Editor's Note: Looking for titles #11-20? Look no further:
10. Back 4 Blood (PS5/PS4/XSX/XOne/PC)
Cody Medellin: The popularity of the cooperative zombie shooter is still there, even though the last Left 4 Dead game was released more than a decade ago. We've had titles like World War Z try to recapture that same magic with varying results, but it's exciting to see the original team behind Left 4 Dead return for a new game with a different name. Our first look at the latest closed beta shows that the game is well on its way to becoming Left 4 Dead 3 in all but name, and we're hoping the trajectory continues when the title releases.
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9. Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (XSX/PC)
Redmond Carolipio: The original Hellblade was possibly my favorite game of 2017 and still stands as one of the most impactful gaming experiences I've played. In a short, feral burst of dark creativity built around the perception of mental illness, Hellblade entrenched Ninja Theory as one of your favorite game designers. Now they get next-gen, big-boy pants support, which allows them to fully unleash Senua's world around us. Can't wait.
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8. TIE: Gotham Knights (PS5/PS4/XSX/XOne/PC) / Hollow Knight: Silksong (Switch/PC)
Rhi "StormyDawn" Mitera: If there is one game my sister and I have always wanted, it's a Bat Family co-op game. Batman is all well and good, but it's the rest of his cast — Nightwing, Red Hood, all the various Robins — that are my favorite part. The only thing that could make me more excited about Gotham Knights is if it were four-player co-op instead of only two-player, but I'm willing to compromise just this once. I call dibs on Red Hood.
David Silbert: Since its release in 2017, Hollow Knight has cemented itself as an all-time indie great. With its intricate world, satisfying combat, and mind-bending number of secrets, Hollow Knight quickly captured the hearts of Metroidvania and Souls fans alike. While Australian developer Team Cherry remains mum on the upcoming Silksong, 2021 feels like the perfect time to hear more about Hornet and her new adventure.
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7. Far Cry 6 (PS5/PS4/XSX/XOne/PC)
Adam Pavlacka: The Far Cry formula is pretty well known at this point, so I'm not expecting any major shifts in tone when the game drops, but I am looking forward to another evolution in the series. Both Far Cry 5 and Far Cry New Dawn took the established series mechanics and tweaked them in ways that improved the experience without departing from it. They were familiar enough that you could jump right in, yet iterative enough that they still felt fresh. If there's a video game equivalent of comfort food, Far Cry is it. Now, when do I get a proper sequel to Blood Dragon?
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6. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 (Switch)
Chris "Atom" DeAngelus: A lot of Breath of the Wild 2 is still steeped in mystery. We know it's a sequel to the original game, and it features Link and Zelda once again. While exploring an underground dungeon, they awaken what looks like the corpse of Gannondorf and set off a new wave of evil. As of this writing, that's about all we know. We can expect that it will include the same survival-oriented gameplay as the first game and new features to boot, but we'll have to wait and see what that means. Fortunately, Breath of the Wild was such an excellent title that we can be sure it'll be worth the wait.
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5. Resident Evil: Village (PS5/PS4/XSX/XOne/PC)
David Silbert: Resident Evil: Village has taken the internet by storm, in large part thanks to the 9'6" Lady Dimitrescu. Absurdly tall zombies aside, Village has a lot going for it, with stellar visuals, eerie first-person gameplay, and the return of franchise favorite Chris Redfield. Details remain scarce, but if the quality of the recent Resident Evil remakes are any indication, Village looks to be another quality addition to the spooky series.
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Andreas Salmen: Creative first-person combat is Arkane Studios's bread and butter, and it's alive and well in its new title, Deathloop. We still don't have an idea of how well the assassin-hunter multiplayer dynamic will play out, but I'm fairly confident that the FPS combat will be excellent. It feels like it could be the perfect marriage of Dishonored gameplay mechanics that reward versatile gun/weapon play and traversal, while always having to look over your shoulder for your main adversary since you're stuck in a permanent time loop. It's colorful, creative and full of implied potential that could make this my personal sleeper hit of the year if Arkane can pull it off.
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Cody Medellin: The PS4 entry of God of War was a thoughtful reboot that provided players with excellent gameplay, a great story, and made Kratos actually likeable. A sequel still set in Norse mythology would be welcome, and even if the game ends up being more of the same, fans wouldn't complain. While there's a good chance it won't come out in 2021 considering the long hype cycle for a big Sony-published game, there may be a chance the company will prove us all wrong and actually bring it out this year.
Read more WP impressions about God of War: Ragnarok
2. Horizon Forbidden West (PS5/PS4)
Chris "Atom" DeAngelus: Horizon: Zero Dawn was a tremendously creative new setting. PostApocalyptic robot dinosaurs might sound ridiculous on paper, but Zero Dawn made it work, helped by its likeable protagonist, Aloy. Forbidden West is going to take Aloy to new lands with new dinosaurs, new weapons, and most likely new reasons to curse Ted Faro's name. One particular feature we've seen thus far is that Aloy will finally be able to swim deep beneath the water, which is certain to open up plenty of new exploration options for everyone's favorite future-hunter. We'll probably be seeing a lot more about Forbidden West before it launches, and there's a lot to be excited about, if just for the chance to spear a swimming robo-plesiosaurus and harvest its parts for a cool new weapon.
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1. Halo Infinite (XSX/XOne/PC)
Adam Pavlacka: The game that was meant to launch the Xbox Series X/S didn't quite make it out with the console, but given its relative scarcity over the launch months (bare shelves were common unless you went with a scalper), the delay doesn't seem to have hurt the hardware or the perception of the game. Halo Infinite is Microsoft's chance to show off what the Xbox Series X hardware can do when pushed by a team that knows it inside and out. Yes, it's a highly anticipated game, but it's also a highly anticipated tech demo. Players are expecting it to be the title that they toss in to demo their console to non-gaming friends before hopping into an online deathmatch.