10. Far Cry 6
Release Date: TBD 2021 Platform(s): PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, Stadia, PC
The next iteration of Ubisoft’s anarchic open world is headed to the totalitarian island nation of Yara. Yara is based upon an imaginary Carribien Island ruled by the El Presidente Antón Castillo. Keeping up with classic Far Cry fashion, where the big baddie is memorable lunatic, El Presidente Antón Castillo will be played by Breaking Bad’s and The Mandalorian’s Giancarlo Esposito. Guess what happens when there’s a totalitarian nation in the Carribien ruled by a lunatic Presidente? That’s right, it’s a revolution! Step into the shoes of guerilla fighter Dani Rojas and takedown El Presidente in Far Cry 6. Far Cry 6 will look extra special on PS5 and Xbox Series X as it will run at native 4k, 60 FPS.
9. Resident Evil Village (REVII)
Release Date: TBD 2021 (May 21, according to leaked marketing presentation) Platform(s): PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Resident Evil Village, or as us simple folk call it, RE VII is the next major instalment in the Resident Evil franchise. The story picks up right where Resident Evil 7: BioHazard left off. Ethan is back in a merciless cold, exploring a haunting village. While Capcom didn’t reveal much of Resident Evil Village, much of the game was leaked by during the ransomware leaks at Capcom in late 2020. While the game is planned for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, leaks suggest that Capcom may release the game on last-gen consoles as well. However, this is pre-Cyberpunk 2077 launch fail, so it’s subject to change.
8. Halo Infinite
Release Date: Fall 2021 Platform(s): Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Halo Infinite is Masterchief’s next adventure and the grand conclusion to the third Halo Trilogy. This time around, the Banished are back for Master Chief to tangle with. And this time, Masterchief’s got a grappling hook! This time around, the multiplayer will be free to play for everyone on Xbox and PC. Halo Infinite was supposed to release in December 2020, but owing to the lockdown, 343 industries postponed it Fall 2021. Although, we suspect it was the crappy response to the bland graphics in the gameplay trailer that made 343 to delay Halo Infinite. Either way, a delayed but good game is always better than a rushed and bad one.
7. The Medium
Release Date: 28 January 2021 Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC
The Medium is an upcoming psychological horror video game. It’s the only game in our list that is coming in January itself. A Windows exclusive, The Medium is a unique game where you, the player exists simultaneously in two alternate realities; a physical reality and a spirit a physical reality. Basically, The Medium is supposed to be an extravagant tech demo that will highlight the swift loading speeds of Xbox Series S/X by rendering two worlds at the same time. But unlike some other uninspired tech demos, The Medium is a full-fledged horror game that will blow you away. Coming from the team behind Layers of Fear and Observer, The Medium’s horror scale is being compared to Konami’s cancelled Silent Hills.
6. DeathLoop
Release Date: 21 May 2021 Platforms: PS5, PC
Have you missed Dishonoured? Well,2021 may bring good fortune to you then. Arkane is back with another sandbox-style first-person shooter that takes a ton of hints from Dishonoured in the magical abilities department. The twist? You’re an assassin’s who’s stuck in a time loop. In order to escape the time loop, you must assassinate 8 targets in one night. The problem? There’s a rival assassin who is tasked to kill you and protect your targets and it just so happens that she is a much better assassin than you. Live. Die Repeat. The game has a soothing 60’s style paired with a retro-future make-up. Death Loop is coming to PS5 and PC on 21 May 2021. It’s one of the few games on our list that has a firm release date rather than a TBD release date. The game is not coming Xbox Series S/X thanks to a timed one-year console exclusivity deal with Sony.
5. GhostWire: Tokyo
Release Date: TBD 2021 Platforms: PS5, PC
Coming from the quill of the legendary video game designer Shinji Mikami, GhostWire: Tokyo has been all the rage since its official release back in 2019 at Bethesda’s E3 stage. Back then, nothing much could be made out of the game except for the fact that all of Tokyo’s resident’s suddenly ‘disappear’, thanks to some not-so-kind spirits and the protagonist has the ability to see and fight them. Earlier this year, we did get a good look at GhostWire: Tokyo’s gameplay. It’s a first-person action-adventure where you can use “various psychic and paranormal abilities to defeat the ghosts and spirits haunting Tokyo”. Combat director Shinichiro Hara described the combat as “karate meets magic”, as the player character utilizes hand movements inspired by Kuji-kiri hand gestures to cast spells, that’s enough to roll in all the Naruto fans. The game is set in modern-day Tokyo and while it isn’t a 1-to-1 replica of the city, it’s pretty close to what the actual city of Tokyo feels like. There’s a TBD 2021 release date on GhostWire: Tokyo, but it’s going to be a huge hit whenever it comes out. Unfortunately, the game is a PS5 console exclusive, although it will come to PC as well.
4. Hogwarts Legacy
Release Date: TBD 2021 Platform(s): PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Here’s for all the Harry Potter fans in the house. If you never received your Hogwarts invitation letter when you were 11 and almost gave up on the dream of being a wizard, then don’t give up yet! Hogwarts Legacy is coming soon. Set in the late 1800s, Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world RPG set in the wizarding world of Harry Potter. You’ll take different classes to cast spells, brew potions and fight beasts all the while exploring the Hogwarts Castle, Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade Village. Oh, and did we mention that your choices affect the story? There’s no official release date on Hogwarts Legacy except for 2021, but on the plus side, it’s coming to all the major platforms including last-gen consoles.
3. Horizon Forbidden West
Release Date: Second Half of 2021 Platform(s): PS5, PS4
Sequel to Guerilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West is the next leg of Aloy’s epic journey. Forbidden West sees Aloy journey across the western United States, from Utah to San Francisco. Forbidden West is being “built from the ground up to take advantage of the PS5 feature set”, according to Sony, and that’s befitting a launch title. Well, PS5 launched in 2020 but the stocks were scarce and only a lucky few got their hands on Sony’s next-gen console. Hopefully, most of us will be able to get our hands on PS5 by the second half of 2021, making Horizon Forbidden West a befitting launch title.
2. Elden Ring
Release Date: TBD 2021 Platform(s): PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, PC (Expected Platforms, not officially confirmed)
Elden Ring is the most anticipated game of 2020. Coming from the makers of the Souls series and Bloodbourne, From Software, Elden Ring collaborative effort between game director Hidetaka Miyazaki and fantasy novelist George R. R. Martin, the author of Game of Thrones. From Software’s games always have deep lore, add George R. R. Martin to the mix and you can expect one of the best narratives in a video game. Hardly any official or word about the game was dropped by From Software, but leaks suggest we’ll see similar, unforgiving gameplay paired with dynamic weather, bigger open space and, most importantly, deeper lore.
1. God of War Ragnarok
Release Date: TBD 2021 Platform(s): PS5
We saved the best one for the end. God of War Ragnarok is the sequel to 2018’s immensely popular reboot of God of War. Unfortunately, that’s all we know about it. All we say during the PS5 Showcase was a short, 59-second trailer, that revealed nothing but the logo of the game. “Ragnarok is coming, 2021” the trailer text read. Even without a good look at the game, we can say with full certainty that God of War Ragnarok will be a huge success. The story will quite likely pick up where it left, which means an encounter with the mighty Thor himself.
Honourable Mentions
Next-Gen Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was the most anticipated game of 2020, nay the most anticipated game of the decade. But, upon release, it was such a let-down on the last-gen consoles. The next-gen consoles were running the last-gen version of the game via backward compatibility, while the official next-gen version of Cyberpunk 2077 is slated to release sometime in 2021. Hopefully, CDPR will have ironed out all (or most) of the bugs by then as well.
New World
Gotham Knights
Gotham Knights is the next iteration of Batman Gotham Games, but its set in a world where Batman is dead and the duty to protect Gotham city has fallen in the hands Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Red Hood — all of whom are playable characters in Gotham Knights. Each character has their own unique skillsets and the game features a co-op mode as well.
Fable
After a decade worth of wait, we finally got a trailer for the next Fable game. I know fell well that the chances of the new Fable releasing in 2021 are pretty slim, but if you scroll a wee bit down and take a look at my bio, you’ll know I’m crazy about Fable. A lot of stuff happened between Fable 3’s launch in 2010 and the Fable announcement trailer in 2020. Most notably, Lion Head Studio, the studio behind the best video game franchise ever, was shut down. The new Fable is developed by PlayGround games, the team behind Forza games. It’s an unlikely choice that does stir me with anxiety, but if the final game has even half of the corniness of the original Fable games with the next-gen graphics, I’ll be dancing with joy. And, going by trailer, it seems PlayGround has nailed the corniness.
