My top 5 most anticipated games of 2016

These games are not in any type of order and this is my own personal list.

1. P. A. M. E. L. A.
Company: NVYVE Inc.
Release Date: Summer 2016
Summary of game: "In P.A.M.E.L.A., the player wakes up from cryo sleep in Eden, a utopian city. Events have unfolded in the city which caused the population to be infected with a disfiguring disease, making them unpredictable and sometimes hostile to the player. The player must scavenge for supplies such as food and water to avoid starvation and dehydration, as well as find equipment to aid them in combat. The world includes a full day/night cycle, which causes the player to adapt their strategies depending on the time of day. Eden contains many different areas, including residential apartments, shopping areas, and outdoor courtyards. There are also several NPC factions in the game, which utilize a personality-based AI system to result in various behaviors towards each other and the player. The player will also be assisted by Pamela, Eden’s AI overseer, who can aid the player in combat and exploration."

Brief thought: Just look at the trailer. It's so beautiful.

2. Routine
Company: Lunar Software
Release Date: TBA 2016
Summary of game: "Routine is a first person horror exploration game set on an abandoned Moon base. Your job is to find enough data to uncover the truth behind the strange disappearance of everyone stationed on the Lunar Research Station."

Brief thought: This game reminds me of Soma from what I've seen and Soma was an intriguing game filled with unpredictable twists. It also raised the question of what makes us human. Fingers crossed that it does come out this year.


3. We Happy Few
Company: Compulsion Games
Release Date: TBA 2016
Summary of game: "We Happy Few is the tale of a plucky bunch of moderately terrible people trying to escape from a lifetime of cheerful denial. Set in a drug-fuelled, retrofuturistic city in an alternative 1960s England, you’ll have to blend in with its other inhabitants, who don’t take kindly to people who don’t abide by their not-so-normal rules."

Brief thought: I've been following Compulsion games since Contrast and when they released information on their new upcoming game, my interest was peaked. When I found out their Kickstarter failed, I was heartbroken, but then a miracle happened. A lot of well-known Let's Players really liked it so Compulsion Games put their campaign back up and the game was fully funded. The universe has spoken!


4. Firewatch
Company: Campo Santo
Release Date: February 9 2016
Summary of game: " The year is 1989. You are a man named Henry who has retreated from his messy life to work as a fire lookout in the Wyoming wilderness. Perched high atop a mountain, it’s your job to look for smoke and keep the wilderness safe. An especially hot, dry summer has everyone on edge. Your supervisor Delilah is available to you at all times over a small, handheld radio—your only contact with the world you've left behind. But when something strange draws you out of your lookout tower and into the forest, you’ll explore a wild and unknown environment, facing questions and making choices that can build or destroy the only meaningful relationship you have."

Brief thought: I think what caught my attention was the unexpected humor at the start of the trailer and the choice and consequence aspect of it. It's coming out in a couple of days!

5. Outlast 2
Company: Red Barrels
Release Date: Fall 2016
Summary of game: "Outlast 2 is the sequel to the acclaimed survival horror game Outlast. Set in the same universe as the first game, but with different characters and a different setting, Outlast 2 is a twisted new journey into the depths of the human mind and its dark secrets.
No conflict is ever black and white. But once the dust has settled, the victors get to decide who was right and who was wrong. Who is good and who is evil. Human nature pushes us to extremes of violence and depravity, which we then justify by divine inspiration and a promise of paradise to come. Horror rises from desperation and blind faith. OUTLAST 2 will test your faith, pushing players to a place where going mad is the only sane thing to do."

Brief thought: Outlast was a game that I watched Let's Players play several times and still enjoyed the story. It's also a game I refuse to play alone because being locked in a psychiatric hospital is one of my biggest fears (I don't know why). Currently, we don't know jack diddly squat about it but Red Barrels did release a trailer for it. My heart is not prepared for this, but I can't help being a little bit excited.