Scalebound – Q4 2016 2017 (Xbox One)
Many regard dogs to be man's best friend, but in Scalebound, it's a giant dragon. You play as Drew, who gets whisked away into the world of Draconis, where he befriends a dragon who is the last of his kind. Combat will revolve around controlling Drew, while also simultaneously enlisting the help of your dragon to defeat large enemies. The game comes from PlatinumGames, the dev behind fantastic action titles like Bayonetta, Wonderful 101, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, so I think it's safe to say it's in good hands.
As of 1/4/2016, PlatinumGames have officially announced that the game will be releasing in 2017.
ReCore – Q2 2016 (Xbox One)
Yet another title we don't know much about story-wise, though we do know that it's coming from Keiji Inafune (of Mega Man fame) and the developers behind the Metroid Prime series. You play as a human who must use robotic companions to defend the world from others bent on your destruction. While we don't have an exact date yet, here's to hoping that Q2 release window is accurate.
Let us know what games you're looking forward to playing on Xbox One next year!
Crackdown 3 – Q2/Q3 2016 (Xbox One)
Whether your fondest memories of playing Crackdown involve shooting a rocket launcher at a crowd of enemies, or perhaps leaping from building to building in search of more upgrade orbs, one thing's for sure, it was extremely fun. And while it may have sold really well thanks to the fact that it included a beta for Halo 3, those who stuck around and actually played it found that it was a really fun take on the open world genre.
Cuphead – No date (Xbox One/PC)
Man, all I really know about this game is that you play as the titular cuphead, fighting various bosses, and that the graphics for the game are absolutely crazy, in an extremely vintage sort of way. One look at a gameplay video of Cuphead, and you'd think you're looking at a really old Mickey Mouse cartoon, except filled with lots of flying obstacles and bullets for Cuphead to dodge. If anything, its aesthetics are the driving force behind me really wanting to get my hands on it. Sadly, the game doesn't have a set release date yet, but here's to hoping we see it sometime in 2016.
The year 2015 has brought us a lot of great games, and 2016 is looking quite promising as well. Whether you're looking for cinematic experience that blends the power of time manipulation, or maybe take down criminal gangs as a super powered peace keeper, or even take down giant monsters as a wise-cracking kid with his dragon pal, you have a lot to look forward to if you own an Xbox One. Let's break it down shall we?
Before I do though, this list is comprised of only Xbox One exclusives, or console exclusives when the game also has a release planned on PC. That means games like The Division or Battleborn, though anticipated, won't make this list.
Quantum Break – April 5 2016 (Xbox One)
I binge-watch a lot of TV shows thanks to services like Hulu and Netflix. So naturally, a game that marries both gameplay and a TV show with actual episodes, is a pretty unique and intriguing concept to me. The game will have you playing as Jack Joyce, who has the ability to manipulate time. Depending on your action and choices, you'll directly affect the outcomes and storylines of the individual episodes that you'll watch after each gameplay chapter. The game and show is filled with popular actors like Shawn Ashmore, Lance Reddick, and Aidan Gillen. This is definitely one game to watch out for.
Gears of War 4 – Q4 2016 (Xbox One)
While we don't really know a whole lot of specifics about the game's storyline, we do know that developer Coalition is aiming for a much darker game in tone. After three games, players have been desensitized to the various alien lifeforms in the game, and Coalition wants to bring some of the fear back in the fourth installment. We also know that the game will focus on two main characters.
