As well as reflection, new years are a time for anticipation. And with that in mind, here's a list of five games I'm anticipating which I could see potentially coming out in 2021. Some haven't got release dates yet, some I might not even be expecting for 2021, but I think they all have a chance of being 2021. Additionally to that, I've also listed five games I missed I'm looking forward to checking out. To avoid any risk of people trying to look into the order I've placed these in, I'm putting them into alphabetical order.
Most Anticipated Games:
Bravely Default 2
Since there's a demo available, I've got a lot more to go on for this than anything else on this half of the list. The five-hour timed demo fixed basically all issues I had with the beta demo from last year, and I enjoyed the dynamic the characters have between each other seen in both the timed demo and the beta demo. The story doesn't look like it's going to set any bars for innovation but looks like it's being handled well, and sometimes that's all you need. Combined with a fun take on traditional turn-based battles, that could create a comfort-gaming recipe I find absolutely delicious.
Digimon Survive
This looks like it's going to be a turn-based tactical RPG punctuated by what sounds like visual novel segments which involve choices with life and death implications for how the narrative unfolds. Combine with some of the most contemplative, quiet, promotional shots for anything Digimon related I've ever seen and I'm more than intrigued by this.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
A sequel to one of my top two games of all time, if it's even a tenth as good as the original Hollow Knight I'm going to have a good time with it. Its genre fundamentally appeals to my sensibilities, while the original expanded on that core exploratory goodness by having a non-trivial real-time combat system I actually enjoy. I'm very interested to find how Hornet plays considering she seems to be far more agile than The Knight based on the footage we've seen so far.
New Pokemon Snap
This is set to be a sequel to my favourite pokemon spinoff. The original Snap was a short game with a high degree of replay value despite an overall lack of quantifiable content. Trying to get better photos of the pokemon, and/or ones that scored better, gave the game more legs than rail shooters traditionally have, even considering the lack of stages. The upcoming sequel looks like it will add a day/night cycle, which could improve replayability even further. Some of the photos shown in the trailer had different aspect ratios implying some level of camera customization or in-game editing functionality. Even if offering no additional mechanical depth, this should help the creative play aspect that photography games fundamentally appeal to. Far too early to say if this is just going to be content to coast on nostalgia or if it will push it's concept more, of course, but either way? I'm anticipating playing a chill photography game while on what are essentially guided tours of varied environments again.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
This will be a direct sequel to a game that I found exceptional when playing through it. Mechanically, I'm interested to see how much Nintendo deviates from the original, and how many of those deviations weave back some conventions of the series that BotW sidestepped or ditched entirely. One aspect is a little concerning - How do you maintain the joy of exploration in a sequel that seems to be mostly using the same world. I've never played a Zelda game that doesn't appeal to me on some level, however, so I'm reasonably confident I'll have a good time with it anyway.
Games I've been meaning to get to (max one per franchise):
Dragon Quest 11S
I played the demo when that dropped and had a wonderful time with it, but wasn't really in a position to make game purchases at that point. Dragon Quest tends to be a traditional JRPG to a fault, complete with a silent protagonist, a simple version of turn-based combat, and so forth, and DQ11S looks like no exception to this. And, as with Bravely Default II, that sometimes serves as the exact sort of comfort food I'm looking for in my gaming.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
A game that released when I wasn't really able to make game purchases, and a one that has an intimidating length to boot. Straightforward, grid-based, tactical combat is something I often enjoy in games. Whenever I've picked up a Fire Emblem prior I've had a good time with it. From what I've seen of it, the addition of customizing units via training them should add more strategy to proceedings, which I'm looking forward to actually getting to grips with myself.
Minit
A game on a 60-second time-loop. In each cycle, you're trying to either make some sort of permanent progress - even just finding and activating a new place to start the cycle from - or figure out enough information to be able to make permanent progress later. For me, this concept sounds like it takes the Majora's Mask gameplay loop to illogical extremes, and I look forward to playing it myself.
Monster Sanctuary
I have a soft spot for turn-based monster raising games. Metroidvanias are 100% my jam. So when I noticed this game recently that appears to combine the two, I became very intrigued by it. I only recall being enticed by a combination of premises that don't sound like they should go together once before, with Yoku's Island Express's combination of pinball and metroidvania. I'm hoping this unlikely combination is as appealing to me as that unlikely combination was.
Ori and the Blind Forest
A critically acclaimed metroidvania that has an absolutely delightful art style and soundtrack. I played a demo of it and enjoyed what I played of it, but haven't gotten around to pulling the trigger on purchasing it yet.