The biggest video game launches of the year are behind us. We saw everything from fantastic RPGs like Dragon Age: Inquisition to open-world first-person shooters like Far Cry 4 and everything in between. Soon, publishers and journalistic outlets will be talking nonstop about which title deserves a game of the year award, and before you know it, the year 2015 will arrive.
There is a plethora of excellent games coming in the next year, and this time, all the best titles aren’t being pushed to the holiday season. In fact, 10 much-anticipated video games are launching in the first six months of 2015 alone, making it a great time to upgrade to aPlayStation 4 or Xbox One if you haven’t already. Read on to see which games are worth paying attention to in the first half of 2015.
1. Dying Light
Release Date: January 27 | Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Dying Light is the next zombie-infested game from Techland, the developer that brought theDead Island franchise to the world. Dying Light is different from Dead Island in several respects. Sure, they’re both first-person, open-world zombie games with a heavy focus on melee combat, but Dying Light features freerunning. If it ends up anything like Mirror’s Edge with hordes of the undead peppered throughout, count me in.
Pre-order Dying Light here.
All Upcoming Xbox One Games & Their Release Dates
Want to know what Xbox One games are coming soon? Check out our handy, dandy Xbox One game release date calendar.
Click here to read more2. Evolve
Release Date: February 10 | Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
From the people who made the amazing co-op game Left 4 Dead comes Evolve, a five-player, four-versus-one shooting game. Basically, a team of four hunters comprised of different classes like trappers and medics take on a fifth player who controls a giant monster. The beast can eat wildlife spread across the diverse maps to grow bigger and stronger, while the hunters must use their abilities cooperatively to take the creature down. Sounds like a fun time to me, no matter what side I’m on.
Pre-order Evolve here.
Top 5 Best New PS3 Games: The Heavy Christmas List
If you're a PlayStation 3 gamer, rejoice! A ton of great games launched for the PS3 this year, and we've gathered the best ones.
Click here to read more3. The Order: 1886
Release Date: February 20 | Platform: PS4
What’s most alluring about The Order: 1886 is its unusual premise: It’s 1886 (obviously) in London, and you play as a knight in an order of protectors sworn to keep the world safe from monsters half man and half animal. The knights aren’t necessarily completely human themselves, featuring rapid-healing abilities derived from drinking a substance called Black Water and special powers due to the steampunk-like setting the game takes place in. With an intriguing plot, setting, cast of characters and gameplay, The Order is shaping up to be one interesting game.
Pre-order The Order: 1886 here.
Top 10 Best New Video Games: The Heavy Christmas List
If you're searching for a game or two to buy for that Xbox or PlayStation fan in your family for Christmas, look no further. Here are the best new video games.
Click here to read more4. Battlefield Hardline
Release Date: March 17 | Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, PC
The Battlefield series is doing something new to get the upper hand in its eternal battle for dominance over Call of Duty. Battlefield Hardline takes the fight from ravaged and desolated war zones to the streets of Los Angeles and Miami in cops-versus-robbers shootouts. InHardline, you play as either a criminal or a law enforcement officer as chases and firefights take you across entire cities. It’s definitely a new direction for the series, but one that might pay off big.
Pre-order Battlefield Hardline here.
Top 5 Best New Xbox One Games of November 2014 List
If you own an Xbox One, you know November was a great month for gamers. Here are the best titles that launched this month.
Click here to read more5. Bloodborne
Release Date: March 24 | Platforms: PS4
From Software, the developers of the infamous Dark Souls series, is bringing PlayStation 4 owners Bloodborne in 2015. Like the franchise it mimics, Bloodborne is a third-person fantasy RPG full of dark and gritty undertones. Players will have to be more offensive this time around to survive the dense and consistent waves of enemies they’ll face. But will the game end up being as punishing and ruthlessly difficult as Dark Souls? Only time will tell.
Pre-order Bloodborne here.
Top 5 Best New PS4 Games of November 2014 List
If you own a PlayStation 4, you know November was a great month for gamers. Here are the best titles that launched this month.
Click here to read more6. Mortal Kombat X
Release Date: April 14 | Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, PC
We’ve all played a Mortal Kombat game by now, right? The newest games are three-dimensional fighters known for their gore. The combat is brutal, as are the unique and sickening fatalities each character can pull off. New to the series is the ability to interact with the environment, using it as a weapon. The energy meter from the previous game returns, allowing fighters to use special x-ray moves that show a character’s bones shattering as you beat him to death. Yikes.
Pre-order Mortal Kombat X here.
Top 5 Best New Xbox 360 Games of November 2014 List
With so many awesome Xbox 360 games coming out this holiday season, we've rounded up the best of the best that launched November 2014.
Click here to read more7. Mighty No. 9
Release Date: April | Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360, 3DS, PSVita, PC
A new Mega Man game hasn’t released in a while, but that doesn’t mean the awesome platforming series is dead. Comcept, an indie studio spearheaded by previous Capcom producer Keiji Inafune, took to Kickstarter to fund a spiritual successor to the series: Mighty No. 9. This isMega Man in all but name, featuring the two-dimensional action of a blue hero with special powers. If you’ve ever loved a Mega Man game, Mighty No. 9 should be on your radar, especially considering it’s basically coming to every console imaginable.
Top 5 Best New PS3 Games of November 2014 List
With so many awesome PS3 games coming out this holiday season, we've rounded up the best of the best that launched November 2014.
Click here to read more8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Release Date: May 19 | Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
The Witcher games take high fantasy and brutal combat and mix them into a fun and addicting open-world RPG. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt takes those elements and expands on them. The third game in the series will feature huge beasts Garalt of Rivia, the protagonist, can hunt across a world 30 times larger than previous entries in the series. For those who haven’t played the first two games, that’s a huge amount of land. In fact, it might be one of the biggest open worlds ever created for an RPG.
Pre-order The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt here.
Top 10 Best-Selling Video Games of 2014
It was a great year for video games. Here are the best-selling games of 2014 from every genre and console.
Click here to read more9. Batman: Arkham Knight
Release Date: June 2 | Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Rocksteady shook the world when they released Batman: Arkham Asylum to critical and commercial acclaim. Gamers loved the satisfying combat and bosses, story and setting and the detective minigames. Arkham Asylum made you actually feel like Batman for the first time ever. Now, after two games, the same studio is ready to close out the series with Arkham Knight, in which Batman will face off against Scarecrow and other adversaries that want to kill him off for good. If it’s anything like the other two games Rocksteady developed, Arkham Knight is going to be a huge and bittersweet success.
Pre-order Batman: Arkham Knight here.
Best Christmas Gifts for Men: Top 10 Video Games of 2014
So many incredible games came out this year that it's hard to keep track of which ones to buy for that special man in your life. Well, we're here to sort things out and lend a helping hand.
Click here to read more10. Superhot
Release Date: June | Platforms: Xbox One, PC
Superhot is an indie game originally developed as part of a project that required devs to create a first-person shooter in seven days. It was released online for free as an in-browser game, but it was so successful that the developers knew they had to apply their concept to a full game. InSuperhot, time is frozen so long as the player stands still. Even bullets freeze mid-flight when the player stops moving, leading to strategic and puzzle-like firefights.