This article was originally published on 16/01/2016 on our sister site
2015 was a good year for the Xbox One. Hell it was a great year for gaming in general, and it was a year where games started to get some momentum on the current generation of consoles. Yes we are still wading through the sea of re-releases which must be starting to frustrate even the most positive of gamers, but there have been some great games released – Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Batman Arkham Knight and a whole host of fantastic indie titles that are holding their own amongst the big boys of the industry.
That being said, there seemed to be a sense of disappointment among gamers with certain titles not living up to their expectations – Star Wars: Battlefront, Project Cars, Rainbow 6 to name but a few. And while I have still yet to complete some of the fantastic games that were released last year, I’m currently finding myself going back to play older games. I’m not sure whether this is down to a feeling of being disheartened because of the aforementioned disappointments, or whether I’m retreating into some sort of comfort zone, playing games that I KNOW I enjoy. One thing’s for sure, I’m still waiting, waiting for a new IP that excites me, for a developer to come out with something that isn’t a sequel or a reboot or remake. I’m waiting for the new games that define this generation. And 2016 looks like it could well be the year where I can stop waiting.
Let’s take a look forward at 2016 on the Xbox One then, firstly at the games with confirmed release dates/windows, and latterly at game that should be getting a release this year. Though with a few games already being pushed back (Scalebound, Gears 4) it is quite possible that these games will be appearing in next year’s article as well! I will be covering as many games as possible and trying to highlight the ones I’m most looking forward to.
January
My pick of games for this month has already been released in the US, but has been put back for a while in the UK, and it is one that anyone interested in storytelling should pick up. The award winning critically acclaimed Gone Home finally finds its way to consoles, and while it is a short affair, I really enjoyed my time exploring and discovering the story during my play through on PC.
There are three other games that have already been released (in the UK this time!). Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India – the second installation of the 2.5D platforming series of the franchise, one month before the series in complete in Russia. The Banner Saga – an extremely well received (on PC and Mobile) Viking themed tactical RPG from formed Bioware devs. And finally Oxenfree – an adventure game from former Telltale Games devs where a group of teenagers visit an abandoned island for a party, when they accidently open up a supernatural rift.
On January 19th Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster is released. If you haven’t played it before the game looks at the truth behind the Mansion Incident, the catalyst of the Resident Evil storyline. A day later on the 20th A Boy and His Blob is a re-release of the 2009 Wii game – a 2D side scrolling platformer. Lego Marvel’s Avengers will feature over 200 playable characters, and you’ll get to play through the plot of six of the films, it is released on January 29th along with This War of Mine: The Little Ones – another well received PC game getting the console port treatment. Here you’ll get a thought provoking look at how war takes its toll on civilians.
February
Let’s move quickly into February where we start to see some big games being released. Starting us on the 5th is Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, the final instalment of the Ultimate Ninja Storm series of fighting games from Bandai Namco. Then on the 9th of the month is the third part of AC platforming series Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia, which is being released alongside a trilogy pack where you can pick up all three games at once. There are a few games due for released on the same day. Alekhine’s Gun is a third person stealth game set during the Cold War and World War 2.
Also on the 9th comes Unravel, which is one of my games to watch this month. It seemed to resonate with a lot of people at E3 with its loveable looking protagonist Yarny. A colourful and visually impressive physics based platformer that look like it could be EA’s answer to Limbo. At the entry price of £14.99 it will surely be worth picking up
Mighty No. 9 hits on the 12th, a crowdfunded action platformer which is being touted as the spiritual successor to Mega Man. On the 23rd we welcome two new shooters to the Xbox One. But two that are vastly different from each other. Firstly is Far Cry Primal a game that I’m still in two minds about. While I love the franchise I’m still not sure how well it will do in a Stone Age setting taking away all of the weapons, but I’m trying to remain optimistic. The second is Plants v Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, the follow up to the original surprise hit. Expect more goofy fun with the PopCap characters, and if what I played at EGX is anything to go by, this will yet again be a guilty pleasure for many.
Also due for release this month, but still no firm date is Cobalt, being looked at by many as ‘the game from the Minecraft guys’ (Mojang are playing the part of publisher here), it is a side scrolling action game featuring both a campaign and online multiplayer. The Walking Dead: Michonne, the next instalment of Telltale’s acclaimed series is also due out this month – well I expect it’ll be the first episode like the rest, but still, definitely worth looking forward to for fans.
Finally, due out in February at some point is a game I’m very excited to play on the Xbox One. Rocket League has been an overwhelming success story on both PC and PS4 and I’m so happy it is finally coming to the Xbox One. If you’ve been in a cave for the last 6 months it is a game where you play football, in a car. All sounds very Top Gear on paper, but to say this has been a sensation would be downplaying it. And on Xbox One you also get to control a Halo Warthog and a Gears Armadillo. Still not convinced? Watch the trailer below
March
We start off with the big game of the month - Tom Clancy’s The Division is finally out on the 8th. This is a game that I instantly thought ‘I want that’ as soon as I saw the first trailer. I love a good cover based third person shooter, and what’s on offer here looks right up my street. Apocalyptic scenario, looting and shooting, all thumbs up. My only slight concern is how much I’ll be able to get out of the game if I’m not with a squad of 3. A lot of the time I like gaming alone, but if I need to make some friends to get the most out of this then so be it! I’m actually counting down the days.
The next instalment of Hitman is out on the 11th. Which is now coming in episodic format, which is a bit of a strange decision for a game like this, but I guess we’ll have to see how it pans out. I’m intrigued to see what the ‘live event’ type features are for this game, or if they will even surface. On the 17th comes EA Sports UFC 2 where EA will no doubt continue their form of delivering a graphically on point game for the fight fans out there.
Lastly due this month is Killer Instinct: Season 3, the latest update to the Xbox One exclusive fighting game which has been finding more success since the release of Season 2.
April
Two game start off this month of the 5th. Firstly we have Dirt Rally which sees it’s Xbox One launch after being received positively on PC since its Early Access back in April last year. Though be warned, this is much more of a simulation than a pick up and play arcade racer.
Also on April 5th is a game that I’m hoping will become a huge hit and franchise for the Xbox One – Quantum Break. No doubt saying that will doom it, but after seeing a number of changes during its development cycle the latest showing at E3 made me think ‘Yes – this looks great’. Using time bending powers within a third person shooting environment, and incorporating a unique live action series into the game to break up the gameplay sounds fantastic to me, and will hopefully be the breath of fresh air that I’m looking for. Headed up by Remedy the game is in safe hands, I just hope it can live up to the hype.
Dark Souls 3 hits April 12th to torture you all over again. The super challenging game series has made a weepy mess out of me in the past and yet I kept going back for more. No doubt to bring a smile to your face once you’ve completed a boss you’ve tried and failed to beat countless times before. Get ready to die again.
May
Gearbox Software’s new ‘hero shooter’ Battleborn starts off May on the 3rd. The first person shooter will feature a cartoon style that should go down well with fans of their Borderlands series. How this new genre will go down though is anyone’s guess, bridging the FPS and MOBA genre’s together should prove interesting at the very least, and while it faces some stiff competition on PC, the console setting might just be where Battleborn can flourish.
Homefront: The Revolution I’m really looking forward to. I’ve voiced in the past that I love the premise of the first game. And while the game itself may not have been the strongest I’m really looking forward to exploring this setting again. Now in an open world format, I hope there is enough variety in the activities to keep me interested, or at least enough story there for me to be engaged without needing to partake in all the side stuff without feeling I don’t get enough out of the game. I’m confident that it will at the very least be interesting, though my short time in the sandbox at EGX last year got quite samey quickly. There is still time to polish this though, and it is still definitely on my list of games to buy this year.
Finishing off the confirmed games for May is Mirror’s Edge Catalyst on the 26th. This is being seen as a reboot to the franchise and will look at the origin of Faith and her attempts to overthrow the conglomerate of corporations that rule the city of Glass. Expect plenty of the parkour traversal that was a hit with the original back in 2008.
Rest of the Year
There isn’t many other games with confirmed release dates for the year so I thought I’d throw the last handful into the same section. In June we are expecting another fighting game from Bandai Namco in the form of One Piece: Burning Blood, which will be the first ‘One Piece’ game to be released on an Xbox console. June is also expected to see the release of We Happy Few, a first person survival game that I really like the look of, taking place in a fictional town where people are kept under control with a drug called ‘Joy’. Ark: Survival Evolved, the dinosaur filled survival game that was recently released on the Xbox Preview Program is due for full release in June as well.
One of the games I’m most looking forward to this year is Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, out on August 23rd and picking up two years after the events of Human Revolution. Adam Jensen is back in a world full of human augmentations and new technology. I am a huge fan of the last game, the action RPG became one of my favourite games when it came out. I enjoyed the freedom of being able to pick and choose how to approach situations (let’s not mention the boss fights), and I loved upgrading Adam as a character and seeing the new abilities I could unlock. I just hope Mankind Divided can live up to its predecessor.
The final game that has a general release month is Yooka-Laylee which is due in October. The 3D platformer from Playtonic games is being handled by a lot of former Rare employees, specifically designers behind Banjo Kazooie. The ridiculously successful Kickstarter (which hit £1 million in the first 24 hours) is evidence enough that this game is highly anticipated, and will be high up on the wish list of N64 era Rare fans.
So that’s the lot in regards of confirmed dates (or months at least) so far. But there are plenty more games that are due out this year. Part two can be found HERE