I have been a gamer for almost my entire life. Whether it be my first ever GameBoy or my PS4, I have countless memories and experiences from the hundreds of games I have played. I’ve consumed enough enough blue light from my TV and laptop screens for three or four lifetimes, yet I can’t stop immersing myself into these video game worlds. With that being said, here are my four most anticipated games of 2019 (and slightly beyond).
#4 – Ghost of Tsushima (2020)
I just discovered this game was a thing a few months ago but was almost immediately hooked by the story. You will be playing as Jin Sakai, a 13th century Japanese samurai who will need to learn “the way of the ghost” to battle invaders and protect Tsushima. It will be an open world game in which Jin must recruit allies to help him defend the lands. And since Jin is a samurai, most of the games fighting will revolve around his katana, patience to counter, and stealth abilities. You are apparently also the last samurai, and because of this you must abandon the honorable tactics of the samurai in pursuit of learning the way of the ghost. There are the graphics as well, which look 100% out of this world. They don’t even look as if they belong on this generation of gaming consoles (which may be a hint to a PS5 release). The visuals are just plain gorgeous, and I for one am beyond excited to find out when this game will actually be available.
#3 – Borderlands 3 (9/13/19)
Borderlands 3 is another one of my all time favorite franchises and the fact this game is finally almost here brings me back to my sophomore year of high school. I will be honest, I haven’t touched any of the spinoffs or prequels in this series. Mainly for the fact that I was in college when they came out and no longer had the means to buy them. But that’s no longer the case, and I will for sure be exploring the bazillion (yes I said bazillion) guns the game has to offer. I thought BOrderlands 1 & 2 were both amazing games, and they came out nearly seven years ago. So I cannot wait to see how upgraded the gameplay and graphics are in the third (not including the prequel) installment of the story.
Some other fun facts about Borderlands
- Troy Baker voices a few characters in the Telltale Game version of Borderlands. He also voices characters in The Last of Us I & II, Death Stranding, and Uncharted.
- The ability to steal enemy vehicles will be added into the game.
- In order to traverse the map, you will be flying around your very own spaceship.
- Gearbox would like to make this a cross-platform game at some point, meaning
- Xbox/PS4/PC gamers could all play with one another rather than only with their respective console mates.
- There will be infinite progression after the main storyline has been beaten.
#2 – The Last of Us II (2020)
This is a franchise that I have only been on since mid-May, but oh my god how quickly I’ve fallen in love. The first critically acclaimed game was an absolute masterpiece, especially when you thin it came out over six years ago. The sequel is another game that not too many people truly know anything about, and the release date (or PlayStation platform) hasn’t even been announced. Apparently it is going to be more than we bargained for according to Troy Baker (Joel’s voice actor) and none of us are ready for it. His exact words were…
“There is nothing about this game, nor the reveals, that hasn’t been one hundred percent carefully crafted and methodically curated. All I can tell you is that as much as you’re clamouring for it… you’re not ready.”
All I know is that I am ready for it Troy. I am ready for the impeccable storylines and dramatic twists to fill my life once again. I am ready to shove my dagger into some Clicker skulls, and more importantly see what has become of all the infected. Have they gotten bigger and stronger? Maybe they’re all more intelligent now and tactics from the first game no longer work? No matter what though, I am 100000% positive that Naughty Dog will hit another home run with The Last of Us II whenever it is released.
#1 – Death Stranding (11/8/19)
Death Stranding has been a game I’ve had my eye on now for almost three years. It was first teased E3 back in 2016, and even though the trailer didn’t really explain anything about the game I knew it was something I would be buying the second it became available. Since then, Hideo Kojima has released a few more trailers and given some details about his game (even though those details still don’t really explain much lol). But ultimately, this game will be a massive open world, third person action with countless possibilities of a plotline. Hideo has described his game as…
“a completely new type of action game, where the goal of the player is to reconnect isolated cities and a fragmented society. It is created so that all elements, including the story and gameplay, are bound together by the theme of the “Strand” or connection. As Sam Porter Bridges, you will attempt to bridge the divides in society, and in doing so create new bonds or “Strands” with other players around the globe.”
Now if that doesn’t pique your interest, right!? This game has potential to be a complete bust in all honesty, mainly for the fact that nobody really knows all that much about it. But if it is anything like any of Kojima’s other games I think Death Stranding will be a massive success, and I’ll probably lose hundreds of hours of my life playing it.
With all of these games dropping, it is safe to say that I will not have much free time on my hands over the next 6 months or so. That isn’t even factoring in games that will be released mid next year either. I will always be a gamer at heart though, so I guess I have the rest of my life to look forward to new games always being on the horizon.