We’ve shared which games won our hearts in 2019, but now it’s time to look to the future! While some of them might not be brand-spanking-new, we’re still looking forward to their remakes this year. Check out what our writers’ top 3 picks are for 2020 below!
Jarrett shares his love of video games and geek culture through feature articles on Gamepedia. He prides himself on his deep attraction to Japanese beat-em ups and his god-like Bushido Blade talents.
I have a love-hate relationship with JRPGs these days. I can’t find the time to dedicate 100 hours to any of the modern ones. Even if I could, they all look so samey from the outside looking in that I wouldn’t even know where to start to find one I’d actually like. They were the genre of my childhood, though, and I long for the days when I could do nothing but submerse myself in the melodrama.
I have the same complicated feelings about remakes. It’s difficult to find stable and legal ways to play old games that haven’t been republished for modern systems. Those that have are often just uprezzed versions of past games. A problem is that when the games that are being reintroduced with sharper lines and sounds, they still have the same old, crunchy gameplay from decades ago.
In one swoop, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake looks to cut down both of these personal barriers of mine. As a JRPG, FF7 wasn’t my first – not even my first Final Fantasy game – but it was one of the most formative games of my youth. It’s also a game whose core systems have been obsolete for a very long time and I don’t want to play the original story that original way again. This remake is a complete overhaul and reevaluation of this timeless work, and that’s the most fascinating part of the project. Without letting expectations of the past anchor it in place, can Final Fantasy 7 be just as important of a game in 2020 as it was in 1997?
There may not be a more pure and elementally good video game experience than 2016’s DOOM. With the exception of its mediocre boss battles, every single second of that single player campaign feels purposeful. Every room full of bad guys, and every gun you can shoot them with, provides endless variations of skill expression and constant challenge that commands you through it. I was sure I’d never play a shooter like it ever again.
Then this sequel was announced. I’m trying not to over-expect a similar life changing moment in DOOM Eternal as I had in the previous title. That wouldn’t be fair. But everything I’ve seen suggests that this game knows why DOOM rules and wishes to do nothing that would hinder that legacy.
Guilty Gear is one of the most difficult 2D fighters to play competently. That has, however, never stopped me from buying these games and bouncing off them months later. They are gorgeous, have great soundtracks, and are stuffed to the brim with clever characters and details that make them hard to not dive right into them.
As the developers of Dragon Ball FighterZ, Arc System Works have taken some mechanical tricks from their premier anime fighter and have adapted them in hopes to make GG more accessible. For example, Guilty Gear Strive will feature auto combos and fewer variations of the game’s signature Roman Cancel system hopes to keep beginners locked in longer than just a couple of hours.
It’s also looking to be in the running as one of the most gorgeous games ever made. I don’t know what kind of magic they’re doing over in Japan, but I’m definitely enchanted.
Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over a decade for publications like G4, Empire, IGN, GamesRadar, Kotaku, GameSpot, Shacknews, and more. When she’s not writing or gaming, she’s looking for the next great visual novel in the vein of Saya no Uta. Like a fabulous shooter once said, get psyched!
I’ve been awaiting the next core No More Heroes game ever since I put my Wii remote down at the end of No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes wasn’t enough to sate my hunger for all things Suda51, so I’m hoping the gleefully weird No More Heroes 3 is a sweeping return to form.
Judging by the trailer shown off at The Game Awards 2019, it’s going to be another wild ride that finds protagonist Travis Touchdown taking on the Galactic Super Hero Ranking instead of eliminating simple assassins for a change. But who knows? It’s possible that some familiar faces may very well stick around.
Travis will return to Santa Destroy once more and charge up with some super-powered high jinks (and trippy animation) to save the Earth from the selfish aliens that want to make it their own. And I’m getting chills just thinking about it.
12 Minutes is a unique, time-looping adventure that looks like one of the most exciting prospects of 2020. It’s a surreal “time-resetting” anomaly that finds you dying over and over again as you work to get to the bottom of why your wife has suddenly been accused of murder.
You’re in the middle of dinner, you’re about to discuss something important with your wife, when there’s a knock at the door, The police then barge in and you are given a choice: you can let your wife get taken away, find yourself roped into their accusations, or one of you dies prematurely. There are plenty of different ways for the story to end, but as you die and come back, you’ll retain the knowledge gained from each playthrough to figure out what’s really going on.
It’s an enigmatic setup that has a lot of promise, and even though we’ve seen similar storylines told across other mediums, 12 Minutes looks to have perfected it in a way that seems to be a truly visceral and thrilling experience.
So, Persona 5 Royal technically isn’t a new game by any means, but it’s got enough new content that I’m excited enough about its existence that I’m going to plunk down my hard-earned cash on it just the same.
The Phantom Thieves are returning for more stylish, RPG goodness, and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this enhanced version of one of my favorite games of all time. The Royal edition will introduce a new character, semester of school, a new area to explore, and more story to take in.
If you skipped out on Persona 5 when it made its dazzling debut, all of that new content means it’s the perfect time for you to jump on board now. And even if you played it so much you can nearly recite it from memory like I did, there are plenty of new reasons to return, even if it’s just to take in that ridiculously catchy victory music.
Chris is a content creator on YouTube who covers all things gaming and nerdy! He plays a large variety of games, including competitive shooters and strategy games, but specializes in roleplaying games. Chris has been creating gaming content for over ten years and is an indie game developer in his spare time. He is also an avid tabletop gamer, and has a +3 bonus to devouring cereal.
Cyberpunk 2077 is not only one of my most anticipated games of this next year, but has been one of my most anticipated games since the cinematic teaser trailer was released back in 2013. The Cyberpunk setting has always been my favorite, and movies like Bladerunner, The Matrix, and Ex Machina tend to be the genre I gravitate towards. Mix my favorite setting with CD Projekt Red, the developers responsible for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and you’ve got the perfect storm of hype that I can’t think about without feeling like I’m buzzing with excitement!
At my core, I love isometric action RPG’s. Diablo has always been a franchise that has been close to my heart, and while many other games have attempted their unique take within the genre, none have come as close to piquing my interest as much as Minecraft: Dungeons. From the various gameplay previews we have seen, the game looks to be a super promising child-friendly take on the Diablo formula, and I can’t wait to hop in and play it.
Kerbal Space Program is a stupidly fun space-simulator game that allows you to not only build your own rockets, but also your own space agency lead by silly green aliens that are mostly expendable. I personally have over 1,000 hours played in the original Kerbal Space Program, and I cannot wait to hop into the sequel to start making silly rockets and launching them into space.
Michal’s a wiki manager, writer, and a happily married husband and father. Video games are a big part of his life ever since the first shot fired in Wolfenstein 3D. Almost as big as books and history (don’t get him started on it, though, or he’ll talk your ears off).
The grandfather of Fallout is getting a second follow-up after the successful, if a bit underwhelming, Wasteland 2. Continuing where the previous game left off, it focuses on the snowy wastes of Colorado, trapped beneath a polar vortex that formed in the aftermath of the 1998 nuclear war. The Desert Rangers are sent on a mission of last resort to secure a lifeline from the Patriarch, the self-appointed ruler of Colorado. As expected, they will have to get involved with the region’s politics, make hard decisions, and ultimately decide the fate of Colorado.
Where Wasteland 2 was a reverent sequel that took too few risks with the story, Wasteland 3 promises to boldly go where the series has not gone before: non-linear storyline, lots of choices and consequences, a complex political landscape full of betrayal and lies, and of course, lots and lots of enemies to defeat – with violence, cunning, or wit – including God-President Ronald Reagan. Yes, the Gippers will finally appear, after they were cut from Wasteland 2 and they’re as weird as ever.
The alpha released earlier in the year gave a glimpse into the underlying systems, exploration, and combat. However, if you dig into the files, you can find quite a lot of content revealing what’s planned for the game. I glimpsed the scope and ambition of the game inXile is building and it has a high chance of becoming my 2020 game of the year.
The Shock series holds a special place in my heart, being just the right combination of story, gameplay, and sheer atmosphere. But it’s the first game that truly captured my attention and gripped the imagination, with that unforgettable experience of running down the corridors of Citadel Starstation, panting and sweating, in a challenge to a perfect, immortal machine. It’s a difficult game to get running nowadays and its incredibly cumbersome interface that was already needlessly complex back in the day makes it hard, if not impossible to get into.
Now there’ll be no obstacles to facing the first SHODAN in the grim cyberpunk future where megacorporations are allowed to run rampant, with little concern for humanity – a future where they manage to care even less than they do now, that is – and where one man can actually make the difference, standing between a mad AI and humanity’s extinction.
It’s a bit of wishful thinking on my part, but I really hope that we will see Beyond Good & Evil 2 release, either as a full game, or as a beta. If you remember the original, released in the ancient times of 2003, it was a unique action-adventure game set on the planet of Hyllis, besieged by an alien race called the DomZ. You step into the shoes of Jade, a freelance journalist who winds up unraveling a conspiracy between the aliens and the supposed protectors of the planet, the Alpha Sections.
There’s really nothing quite like Beyond Good & Evil, not merely in terms of gameplay, but also the setting, art direction, and atmosphere. Sixteen years later, it keeps on being just as playable and enjoyable as when it was first released, while the story of reporters struggling against a criminal conspiracy masquerading as benevolent helpers took on a new meaning in our cyberpunk reality. BG & E2 is shaping up to be just as unique as its predecessor, with a bigger open world, more content to explore, and custom protagonists. Jade will return, this time as an antagonist, and the whole game may be a prequel – though we won’t know it till we play it. Here’s to hoping we can see it this year!
Matt Drega
Matt lives for games and literature, a happy wanderer through the many fantastic worlds they offer. Whether it be shooting bad guys in some distant future or saving elves from the clutches of evil, he is always up for the journey. He shares this love with his wife who often travels those worlds with him as a welcome companion.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
The original Bloodlines released in 2004 by the now-defunct Troika Games was, honestly, kind of a hot mess, and also managed to be one of my favorite games of all time. Set in the politics and intrigue heavy World of Darkness, Bloodlines was truly a product of its time as both the game world and the real world transitioned into an uncertain new century.
Hardsuit Labs has picked up the torch and intends on bringing us a new vision of this alternate world of vampires and monsters that promises to be a twisted reflection of our own times. Since I grew up with the World of Darkness, created originally by White Wolf Publishing, I am just thrilled for a chance to experience new media set within it. I am hoping to take a sizable bite out of this title when it releases.
When I saw that People Can Fly were releasing a full AAA shooter title in association with Square Enix, I was instantly curious and pretty hyped. For some brief history, the studio is responsible for bringing us Painkiller, the outrageously fun Bulletstorm, and briefly worked under Epic Games on several of their own titular franchises before breaking free to develop this new IP.
So we know that the developers have some serious shooter cred under their belts and have worked with online platforms before, which is great. Now, unfortunately, we don’t know many details about Outriders yet, other than that it is billed as a small scale drop-in/drop-out co-op science fiction shooter. This initial marketing has me thinking a bit too much of Anthem, but I am cautiously optimistic that more information will really give us something for our hopes to ride on.
Open world games have the potential to be some of the most fun you can have in anywhere, and Ubisoft has been long making the genre kind of their thing. When Watchdogs was released in 2014 it was… not very good. However, with the release of Watchdogs 2 in 2016, the franchise hit its stride and actually became decently fun to play. The world became interesting, and the writing was pretty enjoyable.
Watchdogs: Legion stands to be one of the most open of their worlds yet with an ambitious system of multiple characters and even permadeath. While I can see this possibly going horribly wrong if implemented poorly, I want to believe that Legion will again advance the franchise even further. So for now I am going to be watching how this shakes out, and am more than ready to play ball if the game shapes up to be a fun romp.
What games are you looking forward to in 2020? Let us know down in the comments!
