: Resident Evil Village
I made the mistake of reading a leak about this game before it was officially revealed that spoiled the ending, and so far that leak is lining up with what we’ve seen so far. *Womp womp* for me, but it’s really exciting to be returning to Resident Evil, especially with Chris and some new werewolves to fend off.
8. Psychonauts 2
It’s been a long time coming, but Psychonauts 2 looks closer to completion than ever, and this summer Double Fine revealed that frequent collaborator Jack Black would be joining the team for another wild looking musical moment. The game takes place immediately following the events of VR exclusive title Rhombus of Ruin, which itself took place immediately following the events of the original Psychonauts from 2005.
9. Dying Light 2
It has been quite a long while since we’ve heard anything about Dying Light 2, and the last thing major development we heard of was not positive by any means. The team has let us know that the game is progressing just fine, but fans are surely getting impatient for this ambitious zombie-slaying adventure.
10. Scorn
I will give $1.00 to anyone who can tell me what the setting of this game is. Whatever it is, it’s beautifully disgusting.
Head over to PAGE 2 for more games…
