We’ve already written about the games we’re most looking forward to this year, but that small selection doesn’t cover the wealth of games that are aiming to release in 2016. So, in posts separated by genre, we’re going to try and collect together every single notable game due out in the next 12 months. Today: horror and survival.
A note before we begin: it’s likely some of these may not end up coming out in 2016, so we’ve not worried too much about that. If we’ve missed something off, it’s either because we’re not aware of it or it’s not been even provisionally scheduled for this year. As for the genres: it is increasingly difficult to pigeonhole games into one genre or another, varied as they are. We’ve been broad with the categories, rather than getting too forensic about classification.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Continuing the story of Human Revolution, the new Deus Ex finds you in a world turning against people with augmentations, forcing them to live in ghettos. It looks intelligent, stylish, and great fun.
Eitr
Set among the viking myths, Eitr is a dungeon crawling action RPG with slow, powerful combat. You’ll need to learn to position yourself well, when to hold back and when to strike. It’s also stunningly good-looking.
Mass Effect Andromeda
BioWare is not talking about the new Mass Effect yet but it’s still apparently aiming for a 2016 release. All we really know is that it picks up long after the original trilogy, and all the trailers have suggested the game is going back to its roots in exploration.
Final Fantasy XV
Extraordinarily good-looking, long-awaited, still slightly mysterious, Final Fantasy XV will be one of the biggest events of the year.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Divinity Original Sin is one of the big Kickstarted successes. Delivered on time and mopping up awards among critics, it is both a throwback to a genus of RPGs that had all but disappeared from gaming and an intelligent, thoroughly modern game in its own right. The sequel promises to develop the system-led world even further.
Kingdom Hearts 3
Disney meets Final Fantasy. Nothing’s off-limits for Kingdom Hearts 3, so it’s possible it might have Star Wars and Marvel. We’ll happily make a casserole out of our hats if this actually comes out this year, but hey, we live in hope.
Fire Emblem Fates
Nintendo’s excellent fantasy strategy-RPG is being released in two different versions with two different storylines, with a third coming later as DLC. This is one of those games you can easily lose a hundred hours to.
Valkyria: Azure Revolution
Azure Revolution moves the war to a Jutland, a small country surrounded by the war-friendly Rus. Not part of the Chronicles series, it seems that this Valkyria game will be real-time instead of turn-based.
Persona 5
The Persona series of incredible JRPGs returns with its trademark mix of everyday mundanity – going to school, studying for exams, making friends – and supernatural dungeon-crawling with and against creatures born from the depths of the human psyche.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness
A new addition to the venerable series of space-JRPGs. It’s got seven characters, properly beautiful environments, and a spectacular real-time action battle system.
Megadimension Neptunia VII
One that’s got the hardcore JRPG community all excited. This is classic Japanese role-playing: anime-inspired design, turn-based battles and big, flashy special moves.
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Long live the computer-RPG renaissance! Tides of Numenera is the spiritual successor to 1999’s Planescape Torment, a game that nobody who loves intelligent video games will ever shut up about. It’s had involvement from Monte Cook (who designed the original Torment tabletop game), Colin McComb (who also designed the original Torment rules and worked on Planescape Torment), and a lot of the team that already proved itself on Wasteland 2. It’s due out sometime in 2016.
World of Final Fantasy
Look at how cute it is. LOOK AT IT. World of Final Fantasy is a retro-style Final Fantasy game that hopes to be accessible to younger (and, perhaps, lapsed) players, but will still be meaty enough to satisfy the series faithful.
Bravely Second: End Layer
We’re getting Bravely Second in February in Europe, well ahead of our American compatriots. Beautiful-looking sequel to one of the most warmly-received Japanese RPGs of recent years.
This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK, which is gobbling up the news in a different timezone.
Comments
21 responses to “The RPGs Of 2016”
I thought I was done with Final Fantasy, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to resist World of Final Fantasy.
It looks like it could be the best thing to happen to the franchise in years. I haven’t loved the crap out of a FF game since IX and this could be the one to rekindle that. Still have next to no idea what it’s about though 😀
Not sure when the FF7 remake is slated for release…could also be this year.
Holding out on a slim hope for that but if they’re going episodic, maybe we could be running around Midgar before the year is out. Depends whether they want to release several FF games in one year as well as Kingdom Hearts as well or not
For those of us in Europe and Australia, we’ll also be getting Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon in February. Thank God!
Digimon Cyber Sleuth should also be out in Feb.
…You’re kidding me. I’m gonna be broke when February ends…
BTW, why isn’t Dark Souls3 on there? I thought that would have been pretty high up on the list?
I didn’t think Valkyria counted as an RPG? I guess ranks kind of count but then XCOM should be on that list too. Missing from the list (Some because they are PAL releases):
Tales of Berseria (Japan at least)
Arslan: The Warriors of legend
Atelier Escha and Logy Plus
Final Fantasy Explorers
Trails of Cold Steel
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
Legend of Legacy
Etrian Odyssey: Knight of Fafnir
Project X Zone 2
Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow re-release on 3DS
Witch and the Hundred Knight: Revival Edition
Stella Glow
Stranger of Sword City
Nights of Azure
Summon Night 5
Langrisser Re:Incarnation
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir
Grand Kingdom
And more I’ve probably forgotten.
Isn’t Summon Night 5 out & we’re getting 6?
Or am I confusing Japanese & US dates?
Thought you’d gotten all the titles I’d spotted as missing, but you left out Atelier Shallie Plus, due for release on the Vita in March.
There are also a bunch of upcoming RPG releases listed on Steam (including Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen in just a few days). But the PC scene is so chaotic that nobody could generate a definitive list of upcoming PC releases, so that’s fair enough.
New Valkyria looks to be more a traditional JRPG rather than the SRPG of the original games. And if it doesn’t count then Odin Sphere and Arslan shouldn’t either.
Trails of Cold Steel II will be 2016 as well – it’s apparently at 95% translated already so probably September-October timeframe I’d guess.
There’s also the new/expanded Fairy Fencer F and it’s a fair bet that we’ll get Atelier Sophie at some point.
Summon Night is already out? Came out November last year. 6 is the new one but is Japan-only right now.
PERSONA 5!!!
Yum!
EITR looks great.
That reminds me! I need to finish Bravely Default…
I guess the
thing was a joke? Following from that, made me giggle.I can’t imagine what story Mass Effect Andromeda will bring other than Space Racism Wars
Bravely Default 2 and World of Final Fantasy both look really good, can’t wait.
Kingdom Hearts 3? In 2016? Hahahahaha
…..
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
ok I made myself sad now…
We haven’t seen a frame of Andromeda yet. I’d be shocked if that game released this year. Prove me wrong EA.