2020 was a record year for gaming, setting the stage for this year to have some pretty awesome titles throughout. With the new next-gen consoles out in gamers’ hands, the industry has the opportunity to capitalize on lightning fast technology. Here are my ten most anticipated games of 2021.

10. Elden Ring

I have a love hate relationship with From Software’s Soulsborne games, but at the end of the day there’s enough to appreciate that I end up liking every game. I’m not a huge fan of the insane levels of punishment these games offer, but Elden Ring seems like it has a really interesting story considering both Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin (yes, Mr. Game of Thrones himself) are working on it.

9. Overwatch 2

While Overwatch has certainly declined in popularity as an esport over the last few years, I’m certain that Overwatch 2 will bring it back into the limelight. The game finally boasts a campaign with even a co-op option on top of new maps and characters. The original was super fun, but it had all this lore that wasn’t taken advantage of so hopefully the sequel does that justice.

8. Gotham Knights

WB Games Montreal crushed it with 2013’s Batman: Arkham Origins so I’m excited to see what they can do branching out of that universe and into their own Batman world. Gotham Knights sees players taking control of one of Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin following the death of Batman and Commissioner Gordon. This seems to be going in its own direction without directly adapting a single comic book story so this will at least be a new story for all who play it.

7. Horizon Forbidden West

I loved how Guerilla Games tackled Horizon Zero Dawn in 2017, and I’m super excited to see how they’ll continue Aloy’s journey. The previous game finally created a new gaming mascott to reach the ranks of Master Chief and Kratos so hopefully that will continue with this entry.

6. Hogwarts Legacy

People have known for some time about Avalanche Software’s mysterious Harry Potter RPG, but now that we’ve gotten our first look, I’m pretty happy with what I’m seeing! It looks exactly what I’d imagine an original Harry Potter RPG would look like, but this has some twists in that it’s based in the early 1800s. As such, a lot of the culture is going to look different so I’m curious to see what that looks like.

5. Resident Evil Village

It’s been a couple years since we’ve had a new mainline Resident Evil game, but after the incredible turnaround Capcom had with Resident Evil VII: Biohazard, Resident Evil 2 (2019), and Resident Evil 3 (2020), I’m all here for it. These games introduced me to the survival horror genre, and it looks like Village will continue the series trend of creepy atmosphere.

4. Diablo IV

As much as I’m not a fan of Blizzard during the last couple of years, I really hope Diablo IV saves this iconic series from obscurity. The only game that has scratched that Diablo itch in the last few years was Path of Exile so I hope the king of action RPGs is returning to take its throne. The game looks great with its new classes and dungeons so I hope it doesn’t get ruined by microtransactions and other scummy business practices.

3. God of War Ragnarok

After having played 2018’s God of War, which took home Game of the Year at The Game Awards, I have absolute faith in Sony Santa Monica that they’ll deliver an incredible experience. There really isn’t anything to go off of except for little story details, but I think regardless, Ragnarok is going to be amazing.

2. Halo Infinite

Craig for Game of the Year. Seriously, though, I think this game isn’t going to be that good, but I’m still holding hope that it will be. It looks rather dull, but given the extra year added onto the development cycle, hopefully the game finds its groove. I really don’t care too much about graphics, which seems to be the issue most people have with this game so if it has a good story that completes Master Chief’s arc, I’ll be happy.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2

I have nothing but the highest hopes for this sequel. Breath of the Wild is one of the best games ever made so I really don’t think this game will be as groundbreaking as that. However, I do hope for a comparison along the lines of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. From the looks of it, this game is set to be a lot darker than its predecessor and I love it. In any case, I’m just so excited to return to Hyrule and hang out with my boi Link and my gal Zelda and my man Ganon. Of course this is my most anticipated game of this year, it’s probably yours too.

What are your most anticipated games of the year? I know I forgot about a bunch so please feel free to let me know! Also, if you liked this article, be sure to check out my ten favorite games of 2020! Thank you 🙂

Twitter: @MohitPuvvala