Forza Horizon 5
Driving into the cities, deserts and jungles of Mexico, developer Playground Games is going out of the way to capture real-world beauty in this open-world title. The team has even gone up to the extent of directing 4K cameras at the sky for days to capture the right lighting under different weather conditions. Beyond graphics, there should be a slew of multiplayer activities involving you and your fellow drivers, taking full advantage of the powerful gaming rigs that we have at the moment.
Release date: November 9
Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Starfield
Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years appears extremely realistic in the teaser trailer, which is about space and set way in the future. The little that anyone knows about the game mainly comes from a Washington Post interview with the studio’s executive producer Todd Howard, who said that players will join an organisation dubbed Constellation, the last group of space explorers. Microsoft has pinned quite a fortune on Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media, which was picked up for $7.5 billion earlier this year.
Release date: November 11, 2022
Platforms: PC and Xbox Series X and S
Elden Ring
The much-anticipated game for years, FromSoftware’s Elden Ring has worked with Game of Throne’s creator George RR Martin on the game. The hero, called the Tarnished, can summon a spirit horse that can shoot up mountains while we hear talks about lords and kings and one boss with dozens of hands attached to him. This may very well be director Hidetaka Miyezaki’s finest moment. But who’s the Tarnished? Is it a person or a group that once existed in big numbers?
Release date: January 21, 2022
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
The 2009 James Cameron film has been one of the biggest box-office successes but strangely it doesn’t get discussed often. Perhaps this will change when the game Frontiers of Pandora, set in the Avatar universe and developed by Ubisoft and Massive, release next year, in time for Avatar 2, which is expected to hit theatres in December 2022. As a Na’vi, the player goes on a journey across the Western Frontier, a never-before-seen part of Pandora.
Release date: 2022
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Amazon Luna
Far Cry 6
The new trailer very much “blow (sic) shit up”. Set in a “tropical paradise frozen in time” called Yara, the home to the despotic leader Anton Castillo (played by Giancarlo Esposito), you play the protagonist Dani, who is attempting to flee with a group. One of them turns out to be Diego, Castillo’s son. Chilling, to say the least.
Release date: October 7
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Amazon Luna, Stadia
Guardians of the Galaxy
The dull reception to Square Enix’s Avengers game should be a distant memory once the new title appears, which is a single-player, third-person action game, minus online multiplayer modes or micro-transactions. Developed by Eidos Montreal, the game is not based on Marvel Cinematic Universe or the comics. Now that the game has focus, the question fans may ask is whether they can play as any of the Guardians, like Drax, Rocket, Groot or Gamora. No, players can only be Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, while the others are always by his side.
Release date: October 26
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Metroid Dread
After tackling several speed breakers, the sequel to Metroid Fusion and the first new 2D Metroid game in nearly two decades is arriving in October. Bounty hunter Samus sports a new-look suit but chasing her down is a pack of dog-like robots — impervious to her strong collection of weapons, while a chilling soundtrack keeps the background alive.
Release date: October 8
Platforms: Nintendo Switch