Outriders | $60 | Best Buy
Here’s a hard truth for you: 2021 is going to be a rough one for gaming. We’re already two months in and you can count all of the big, exciting releases that have happened on one hand. While there’s always a lot to get excited about in the indie world, those looking for big AAA titles might be disappointed. Due to the pandemic, several games are missing their launch dates and getting yeeted out of 2021 entirely. Gran Turismo 7? Riders Republic? Hogwarts Legacy? That’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to games that have been delayed so far.
So that begs the question: What is coming out? With the gaming outlook getting grimmer, we’re going to need some big titles to latch on to and keep us moving through the year. Luckily, not all hope is lost. There are some big games coming that seem like they’ll probably make it out this year. These are largely games that already received significant delays last year, so the hope is that the extra development time will keep them on schedule.
Of course, who knows what could happen. Everything is up in the air and nothing is safe from slow crawl of remote development. But judging by the current landscape, here are our most anticipated games that seem like they’ll actually come out in 2021.
Outriders was set to be one of the first big third-party games of the new console generations before a series of delays pushed it to April. Luckily. it looks like that wave of pushbacks is over. A demo for the game is now available, which features a significant portion of the actual game. The new third-person shooter from People Can Fly combines cover based shooting and character abilities ala Destiny to create an action-packed adventure. Best of all? It’s not a live service game, despite looking like one at first glance. Lord knows we don’t need another Marvel’s Avengers on our hands this year.
G/O Media may get a commission
Halo Infinite is undoubtedly the biggest game of last year and that’s mostly because it was supposed to be the biggest game of last year. The first-person shooter was slated to launch alongside the Xbox Series X, making it the console’s first killer app. In a shocking reversal, Microsoft delayed the game indefinitely, eventually pushing it to fall 2021. That was bad news for potential Series X owners, but good news in the long run. The additional year of development time can only be positive for a game of this scale, so we have high hopes that Craig will be looking sharp come November.
Few major studio games coming out in 2021 look as stylish as Deathloop. Developed by Arkane Studios, the first-person shooter immediately caught fans’ attention when it was announced due to its almost grindhouse movie aesthetic and Groundhog Day-style premise. That alone should be enough to put this high on anyone’s list, but the most exciting thing about Deathloop is the developer itself. Arkane has knocked it out of the park in recent years with franchises like Dishonored, so it’s always great to see a talented studio like that creating slick, new IPs. The game’s May 21 release date feels like a lock at this point, so keep your fingers crossed.
Ubisoft’s entire 2020 and 2021 line-up is sort of in-flux right now as the studio adjusts to remote development. While Far Cry 6 was originally set to drop last year, now it’s vaguely scheduled to release sometime in the back half of 2021, at the earliest. It seems reasonable to believe the shooter will end up making it out this year though and that’s good news. The latest installment of the series looks like one of its most narratively compelling yet thanks to Giancarlo Esposito, who plays a ruthless dictator. That alone has us excited for a sequel that’ll hopefully sharpen the franchise’s storytelling chops.
What is GhostWire: Tokyo? We have no idea, and that’s why it’s so exciting. Bethesda’s mysterious sci-fi game was revealed back at E3 2019 and has remained a total oddity since. Even its eventual gameplay reveal trailer raised more questions than it answered. As far as we can tell, the game is a first-person action game where players shoot spells out of their hands while fighting through a cyberpunk city setting. The supernatural combat has been described as “karate meets magic” and frankly, say no more. I don’t want to hear another world. I’m sold.
Source link
