Welcome to part 2 of “Gaming Respawn’s Most Anticipated Games”, where a few more of us gaming wackos take some time to discuss the upcoming games we are most looking forward to. Please take a look at part 1 of this feature if you haven’t already, it’s worth a read. Otherwise, keep on reading to see the rest of our juicy feature.
Ian Cooper
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
The game I’m most intrigued by, and mostly looking forward to playing, is FromSoftware’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. This mainly feeds from my love of their extremely popular and beloved Dark Souls series. I loved the lore, punishing yet rewarding gameplay and stunning locations, I’m just excited to see what remnants of this seep into Sekiro’s world and lore.
According to the game’s wiki page, Sekiro doesn’t have any role-playing elements, such as character classes or equipment upgrades. Wait…what?! These were essential to the Souls games, levelling up meant you had an easier chance to progress, beat that boss or area and gain enough souls to level up at the next checkpoint, or bonfire in the case of Souls. Knowing FromSoftware, they surely can’t just erase these very important elements within their games without adopting something else in their stead, can they? Well, they are heading in a different direction with Sekiro, adopting a more action-adventure frame yet keeping with the creepiness of their past games. Watching the trailer again, I get a Tenchu vibe, another series that I have fond memories of.
The word “Sekiro” means “one-armed wolf”, which is the main feature of your hero shinobi since he is missing a limb; however, it’s replaced with a prosthetic. This opens up many ways to use it to his advantage, not only in combat but to traverse the world and solve puzzles too. One thing is for sure though, the bosses are huge. After seeing the E3 trailer where your shinobi is fighting an oversized fat guy with a huge sword, FromSoftware’s tropes were clearly shown. I’m so excited.
The developers have said that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will be primarily designed as a single-player experience, which means no (or at least limited) multiplayer elements. This doesn’t bother me, however. Although I relied on other players to help me with the odd boss or two in the Souls games, invasions were a bitch. Good riddance to the multiplayer, I say. I can’t wait to play Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and see what challenges FromSoftware can conjure up next.
Chris Griffith
The Last of Us Part II
What more can be said about The Last of Us? It was my game of the generation back on the PS3. I rarely revisit games, and when I say rarely, I mean I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve gone back and replayed a single-player game. I used to use GameFly just for the sheer fact that I knew I would never touch a game after I had beaten it. With that said, as soon as The Last of Us was finished, I caught my breath, processed what just happened, and started the game over.
Games like this don’t come along very often. The game had perfect storytelling, gameplay, atmosphere, character arcs, etc. Naughty Dog was already gaining a reputation for their single-player experiences, but The Last of Us put them in a league of their own.
Now with the upcoming The Last of Us Part II, expectations are sky high. As mentioned before about the rarity of games of this caliber, I firmly believe that The Last of Us Part II will deliver. We haven’t seen much of the game yet. The first trailer revealed that Joel and Ellie are back again, except this time you control Ellie. She vaguely mentions something about vengeance while calmly strumming a guitar with bodies scattered throughout the house. There’s another female character, which is presumably Ellie’s romantic interest, of sorts, and various other new characters.
From the last trailer that came out during E3, which included some gameplay, the animations look much smoother and more dynamic, and it appears we now have a dodge move. At its core, stealth appears to be the way to play as supplies are at a minimum. The bricks and glass bottles are still in play, if need be, as well.
The thing I’m most excited to see more of is the relationship between Joel and Ellie. How has it evolved since we last saw them? It very much had a father/daughter vibe the last time, but Ellie isn’t a child anymore. Will we see that play out at all in the sequel? I sure hope so, for the simple fact that their dynamic was the selling point of the first game. We have a few answers from what we have seen so far, but with those come many, many more questions.
Matthew Wojciow
Red Dead Redemption II
My most anticipated game has to be Red Dead Redemption II. Having recently seen the gameplay trailer from Rockstar, it sent my hype through the roof. The first game may have taken me seven years to complete 100%, but it was a thrill from minute one to the last. The story, the world, the characters were polished to such a high sheen, and the game deserved the ratings it got from the critics. After knocking it out of the park with L.A. Noire, Max Payne 3 and Grand Theft Auto V since, it is time to see Rockstar deliver the ultimate western experience by focusing more on the outlaw side of the Wild West rather than working for the government. The added features that we have seen so far make me think that they have sorted out the very few negatives of the first RDR. The addition of looking after your camp and maintaining the morale of the people in your gang looks to add that level of depth that goes beyond just the strangers that you did missions for in RDR.
It will be a wait and see on whether or not the new character will resonate with players the way John Marston did in the original game. Maybe Mr. Marston will make a cameo. The gunplay also looks to be massively improved, even from GTA V, and looks to be thrilling and punchy, especially with the easy switching of weapons. The other thing that really excites me is the multiplayer. If Rockstar can replicate the brilliance of GTA Online, then Red Dead Redemption II’s multiplayer will be something special. The worlds Rockstar have built throughout the years have been truly spectacular, and from what I have seen from this version of the Wild West, it looks to be yet another spectacular adventure, especially on the Xbox One X and native 4k resolution. The world will be more lifelike than we have ever seen before.
Anthony Pamias
Kingdom Hearts III
One game I can’t wait for is Kingdom Hearts III. Ever since I played the first Kingdom Hearts on the PlayStation 2, I was captivated by the story, the characters and the music. I love how the storyline has lots of side-stories in the franchise – like the prequel game, Birth by Sleep. I’ve been waiting for Kingdom Hearts III since I first beat Kingdom Hearts II back in the day, and I’ve wanted to see what comes next for Sora and the gang. I’m a big Kingdom Hearts fan, and after watching all the trailers of the upcoming third game, I find that I’m really looking forward to the new worlds Sora, Donald and Goofy will be exploring, like the Toy Story world where we get to explore Andy’s room (which we caught a glimpse of in the latest trailer). What I’m most looking forward to is seeing the new Keyblades, the new outfits/designs Sora and the gang get for each world (as well as the character designs themselves – love Riku’s look), the new summon abilities and attacks, plus the game’s story. Finally, I wait in great anticipation for what post-game unlockables we will be getting for Kingdom Hearts III. Will they let us play as Riku again? I would love to see that again.
There you have it, the most anticipated video games for us Gaming Respawners. Feel free to share the games you are most looking forward to in the comments below.
If you’re looking for some more good literature on our site, then take a look at our list of top 7 Easter eggs that made us laugh out loud HERE.
If you’re up to testing out your knowledge of video game trivia, then try your hand at our Retro Gaming Trivia Quiz HERE.
Mike seems to have burnt himself out on wrestling (at least temporarily), so now he’s revisiting a series of games that I’m sure many of you are familiar with: Tekken. Check out his newest Retro Respawn features on Tekken Tag Tournament HERE and on Tekken 4 HERE.