We Happy Few

ETA: June

F ormat: Xbox One, PC, Mac, Linux

S et in the fictional English town of Wellington Wells during an alternative version of the not-so-swinging Sixties, We Happy Few dumps you into a dystopian nightmare where the Germans won World War II.

Much of our green and pleasant land has been reduced to rubble, but the inhabitants of Wellington Wells are a happy lot, thanks to a drug called Joy, which helps them forget some of the horrifying things they were forced to do during the war.

You play an outsider who is not hooked on the drug, so you’ve either got to try and blend in, seek shelter, fight, or run for your life as truncheon-swinging bobbies and homicidal mobs attempt to turn your frown upside down.

You only get one shot at making good your escape, and if you fail you have to start again in a new procedurally-generated version of the town and as a different character.

As this is a survival game, you’ve also got to scavenge for food and water as most consumable items have been contaminated.

It’s everywhere and sooner or later, you’ll either accidentally ingest some, or be forced to take it on purpose to avoid detection. Once you do, the world around you becomes a much more colourful and blurry place, but if you overdose on it you’ll pass out and wake up in the same underground bunker where your adventure began.

We Happy Few is laced with some deliciously dark humour, and fronted by omnipresent TV personality, Uncle Jack, who has always got a sinister smile etched onto his face.

He’s the cheerleader-in-chief for this drugged-up dystopia, whipping the townsfolk into a violent frenzy if they spot a ‘Downer’ who hasn’t taken their daily dose.

It’s easy to see where the game’s influences come from – Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World, A Clockwork Orange and The Prisoner – so we’re hoping the story doesn’t disappoint.

Street Fighter V

ETA: February

Format: PS4, PC

T he Street Fighter games have always managed to be fun and accessible to newcomers while also offering the necessary precision and depth to keep veteran players coming back for more.

Street Fighter V will boast a roster of 16 fighters, including fan favourites such as Ryu, Chun Li and Vega, plus four new faces.

The game’s combat systems have been given a tweak too, with the inclusion of the V-Gauge, which fills up as a fighter receives damage, enabling the player to hit back with powerful counter moves and unique special attacks.

The Legend Of Zelda

ETA: Autumn

Format: Wii U, NX

p layers are in for a visual treat, as Link jumps on the back of his trusty stead, Epona, and explores an open world of truly gargantuan proportions.

The non-linear fantasy world should make a refreshing change from completing dungeons in a set sequence, with the map littered with quests and objectives that can be finished in any order you like.

Watching Link jump off his horse and enter bullet time to aim his bow at his enemies has only whetted our appetite to play the full game.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

ETA: August

Format: Xbox One, PS4, PC

I t’s the year 2029, and the world is split between so-called ‘naturals’ and people who have received increasingly hi-tech body augmentations.

After the events of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, this fissure in society is more pronounced than ever, with augmented individuals persecuted on a global scale.

In Deus Ex: Mankind Divided this proves something of a problem for protagonist Adam Jensen, as the bionic commando is back with an arsenal of new gun-arm augmentations and has to battle terrorists and a barrel-load of prejudice all over the world.

The cyberpunk-themed action role-playing game has ditched the golden hues of Human Revolution, but still looks crazy good.

XCOM 2

ETA: February

Format: PC, Mac, Linux

H aving rescued the XCOM series from obscurity with the release of XCOM: Enemy Unknown in 2012, Firaxis are back with the imaginatively named sequel, XCOM 2.

Set 20 years after the original game, the alien invaders have gained the upper hand, and now govern Earth through a puppet administration.

Not prepared to accept this new world order, you’ve snagged the keys to an alien spaceship, and must now wage war on the extraterrestrial occupiers from your mobile base, linking up with resistance cells around the globe.

As usual, the game is a mix of base building and turn-based tactical combat, as you issue commands to a small squad of troops.

Dark Souls III

ETA: April

Format: PS4, Xbox One, PC

T he first Souls game built for current-generation hardware, Dark Souls III looks like it’ll be every bit as brutal and punishing as its predecessors, flinging you into a dark medieval fantasy world, full of hellish denizens whose only aim in life is to tear you apart in as bloody and violent a manner as possible.

Action role-playing games have rarely been tougher, and with Hidetaka Miyazaki returning to the director’s chair for this one – having given Dark Souls II a miss to oversee Bloodborne – you can expect an imaginative roster of monsters, demons, dragons and bosses to slay.