The rest of the year is looking ridiculously stacked when it comes to the best new games of 2018. We've got long-awaited sequels to legendary games, like Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Smash Bros. for Switch, and Kingdom Hearts 3, bumping up against excitingly fresh ideas like Sea of Thieves, Indivisible, and Dreams. Whatever you're looking forward to the most, there are plenty of highly anticipated titles set to debut in the coming months (and the years to come) - so I've collected the standouts for your viewing pleasure, updated weekly with new additions. Browse my list (ordered by release date) and see what you need to start saving up for ASAP! Then be sure to let us know in the comments which games have your rapt attention.
Red Dead Redempion 2 has a lot to live up to, so it's reasonable that Rockstar Games wanted a generous amount of time to get this open-world, Wild West sequel just right. Set before the first RDR, you're filling the cowboy boots of Arthur Morgan, an outlaw in the employ of familiar villain Dutch van der Linde. Morgan seems to be a rougher, thornier character compared to the stoic John Marston - but we'll surely get to know him better across dozens of hours spent moseying across quaint plains, hunting for wild animals (now with a new bow and arrow combo!) in verdant mountain regions, and carrying out many a high-stakes train heist.
Far Cry 5 won't take place in some exotic far-off region like Far Cry 4's Kyrat, or an ancient history setting as in Far Cry Primal - it'll be bringing its first-person mayhem to the US of A. The fictional region of Hope County, Montana is thrown into disarray by a cult known as the Project at Eden's Gate, led by the charismatic Father Joseph who advocates religious fanaticism and militia-style stockpiles of high-powered firearms. As Hope County's newest deputy sheriff, you'll have to band with the unturned townsfolk to take down Eden's Gate in the most chaotic ways possible - including aerial dogfights and bombing runs in a pilotable plane, or vicious takedowns using pitchforks, sledgehammers, or trusty animal companions, to name a few options.
Metro Exodus is the third game in the post-apocalyptic shooter series based on the novels of Dmitry Glukhovsky. It blends deadly combat and stealth with exploration and survival horror in one of the most immersive game worlds ever created. Flee the shattered ruins of dead Moscow and embark on an epic, continent-spanning journey across post-apocalyptic Russia in the greatest Metro adventure yet. Explore the Russian wilderness in vast, non-linear levels and follow a thrilling story-line inspired by the novels of Dmitry Glukhovsky that spans an entire year through spring, summer and autumn to the depths of nuclear winter. As for Metro books fans, Dmitry Gluhovsky said: "I think, the main questions are answered in Metro 2035. And even if there won’t be any other Metro BOOKS, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Artyom’s story can’t continue in other media... " so it's safe to assume that we can expect to see another Artyom story from the man himself!
If The Walking Dead has taught us anything, it's that forging bonds between survivors and building up a community is essential to surviving the zombie apocalypse. State of Decay 2 takes those values to heart with co-op for up to four players, provided you all agree to work together instead of backstabbing one another for precious supplies. To build up your customizable encampment, you'll need to scavenge on foot or four wheels, splattering the skulls of countless undead along the way. And if someone's unfortunate enough to get bitten, their allies will have the tough choice between curing them with a limited supply of medicine, or ending their impending suffering with a bullet to the brain. So for you zombie-survival fans (including me) State of Decay 2 is a must!
Who’d have thought: matching one of the most iconic action anime of all time with one of the best fighting game developers in the business turns out to be a good idea. Dragon Ball FighterZ, from developer Arc System Works, successfully adapts the fast and thrilling pace of a Dragon Ball fight into a three-on-three 2D fighting game built around a beginner-friendly combo system and some of the most gorgeous and true to the source cel-shaded art styles around.
