5 highly-anticipated upcoming games of 2021

2020, for all its ups and downs, was a great year for games as players got to witness one knockout release after another. From indie gems like Hades, Ori, and the Will of the Wisps to gigantic AAA game releases such as The Last of Us Part II and Doom Eternal, gamers have been spoilt with quality.

The last year will be a tough act to follow, but 2021 is already off to a great start if early signs are to be believed. With Hitman 3 in the books with largely positive reception and Medium making the waves, gamers are in for quite the ride this year.

According to reports, with eyes on the horizon, this article discusses some of the most highly-anticipated game releases that have either been announced for 2021 or are likely to come out this year.

Top 5 most highly-anticipated upcoming games of 2021

Honorable Mentions:

• Far Cry 6
• Shin Megami Tensei V
• Returnal
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Gotham Knights

5) Resident Evil Village

If the new Resident Evil games have proved anything, an aging franchise can still dust the cobwebs off and deliver fantastic knockout entries yet again. After entering a slump after the franchise cultural landmark that was Resident Evil 4, the series began to lose steam, and gamers slowly lost interest.

However, Resident Evil 7 was seemingly an uppercut and left-hook out of nowhere. Before anybody could tell what happened, the franchise was back on its feet and menacing as ever.

CAPCOM doubled down on the new life the series had found with solid Remakes of the original Resident Evil games, and the series was back where it belongs - at the pinnacle of horror-survival games in the industry.

Resident Evil Village is already shaping up to be one of the biggest releases of 2021. With a menacing Chris Redfield making a return, players are excited to discover the depths of depravity and horror the series will explore next.

4) Horizon Forbidden West

Guerrilla Games decided to switch things up after excelling with the Killzone franchise and decided to go the action-adventure open-world route. The result was a surprisngly great open-world experience in Horizon Zero Dawn.

The game received great acclaim for its fantastic world-building, second to known, and its innovative game engine, Decima, which also powered the fantastic Death Stranding.

The game introduced players to the absolutely stunning world of the Horizon franchise, and the sequel is already looking to be a far more ambitious turn. Alloy's journey is far from over, and players are undoubtedly excited to see what Guerilla has in store for them.

3) Halo Infinite

The games industry has seen several mascots come and go, and some have stood the test of time and remained iconic throughout. Among those, alone Spartan soldier now returns to breathe new life back into a franchise and hopefully finish the fight this time around.

Master Chief returns in Halo Infinite as 343 Industries looks to bring Halo back to its former glory days finally. The game was earlier scheduled for release in 2020, but after careful evaluation to improve its quality, the release has been postponed to 2021.

This is ultimately a great choice as Halo Infinite will definitely benefit from a long time in development. Studios have one shot at making a great first impression, and Halo needs to make one heck of an impression if it is to live up to the fandom's hype.

2) Deathloop

Deathloop comes from the creative powerhouse of Arkane Studios, the visionary developers behind the innovative Dishonored games. Judging by its brilliant gameplay premise and promotional material, the Deathloop looks like a fun time.

The core gameplay "loop" itself should be reason enough for the player to give the game a try. Death has been incorporated into the game as a gameplay mechanic and works thematically with the protagonist stuck in a time-loop and pitted against a rival assassin.

The game looks like it is trying to break new ground and is one of the fresh ideas to come out of the gaming industry in a long time. While this kind of innovation and risk is usually seen in indie titles, Deathloop has every reason to succeed.

It won't be long before fans get to experience the open-ended gameplay of Arkane and see how the game lives up to its brilliant premise.

1) God of War Sequel (Ragnarok)

With an ominous reveal at the end of the PS5 event, the gaming community was sent into a meltdown. God of War was, hands down, one of the best games of 2018 and a generation-defining effort by Santa Monica Studios. The franchise has been a system-seller for the PlayStation ever since the days of the PS2. It seems like the franchise is back to bolster the chances of the PS5 with the 2021 God of War sequel.

Currently, the game is being referred to as God of War: Ragnarok. But an actual title reveal will be made soon enough with more details on a release date. It is safe to assume that no one expected Santa Monica to make such a quick turnaround and come out with a sequel close to the original.

However, fans are well behind the studio to pull through and deliver an absolutely jaw-dropping sequel to one of the greatest games of 2018. A throwdown between Kratos and Thor was teased at the end of the last game, and fans cannot wait to see how that fight goes down, possibly in this sequel.