The sharp rise of the gaming industry over the last few decades has treated gamers to a consistent increase in the number of incredible games releasing each year. Last year, players were treated to excellent titles likeDOOM Eternal,Animal Crossing: New Horizons,Half-Life: Alyx,andYakuza: Like a Dragonwhich all lived up to their high expectations. 2020 also signaled the beginning of the ninth generation of console, as the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 hit stores to the delight of thoselucky enough to get their hands on one.
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With the sheer number of releases that now flood each system, it requires something special to be recognized as the industry’s single most highly anticipated release.Elden Ringholds this title in the minds of many, though five other games could argue that they deserve the title more. It’s worth noting that this list won’t include games thathaven’t been officially announced yet, such asGrand Theft Auto VIandHalf-Life 3.
10FromSoftware’s Track Record
When a new game is announced, the first thing that many players will look at is who the developer is.Elden Ringis being developed by FromSoftware, who are best known today for the so-called Soulsborne franchise, which includes critically acclaimed games likeDemon’s Souls,Dark Souls,andBloodborne.Before the release ofDemon’s Souls,FromSoftware was synonymous with theArmored Coreseries, which provided fans of mecha-shooters with a plethora of enjoyable titles.
FromSoftware’s most recent release,Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, was showered with awards upon release, includingThe Game Awards' prestigious Game of The Year accolade.
9Deserves It More - Project 007
Across all media, if a person or franchise releases an iconic piece of work early in their career, their subsequent work is often held to the same standard. For example, M. Night Shyamalan’s films are frequently compared toThe Sixth Senseand Nas' albums are compared toIllmatic.These constant comparisons can sometimes be a curse, as their subsequent work likely won’t stack up to the previous classics, and will often be unfairly criticized.
James Bondis one of the video gaming industry’s best examples of this, asgreat games likeNightfireandEverything or Nothingare often overlooked because they aren’t quite on the same level asGoldenEye 007.IO Interactive, who recently releasedHitman 3to a warm reception, will be hoping that they can exceed the high expectations that have already been placed on Project 007’s shoulders.
8Soulsborne’s Influence
FromSoftware’s Soulsborne series isn’t just known fondly for the sheer quality of its games, but for how influential it has been on the gaming industry. The Soulsborne series has reminded players of how rewarding a challenging experience can be, and how satisfying it is to take down apunishingly tough boss.
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Furthermore, FromSoftware removed excessive hand-holding from its Soulsbrone games, by excluding common RPG and adventure mechanics like maps and quest markers, to ensure that players can properly immerse themselves in the game’s setting by exploring the world more naturally. Developers that shift the dynamic of the gaming industry don’t come along too often, so when one has a new release in the pipeline, it’s extremely exciting to see what direction the game will go in.
7Deserves It More - God of War: Ragnarök
God of War(2018) was the eighth main installment in the iconic hack and slash series of the same name and is widely considered to be the franchise’s best entry. Santa Monica Studio’s action-adventure drastically changed the gameplay formula from the franchise’s previous installments, by changing the camera perspective, offering more open levels, and adding a companion in the form of Atreus.
Another change thatGod of War(2018) made was its shift in focus from Greek Mythology to Norse Mythology. This change is clearly here to stay withGod of War: Ragnarök, as the term Ragnarök refers to a fight to the end of the world in Norse Mythology.
6New Lore
As alluded to before, the way that the Soulsborne games tell their story has been one of FromSoftware’s greatest gifts to the gaming industry. At a time when many video games were trying to essentially be interactive films, FromSoftware introduced a way of storytelling that played to gaming’s strengths.
FromSoftware’s way of telling its narrative through optional exploration has been most notably utilized in the latest entry to the iconicLegend of Zeldaseries,Breath of the Wild.It is expected thatElden Ringwill follow a similar structure, to ensure that players who fully invest themselves into the game are rewarded along the way with information gained by items found and NPC’s spoken to.
5Deserves It More - Halo Infinite
It’s fair to say thatHalo Infinitehasn’t had the smoothest of development cycles so far; as well as announcing a lengthy delay, the upcoming gamebecame a meme after the world was introduced to Craig.
Although delays can be frustrating, they are certainly worthwhile to ensure that when players purchase a new game, they’re getting the experience that they expected. The classic Miyamoto quote “a delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad” was once the go-to response to people complaining about delays, though the quote itself has recently joined Craig as a gaming meme. Thankfully, CD Projekt has inadvertently stepped in to help, as their latest releaseCyberpunk 2077has shown exactly why games shouldn’t be released until they’re ready.
4George R. R. Martin’s Involvement
It’s safe to say that theGame of Thronestelevision series didn’t go out on a bang but more of a whimper that disappointed much of the show’s engrossed fanbase. There is plenty of blame that can be shared out for the show’s decline, though not too much of it should be directed towards the author of theGame of Thronesbook series, George R. R. Martin. The decline can be almost precisely pinpointed to when the show creators ran out of book material to use, making it hard to blame the American writer.
TheElden Ringtrailer describes the game as being “a new world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin,” which is an extremely exciting prospect for fans of fantasy stories and settings.
3Deserves It More - Hogwarts Legacy
Along with aSkyrim-likePokémongame, aHarry PotterRPG has been at the top of many gamers' wish list for years. Although there’s still no-word of Nintendo making aPokémongame in a world likeSkyrimorBreath of the Wild’s Hyrule, there has been an official announcement of a role-playing game in Hogwarts.
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Not too much is known aboutHogwarts Legacyoutside of the story, which will take players to Hogwarts in the late 1800s.The game was recently delayed until 2022, though most fans won’t be too disappointed about this, as they’ve been waiting for a game such as this for decades.
2It’s Unique
Although many developers have tried, no game has been able to recapture the magic of FromSoftware’s Soulsborne franchise.“Souls-like” has become a popular termin the gaming industry, and Steam even lists it as an official sub-genre.
Having a unique product such as this is extremely valuable in all forms of media. There will always be another WW2first-person shooter to play, and there will always beanother licensed sports game; though there likely won’t be many games that compare toElden Ring.
1Deserves It More - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
Since the originalLegend of Zeldawas released in 1986, it’s not too far-fetched to say that every main seriesZeldagame has been one of, if not the most anticipated release of its corresponding year.The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2is possibly the most anticipated game of the series since 2006’sTwilight Princess,as the originalBreath of the Wildhas already become one of the franchise’s most beloved entries.
Nintendo hasn’t given too much information away about the game so far, with a short teaser trailer being the only source of reliable information so far. The trailer heavily suggests that the game will follow the gameplay formula thatBreath of the Wildintroduced, which has delighted fans of the franchise.
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