Month: January 2019

Every year is a great year for video games but as of January 2019 I admit I’m a bit underwhelmed compared to previous years. Most of the big sequels due out this year (that have been announced) aren’t for series I care much about, like Mortal Kombat 11, Devil May Cry 5, and Gears 5.

Thankfully there are tons of exciting indie games that I’m very much interested in, and it’s my first full year with a Nintendo Switch – gimme that new Pokémon game!

Here are my top ten most anticipated games for 2019.

10) Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

Who would’ve thought we’d be getting a new Marvel Ultimate Alliance game in 2019? And it’s a Switch exclusive? I’m very excited to return to one of my favorite console action-RPG brawlers, even though it’ll most likely feature only MCU heroes and villains.

9) Kingdom Hearts III

I may be in the minority in that I’m not a big Kingdom Hearts fan, but still look forward to trying the very, very long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3. I enjoyed the first one (17 freaking years ago, holy crap), but never actually finished the second, when the series really started getting up its own ass.

8) Wargroove

Everyone knows Advance Wars was a great series and it should be a crime that we haven’t had a proper sequel in over a decade. Beloved indie developers and publishers Chucklefish are answering the call with Wargroove, which looks like the spiritual successor we’ve been waiting for.

7) Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

The Igarashi-led Castlevania successor appeared on my Most Anticipated list last year only to be delayed into 2019. With countless indie games aping the metroidvania style, it’ll be interesting to see if Bloodstained can stand out. I’m betting it will and more.

6) Anthem

BioWare does Destiny? I’m not a big fan of Destiny (though I’m actually giving Destiny 2 a shot right now) but something about the mech suits, third-person action, and exotic alien world is making me take notice. Maybe this could be my Monster Hunter: World of 2019?

5) Warcraft III: Reforged

I very much enjoyed the nostalgic trip from StarCraft Remastered two years ago. StarCraft was my high school years; Warcraft 3 was college. Blizzard is the closest thing I have to a fanboy company, and I’m looking forward to revisiting WarCraft 3.

4) The Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds was recently announced during The Game Awards just a few months ago. It’s a first-person RPG by Obsidian that looks like a fun combination of Fallout and Borderlands, and I’m definitely here for it.

3) Desperados III

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun was one of my favorite games of 2016. Mimimi Productions is trading in katanas for revolvers. I have zero knowledge or nostalgia for the Desperados series, but I’ve grown to love the tactical stealth genre and can’t wait to see how they handle a Western.

2) Age of Wonders: Planetfall

I’ll always carry a torch for Age of Wonders III; no game has before or since captured the satisfying tactical combat, resource management, and exploration from Heroes of Might and Magic III. Triumph Studios has been working on a neat-looking sci-fi sequel, and now their resources include the backing of one of the biggest strategy game companies around, Paradox Interactive.

1) Untitled Pokémon Game for Switch 

I’m a big Pokémon fan and nearly every year a Pokémon game finds its way onto my Top Ten list. We don’t know squat about the highly teased Pokémon game coming to Switch but given the last few releases I’m expecting good things.