2016 is going to be an enormous year for PC gaming, and we have proof!
In this article, we present to you all the new PC games coming out in 2016. We have arranged them according to genre, then by release date. Those titles whose release dates have yet to be revealed are then arranged alphabetically.
So what are you waiting for? Read on, and enjoy!
First-Person Shooter
Descent: Underground
Release date: March 8
The critically acclaimed Descent franchise is back with Descent: Underground. In it, you’ll be piloting a spaceship and tearing your way through swarms of robotic enemies in dark, subterranean mazes. Because the gameplay will resemble the classic games’, you’ve also have complete freedom of movement, meaning you can go in any direction you wish.
Battleborn
Release date: May 3
Guns, swords, magic, explosives… there’s more than one way to slaughter the opposition, and in the zany first-person shooter Battleborn, there’s a character for every playstyle. And because this is from the creators of the Borderlands series, expect unprecedented levels of mayhem and insanity. We’re also loving the kooky art style!
Superhot
Release date: Q1
First-person shooters are rather samey these days, unless you take into consideration Superhot, which boasts one of the most unique mechanics in gaming. In Superhot, you see, time only progresses normally when you’re moving. When you’re stationary, time crawls, slowing bullets and enemies down. This enables you to evaluate the situation before committing to an action, injecting a much welcome dose of strategy and tactics into the gameplay. Now that’s what you call inventive!
Overwatch
Release date: Q1/Q2
Blizzard’s Overwatch boasts charming visuals and 21 amazing characters, including the time-travelling adventurer, Tracer, and D.Va, a South Korean ex-pro gamer who now rides a giant mech into battle.
Story-wise, the game revolves around a now-defunct task force Overwatch, which came into being to fight for humanity during a global robotic uprising known as the Omnic Crisis. Another hard-rockin’ competitive first-person shooter to look forward to!
Homefront: The Revolution
Release date: Q1/Q2
In this first-person shooter, the Greater Korean Republic has invaded the USA, and it’s your job to lead a resistance movement. That means peppering baddies with bullets, as well as liberating a heavily policed Philadelphia, which is an open world that’s much larger than the predecessor’s Montrose. Get ready to take up arms against the enemy in this action-packed title!
Doom
Release date: To be announced
What’s impressive about Doom is that it really takes inspiration from the original 1993 video game of the same name, from the monster design down to the violence. None of that silly automatic health regeneration that dumbed down so many first-person shooters; expect guns so powerful they can melt the flesh off your face, gore so hideous you’ll be seeing red for days, and over-the-top action rivalling even what the original Doom had in spades.
Get Even
Release date: To be announced
It’s like real life! A tale centering on the memories of its two protagonists, Get Even employs real-world scanning to create photorealistic visuals. The result? An alarmingly beautiful game world that pushes the technological boundaries of the first-person shooter genre.
Killing Floor 2
Release date: To be announced
If you enjoy your zombie slaughter fast, hard, and gory, Killing Floor 2 is your game. After selecting one of many perks that can be likened to combat classes, you join a team of six to pulverize wave after wave of zombie-like creatures called Zeds. Every wave introduces new enemy types and increases the enemy number, with the final wave pitting you against a boss. Talk about exhilarating action and unrelenting amounts of bloodletting!
LawBreakers
Release date: To be announced
Team-based and competitive first-person shooter LawBreakers boasts a roster of cool heroes, such as an assassin who can swing between buildings using a rope made of light, a mercenary who can fly, and a melee warrior with a devastating ground pound attack. Leave your knee-jerk gunplay expectations at the door; this game’s all about skillful shooting, baby!
Overkill's The Walking Dead
Release date: To be announced
This co-op first-person shooter is set in Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead universe, but will explore characters and storylines new to the franchise. As you can guess, it’ll be one heck of a gory experience, one that’ll combine RPG and survival horror elements with the shooting action. So sharpen those blades – there are zombie brains that need chopping up!
Paladins
Release date: To be announced
This science fiction fantasy title is a competitive multiplayer first-person shooter centering on extraordinary Champions, whose special abilities bring something fresh to every match. In the spirit of innovation, Paladins also comes with a clever deckbuilding Cards System that players can use to further enhance each character. From the creators of hit MOBA Smite!
Shadow Warrior 2
Release date: To be announced
As Lo Wang, you’re a badass modern ninja who isn’t above using firearms to decorate the house with brain wallpaper. Unlike its predecessor, Shadow Warrior 2 has a 4-player co-op mode. Levels are also more non-linear and less restrictive, while new traversal techniques, such as double jumping and climbing, ensure environment interaction is as thrilling as the fluid, bloody combat. Time to send giant, tumor-ridden samurai demons back to hell, Lo Wang-style!
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3
Release date: To be announced
This tactical first-person shooter is set in a large open world, and involves a bloody conflict between three factions. As a modern-day sniper, you’ve got a box full of nifty, high tech toys, such as drones which you can use to spy on your enemies, and hacking devices which can seriously mess up their equipment. Maps are huge and allow players to approach their objectives in various ways, paving the way for creativity, freedom, and replayability.
Space Hulk: Deathwing
Release date: To be announced
A first-person shooter set in the ultra-violent Warhammer 40k universe? That could only mean fanatical giant warriors in badass power armor, a range of guns so lethal they can turn bad guys into paste, and aliens so viciously hideous they make the Predator look like a kitten. Take our money, now!
Strafe
Release date: To be announced
Strafe is an homage to the first-person shooters of the ‘90s, down to the pixelated 3D graphics. The other remarkable thing about it? The levels are procedurally generated, and even the enemies themselves and items are randomized. This will ensure variety and replayability beyond your typical video game.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
Release date: To be announced
In the gaming industry, Tom Clancy’s name is synonymous with quality realistic, tactical shooting. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands is everything you’d expect from a Tom Clancy game, except now players are set loose in a large open world – a crime-ridden version of Bolivia. You can count on real-world conditions such as a day/night cycle and dynamic weather, and real-life military tech such as drones, to make things way more interesting!
Umbrella Corps
Release date: To be announced
A competitive multiplayer shooter set in the Resident Evil universe? Say hello to Umbrella Corps. And because this is Resident Evil, you don’t only have to eliminate the other team; you’ve got zombies to deal with, too! Aside from maps infested with the undead, the game also boasts a cover system, classes, and a host of weapons you can use to dismember all opponents, both living and the dead.
Third-Person Shooter
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
Release date: February 23
Sentient plants will once again be riddling zombie brains with bullet seeds, in the cooperative and competitive multiplayer third-person shooter, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. Like its predecessor, there are several classes to choose from, each with its own special abilities, and lots and lots of extra features to unlock. Prepare to get addicted.
Tom Clancy's The Division
Release date: March 8
A special team of tactical agents called “The Division” is tasked with solving the mystery behind the virus the destroyed the USA. That also means restoring order to a New York that has fallen prey to sociopathic douchebags who treat every disaster like it’s an excuse to party. Set in a large open world, the game combines RPG and third-person shooter genres, and features dynamic weather, crafting, squad combat, and other exciting features. We’re salivating with anticipation for this one!
Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs – The Game
Release date: Q1
Relive your childhood with Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs – The Game, a run and gun shoot-‘em-up based on a popular cartoon in the 1980s. Boasting invigorating action, the game has you gunning down robots and outlaws in colorful environments. Ah, nostalgia!
Everspace
Release date: To be announced
Zoom through asteroids fields and blast away at the opposition in Everspace, a fast-paced space shooter which challenges you to survive in a beautiful, yet dangerous, ever-changing universe. Everspace also features an intriguing damage system that affects your vessel’s performance, as well as a crafting system that has you mining space debris for materials used in the creation of fantastic ship augmentations such as cloaking devices. Add to that a non-linear storyline and plenty of challenging situations, and you’ve got a recipe for a great sci-fi shooter.
Gigantic
Release date: To be announced
Feel the earth beneath your feet tremble! In this wacky and colorful shooter, five distinct heroes ally themselves with a huge, building-sized monster, then attempt to crush the opposing team and their behemoth. There are key points to capture, creatures to summon, skills to unlock with experience, and glorious team combat that culminates in a massive, earth-shaking duel between the two guardians. We can’t wait for this one!
Stealth
Alekhine's Gun
Release date: February 9
In third-person stealth action game Alekhine's Gun, you play as a KGB agent working for the CIA. The non-linear missions, which are set in the 1960s Cold War (and some in World War II), will take you all over the world, from Cuba to Switzerland. The story revolves around historical events such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Seems like the perfect game for history buffs, spy movie aficionados, and stealth fans.
Dishonored 2
Release date: Q2
One of the most phenomenal stealth franchises returns with more dark magic, shocking conspiracies, evil power-hungry politicians, and hundreds upon hundreds of plague-ridden rats. And this time, you get to play as Emily Kaldwin, who has become quite the badass herself in her very own right. Ready that blade of yours, because there are backs to stab and throats to slit!
Hitman
Release date: March 11
Agent 47 is back, complete with his deadly arsenal of weapons, sneaking shoes, and a chrome dome shinier than a freshly-waxed marble floor. The levels will be huge non-linear sandbox environments. This means you can exercise your freedom and creativity when approaching your various objectives. So, will you walk right up to your mark and feed him a bullet? Or will you poison his drink, and watch him roll around on the floor as his insides catch fire? The choice is yours!
The Ship: Remasted
Release date: To be announced
The Ship: Remasted is the HD remaster of the 2006 cult classic The Ship: Murder Party. In this unique first-person stealth mystery game, you are one of the many passengers who has been held hostage aboard a luxury ship by the mysterious villain Mr. X. And the only way he’ll let the passengers go is if each killed another passenger without getting caught. There’s an awesome single-player story campaign, while multiplayer has players stalking and killing their targets while surviving assassination by their own assigned hunters. Talk about potentially friendship-breaking!
Styx: Shards of Darkness
Release date: To be announced
The eagerly awaited follow-up to 2014’s Styx: Master of Shadows, Styx: Shards of Darkness continues the story of Styx, the very first Goblin and a master of stealth, murder, and thievery. Strike from the dark and watch your victims crumble into lifeless heaps!
Role-Playing Game
Darkest Dungeon
Release date: January 19
This profoundly challenging side-scrolling adventure tasks you commanding a team of four heroes as they plunge into the perilous depths of a procedurally-generated dungeon. The catch? The heroes are affected by their stress levels, which can drastically reduce (or enhance) their combat performance, weaken their resolve, frighten them into pacifism, and others. So unless you want your heroes to start running away in panic or tearing their own hair out, you’ll have to manage their mental health in addition to killing hordes of hostile creatures. Go crazy with this one!
Dark Souls III
Release date: April 12
Gaming masochists rejoice! Come 2016, fans of the Souls series will be dying a whole lot in Dark Souls III. The combat will be faster, like Souls offshoot Bloodborne, and will even come with a new feature called Weapon Arts. This means that every weapon will come with a diversity of special attacks, enabling you to execute your foes in a variety of stylish ways. The areas also promise to be much larger than those in Dark Souls II.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Release date: August 23
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is set in 2029. A tragedy called the Panchaea Incident, in which “natural” people were mindlessly attacked by millions of augmented individuals, has led to the global persecution of augmented people. In the midst of all this, we follow returning anti-hero Adam Jensen as he attempts to foil terrorist plots. The game has more choices than before, including augmentation upgrades that will allow Jensen to do incredible, super-powered feats. Will Jensen be punching bad guys through walls again, or skewering them with his elbow blades? We can’t wait to find out!
Hyper Light Drifter
Release date: Q2
With mesmerizing retro visuals, Hyper Light Drifter pays tribute to the RPGs of the 8-bit and 16-bit era of gaming. But it’s more than just colorful, pixelated 2D graphics; Hyper Light Drifter combines the best gameplay elements of Diablo and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past to make a game that’s as action-packed as it is a pleasure to behold.
Mass Effect: Andromeda
Release date: Q4
So far, we know that Mass Effect: Andromeda takes place many years after the events of the original Mass Effect trilogy. Also – and most intriguing of all – the game will explore an entirely different galaxy: Andromeda. So what does that mean? New worlds. New aliens. New technology. New threats. And the two most important things of all, new stories and new adventures. 2016 can’t come soon enough.
Aderyn’s Cradle
Release: To be announced
An open world fantasy, Aderyn’s Cradle puts you in the shoes of an exiled traveler, who is being hunted down by the god of hunger. In your efforts to escape his wrath, you ally yourself with Aderyn, the deposed god of creation and free will. You are then appointed to bring Aderyn’s realm, known as the Cradle, back to Anora, and restore technology and culture to a dead world. A most intriguing premise, if we do say so ourselves!
The Banner Saga 2
Release date: To be announced
The punishingly difficult Viking epic, The Banner Saga, is a modern classic. Continuing where the first one left off, The Banner Saga 2 features addicting turn-based combat, the management of your troops, wonderfully written characters whose lives will depend on your choices, and a story that evolves according to your actions.
Cosmic Star Heroine
Release date: To be announced
Another game that pays homage to old school RPGs, Cosmic Star Heroine has the look, sound, and gameplay of classic 16-bit RPGs. So if you enjoyed games like Chrono Trigger, Suikoden, and Phantasy Star, this title will surely please.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Release date: To be announced
Divinity: Original Sin proved an excellent game, and its sequel, Divinity: Original Sin 2, looks just as grand. We’re sure to get another quality RPG, one with customizable characters and companions you can recruit; a cooperative multiplayer mode supporting up to four players; interactive environments; quests and dialogue options that change depending on your character’s history; exciting combat that comes with a cover system; and even a “Love & Hate” system that allows you to develop your relationship, romantic or otherwise, with other characters.
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
Release date: To be announced
Originally released on consoles, Dragon’s Dogma and its excruciatingly difficult expansion are making their way to PC. In Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, you embark on a quest to save the world from a dragon who has a habit of burning villages to the ground. The combat, which is fast-paced yet methodical, has wowed fans and critics alike. Especially glorious are the fights against giant monsters, such as chimeras, griffins, and the Cyclops – which you to climb and stab in their weak spots to defeat. You also get to have a coterie of A.I.-controlled followers to help you in battle. Add to all this breathtaking environments, frightening dungeons, and an incredible character customization system, and you’ve got an RPG worth spending months of your life on. We can’t help but salivate!
The Dwarves
Release date: To be announced
Everyone loves dwarves, those irascible, height-challenged humanoids sporting godly beards and axes with blades the size of a car door. Well, dwarves take center stage in The Dwarves, a tactical RPG set in an enormous fantasy world. As Tungdil, you gather companions to aid you in your quest, and engage in battles that involve fighting tsunamis of bad guys. What’s not to love?
Earthlock: Festival of Magic
Release date: To be announced
Earthlock: Festival of Magic is set in the fantasy planet of Umbra, which has stopped spinning courtesy of a catastrophic event. Yikes! The developer has described it as non-linear, with a focus on turn-based combat.
EITR
Release date: To be announced
The stunningly beautiful EITR puts you in the boots of a Shield Maiden. After the trickster god Loki scrambles your fate and infects the sacred tree Yggdrasil with an unknown darkness, you must explore the nine Norse worlds to solve the enigma of your newly unwritten destiny.
Fable Legends
Release date: To be announced
In this unique, asymmetrical action RPG, four Heroes have to work together to defeat one Villain, while said Villain controls the behavior of his or her minions, and decides the nature of the protagonists’ quest. But it’s not all combat; like all RPGs, the players will get to interact with NPCs, have jobs, and play mini-games. It sounds very ambitious, and we can’t wait to try it out!
Final Fantasy Type-0 Online
Release date: To be announced
As a multiplayer hack and slash RPG, Final Fantasy Type-0 Online has a specific focus on combat. It is a set in a dimension parallel to the original Type-0’s, so fans of the series will find the experience a unique spin on the established formula.
Grim Dawn
Release date: To be announced
This fantasy action RPG is set in the war-torn Cairn, which appears to be a darker version of the Victorian era. Like Diablo, there’s a huge focus on combat, loot collection, and crafting. Like the game that inspired it, it will probably be as addicting as hell.
Kingdom Come : Deliverance
Release date: To be announced
Tired of fairies and dragons? Kingdome Come: Deliverance is an RPG set in a realistic, medieval world – the Kingdom of Bohemia, to be precise. So wipe those guts off your sword, and listen up! Kingdome Come: Deliverance’s immersive gameplay features branching quests, a superbly interactive world, environment and character designs that are accurate representations of their historical inspiration, and various classes such as the warrior, thief, and bard. To further add to the authenticity, characters will need to eat and sleep, and a physics system causes the weight of weapons and armor to affect combat performance and dexterity. Characters will also receive realistic damage, both visually and mechanically. Color us impressed!
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
Release date: To be announced
A prequel to Mount & Blade: Warband, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord takes places during the Calradian Empire’s decline. It can be played solo or multiplayer, and allows you to explore a sandbox world, join factions, and take on a variety of jobs. Because there’s nothing better than decapitating your enemies in the morning, then going fishing right after lunch!
Paradise Never
Release date: To be announced
Set in one of France’s island colonies during the Revolution of 2027, Paradise Never features sweet, artsy visuals, complex object and character interactions, and a procedurally generated world.
Prodigy
Release date: To be announced
Prodigy is a turn-based tactical RPG with a mechanic similar to Disney Infinity’s and Skylanders’; you place high-quality figurines on a board to make them appear in the game. Prodigy also uses cards, which allows your characters to perform special skills. Includes multiplayer and a single-player campaign.
Salt and Sanctuary
Release date: To be announced
Salt and Sanctuary is an RPG that features delightful hand-drawn graphics and furious side-scrolling action.
Soul Saga
Release date: To be announced
Fans of JRPGs will love Soul Saga, as it is obviously inspired by hallowed franchises such as Final Fantasy, Persona, and Breath of Fire.
SpellForce 3
Release date: To be announced
Set in a rich fantasy world, SpellForce 3 combines the action RPG elements of games like Diablo, and the real-time strategy aspects of titles like Warcraft. As you can guess, you can control more than one hero, and can even command several factions. Because there’s nothing sweeter than sending an entire troop of warriors to turn the enemy fortress into a steaming pile of rubble!
Tales of Symphonia HD
Release date: To be announced
The HD rerelease of the classic JRPG, Tales of Symphonia. As the Chosen One, you embark on a quest to restore a dying world, making friends and enemies along the way. Also a must-buy for anime fans!
The Technomancer
Release date: To be announced
This science fiction title takes place 200 years after the colonization of Mars. As a technomancer fleeing from the secret police, you’re going to need your skills, and some assistance from choice companions, to survive the harsh Martian landscape. Which of the five different endings you get will depend on your choices. So will you be naughty, or nice? Will you focus on putting as many holes in your foes as you can, or righting the injustices in the red planet?
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Release date: To be announced
Set in “The Ninth World” some one billion years in the future, this science fantasy game is based on Numenera, an award-winning tabletop RPG. Tides of Numenera will continue Planescape: Torment’s thematic legacy – which means rich storytelling, emotionally affecting personal narratives, and heavy themes exploring the meaning of life and the significance of leaving behind a legacy. Combat will be secondary to storytelling, and as you explore the game’s fantastic locations, expect to meet engaging characters and make many difficult choices.
Underworld: Ascendant
Release date: To be announced
The critically lauded Ultima Underworld games are known as the pioneers of 3D first-person RPGs, and introduced innovations such as the ability to look up and down in a true 3D environment. Shame that there hasn’t been a follow up in over 20 years! Well, fret no more, as Underworld: Ascendant will continue its predecessors’ legacy. Many of the influential people behind the original games are back to develop this one – and it’s even set in the Ultima universe, to boot! A must for franchise fans and newcomers alike.
Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr
Release date: To be announced
A visceral, action-packed RPG set in the brutal Warhammer 40,000 universe. Not to mention the game world is a colossal sandbox that will surely have you playing the game for ages. So fire up those chainswords, because you’ve got lots of fresh Ork meat to slice and cice!
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine
Release date: To be announced
The hotly anticipated second expansion for the critically acclaimed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Expect more monsters to disembowel, and sex scenes even steamier than doing the deed atop a unicorn!
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game
Blade & Soul
Release date: January 19
A South Korean import, this game has turned a lot of heads with its gorgeous graphics and pretty, pretty avatars that look like they belong in a K-Pop group. The real time combo-centric battle system is all about martial arts, so if you enjoy breaking people’s jaws with a well-placed roundhouse kick to the face, what’s not to like?
World of Warcraft: Legion
Release date: Q2/Q3
World of Warcraft: Legion is the game’s sixth expansion, and it’s going to be huge. For starters, the Burning Legion – a gargantuan army of world-conquering demons – is returning to raise hell on Azeroth. Did we mention Illidan Stormrage, “the Betrayer” himself, is making a comeback, as well?
An enormous new continent called The Broken Isles, a new Demon Hunter class, customizable artifact weapons, a level cap increase, and loads of other goodies await!
Albion Online
Release date: To be announced
A sandbox MMORPG taking place in a medieval fantasy world. Aside from giving us an enormous realm, Albion Online’s focus is on giving players the freedom to be whatever they want to be, whether it’s a warrior who has a knack for separating heads from necks, a farmer who likes tossing vegetables at stray dogs, a well-dressed diplomat who has the gift of the gab, or a mage with the power to turn enemies into puddles of goo. You had at us “freedom.”
Black Desert Online
Release date: To be announced
Everyone’s heard about this one – the game with a character creation tool so amazing you can shape the MMORPG avatar of your dreams. But Black Desert Online’s not just about stunning, beautiful characters and environments; its features a combo-centric battle system, an enormous sandbox world, and even a parkour system, which allows characters to navigate the environment a la Assassin’s Creed and Prince of Persia. Because scaling palace walls is just as fun as impaling someone in the gut. We can’t wait for this one!
Bless Online
Release date: To be announced
Bless Online is a fantasy MMORPG set in a world where two factions – who happen to be sharing the same continent – wage a bloody and enduring war. It features myriad fantasy races, from the bestial Lupus to the adorable Mascu, and classes such as the Berserker, who excels at hacking off the enemy’s limbs, and the spirit-summoning Mystics.
Camelot Unchained
Release date: To be announced
A spiritual successor to Dark Age of Camelot, Camelot Unchained is inspired by Arthurian legend, and will have three major factions: the Arthurians, the Vikings, and the mystical Tuatha De Danann. The gameplay will include large-scale battles, so except some epic PvP beatdowns and lots and lots of dead bodies.
Crowfall
Release date: To be announced
Crowfall fuses the real-time strategy and MMORPG genres in a single game. It features several procedurally generated worlds that expire after a certain amount of time. Before a world ends, you are free to explore it, and build your own fortresses to defend yourself from other players. Upon its end, you then travel to another world and begin a new adventure. Each world has different rules, guaranteeing a unique experience every time.
EverQuest Next
Release date: To be announced
It’s the EverQuest we all know and love… well, not quite. EverQuest Next is set on an alternate version of Norrath, and boasts some strange, and some shocking changes to the storylines, characters, and cultures we were familiar with. Also expect destructible environments, fluid action, and pretty, cartoonish graphics.
Kingdom Under Fire II
Release date: To be announced
Kingdome Under Fire II combines elements of both action RPG and real-time strategy genres. What does that mean? It means you play a hero who also commands numerous troops into battle. You can even employ war machines such as cannons to bring down enemy towers, turn fortresses into rubble, and enemy armies into mountains of corpses. Epic, large-scale battles await!
Lineage Eternal
Release date: To be announced
An action-packed MMORPG set in the Lineage universe. Includes exquisitely detailed environments, characters, and monsters.
Lost Ark
Release date: To be announced
A gorgeous-looking MMORPG packed with activities, from puzzles and mini-games to epic quests. Looks like Diablo on steroids.
Tree of Savior
Release date: To be announced
The spiritual successor of the massively popular Ragnarok Online, Tree of Savior features charming graphics, an enormous sandbox world to explore, and dozens upon dozens of character classes to choose from.
Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade
Release date: To be announced
A third-person shooter and MMORPG, Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade allows you to join any of Warhammer 40,000’s brutal factions, such as the Space Marines, Orks, Eldar, and Chaos Space Marines. Time to carpet the battlefields with the spilled innards of your enemies!
Strategy (Real-Time, Turn-Based, etc.)
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak
Release date: January
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is the prequel to the hallowed Homeworld series. As such, it takes place on the arid, dust-chocked world of Kharak, where you take control of the Kushan as they explore enemy territories. So steel yourself for the upcoming perils – because if the raging sandstorms don’t rip your cheeks off your face, alien laser fire surely will!
XCOM 2
Release date: February 5
In XCOM 2, the aliens have conquered Earth. The remnant of XCOM, now traveling in a mobile base called Avenger, is the humanity’s last hope for freedom. Like in the first game, you control a squad of soldiers as you try to capture aliens, or introduce their brains to the floor. Success will require the strategic exploitation of the environment, the timely use of your tools, and using the enemy’s own strengths against them.
Stars Beyond Reach
Release date: March
A sci-fi 4X strategy game set on a distant planet, Stars Beyond Reach allows you to employ a diversity of strategies in the building of your empire. Interact with over a dozen alien civilizations, and survive through four distinct acts, each offering its own unique challenges. Prepare to get addicted.
Police Tactics: Imperio
Release date: March 23
A strategy game in which you control a city’s police force. To uphold the law, you’ll have to fight crime, which means hunting down perps, adrenaline-pumping car chases, and dealing with organized crime. You’ll also have to coordinate a vast array of police units, improve and unlock precincts and units, and more.
Total War: Warhammer
Release date: April 28
The latest entry in the hallowed Total War series will be set in the dark Warhammer universe, where fantasy races such as orcs and vampires are locked in constant battle. The game will combine titanic real-time battles with turn-based empire-building campaigns. Expect lots of deadly magic, monsters such as dragons and giants, oodles of blood, and lots and lots of severed heads.
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada
Release date: Q1
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is a real-time strategy game in which players command fleets of huge battleships to wage war in space. Did we mention it’s set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe? Now you know!
Halo Wars 2
Release date: Q3/Q4
A real-time strategy game set in the Halo universe, Halo Wars 2 should please Master Chief and strategy fans alike.
Ashes of the Singularity
Release date: To be announced
Engage in large-scale wars in the sci-fi real-time strategy game, Ashes of the Singularity. From a single home base on a single planet, you will grow in power to expand and take control of several worlds, building a mighty army and advancing your technology in the process. Epic.
Factorio
Release date: To be announced
A real-time strategy game, Factorio tasks you with gathering resources and building machines to survive the alien planet you have crashed on. You can eventually automate some aspects of the manufacturing process factory-style. And as your technologies advance, the more amazing things you can build.
The Guild 3
Release date: To be announced
Little is known about The Guild 3, but judging from its predecessors, it will be a single-player and multiplayer strategy game set in the medieval world, with various references to real history. It will also probably feature aspects of the economic and life simulator genres, allowing you to take on various jobs, engage in politics, start a family dynasty, and more. Nothing like raising the kids while razing the opposition’s castle. Let the time-sucking commence!
Hearts of Iron IV
Release date: To be announced
The fourth installment of the renowned Hearts of Iron series, Hearts of Iron IV is a turn-based grand strategy game set in World War II.
Hex Heroes
Release date: To be announced
Part cooperative party game, part real-time strategy, Hex Heroes is set on a board game-like world which you can explore and do battle in. Many of the characters you can play as hail from other video game franchises, such as Shovel Knight and Trine.
Little King’s Story
Release date: To be announced
Little King’s Story merges the life simulation and real-time strategy genres. You play as a little king who, thanks to a magical crown, has the ability to make people do whatever he wants. But because you’re a benevolent ruler, you’re going to build a kingdom that will make people happy, and that means dealing with the economy, giving your subjects what they need to survive, and other considerations. Also includes an adventuring mode that advances the story and boasts satisfying combat. Originally for consoles, Little King’s Story will be available for the PC this 2016.
Offworld Trading Company
Release date: To be announced
An economic real-time strategy game where victory is measured not by how many enemies you crush using weapons of mass destruction, but by how effective you are at running a business. It’s a sci-fi game that’s all about watching the market, making the right investments, and, sometimes, engaging in a little corporate espionage or piracy.
Roller Coaster Tycoon World
Release date: To be announced
The seminal construction and management game is back with Roller Coaster Tycoon World. This time, you can even plan the minute details of your coaster prior to building courtesy of the Architect mode. And once the rides have been built, you can try them out yourself in first-person for that extra boost of adrenaline!
Tharsis
Release date: To be announced
With your ship severely damaged, Mars will have to wait. You and your crew will need to survive hunger, the dangers of space, and yes, cannibalism in the turn-based strategy game, Tharsis.
Worms W.M.D
Release date: To be announced
The latest entry in the popular Worms franchise, which revolves around a bunch of militaristic worms bombing the crap out of each other.
Survival (Horror, etc.)
Resident Evil Origins Collection
Release date: January 19
Resident Evil Origins Collection contains two of the most important titles in the series: Resident Evil 0 HD and Resident Evil Remaster. As such, it should serve as a great nostalgia trip, as well as a bloody welcome introduction to the series for newcomers. Let the zombie annihilation commence!
Dying Light: The Following
Release date: February 9
An expansion for the open-world survival horror game, Dying Light, Dying Light: The Following features a massive new map, new vehicles, new encounters, and more. So ready those guns, because you’re going to have a lot of dead bodies to poke holes into.
We Happy Few
Release date: June
There’s nothing more unsettling than a person who can’t stop smiling. We Happy Few is set in a creepy dystopian version of 1960s England, where the population of the prodedurally generated town of Wellington Wells is lulled into obedience using a drug called Joy. You are part of Downer, a resistance movement that rejects Joy. If you ever hope to escape, you’ll have to survive the town’s inhabitants, which entails pretending to be high on Joy, as well taking care of other personal and safety needs.
Resident Evil Zero HD
Release date: Q1/Q2
Stock up on ammo, because you’re gonna need ‘em! Resident Evil Zero HD is the HD remaster of the prequel to the game that started the survival horror craze. The graphics are certainly looking crisp this time around, so there’s a lot to get excited about!
P.A.M.E.L.A.
Release date: Q2/Q3
We’re afraid those cough pills won’t work this time! Set in an exquisitely beautiful sci-fi utopia, the first-person game P.A.M.E.L.A tasks you with exploring, and surviving, a city that has succumbed to a mysterious plague.
Allison Road
Release date: To be announced
Konami killed off P.T. and Silent Hills, so leave it to enterprising fans to come up with a spiritual successor: Allison Road. Like P.T., this first-person survival horror title strands you in the narrow corridors and lonely rooms of an otherwise nondescript home. As the night wears on, however, strange occurrences and creepy noises start rearing their ugly undead heads. Gameplay involves exploration and solving esoteric puzzles in an ever-evolving environment. So put on your adult diapers and embrace the horror, because this is going to be one long night!
DayZ
Release date: To be announced
Open world survival game DayZ puts all your undead survival theories to the test. Starting with the barest of necessities such as the clothes upon your back, you must scavenge for food and equipment, investigate possible sanctuaries such as apartments and barns, and cooperate with (or fight) other players. Aside from zombies, you also have to contend with real-life diseases, weather conditions, the complications associated with working with a group to fortify a base, and other challenges. Welcome to your new obsession.
Dead Island 2
Release date: To be announced
Set in the massive open worlds of sunny California, Dead Island 2 will have you killing various types of ghouls, from the shambling undead to those annoying sprinter-types that’ll chase you at full tilt upon seeing you. While you’ll get to empty gun cartridges on zombie hordes, the game will focus on melee combat. It’ll also feature an RPG-style level progression that’ll reward you with experience points for every quest resolved, which in turn will allow you to upgrade your skills.
Fortnite
Release date: To be announced
Ever wondered what would happen if we crossed Minecraft and Left 4 Dead? Fornite combines the creative aspects of the former with the survival horror and utter zombie madness of the latter. Sounds sweet to us! So get ready to build those fortifications, unless you want monsters gnawing on your lower intestine come nightfall!
Friday the 13th: The Game
Release date: To be announced
Ever wanted to stalk a bunch of dumb teenagers at a lakeside camp? Well, now you can with Friday the 13th: The Game. In this asymmetrical survival game, you play as either the infamous slasher, Jason Vorhees, himself, or you play as the camp counselors, who are a bunch of horror victim stereotypes such as the jock and the cheerleader. The counselors have to work together to kill the unrelenting undead murderer, while Jason has a bunch of creative ways to off his prey. Juicy!
H1Z1
Release date: To be announced
This MMO survival game set in a massive open-world infested with rotting, stinking undead. You’re one of thousands of players running around rural America trying to survive everything from zombies to the harshness of nature itself. And in H1Z1, you can’t trust everyone. Teamwork is great, sure; but dire situations such as the zombie apocalypse have the tendency to bring out the worst in everybody. Expect plenty of backstabbing and broken friendships!
The Long Dark
Release date: To be announced
Trapped in the freezing Canadian wilderness, you must learn to survive by scavenging, hunting, and crafting in The Long Dark. Other considerations include hunger, exhaustion, body temperature, natural dangers associated with wildlife and the environment, and more. A truly fascinating and immersive experience. Just don’t forget to leave home without your parka – you don’t want your nose falling off from frostbite.
Kona: Day One
Release date: To be announced
Surviving in frigid conditions? Not as easy as it sounds, which you’ll soon find out in Kona: Day One. You play a private detective who goes to small village to meet a client – only to discover the entire area deserted. Did the harsh weather drive them off? Or is there something more sinister going on? The plot thickens!
Narcosis
Release date: To be announced
In Narcosis, you play an industrial diver who is stranded in the Pacific Ocean’s depths. With only a few tools and dwindling oxygen, you must find a way to surface before it’s too late. Let’s just hope there aren’t any sharks around. Suffocating is bad enough, but having a wild animal bite off your rear is one humiliating way to die.
Outlast II
Release date: To be announced
Little is known about Outlast II, except that it will take place in the same universe as its predecessor. We can assume the gameplay will bear significant similarities to the original game as well, meaning plenty of dark corridors, loads of heart-pounding hide and seek moments with murderous lunatics, and jump scares. Oh yes, lots and lots of jump scares.
Pathologic
Release date: To be announced
An isolated steppe community steeped in strange traditions is devastated by a plague. As any of three doctors – a man of science, a practitioner of the occult, and a deranged woman – you must sort out fact from superstition, and unravel the mystery of the evil that has befallen the town. You’ll also have to survive hunger, natural hazards, exhaustion, bandits, and the disease itself, which entails bartering with people, scavenging for various items, and more. A remake of a ruthless 2005 survival game from Russia.
Sheltered
Release date: To be announced
The post-apocalyptic existence is hard, but it’s even harder when you have your entire family to take care of. Though you’re protected from the nuclear fallout thanks to your underground bunker, there are challenges awaiting you, from hunger and the cold to the dangers outside of your home. Scavenge the wasteland for supplies, welcome other survivors into your fortress, and manage your family’s physical and mental well-being in this heartbreaking and unforgiving survival game.
The Solus Project
Release date: To be announced
In The Solus Project, you assume the role of an astronaut who finds himself alone on an alien planet after his space vessel crashes. You’ll have to survive everything from hunger and weather conditions to environmental perils.
Action/Adventure
Lego Marvel's Avengers
Release date: January 26
Lego Marvel’s Avengers is, by far, the biggest Marvel game ever. It boasts over 200 playable characters hailing from the cinematic universe and comics, both. The gameplay will consist of lots and lots of fighting, and using bricks to build new objects, from the trivial to the fantastic.
Firewatch
Release date: February 9
Firewatch is an atmospheric video game where you, a fire lookout, must explore the wilderness to solve a baffling mystery surrounding an attack on the tower you have been stationed at. Your only companion is a woman whom you communicate with via your walkie-talkie. Depending on your choices, your relationship with her can evolve in various ways. An intriguing, not to mention a unique, entry in 2016’s list of games.
Far Cry Primal
Release date: March 1
The Stone Age: a savage time rarely visited in games. Imagine going head-to-head with megafauna ranging from the sabretooth tiger to the gargantuan woolly mammoth. Or surviving a vast, untamed land teeming with forests, swamps, and rival tribes eager to use your skin to make tents. Set in the open world of Oros, you’ll also be crafting primitive yet deadly weapons, growing your own tribe, and mastering the element of fire. Prehistory has never been this thrilling! So sharpen that ax, because there are caveman skulls that need splitting!
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst
Release date: May 24
In Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, you once again play as Faith, a ridiculously agile woman who trades the use of guns for sweet parkour skills, so you can count on lots of running, jumping, climbing, vaulting, sliding, and zip-lining. And, because it’s set in an open world, every objective can now be reached via several non-linear paths. Definitely sounds like it’s well worth the wait!
Ark: Survival Evolved
Release date: June
Tired of running from zombies? How about fleeing for your life from ravenous dinosaurs? In Ark: Survival Evolved, you must work, either solo or with friends, to survive wild creatures and other natural hazards. This means establishing a base, crafting weapons, scavenging for items, and even taming dinosaurs. With around 60 types of dinosaurs, this game makes Jurassic World look like a visit to Japan’s bunny island.
No Man’s Sky
Release date: June
There’s one dream every sci-fi nerd lives for: the opportunity to sails between the stars, to explore the great void of the cosmos. No Man’s Sky, promises such an experience. With a virtual universe boasting more than 18 quintillion planets – each world with its own ecosystem – you’ll get all the exploration you crave. To top it all off, you can share your adventures and discoveries with friends, upgrade your gear, purchase starships, and defend yourself against Sentinels. It’s going to be grand.
Californium
Release date: Q1
Inspired by renowned author Philip K. Dick’s writings, Californium puts in you in the shoes of a writer named Elvin Green, whose reality is crumbling around him. You’ll have to explore a surreal, ever-changing world where nothing is what it seems, where fantasy and the familiar merge. A mindboggling game replete with beautiful psychedelic, comic book-like visuals.
ABZU
Release date: To be announced
ABZU is a mesmerizing underwater adventure, where you explore the depths of the ocean to encounter strange, majestic creatures and discover long dormant secrets. Of the games lined up for release in 2016, this is definitely one of the most hauntingly beautiful.
Adrift
Release date: To be announced
In Adrift, you play as an astronaut who awakens floating in the zero gravity of space. Trouble is, you don’t remember how you got there. You’ll therefore have to explore the wreckage of a space station to piece together clues about what transpired to leave you hovering helplessly above Earth, and hopefully repair an escape vessel so you can go home – all the while making sure you don’t asphyxiate due to lack of oxygen. It’s like the movie Gravity, except this time, you’re the one calling the shots.
Below
Release date: To be announced
Below is a brutally difficult game in which a warrior explores and survives the subterranean depths of a mysterious island. Features excellent combat and permanent death.
Crossing Souls
Release date: To be announced
Play as five different characters – each one with unique skills – to solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and explore vastly different worlds and time periods.
Goliath
Release date: To be announced
You’re whisked away into a world built on the ashes of a hundred extinct civilizations, a war-torn land replete with giant, rampaging monsters and belligerent factions. But it’s not so bad. You have a giant robot fist! And you can build robots – lots and lots of robots – from the mountains of junk scattered across the procedurally generated realms. Goliath can be enjoyed solo or with friends, so ready yourself for robot-building, monster-smashing fun!
Headlander
Release date: To be announced
You are a disembodied head, and the last human being in the cosmos. To learn about your mysterious past, you must journey through retro-futuristic worlds where machines reign supreme. Your ability to control the bodies of automations by attaching your head to them will surely come in handy in this action-packed side-scrolling adventure!
Hellblade
Release date: To be announced
Inspired by Celtic myth, Hellblade puts you in the shoes of the warrior Senua, who must battle through a gauntlet of demonic monstrosities, which are actually the manifestations of her own psychotic delusions. Boasts an incredible battle system and terrifying enemies.
Hob
Release date: To be announced
Enter a realm in peril in Hob, an adventure game set in a world steeped in mystery. A gorgeous adventure game whose story is told entirely through momentous events and the actions of its characters.
Lumo
Release date: To be announced
A modern reimagining of classic isometric games such as Knightlore and Solstice, Lumo promises action, puzzle-solving, and of course, lots of adventure.
Mafia III
Release date: To be announced
An open-world gangster game set in the late 1960s, Mafia III has you play a war veteran who seeks to avenge his friends, who were murdered by a mob. Introduce cops to your fist, riddle goons with bullets, steal stuff, and crash cars into other cars in this explosive Mafioso story.
Night in the Woods
Release date: To be announced
In this side-scrolling adventure game, you play an anthropomorphic cat named Mae, who has to explore the cartoon world of Possum Springs by running, jumping, and interacting with its cute animal denizens. A game boasting wonderfully animated visuals, Night in the Woods also features branching storylines that are influenced by whom you choose to makes friends with and other choices.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Release date: To be announced
The 2013 Tomb Raider reboot gave us a more realistic Lara, and a memorable adventure that saw her transform from a frightened girl to a hardened woman who wasn’t afraid of getting blood on her hands. Rise of the Tomb Raider continues her story in a quest that spans the globe, and which has our heroine delving into dusty tombs and dodging hungry wolves in the snowy wilderness. The Xbox One release has already gotten rave reviews, so we can’t wait for the PC version!
Sea of Thieves
Release date: To be announced
Sea of Thieves is a multiplayer game in which players assume the roles of pirates. And what is it that pirates are known for? Why, swashbuckling and high adventure, of course! Journey through islands riddled with traps, then set sail on the high seas with your buddies to take on rival pirates. The game will also allow players to craft their own stories using a plethora of tools, ensuring every adventure is unique.
Star Citizen
Release date: To be announced
It’s a little tough trying to place this game under a single genre category, because in truth, the ambitious Star Citizen is a lot of things: a space trading simulation, a first-person shooter (on foot and in the cockpit of a spaceship), a sandbox game, and an MMO. The amount of freedom you’re given to do whatever you want in its massive, persistent universe – which you can enjoy alone or with thousands of other players – is staggering. Oh, and it looks gorgeous, to boot.
Tacoma
Release date: To be announced
From the creators of Gone Home is Tacoma, a game about being stranded on an abandoned space facility. Through exploration, you’ll piece together clues to determine what transpired to bring the station to its present state, and maybe even the fate of the crew, itself.
The Town of Light
Release date: To be announced
What is life like behind the walls of a mental asylum? Inspired by real horror stories involving the fates of mental patients in the early 1900s, The Town of Light promises a disturbing and unflinchingly real experience for gamers.
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine
Release date: To be announced
Set in dreamlike version of the American wilds, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is a game of exploration, travel, and stories.
Action/Arcade
Cuphead
Release date: To be announced
Cuphead is a run and gun game with visuals that are heavily inspired by the cartoons of the 1930s. But there’s more to Cuphead than its incredible aesthetics; the game features thrilling, fast-paced platforming action, branching levels, and epic boss fights.
Dead Star
Release date: To be announced
Adrenaline-pumping multiplayer combat – in space. With several ships to choose from, and a host of powerful abilities to use against your foes, there’s a lot to love in this arcade-style shooter.
The Deadly Tower of Monsters
Release date: To be announced
Fight your way through a retro-futuristic world clearly inspired by classic monster movies. When you’re up against zany enemies such as dinosaurs, evil stuntmen, and nuclear ants, you can be sure it’s going to be one heck of a (weird) ride.
Enter the Gungeon
Release date: To be announced
Join a band of misfits as they storm through procedurally generated labyrinths and gun down all manner of beasts. Your goal? To secure the ultimate weapon hidden in the dungeon’s depths: a gun capable of murdering the past! It’s all about violent shootouts, powerful firearms, boss fights, and tricky traps in Enter the Gungeon.
Monsters & Monacles
Release date: To be announced
Up to three buddies can work together to lay waste to swarms of occult villains. Totally random levels, enormous bosses, action-packed shooting, a modding system, and a frickin’ zeppelin complete the awesome package that is Monsters & Monacles.
Noct
Release date: To be announced
Noct merges aspects of the top-down shooter and survival horror genres. In it, Earth has become a wasteland known as Noct. As a survivor, your job is to destroy the evil Nocturnals who want to purge the planet of all humans. Also features multiplayer.
Action/Beat 'em up/Hack and Slash
Slain!
Release date: January 27
Swing your heavy sword and dismember countless nightmarish monsters in the Gothic action game, Slain!. And when it’s got a pulse-pounding heavy metal combat, brain-busting puzzles, and heaps and heaps of gore, what’s not to love?
Bombshell
Release date: January 29
In the isometric action game Bombshell, you play as a gunslinger whose life was drastically changed after an event called “the Washington Incident.” Now, after being given a second chance by a private military contractor, you use your newfound lease on life to bring the hurt to those who deserve it. Did we mention the heroine has a robot arm? To crush skulls with, of course!
Battlecry
Release date: To be announced
Battlecry has you joining one of three unique factions, then waging war against the others in team-based, third-person PvP. Up to 24 players can duke it out onscreen, so you can be sure those battles are going to be a bloody mess!
For Honor
Release date: To be announced
Knights. Samurai. Vikings. In this hack and slash game, you ally yourself with one of three factions, who represent three of history’s most lethal types of warriors. Medieval badassery ensues. Multiplayer supports up to eight players, but your team will also consist of a host of AI teammates, ensuring every battle is a bloodbath. One of the most eagerly awaited games of 2016!
Dusty Raging Fist
Release date: To be announced
A side-scrolling beat ‘em up, Dusty Raging Fist has you assume the role of various anthropomorphic heroes as they brawl their way through lands replete with hostile enemies and rampaging behemoths. To make your quest a little more interesting, you’ve also got the assistance of tactical support characters, who can snipe enemies or bombard them with artillery fire. It’s going to be a blast!
Mother Russia Bleeds
Release date: To be announced
Spilled brains? Crushed intestines? Flying eyeballs? All in a day’s work in Mother Russia Bleeds. This fiendishly violent side-scrolling beat ‘em up takes place in a parallel 1980s USSR, and features awesome pixelated graphics that aren’t shy about displaying brutality in all its gory glory. Can be played multiplayer or solo for added fun.
Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus
Release date: To be announced
Scantily clad ninja girls do battle with other scantily clad ninja girls. Expect loads of uncomfortable camera angles and jiggling polygons!
Action/Platformer
Kill the Plumber
Release date: January 1
Ever felt like taking revenge on a certain genocidal maintenance worker of the Italian persuasion? As a parody of Super Mario Bros., the game gives you an army of bad guys and tasks you with killing its mustachioed do-gooder by any means necessary. Impale him on a spike? Crush him as flat as a pancake? Trick him into jumping off a ledge? Part action platformer, part puzzle game, Kill the Plumber is all fun. And, as the very first new game of 2016, it's a great way to start the new year.
Cobalt
Release date: February
In the side-scrolling platformer Cobalt, you play as a cute robot who has a knack for using his awesome weapons to shoot bad guys and turning them into scrap heap. He can also do rolls, use bullet time, and throw a mean punch. It certainly looks action-packed!
Mighty No. 9
Release date: February 9
From the creator of Mega Man is Mighty No. 9, a colorful and challenging 3D side-scrolling action platformer. You play as Beck, a diminutive robot with an arm cannon packing a powerful punch. You explore several amazing locations in your war against eight Mighty robots, whose powers you get to steal once you defeat them. This should be a treat for fans of both the Mega Man franchise and action games alike!
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
Release date: Q4
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a platformer in which you play Shantae, a belly dancing half-genie who uses her hair to whip her enemies into submission. She can also morph into various creatures, each one with a different ability. You can also play as her arch nemesis, Risky Boots, who boasts a unique set of skills.
A Hat in Time
Release date: To be announced
A Hat in Time is a charming 3D platformer in which you play as Hat Kid, an adventurous girl whose hat bestows upon her various special abilities. Like the ability to dash around the environment and slap enemies silly with your umbrella! Features huge open worlds, a co-operative mode, and modding tools. A love letter to games such as Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie!
HoPiKo
Release date: To be announced
An original platforming game in which you speed through countless challenging mini levels.
Rive
Release date: To be announced
An exhilarating platforming shooter starring a cute little robot with a giant gun for a face. A stare down contest your enemies won’t survive!
Seasons After Fall
Release date: To be announced
Seasons After Fall has some of the most captivating visuals you’ll see in gaming. But the game’s beauty is more than skin deep. You play as a fox who roams majestic environments solving puzzles, meeting interesting characters, and learning new abilities. Eventually, you’ll even be able to manipulate the world around you. Imagine being able to change the seasons, like carpeting a lush forest with snow, or painting a winter landscape with autumn gold, at a whim. Sounds like an intoxicating experience!
Yooka-Laylee
Release date: To be announced
In this game, you play as a duo of inseparable animal friends. So glide with Laylee the bat and jump from platform to platform as Yooka the chameleon as you adventure through worlds gathering countless collectibles and employing your unusual yet helpful abilities.
Fighting
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
Release date: February 9
Your favorite Naruto characters do battle in a variety of arenas in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. Also features lovely cel-shaded graphics!
Street Fighter V
Release date: Feb 16
Capcom is taking their hallowed fighting franchise to the next level with Street Fighter V. The game’s roster is an excellent mix of fighting styles, as well as old and new characters. New moves and mechanics will pave the way for a deeper, more tactical fighting game sure to impress casual and hardcore fighting game fans alike. So will you be burning flesh with your Hadoken? Or crushing spines with a spinning piledriver? Your opponent’s fate is in your hands!
Furi
Release date: To be announced
A slick-looking game in which you engage in duels with a variety of skillful enemies. Think prolonged, epic boss fights, and you’ve got Furi!
Gang Beasts
Release date: To be announced
Gang Beasts is a party fighting game in which jelly-like characters clobber each other using special moves and environmental hazards. One of the strangest-looking titles coming out next year!
Killer Instinct: Season 3
Release date: To be announced
Kill Instinct fulfills everybody’s need to play as a psychotic cyborg, werewolf, ice alien, ghost girl, skeleton pirate, dinosaur, and creepy spider lady in fighting games. Well, this 2016, Season 3 introduces more weird characters, such as a giant demon named Gargos, a scantily clad female ninja named Kim Wu, and a muscle-bound barbarian called Tusk. Also appearing as a guest star is Rash, who hails from the Battletoads games, which revolve around ripped, anthropomorphic toads who can morph their bodyparts into instruments of destruction such as anvils and wrecking balls. Oh, joy!
Puzzle
The Witness
Release date: January 26
A first-person puzzle game which has you exploring a dazzlingly gorgeous island and solving numerous puzzles.
Manifold Garden
Release date: To be announced
What if you found yourself in a universe where the laws of physics you’re familiar with didn’t apply? This is the premise of Manifold Garden, a game where you have to manipulate gravity to solve puzzles, and learn to perceive the world in an entirely new way to navigate its mindboggling environments.
Unravel
Release date: To be announced
Unravel is a puzzle game whose chief mechanic revolves around its incredible in-game physics. You play as a creature made of Yarn, whose thread unravels as he explores the world. The trail of twine you leave behind can be used in various ways, like creating yarn bridges or using it like a slingshot. This, in combination with the environment, is used for much of the game’s most compelling moments.
Xing: The Land Beyond
Release date: To be announced
Xing: The Land of Beyond takes place in the afterlife, and is a first-person puzzle game with a strong focus on adventure and exploration. And as you progress through the story, you’ll gain potent powers such as the ability to use snow and rain.
Adventure/Point-and-Click
Day of the Tentacle Remastered
Release date: March
This classic point-and-click adventure game from LucasArts is making a comeback in the form of Day of the Tentacle Remastered. So what’s it about, besides vastly improved visuals? Basically, a sentient purple tentacle mutates into a villainous genius bent on world domination. Three unlikely heroes – a gangly nerd, a deranged medical student, and a heavy metal roadie – must work together to stop him. Involves time travel, a maniac mansion, a skeleton that doesn’t talk back when spoken to, and lots and lots of quirky, unforgettable humor.
Jenny LeClue
Release date: Q1
Featuring beautiful hand-drawn aesthetics, Jenny LeClue is about the eponymous girl detective and her efforts to clear her mother of the crime of murder. The gameplay features plenty of interactive items, an abundance of dialogue options, and choices that can drastically alter the flow of the story.
Full Throttle
Release date: To be announced
Another beloved LucasArts adventure game gets the HD remaster treatment: Full Throttle. You play a biker gang leader named Ben, who finds himself caught in a web of conspiracy orchestrated by business Mogul Adrian Ripburger – who is voiced by the excellent Mark Hamill, no less! The puzzles are brain-twisting, the story is outstanding, and of course, you’ll get to ride some sweet, sweet bikes!
Obduction
Release date: To be announced
Obudction takes inspiration from classic adventure games Myst and Riven. As such, look forward to lots of clever puzzles, an intriguing environment shrouded in mystery, and a story that will captivate as well as mystify.
Samorost 3
Release date: To be announced
A mesmerizingly pretty sci-fi adventure taking place on several planets populated by weird creatures. Expect startling encounters and a story you won’t forget.
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter
Release date: To be announced
Solve baffling mysteries as the master detective himself in the latest installment of the award-winning Sherlock Holmes series.
Thimbleweed Park
Release date: To be announced
From the creators of classic games Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion is Thimbleweed Park, a gloriously retro point-and-click adventure involving two detectives attempting to solve a ghastly murder.
Interactive Drama
Batman: A Telltale Games Series
Release date: To be announced
We know next to nothing about this one. But hey, it’s Telltales. And it’s Batman, so maybe we’ll get to break the Joker’s teeth or flirt with Catwoman. We can be sure of one thing, though: it’ll be a great point-and-click, choose-your-own-adventure-style game!
Game of Thrones: Season 2
Release date: To be announced
Who doesn’t love Game of Thrones? If this game is anything like the first season, Telltales’ Game of Thrones: Season 2 will deliver more backstabbing, shady political maneuverings, dragons, over-the-top violence, unchivalrous knights, deliciously evil villains, and witty quips from everyone’s favorite dwarf.
The Walking Dead: Michonne
Release date: To be announced
Telltales Games’ The Walking Dead series made us cry bucketfuls with the heartbreaking stories of Lee and the young Clementine. The Walking Dead: Michonne will move away from those characters, and instead will focus on the sword-wielding badass from the comic books. Specifically, it will tell us why she left and returned to Rick Grime’s group. Expect the same point-and-click adventure goodness and difficult choices as its predecessors – only with more swords and more decapitated zombies!
Simulation
American Truck Simulator
Release date: February 3
Talk about a unique premise! In American Truck Simulator, you experience what it’s like to drive a truck delivering cargoes across the magnificent landscapes of the USA. Anticipate a broad range of licensed trucks as well as immediately recognizable and renowned landmarks!
Dreadnought
Release date: To be announced
Giant battleships vs. giant battleships. In space. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to command your own gigantic space vessel like in Star Trek or Star Wars, this is your game.
Planet Coaster
Release date: to be announced
Construct and manage the theme park of your dreams in Planet Coaster. It certainly helps that the visuals are incredibly alluring, and the objects smoothly animated.
Squadron 42
Release date: to be announced
A single-player adventure set in the Star Citizen universe, Squadron 42 thrusts you into thrilling space and ground combat. And when not fighting, you can meet and form relationships with the crew aboard the enormous Navy capital ship.
Racing and Sports
EA Sports UFC 2
Release date: To be announced
Play as your favorite MMA fighters – from Ronda Rousey to Conor McGregor – in the brutally realistic EA Sports UFC 2. Yes, it’s face-breaking, violent-hugging time!
FlatOut 4: Total Insanity
Release date: To be announced
Race cars at such high speeds that your eyebrows will escape your face in this latest installment of the FlatOut action racing series.
Need for Speed
Release date: To be announced
Originally a 2015 console title, Need for Speed – which, to be honest, requires no introduction – is coming to the PC. As the latest installment of one of the best racing franchises in the industry, this game promises more high-speed car chases and adrenaline-pumping action. Numerous tracks, car customization, and both single and multiplayer modes make this a must for racing fans.
Sébastien Loeb Rally Evo
Release date: To be announced
A single-player and multiplayer racing title boasting World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb as your guide and mentor. It also comes with more than 50 car models, 8 distinct rallies, and more.
Trackmania Turbo
Release date: To be announced
What do you get when you mix car racing with a roller coaster? Trackmania Turbo, where racing and craziness go hand in hand. In addition to a focus on insane tracks, and ridiculous, gravity-defying stunts, you’ve got a cooperative mode that has two players controlling the same car, over 200 tracks across four unique locations, and even a track editor.
World of Speed
Release date: To be announced
Free-to-play MMOs would benefit from more car races. Which is why we’re glad that come 2016, we’re finally going to get our hands on World of Speed. In this game, you can play solo or cooperatively with a team of racers. You can join clubs and compete with people from all over the world in a number of modes. The developers also plan to continuously add more licensed cars and tracks to the game, so expect this one to have a swell future ahead of it.
Tower Defense
Dungeon Defenders II
Release date: To be announced
Work together with your friends to defend your base. Features addicting RPG elements such as loot collection, leveling up, and pets.
Orcs Must Die! Unchained
Release date: To be announced
Choose one of several unique and powerful heroes, then defend your base from a sea of orcs and other nasties. There are wicked traps to set, insane magic and abilities to wield, and of course, hundreds of verminous scum to send to the next life.
Multiplayer Online Battle Arena
Paragon
Release date: To be announced
A sci-fi MOBA with solid, third-person shooter action.
Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena
Release date: To be announced
Here’s a MOBA set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Unlike other MOBAs, however, it’s also a twin-stick shooter, so many of the special attacks will be skill shots. You’ll be playing champions culled from a variety of races, so expect a bloodbath.
Collectible Card Game
The Elder Scrolls: Legends
Release date: To be announced
A digital collectible card game set in the Elder Scrolls universe, The Elder Scrolls: Legends will deliver an entirely new and addicting experience to the genre.
Runner
EarthNight
Release date: To be announced
A runner in which you run, jump, and soar through fantastical worlds filled with strange creatures and majestic monsters.
Building
Lego Worlds
Release date: To be announced
Travel to a galaxy of randomly generated worlds made entirely of bricks – bricks you can use to create various objects, from the mundane to the fantastic. You’re the creator; it’s your call! And when not exercising your creativity, you can explore the various realms to encounter extraordinary characters and experiences. The child within us is squealing with joy!
Others
Soft Body
Release date: To be announced
You play a snake-like creature who must paint the world using your gelatinous body. Wriggle, squirm, and bounce your way to success!
Okhlos
You are an ancient Greek philosopher who decides to lead an uprising against the divine after witnessing a god destroy the school of Athens, killing all within the building. As such, you’ll be commanding mobs of people who can be ordered to destroy buildings and fend off enemies. Upon death, you will take the place of another philosopher within the mob – unless there are no philosophers left, in which case the game ends. Ohklos comes with eight procedurally generated worlds, and boasts legendary encounters with the twelve Olpympian gods, and creatures from Greek mythology.
That’s it for our List of New PC Games Coming Out in 2016. So, fellow gamers… how do you feel about 2016? Excited yet? Tell us in the comments section below!
And if you enjoyed this article, here are a few more!
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11 New Free PC Games Coming Out In 2016 That Will Be Awesome
