The 22 Most Anticipated Video Games Coming Out This Year

The 22 Most Anticipated Video Games Coming Out This Year

The gaming sector will have a spectacular year in 2023. Several titles that were originally scheduled to be released in 2021 but were postponed due to the epidemic will now be released in 2023, resulting in an unprecedented flood of highly anticipated material. Moreover, judging by the gorgeous cinematic trailers for these Major and independent titles, companies are making the most of next-generation gaming consoles.

Several of the most renowned games of the recent decade, such as Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, and Gran Turismo, are getting new entries this year. Hollow Knight and Breath of the Wild will both get (presumably) sequels in 2022, however considering the complexity of these games and recent delays, those release dates may easily slide into 2023.

Original concept games from famous creators, such as the fantastical Elden Ring from none other than George R.R. Martin, the mystical Forspoken from Uncharted’s Amy Henig, and the space saga Starfield, which has been in the works at Bethesda for 25 years, is perhaps even more intriguing than the old series.

The most promising indie games feature anthropomorphic dinosaurs graduating from high school, a minuscule fox wielding a sword and shield, and a stray cat traveling through an apocalyptic, post-humanity, cyberpunk setting. But I’ll save the armchair study of pandemic-era game developers for another day.

Here are our 22 most anticipated video games of 2023.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Pokemon has been following the same recipe for decades, and it’s time for a change. Arceus will be an open-world game inspired by games like Breath of the Wild and Monster Hunter and will take place before humans learnt to coexist with Pokemon. Capturing Pokemon now necessitates the reflex-driven gameplay of Pokemon: Go, albeit turn-based fighting remains.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human

The parkour-heavy zombie game is back, but it’s four times bigger this time. Seven years after the first, the latest sequel still focuses on leaping across rooftops and avoiding the undead. But, it has significant story improvements: your decisions inside the game can now influence the path of the plot and even the shape of the environment.

Sifu

Has there ever been a more fluid martial arts action game? Sifu not only highlights the beauty of kung fu but also adds a unique twist to combat gameplay: when the playable character dies, he returns as an older version of himself, a metaphor for the experience we gather as we age.

Horizon Forbidden West

My all-time favorite video game is getting a sequel. Gamers will be reunited with Aloy, a fierce warrior who embarked on a mission to rescue her mother and discover the mysteries of how our Country was destroyed and rebuilt in the original game. Her world is lush with plant life but plagued by dinosaur-like machines and feuding clans. Forbidden West promises to not only resolve some lingering mysteries about Aloy but also to lean into her environmentally conscientious goal, sending her into stunningly drawn underwater environments and atop awe-inspiring mountaintops to combat dangers to the Earth.

Elden Ring

One of the year’s most anticipated video games was created by an unusual team. Elden Ring is a collaboration between Dark Souls developer Hidetaka Miyazaki and A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin. (So he’s been doing this instead of finishing Winds of Winter.) The grandiose open-world RPG takes place in a mediaeval realm populated by dragons and demigods.

Gran Turismo 7

The renowned racing game receives a new edition with beautiful visuals that may persuade players who don’t care about cars (like me) to give Grand Turismo a try. The actual hero of Gran Turismo 7 will be the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller, which will have haptic feedback and adjustable trigger capabilities that should make the “real driving simulator” seem very realistic.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

This prequel-ish game will be an action-heavy Soulslike from Team Ninja, the team behind Nioh, breaking away from the conventional Final Fantasy model. The story revolves around Jack Garland and the Warriors of Light. Despite the gameplay may alter, the studio has promised Final Fantasy fans that the mythology will remain the same.

Forspoken

For an open-world RPG fantasy game, the Final Fantasy 15 creators have collaborated with a powerful writing team that includes Gary Whitta (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and Amy Hennig (the Uncharted games). As a young New Yorker called Frey longs for more in life, she is unexpectedly taken to the continent of Athia. The Athian people welcome her as a saviour who must battle an evil entity ravaging the nation.

The Day Before

Perhaps it’s unfair to compare any ambitious zombie apocalyptic game to the peerless Last of Us, but The Day Before is giving me major Last of Us vibes. The Day Before, as you might expect, is set in a deadly post-pandemic America.

Starfield

Starfield, Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years, is being marketed like Skyrim in space. Bethesda should be able to flex its muscles on a next-generation platform thanks to the original, epic role-playing game. And the makers have definitely raised the bar: when the game was revealed last year, the studio stated that the protagonists in Starfield will “seek for the solutions to life’s biggest riddles.”

Arc Raiders

The first game from Embark Studios will be a co-op shooter set in a sci-fi environment. Arc Raiders is inspired by the grimy, retro-futurist, ’80s style of Star Wars. (Several of the developers were involved in the development of Battlefield and Star Wars: Battlefront.)

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

Let’s be honest: Avatar projects seldom arrive on schedule. (James Cameron has already delayed Avatar 2 eight times.) Nonetheless, presuming that the Avatar sequel is released in theatres this year, Frontiers of Pandora should increase audience excitement. The conflict between the Na’vi and the Resources Development Administration is the focus of the first-person, open-world action-adventure game.

Bayonetta 3

This video game series gives me conflicting sentiments. The gun-wielding witch Bayonetta is an undeniable badass who can call demons with her hair to aid her in defeating her enemies. She is, nonetheless, a highly sexualized persona. She fights evildoers while wearing nothing but her neatly arranged hair. The frequency of crotch and cleavage shots in Bayonetta 2 was ridiculous. Luckily, in this third instalment, she receives additional outfits. There’s a possibility that Bayonetta 3, like the rebooted Tomb Raider before it, may discover new dimensions in a heroine who, as Feminist Frequency creator Anita Sarkeesian famously pointed out, was originally built purely for the enjoyment of heterosexual male players.

Bear and Breakfast

You play as a well-meaning bear attempting to operate a bed & breakfast for unsuspecting human guests in this delightful hotel sim. The charming B&B is nestled in a forest full of wild animals and secrets. The game hints at some fascinating secrets lurking behind its fuzzy veneer.

The Callisto Protocol

Another sci-fi horror game in the manner of Alien comes from Glen Schofield, co-creator of the Dead Space series. You play as an inmate in the Black Iron Prison, which is located on Jupiter’s second-largest moon and is plagued by at least one predatory extraterrestrial. As a prisoner, you strive to solve a mystery in the jail. The Callisto Protocol’s makers have stated that it would be the scariest game on next-generation devices.

Dune: Spice Wars

Shiro Games is developing a real-time strategy game based on Frank Herbert’s novels in order to profit on the success of the film version of Dune. As a would-be dictator of Arrakis, you must use all means necessary to seize control of the sand planet, including cunning, military force, and possession of the most valuable resource: spice. Control the spice, and you’ll rule the planet!

God of War Ragnarok

The sequel to the critically acclaimed God of War game released in 2018 continues the narrative of deity Kratos and his son, Atreus. Kratos and Atreus must confront Ragnarok, the end of the world. And the only way they can avoid it? War! What else is there? And, yeah, Kratos will face up against Thor. According to the creators, this will be the “last Norse chapter” in the series. I’m curious what legendary gods he can tame next after defeating the Greek gods on Mount Olympus and the Norse gods in Midgard.

Hogwarts Legacy

I’ve been hoping for a playable Harry Potter game for almost 20 years. Not even close. Only playable. And this newest effort at a game based on J.K. Rowling’s universe has not been without controversy, ranging from one of the lead creators endorsing the sexist #gamergate movement to Rowling’s own anti-trans rights remarks. One developer quit the game, and the remaining designers revealed to Bloomberg that the game will have a transgender character option.

Finally, millions of Potter fans will be able to create their own character, submit it to the sorting ceremony, and enrol at Hogwarts. The open-world adventure game is set in the 1800s, and you’ll be able to dabble in dark magic in addition to attending Transfiguration courses and cuddling your owl. You may apparently battle to defend Hogwarts or join the 1800s equivalent of the Death Eaters.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage

While we enjoyed our time with Assassin’s Creed Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla in Egypt, Greece, and the British Isles, the ambition and breadth of those games became overwhelming. Ubisoft intends to return to the series’ roots with Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which will have more linear story beats and a larger emphasis on stealth gameplay. In Mirage, players take on the character of Basim, a ninth-century Baghdad street robber initially featured in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Basim trains to become a Hidden One and fight for a noble cause within the framework of the Assassin’s Creed franchise under the tutelage of Roshan. We’re enthused about Mirage on its own merits, but we also see it as the beginning of a new era.

Resident Evil 4

Capcom resumes its legendary Resident Evil remake series with possibly the franchise’s most adored game. Resident Evil 4 continues to set the standard for third-person action and horror games. The original is widely regarded as one of the finest games of all time (we placed it #34 in our Top 300 Games of All Time article in 2018), so we’re understandably thrilled for a remake. This updated version retains the over-the-shoulder gameplay approach that it helped popularise while modernizing the gameplay, aesthetics, and soundtrack. If Capcom can create an experience as good as the previous remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 3, we’re all in for another stressful, horrific helping.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

In Marvel’s Spider-Man, Insomniac Software released one of the best superhero games of all time in 2018. It was followed in 2020 by the brilliant Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, providing us yet another reason to web-sling and wall-crawl around Manhattan. Players encounter new challenges in the second numbered edition in Insomniac’s Spider-Man series, including Spidey’s most renowned villain, Venom. The narrative in the reveal video also appears to hint the existence of Kraven the Hunter, which would further complicate matters for the webhead combo in this real sequel to that big hit.In any case, Insomniac has a lot of hype to live up to, but nothing in the studio’s past suggests it won’t be up to the challenge when the game launches on PS5 this autumn.

Diablo IV

Diablo IV has some huge shoes to fill after being more than a decade distant from its immediate predecessor. While the free-to-play Diablo Immortal left some cold, Diablo IV intends to crank up the heat by returning to the original Diablo gameplay and structure. This new primary game keeps many of the elements and concepts that make the franchise a pioneer in the industry while also introducing new open world and PvP features in a knock-down, drag-out battle against the return of Lilith. You should start working on your loot-retrieving muscles right now.

Conclusion

Now that 2022 has passed, it’s time to look forward to what the new year has in store. While last year provided some of the finest gaming experiences in recent memory, 2023 appears to have virtually limitless potential. This year promises a lot in the domain of video games, from traditional series by our favorite creators to new IPs and fresh faces – yet we probably don’t even know many of the titles coming in 2023, so we end with the following information with the most anticipated video games for 2023.