The Guys' 10 Most Anticipated PS4 Games of 2018
Shaun Cordingley
The tradition continues!
Every year I like sitting down and taking a look at some the video games that are coming out (or at least...supposed to come out as of the writing of this article) in the coming year. I particularly like it as it also means that I take a deep dive into what is coming, and I occasionally find a few things that I did not know about that get me pretty damn excited (though often, I never really get a chance to geek out over indies this way...and there are so many great indie games....but I digress).
While I will obviously be focusing on PlayStation (it's my jam, as you could tell from the Games of the Year), that does not mean there will not be multi-platform games here, for all to enjoy, and instead of putting them in order by date (as I have previous) I'm going to post them alphabetically...that way it's not all "oh well that got delayed" when we look back at the year (which I will take a look at the anticipated games from 2017 at the end of the article)
And hopefully a pile of them won't get pushed out of 2018...
Anyway, GAMES:
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Persona 5: Dancing Star Night: It's going to be a ridiculous dancing/rhythm game from Japan featuring the characters from my second favourite RPG of all time and my runner up for GOTY last year--IT'S GOING TO BE WEIRD AND AMAZING AND FUN...and to be fair, I do like the odd rhythm game, and I have been itching to play one for a while now...but honestly, this is here because of how much I love Persona 5 and how I just want more of it.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance: This game was sold to me (by the lovely folks at PlayStation Access as a game that is "like Skyrim set in the real world"-- it is a massive, first-person RPG set in Bohemia wherein you are...just a guy trying to get by in the 13th century, with an emphasis on realism. I am super intrigued by this one, but cautious, as that description could get pretty intricate and overly complex fast. That said? This could also end up becoming a two-month obsession for me (who studied history)...it remains to be seen.
Anthem
(TBA 2018)
I have to be honest and say that I was hesitant to put Anthem on this list...because there is a very large part of me that thinks that it is not going to come out in 2018, but it is listed...and I am very excited about it.
A third-person massive action RPG from Bioware? Set in a cool sci-fi universe which we frankly know very little about, but in this trailer looks amazing? Customization-heavy mech suits? Yes, yes, yes. I'm not even typically one for "shared-world multiplayer" but Anthem definitely has my attention, and I know for a fact that I would have a group of friends to play with, but as of writing this, we know so very little that...I feel that this one could slip into 2019 pretty easily.
...but if it does come out this year....booyaa.
Biomutant
(TBA 2018)
Biomutant blindsided me when I first saw the trailer because I had heard absolutely nothing about it, and then all of a sudden here we are talking about it in my Top 10 most anticipated game. The game, from new Swedish studio Experiment 101 (made up of former Just Cause developers) is a third-person action RPG set in a crazy, modded/augmented animal world with a fully customizable raccoon-like protagonist, and just quirky and cool designed weapons, mounts (there's literally what looks like a clockwork human hand to ride...)...I really really hope that i get to see Biomutant this year, because it looks like it will be just the right balance of quirky, and thoughtfully engaging combat that will put it right in my wheelhouse.
Call of Cthulhu: The Official Video Game
(TBA 2018)
We literally did a podcast about this trailer back in June, so it should come as little surprise that it is on this list.
It's a role-playing survival horror game where you're an investigator in the Lovecraft universe, based on the old tabletop RPG. Originally this was supposed to release in 2017, but has been pushed into this year...and that's fine with me: I hope they take the time they need to make this one truly great, because I have been starving for a games like this for a long, long time.
Crossing Souls
(February 13, 2018)
This upcoming action-adventure game screams 1980s nostalgia, animation, and the video game (style) that I played when I was growing up. Set in a large, open-world ripped from an old-school cartoon, Crossing Souls is the story of five teenage friends in 1986 find a strange artifact that lets them see and interact with spirits.
The music is amazing, the art style is exactly what this game needs, and if it can deliver a cool story based on that premise, I will be alllll over this game, and every trailer frankly gets me a little bit more excited for Crossing Souls (especially as they've been pretty good at not spoiling too much).
Detroit: Become Human
(TBA 2018)
Since Indigo Prophecy I have been a fan of David Cage/Quantic Dream's work. I love the flexible narrative style, and the feeling of playing through a "choose your own path" narrative story. Heavy Rain has been my favourite for a while, but the concept of a multiple character story about "what is human", and the rise of android/artificial consciousness is a subject that I feel is perfectly suited to the way Cage tells stories. I feel like this is just one of those games that I know I will need to play when it becomes available, as while it is hard to spoil something with multiple endings, I will want to experience it for myself as soon as I am able.
Plus, after Until Dawn, I fell like Quantic may have a bee in their bonnet about having someone else really nail their formula, and come out with something truly special.
Update: This preview was written before the allegations about Quantic Dream came out--while we still do not have all of the details (as of my writing this), I remain cautiously excited about Detroit. If it comes to light that things there are horrifying, please feel free to pretend this is not here, as there is a good chance I will ignore it too, though I remain hopeful that that will not be the case.
Far Cry 5
(March 27, 2018)
Anyone who listens to The Guys From Podcast will be acutely aware that both Dave and I are big fans of the Far Cry series. They are, quite frankly, some of my favourite FPS games, and it is traditionally because I love the style, the way Ubisoft constructs the Far Cry stories, and that these open worlds feel dangerous and alive (especially when you first get started in the game). The fifth entry has the series heading to Montana (a place I have been, plus a place frankly not that far from where I live) and to Hope County where a cult has seized the region and you are heading in to root them out.
I expect craziness, I expect excellent shooting mechanics, and a rather fantastic story about something that is going to feel a lot closer to home than any of the previous series, and that makes me quite excited.
Plus, do not be surprised if Dave ends up picking up a console to play this one at some point...and that's saying something.
God of War
(TBA 2018)
Oh man.
God of War is coming back.
The original God of War trilogy (and PSP games) were fun--I did not find Kratos to be the most engaging character, but they were excellent, gory, hack-and-slash games with some light environmental puzzles. On console, after God of War III, the franchise went quiet until E3 2016 when Sony pulled out all the stops (I mean, live fucking orchestra) and revealed the reboot God of War. They have apparently given Kratos depth of character, grounding (with a boy to raise), and moved him into Norse Mythology (all yeses for me). Plus the reworked system looks like they've taken some cues from Tomb Raider in adding some light RPG elements to the series, and a new (closer) perspective, yet have maintained some of the ridiculous scale, and the sweetly ridiculous combat.
Plus, Kratos has a beard now.
Dad of War?
I'm 100% in.
Metro: Exodus
(TBA 2018)
Speaking of FPS Series I adore (and accidentally left out of my first run on "Top 100 Video Games of All-Time"): Metro is coming back as well this year with the third game in the series in Exodus.
Based on the amazing Russian post-apocalyptic novel series of the same name (which I have, indeed devoured), Metro is set in a world that has been destroyed by nuclear war, with the last remnants of humanity (as far as we know) living in the old Moscow underground, and organizing themselves in..for lack of a better term, countries by train stations (including the re-rise of the communists, and Nazis). With resources scarce, there is a lot of conflict, and some dare to brave the irradiated surface (which is home to some terrifying mutated creatures).
The Metro games are typically an excellent combination of FPS, Stealth and survival horror that offers a lot of intensity, anxiety, and amazing set pieces that get the heart going, all wrapped up in an absolutely fascinating story.
(and even if you're not into these kind of games, for me, check out the books.)
Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom
(March 23, 2018)
In case you were worried that I was not going to still be giddy over any JRPG's on this list (as Lost Sphear just missed out on the list as well), Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is a game that I am super excited for. Beautifully animated in a hand-drawn (Studio Ghibli) style, and made by Level 5 (one of the very best JRPG studios), this looks to be a game that is going to be charming, beautiful, and the introduction of a new, active-combat system has me very intrigued.
I am also very happy that I do not have to have finished the first Ni No Kuni game to play this title, as...well long-time TGF fans will probably remember my anxiety over a series of power outages corrupting my save...and then the PS4 arrived...and I just never got back to it (even though I was loving every minute of it at the time).
Regardless, I am pretty sure, at some point in 2018, I'm going to get that itch to spend 100 hours on an RPG and I'm pretty sure that I'll be reaching for Ni No Kuni II.
Red Dead Redemption 2
(TBA 2018)
It didn't come out last year.
That means that Red Dead Redemption 2 (which is supposed to come out this year, and I would imagine it will in the autumn) is on this list again.
I love Red Dead. I have played both of them, and frankly the old west is not a place that a lot of video games take place, and while I am on record saying that I am not the biggest fan of Westerns....Rockstar making a western? I'm all in for. I know I will get an amazing story, and a great open world, because they take their time and make sure that their games are excellent.
What else is there to say? It's a sequel to one of my favourite games, and it's going to be a big, open-world cowboy adventure.
And if it slips to 2019 because they need more time, then damn it you will see this on the list again.
Now I promised I would take a look back at our most anticipated games from last year and give you a brief blurb on what happened there....keeping in mind (I hope that you will, at least) that I obviously am just one Shaun, so I cannot possibly play everything I want to (thanks to time, money, and time)
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard:- Watched this one played because I found someone truly entertaining to watch playing it, and quite frankly couldn't top that with my own experience, but was very impressed with it, and am looking forward to seeing where RE goes.
- Valkyira Revolution: Honestly forgot this came out, and the rather resounding "meh" from critics means that I don't feel I missed much.
- Nioh: I never got around to this one, thanks to the three 100+ hour games I ended up spending the bulk of my gaming year with (the idea of wading into a superhard, long samurai game instead of catching up on indies etc. didn't win out), but it is still high on my list of games I want to try at some point.
- Horizon Zero Dawn: My Game of the Year, and if that wasn't enough gushing, I also wrote this review.
- Danganronpa Reload: Again, a victim of time this year, but will (most likely) get tackled this year (as again, I know there will come a time when I want a mystery)
- Mass Effect Andromeda: An intense disappointment. I cannot believe what a drop-off-a-cliff the Mass Effect franchise took with this game--I gave it every opportunity to hook me, but it never stopped feeling clunky, with weird animations, and the story felt so, so flat. The "Most Anticpated" picture curse continues--if you haven't noticed, so far the game I have used as the featured image for these articles has been the biggest of disappointments...sorry Far Cry fans...I guess...
- Persona 5: Honorable Mention for Game of the Year, and again, if you like gushing, I also wrote this, not to mention did a non-spoiler, spoilercast with Jeremy. It's great.
- Injustice 2: Now my favourite fighting game of all time, won "Biggest Surprise" and is a game that I absolutely love playing. Not to mention that it has one helluva good story.
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole: Another enjoyable South Park RPG that really improved the combat system off of the first one, but I found the story hung around a little too long (and the class system felt a bit wonky). I had a great time, and laughed really hard a few times, but if you are not a South Park fan, there's not a lot for you here (and I still prefer Stick of Truth for its' story).
- What Remains of Edith Finch: Cannot believe I never got to this one, but I 100% will.
- Red Dead Redemption 2: See Above.
- Prey: Just a game that fell through the cracks for me. Still intrigued, and will hopefully get to it sometime...but this one feels less likely, considering all the amazing stuff still coming to PS4.
And that's everything!
Thank you so much for checking our "Most Anticipated Games" article out, and just for supporting TGF in general.
Let me know what games you are looking forward to in 2018 in the comments here, or (as most of you tend to) hit me up on Twitter (linked below).
Yay Games!
-S(@Shauncord)