2019 and 2020 saw a series of fantastic releases and revival of a few iconic names in the gaming industry. As this year comes to an end, what can Play Station users expect from 2021? Here are the top 10 PlayStation games launching in 2021.
1. God of War: Ragnarok
Sony dropped the teaser for their newest instalment of the ‘God of War’ franchise and even though the teaser didn’t contain anything more than a mere logo, it’s safe to expect an action-packed third-person game. The franchise set new standards with ‘God of War 4’ with impressive smooth combat gameplay integrated with the expected excellence in story-telling. Sony hasn’t announced a fixed date for the game’s release but it can be expected to come out in the latter half of 2021.
2. Hitman 3
In the beginning of the 2010s decade it seemed like the Hitman series was dying down for good but IO Interactive had other plans. With the launch of Hitman (2016), the franchise reinvented itself for another era of mainstream dominance. The game was followed up by expansions and sequels which followed the upward trajectory. The upcoming game will be released as the conclusion for the ‘World of Assassination’ trilogy. An additional feature for players who own Hitman and Hitman 2 would be that the new game would allow them to transfer locations from previous games to the new instalment. The release date for the game has been set as January 20th, 2021.
3. Returnal
The development house ‘Housemarque’ called this project as its ‘biggest and the most ambitious project yet’. ‘Returnal‘ is set to explore the limits of psychological horror genre in a third-person shooter setting. It would be interesting to see how the game fares but it wouldn’t be unfair to expect a mind-bending experience because of what the plot is supposed to offer. The release date for this game has been set at March 19th, 2021.
4. Resident Evil: Village
‘Resident Evil: Village‘ or as it is called ‘Biohazard Village’ in Japan will be in continuance of the plot as it ended in ‘Resident Evil: Biohazard’. The first-person horror genre fandom was obsessed with ‘Biohazard’ because of its immersive gameplay and compelling gameplay mechanics. Capcom apparently started working on this game just before the release of ‘Biohazard’ resulting in a significant amount of development time for the game, which only inflates our expectations. The company hasn’t given a date for the game’s release but it can be expected to come out in the latter half of 2021.
5. Deathloop
Arkane is back with its iconic gameplay and combat-mechanics. The trailer and the released gameplay footage suggests very clearly that its gameplay would be heavily borrowed from ‘Dishonored’ and fans are loving it. You would be in control of an assassin stuck in a time-loop with the mission to escape it by killing 8 targets throughout the story. The game was set to release on November 12, 2020 as a launching game for the PlayStation 5 platform but was later pushed back to May, 2021.
6. Kena: Bridge of Spirits
The game in the trailer looked like it would render an open-world environment but the additional information later released made it clear that it wouldn’t be. The gameplay would allow Kena, the main character, to be able to make light, charged and heavy assaults with her staff which can be later upgraded into a bow. The game definitely oozes ‘Zelda’ vibes and rightly so. The game developed by ‘Ember Labs’ is set to release in 2021 with no fixed release date announced.
7. Ghostwire: Tokyo
‘Ghostwire: Tokyo’ is the second ‘Bethesda’ feature on this list. Bethesda seems to be releasing a couple of huge projects in 2021 and we can expect the same from this game. Set in Tokyo (as is apparent from the title), the story hasn’t leaked a lot of details in the last year and half except for the gameplay trailer. The trailer doesn’t work a lot to set the premise of the story but it is apparent enough that the protagonist’s overarching objective is to save Tokyo. The company hasn’t yet announced a release date.
8. Horizon: Forbidden West
‘Guerilla Games’ announced the game’s tentative release date to fall somewhere in the holiday season of 2021 and expectations are running high. Aloy (the protagonist) has to continue her journey from where ‘Zero dawn’ ended. After discovering the reason behind the world’s present post-apocalyptic ravages, Aloy has to fight against some sort of a plague. Not a lot of details have been released but it has been made clear by the company that the environment will be more open and free for more in-depth exploration. Definitely one of the top 10 PlayStation games launching in 2021.
9. Gotham Knights
WB Montreal Games after years of teasing finally released its gameplay trailer for ‘Gotham Knights’. It would be an understatement to say that it surprised everyone. The events of ‘Gotham Knights’ are set after Batman’s death and a new criminal syndicate has taken over Gotham. The game would allow the players to switch and control 4 different characters of the Batman family who are Dick Grayson, Robin, Bat Girl and Red Hood or Jason Todd. The gameplay release has excited everyone with the prospect of playing a new open world RPG game but we would have to wait for the real deal till mid 2021 to experience it, easily making it one of the top 10 PlayStation games launching in 2021.
10. Far Cry 6
The upcoming instalment is being developed by Ubisoft Toronto instead of Ubisoft Montreal, unlike earlier instalments of the Far Cry franchise, barring Far Cry 1.However, the newest instalment will continue the tradition of similar narratives which this franchise is famous for: a dictator who needs to be taken down. The revealing trailer shows the main villain of the game, Anton Castillo, played by Giancarlo Esposito of Breaking Bad. The release date for the game has been set at February 18th, 2021.