According to Polygon, we should be expecting over 100 major game releases in 2023. From remakes of celebrated classics like Dead Space and Resident Evil 4, to highly anticipated RPGS including Diablo IV, Hogwarts Legacy and Assassins Creed Mirage.
There’s even hopes for the infamous Starfield release in the first half of the year, but with so many games to choose from, we wanted to find out which release people were most excited for.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor – Sophie Layton
Following the hit success of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in 2019, Respawn Entertainment is back this year with the release of the sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Set five years after the first instalment (making it ten years after Revenge of the Sith and nine years before Rogue One and A New Hope), we return to follow Cal Kestis and BD-1 as they are pursued by the Empire once again.
The first game told the story of Cal and how he escaped from Order 66 and went into exile on the scrapper world of Bracca. After using the force to save his friend, he found himself pursued by the Second Sister and Ninth Sister of the Empire’s Inqusitiorius, a band of Jedi hunters. Escaping thanks to the help of Cere and Greez, Cal journeyed across the galaxy to prevent the Empire from obtaining a holocron with a list of force-sensitive children from Bogano, rediscovering his Jedi powers and facing his past.
With its precursor winning the NME Best Game award in 2020, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor seems set to continue the trend, with new move sets, incredible graphics and new characters to face as we continue to roam the galaxy as one of the few Jedi left in the grip of the Imperial galaxy
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor releases April 28th on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/ S.
Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom – Adam Thomas
Following the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild in 2017, fans of the long-time Nintendo franchise have been grappling for more of the same open-world style Zelda content, whether in major DLC updates or a full-blown sequel.
Unfortunately, the development of the next Legend Of Zelda game “Tears Of The Kingdom” has been heavily delayed after production was affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. Despite hiccups in the release of the highly awaited title it will finally be released nearly six years after its predecessor on May 12th 2023, with a continuation of the story that saw Link awake in the Shrine of Resurrection 100 years after the great calamity.
From its initial unveiling in a short-form teaser trailer in 2019 to a longer cinematic trailer at E3 2021, it is clear the new Open World Adventure game will have a heavy focus on systems and spaces below and above Hyrule Kingdom, largely orientating around time.
The changes going from the 2017 reboot of the series to this sequel have been constantly contested by fans, as many have complained that inadequate changes and a lack of new features and things to do may have warranted more DLC rather than a fully-fledged new game.
The period of six years between titles has also seen some vast technological changes in gaming that have seen the launch of a new generation of consoles for both Xbox and PlayStation. So, the question is, will the game be ground-breaking in the same way as Breath of The Wild was, in its seamless open-world format on a handheld console? Will it still be able to run on the now-old Nintendo Switch hardware that hasn’t been updated since the launch of the console in 2017? Time will tell… and so will the story of the game from what we’ve seen so far!
Legend Of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases May 12th on Nintendo Switch
Diablo IV: Carla Biteanu
The battle between the High Heavens and Burning Hell continues in the upcoming instalment of Diablo. Lilith has returned after her exile, summoning evil – her path will cross with the former fallen archangel of the High Heavens, Inarius. The world they created is now at risk of being destroyed.
Quarterly updates from the developers have shown the evolution of the open world, with different regions of the world featuring different biomes and secret areas to explore. In the March 2022 update, the team spoke of how there is expected to be over 150 dungeons to battle, the pre-alpha artwork itself looking stunning with a gothic horror style influencing the settings.
In the same update, Chris Ryder, art director of environments, discussed how the game has taken a “darker and more grounded” approach to creating environments in comparison to previous instalments. That means we can expect to see regional weather conditions, varied local biomes and the world of Sanctuary reflecting the struggle, conflict and history of the land.
Character creation allows for players to choose from five classes, barbarian, druid, necromancer, rogue and sourcer – each with different skills and abilities. The world building, art and development within gameplay makes it seem as though Diablo IV will provide hours of content and exploration, alongside atmospheric graphics and an immersive gaming experience.
Diablo IV releases June 2nd on PS5/4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Are there any upcoming releases you can’t wait to play? We want to hear from you! Get in touch at forgepress.games@sheffield.ac.uk and pitch a game review
Image Credits: EA, Blizzard Games, Nintendo