2019 Looking Forward: Games with Release Dates

Over the weekend I talked a bit on the podcast about the various games that were coming out this year that I happened to be interested in.  This morning I thought I would start a series where I talk about some of them here on the blog.  It is a really big list so as a result I felt like I needed to break it up a bit.  This morning we are starting off with the games that actually have fixed release dates…  so I would say these are the MOST likely to release during the 2019 calendar year.  I’m going to be talking about them in chronological order of release dates.  I’m also listing the platform I am currently targeting at playing the game on.

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe – Switch – January 11th

There is so much wrong with the name of this game and it represents all of Nintendo’s jacked up naming conventions colliding at once.  That said I am really looking forward to playing this on a console that I actually enjoy playing.  Sure this is another repackage of a WiiU game for the Switch… but I am in support of this practice because I have no interest in actually playing my WiiU.  It was not a great console… but it happened to have more than a handful of really interesting titles on it.  I hope they all get the re-release treatment, because the switch is just a more versatile platform.  This comes out in three days so it represents the first of the titles on the list that I am interested in.

Onimusha: Warlords – Switch – January 15th

I loved the Onimusha series on the PS2 and am super amped about this game getting a re-release.  It is coming out on PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Switch…  and quite honestly I am not really certain which platform I intend to pick it up on.  Given that it appears to be a remaster and not a remake…  I figure it is going to control like a PS2 era game which leads me down the path of favoring playing this on a console as opposed to the PC.  I figure even on PC it will mostly be required to hook up a controller to be able to experience the title, so I might as well just start out on a console for the native controller experience.  At this very moment I am leaning towards Switch as it gives me a wider breadth of play options.

Metro Exodus – PC – February 15th

This list is going to include a bunch of games that I am excited about…  but likely won’t play at release.  Metro Exodus is the first of these, largely because it is releasing in a time with a pretty packed number of releases…  and a game that I way more interested is releasing a week later.  I’ve come to peace with the fact that the Metro series is not in fact Russian Fallout as it originally appeared.  I can live with it being a mostly on rails shooter experience, because the world is so rich and interesting.  This game however supposedly opens the world up a bit giving you more freedom to roam around in the maps a bit.  There is also supposedly part of the game that takes place on the literal rails…  and I loved Snowpiercer.  It looks really interesting so it goes on the list.

Far Cry New Dawn – PC – February 15th

This appears to be the year of neon color palette post apocalyptic games.  I talked briefly about this game yesterday when I spoke of Far Cry 5, and I am still really interested to see how that setting turns into this one.  This is also likely to get played way after the release date because once again it butts up against a game I am looking forward to more fervently.  I feel like I might be in a kick of playing single player titles, and this is another on that fits into that list.  However I still have a pretty hefty backlog of titles I have started but never finished…  like Assassin’s Creed Origins and God of War…  so it seriously might be a while before I try it.

Anthem – PC – February 22nd

Now for the title that is holding the last two hostage.  I am super limited in what I can say about this game because NDA…  but I have an awful lot of hopes riding on it.  I also want to give Bioware a shot at making this work, because I feel like this might be the last chance EA gives that studio before shuttering them.  I am not being hyperbolic here…  EA has a proven track record of closing studios when it deems they are no longer profitable.  As a new IP… it looks really interesting and I think there is going to be enough meat on these bones to satisfy the fans that cut their teeth on the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series.  I also think this game is angling for splitting the difference between Destiny and Warframe and creating a game that probably appeals to both tribes of players.  All of those things seem really good… it just depends on how the game launches.  I will be playing on PC, so if you are also planning on playing let me know.  I have no clue what the Guild/Clan systems are going to be like but it would be nice to gather up a decent amount of folks for launch.

The Division 2 – PC – March 15th

Now for the first of two titles that I am really not certain about.  I liked The Division for about the first twenty levels of gameplay…  and then it became a slog as things started to get more serious and the mobs became more bullet-spongey and I seemed to be wearing paper thin armor.  I finally reached the level cap back in October…  but that was a really long ride of me bouncing out pretty regularly before I finally got there.  I have not pre-ordered this game, because in truth I really want to see more of it before that happens.  I was hoping I would get into an Alpha or Beta so it could win me over, but a combination of the bleak setting mixed with the third person shooter game play…  it may not be the game I am looking for.  That said I know a lot of people will be playing it.  Ultimately whether I give this a shot depends largely on how engaged in Anthem I am just shy of a month after its launch.

Rage 2 – PC – May 14th

I feel like I am one of the few people who hold a serious candle for the original Rage.  I loved everything about it… except for the fact that it felt like it simply was not finished.  As you near the end of the game… I legitimately thought that we were working on a world two scenario with the game about to open up in a big way and let me explore new areas.  Instead I got a credits roll… and the game was over.  I THINK that the intent was to keep releasing DLC content but the poor sales of the game and the technical problems on literally all platforms… especially console…  lead that plan to get scrapped.  Now we get a new game and it appears to be part of the ushering in of the neon apocalypse.  I am not sure if I will like this game…  because I am not sure if enough of the original still lives to make me interested in it.  If this ends up just being a neon mad max sim shooter…  I am not entirely sure how interested I will be.  I am still interested enough however for it to make the list.

What are some of the games you are looking forward to in 2019…  specifically with set launch dates?  Tomorrow I am likely going to talk about some of the things that are going to release… we just don’t have launch windows yet.