10 Upcoming Video Game Releases We're Excited about in Early 2019

The beginning of a new year is always an interesting time for new game releases. After a deluge of big releases during the previous holidays, you'd think it would be a while longer before we had any more. After all, for the movie business, this is usually when a studio tries to dump a movie they aren't very confident about. And, yet, both January and February have some pretty major video game launches coming up.

From sequels that we thought we'd never see, to remakes we didn't know we even wanted, to remasters of nearly-forgotten classics, to brand new IPs from legendary developers, there are all sorts of new games launching in January and February. In fact, if we were forced to, we'd be hard pressed to pick just one we're most excited about. So, we're going to pick ten, instead. Yeah. That seems a lot easier.

So, here are ten of them we're looking forward to, organized by release date.

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#10. Onimusha Warlords - January 15th

We start our list with a remaster of the original Onimusha game, Onimusha Warlords. Originally released on the PlayStation 2, Warlords was a Resident Evil-style action-adventure game set in feudal Japan. It was actually the first PS2 title to reach one million units in sales worldwide and eventually racked up 2 million. It spawned a number of sequels and spin-offs over the years but hasn't seen much activity lately.

The remaster keeps the original gameplay while enhancing the visuals as well as improving the controls - Capcom proclaims that users can make Samanosuke move and attack with "analog-stick precision." Players also have the option of having the visuals in an upgraded 16:9 widescreen mode, or the original standard definition 4:3 resolution.

While the original game was a PS2 exclusive, the Onimusha Warlords remaster can be played on the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. Look for it starting on January 15th.

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#9. Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes - January 18th

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes

The No More Heroes games were some of the more iconic titles for the Nintendo Wii, what with their distinctive art style and... unusual gameplay mechanics. The original game was directed by iconoclast game designer Goichi Suda - aka "Suda51" - the same director behind Killer7 and Let It Die. So, a No More Heroes sequel for the Nintendo Switch, headed up by the original director, is something to get excited about.

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes steps away from the style of the first two games and moves to a top-down viewpoint. Travis Touchdown finds himself pulled into a possessed video game console along with a vengeance-seeking father named Badman. And that's not even the weirdest part.

Each of the game's levels will be a parody of a different video game and uses the console's JoyCon controllers to emulate some of the motion controls from the Wii titles.

The game is a Nintendo Switch exclusive and releases on January 18th.

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#8. Resident Evil 2 (remake) - January 25th

Resident Evil 2 remake

Chances are if you have any interest in this game - or survival horror games in general - you're not only anxiously awaiting it, but you've already played the "1-Shot" demo that released recently. In fact, there's probably not much more we can say about this game that you haven't already heard. But, I've got a job to do here, so I'm gonna try.

It's interesting to note that at the same time Capcom was developing the remake of the first Resident Evil game for the GameCube back in 2002, they were also strongly considering doing this one, as well. However, series director Shinji Mikami was also at work on the groundbreaking Resident Evil 4 and didn't want to divert resources from that project.

Speaking of Resident Evil 4, the gameplay in the RE2 remake seems to have moved in that game's direction as opposed to the first-person view of the more recent Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. As you can see by this footage, that's not necessarily a bad thing, even if RE7 was a hell of a lot of fun. (warning: this footage is pretty gross)

The Resident Evil 2 remake will release on January 25th for the PS4, Xbox One and PC.

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#7. Kingdom Hearts III - January 29th

Kingdom Hearts III

Those of us old enough to remember when the first two Kingdom Hearts games were originally released can remember when Kingdom Hearts III was grouped into games like Duke Nukem Forever or Starcraft: Ghost. We got plenty of promises that it would come out some day, but there was never a light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, most of us had given up hope that it would ever really happen.

Now, here we are - it's 2019 and we're less than three weeks away from this game actually happening. It sort of makes you feel like anything can happen now.

Kingdom Hearts III not only sees the return of Sora, Donald, Goofy and the other heroes but also their voice actors, as well. That's right - Haley Joel Osment, now all grown up, returns as the voice of Sora. On top of that, most of the voice cast from the Disney films turn up in the game to voice their respective characters.

According to director Tetsuya Nomura, this game picks up right where Dream Drop Distance leaves off. And, if you don't know what that means, well... neither do I, so I guess we both have some catching up to do.

It looks like we have until January 29th to do it, too, as that's when the game releases on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

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#6. Crackdown 3 - February 15

Crackdown 3

Crackdown 3 was announced at E3 in 2014, although considering how many changes and delays it's gone through, it feels like it was in 2004. But, it's actually for really real releasing next month. In fact, if you have an Xbox Game Pass subscription, you can actually download and pre-install it on your Xbox One before it's February 15th release.

How often was Crackdown 3 delayed? Well, it was originally supposed to release sometime in 2016. Obviously, not very specific, so when the game was delayed the first time, at least players got a more direct release date of November 7th, 2017.

However, it was then delayed again with a more ambiguous date of Q2/Q3 (or, in other words, "sometime in the middle of") 2018. By the time it was delayed again, this time pushed back to February of this year, fans just started to assume it would never come out.

But, I have it saved on the hard drive on my Xbox now, so hopefully, we're actually going to see it.

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#5. Jump Force - February 15th

Jump Force

The last Shōnen Jump-based fighting game, J-Stars Victory VS, hit store shelves outside of Japan in 2015, so we were probably about due for another one. This year, the series not only features a new game engine (using Unreal Engine 4) but also moves away from PlayStation exclusivity and will appear on Xbox One and PC, as well.

This time around, the "real" universe has collided with those of the Shonen Jump titles and our heroes will team up and discover the source of this inter-dimensional catastrophe the only way they know how - through fighting.

On top of being able to select 33 different characters to include in your team of three (from 13 different Jump series), Jump Force will also include a character creator. A new character, the antagonist Kane, was designed by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama - and will also be playable.

Initially, the game was intended to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. The first issue of Jump was released in August of 1968 so they're only off by... six months? Seven? That's not bad. If the game plays as good as it looks, the wait will be worth it.

February 15th is the release that for this fighter and, as we mentioned, you'll be able to play it on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

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#4. Far Cry: New Dawn - February 15th

Far Cry: New Dawn

For the first time ever, a Far Cry is getting a direct sequel. Well, "direct" might be pushing it a little bit. Let me explain. Also, Far Cry 5 spoilers ahead. As in the next paragraph.

The ending of Far Cry 5 (well, one of them, anyway) sees the triggering of a nuclear holocaust as essentially the collapse of civilization. New Dawn (as the name suggests) takes place seventeen years later, with what remains of humanity attempting to rebuild civilization. It takes place in the same area - Hope County, Montana - but due to the nuclear catastrophe, new, different areas from the previous game have been made available.

Players will take control of a new character, which will be customizable, although the fates of both the player-created character from the first game and that game's antagonist, Joseph Seed, are said to be revealed in this next chapter. If the game's cover art is anything to go by, things don't seem to be looking so great for Joey.

Far Cry: New Dawn releases on February 15th and can be purchased for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

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#3. Anthem - February 22nd

Anthem

If fans of the Mass Effect series thought they were disappointed with Andromeda (and, for the record, not all of us were), they didn't compare to the level of let-down they felt when BioWare announced that their next project wasn't another game in the series, but a new game in an all-new sci-fi IP.

And, it was going to be like... Destiny? Oh, man!

Since then, however, not only has Anthem shown like it's going to be more and more its own thing than just a Destiny clone, but it could actually be a lot of fun.

Clearly, the game is gorgeous and players using a PS4 Pro/Xbox One X/PC that costs more than my car are certainly in for a visual treat. But, despite Andromeda's flaws, BioWare still has a pretty good track record. We ought to still give them the benefit of the doubt.

On top of that, considering that a.) it's an online game (and thus a post-release revenue stream) and b.) the PR disaster that was Star Wars Battlefront II: A Sense of Pride and Accomplishment, chances are that EA is going to be a bit more careful with this one. Then again, it's EA, so who knows?

Anthem launches worldwide on February 22nd for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

#2. Metro Exodus - February 22nd

Metro Exodus

The Metro games are Russian through and through, no doubt. They're set in Russia. They're based on a series of novels by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. The studio that has developed all the games in the series, 4A Games, was founded in Kiev, Ukraine which, yeah I know isn't technically Russia but it was a part of the U.S.S.R. and also don't tell Vladimir Putin that. I think he thinks it is.

I should probably have all my food tested now.

Metro Exodus is the third game in this post-apocalyptic first-person shooter and picks up two years after the "Redemption" ending from Last Light. It's supposed to incorporate both survival horror and stealth elements and will be linear while also incorporating open-world sandbox elements.

Anyway, Metro Exodus looks awesome and if you want to find out if it is for yourself, it hits all the usual platforms on February 22nd.

#1. Left Alive - February 22nd/March 5th

Left Alive

Finally, we come to Left Alive. And what a way to wrap up this list. I mean, did you watch that trailer? Holy crap, dude. No? Go and watch it. Seriously. I'll wait...

.....

I know, right?

So, Square Enix - long known for being a publisher of both high-quality RPGs and Final Fantasy XIII - has been making a lot of strides over the last decade or so towards getting away from that reputation (I mean, not altogether, of course) and putting out some pretty varied games. They've given us the last three Tomb Raider games. They're hard at work at an Avengers title for Marvel. And then there's this.

This one's set in the Front Mission universe and if you're not familiar with that, you should be because that video you just watched basically summed it up for you. It's pretty awesome and involves giant robots fighting each which is a pretty reliable game scenario.

Anyway, this bad boy hits PS4 and PC (sorry Xbox One users... first Spider-Man and now this? I guess you could play Halo 5 again) on February 22nd n Japan and March 5 everywhere else.

So, what do you guys think? Are you excited for any of these games? Anything coming out in the next month or so we should have included? Do you think Vladimir Putin is mad at me? We've got that comments section for a reason - have it at!

See you all next month!

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