What should you play in 2019?

BioWare’s Anthem is the studio’s most talked about game in years, even if it’s not always being talked about for the reasons that BioWare and EA would like. Questions of microtransactions and originality still surround this title a year after it was first announced.

We were starting to think that we’d never get another Battletoads game given that it’s been over 20 years since we’ve last received a new installment, but Rare is returning to the franchise that most people remember as one of the hardest games on the NES. This new Battletoadsmight feature a slightly different art style and other modern improvements, but we fully expect it to be largely familiar to fans who have been waiting years for another co-op brawler from this beloved, and undeniably bizarre, series.

Since its Kickstarter debut, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night's name has come second to that of its creator, Koji Igarashi. Many of you may remember Igarashi as the director of the revolutionary Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and his return with a game that is very much in the spirit of his classic Castlevania tiles has been anticipated by genre fans for many years.

We know that Red Dead Redemption 2 was released in 2018, but the online part will be in his final form just in 2019. So this means that red dead online hack deserves a place in our list.

It's been almost eight years since we last heard from the Crackdownseries. There was a time when Microsoft's hidden gem open-world title provided a breath of fresh air to the subgenre. Its outlandish, superhero-like gameplay afforded players the chance to just go wild in a metro setting. The open-world genre -- and the world at large -- has changed quite a bit, though.

Code Vein is easily described as "anime Dark Souls." It's an over-the-top action-RPG that emphasizes an intricate combat system, character builds, and a sometimes punishing level of difficulty. It also adds a sometimes over-the-top style that is a far cry from Dark Souls' muted tones and grim atmosphere but just might be enough to help put this game over-the-top.

From what we've seen of Control, we have no doubts that it will be full of Remedy's trademark personality. It's a bizarre psychological action title with supernatural elements that looks wonderfully eerie and exciting. Even better, Remedy has promised that this game will be slightly more open than its previous, very linear titles. We'll see whether or not that allows the studio to expand its creative borders.

This remake of the original Crash Team Racing has a daunting task ahead of it. Somehow, it must please fans of the original surprise hit while winning over a generation that recently experienced the brilliant Mario Kart 8. We don't envy the task ahead of developer Beenox.

We’d have a hard time arguing with anyone who calls Cuphead the Xbox One’s best exclusive title. Studio MDHR may have had to delay the game a few times, but the final product proved to be a gorgeous nod to both the era of 2D action titles and those classic animated adventures of the ‘30s and ‘40s.

Days Gone remains the anomaly of what could be the PlayStation’s 4 final lineup of exclusive games. This post-apocalyptic open-world game has been shown at several Sony events in the past, but delays have pushed the game into the realm of doubt in the minds of some Sony fans.

The Dead or Alive series has long existed in this strange plane of popularity and respect. Dating back to the brilliant Dead or Alive 2, the franchise has been seen as an often fun, sometimes excellent, sometimes sloppy, and usually beautiful experience. Yet, it's never really received the respect that series like Street Fighter and Tekken typically garner.

The Devil May Cry series is generally regarded as one of the godfathers of the 3D action genre, but it’s been quite some time since we’ve gotten a new game from the franchise. Even Ninja Theory’s brilliant re-imagining of the Devil May Cry concept wasn’t enough to satisfy the series’ hardcore fans.