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We’ll be taking it slow this week by taking a look at some of the biggest games set to release this year. We know you’re all excited to get your hands on some of these titles, so let’s jump in:

The Witcher 3 next-gen upgrade

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is easily one of the most memorable games from last generation, and will receive its next-gen upgrade sometime in the second half of 2021. 

Released back in 2015, this game captured the hearts and minds of gamers everywhere and is still one of the most beloved RPGs around. Even the two expansions released for The Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone and Blood & Wine - received critical acclaim.

The PS5 and Xbox Series versions of Wild Hunt will have all the bells and whistles of next-gen including ray tracing, better textures and models, higher resolution and framerates up to 120fps. Ray tracing alone will be a huge game changer, as properly cast shadows and light can drastically improve how the game looks. 

I’m sure this is one game we’re all looking forward to playing.

Dying Light 2

The sequel to the popular Dying Light will arrive in 2021.

It’s been a few years since the first Dying Light launched and quickly became a fan favourite. The mix of fast paced parkour and melee zombie action proved to be a hit with everyone. The sequel takes place in a world where the zombie infection has spread from just the one city from the first game to the whole world. You’ll be given a much bigger playground to run around in this time, and combined with a faction and choice system Dying Light 2 looks like it’ll turn out to be a great game.

NieR Replicant Ver.1.22474487139…

NieR Replicant is the prequel story to the incredibly well received NieR:Automata and is set to release on April 23^rd for the PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Automata focuses heavily on its story and fast paced combat, with players being able to unlock multiple endings depending on their actions in game. The game received multiple awards including several for its excellent music. Since NieR Replicant is a direct result of the unexpected success of NieR:Automata, we can hope that the newer game expands on the already existing fluid combat, gripping story and amazing soundtrack.

Resident Evil ViIIage

Resident Evil 8 is without doubt one of the most anticipated games of the year, and will release in just a few weeks on May 7^th.

The Resident Evil series is one of the staples of gaming with a rich background spanning over two decades. The series has seen a lot of varied games over the years, with some games being better received than others. The recent Resident Evil 7 and the upcoming Resident Evil 8 are both a return to form for the series focusing mainly on horror. Fans of Resident Evil 4 will be glad to know that the attaché case inventory system along with weapon upgrades are coming back in Village, along with a whole host of diverse monsters.

This is one game that’s bound to turn a lot of heads in the upcoming weeks. Make sure not to miss it!

Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite is set to release in 2021 on Xbox One, Xbox Series and PC.

The latest Halo premiered to an extremely lukewarm reception. Judging from the gameplay shown in its preview last year, the game lacked the polish that fans have come to expect from Microsoft’s flagship franchise. Static facial animations, bad lighting, unfinished texture work and low-resolution character models all contributed to Infinite looking like it belonged on the Xbox 360 rather than the Series X or even the Xbox One. The fan backlash was so strong that the developers decided to take a second look at their project and made the decision to delay the game for an extra year to polish the game further. 

Halo Infinite will finally release later this year and hopefully it’ll live up to what the fans have been waiting for.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart 

The latest installment in the Ratchet & Clank series is set to release on June 11^th 2021.

Ratchet & Clank is a treasured PlayStation franchise with over a dozen games released on the PS2 and PS3. The series took a long hiatus on the PS4 with only one game being released - a movie tie-in that wasn’t as well received as its previous outings.

The next game in the series is a more traditional title in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart releasing exclusively for the PS5. Taking full advantage of the PS5 hardware, the game looks simply stunning. It makes full use of raytracing to show off its Pixar-animation level image quality and uses the PS5’s ultra-fast SSD to implement full level warps that would be impossible to do on the PS4. And from what we’ve seen of its story, this seems more in line with the older Ratchet & Clank games that had more personality and character than the 2016 PS4 game.

A true next-gen title and a return to form for a beloved series.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

This legendary collection is set to release on May 14^th.

It’s been quite a few years since Mass Effect’s golden days during the PS3 era. The original three Mass Effect games are now considered to be among some of gaming’s greatest hits, and Shepard’s story is something that gamers will remember for a good long time. The remastered gameplay retains the original’s cover-based third-person action with the same old Mass Effect RPG elements and player-choice driven narrative. That may sound like a mouthful, but it all mixes together in a cohesive way to deliver an amazing game.

The Mass Effect: Legendary Edition consists of the original three Mass Effect games remastered with better visuals – mainly better lighting, framerates, textures and updated gameplay. The team at BioWare have done an amazing job at bringing these older games into the current generation

To be continued next week...

About the author: Maldivian Gaming League is a team of e-sports organizers and competition promoters based in the Maldives. For more information, check them out on Facebook or Instagram.