Whoa, what a year! 2020 will surely go down in history as one of the worst years, what with the global pandemic and its effect on various branches of the industry.
But let’s not dwell on the past! With 2021 and a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X fresh out of the bakery, it’s time to take a look at what the developers have in store for us in the coming year. Owners of PC, worry not – our list of games to-be-released in 2021 will have something for everyone!
Darkest Dungeon 2
| Release date: | 2021-10-26 |
| Genre: | RPG |
| Developer: | Red Hook Studios |
A sequel to the 2016 RPG hit, Darkest Dungeon 2 will surely be a treat for all fans of grim roguelikes.
The game’s development was announced in February 2019, with a trailer presenting the main character classes from the original game – Grave Robber, Hellion, Highwayman, Leper, Man-at-Arms, and Plague Doctor – all lined up to face a new threat that awaits them.
The developer, Red Hook Studios, has been pretty tight-lipped about the contents of the game. In an interview for the PC Gamer, they mentioned that unlike in the previous installment, the game would be set in various locations. The devs mentioned that the studio had increased its capacity from only 5 people to 14. Remembering how good DD was, we cannot wait to see how far RHS will expand the sequel before its release sometime in 2021.
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Hollow Knight: Silksong
| Release date: | Before 2023-06-12 |
| Genre: | action-adventure, Metroidvania |
| Developer: | Team Cherry |
In 2016, Hollow Knight was a revelation that won the hearts of players with its engrossing world and engaging Metroidvania-style gameplay.
Will Silksong manage to do the same five years later? That is yet to be determined – all we know that Team Cherry is putting their best foot forward, introducing a new protagonist and a fresh adventure for the player to enjoy.
The main character of Silksong will be Hornet, the princes and guardian of Hollownest. The game tells the story of Hornet’s journey to reach the summit of her kingdom, battling endless foes, solving riddles, and making friends along the way. The game will employ the same hand-drawn 2D graphics that made the original so memorable. Silksong’s demo was presented during the 2019’s E3 and was met with a positive audience reaction, meaning the spirit of Hollow Knight is still alive in this one.
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Nioh 2
| Release date: | 2021-02-05 |
| Genre: | Action RPG |
| Developer: | Koei Tecmo Games |
Nioh 2 is a sequel to one of the best action-RPGs of 2017. Nioh 2 tells of the events happening before the action of that game, and sometime after.
The player controls a half-yokai warrior Hide, who travels the Sengoku-Era Japan, fighting monsters threatening the lives of the common people. The game features similar mechanics to its predecessor – the player can use various weapons and spells to fend off enemies, as well as summon AI comrades to aid them in battle.
What can we expect from the PS5/PC version of Nioh 2? Faster loading times and better graphics, that’s certain. The game is also said to include all the DLCs released for PlayStation 4. If you haven’t played it yet, it will be your chance to experience the game at its peak. If you have, you might want to check it out anyway to see how much it has improved.
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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
| Release date: | 2023-12 |
| Genre: | first-person shooter |
| Developer: | GSC Game World |
To quote Old Rose from Titanic, “It’s been 84 years…”, or in this case 11 with a change since we’ve last heard of the new installment of this cult-classic FPS game.
The last title in the series, Call of Pripyat, was released in 2009, and since then, rumors of a direct sequel emerged every now and then, only to be denied by the developers, saying the game was definitely canceled.
Now we know that the work on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is ongoing, and the game will be released sometime in 2021 for PC and Xbox consoles (presumably both XONE and Series X). What else do we know? Nothing much, really. Apparently, the game is at a very early development stage, and aside from a short trailer presenting the locales of the Zone, we don’t have much to go on. All we can do is wait for more information to drop, but we’re already used to that, aren’t we?
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Little Nightmares 2
| Release date: | 2021-02-11 |
| Genre: | Puzzle |
| Developer: | Tarsier Studios |
If you haven’t had enough of Six adventures in the Maw, you might want to join her on the adventure beyond it in Little Nightmares 2.
LN 2 is set in Pale City, a metropolis inhabited by deformed citizens addicted to TV broadcasts sent out by the Thin Man, whom you might remember from Secrets of The Maw DLC. In Pale City, Six meets Mono, a boy with a paper bag on his head who helps her in her quest to stop the Thin Man’s machinations.
Little Nightmares 2 introduces the player to a new environment, perhaps even more disturbing than the Maw from the first game, as well as a new playable character, Mono. The game puts the player in charge of keeping Mono and Six safe from various enemies, solving puzzles to push the story forward, and exploring the regions of Pale City.
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Horizon Forbidden West
| Release date: | 2022-02-18 |
| Genre: | action-adventure, RPG |
| Developer: | Guerilla Games |
Remember 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn? You know, only one of the best games on PlayStation 4, with well-written story and characters, expansive open-world environment, and stunning graphics?
Well, it’s getting a proper sequel. After the Frozen Wilds DLC, which wowed the players and critics with its excellent simulation of snow, of all things, we’re heading into Forbidden West – a region said to be the source of an all-killing plague. Aloy, the protagonist of the first game and a young huntress of the Nora tribe, heads into the unknown to determine what is causing the devastation.
As with most of the games on our list, very little is known about what Forbidden West will have to offer. Judging from the materials released so far, Aloy will get to explore vast swaths of the new region, set within the Southwestern United States. She will find new locations and biomes and hunt new kinds of dangerous machines. More info will be available as we draw nearer to the game’s release date, which is set around Q3/Q4 of 2021.
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Far Cry 6
| Release date: | 2021-10-07 |
| Genre: | Shooter |
| Developer: | Ubisoft Toronto |
Giancarlo Esposito as the big bad. That’s it. That’s the paragraph. You need to know nothing more than that. But seriously, there’s still very little concrete info about the game.
FC 6 was supposed to be released in February of 2021, but it was delayed to past March 2021 because 2020 and we can’t have anything nice.
We know that the setting of the game, a Cuba-inspired Caribbean island of Yara, will be the largest map in the series‘ history. We also know that FC 6’s protagonist Dani Rojas will have a selectable gender. The plot will involve them fighting with the Yaran guerilla against Esposito’s character, El Presidente Anton Castillo. Castillo’s conflicted son Diego is also said to play an important part in the story. Time will tell how much of that is true.
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Despite being a definitely terrible year, 2020 managed to have its share of silver linings. This year we saw the release of some of the best console-exclusive titles, such as The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima. The indie developers also had their moments of glory, with games like Among Us and Hades gaining traction among the players. Last but definitely not least, a new generation of consoles has descended, wooing us with plenty of graphically stunning titles to spend hard-earned money on.
As we move into the second year of the seemingly endless pandemic, we hope that the lessons learned during the first one will not be in vain. Despite such a difficult time, the industry managed to roll out some quality titles and a brand new generation of consoles. It’s proof that where’s a will, there’s a way. All we can do now is follow the news on the upcoming releases and remember that a little bit of joy can be found even in the darkest times.