Five Open World Games I’m Picking Up in 2018
The year 2017 will go down as one of the best years in a long time for gaming. Tons of releases like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Horizon: Zero Dawn were just a handful from a large pool of great games to hit the shelves and our hard drives last year.
With a new year, comes a new list of games that will hopefully give 2017 a run for it’s money. I’ve put together a list of some upcoming, open world games that I’m excited to get my hands on in 2018. So without further ado, let’s hop in!
Anthem
- Developed by BioWare
- Releasing on: PC, PS4, & Xbox One
- Release Date: Fall 2018
Anthem is a 3rd person action role-playing game set in an open world environment in which players takes the role of a Freelancer. Players get their power from wearing exosuits called Javelins that can be customized to have various weapons and superhuman abilities. So far, we know of two classes of Javelins. The Ranger, which is an all-around and balanced Javelin, and the Colossus, which is a larger and more heavily armored Javelin made to fill in more of a tanking role.
The game seems like a great find for fans of Destiny, especially given the disappointment that many players (including myself) had with Destiny 2. It will feature single-player and co-operative multiplayer elements in a “shared-world” that can have up to four squad members per team.
Squads of up to four players will adventure on expeditions outside the wall of Fort Tarsis, which acts as a social space where you interact with other players, upgrade equipment, and get quests. With their powered Javelin exosuits, Freelancers can explore uncharted areas from the air, on ground and beneath water. Each suit can fulfill a unique playstyle and combat role such as tanking or supportive playstyles.
While exploring the outside world, Freelancers may also bear witness to world-changing events such as Shaper Storms, or encounter unanticipated dangers such as savage beasts and ruthless marauders.
I am also hoping for some classic BioWare storytelling as the lead writer for Mass Effect 1 & 2, Drew Karpyshyn, will be writing the story for Anthem.
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom’s Monster Hunter series has sold over 40 million units worldwide, however much of their success has been in Asia. Their next go-around, Monster Hunter: World, hopes to bring more mass appeal worldwide.
In Monster Hunter: World, players will take on the role of a hunter to track down and defeat ferocious beasts in high excitement, drawn out, boss battles. You will be able to play alone, or bring along up to three friends in their newly developed multiplayer system.
As you play, you will gear up and improve your hunting abilities by defeating foes and looting their corpses. The loot you collect can be used to create armor upgrades and new equipment and weapons styled after the monsters that have been slain.
Monster Hunter: World will be the first game in the series with a worldwide, simultaneous launch window and is planned for release on PS4 and Xbox One in early 2018. A PC release will follow at a later date.
Kingdom Hearts 3
Kingdom Hearts 3 is the 12th installment in the Kingdom Hearts series. It was officially announced back in 2013, and it’s been more than a decade since its predecessor launched on the PS2. The delay was not due to problems with development or any choices made by the development team, but rather internal Square Enix corporate decisions, such as changing to the Unreal Engine 4 about a year into the game’s development, which lead to “extensive delays”.
Set after the events of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, returning protagonist Sora is joined by Donald Duck, Goofy, King Mickey and Riku in their search for the seven Guardians of Light and the “Key to Return Hearts” as they attempt to thwart Master Xehanort’s plan to bring about a second Keyblade War. This entry will complete the trilogy, while also introducing new worlds based on Pixar franchises like Toy Story.
Red Dead Redemption 2
“An epic tale of life in America’s unforgiving heartland, the game’s vast and atmospheric world will also provide the foundation for a brand new online multiplayer experience.”— Official description
Red Dead Redemption II is actually a prequel, rather than sequel, to Rockstar’s original western-themed action-adventure game. Set in the American frontier, Red Dead Redemption II follows the story of Arthur Morgan, a member of Dutch van der Linde’s outlaw gang.
Similar to GTA V, the game will feature single-player and online multiplayer components. It also has new features absent from the previous game. Scenes in the trailers show characters wading in water, using bow and arrow, dual-wielding revolvers, and using a canoe. Wildlife and hunting in the game have also improved.
Far Cry 5
Far Cry 5 probably won’t break any molds in gameplay. Like it’s predecessors, Far Cry 5 is an open-world first-person shooter, but with many new features such as customizable vehicles and fully operational planes with dogfights. The hunting system is back and the ecosystem along with it, but with far less exotic animals. It is also the first Far Cry Game to have drop-in drop-out co-op multiplayer.
For the first time in the series, we will be in North America. The game takes place in the modern day Hope County, Montana, and is taking on real-world issues like cults and racial conflict. A new deputy Sheriff sets out to reclaim the town from the grip of the militaristic cult “Project at Eden’s Gate”. Assisting the Sheriff are several allies with their own personal grudges against Eden’s Gate, including local pastor Jerome Jeffries, bush pilot and mechanic Nick Rye and bartender Mary May Fairgrave.