2016 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for video games with both multiplats and exclusives aplenty set to release this year. Here at ThisGenGaming we are particularly eagerly looking forward to these 5 games coming this fall
Gears of War 4
The Gears of War franchise and Marcus Fenix have served as a juggernaut system seller for the Xbox platform since the orginal Gears’ release on the Xbox 360 in November of 2006. Gears of War immediately garnered a loyal following and spawned 3 more Gears games throughout the rest of the Xbox 360’s lifecycle. Microsoft acquired the rights to the Gears of War franchise from creators Epic in 2014 and fans of the series were treated to the Gears of War Ultimate Edition in 2015 on the Xbox One by new developers The Coalition with the original Gears game upgraded with 1080p visuals and a smooth 60fps and a whole array of graphical and gameplay improvements.
However, it took until E3 2015 for fans to get a glimpse of the new Gears of War 4 which seems to feature new characters and a new storyline that takes place some years after the Gears of War 3 ending. Graphically the game looked amazing and it looked as if the game is going back to it’s horror roots. There’s little doubt that Microsoft will be pushing this game hard at their E3 and Gamescom conferences this year as it is arguably the biggest game of the year in the gaming industry so we can’t wait to see more of Gears 4 in the coming months and we eagerly await the beta that’s coming out this summer.
Mass Effect Andromeda
Details are fairly scarce surrounding the eagerly awaited new entry in the Mass Effect series but we do know that it is set well after the earlier trilogy, in the titular galaxy, and will use the Frostbite 3 engine to power “exciting new worlds, great characters, and intense action,” according to EA. We don’t know a ton more than that for now but it does sound promising. From the glimpses we have seen we are very excited to feast our eyes on more of Mass Effect: Andromeda and we’re sure all other fans of the original trilogy are too. It recently came out that EA are hosting their own event this year’s E3 appopriately names EA Play and we’ll definitely be tuning in to get the newest on Mass Effect: Andromeda
Horizon: Zero Dawn
The new IP from Killzone studio Guerilla Games stormed the Playstation show at E3 2015 and was a highlight for many of the entire conference. There’s a bit of worry over whether Guerilla Games will be able to get this game out in 2016 but we sure hope it does because it looks fantastic. The premise of the game is set in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth where robots roam the land and humanity has receded to its tribal roots, the game centres on a hunter called Aloy and combines open world exploration, RPG elements and robot dinosaurs. Yes, you read that correctly: robot dinosaurs. If that’s not enough to sell you on the game then the gameplay that was shown off for this game sure will. Again, the stuff we have seen is limited and Guerilla Games has shown the same segment of gameplay at multiple shows and we’re yet to see more but if Guerilla Games can pull this off this will sure be one the best new IP’s yet for the Playstation 4.
Sea of Thieves
Rare is back. Bouncing off from the success of their compilation game Rare Replay, Rare are now dedicated to finishing their next AAA game (we checked, it’s definitely not a kinect game) called Sea of Thieves. Sea of Thieves was revealed at E3 2015 and is themed around pirates. It is said to feature a shared world which multiple players will be able play in alongside each other. Rare themselves described the game as “by far the most ambitious game Rare has ever created.” and boy are we excited to see more of this game. Sea of Thieves is announced for Xbox One and Windows 10 and is expected to release sometime around Fall 2016, although no official date has been set.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole
The 2014 South Park: The Stick of Truth was swamped in development trouble that we feared it was never actually going to be released but the game finally made it’s way to release in 2014 and it sure was worth the wait. Trey Parker and Matt Stone infused the game with all that crude South Park humour we’ve all come to love and it really did feel like we were playing just one long episode of the show, it truly was very impressive. The RPG elements of the game worked surprisingly well and the overall impressions of the game were positive from gamers and critics alike. The game was announced back at E3 2015 and has since gone quiet although the official Ubisoft website is still slating this game for 2016 and considering the silence, we’re expecting a holiday release for the game. While details aren’t aplenty, if it’s anything like the first game then we know to look forward to this game.
