Age of Empires 4

 

Age of Empires 4 got a gameplay trailer and it looks like the familiar action of the Age of Empires games has been updated for 2021 standards.

How fresh that will feel when we have epic battles of the Total War games has yet to be seen. We'll find out on October 28, 2021.

Atomic Heart

 

We don't know what to say about Atomic Heart other than it looks like a creepy first-person shooter and open-world adventure game with an odd plot to unravel. 

The game takes place in the Soviet Union in an alternative reality sometime in 1955, where technology like the internet, holograms and robots have already been invented. Your character, a special agent called P-3, will need to despatch a fair few of those robots by the looks of it. 

Back 4 Blood

Back 4 Blood is the spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead and we've been given a new gameplay trailer to see what all the co-op action is about. 

Unsurprisingly, it the four-player zombie survival shooter looks like an evolved take on Left 4 Dead, updated for new hardware and containing action to keep the slaying of the undead feeling fresh. 

 

Metroid Dread

 

At the Nintendo Direct showcase, we got a surprise reveal of Metroid Dread; it wasn't the Metroid 4 some might have been expecting but a welcome return of Samus Aran. 

It's a Nintendo Switch platformer full of Metroid moves and environments that tell a story. It's coming October 8, 2021. 

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2

 

Okay, so we'd hoped for a gameplay showcase of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 at the Nintendo Direct E3 2021 showcase. But we didn't get that. 

However, a solid teaser trailer showed off some game footage and it looks like a solid evolution over its predecessor, aka one of the best Nintendo Switch games ever made. And what's more Breath of the Wild 2 is confirmed to be coming in 2022, we just don't know when exactly. 

Battlefield 2042

 

Actual gameplay for Battlefield 2042 as finally revealed at the E3 2021 Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase. 

It looks a lot like an upgraded version of Battlefield 4, hence the 2042 name, but based further in the future. Action will be frenetic and mixed up by maps being hit by extreme weather. 

Halo Infinite

 

We didn't get the big Halo Infinite reveal we would have expected from Microsoft at E3. But we did get a major multiplayer trailer. 

And it looks like Halo Infinite will hark back to the multiplayer days of Halo 3, with punchy action complemented by new abilities, such as using a grappling hook to pull yourself up to vantage points. 

 

Starfield

 

We didn't see any proper game footage for Starfield, but we had more detailed reveal, which teased life on board a hard sci-fi spaceship. 

This looks like a big space-based magnum opus for Bethesda. And it's going to be Xbox and PC exclusive when it arrives November 11, 2022.  

Guardians of the Galaxy

 

At the Square Enix E3 showcase, Eidos Montreal's next game will put you in the boots of Star-Lord's boots, in an action-adventure title that promises to embrace the frenetic action of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. 

Coming October 26, Guardians of the Galaxy looks to blend a heavy dose of action with humor and banter one would expect between the rag-tag bunch of misfits. 

Microsoft Flight Simulator Xbox Series X & Series S

 

Microsoft Flight Simulator is coming to the Xbox Series X and Series S. That's not a big surprise, but the game looks very good. 

It's coming July 27, so best clear some space on your console's SSD.