The D20 Beat: The 2019 RPGs I want to play
As I ponder the role-playing games I’m keeping an eye on in 2019, my first thought is, “Hey, wait, I haven’t had a chance to finish all the great RPGs of 2018 yet!”
Then I remember that we’ve got outstanding games coming next year, beginning with a big triple-A release at the end of January that fans have been waiting almost 15 years for; the Witcher studio’s first new property since, well, The Witcher’s debut in 2007; what could be the finale in a post apocolyptic series that’s been around for decades; the end of another series that’s made fantastic use of the DS and 3DS’s second screens; and a host of others, big and small. We’ll see return to smartphones and The Elder Scrolls come to mobile, and the remaster of one of Final Fantasy’s quirkiest games.
And a dungeon that’s a boyfriend.
Here’s my look at what I’m excited for in 2019, in no meaningful order. And yes, I realize I’m leaving Anthem, BioWare’s answer to Destiny, off the list. That’s because I’m not looking forward to it. I don’t even think it’s really an RPG. If you have a RPG that I should be preparing for, please send me a note. Thank you!
Above: The Outer Worlds is Obsidian’s new sci-fi role-playing game.
Image Credit: Mike Minotti/GamesBeat
Developers: Obsidian Entertainment, Private Division
Publisher: The Private Division
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Obsidian Entertainment made my favorite RPG of 2018, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, and it’s taking to the stars for its next adventure: The Outer Worlds. It takes place on the frontier, and the trailer announcing this RPG at The Game Awards earlier this month brought the ol’ Fox series Firefly and other sci-fi Western tales to mind. Obsidian is teaming up with Private Division, a studio from some of the creators of the original Fallout, and the game coming out on the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Above: Etrian Odyssey Nexus is the dungeon crawler’s 3DS finale.
Image Credit: Atlus
Developers: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
This will be the final game I play on my Nintendo 3DS before retiring it (aka giving it to my kids). It’s going to be a celebration of everything Etrian Odyssey: lots of classes, more Labyrinths, more mapping options. What makes this turn-based RPG so special is that you can use the lower 3DS screen to create maps of the dungeons, using symbols to note where entrances, water, traps, and other surprises lurk. You create your party members as well, and this final entry will also have a standalone story mode.
Above: Not quite the Avengers, but they’ll do.
Image Credit: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One
I don’t follow Kingdom Hearts’ story as closely as my colleague, GamesBeat Reviews editor Mike Minotti. Heck, I don’t even remember where Kingdom Hearts II left off — when it came out here in 2006, I wasn’t married, didn’t have children, didn’t have a lot of gray hair, and wasn’t even in the enthusiast press: I was a sports journalist! Whatever. I’m looking forward to throwing spells with Donald Duck and trying to figure out how all this Disney love fits in a wacky JRPG world.
Warhammer: Chaosbane
Developer: Eko
Publisher: Bigben, Maximum Games
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
I adore Warhammer’s fantasy universe, and we haven’t had a good hack-‘n’-slasher in it yet. Chaosbane promises the loot, skill trees, and other bullet items of action-RPGs, and it pairs it with Bloodlust, which you get from slaughtering your foes. The last time we got a good look at the Warhammer fantasy universe was Warhammer Online, which lasted from 2008 to 2013. It does look a lot like Diablo, but so do many other fantasy action-RPGs (like Sacred), and they still find ways to stand out.
Above: Torchlight Frontiers in action.
Image Credit: Perfect World Entertainment
Developer: Echtra Games
Publisher: Perfect World Entertainment
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
One of my favorite Diablo-likes is Torchlight. You can still count on slaying lots of monsters and finding loot, all in fanciful levels with whimsical art design. But this time, Torchlight is going online, and players will be able to slay monsters together.
A Plague’s Tale: Innocence
Above: A Plague’s Tale: Innocence is one of the most creepy — and captivating — games from E3.
Image Credit: Asobo Studio
Developer: Asobo Studio
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
No game disturbed me on such a fundamental level as A Plague’s Tale did in 2016 — at E3 that year, I watched a video where the main characters (children) dealt with a supernatural infestation of rats in France. The rodents had overrun their medieval town, and the kids were trying to make sense of what’s going on in the midst of gruesome nests … and worse.
Above: Cyberpunk 2077 looks, well, punk.
Image Credit: CD Projekt Red
Developer: CD Projekt Red
Publisher: CD Projeckt Red
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
The second and third Witcher games are some of my favorite RPGs of the past decade, and I’m eager to see how CD Projekt Red goes from writing for fantasy to telling a tale about a cyberpunk universe. I enjoyed The Witcher III’s combat (though others have criticized it for being cumbersome, with cause), and I’m curious to see how CD Projekt Red makes it smoother.