If we could stare into the future and find out which games are going to turn out great, our jobs would be a lot easier. So many changes happen to a game in the final months before release that it’s quite common for a game-of-the-year candidate to come out of left field to surprise everyone. But until all of 2015’s games are finished, we can only guess at their final quality. However, that doesn’t stop our editorial team from doing what every gamer does: dreaming about awesome projects on the horizon. We’ve voted and tallied our top choices for games that are targeting release in 2015, and compiled them here.
This story was originally published on November 3, 2014.
To complete our list, we asked each of our editorial team members to look at a list of all titles with announced release dates in 2015, as well as titles that we deemed likely to hit sometime during that year. Everyone ranked their top 10 choices, and then we added up the combined results.
Take a look at our results, and share your most anticipated 2015 games in the comments section below.
10. Xenoblade Chronicles X
The Wii U still has some staunch enthusiasts in our office, and the new game from Monolith Soft helps to maintain the excitement. The original Xenoblade Chronicles was a stellar Japanese RPG on the Wii, and this new installment on Wii U looks gorgeous in early demos. The science-fiction story follows evacuees from Earth after the planet is caught in the crossfire of an interstellar war. Like its predecessor, Xenoblade Chronicles X boasts a massive open world to explore, giant controllable mechanized units, and a new variation on the flexible combat system. Its presence on our list is notable as a JRPG, beating out some better-known North American action games like Halo 5 and The Order: 1886 to claim the final spot.
9. Bloodborne
Sony is working with Hidetaka Miyazaki and the rest of the team at From Software in the hopes of tapping into the same audience as the developer’s other successful projects, Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls. We’ve had several glimpses of the game in action, and have even played some of Bloodborne and came away very impressed. While the game feels similar to the Souls games, it has an identity all its own, with a focus on offense and active engagement over defense and turtling. Add in some breathtaking visuals and a compelling gothic setting, and Bloodborne has us ready to face the darkness.
8. The Legend of Zelda
Zelda is a longtime favorite among many of the Game Informer editors, and our team is wildly excited for the new entry on Wii U, even though Nintendo has remained very quiet on details. We do know that the game focuses on a more open world than previous entries, and early looks at the game reveal a lush, bright, and incredibly detailed game world. Designer Eiji Aonuma has discussed his desire to integrate the environments with lots of choices falling to players on where to head next. Our editors seem to think that Nintendo’s excellent track record warrants some excitement.
7. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Lukewarm reception to Ground Zeroes hasn’t been enough to dull excitement for Kojima’s more full-featured upcoming project, The Phantom Pain. Boasting a new open-world approach to design, The Phantom Pain maintains the complex fiction, political and military themes, and focus on stealth that the series is known for. In particular, longtime fans on our team are eager to follow Big Boss as he takes another step toward becoming the warlord we know he one day is destined to be.
6. Rise of the Tomb Raider
We know next to nothing about Lara Croft’s next adventure, but Crystal Dynamics’ 2013 reboot established a lot of faith that the series is moving in a promising direction. The first trailer for the new game shows Lara dealing with the aftermath of her horrific ordeal in the last game, but at the same time she’s drawn into another dangerous conflict. A closing shot from the trailer makes it abundantly clear that players won’t need to wonder any more about why the game’s title is Tomb Raider.
Next Page: Our top five most anticipated games, plus the ten games that just missed the cut.