orthodoxy1095
Banned
1. Persona 5 : Déjà vu much? I voted this my most anticipated game in 2015, and I'm here to do so once again. Hopefully this will be the last time. Putting aside my own fanboyish love of the series, I feel there are reasons for many people to be excited. The game seems to be carrying so many of the things I love about "animu" and "JRPG" without taking too many of the things I so vehemently hate about them (particularly modern ones). Everything we've seen of this game exudes an almost filthy amount of style that puts it just head and shoulders above other video games. For goodness sake's, the menus look good. Maybe I'm wrong to presume this, but if they've put so much care into the menus, I imagine the rest of the game is going to be a real labor of love.
2. Uncharted 4: A Thiefs End : Let me tell you the story of a boy who once didn't really give a rat's butt about Uncharted 4. This little boy was pretty burnt out on the series and was disappointed to return to Drake after the different world that ND had created with TLOU. He saw various footage, which certainly looked pretty, but it didn't do much to pique his interest. Then this little boy plopped his butt down in front of a computer screen during E3 2015. The little boy saw the E3 playthrough, warts and all. The little boy believed.
3. Gravity Rush 2 : I thought GR was a neat little experiment of a game, but I have to admit that I had a lot of issues with it. Notably, the world was too empty, the combat was too unrefined and the entire thing left me feeling pretty sour after that let-down of an ending. And yet, the gravity mechanic was fresh, Kat was awesome, the world was gorgeous and Kōhei Tanaka is hype. Much like with Persona, I feel as though GR2 is offering me many of the things I love about Japanese games while leaving behind many of the things I don't love. I can't wait to see this franchise get a second chance at life on a bigger platform, one that gives it more room to spread its wings and fly.
4. Street Fighter V : This is a weird game for me to be anticipating so hotly considering that I'm not much of a fighting game player. I appreciate watching high level play during EVO, and I love examining old games to see their beautiful pixel art, but I've never really been into them as a player. That's mostly because of how terrible I am, and how little I've wanted to put in the time and effort to "git gud." But, I'm committed to learning at least enough about SFV to be mildly competent, and I can't wait to get my grubby little casual hands on this game.
5. Mass Effect: Andromeda : I have a very odd relationship with Mass Effect. I call it one of my favorite franchises of recent years, yet I've only actually ever finished ME2. My playthrough of ME2 got the game so deep under my skin though that I became a rabid fan of the universe. I would peruse through wikis, read forum threads and search out any news about the next game that I could find. I don't feel as though many games out there do justice to the sci-fi genre, but ME did it pretty well. Perhaps I let others get me down, but the negative reception towards ME3 really put me off playing it. I do intend to play it at some point, but right now, I'm simply looking forward more to see where the franchise goes next.
6. Zero Escape 3: Zero Time Dilemma : I skipped right past 999 and jumped right into VLR last year. I found some of the puzzles a little obtuse, but I really loved the marriage of puzzle and Visual Novel together. The game was challenging, thought-provoking and gave an impressively varied cast of characters to interact with. I wasn't anticipating this game quite as hotly as others, but I'm very excited for it now that they've begun teasing it. Honestly, more of the same would be fine.
7. Horizon: Zero Dawn : The game has mechanized dinosaurs. I'm pretty sure my 10-year old self would have had a mental breakdown if he saw this game. I'm not sure that I really need another reason to anticipate it besides that. Sure, it has a cool post-civilization setting. Great visuals. Awesome female protagonist. Pretty creative gameplay being shown off. But come on now: mecha-dinosaurs.
8. The Last Guardian : This game was announced two months before I started high school. By the time it arrives (assuming it's not delayed), I will have graduated both high school and college. And yet my interest is still loyally chugging along. I'm excited to see what this game really is, and if it lives up to what I've imagined in my head. I enjoyed Ico and SotC, but I'm not quite as fervent a fan as others are. But something about this game has always seemed a little more interesting to me. "A boy and his pet bird-dog" sounds like it's going to be a real special time.
9. Dirt Rally : GT 3: A-Spec was the game that got me into racing and which made me buy a PS2. I remember a friend showing it to me and my mouth just dropping. And yet, even though GT holds a fond spot in my heart, the Dirt series is my favorite racing series. There is absolutely no question of that in my mind, considering the number of hours I put into Dirt 1 and 2 on the 360. Rally racing is just such a different beast than circuit races, and I'm excited to see CM do justice to the sport one more time.
10. Overwatch : I couldn't play the beta because my old laptop wouldn't handle it very well. So instead, here I am salivating over gameplay and eating up livestreams of all my favorite personalities playing the game. I spent all year waiting for a multiplayer shooter to draw me in and time and time again I felt disappointed by titles. BLOPS3, Battlefront, R6:S and more. None of them did it for me. Overwatch looks like it might just be the ticket though.
Honorable Mentions: I promised Shinobi I wouldn't do this, but I can't help myself. Forgive me Shinobi for I have sinned ;_;
xx. Ni-Oh : I can't wait to be Geralt-san.
xx. Unravel : E3's most genuine moment, can't wait for the feels.
xx. Telltale Batman Game : Tales from the Borderlands made me a believer again. Could be a perfect fit.
xx. The Legend of Zelda : Would be more hyped if I didn't think the NX version was going to be definitive.
xx. Cosmic Star Heroine : Game looks more and more rad every time I see it.
xx. Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem : I'm slowly coming around to the idol aesthetic.
xx. Nier: Automata : Never played Nier, but this looks pretty slick.
xx. Mirrors Edge Catalyst : I want to like Mirror's Edge so much. Maybe this one will do it.
xx. Matterfall : I don't know what this is still, but it looks cool as hell.
xx. Alienation : Dead Nation with a sci-fi skin. Works for me.
xx. Yakuza 0 : More Yakuza is always good.
xx. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine : A reason to jump back into 2015's GOTY.
xx. Firewatch : Hoping it will deliver on the narrative it seems to be promising
xx. World of Final Fantasy : More exciting than FFXV, easily. Cuter than cute.
