Another year has come and gone – and what an incredible year for gaming it was!
I had some serious heavy hitters like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, God of War, Monster Hunter: World and Red Dead Redemption 2 take up some serious game time of mine last year, but there were some smaller, more under-the-radar-surprises, like Dead Cells and Octopath Traveler that I really, really enjoyed. But like I always do, I sit down at the start of the year and map out my most anticipated “must buys” for the year’s upcoming games – so here are my absolute must-buys for 2019!:
(Capcom)
Resident Evil 2 Remake – On January 25th I’ll be able to get my hands on my first must-buy game of the year. It’s not often that a remake or remaster is a must have for me, but the remake of Capcom’s iconic survival horror Resident Evil 2 is one that has piqued my interest from the very first reveal. This is more than just a standard graphical remaster, this is a full-blown remake of arguably the best survival horror ever. The graphics and the gameplay both look incredible, and it really looks like Capcom is recapturing the terror and putting the horror back into survival horror.
(Bioware)
Anthem – Bioware and EA have been under fire the last couple of years, and it appears that the developer/publisher combo is pushing their chips into their new sci-fi epic, Anthem, in a big way. After having seen plenty of new updates and gameplay, info on the end game, and even getting my hands on it for some playtime at E3, I can safely say my hype level is increasing with each passing day. Will it be the next big shared world sci-fi game to stand up to Bungie’s Destiny franchise? Will it be the sci-fi epic we’ve wanted from Bioware since Mass Effect: Andromeda? Only time will tell – and fortunately, we won’t need to wait long with Anthem launching on February 22nd.
(Ubisoft)
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 – March 15th is a date I’ve had on my calendar for quite some time because I truly believed in the potential of Tom Clancy’s The Division, but there was just something about it that turned me away when the game launched. I mean, I played it, and I played the hell out of it, but I fizzled much faster than I wanted or expected to. From the moment I heard a sequel was coming, I just hoped that Ubisoft and Massive would solve the problems of the game’s launch and package up all the incredible things that D1 did right because the first entry was supported incredibly well past its launch – it was just too little too late for some. Will the sequel capture the magic we all expected from The Division the first time? I think so, hence why I’ve had it preordered for months!
(From Software)
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – I’ve said it once, and I will say it again: I am a From Software fanboy. I love everything that they’ve done despite their games being some of the most difficult and frustrating games I’ve ever played. But once you overcome those frustrating and challenging moments, what you’re left with is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling gaming experiences around. I know many fans (myself included) were really crossing their fingers for a sequel to Bloodborne, arguably their greatest gaming accomplishment yet, but the announcement and reveal of a brand new IP is just as cool in my book. I will absolutely be buying Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice the day it comes out, on March 22nd, and I can guarantee that I will die MUCH more than twice.
(CD Projekt Red)
Cyberpunk 2077 – This one is a little bit of a stretch because very little has been shared and very little is known about the scope of Cyberpunk 2077, easily one of the most anticipated games of 2019. The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red has stated that the game is complete from start to finish, and it’s simply a polishing phase at this point. Combine that with the grant from the Polish government that was given to the company for various research and advancement in video game technology stated that the game must be released in June of 2019. No adjustments have been made to this release date, but no release date has actually been confirmed. Regardless, this is an absolute must-have, and maybe one of the biggest must-buys of the next several years (outside of the infamous remake of Final Fantasy 7).
