Roundtable Talk #16: Our Most Anticipated Games For The Rest Of 2021

It feels like 2021 has been an absolute blur, but that hasn’t stopped the next generation consoles from beginning to hit their stride and the library of games for them continue to grow as the months pass. With just a few months left until 2022, the Controller Crusade staff assembled to talk about some of the titles that are still waiting in the on-deck circle for their turn to the plate this year. Here are the games we are most excited for that have yet to release in 2021.

Allison’s Pick – Life is Strange: True Colors

Life is Strange: True Colors has been in the works for a long time now. Dontnod Entertainment’s groundbreaking franchise massively popularized the expansive “Choose your own Adventure” genre with their first gaming breakthrough, Life is Strange, back in 2015. The exciting game mechanics of rewinding time, coupled with branching narrative-driven storytelling, made it a smashing success. Since then, Life is Strange has had several iterations, but none as exciting as Life is Strange: True Colors.

This story, developed by Deck Nine (the same team who developed Life is Strange: Before the Storm), follows Alex Chen, a young woman attempting to reconnect with her long-lost brother after a lifetime in foster care. After her brother’s untimely passing, she’s left with grief, mysterious powers, and a town full of people she barely knows. The release trailer teases excellent animation, improved writing, and an interesting new set of capabilities for our protagonist. Notably, this is also the first game within the Life is Strange franchise to be released as one complete game rather than a series of distinct episodes.

With the release date only a week away, fans are buzzing with excitement over this next narrative adventure!

George’s Pick – Halo Infinite

The game that I am most looking forward to this year is, without a doubt, Halo Infinite. For those of you who might not know, Halo Infinite was meant to have been released late 2020 but was pushed back to allow for more time to polish the game. Personally, this makes me even more excited (although I was disappointed that I had to wait another year!) Hopefully we’re going to get a really stable game that doesn’t feel rushed. Also, I would still be excited if this were a standard Halo game, but it’s not.

Halo Infinite is looking like it is shaking up Halo’s level design by being a semi-open world. Fingers crossed, this brings the fun of exploring without relying too heavily on repetitive tasks open worlds often fall foul of. I am also hoping that this structure will allow us to go back and replay sections of the game after completion, something most open worlds do not allow. The last Halo game I played at launch was Halo 4 which I did not enjoy much. However, Halo Infinite looks, to me, like 343 are really trying to make a great Halo game and hopefully they do.

Justin’s Pick – Metroid Dread

2D Metroid games are so few and far between that I can track them by what stage of life I was in when they came out. I wasn’t even born when the original Metroid was released on NES. I was in elementary school when we were graced with Super Metroid. Metroid Fusion didn’t see the light of day until I was already in highschool. We won’t be playing Metroid Dread until I’m older than my parents were when they bought me Super Metroid in 1995. It’s not even an exaggeration to say that I’ve been waiting my entire life for this game.

Josh’s Pick – Moonglow Bay

 I’m so glad that this topic came up because I’ve been looking for an opportunity to gush about how excited I am for Bunnyhug’s Moonglow Bay. The game’s setting of Eastern Canada really taps into my childhood of living in a small Newfoundland town that essentially wrapped around a bay. The voxel art style also immediately stood out to me, as the trailers really showcase a world that is jam packed with colour.

I’ve always wanted a true fishing RPG, and the idea of taking on the role of a rookie angler that’s overcoming impending bankruptcy sounds incredibly appealing. With local co-op, over 100 aquatic species to catch, and a story that just might tug at your heartstrings, Moonglow Bay has easily skyrocketed to the top of my wishlist in 2021. There’s just over a month until Moonglow Bay launches on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC, and as an added bonus it will be available on Xbox Game Pass as well.

So there you have it, our four most anticipated titles for the rest of 2021. What games are you looking forward to this year? Let us know in the comment section below!