The Hottest Games of Early 2019

With 2019 right around the corner from us now, it’s time to get ready for a whole new year of great new video games!  2019 is shaping up to be quite an exciting year for gamers.  The long awaited Resident Evil 2 remake, Kingdom Hearts 3, and Anthem lead the charge for what looks to be a great new year for video games fans indeed.  Let’s take a look at what we will have to play in just the first three months of the year.

Resident Evil 2 – Capcom – January 25, 2019 – PS4, Xbox One, PC

The highly anticipated REmake of Resident Evil 2 is coming early next year.  I’m personally, very excited for this one.  The original Resident Evil 2 for Sony’s Playstation One is one of my favorite games of all time!  RE2 appears familiar enough to tug the heartstrings of long time fans, and fresh enough to surprise and horify seasoned veterans and newcomers alike.  While a lot of very familiar areas have been shown, and actually look quite faithful to the original, there appear to be many new and slightly remixed areas throughout the RPD as well.  I, for one, can’t wait to see what is lurking around every corner of this superb looking remake.

Kingdom Hearts III – Squar-Enix – January 29, 2019 – PS4, Xbox One

Fans of Kingdom Hearts have a lot to be excited for when it comes to this entry into the series, including a snazzy Limited Edition PS4 Pro bundle.  There are a ton of new locations and characters coming to Kingdom Hearts 3.  Frozen, Big Hero 6, Wreck it Ralph, and Winnie the Pooh among many other’s have been confirmed inclusions.  Fans of the series that own a Playstation VR headset will want to remember to download the Kingdom Hearts VR Experience releasing December 25 as well.  Merry Christmas!

Be very careful though, as it has been said that a few copies of the game have leaked out somehow.  There will be spoilers everywhere.  Fans have been very thoughtful and warning each other of this fact, and are advising everyone to use social media filters to avoid spoilers of any kind.  As far as gameplay goes, as you can see in the trailer below, Kingdom Hearts 3 looks beautifully animated, crazily anime, and just off the wall bonkers more than ever.  Looks to be a great time!

Anthem – EA – Febuary 22, 2019 – PS4, Xbox One,PC

EA’s Anthem is looking really pretty and looks like a real good time to play with friends.   Look for Anthem to not only be a graphical show piece, but also a huge multiplayer draw.  Developed by Bioware, the folks behind the critically acclaimed Dragon Age and Mass Effect sagas.  Anthem seems to be a best attempt to bring the Bioware name back into the discussion again.  Mass Effect: Andromeda, their last effort, was not recieved as well as many would have hoped.

Anthem strikes me as an attempt at replicating the success of blockbuster hit Destiny.  Everything surrounding this game screams Destiny to me.  The Techno-Futuristic vibe, the heavy use of shaded whites and topography maps in the marketing, and the games as a service multiplayer squad based structure are all hallmarks of the Destiny brand.  It is my hope that Anthem is more than a Destiny clone, and has an exciting identity of its own.  I am cautiously optimistic about the game, but my fear is that it will be lost in the shuffle just as Destiny has.  Anthem may just be a little to late to the party.

Devil May Cry 5 – Capcom – March 8, 2019 – PS4, Xbox One, PC

The next entry into the Cult Classic Devil May Cry series.  Looks more like 2013’s DMC than Classic Devil May Cry, but that’s not neccesarily a bad thing.  Everybody’s favorite son of Demon and angel, demon slaying badass is back with some interesting new tricks up his sleave.  For one, Dante seems to have lost an arm, and has been fitted with an awesome looking mechanical prosthetic in it’s place.  This could put an interesting spin on the combo based hack n’ slash and shoot ’em up action we’ve come to expect from the series.  However, I’ve not seen much of what dante actually can do with this new tool in gameplay.  The trailers that have been released have all been very frantic and filled with short cuts, so this aspect of combat may just be something that they are intentionally holding back for us to try for ourselves.

At any rate, I am very excited to step back into Dante’s shoes and smash some demon butt!  Oh!  and did I mention you can weild a motorcycle as weapon and swing it at enemies?  Yeah, it looks awesome!

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – From Soft – March 22, 2019 – PS4, Xbox One, PC

Sekiro is really promising looking title. From the creators of the fantastic Dark Souls series, and the wonderfully twisted Bloodborne. Sekiro looks to be the next level of FromSoft’s game design ability. From the beautiful landscapes to the varied amount of play mechanics on offer.  You play as a Shinobi, a ninja, with a prosthetic arm that you can attach many tools to.  Examples that I have seen in trailers have been things like a flamethrower that lights your sword on fire to set your enemies aflame, a large Japanese parasol to be used as a shield, and an axe used to break an enemy’s guard.  You also have the ability to zip around with a grappling hook, which looks really fun.

Sekiro looks to be a masterpiece in fast fluid action, as well as sneaky stealth gameplay.  Another striking feature in Sekiro is the many contextual kill annimations resulting in lovely misty blood sprays.   Don’t expect Sekiro to be all dash, slash, grapple and stalk with no challenge though, it is a FromSoft title after all.  I suspect it will be their most soul crushingly difficult game yet.  But, with all the tools available to you, it should be a rewarding experience to find the most effective plans of attack.

Honorable mention:  Sigil – Romero Games – “Mid-Febuary 2019” – PC

Sigil is a brand new “Megawad” for the original smash hit first person shooter, Doom.  Sigil is a new episode of Doom levels, said to take place after the fourth episode of Doom, Ultimate Doom’s Thy Flesh Consumed.  The really awesome part about all this is, it’s a John Romero project!  The original rockstar who developed the best levels in Doom and Doom II: Hell on Earth.

Sigil is a celebration of Doom’s 25th anniversery, this year.  If you know the history between Id, the developer of the original Doom saga, and John Romero you will know that there was quite a bit of bad blood there.  Doom however was John Romero’s baby and I feel like he is well within his right to do this.  In fact I think it’s pretty awesome!  A bit of a slap in the face to Zenimax, the now owners of Id software and the Doom franchise, and John Carmack.  All that being said, Sigil is an officially an unofficial and unauthorized modification to doom.  Zenimax and Id in no way sanction the release of Sigil.

But wait!  There’s more!

Romero Games-Limited Run Games Physical Package Promo

The bonus is that Sigil will be free, an obvious call back to the infamy of the Doom Sharware.  However, there are a couple of physical packages you can buy from Limited run games.  One of these packages even includes a pewter statue of John Romero’s head on a stake.  John Romero’s head on a stake!  How Metal is that?

For more info on Sigil and the physical packages available from Limited Run Games check out the game’s webpage here.

Those are the games coming in the first quarter of 2019 that I think we should all be excited for.  There are many more awesome games that we know are coming in later months of the year, but it looks like 2019 is going to be kicking off very strong.  Which of these games are you most excited for?  Are there any games that I missed that you think should be on this list?  Sound off in the comments below, and remember to keep it here at Game Trader USA for the latest on the newest and forth coming, in video games!