By Sebastian Rooney
With a new year comes a new batch of games set to release this year. With so many different genres and titles to pick from it can be hard to figure out what to look forward to this year. So here are my picks for games to anticipate in the year 2023.
Like a Dragon: Ishin!: February 17th
After rebranding the Yakuza series to Like a Dragon Ryu Ga Gotoku decided to pull the trigger on a western remaster of Ishin. A Yakuza like game set in the 1860s with a bunch of familiar faces. If you have been a fan of the prior Yakuza games, except this one to follow suit. With a serious story coupled with wacky side quests and mini games this should be a Yakuza game to remember.
Resident Evil 4 Remake: March 23rd
What may be considered the best Resident Evil game is getting the remaster treatment like its predecessor of Resident Evil 2 and 3. We follow the former Racoon City Police rookie, Leon S(ex God) Kennedy, on a mission to find the president’s daughter. In a remaster of what was already a great game, I expect this one to just add on to what made the original so good.
Dead Island 2: April 27th
Being teased all the way back in 2014, the true sequel to Dead Island has a set release date almost a decade later. Following a new batch of survivors in Los Angeles, we are treated to more zombie killing fun. The game looks to replicate the success that its prequel had back in 2011 with a brand new setting.
Payday 3: TBD
The Payday Gang is back to rob more banks and to create more chaos. Payday 2, one of the oldest and most popular games there in the decade, is getting the sequel that fans have been wanting. With not much currently known of the game besides that it is coming out this year, we will just have to wait for more information to come regarding it.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: TBD
Similar to Payday 3, not much is known about the game besides that it comes out this year. But if Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales are any indication of what we can expect from the sequel, we may have a potential Game of the Year candidate. In the original, the movement and combat really put itself apart in what makes a good superhero video game and it has set a bar of what expect from them. With Venom as the main villain the game hopefully lives up to the hype.
Honorable Mention: Persona 3 Remake/Persona 6
Although it has not been confirmed whether or not that there is a remake/ new game in the works at ATLUS, rumors have been put out there that we could have them announced and released later this year. It sits in honorable mentions because it is just speculation at this point and I am more so trying my hardest to manifest them into existence.