2015 was a great year for video games. We saw the release of major titles like The Witcher III: Wild Hunt; Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; Bloodborne and many more. With 2016 finally upon us, let’s talk about the five things I’m most looking forward to in this year of the monkey.

Mortal Kombat X: DLC Kombat Pack #2
You either loathe the addition of guest characters in NetherRealm Studios’ latest Mortal Kombat installment or you love them. I fall into the latter category. Last year both Friday the 13th’s Jason Vorhees and the Predator made they’re much anticipated debut in the series. They’ll soon be sharing the spotlight with two more Hollywood icons; Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre slasher films; and the Xenomorph alien from Ridley Scott’s Alien film. It’s a huge bit of fan service that’ll have me giddy for months to come. Oh, and there’s also two more “regular” characters as well if that’s your thing.

No Man’s Sky
Ever since this game was announced I’ve been fascinated with the idea of exploring unknown planets, cataloging new lifeforms and simply zoning out to the delightful appeal of space travel. The goal of the game is still unclear, but the appeal is in it’s promise – infinite discovery in the vast regions of space. Hype has a funny way of derailing some experiences though, and the longer this game stays off the shelves the more likely it is that our journey to the stars will be a mediocre affair and not the grand space opera we’re hoping for. With a release date sometime in June 2016, I’m very excited to finally take off in my starship and explore the galaxy to my heart’s content.

EVO 2016
Fighting games have always been a favorite video game genre of mine. Like many of you I grew up putting (losing?) quarters in the arcade machines to get my fix on whatever the latest fighting game was at the time (Primal Rage anyone?). Thankfully there is a very hardcore niche of elite players that specialize in fighting games and provide some of the best entertainment every year at the EVO Fighting Game Tournament. This year will see the release of several new titles to long running series like Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, and KOF XIV. Several other titles will still be around from last year such as Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and Mortal Kombat X. With the new generation of consoles allowing developers to continue to update and innovate their titles well past launch, it’s interesting to see how players continue to adapt and refine their game.

First Announcement from Kojima Productions
Just last December Sony and Hideo Kojima dropped an awesome bombshell announcing a partnership between the console giant and Kojima’s newly created studio Kojima Productions. Ever since the Konami Vs Kojima debacle the video game world waited to see what the brain behind Metal Gear would do next. Well we have our answer, and now I’m very anxious to see what his next announcement regarding what title he’s working on will be. I’m expecting something totally left-field from the veteran game developer but something tells me we might see a spiritual successor to 2013’s awesome P.T. Only time will tell.

Catching up on Unfinished Games (No, really!)
There was a hardly a month that didn’t include one or two major releases last year, resulting in a huge surplus of games that I still need to finish. I’m still plugging away at MGSV: The Phantom Pain, waiting to get back to the The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, and hoping to set aside the time to maybe play Fallout 4. Other than No Man’s Sky this year, there won’t be a lot of big releases that I’ll be waiting in line for, so hopefully I can put the time in to catch up on these awesome blockbusters I haven’t yet played or finished the year prior!

Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments section what big titles and/or announcements you’re looking forward to this year!