2021 Looking Forward

On Friday I talked about the games that I enjoyed the most in 2020 and yesterday I talked about the biggest disappointments. Keeping with this same theme of reflecting upon the previous year and the year to come, I thought I would gaze forward. As 2020 has taught us, nothing is certain however here are some of the games that I am looking forward to that likely will release in 2021. Some of these are less certain than others given that we don’t have release dates, but a few I am including out of sheer wishful thinking.

Monster Hunter Rise

This one is just about as certain of a release as this list is going to get. We have a firm March 26th release date and a demo dropped on the Nintendo eShop this week. What makes me excited for this game is that it seems like we are getting something that splits the difference between Monster Hunter World and the more traditional games like Generations. I am fully on board with this and I love that we get doggos as well as Palicos. I’ve not had a chance to play the demo but I am hoping to do so today.

Outriders

This is another title that has fairly firm release dates associated with it. It was supposed to come out last year but was ultimately pushed to April first, with a demo landing 2/25. I want to be hopeful but I have to say the last few games that have released in this “looter” genre have disappointed me. Godfall and Avengers were largely unenjoyable experiences for me, so I am definitely going to wait to see about the demo before I pass further judgement if this is going to get much of my attention. What I have seen footage wise looks promising, but again a game like this requires great moment to moment gameplay and if it doesn’t stick that landing then I will hard pass. Still throwing it on the list because I am interested to see how this turns out.

Deathloop

This is one that I have been watching for awhile. It has a release date of May 21st for PC and PlayStation 5 making it a console exclusive for an unknown period of time. I love Arkane Studios games and I am super interested in the art design of this world and that it sounds like maybe just maybe they might nail the difficult to handle time loop concept. It has this whole feel of a blend of games like No One Lives Forever with BioShock and We Happy Few. I have no clue if mechanically it will be a game that I enjoy, but I am definitely interested in trying it out.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

All I want out of this is a Mass Effect 1 experience that doesn’t feel kludgy. That is legitimately all I require. I am sure we are going to get prettier textures and maybe some model tweaks, but really I just want the first Mass Effect game with a better user interface. I have a feeling like I won’t be getting this… but I can hope right? Definitely taking a wait and see stance on this one because it could either excite me immensely or break my freaking heart. I own all of the games already, and I am sure this will be a repurchase type situation unlike the Skyrim Enhanced edition from several years back. If this gives me a better experience for the first game however, then I am absolutely replaying this entire experience from start to finish because it is one of the best space operas ever created.

New World

I am so ready for this game to be released. There is a lot of content about it already on this blog, but this was originally supposed to launch last year. Amazon Game Studios however got real gun-shy given their two offerings so far have not been received well. The game needed some work, but it would have been the sort of thing I was willing to play through because the core game itself was fun as hell. My hope is that they do some balancing on combat and tweak it to maybe feel a bit more fluid. The other thing it definitely needs is better character models because they are awful. Like last generation Dark Souls and Bloodbourne awful. I am going to be there on day one whenever this actually releases however.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

This is really one of the console generation sellers for me and a big part of why I was day one with the PlayStation 5 (or attempted to be). I don’t expect this to ship until around holiday 2021, because this is going to likely be a console selling game. That said I am super on board and going to be playing it day one because I love the Ratchet and Clank series. I might even replay the last outing to get me in the mood for it. I am not even certain what else I can say. You are either into Ratchet and Clank or you are not. The series is basically… what if you took a really great 3D platformer and exploration game and then added 3rd person shooter mechanics with super interesting weapons.

Horizon Forbidden West

The other game that more or less made me want a PlayStation 5. That said if this is available day one on PC I am absolutely going to play it there because the Mouse and Keyboard experience was so enjoyable. I am thinking this game might be an early 2021 title given that it is cross generational and targeting the PlayStation 4 as well as the PlayStation 5. I am sure there is a weird juggling act going on to decide when best to launch a game, but I feel like waiting for Holiday 2021 means that the PS4 copies won’t move anywhere near as well. The fervor surrounding the PlayStation 5 means that once units come into stock again… I think you are going to see some folks making impulse buys because they have access rather than evaluating if they really need it or not. If you have played Horizon Zero Dawn you know why I am excited, and if not… go play it already.

God of War: Ragnarok

I really think on this list, this is one of the longer shot games because right now all we really have is the above image to go by. The modern reboot of the God of War series was excellent and pending they keep that model and not return to the hack and slash roots… then I am extremely amped about this game. I could see however it getting pushed back to Holiday 2022 seeing as we have so little information about it. If it does come out this year it will be a late Holiday ship, probably post Thanksgiving.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

The original Stalker is one of those games that I wish I had played back before I had hard coded my default preferences for shooter mechanics. This dates back to 2007, and was a time before we had essentially standardized the mechanical feel of a first person shooter. I’ve attempted to go back and play it, but I gotta admit much like the original Witcher game I was unable to get past the feel of it. With a new Stalker game coming out, I am hoping to get some of the experience of playing the first in the second with modern shooter dynamics.

VtM: Bloodlines 2

Yes I realize that I just had this on my disappointments list yesterday, but that doesn’t change the fact that I still want to play it. I have no clue when this is actually going to release, but I am throwing it on the list because whenever it does I am likely going to play it. Similar to Stalker, I never experienced the first game because I struggled with the age of it. I am hoping that this game ends up pulling a Witcher on me and makes me want to go back and play the earlier game. I do feel like I am missing a really important chunk of experiences by not having played the first game. Maybe just maybe at some point this year since I am on a single player kick I will try and do this thing.

Kena Bridge of Spirits

This is another game from the PlayStation 5 reveal that I was super interested in. We don’t know a ton about it but it was adorable, gave me Avatar vibes and you go around cleansing spirits and collecting adorable little spirit buddies. This is likely going to be a “when I get around to it” sort of experience, but I am definitely interested and hope it ships smoothly.

Diablo 4

BlizzConline is in February and is the replacement for the 2020 BlizzCon that did not happen. I fully expect that Diablo 4 is going to play a heavy role in that show and I am also expecting that we are going to get some sort of messaging surrounding a launch window. I am throwing this on the 2021 list because I legitimately think that at some point… probably around October… this game is going to launch. I still have no clue if I am going to like it or not to be honest. In the Diablo community you have two camps. The first thought Diablo 3 was an improvement on the formula and extremely enjoyable. The second thought Diablo 3 was an abomination and that they would have rather had more Diablo 2. That second community has proven that they are super willing to support a game because essentially that is why Path of Exile exists. My ultimate fear is that Blizzard is chasing the PoE player (and their pocketbooks) and will fuck over the Diablo 3 player, but only time will tell.

Starfield

This is another game that might be a long shot, but given it has been five years since the release of Fallout 4, and that Fallout 76 was really just a side project and not a main game project… I am thinking that maybe just maybe we will see a release of Starfield this year. Leaked footage came out last year and it looked legitimate, so I am thinking the game is fairly far along at this point. However with everything Bethesda you never quite know when something is going to come out even though with all certainty you know they are working on it. We are getting more information about Elder Scrolls 6, so I think that means they are in the process of wrapping up Starfield. All of this is hopeful speculation, and I am not even certain if I want Elder Scrolls in space. I am thoroughly intrigued however so it went on the list.

Blue Protocol

Blue Protocol is a free to play ARPG/MMO that appears to be something along the lines of Genshin Impact. As much as I loved that game and still do, I am very interested to try this one out as well. Originally it had a December 2020 release date listed, but that appeared to just be a placeholder. I am guessing this is going to hit sometime in the first quarter of 2021. Rumored to have cross platform play, so I will be interested to see what the final version ends up looking like. Looks freaking gorgeous.

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis

We talked about this in the games of the year show over the weekend, but PSO2 is a great game… but it also very much feels like you are playing a ten year old game. New Genesis excites me greatly because what I really want is a PSO2 that feels fresh and new. I have to admit this existing on the horizon has done an awful lot to kill my interest in the older game. That said there is going to be some cross over and as a result it might be worth dusting off PSO2 and getting some interesting cosmetics now. Supposedly this is landing in Japan for PC beta testing this month, so here is hoping we get a round of North American testing as well.

Lost Ark

I have to be honest, this is a game I have been looking forward to for years. Originally released in South Korea, this is one of those games that had been touted as the Diablo killer. Right now the only way to play the game is to purchase a legally created account from someone in South Korea because the sign up process requires a national id number to register. Recently there was a deal inked between Amazon and Smilegate that supposedly is going to finally bring this title to North American Audiences. The exact wording we are pinning our hopes on is translated to “the company’s flagship game, Lost Ark, will be officially released to users in North America and Europe by 2021”. I am absolutely going to play this whenever it finally does land, but given how hard I have bounced from other Korean ARPGs… I am not sure if it will actually be something I am into in the long run.

Your Outlook

So those are some of the games that I am tracking that I think have a reasonable chance of launching this year. What games are you keeping your eye on and what did I miss? Drop me a line below and let me know.