Happy New Year - Top 5 Anticipated Games of 2020

The dawn of another new year is upon us, and with it again an unrelenting energy and excitement over the pending prospects of what lies in wait in this expectant future.  While I typically recommend tempering one's expectations, let's go ahead and let loose once again to ignite our imaginations over the wonders of tomorrow.  Because even before the next generation of consoles is due to land, 2020 is looking to be one of the most behemoth years in gaming ever to likely be matched again.

(Note: This only includes announced games with a set release date of 2020, but some honorable mentions will be included below due to their likely release this year and my excessive hype for these pending titles)

-1- Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The promise of a new Animal Crossing soon to land ashore my Nintendo Switch fills me with both giddy anticipation and inexplicable tranquility.  While the mobile version of Pocket Camp was able to adequately capture some essence of the Animal Crossing series and introduce some interesting new aspects like crafting that are sure to have some influence in this new entry of New Horizons, it had one large fault to which I long to see a return to: The simple pleasure of a slow and calm pace in which to enjoy the experience per my leisure the year round.  Leisure is the key word that in my mind is a critical defining aspect of this series.  It asks the player to slow down, offering a means in which to escape, relax and not worry about looming deadlines or maximizing efficiencies; Tom Nook doesn't care when you repay his loan.  That all said, I can't wait to discover what new surprises this latest installment has in store and to uncover them bit by bit for months and months to come.  Animal Crossing New Horizons is slated for release March 20th, 2020.

-2- Cyberpunk 2077

From the developers that delivered the esteemed role-playing adventure Witcher series comes their next highly anticipated title now diving into the spectrum of sci-fi punk that is to be Cyberpunk 2077.  And yes, as seen in the preview image here and at E3 2019, Keanu Reeves plays the role of what looks to be a prominent character in the game, so it's sure to be an entertaining ride.  But more exciting is just the prospect of this beautiful and gritty new world to explore, of which these developers at CD Projekt are such skilled world builders.  Thankfully, we don't have to wait until the year 2077, as the game is due to release this year on April 16th, 2020.

-3- Ghost of Tsushima

Combining the cinematic artistry of classic western samurai filmography with open-world adventure that evokes the likes of Breath of the Wild, Ghost of Tsushima looks to be a riveting experience.  Other than that, little is still known about this game.  Developed by Sucker Punch Productions whose previous works include the Sly Cooper and Infamous series, it will be interesting to see this studio tread new ground with this ambitious new project.  Ghost of Tsushima is expected to release sometime this summer, 2020.

-4- Half-Life: Alyx

While it may not quite be the Half-Life 3 everyone has been waiting nearly 15 years for, it's still exciting to see a new entry awaken this once dormant universe.  And like the previous Half-Life games once pushed the boundaries and expected potential of the gaming medium, so too does Half-Life Alyx look to once more stimulate the possibilities to be found in the world of VR.  The audience may be very split on who can actually afford the needed hardware and CPU components to play this single game, but the prospects of alien head crabs leaping at your face are quite terrifying and exhilarating all the same.  Amazingly enough, from announcement to release, the wait won't be long for those who are equipped; Half-Life: Alyx is set to release in March, 2020.

-5- Final Fantasy VII Remake

Nothing quite gets your blood pumping like hearing these epic orchestrated renditions of those equally epic and nostalgic tunes from the much anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake.  And my goodness does the game look absolutely stunning too.  Guilty confession, as someone who personally never fully played the original, this remake looks like a match made in heaven for me, especially as the gameplay incorporates more considered action-RPG elements.  As this still only likely covers the opening segments of Midgar, I'm still somewhat discouraged as to when we'll ever see this remake to completion, how much such is expected to cost when all is said and done, and if it will feel like a cohesive adventure by that time.  But even so, from what has been shown thus far, this looks to be a truly exceptional experience nonetheless.  Those eager to dive into this prestigious remake need only wait until March 3rd, 2020, making March quite the stacked month to be sure!


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As you can assuredly see from just this small sampling of upcoming games, 2020 poises itself to be one of the biggest years of gaming ever.  And these are just confirmed titles for the first half of this new year!  As alluded to per the foreword, there are even more hotly anticipated games (at least to myself) not yet confirmed for 2020, but hold probable likelihood to be released before the year's end.  Below are two such hopeful and honorable mentions.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Hollow Knight stole my heart and quickly rose to one of my favorite games of all time.  So it should come to no surprise that one of my most anticipated games to come is the breathtaking new sequel of Silksong.  Originally planned as a DLC expansion in which players could play as Hornet within Hollow Knight, the concept quickly ballooned into a full-fledged adventure of its own and the announcement of this to-be sequel was made in February, 2019.  The latest update of the project shows the game still growing in size far greater than that of its predecessor, but is still listed as expected "Coming Soon".  As long as Team Cherry can keep a reasonable hold of their ambitions, I highly expect such to mean this game could drop at any moment in 2020.

"Breath of the Wild 2"

And of course, there is few other games more fervently anticipated than the bomb shell of Nintendo's closing announcement at E3 2019 that was the sequel of Breath of the Wild now in development.  Knowing that the game is to use the same game engine and that Holiday 2020 marks over three and a half years since the original released, such seems very plausible that this sequel could hit the holiday window this year.  Keep in mind too other Zelda games following similar pursuits have been developed in shorter time spans.  And it would make the perfect big title to compete and stand out apart the other shiny new console releases, or possibly even be bundled together with a shiny new Switch model of Nintendo's own.  Whatever the case may end up being, the time is right and prime for some rich new dungeon crawling Zelda fun to be had once again.


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So yea, with these additional prospects, 2020 looks to be an insanely promising year.  Any games that you are eagerly awaiting not listed above?  Be sure to share and discuss your thoughts below.  And here's to the new year and many more creative and ambitious experiences to come.  Cheers!  And happy gaming.