Let’s all be honest here and say that 2021 has not been the best year for gaming content so far. And sadly it came at a time when gaming content was needed the most due to the coronavirus pandemic and everyone’s reluctance to go outside.
That being said, companies are starting to pick up the slack and are teasing new games coming in the latter months of 2021. Here are my top 5 in no particular order.
Halo Infinite
Halo Infinite does not have a set release date, but everything points to a Fall 2021 release, with many speculating a late November drop. This is after they delayed the original release date of November 2020 due to the pandemic.
Halo Infinite will be the sixth main installment to the Halo series/story and will be the sixteenth game overall to be released in the Halo Franchise.
According to Microsoft, Master Chief will make his return in Halo Infinite after last being seen in Halo 5: Guardians. Infinite will be the third chapter of what they call the “Reclaimer Saga”, with “his greatest adventure yet to save humanity”.
The game that is developed by 343 industries is said to have more human-like elements to its storyline than ever before seen in the Halo Franchise. And much like many other first-person shooters and third-person shooters, their multiplayer mode has now been made free to play following the trailblazing ways of Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone.
With this being the first main installment in 6 years from Halo, and one of the few Xbox Series X exclusives to date, I am very excited to see the finished product.
Far Cry 6
Another first-person shooter makes the list, and this time it is also the 6th main installment of its franchise.
The game has an expected release date of October 7th, 2021 on Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Playstation 4, and Playstation 5. Far Cry 6 takes place on the fictional Caribbean island of Yara, which is inspired by Cuba and described as “the largest Far Cry playground to date” and “a tropical paradise frozen in time”
The main antagonist is “El Presidente” Antón Castillo played by Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul actor Giancarlo Esposito. Castillo is a fascist dictator with full control over the island.
Castillo is guiding his son Diego, played by actor Anthony Gonzalez, known as the Disney Film Coco lead, who is unsure of his future, to follow in his footsteps.
The user will take the role of a local Yaran named Dani Rojas who was previously a soldier in the Yaran Armed forces but has turned his or her (gender can be chosen by the player at the start of the game) sights to fighting to restore the glory of the Yara nation.
Like Halo: Infinite, Far Cry 6 was scheduled for an earlier release that was delayed by Covid-19.
Narrative director Navid Khavar describes this game as a “political statement” and it is one that all fans of gaming should be excited for.
F1 2021
Here is a game for the sporting and racing fans out there.
F1 2021 is the official video game of the 2021 Formula 1 and Formula 2 Championships developed by Codemasters and published by EA Sports. It is the fourteenth title in the F1 Series by Codemasters and the first in the series published by Electronic Arts under its EA Sports division since 2003. The game has a scheduled release of July 16th, 2021 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Playstation 4, and Playstation 5.
And due to the cancellation of many racing events in the past year, Formula 1 drivers and teams offered more feedback and input than ever for the new F1 2021 game after taking part in regular virtual racing events through lockdown last year.
One interesting aspect added to this year’s game is the ability to participate in a multiplayer career mode in which the players can choose to be teammates or heated rivals.
Another new feature will be Braking Point. This feature, one with heavy influence from the Netflix series Drive to Survive, will take through the journey of Aiden Jackson as he tries to navigate his career from F2 to the top of the F1 leaderboards.
With these new features and the direct input from real-life drivers, this will be one of the best racing games to hit the market this year.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
This installment to the Ratchet and Clank series will feature a full-length, stand-alone storyline that will welcome plenty of newcomers to the series.
As per usual, the story will follow its titular characters, Ratchet and Clank as they travel across the universe as they attempt to stop arch-nemesis, Doctor Nefarious, from exploiting a sudden catastrophic dimensional collapse which will help him finally achieve his dream of completely exterminating organic life in the universe.
The big draw of this game will be the new storyline that gives us another deep dive into the adventures of Ratchet and his friendly sidekick Clank. Differences in gameplay are few and far between when you compare this installment and their previous ones, with the game sharing many similarities to the previous release, Ratchet and Clank (2016).
The release of Rift Apart (Exclusive to the PS5) is just days away, coming out on June 11th, 2021.
The Collection of Remakes on the Switch
Nintendo is going all out to end 2021 after announcing the release of many classic games, remade to be put out on the Nintendo Switch.
These games include remasterings/remakes of Pokemon: Diamond and Pokemon: Pearl, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and many others.
These releases will bring back nostalgic memories from the childhoods of many millennials and are sure to be a hit on the Nintendo Switch store.
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