10 Most Anticipated 2021 Video Games

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is the newest installment in the immensely popular Insomniac Games franchise. The sixteenth entry in the series will see the titular heroes travel across multiple realities and worlds in an attempt to stop the evil Doctor Nefarious in his attempts to completely eradicate organic life in every universe. This time, the infamous duo are joined by a resistance fighter named Rivet.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is due to hit PlayStation 5 consoles on June 11th, and can be pre-ordered right now. 

Announced last year at PlayStation’s Future of Gaming event, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an upcoming action-adventure game from the developer/publisher Ember Labs. In Kena: Bridge of Spirits, players step in the shoes of the titular character, Kena, as she helps the deceased transcend from the physical world to the spirit world using her magic abilities. As Kena progresses, she’ll need to utilize her staff for combat, and her pulse ability to defend herself while she collects the Rot, a small spirit companion that’ll help her complete tasks and take on enemies.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is set to hit the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC on August 24th. The game will also be showcased this month at the Tribeca Film Festival and will be in the running for the inaugural Tribeca Games Award.

In Deathloop, you play as an assassin named Colt who is stuck in a time loop after waking up on a beach on the island of Blackreef, which is home to a party that lasts forever. Tasked with taking out eight targets across the island, leaving even one alive will result in failure and Colt will need to try again and again until he can stop the time loop. Unlike the rest of the island’s residents, Colt comes back from each reset, retaining more and more memories with the ability to learn the behaviors and patterns of the island party-goers.

Deathloop features an interesting multiplayer feature that has a player take the reins of Julianna, tasked with protecting the time loop from Colt’s actions, and enter a random player’s game and try to mess them up. Of course, players can opt out of this feature and have a CPU take control of Julianna as well.

Deathloop is hitting PlayStation 5 and PC on September 14th under a one-year console exclusivity deal. After that, it will come to other consoles. 

A trailer for Hot Wheels Unleashed was dropped in April showing a surprisingly comprehensive video game take on the racing toys. The trailer showcased various cars and tracks that will be available in the game, as well as some impressive visuals. The game will offer a wide variety of cars that all boast their own personalities, styles, traits, rarities, and customizable liveries. It will also feature online and offline multiplayer play and a detailed track editor allowing you to perfect your perfect race.

Hot Wheels Unleashed zooms to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC on September 30th 2021. 

Ubisoft is returning to the Far Cry franchise, this time with a trip to Yara. In Far Cry 6, players will control Dani Rojas, a guerilla fighter attempting to overthrow Yara’s dictatorship, and it’s leader Anton Castillo. The game features motion capture and voice acting from Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian) and Anthony Gonzalez (Coco).

After a delay, the game is set to launch on October 7th on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Amazon Luna, and Google Stadia. 

A spiritual successor to Valve and Turtle Rock Studios’ Left 4 Dead series, Back 4 Blood is a first-person shooter that features a similar gameplay style to the Left 4 Dead series. Also developed by Turtle Rock Studios, Back 4 Blood offers players a fun 4-player cooperative experience as well as an 8-player PVP mode. Like it’s predecessor, Back 4 Blood will have a focus on multiplayer and replayability. New to the game is the cards system. Players can build their decks to include cards that modify the game experience such as changes to the players health, damage, and stamina. At the same time, the AI also uses the cards system as well and can play certain cards to hinder the player’s progression, like casting a fog effect and spawning more enemies.

Back 4 Blood is currently slated to launch on October 12th 2021 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows. 

A sequel to 2016’s hit game Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West picks up after the events of the first game following Aloy as she is sent by the Nora tribe to find the source of a mysterious and fatal plague in the Forbidden West. On her journey, Aloy will encounter hostile territories full of deadly enemies and massive storms. The sequel will also take Aloy to biomes not yet explored in the series such as snowy mountains, flooded city ruins, dry deserts, and tropical beaches. Underwater exploration is new to the sequel and provides players a whole new frontier in which to uncover mysteries and relics of a forgotten past. The game will also include iconic real world locations such as San Francisco and the Yosemite Valley.

Horizon Forbidden West is aiming for a Q3/Q4 release this year and will be exclusive to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. 

After a number of delays, LEGO Star Wars Skywalker Saga is still set to release before the end of the year. TT Game’s most ambitious game yet, the sixth installment in their LEGO Star Wars franchise will adapt all nine movies in the Skywalker saga. Each movie will have 5 levels for a total of 45 levels. As opposed to previous LEGO Star Wars games where players were made to play the game in a linear story order, LEGO Star Wars Skywalker Saga can be played in any order the player wishes. The combat system has been overhauled, as well. Lightsaber combat is now more dynamic with the introduction of combos featuring light attacks, heavy attacks, and force powers. Blaster characters have the option of an over the shoulder camera angle, much like a third-person shooter. 

The game will feature a multi-planet hub more akin to LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens rather than the older game’s single game hubs (Mos Eisley/Dexter’s Diner). The hubs confirmed so far include series staples such as Naboo, Coruscant, Kamino, Geonosis, Kashyyyk, Mustafar, Yavin 4, Hoth, Dagobah, Bespin, Endor, Jakku, Starkiller Base, and more. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will include 300 playable characters, and will use original voice acting with the first actor confirmed to be Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian).

There is no date yet for LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga’s release but when it launches it will come to the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Windows. 

Evil Dead: The Game will offer both co-op and PvP modes, and let players explore multiple maps from the Evil Dead franchise, as well as the iconic cabin. Choose between dozens of weapons and keep a look out for franchise Easter eggs. New gameplay was revealed today, which can be watched on YouTube. Groovy!

Evil Dead: The Game will be released TBA 2021 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

After an initial November 2020 release date, Halo Infinite was pushed back and will now (hopefully) release later this year. The game will continue Master Chief’s journey following Halo 5: Guardians, and will take a ‘much more human’ approach to the story as Chief will be more prominent, unlike its predecessor. The game will be set on a damaged Halo ring known as Installation 7 (Zeta Halo).

In the E3 2018 trailer, Master Chief is shown donning an armor design closer to that of Halo 2 and 3. And, after backlash, Infinite will bring back split-screen. It was also announced that the multiplayer portion will be free-to-play upon release.

Launching later this year, Halo Infinite will be available on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC (with cross-platform play and save support).

There’s our 10 most anticipated games that (we hope) come out this year. With everything going on in the world, we’re still getting a pretty damn good year of gaming. Are there any games you think should be on this list? What are you looking forward to throughout the rest of the year? Sound off in the comments and let us know! 

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