2018 Preview - what we can expect in the first half

nehashetty (58)in #gaming • 7 years ago (edited)

The beginning of every game year traditionally starts erupting and after a year like 2017 this even feels extra slow. That does not mean, however, that no gems can be found in the first months of 2018.

First quarter

January is typically a month that is avoided by big titles, but there are certainly some games to look forward to: such as Dragon Ball FighterZ and Monster Hunter: World. Both can be regarded as niche releases, but since there are no major competitors to oppose, they could reach a fairly large audience. Dragon Ball FighterZ has already received the necessary praise for its visual style and the PlayStation 4 beta seems to ensure a smooth launch; where Monster Hunter: Worldon the other hand, the first time in the history of the series is that a Monser Hunter title gets a simultaneous worldwide release. The new contemporary version of Monster Hunter has so far impressed us and we are looking forward to hunting in early 2018.

February seems to be a relatively strong month, in which we have high expectations for the historic rpg Kingdom Come: Deliverance. A game that started as a Kickstarter project and a medieval story that could very well be one of the great surprises of 2018. There is much to say about the focus on the story and the precise and measured fights. We also see the Shadow of the Colossus remake on the PS4 in February. We are still fond of the original, but have to see if a few rough pieces can be flattened and brought to the current standard.

March marks the end of most fiscal years, which ensures that a large number of major titles get a release before the end of the month. This year we have some top titles like God of War, Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, Sea of Thieves, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life and Far Cry 5 to look forward to. However, we secretly might be the most interested in the co-op-'only 'prison escape adventure A Way Out by Josef Fares' Hazelight; we love a creative risk (or is it a commercial?) where it completely removes the singleplayer. Although God of WarAnother final release date must be given, March seems to return to Kratos' roar and we are extremely excited about his new playground in the North, as well as the prospect of seeing this once rebellious anti-hero deal with fatherhood. Rare's Sea of Thieves is another game that we've been watching for a while now and it's carrying the burden of being Microsoft's only big first-party release at the beginning of the year. And let's not forget Far Cry 5, which is as controversial (for some) as promising.

We also expect Fatshark's Warhammer: Vermintide 2 and Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire this quarter to see if everything goes well.

January:

23 - Lost Sphear (PC / PS4 / Xbox One), The Inpatient (PS4 / PSVR)
26 - Dragon Ball FighterZ (PC / PS4 / Xbox One), Monster Hunter: World (PS4 / Xbox One - PC later)
30 - Dissidia Final Fantasy NT (PS4)

February:

2 - Fits Cure (PC / PS4 / Xbox One), EA Sports UFC 3 (PS4 / Xbox One), We Were Here Too (PC)
6 - Shadow of the Colossus Remake (PS4)
8 - Civ VI: Rise and Fall (PC)
15 - Dynasty Warriors 9 (PC / PS4 / Xbox One), Kingdom Come: Deliverance (PC / PS4 / Xbox One), Secret or Mana remake (PC / PS4 / PS Vita), Owlboy (PS4 / Switch / Xbox One)
20 - Metal Gear Survive (PC / PS4 / Xbox One)
23 - Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet (PC / PS4 / Xbox One)
27 - Gravel (PC / PS4 / Xbox One)
? - Moss (PS4 / PSVR), Griftlands (PC), Fe (PC / PS4 / Switch / Xbox One)

March:

13 - Devil May Cry HD Collection (PC / PS4 / Xbox One)
20 - AoT 2 (PC / PS4 / Switch / Xbox One), Sea of Thieves (PC / Xbox One), Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (PS4)
23 - A Way Out (PC / PS4 / Xbox One), Ni no Kuni II: Revenue Kingdom (PC / PS4)
27 - Far Cry 5 (PC / PS4 / Xbox One)
? - God of War (PS4), Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom (PC / PS4 / Switch / Xbox One), Pillars or Eternity II: Deadfire (PC), Warhammer: Vermintide 2 (PC / PS4 / Xbox One), Laser League (PC / PS4 / Xbox One)

Second quarter

Of course there is less precise information available about what we see in the second quarter of 2018, but balanced estimates and speculation have to fill in these gaps. It is going to be an interesting quarter, as we expect many developers and publishers to stay away from Red Dead Redemption 2 and most publishers will give their titles a release date after Rockstar finally does.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the third game in the Red Dead series and a prequel to the second game Red Dead Redemption. You play as the 'outlaw' Arthur Morgen, a member of the Van der Linde gang. We expect Rockstar to roll out some impressive online options, given the huge success of GTA Online in its previous game. It is also Rockstar's first new game since 2013 (!), Which alone is more than enough reason to be enthusiastic.

Quantic Dream's Detroit: Become Human is one of the titles that still lacks a release date, but it should appear on the PS4 in the spring. The android adventure in the near future has already become very enthusiastic and we hope that it can fulfill the promise as a real experience - even though it caused the necessary controversy with the trailers that have appeared so far.

Although we do not have many concrete release dates, we know that in April we will have a full release of We Happy Few and the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection in May.

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Crackdown 3, a game that we are looking forward to a couple of years ago, but afterwards somewhat worried about, appears in the spring. Whether it achieves this remains to be seen. Another game that has been postponed many times is the Kickstarter IGA vania title Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. The full release of Conan Exiles (as well as the PS4 release) is scheduled for a long time before May. Frontier's Jurassic World Evolution, together with the new film, will release in June and State of Decay 2, The Crew 2 and Vampyr, from the creators of Life of Strange, are also expected this quarter.

Of course it is a good thing that many more titles appear in the second quarter that do not yet have a specific release period.

Thanks for reading.