(ThyBlackMan.com) Next year is expected to be big for gaming. Microsoft is expected to make further moves with cloud gaming. Actually, by next year it’s go or get off the pot with how invested Microsoft is with that. The PlayStation 5 should at least be shown sometime next year since this generation is closing out. Then you have many studios working on or dropping titles. Here are seven anticipated games for 2020.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 (2020, PS4/PC/Xbox One)
This is one of three when it comes to top picks for 2020. I’m a fan of the Vampire: The Masquerade tabletop roleplaying game having played it as a teen and enjoyed the video game entries into the franchise. When I stopped playing the tabletop RPG, I regularly started up Bloodlines, which came out in 2004, and just got lost in it.
Then there was just nothing else from the Redemption/Bloodlines front. Nothing about a sequel, reboot, or even just remastering the game for newer consoles. When Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 was announced I was stoked—even more when the trailer and details dropped. I’m really looking forward to this title and of the games on this list, it’s the most anticipated one without a set release date in 2020.
That said, it’s really working with something if the game mechanics are anything to go on. Then again, I’m a sucker of open world games with a ton of freedom.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (January 2020, PS4/Xbox One/PC)
There is one Dragon Ball Z game above all others that is my personal favorite. It’s Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiyan Legend on the Super Nintendo. Roleplaying games are my jam and merging one of my favorite anime series with this genre—double bonus.
However, over the years, the series has been more firmly placed as a fighting game. There were a few action RPGs on Gameboy Advance, an RPG on Nintendo 3DS, and a fighting RPG on mobile but it’s been mostly a routine fighter. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot seems extremely interesting in that it appears to be something very different while using familiar mechanics. I mean, Bandai has had years of fighting games to deliver on strong combat mechanics for this title.
In short, it looks like the console DBZ game I always wanted to play.
Cyberpunk 2077 (April 2020, PS4/Xbox One/PC)
CD Projekt Red put their all into The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The game is amazing and reading about the development process for the game has me anticipating what the studio has in store for Cyberpunk 2077. I will say that the initial trailers left something to the imagination. Enough was put on the hook to sate those who had been waiting years for progress on the game from CD Projekt Red while not giving everything away.
I can really see this being a massive game for 2020. If it has that same rolling momentum that The Witcher 3 had is unknown but if there’s strong ratings for it, maybe the studio will be a little faster in getting the next entry out. Of course, the game isn’t dropping for months, so it’s too early to discuss a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel.
No More Heroes 3 (2020, Switch)
No More Heroes was one of a few Nintendo Wii games I played regularly. The Wii didn’t have a ton of a games that I enjoyed but No More Heroes was one of the first ones I’d name if asked to sound them off. When I saw that there would be a third main game I was intrigued. The game was outrageous for its time and for being on the Wii of all consoles.
With all this riding on the franchise, No More Heroes 3 has two challenges: offer something new while being a strong entry in the series.
Watch Dogs: Legion (2020, PS4/Xbox One/PC)
The trailer for Watch Dogs: Legion told me just enough about the game without putting it all on table. That’s a strong trailer. What it told me was that this will be a more varied, larger Watch Dogs experience. You’re playing as different members and everyone has a specialty. That’s intriguing since Watch Dogs is basically Assassins Creed in present day. Actually, Ubisoft could do a crossover with the two titles and they would fit neatly in each other’s universe.
That aside, Watch Dogs 2 sold me on the franchise. While playing the first one, I enjoyed the open world and combat but the lead was so generic and uninteresting that I felt like I was just powering through to back this main character sometimes. That’s not good when a player enjoys everything about the game but the main.
Watch Dogs 2 piqued my interest and I had a blast throughout. Having multiple people to do missions with should be very interesting.
Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon (January 2020, PS4)
I won’t lie, Yakuza is a franchise that you kind of have to play from the beginning but it can be hard to do that when the earlier games on PS2 and PS3 were hard to come by. Well, they were until a few remakes and just putting the older games up for digital download—something every studio should do with games in their library. What a concept.
What I like about Yakuza 7 is that we’re getting a new main character after Kazuma Kiryu’s story finished after 11 years of games. Also interesting, is that this game is also a revival of the series in getting away from beat ‘em up combat and going with turn-based combat.
It’s those two things that got my attention on Yakuza 7 because normally I’d just wait it out on Yakuza games. Sure, they always deliver a great story and a fun experience but Yakuza is a bit of an investment to play through as it is. There’s something about this one that might be a first day buy.
Trials of Mana (April 2020, PS4/Switch/PC)
Square Enix’s Mana series never got to the heights of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Part of that is down to Square Enix not backing it in the same way it does those two franchises. The series kicked off in 1991 as spin-off of Final Fantasy before being made into its own franchise with the sequel Secret of Mana—an SNES action RPG that I really recommend.
Stateside, things were mixed after Secret of Mana. First off, Trials of Mana skipped over the Western audience. I always found this odd since the game after it—Legend of Mana—was released in 1999 and got a North American release in 2000. Basically, if you wanted to play Trials, before this upcoming release, you were involved in the Super Nintendo emulation community or getting game imported.
Trials of Mana was extremely fun on SNES, actually I liked it better than Secret of Mana which is held in high regard. The version being released in April will be a remake of a 1995 game complete with updated graphics, cutscenes—the works.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.