Friday Friday Friday! Friday means a Top 5, and this week’s top 5 is the top 5 video games I’m looking forward to in 2019! This might change depending on later announcements, but all of the following top 5 are (currently) confirmed to be coming out in 2019.
Let’s goooooo!
5. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro would probably be higher on this list if it wasn’t being published by Activision. I love From Software and I love the Souls games, so I’m super excited to see what they do with a more straightforward action game with skill trees as opposed to the RPG elements that were in Souls and Bloodborne. They’ve also added verticality to the action now with jumping and grappling hooks, which will definitely make boss fights even more chaotic. They’ve announced other small details about the world and gameplay that have really excited me, so in terms of sheer excitement this could have been my most anticipated game this year.
But Activision is publishing it and I hate Activision, which means I’m going to be delaying my purchase of it and getting it used so no money goes to them. Why do I hate Activision so much? Well, I’ll get into it on next week’s podcast so look forward to that. Still, I can’t fault From for partnering with whoever to get their games made, but it definitely dampens my overall enthusiasm.
4. Kingdom Hearts 3
It’s the (supposed) conclusion to the labyrinthine story of Sora! Finally! Kingdom Hearts 2 came out in 2005 – which means a lot of fans (including myself) have been waiting 13 years and change for the next main entry. Sure, we got a lot of spin-offs that made the story way too convoluted and messy, but this is the real deal. It’s been years since I got to properly enjoy a Kingdom Hearts game on my home console and the wait is going to be over later this month! Woo!
I’ve tried to keep myself as in the dark as possible regarding story so I’ve only watched one or two of the trailers, but I do know what Disney worlds are going to be showing up and all of them look amazing! I’m glad they seemed to have decided to go for “bigger and better” in terms of worlds – quality trumps quantity in this case even though I know a lot of people want to see as much Disney as possible. I have a feeling this game is going to be insane and I’m going to have to break out the cork board and string to dissect the plot, but I’m here for it and I can’t wait!
3. ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove
I’ve surprised myself with how excited I am for the new ToeJam & Earl. The original slowly became one of my favorite older games due to playing it multiple times with my buddy HarveyZ. The fact that they’re finally making a sequel that’s in the same vein as the original (instead of trying weird 2D platformers and whatever) is very exciting.
Just like every other game on this list that I’m super excited about and will buy blind, I’ve kept myself as uninformed as possible to go into this without much knowledge. I want every new Earthling to take me by surprise and scare the crap out of me. I want the exploration to really feel like exploration. I’m super psyched to co-op this with HarveyZ and I hope to carve out a good chunk of time to play this. It looks rad and funky and I’m jazzed to play it in March.
2. Phoenix Point
I sing XCOM 2’s praises all the time, which makes me super excited about Phoenix Point. I’m hoping my PC that I recently upgraded will be able to handle it because it looks AMAZING. The fact that it’s being made by the original XCOM creator has got me jumping up and down in my seat with the possibilities of how brutal this might end up. Lovecraftian aliens instead of the 50s Roswell aesthetic? Yes please, sign me up for the resistance!
Everything I know about the game sounds like a blast to me – the fact that aliens are supposedly going to learn from what you do and tailor their squads to go after your weaknesses sounds like an awesome strategical nightmare. I look forward to failing miserably the first time I play this as I discover new aliens that proceed to kick my butt. Having different human factions to also deal with sounds like a good twist on the general XCOM gameplay. Since we’re probably a few years off from the next XCOM game, I’m ready for this interpretation to blow me away.
1. The Outer Worlds
I love Obsidian. Alpha Protocol and Fallout: New Vegas are two of my favorite games from the PS360 generation of consoles, Stick of Truth was a wonderfully designed South Park game, and I have Pillars of Eternity 2 on my to-buy list once I whittle down more of my backlog. But the truth is, The Outer Worlds just ticks off every box I could hope for in an Obsidian game. A new IP where they can do whatever they want – and you’re let go into an outer space sandbox where you can play however you want to play. PCGamer said it “blends Firefly and Fallout” and that sounds like a dream come true.
The aesthetic looks great from the initial trailer – I know retrofuturism is sort of en vogue right now but it works for me, especially in space. I saw a lot of hot takes about possible colonialism problems after the initial trailer released, but honestly I don’t care. It’s an Obsidian RPG with few strings attached and it may be the last one I play after they were acquired by Microsoft. I have no idea when this will release in 2019 (I’m guessing somewhere in the September-November range) but you can bet that I’ll be there with bells on the day it comes out.
And those are the 5 games I’m most looking forward to this year. While it’s likely I’ll be picking up other games as well, I’m going to be working harder to not clutter up my backlog and only buy games I intend to really put time into. These five are definite purchases for me, though, so expect to see a lot more commentary on them in the future.
See you next week!
Atma's Weapon 