Video Games to Look Forward to in 2023

People love video games, it has become one of the most enjoyed pastimes not only for children but for adults as well. Ever since the Computer Space was invented in 1971 and has been considered as the first commercial arcade video game, this pastime has been heavily used as a way of relieving stress and socializing with people. Nowadays, video games have become much more relevant to society that it was before, considering that it is now considered a sport, an instructional tool, and it is even used for therapy.

In 2017, we have talked about the video games that were released during that year, both the bests and worsts from each platform. We have also discussed about some of the retro games just in time of the release of the updated NES and SNES. And then during the Halloween season, we even shared a list of some of the best horror games. Since it’s already 2018, we’ll be discussing about some of the upcoming video games that every gamer is looking forward this year. Go ahead and check out the list below.

Anthem

Developer: Bioware

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Genre: Action, Role-Playing

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: 4th Quarter of 2018

After the disappointing reception of Mass Effect: Andromeda from both critics and fans alike, and being listed in several worst games lists, Bioware and Electronic Arts are trying to pull themselves together by releasing yet another futuristic action, role-playing video game called Anthem. This upcoming video game is played from a third-person perspective and is set in an open world environment. Aside from its single player campaign, this game also features a co-operative online multiplayer mode that allows up to four members per team to play in a “shared-world.” This game has been scheduled for release on the fourth quarter of this year.

Crackdown 3

Developers: Sumo Digital | Reagent Games | Ruffian Games | Cloudgine

Publisher: Microsoft Studios

Genre: Action, Adventure

Platform: Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: 2nd Quarter of 2018

For a game that’s being published by Microsoft Studios and developed by four game developing industries led by Sumo Digital (Forza Horizon 2 and 3) and Reagent Games (Grand Theft Auto), Crackdown 3 should really be something, which is probably the reason why it’s been getting all the hype. This game is the third title in the Crackdown series and is played from a third-person perspective. Aside from its camera angle, most of the series’ gameplay features—including its sandbox elements—are retained on this title. Though no specific release date has been confirmed for this game, it has been announced that this will be released sometime during spring or the second quarter of this year.

Days Gone

Developer: SIE Bend Studio

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Genre: Action, Adventure, Survival-Horror

Platform: PlayStation 4

Initial Release Date: 2018

For those familiar with the movie World War Z, imagine if that was to be turned into a video game, then we have Days Gone, which is an upcoming action-adventure, survival-horror game by SIE Bend Studio and to be published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Set in a post-apocalyptic open world environment, the player takes control of the protagonist, a former bounty hunter named Deacon St. John, who now chooses to become a drifter. In this timeline, most of the population have either been killed or turned into zombie-like creatures called Freakers, and it is up to Deacon to find a way to survive and put an end to this nightmare. There are multiple ways for players to defend themselves and accomplish objectives: they can either face the enemies head-on or they can also take advantage of stealth tactics.

Detroit: Become Human

Developer: Quantic Dream

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Genre: Action, Adventure, Neo-Noir, Thriller

Platform: PlayStation 4

Initial Release Date: 2018

If you are into video games that place heavy emphasis on the plot rather than on the fast-pace, action elements, then this will probably be the perfect one for you. In Detroit: Become Human, it’s not all about running and shooting bad guys, making use of the stealth mechanism to keep yourself away from your enemy’s line of sight. Instead, this game focuses more on giving players various choices to decide in every scenario, and lets them face consequences—good or bad—as the game progresses. What’s unique about this game is that there are no “game overs” when a character dies, but the game allows the player to continue playing until the end of the story.

Far Cry 5

Developer: Ubisoft

Publisher: Ubisoft

Genre: First-Person Shooter, Action, Adventure

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: March 27, 2018

For fans of the Far Cry video game series or simply those who enjoy first-person shooting games, here is something to keep you excited for the next two months. Far Cry 5 is the latest installment, becoming the eleventh entry and the fifth main title in the entire Far Cry series. Much like the previous titles, this game is played from a first person perspective and is set in an open world environment in which players can explore either on foot or with the help of vehicles. The new features of this game includes the ability to create your own character at the start of the game, instead of the usual set protagonists from the previous titles. Another new feature of this game is that while players can use a variety of long-ranged weapons to defend themselves, a wider range of melee weapons are introduced to give more emphasis on close combat.

God of War

Developer: SIE Santa Monica Studio

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Genre: Action, Adventure

Platform: PlayStation 4

Initial Release Date: 1st Quarter of 2018

For an action-adventure video game franchise that features the world of Greek mythology, God of War has become highly successful and has been well-received by critics and gamers. For its latest installment, however, God of War (also known as God of War 4) will serve as a soft reboot to the franchise and will feature Norse mythology. Players will still be controlling the series protagonist, Kratos, who now must act both as a mentor and protector to his son, Atreus. New gameplay mechanics will be featured on this installment, such as role-playing game elements, and the ability to craft resources. Also, while the previous games featured a fixed third-person perspective, this one allows players to choose between a third-person and an over-the-shoulder angle. For those who own a PlayStation 4 console, you may want to check out our list of the best PlayStation 4 games in 2017.

Kingdom Hearts III

Developer: Square Enix

Publisher: Square Enix

Genre: Action, Role-Playing

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Initial Release Date: 2018

For a game that unofficially began development in 2006 and officially in 2013, Kingdom Hearts III is definitely a game that many Disney fans should look forward to, especially those that enjoy role-playing video games. This game serves as the sequel to 2005’s Kingdom Hearts II and is the twelfth installment in the entire Kingdom Hearts video game series. Same as its predecessors, Kingdom Hearts III marks the return of the protagonist, Sora, who is now joined by King Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Riku. Here, they must help each other in the search for the Guardians of Light as well as the Key to Return Hearts in order to stop series antagonist Master Xenahort from starting another Keyblade War.

Monster Hunter World

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

Genre: Action, Role-Playing

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: January 26, 2018

Here is another long-running role-playing video game series that has already spawned several sequels under its name, Monster Hunter: World is the latest and upcoming entry in the Monster Hunter franchise  by Capcom. This game is played from a third-person perspective and is set in an open world environment, and just like the previous games, the player will take control of a hunter who is tasked to either hunt down or kill monsters in order for them to study. But unlike its predecessors, this game will feature a much larger map and will also allow players from all over the globe to play together.

Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom

Developer: Level-5

Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Genre: Role-Playing

Platform: PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: March 23, 2018

It pretty much makes sense why the hype for this game has gone through the roof, considering that it serves as the follow-up to a critically acclaimed video game that won several year-end awards. Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is the sequel to 2013’s Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, which in turn, is an enhanced version of 2010’s Ni no Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Djinn. This game is a third-person role-playing game that is set in an open world environment. Players can freely roam around the world exploring towns, villages, and dungeons in order to complete quests. During battles with enemies, players are allowed to move their characters around the battlefield one at a time, and they can use either melee attacks or magic to defeat enemies.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Developer: Rockstar Studios

Publisher: Rockstar Games

Genre: Action, Adventure

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Initial Release Date: 2018

The prequel to the video game that has been considered as one of the greatest video games of all time, Red Dead Redemption 2 is indeed getting a lot of hype and it needs to surpass the fame that its predecessor was able to earn. This game is an action-adventure shooter set in the Western era and is played from a third-person perspective, and players take control of an outlaw named Arthur Morgan. Aside from its single player campaign, players may also be able to enjoy playing this game via online multiplayer mode. Aside from being the prequel to 2010’s Red Dead Redemption, this game also serves as the third in the whole Red Dead video game series. We also featured this game on another list that we made a while back, go ahead and check out that list to see more upcoming video games for the Xbox One console.

Shadow of the Colossus

Developers: Blue Point Games | SIE Japan Studio

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Genre: Action, Adventure

Platform: PlayStation 4

Initial Release Date: February 6, 2018

Shadow of the Colossus is an upcoming video game developed by Blue Point Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, and it is a remake of the video game of the same name which was released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2. During the game’s development, the developers had to build it from scratch including the new control scheme, but they were also able to retain the same gameplay mechanics from the original game. The player takes control of the protagonist named Wander, as he searches to remote areas to find and defeat colossi.

Shenmue III

Developers: Neilo | Ys Net

Publisher: Deep Silver

Genre: Action, Adventure

Platform: PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: 2nd Half of 2018

Here is a game that has suffered over a decade of being in development hell resulting from the commercial failures of its predecessors despite of garnering a cult following and being included in several “best games” lists, Shenmue III is finally on its way and is scheduled to be released sometime in the third or fourth quarter of 2018. During the time of the original game’s development, the production and marketing costs reached an estimated US$47 million, making it the most expensive game developed, though it did cover some of the expenses for its sequel as well as some groundwork for future installments. For this game, it initially started as a Kickstarter campaign, and was able to reach its target in just eight hours, making it both the fastest and highest video game campaign in Kickstarter history.

System Shock

Developer: Night Dive Studios

Publisher: Night Dive Studios

Genre: Action, Role-Playing, First-Person, Horror

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux

Initial Release Date: 2nd Quarter of 2018

Speaking of Kickstarters, here is another upcoming video game that was made possible through a Kickstarter campaign, with the developers targeting to reach US$900,000 by the end of July 2016. System Shock is actually a remake of a video game of the same name that was released in 1994, which was developed by Looking Glass Technologies. For this remake, it is being developed and published by Night Dive Studios, and is scheduled to be released sometime during the second quarter of 2018 for various platforms.

Spider-Man

Developer: Insomniac Games

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Genre: Action, Adventure

Platform: PlayStation 4

Initial Release Date: 1st Half of 2018

Love Marvel comics? Then you’ll definitely love this upcoming video games by Insomniac Games because this is based on one of their superheroes, Spider-Man. This Spider-Man game is the first to be licensed and developed by Insomniac, and will also tell a re-imagined story about the titular character which is different from what we’ve read in seen in comic books, films, and previous video games. Players will take on the role of both Spider-Man and his alter ego, the 23-year-old Peter Parker, they will even get the chance to control his love interest, Mary Jane Watson, in some important parts of the game.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Developer: Arc System Works

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Genre: Fighting

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: January 26, 2018

Here comes Dragon Ball as you have never seen before in video games! Dragon Ball FighterZ is an upcoming fighting video game developed by Arc System Works and and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. This game borrows several ideas from other fighting video games, most notably the team mechanics as well as some of the control scheme from the Marvel vs. Capcom series. Here, players get to choose a team of three characters but can only control one at a time, though they can switch to the others at any point in the game (similar to the Tekken Tag games). Aside from simply switching characters, players can also make use of the “assist” mechanic to call one of the other characters to fight with them simultaneously for a few moments.

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes

Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture

Publisher: Marvelous Entertainment

Genre: Action, Adventure

Platform: Nintendo Switch

Initial Release Date: 2018

Nintendo Switch owners, you probably are now worried for not finding a single Switch game on this list, but that’s about to end now since we have included on this list an upcoming action-adventure, hack-and-slash video game by Grasshopper Manufacture titled Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. This game is directed by Goichi “Suda51” Suda—the person responsible in titles including the No More Heroes games and Killer7—but is now being developed in collaboration with several indie game developers in order to introduce new elements from their games. Although this game features the No More Heroes series protagonist Travis Touchdown, Suda51 does not consider it a direct sequel to 2010’s No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. If that wasn’t enough to keep you excited, you may also want to check out our separate list of upcoming games for the Nintendo Switch.

Vampyr

Developer: Dontnod Entertainment

Publisher: Focus Home Interactive

Genre: Action, Role-Playing

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: 1st Half of 2018

Vampyr is an upcoming video game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Focus Home Interactive for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. This video game has both elements from action-adventure and role-playing games, and is played from a third person perspective. The plot of the game follows Dr. Jonathan Reid, a physician who has turned into a vampire, as he tries to balance his life between the living and undead worlds. The game takes place in London, during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 that infected over 500 million people all over the world, and killed three to five percent of the world’s population.

Metro Exodus

Developer: 4A Games

Publisher: Deep Silver

Genre: First-Person Shooter, Survival-Horror

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: 4th Quarter of 2018

Based on the novels by Dmitry Glukhovsky, Metro Exodus is the third installment in the Metro video game series and serves as a follow-up to both Metro: Last Light and Metro 2033. Similar to its predecessors, Metro Exodus is a first-person shooting game with elements from both stealth and survival horror games. The plot of the game is set in 2036—twenty years after the world has been devastated as a result of a nuclear war—on a post-apocalyptic wasteland that was once the Russian Federation. Players will take control of the protagonist named Artyom, who flees Metro with the Spartan Rangers and travels to the far east in order to start over a new life.

Attack on Titan 2

Developer: Koei Tecmo

Publishers: Koei Tecmo | Omega Force

Genre: Action, Adventure

Platform: PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita (Japan Exclusive), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: March 15, 2018

If the previous one was based on a novel, this next game is based on a Japanese anime which, in turn, is based on a manga of the same name. Attack on Titan 2—or Shingeki no Kyojin 2 in Japan—is an upcoming action-adventure video game developed and published by Koei Tecmo. The game’s plot follows the second season of the anime but will also feature original stories supervised by the Attack on Titan manga author and illustrator, Hajime Isayama. This game is being scheduled for release on March 20, 2018, for various platforms including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, as well as an exclusive release for the PlayStation Vita handheld console in Japan. We can already expect a lot of awesome sound effects from this game that will keep us off our seats, and what better way to immerse ourselves than with the use of high quality gaming headsets.

Darksiders 3

Developer: Gunfire Games

Publisher: THQ Nordic

Genre: Action, Adventure

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: 2018

After Vigil Games and its parent company, THQ, filed for bankruptcy in 2012 as a result of financial difficulties, the development of Darksiders III was put on hold until a new company purchases its rights via an auction initiated by THQ. Thankfully, in 2013, the rights to Darksiders were purchased by Nordic Games. In 2017, the new game was officially announced by the publishing company under the new name, THQ Nordic, and is being developed by Gunfire Games, which consists largely of former employees from Vigil Games who previously worked on the first two Darksiders games. In Darksiders III, players take control of Fury—sister of one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—from a third-person perspective in her journey to seek and destroy the Seven Deadly Sins.

Left Alive

Developer: Square Enix

Publisher: Square Enix

Genre: Shooter

Platform: PlayStation 4

Initial Release Date: 2018

While details of Left Alive are very limited as of the moment, we do have some information as to who are involved in its development. This game is being developed by Yoji Shinkawa, which is the character designer for the Metal Gear games, and director Toshifumi Nabeshima, who previously worked on the Armored Core series. Another information we know is that the game is set in the same universe as Front Mission—which is another series of video games developed by Square Enix. Lastly, based on the first trailer that was released during Sony’s Tokyo Game Show in 2017, the game is very reminiscent to the Armored Core games and is being described as a “survival-action” shooting game.

Mega Man 11

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

Genre: Platform, Action

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: 4th Quarter of 2018

Here’s a game that literally goes back to its roots while also taking advantage of the capabilities of today’s gaming consoles, Megaman 11 introduces us back to the traditional side-scrolling platformer that we have grown to love, but with enhanced 3D characters and environment as opposed to the 8-bit style from its predecessors. Megaman 11 is the sequel to 2010’s Megaman 10 and is the eleventh main entry in the series. The game is scheduled to be released sometime during the fourth quarter of 2018. For those who enjoy the previous Megaman titles as well as other retro platform games, you may want to check out our list of the best games released on the Super NES.

Code Vein

Developer: Bandai Namco Studios

Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Genre: Action, Role-Playing

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: 2018

Code Vein is an upcoming third-person action-adventure video game by Bandai Namco with some role-playing game elements. This game is set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian world inhabited by vampire-like creatures, and players take control of a member of The Revenant Society who has lost all his memories. This protagonist—just like the enemies—also thirsts for human blood and is capable of executing powerful attacks known as “gifts.” From the early previews of the game, many have compared it to the Dark Souls series, but in a more anime-like style.

The Wolf Among Us Season 2

Developer: Telltale Games

Publisher: Telltale Games

Genre: Interactive Movie, Graphic Adventure

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Initial Release Date: 2018

The sequel to another highly successful video game by Telltale Games, The Wolf Among Us Season 2 actually features a standalone story that does not resolve the cliffhanger ending from the first game. Not much is known about this game, except that it is scheduled for release sometime in 2018, and it will be released on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows, though the first game also found its way to mobile devices. Much like other games being developed by Telltale Games, this one very much likely features similar gameplay mechanics such as placing more emphasis on exploration and decision-making. But then again, Telltale can always surprise its players by introducing a new set of mechanics, but we have to wait until the game has been released to find out.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

Developer: Sega

Publisher: Sega

Genre: Action, Adventure

Platform: PlayStation 4

Initial Release Date: March 20, 2018

The first time this game was ever announced was during the Sony Tokyo Game Show in September 2015 and was set for release in the fall of 2016. The following year after its first announcement, the game was officially released for the PlayStation 4, but exclusively in Japan, and it was only recently that Sega decided to release the game worldwide. Now, the hype train has started for fans of the Yakuza series, especially those in the Western countries, since the game is set for an official worldwide release on March 20, 2018. In Japan alone, after just one week of its release, the game has sold over 200,000 copies. The game was very well-received by many critics who have played the Japanese release, with one website giving it a whopping score of 39 out of a possible 40.