Video Games of 2015: 10 Hot Releases To Watch
What are the 10 best non-sequel games coming out in 2015? For the gamers out there, here's a list of some of the author's favorites.
![](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt69509c9116440be8/blt506e1012ef754ce9/64cb5829fd23d1669e63618c/intro.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
It's hard to pick just 10 games to name as the most anticipated of 2015.
This is the year of the next-gen console game. A lot of ambition is finally going to pay off.
The games of 2014 were great, but a little over one year into the lives of a next generation of consoles, you barely start to scratch the surface of their capabilities. Game development cycles are long and so many of the games that came out in 2014 started life as a plain-old console games. That's true of this year, too, but the more time developers have with the consoles, the better. 2015 is going to be the year we really start seeing some limits stretched on these beautiful new babies we got for Christmas 2013 or '14.
Developers are also going to stretch the limits of what we think of as gaming. Persistent, massive universes and gigantic creatures to battle on a scale we've never seen before are going to light up our 4K monitors and TVs. But that doesn't mean we're stuck with the same old game play in a prettier setting.
We're going to see new and inventive gameplay as well. This crop of games has me more excited to be a gamer than I've been in years. To make coming up with a list of 10 games easier, I made some rules. No sequels and go easy on the reboots. It isn't that Halo 5 isn't highly anticipated. I'm really looking forward to it. It is that those games have firmly established fan bases already. At this point, there are few gamers who haven't run the Master Chief through a few of his paces.
The same goes for other sequels. You aren't going to see the new Assassin's Creed, Tomb Raider, or Galactic Civilizations here, either. The Arkham series and Mario Party are missing, too. Don't think that means they are off my radar. I just know they are already on yours.
What I wanted to capture are the games that are bringing something new (or especially retro) to the table. Game sequels drive the industry just as movie sequels drive theirs, but you've got to start a franchise somewhere. These games are most likely to start a franchise or lift an indie studio to new heights. These are the ones that might change gaming. Sit back, grab a caffeinated beverage, grab your wallet, and get your pre-ordering finger ready. You're going to fall in love with these games.
Attend Interop Las Vegas, the leading independent technology conference and expo series designed to inspire, inform, and connect the world's IT community. In 2015, look for all new programs, networking opportunities, and classes that will help you set your organization's IT action plan. It happens April 27 to May 1. Register with Discount Code MPOIWK for $200 off Total Access & Conference Passes.
As games get bigger, get used to the phrase "procedurally generated." Procedurally generated means that, instead of artists rendering each part of the world from scratch and then having the computer render the world as designed, the computer uses a set of algorithms to build the world as it is experienced. Bloodborne is a Gothic RPG in a city suffering from a strange illness. The procedural rendering allows for an ever-changing world instead of the RPGs of just a few years ago, which can often feel stock even when one is designed by a design team. Brought to you by the makers of the Dark Souls series, this promises to offer a single and multi-player experience with long playing value.
(Source: FromSoftware)
From the makers of the Left for Dead series, Evolve looks like the best game I've ever seen to get a few friends together and have some laughs lighting each other up. The game is essentially a monster hunt, and admittedly, much like the Left for Dead series, it looks fairly light on plot. But here's the cool part -- in multiplayer, up to four friends can hunt a monster played by another of your friends. The four-against-one play seems like a gas, and it does something we all want to do sometimes in a game -- skip straight to the boss fight. Using huge-scale monsters to stomp on your friends? Who could resist?
(Source: Turtle Rock Studios)
If I had to pick one game I'm most excited by this year, it would be this one. In fact, I can't remember the last time I was so excited for a game. No Man's Sky is taking procedurally generated worlds to an unheard-of scale. The creators are literally making a universe. In this massive multi-player world, you will explore space. As you discover planets and stars, the game will continue to generate more planets and stars for you to explore. Anything you see, according to the small team making the game, you can explore. You even get credit for being the first one to find a planet. Frankly, just the chance to plant my flag on a planet far away seems cool. Building up my tech, exploring, and mining the universe all sound like tons of fun.
(Source: Hello Games)
Another reboot of a classic. This game isn't going to push any boundaries. In fact, it would be best if it merely tried to update the classic. One genre which has truly failed to evolve in the last decade is the management simulation. RollerCoaster Tycoon is the classic of the genre. Bringing it back might help revive one of my personal favorite styles of gaming. If nothing else, a little nostalgia trip never hurt anyone, and making simulated people barf on your extreme coasters is always fun.
(Source: Atari)
This game looks like Nintendo at its best -- no frills, no mind-boggling graphics, just party fun. The game is a "third-person shooter," but instead of bullets, your gun fires ink. You try to cover the walls (and your opponents) in your ink color in an epic graffiti turf war. Not only does it look really beautiful in its simplicity, but I like it as a way of introducing young gamers to genres of games usually reserved for more violent themes. Splatoon is quite simply the must-have game for 2015 for anyone who dropped cash on a Wii U.
(Source: Nintendo)
-
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like