Ray’s Most Anticipated Games of 2016

Alright everyone: 2016 is finally here and with it a ton of new games are coming. I couldn’t be happier for most of them. With that said, lowering the number of games I’m stoked for just down to ten seemed like a nearly impossible task; Even though I did manage to complete this, it doesn’t take anything away from the other games that didn’t make this list. With great titles such as The Mighty Number 9, Horizon Zero Dawn and Street Fighter 5 also releasing this year, there will be plenty of games to keep you entertained. With that said lets move on to the reason your here my top ten most anticipated list for 2016.

Actually one last thing before we start… I feel I need to make an honorable mention to one game that if I knew it would be coming out this year it would not only make my top ten list, but it would easily be my number one, and that’s Kingdom Hearts 3. I’ve been waiting for this game to come out ever since I beat Kingdom Hearts 2 back on PlayStation 2, and with each new spin off game released I’m just getting more impatient. I love the side stories, but there comes a time when enough is enough. Kingdom Hearts will always remain my favorite game series, though, and until they finally finish making that game perfect I’ll just have to wait and spend my time playing all these other fantastic games that are coming out this year. Now then onto the list…

10. Digimon Cyber Sleuth – Whoever came up with the idea to make a turn based style JRPG with Digimon is a great person, I believe that Digimon is a very underrated game series living in the shadows of the Pokemon games, so it always makes me extremely excited to hear when a new game is being released. This is definitely one of the games I’m the most excited to play this year.

9. Firewatch – From the game play I have watched, and the stories I’ve read, this game has me highly interested. It focuses on both comedic and serious moments, and what seems to be a very well done story. This is definitely the indie title I’m most excited to see in the upcoming year.

8. Ratchet and Clank – The epic duo is back again, and I love the fact that they originally just tried to do a remake for the original game. However, they ended up adding so much to it. From new planets to explore, new Clank missions to try, and new gameplay that has never been seen before. When they finished changing everything, it ended up turning into its own new thing. The original Ratchet and Clank game was one of my favorite games growing up, so after hearing all that it’s no surprise to me that this ended up here.

7. Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 – It’s plain and simple why this is here: this is my personal favorite shooter series. When the original came out I fell in love, and now that love is amplified after seeing the new improvements they’ve made with not only making the menu interactive, but adding new game modes and new plant and zombie playable characters. It’s got me more than excited enough to play this game.

6. Fire Emblem: Fates – I’ve always enjoyed Fire Emblem; not only for the grid turn-based battle system, or the likable characters and their back stories, but the stories of the games in general. They are extremely well done in my opinion. The concept of doing split stories, though, makes me curious on how this is going to end up. I’m not the biggest fan of having to play though multiple games to understand a single story, but when the game sounds this interesting, you can bet I’ll be playing though this game more than once anyways.

5. Overwatch – Those of you who watch the Super Senpai streams know about my huge love for Heroes of the Storm. Well when Blizzard announced their newest game Overwatch, you can bet I was just as pumped for it. Playing in the beta definitely got me hooked on this game. The characters were interesting, the online multiplayer battle system was quite fun, and with dozens of different ways to play you’ll find at least one reason to stick around for another hour or two.

4. Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness – JRPG’s I think appeal to me a little too much. Whether it be Persona, Kingdom Hearts, or even the Tales series I’ve never stopped loving these kind of games. Star Ocean is no different. From the large open field team battles where the only logic is don’t let everyone die, to the intense back stories of every character, every minute playing these kind of games is fun. It’s been over seven years since we’ve seen the last Star Ocean game released; let’s just hope the wait for Integrity and Faithlessness will be worth it.

3. Uncharted 4: A Thieves End – If you’re looking for the best action adventure series then look no further than Uncharted. From finding El Dorado, Shambhala, and even the Iram of the Pillars, these games will easily impress and keep you on the edge of your seat. With that said, though, from what I’ve seen of Uncharted 4 it looks bounds ahead of the previous game. The presentation looks spot on, the game play looks smooth and easy to control, and the cut scenes look like they’ve been pulled straight out of a movie. I must say if this game comes out as good as it looks then Naughty Dog might have just made one of the best action adventure games of all time.

2. Persona 5 – Having never played any of the other Persona games until earlier last year, I can now say I see why everyone was so excited for the release of this game. I mean, a shape shifting cat creature who says cat puns? Who wouldn’t love that? I think what I’m most excited for, though, is exploring though “Castle:” a giant structure made from the ill-intent from peoples hearts. They couldn’t have marketed this game more to me if they tried. With my personal love of dungeon crawlers, turned based battles, and JRPG’s pushing me forward, this is a game that I can’t wait to finally get my hands on.

1. Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom – Alas, we have reached the end of my most anticipated list with the game I am personally the most excited about: Ni No Kuni: Revenant Kingdom. When it was announced at PSX and I saw the trailer they released with it, I knew nothing would top my excitement for this game. The whole show was amazing, but all I wanted was more of Ni No Kuni. If this game is anything like the first game was, it will easily slide into being one of my all time favorite games.