2016 is shaping up to be great year for games. We’ve already seen plenty of great games this year, including titles like Darkest Dungeon and XCOM 2, among others. But it’s only April, and that means there are a lot of games still to come this year. Not every game has been announced yet, but these eight games have been, and they’re definitely worth looking forward to.
Battleborn
Developer: Gearbox Studios
Publisher: 2K Games
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Battleborn is Gearbox’s take on combining the MOBA and first-person shooter genres. Fans of both generes will find a lot of familiar elements here. Multiplayer will feature multiple modes, including a classic MOBA-like mode with lanes, minions, and the like. Unlike MOBAs, it will also contain a full campaign that can be played either solo or in co-op with up to three other players. The Battleborn open beta is currently underway on PS4, and starts tomorrow on PC and Xbox One.
Star Fox Zero
Developer: Platinum Games / Nintendo EPD
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: April 22, 2016
The sixth installment in the Star Fox series may also be the most anticipated of all. After ten years of waiting for a sequel, fans will finally get Star Fox Zero later this month. While it’s not set up to be a prequel or a sequel to the rest of the series, it will featuire similar gameplay to its predecessors. That means you’ll find Star Fox piloting his Arwing and being harangued by a familiar cast of characters, including one of the most useless sidekicks ever, Slippy Toad.
Gears of War 4
Developer: The Coalition
Publisher: Microsoft Studio
Release Date: October 11, 2016
The newest Gears of War title will keep things in the family, casting JD Fenix (the son of long-running series protagonist Marcus Fenix) in the main role. JD and two of his friends will take on a new enemy called “The Swarm” in the fight for humanity’s survival. Splash Damage is developing the multiplayer, and two-player couch co-op is included as well. The GoW4 multiplayer beta is set to launch over the next two weeks (April 18 for those who bought the GoW Ultimate Edition, April 25 for everyone else), so the wait to jump in and ty it out is almost over.
Mafia 3
Developer: Hanger 13
Publisher: 2K Games
Release Date: 2016 (exact date not set)
Five years after the release of Mafia 2, 2K announced that a third game in the series was in the works. Unlike the previous games in the series, which took place in the 1940s, the newest installment will be set in 1968. A biracial orphan named Lincoln Clay returns from Vietnam and joins the so-call “black mob” in Mew Orleans. When the Italian mafia tries to take him out, he decides to start his own criminal organization so he can have his revenge. It will feature an open-world design, as well as the return of Mafia 2 protagonist Vito Scaletta.
Doom
Developer: Creative Assembly
Publisher: SEGA
Release Date: May 24, 2016
This year marks the return of one of the most celebrated classic shooters of all time: Doom. You can expect a huge arsenal of weapons, including series staples like the double-barreled shotgun and the BFG 9000. You’ll need all those weapons, as you’ll be confronted by hordes of demons, including the iconic Cyberdemon. Of course, you can also expect to turn those weapons on other players in a variety of modes in the arena-style multiplayer. Deathmatch, Domination, and more will be included when the game launches next month.
Dishonored 2
Developer: Arkane Studios
Publisher: Bethesda
Release Date: 2016 (exact date not set)
The first trailer for Dishonored 2 got everyone’s attention with its signature art style and the new playuable character of Empress Emily Kaldwin, who you rescued during the first game. Set fifteen years after the events of Dishonored, the sequel will let players choose to play as Emily or as returning protagonist Corvo Attano. This time the Empire of the Isles is under assault by an “otherworldly usurper,” and you have to use your supernatural abilities to save it. It will be possible to finish the game with killing anyone, but word is that the game will be much harder overall.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Release Date: May 10, 2016
The final chapter in Nathan Drake’s story is nearly upon us, and we can’t wait to check it out. It shows us an older Drake who’s retired from his life as a fortune hunter. Buit when his brother (who he thought was dead) shows up looking for help, Drake straps on his shoulder holster one last time and sets off to search out the pirate treasure of a lost pirate colony called Libertalia. There’s already spedculation over whether Drake will make it back from this adventure, but since Naughty Dog is keeping mum, we’ll have to wait until next month to find out.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Developer: Eidos Montreal
Publisher: Square Enix
Release Date: August 23, 2016
Eidos is tossing us back into the well-augmented boots of Adam Jensen. Set a couple of years after Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Mankind Divided has Jensen working with Interpol in pursuit of a group of augmented terrorists. Of course, it can’t be that simple. Jensen is also working with a group of hackers called the Juggernaut collective to take on the Illuminati, the group that caused the “Aug Incident,” which led to the the outcast status of most augmented humans.
