The best upcoming games of 2018 (and beyond)

[AlphaKing]

The rest of the year is looking ridiculously stacked when it comes to the best new games of 2018. You've got long-awaited sequels to legendary games, like Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Smash Bros. for Switch, and Kingdom Hearts 3, bumping up against excitingly fresh ideas like Indivisible, Ooblets, and Dreams. Whatever you're playing on, from PS4 to gaming laptop, there are plenty of highly anticipated titles set to debut in the months (and years) to come. So we've gone ahead and started collecting the standouts for your viewing pleasure, updated weekly with new additions. Browse our list (ordered by release date) and see what you need to start saving up for ASAP - then be sure to let us know in the comments which games have your rapt attention. Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, and Spyro Reignited Trilogy have just been added to the lineup, so check 'em out!

Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire 

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Release date: May 8, 2018

Fans of old-school, isometric RPG adventures already know and love Pillars of Eternity, which echoes PC classics like Baldur’s Gate or Planescape: Torment (and stands as one of the most successful and well-received games in crowdfunding history). While this sequel will undoubtedly deliver copious character customization and plenty of dark, treacherous dungeons, Obsidian Entertainment opted to make things a bit more nautical for Deadfire. Your adventuring party now doubles as a ship crew, exploring tropical beaches, charting open waters, and even fighting off attackers who board your vessel. Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire should offer the same degree of depth and engrossing narrative as the first, with some Pirates of the Caribbean-esque flair mixed in - and if you put dozens of hours into the first game, you'll be happy to know that your decisions throughout the story will have an impact in Deadfire.    

State of Decay 2 

Platform(s): Xbox One, PC
Release date: May 22, 2018

If The Walking Dead has taught us anything, it's that forging bonds between survivors and building up a community is essential to surviving the zombie apocalypse. State of Decay 2 takes those values to heart with co-op for up to four players, provided you all agree to work together instead of backstabbing one another for precious supplies. To build up your customizable encampment, you'll need to scavenge on foot or four wheels, splattering the skulls of countless undead along the way. And if someone's unfortunate enough to get bitten, their allies will have the tough choice between curing them with a limited supply of medicine, or ending their impending suffering with a bullet to the brain.

Detroit: Become Human 

Platform(s): PS4
Release date: May 25, 2018

 

As is the trend nowadays, Detroit: Become Human is a choice-driven adventure revolving around androids achieving sentience. Remember the Kara tech demo Sony showed off years ago? She's back as one of three playable androids in a futuristic Detroit, along with detective 'bot Connor and the aspiring revolutionary Marcus. It’s a game of staggering ambition: it took David Cage two years to write the script, and hundreds of actors have done mo-cap work for it.

Agony 

 

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: May 29, 2018

 

There's a pretty easy way to figure out if the first-person horror of Agony is for you: can you stomach the sight of virtual babies being smashed into bloody stumps? If you answered 'yes', then you're just twisted enough to enjoy this harrowing trip through Hell itself. You're a tortured soul seeking out the Red Goddess, the so-called ruler of the underworld, in a desperate bid to escape eternal suffering. To do so, you'll need to fearfully sneak past demons in your meek human form as a feeble Martyr - though later on, you can possess them and use their terrible powers to your own ends.