January 1 – December 31, 2018

Section: 

IMAGE(https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/files/pictures/pictures/picture-5877.jpg)   Greg “DoubtingThomas396” Decker

Well Well Well, a new year is upon us, full of promise and hopes, some of which will be realized, some not. And that’s just the videogame release list!

There are a lot of sequels and re-releases due out this year. Both Bayonettas are slated to come to the Switch, Shadow of the Colossus lumbers its way onto modern systems, and, most importantly to the people who backed it on Kickstarter, Shenmue 3 is expected to make an appearance. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t be less excited about any of them!

For my pick of the year, I’m going to go with We Happy Few. It’s a game about being different in a world full of people who will react badly and attempt to destroy you if they find out you’re not like them. So it’s basically The Internet Simulator 2018. As a non-neurotypical father of non-neurotypical kids, it’s uniquely relevant to me. I’m interested to see where they go with the concept.

My only regret is that I didn’t buy into early access when it was $30, as it’s now $50 and will likely be even more expensive come release. Regardless, We Happy Few is my most anticipated game of 2018.

IMAGE(https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/files/pictures/picture-111373-1511547841.jpg)   Chris "C" Cesarano

If I felt like I was in the dark last year, I feel even moreso at the start of 2018. Nintendo is once again holding their cards close to their chest in regards to their winter and spring line-up, and neither Sony nor Microsoft have me chomping at the bit for a major release. Just about anything we know to be in development is hovering about the realm of "TBD".

Bioware's Anthem? Presumably the Holiday season. Crackdown 3? It will arrive on a month between January and December, on a day whose number is between 1 and 31. God of War was prominent at Sony's Playstation Experience in December, and yet still has no concrete release date. Kingdom Hearts III? Just be glad it's being made at all.

Of the games I know something about, I'd say I'm most interested in Spider-man – despite the over-abundance of quick-time events – Darksiders 3, and Mega Man 11. Also of note are Valkyria Chronicles 4 and most definitely Bayonetta 3. However, my greatest excitement is for the unknown. Nintendo is working on a Fire Emblem and Pokemon for Switch, resulting in the first full-fledged entry in the latter series that can be played on TV. Similarly, Capcom is presumably working on an all new Phoenix Wright for the Switch. If Metroid Prime 4 actually manages to release in 2018 – which I'm not yet convinced it will – then that's already a recipe for some top favorites of the year.

So here's to the unknown of 2018.

IMAGE(https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/files/pictures/picture-103324-1484747184.jpg)   Erik "Wordsmythe" Hanson

Here are some games that I want to be good: Anthem, Bard's Tale IV, Crackdown 3, Far Cry 5, Greedfall, MechWarrior, Skull and Bones, We Happy Few.

Meanwhile, Fortnite here is still the one you know, but moreso. I know, it's a bit confusing, but I think Epic and People Can Fly are trying to do a good thing? Let's throw it on the "games I want to be good" pile with the rest.

Honestly, 2017 was a year I got really into building local community in meatspace. Also, I have a 2-year-old, which means I haven't had a lot of time to game for a couple years now. Maybe this is the year that … honestly, I don't really know what getting back into the groove would look like. Here's to you all, and to a warm, loving, growing 2018 for us all.

This Year:

PC

  • A Way Out
  • Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
  • Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion
  • Age of Empires: Definitive Edition
  • Agony
  • Anno 1800
  • Anthem
  • Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings[B]
  • Attack on Titan 2
  • BattleTech
  • Biomutant
  • Black Clover: Project Knights
  • Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
  • Call of Cthulhu
  • Chuchel
  • Civilization VI: Rise and Fall
  • Code Vein
  • Conan Exiles
  • Crackdown 3
  • Darksiders III
  • Dauntless
  • Devil May Cry HD Collection
  • Dragon Ball FighterZ
  • Dynasty Warriors 9
  • Extinction
  • Far Cry 5
  • Fe
  • Fear Effect Reinvented
  • Final Fantasy XV
  • Fortnite
  • Freedom Planet 2
  • Frostpunk
  • Frozen Synapse 2
  • Gravel
  • Greedfall
  • Griftlands
  • Immortal Unchained
  • Jurassic World Evolution
  • Kingdom Come: Deliverance
  • Laser League
  • Left Alive
  • Lost Sphear[B]
  • MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries
  • Mega Man 11
  • Metal Gear Survive
  • Metro Exodus
  • Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
  • Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame
  • Monster Hunter: World
  • Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
  • Octogeddon
  • Overkill's The Walking Dead
  • Past Cure
  • Phoenix Point
  • Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
  • Praey for the Gods
  • Project Phoenix
  • Sea of Thieves
  • Secret of Mana
  • Shenmue III
  • Skull & Bones
  • Soulcalibur VI
  • State of Decay 2
  • Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
  • Street Fighter V Arcade Edition
  • Sunless Skies
  • Super Meat Boy Forever
  • Super Mega Baseball 2
  • Surviving Mars
  • Sword Art One: Fatal Bullet
  • System Shock
  • The Bard's Tale IV
  • The Crew 2
  • The Guild 3
  • The Last Night
  • The Longest 5 Minutes
  • ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove
  • Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia
  • Tropico 6
  • Underworld Ascendant
  • Vampyr
  • Wargroove
  • Warhammer: Vermintide 2
  • We Happy Few
  • We Were Here Too
  • World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth
  • Xenonauts 2

PS4

  • A Certain Magical Virtual-On
  • A Way Out
  • Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
  • Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion
  • Agony
  • Anthem
  • Armored Warfare
  • Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings[B]
  • Attack on Titan 2
  • Biomutant
  • Black Clover: Project Knights
  • Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
  • Call of Cthulhu
  • Code Vein
  • Conan Exiles
  • Conarium
  • Concrete Genie
  • Darksiders III
  • Days Gone
  • Death end re;Quest
  • Death Mark
  • Detroit: Become Human
  • Devil May Cry HD Collection
  • Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory[B]
  • Dissidia Final Fantasy NT
  • Dragon Ball FighterZ
  • Dragon Quest Builders 2
  • Dreams
  • Dynasty Warriors 9
  • EA Sports UFC 3
  • Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain
  • Extinction
  • Far Cry 5
  • Fe
  • Fear Effect Reinvented
  • Fortnite
  • Gintama Rumble
  • Girls und Panzer: Dream Tank Match
  • God of War
  • Granblue Fantasy Project Re: k
  • Gravel
  • Greedfall
  • Gundemoniums
  • Harvest Moon: Light of Hope
  • Hokuto ga Gotoku
  • Immortal Unchained
  • Jurassic World Evolution
  • Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
  • Kingdom Come: Deliverance
  • Kingdom Hearts III
  • Laser League
  • Left Alive
  • Lost Sphear[B]
  • Mega Man 11
  • Metal Gear Survive
  • Metal Max Xeno
  • Metro Exodus
  • MLB The Show 18
  • Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
  • Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame
  • Monster Hunter: World
  • Next Up Hero
  • Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
  • Onrush
  • Overkill's The Walking Dead
  • Owlboy
  • Past Cure
  • Praey for the Gods
  • Project Phoenix
  • Rainbow Skies
  • Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Secret of Mana
  • Shadow of the Colossus
  • Shenmue III
  • Shining Resonance Refrain
  • Skull & Bones
  • Soulcalibur VI
  • Spider-Man
  • Stark: Battle for Atlas
  • Steins;Gate Elite
  • Steins;Gate: ear Bounded Phenogram HD
  • Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
  • Street Fighter V Arcade Edition
  • Super Meat Boy Forever
  • Super Mega Baseball 2
  • Super Robot Wars X
  • Surviving Mars
  • Sword Art One: Fatal Bullet
  • System Shock
  • The Crew 2
  • The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Britannia
  • ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove
  • Trails of Cold Steel II: Kai
  • Tropico 6
  • Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late
  • Valkyria Chronicles 4
  • Vampyr
  • Warhammer: Vermintide 2
  • We Happy Few
  • Yakuza 6: The Song of Life[B]
  • Your Four Knight Princesses Training Story

PSVR

  • Bravo Team
  • Golem
  • The Inpatient

Xbox One

  • A Way Out
  • Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
  • Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion
  • Agony
  • Anthem
  • Attack on Titan 2
  • Biomutant
  • Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
  • Call of Cthulhu
  • Code Vein
  • Conan Exiles
  • Conarium
  • Crackdown 3
  • Darksiders III
  • Devil May Cry HD Collection
  • Dragon Ball FighterZ
  • Dynasty Warriors 9
  • EA Sports UFC 3
  • Extinction
  • Far Cry 5
  • Fe
  • Fear Effect Reinvented
  • Fortnite
  • Gravel
  • Greedfall
  • Immortal Unchained
  • Jurassic World Evolution
  • Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
  • Kingdom Come: Deliverance
  • Kingdom Hearts III
  • Laser League
  • Mega Man 11
  • Metal Gear Survive
  • Metro Exodus
  • Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
  • Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame
  • Monster Hunter: World
  • Next Up Hero
  • Onrush
  • Overkill's The Walking Dead
  • Owlboy
  • Past Cure
  • Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Sea of Thieves
  • Skull & Bones
  • Soulcalibur VI
  • Stark: Battle for Atlas
  • State of Decay 2
  • Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
  • Super Meat Boy Forever
  • Super Mega Baseball 2
  • Surviving Mars
  • Sword Art One: Fatal Bullet
  • System Shock
  • The Crew 2
  • The Last Night
  • Tropico 6
  • Valkyria Chronicles 4
  • Vampyr
  • Wargroove
  • Warhammer: Vermintide 2
  • We Happy Few

Switch

  • Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion
  • Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings[B]
  • Attack on Titan 2
  • Bayonetta
  • Bayonetta 2
  • Death Mark
  • Dragon Quest Builders
  • Dragon Quest Builders 2
  • Famicolle ADV Steins;Gate
  • Fe
  • Fear Effect Reinvented
  • Harvest Moon: Light of Hope
  • Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
  • Kirby Star Allies
  • Lost Sphear[B]
  • Mega Man 11
  • Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
  • Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame
  • Next Up Hero
  • Owlboy
  • Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus
  • Payday 2
  • Project Octopath Traveler
  • Runner3
  • Sadness & Solitude
  • Stark: Battle for Atlas
  • Steins;Gate Elite
  • Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
  • Super Meat Boy Forever
  • Syberia 3
  • The Escapists 2
  • The Longest 5 Minutes
  • ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove
  • Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes
  • Untitled Ace Attorney game[C]
  • Untitled Fire Emblem game
  • Untitled Yoshi game
  • Valkyria Chronicles 4
  • Wargroove
  • Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
  • World to the West
  • Your Four Knight Princesses Training Story

Wii U

  • Sadness & Solitude

PS3

  • Rainbow Skies
  • Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late

3DS

  • Kirby Battle Royale
  • Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology[B]
  • Sadness & Solitude
  • Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux[B]
  • The Alliance Alive[B]

Vita

  • A Certain Magical Virtual-On
  • Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
  • Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory[B]
  • Gundemoniums
  • Metal Max Xeno
  • Project Phoenix
  • Rainbow Skies
  • Secret of Mana
  • Steins;Gate Elite
  • Super Robot Wars X
  • The Longest 5 Minutes
  • Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late
  • Your Four Knight Princesses Training Story

Comments

Wii U
Sadness & Solitude

Wait, really?

Really looking forward to, 'Surviving Mars', and 'Super Mega Baseball 2' for X-Box One (I was kinda of wishing the folks at SMB 2 would be contacted by MLB and get a license to finally get a good MLB baseball game on X-Box. Their physics engine is definitely good enough. Game play rocks too). I'm disappointed not to see a tennis game on the horizon.

I'm really looking forward to Far Cry 5, Jurassic World: Evolution, and Red Dead 2 to name a few.

Stele wrote:
Wii U
Sadness & Solitude

Wait, really? :D

My thoughts exactly.

I'm also looking forward to Bard's Tale IV quite a bit (though it is absent in the PC list despite being mentioned in the text section.) Battletech is also looking great. Star Traders: Frontier is out on early access and is perfectly playable and fun in its current state. I could see it 1.0ing this year easy, especially since the Trese brothers seem to be dropping substantial updates weekly.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

I'm also looking forward to Bard's Tale IV quite a bit (though it is absent in the PC list despite being mentioned in the text section.)

*The* Bard's Tale IV. /shrug

wordsmythe wrote:
TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

I'm also looking forward to Bard's Tale IV quite a bit (though it is absent in the PC list despite being mentioned in the text section.)

*The* Bard's Tale IV. /shrug

D'oh!

wordsmythe wrote:
TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

I'm also looking forward to Bard's Tale IV quite a bit (though it is absent in the PC list despite being mentioned in the text section.)

*The* Bard's Tale IV. /shrug

You're not supposed to alphabetize with articles!

I know that there will be a few surprises for but for now Spider-Man and Red Dead 2 are the ones I'm excited about. Isn't Final Fantasy VII Remake due out this year??

ClockworkHouse wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

I'm also looking forward to Bard's Tale IV quite a bit (though it is absent in the PC list despite being mentioned in the text section.)

*The* Bard's Tale IV. /shrug

You're not supposed to alphabetize with articles!

The spreadsheet editor I use to sort the list isn't smart enough to know that, and with hundreds of titles coming out every week I'm disinclined to try and tell it different.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

I'm also looking forward to Bard's Tale IV quite a bit (though it is absent in the PC list despite being mentioned in the text section.)

*The* Bard's Tale IV. /shrug

You're not supposed to alphabetize with articles!

You are the one who is supposing!

/me Writes entry into official GWJ style guide regarding alphabetization of articles: "You know what? Do what's easy."

Code Vein looks really cool