Jacob Jardel
Voices Editor
@JJardel_Writing
With January wrapping up, there are still many things to come from the video game industry in the following 11 months.
From top-tier titles to new intellectual properties popping up on shelves, sorting through them all can take longer than actually playing through some of these games. Some months, like April, will be filled with potential Game of the Year nominees.
What follows is a list of new games to look out for this year.
Fire Emblem: Fates
For fans of tactical strategy role-playing games – even for Nintendo 3DS owners as a whole – this one has the looks of a must-own.
Your avatar is an adopted member of the Hoshido royal family. You soon find out more about your past when your interact with people of the kingdom of Nohr. What happens next is up to the player.
Coming nearly four years after the release of the series’ previous installment “Awakening,” “Fates” goes deeper and provides more content for fans to sift through. Expect complex storylines, heavy decisions and hours upon hours of gameplay split up between two games with different storylines.
Quantum Break
After nearly two years of delays, Remedy Entertainment’s newest release is set to hit Xbox One consoles this April.
The game is set around a time travel experiment that goes wrong. Two main characters – one protagonist and one antagonist – gain time-based abilities, and players run away from the company hunting down their two heroes.
This game comes from the same studio as hits like “Alan Wake” and “Max Payne,” so there is bound to be good third-person shooting action and a fitting atmosphere for time travel. Prepare for a potentially groundbreaking game when this one comes out.
Star Fox Zero
Fans of Nintendo’s space-age anthropomorphic dogfighting crew can expect a new addition to the famed series on the Wii U this April.
This new addition to the series follows closely in gameplay style to its Nintendo 64 predecessor “Star Fox 64.” The game takes advantage of the versatile Wii U GamePad to give players a near-unprecedented control for this new generation of Fox and his friends.
The game has been in development for nearly two years as Nintendo attempts to regain the magic the series cast with its N64 release. Expect numerous new takes on the same old Fox when PlatinumGames and Nintendo drop this title later this spring.
The Last Guardian
After years of living in developmental purgatory, the newest project from members Team Ico is slated to grace Playstation 4 consoles this year.
The spiritual successor to “Shadow of the Colossus,” this game follows a kidnapped boy trying to escape with a griffin-like creature named Trico. Few other details are available regarding the story.
However, if its predecessors are any indication, this game has the potential to be an enthralling work of art with a deep and engaging storyline. The main hope from fans is that Sony used the time since its initial 2007 development to make another amazing game.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
With the rise of “Tomb Raider” games since 2013, Sony welcomes back its other favorite treasure hunter to the PS4 in spring after a five-year hiatus.
Set three years after the events of the previous game, main character Nathan Drake has since retired and settled into a seemingly normal life. But when his brother Sam asks for his help, Nate goes back on the job with all its ups and downs.
The original “Uncharted” games took over where Lara Croft left off, so seeing both back in action on this new generation of consoles will be a welcome treat for fans of the treasure hunting action-adventure genre. This one will be a definite blast that will keep players engaged from start to finish.
Dark Souls III
The newest installment of the brutally hard “Souls” series will keep challenging players to stay alive when it releases worldwide in April.
This game continues on the story of the third-person action RPG, following closely with its predecessor. Different enemies will come at the player as they try to survive and make their way through the story.
For fans of a big challenge and this genre, this game is a potential must-own. Magic will return for the first time since the first “Dark Souls” game, and new combat features will give players even more control as they make their way through FromSoftware and Bandai Namco’s newest open world.