With the new year comes a clean slate of sorts. While I still haven’t played Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Rise of the Tomb Raider as well as a host of other games, I find myself already getting excited for what comes next. The main reason for this is the public consciousness, as everyone is now talking less and less about what their favorite games of last year were, and more about what they are most hyped for this year. I still plan on getting back to Kojima’s supposed final Metal Gear as well as a slew of other games, but my rabid appetite for staying current and within the conversation has me getting caught up in the hype of what looks to be a fantastic year in gaming. As the PS4 and Xbox One start to hit their stride, this generation is starting to come into full swing.

With Jonathan Blow’s The Witness busting out the door this January, and now receiving almost universal acclaim, part of me thinks that my favorite game this year will possibly be something I hadn’t anticipated, and that excites me more than anything. That being said, here are the games a I find myself most hyped for in 2016. I have not arranged this list in any order or hype level, it is just an explanation for why I am excited about each of these upcoming titles.

For your convenience, I have included a gameplay video or trailer for each of the games. If you are avoiding spoilers for any of these games from a gameplay perspective, I’d advise you to not watch any of the videos.

Deus Ex:Mankind Divided

Eidos Montreal’s follow up to the the fantastic 2011 Human Revolution is shaping up fantastically. The marketing team for Square Enix has done an excellent job of releasing just enough information about this title to keep me suitably eager and desperate for more information. This is a game I simply cannot wait to have in my hands. The 25 minutes the team presented at E3 provided a overwhelmingly positive outlook for this title as it answered almost every question I had about what this sequel would change. First and foremost, the lingering question of every sequel in the day of AAA gaming, “Will they dumb down the game to appeal to a bigger audience?”. The answer this this question is a resounding no. Mankind Divided is set to equip your character Adam Jensen with an even deeper arsenal than its predecessor, as well as offer even more branching paths than were on the table before. This excites me greatly, as the game both in looks as well as game play appears to be evolving rather than iterating.

The combat system has been overhauled, with tighter, yet still methodical combat, letting Adam use new abilities such as stun darts that fire from his mechanically augmented knuckles, or the ability to change gun attachments on the fly a la Crysis. Gone are the ridiculous battery meters that must be consumed in order to execute a melee attack and in comes a more reasonable energy meter that recharges with time. The conversation system has also been expanded, allowing for more immersive and dramatic scenarios for you to take agency over. In the E3 demo we see both of these displayed with remarkably confidence from Eidos, all within a sparkly new engine that brings Mankind Divided’s absolutely gorgeous art style brimming to life with more vibrant colors and diverse environments than in the previous installment

Despite the disappointing delay to August 23rd, I’m still suitably hyped for this game-possibly the most hyped for a sequel that I have been since Mass Effect 2. The name Deus Ex brings with it lofty standards, and lets hope that the extra time  Eidos Motreal has taken to complete the game pays off.

XCOM 2

Another sequel to a reboot of a beloved franchise, I know, but not without reason.  XCOM:Enemy Unknown was one of the very best games released in 2012. Like Deus Ex:Human Revolution, Enemy Unknown boasted a fantastic experience held back by a few clunky mechanics. In the same way as Mankind Divided, as so many video game sequels, XCOM 2 looks like it has fixed many of fan’s complaints. Based off the early preview reactions, this sequel looks extremely promising. In this game you’ll be fighting against a constant ticking clock of doom called the “Avatar Project”, i.e the Alien’s win condition. If the clock reaches zero something terrible will happen and you will lose the game. The more missions you complete, the more you will be able to appease the countdown. The previous game handled this in a more haphazard manner, involving base building and those goddamn satellites. A point came in the game  where if you hadn’t built enough satellites, you would lose support from other countries and it would basically be a wrap. Pretty frustrating stuff.

This punishing nature is part of what makes XCOM a truly standout and original title, and the way the newest installment plans to handle this aspect of the experience should keep the pace of the game moving at a steady click as well as remind the player that they must take risks  to take out alien strongholds and buy themselves more time on the Avatar Project clock. Another spcial aspect of these games is the character building system, which essentially boils down to taking in recruits and using them in combat to level up their skills and earn them new equipment. However, when a unit dies, they die, and they do not come back. Prepare to get attached to your little space marine avatars, name them, care for them, and then watch as a Sectoid splatters their guts on the pavement all over again!

Jokes aside, With a more robust and varied campaign experience that includes new enemies, a giant mobile base as well as more varied mission objectives, the outlook for this game looks very positive. XCOM 2 drops February 5th.

Dark Souls 3

Can Miyazaki do it yet again? The third entry, and 5th game of its style developed by From Software is just around the horizon, releasing on April 12th. I’m a bit perplexed to see the game releasing just on the coattails of the fantastic Bloodborne, but my faith in these titles has yet to be shaken, and why should it? I’ve played every souls game from Demon’s  to Dark, as well as Bloodborne (which is technically not a Souls game), and not once have I walked away displeased. Each new entry manages to up the anti in some way, with Dark broadening the overworld system, to Bloodborne injecting the combat mechanics with a dose of adrenaline. Each Souls so far has succeeded in bringing something new to the table, without losing the soul (pun not intended) of the genre. This is what excites me most about Dark Souls 3, not that its another game in an already legendary series, but rather to see how it will surprise me in ways the previous games have not.

Over-saturation is a concern,however, and I hope From Software doesn’t start spitting games out annually i.e Assassin’s Creed as the Soul’s franchise is true delight, to be savored, rather than guzzled. Part of me thinks that the timing of this title and Bloodborne is just a coincidence however, and that we should have a breather after the release of Souls 3.

Mirrors Edge: Catalyst

Mirrors Edge is not a game that comes across my thoughts very often, but when it does, I immediately remember just how addictive its gameplay was. This game makes my list solely on the fact that the first game blew me the fuck away when I first played it. I had just gotten a new ASUS laptop, and was testing its might with some beefy games like Crysis 3 and Battlefield 3. Mirrors Edge caught my attention on visuals alone, and I thought it would make a nice flashy game to test out my new machine. Four hours later I found myself absolutely hooked on a flawless parkour system which had, to my surprise, been woven in to an expertly designed video game.

The people over at DICE seem to know what they are doing, and while their latest efforts on Battlefield 4 and Battlefront leave much to be desired, the studio has had a long time to work on this one, and from the short glimpses of gameplay that we have seen, it appears that the movement will be very much in line with the original, while improving on the combat system as well as adding a vast open world metropolis to explore. I have yet a reason to doubt it will live up to the lofty expectations that fans have set for it. The movement, the colors, the music-I see no evidence as to why Mirrors Edge:Catalyst won’t prove a worthy successor to the orginal. This is EA, after all, though, so I will remain skeptically optimistic until I get my hands on the game May 24th.

Mass Effect Andromeda

Speaking of EA…Mass Effect:Andromeda. Oh how I want you to be good, I really do. Fair notice- the Mass Effect games are probably my favorite series in all of gaming, so Adromeda carries a lot of weight for me, as well as for many other diehard fans of the series. Its still highly questionable whether or not this game will even release in 2016, but for the time being EA and Bioware have listed it as a holiday title, so for now it makes this list.

Many will tell you that their most significant grievance with the previous games would be the third one’s ending, and while I could share my thoughts about that for quite a while, that is not what concerns me moving forward. In the next effort from Bioware, what is most important to me is returning to what made Mass Effect great in the first place, but doing so in new and original ways. The series boiled down to three pillars for me and they go as follows. A great story with significant player agency, exploration that is meaningful and connects to the story, deep combat and customization. As the series went on each of these pillars either diminished or fluctuated at one point or another. Mass Effect 2 enhanced the combat but sacrificed customization. Mass Effect 3 gave the player more customization and  improved the combat yet again, but took away a great deal of player agency within the story.

What I need to see from Andromeda is a return to these pillars, but in new ways. So far, even without gameplay, its been made clear that exploration will be a key aspect of the game, with the new and improved Mako taking center stage, and I cannot express just how happy I am to see that. Although this is the same vehicle from the first game, its been hinted that the way we explore planets in the new installment will be vastly different and more robust than in the first Mass Effect. Besides that, we can only hope that the combat doesn’t boil down to a third person shooter with loot. Mike Gamble, a producer on the game has gone on twitter with encouraging remarks, stating that he believes the armor system they have in the upcoming title will be better than in previous installments, and this my friends, is very encouraging.

moo

@MKparker20 oh, I think the armor system we have is even better than the previous ones…!

— Michael Gamble (@GambleMike) August 16, 2015

The one real question remaining is how the team will handle dialogue and story choices going forward. In regards to the previous two pillars, it seems that Bioware has taken fan feedback into heavy consideration, and it should be no different with this aspect of the game, especially considering the outrage over the ending of Mass Effect 3. My only concern is that this game will bring back the same old dialogue wheel as the past 5 or so Bioware games. I don’t want that garbage anymore. Keep me on my toes in a conversation, make it interesting and tense. This is an aspect in which Bioware could actually take a few notes from Eidos Montreal. 

All things considered, it has been 4 years now since the release of Mass Effect 3, and that should mean by the time Andromeda drops it will be close to five years in development. Take as much time as you need, Bioware, we all know what happens when you rush games.

So there are the 5 games I’m most looking forward to this year. What about you guys, are you pumped for these games as well? Do you think your favorite game at the end of the year will be something you were looking forward to, or a title that came out of the blue and surprised you completely?

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