My Anticipated Games for the First Half of 2023
Here is a list of games that I am excited about that are releasing in the months to come!
Today I want to talk about my most anticipated games of 2023 that I’m excited to play or try out. Like always, I hope that most of these games are good. It’s hard at times to not be excited because of the gameplay videos we have seen, or just knowing a new game of a franchise is releasing.
Dead Space
Although this game already released, I still haven’t purchased or played it yet. I have however played the original Dead Space and I loved it. Seeing the gameplay trailers and the updates/changes they have made throughout the entire game got me so excited to play it.
I love the fact that they were able to keep the same atmosphere and make it creepier than it was before. The enemies look diabolical and the new ways to navigate the ship and fight enemies is something I look forward to when playing the game.
Hogwarts Legacy
I can’t wait to try this game out. At first, I was skeptical with what I was seeing originally, but I really do like the effort that the company put into the game. The environments, the world, the characters you meet – I am excited to explore it all. The last time I interacted with anything Harry Potter related was with the movies so to have an interactive experience is pretty cool.
I see many people already playing the game, so the 72-hour release when you preordered the Deluxe Edition of the game. I have seen some awesome things with the gameplay like the character creation (with great black hairstyles!), combat with some cool magic spells, and just exploring the world with the different mounts you could have.
The game officially releases February 10th on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5. For the Nintendo Switch version, it releases at a later date – July 25, 2023. For the previous generation consoles Xbox One and PlayStation 4 it releases April 4, 2023. This is most likely because the team needed more time to work on the title for the other consoles, which is good that they are doing that rather than releasing it broken.
Even with all the controversies Hogwarts Legacy looks like it’s going to be a fun game to experience with exploring the open world and school and learning spells along the way. It’s shaping up to be a cool RPG, let’s just hope the story is good. With all the news, it looks like it might even be the best-selling game in February. I just can’t wait to try it so I can be like Voldemort and use Avada Kedavra!
Atomic Heart
This game is like Bioshock on crack type of game. It looks exhilarating! I’ve been keeping my eye on it for a few years now and seeing how the developers at Mundfish created Atomic Heart, there’s a lot of craft here. From what I’ve seen from the trailers it’s going to be wild ride diving in head-first of what it looks like a robot apocalypse.
The gameplay I have seen though has been too much with the bosses flying in the air and landing creating a big destruction all around you. The game gives me an eerie vibe like Bioshock, which I am not sure if that is a good thing for me personally because I was shook with Bioshock!
Atomic Heart seems to be releasing February 23rd, 2023! It is releasing for the PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Wild Hearts
A new Monster Hunter type game and it’s not by Capcom. Wild Hearts looks wild (no pun intended) with its fast-paced combat, monsters and building mechanics that look like it was taken from Fortnite. All that is missing is a nice demo to help players understand how this game is different from Monster Hunter, but I am excited to see how the game comes about! It is scheduled to release on Feb 17, 2023, for PC (Steam, EA, and Epic Games), PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Final Fantasy XVI
One of the most anticipated games of the year, this fast-paced action-packed Devil May Cry type of RPG looks beautiful. It comes with its more mature and bloodier story. Final Fantasy 16 is pulling no punches and going all out on why we love this franchise. I cannot wait to play this game and it seems like a big step forward from Final Fantasy 15, and it is taking a lot from the Final Fantasy 7 Remake as well with its combat and seamless graphics/gameplay. Final Fantasy XVI will be releasing June 22nd, 2023, for PS5.
Street Fighter 6
Finally Street Fighter 6 is almost here with all the betas we’ve played. We just can’t wait until it comes out. The fighting game community is going to have a blast and I’m all here for it! I am excited to learn all the cool combos and seeing how this game is going to be months from now. But before that, let us try out at least 2 open betas. Street Fighter 6 will release June 2nd, 2023, for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam.
Tekken 8
On top Street Fighter 6 releasing, we have Tekken 8! The game looks so real and upgraded from the last game. It is being built from the ground up with Unreal Engine 5 and it shows. I really appreciate how much effort these companies are putting into their fighting games. Being able to witness such a graphically detailed game while seeing the top players face each other in tournaments like EVO is something I can’t wait to do. I also can’t wait to see the new character deigns and what changes they have made to attacks and specials. The story is something I am looking forward too as well because I know it will be intense! There is currently no release date, but it is set to release for the Xbox Series X|S, PS5 and PC.
Mega Man Battle Network Collection
Jack in Megaman! My childhood joy has been unlocked once more with its enhanced pixel graphics and more modern features. It’s going to be great to play battle network once more and experience the games fun story. Hopefully I don’t skip the conversations and get lost like I did years ago. The game is going to release on April 14, 2023, for Steam, PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
Star Wars: Jedi Survivor
To be honest I haven’t played Star Wars Fallen Order as of yet but seeing how this sequel is shaping to be it, got me really excited to check it out! With the games improved exploration and combat and even more interesting story, I can see jedi survivor being a game of the year contender. I even seen my brother playing the first game and how it felt like a mixture of Dark Souls combat and The Force Unleashed. The game recently got delayed so now it will be releasing on April 28, 2023, for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Resident Evil 4 Remake
The remake for Resident Evil 4 is definitely a game I look forward to playing! Capcom has done such a good job with their remakes, and it feels like they are going all out with this one. They seem to have put a lot of quality-of-life changes within the game and everything from the original is still included in the remake which is good to know. I know they mentioned Quick Time Events being taken off and a couple of other things changing which would make the flow of the game better. The game looks great, and I know it will do great on release. It will become available to play on March 24th, 2023, for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam.
Dead Island 2
This game has been delayed for how many times already, but I still hold on to my excitement for this game. I enjoyed the original game no matter how flawed it was because I had so much fun playing it with my friends. There was a new gameplay trailer that got shown a couple months ago and an official release date as well. Hopefully it is the last release date but with the gameplay trailer that they show, things seem to be going smoothly with the development… I hope! It looks like it’ll be fun and there will be many ways to fight the zombies all around you. The game release on April 28th, 2023, for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and the Epic Games Store (PC).
Legend Of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
One of the most anticipated games of the year! We know it’s going to be good, but I still feel it should be released on a new Nintendo console just like how Breath of the Wild released for both the Wii U and was the first game for the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo needs to show everyone why they are here to stay for even more years to come. I can’t wait to play this and explore the dark side of this story, because the original trailer had me hooked! This game is set to release May 12th, 2023.
Diablo 4
Darkness, darkness, loot, and more darkness. Seeing how Diablo 4 is shaping up to be, I can’t wait to play and experience the story with my friends while we all say “what the hell is that?!” and run and fight for our lives while getting cool loot. It is supposed to release on June 6, 2023 for Xbox, PC and PlayStation! There is cross play between Xbox and PC, hopefully for PlayStation as well but we will see when we are closer to the release date.
Assassin’s Creed: Mirage
Nothing is true everything is permitted. It is said by Ubisoft that this Assassin’s Creed game is supposed to be going back to its roots in terms of gameplay (and hopefully story with introducing the outside world again). I didn’t really enjoy Valhalla after the being tired out by Assassin Creed Origins and Odyssey’s RPG elements and extremely huge open world that can get overwhelming at times. So to hear that things are going in a different direction with the franchise is very good to hear. But Ubisoft couldn’t let up to have multiple editions of the game as always without even giving a gameplay video yet. It is supposed to be coming out this year for PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Series X|S and PC (uPlay and maybe Steam).
Replaced
There’s a lot more indie games I should put here but I might create another list to show it off. But replaced looks extremely cool, with its Cyberpunk, John Wick world and 2/3d animation. Replaced looks like a game that’s going to prove to the gaming community time and time again why indie games are a force to be reckoned with and it’s on game pass – come on now! The game was originally going to release for 2022 but it seemed to be delayed until later this year. It will be releasing for Xbox and PC (Steam and Epic Games).
The Wolf Among Us 2
It has been a while since we heard anything about the Wolf Among Us. The game originally released October 11, 2013 and after that great story driven game – there was no mention of it ever coming back. Especially with Telltale going through its shutdown back in 2018. So, to see the Wolf Among Us 2 be announced was such a pleasant surprise and I am really excited to see the new engine that they are working with and the story that they will create! It will be releasing sometime this year for PC and Consoles.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Possibly Game of The Year of 2023, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 takes everything we love about the first two games and ramps it up to 100. To be able to play as both Peter Parker and Miles Morales is going to be a hell of a time. I wonder if it’s going to be like Ratchet and Clank where you switch back and forth during certain missions or will they have their own twist to it. It is said to be releasing for Fall 2023 and only coming out for PS5.
Pikmin 4
I played a little bit of Pikmin before, and I enjoyed it. I didn’t think they would create another game, so it was cool to see it announced! From the trailer that was shown at the direct, it seems to be such a big upgrade from the last release it terms of graphics, so I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us!
Starfield
The most ambitious game if the year by far! It was supposed to be released last year but it got delayed because they weren’t ready to release which I already figured. It was too ambitious to release but we were all very hopeful! I hope to see more gameplay in the coming weeks because I can’t wait to see the cool things you could do, the planets you can explore and more. The game is set to release this year, maybe in the Fall for Xbox and PC.