TSA’s Most Wanted in 2020 #5-1

As we come to the end of our list of most wanted games in 2020, it’s clear that next year is going to deliver us a smorgasbord of digital entertainment, and that’s even before we consider the next-gen delights that the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X can bring.

Before we get stuck into the final five games, make sure to check out all of those that we’ve covered over the last few days. Click through to #50-41, #40-31, #30-21, #20-11 and #10-6, and then scroll on to see the games we really, really, really want the most.

5 – Ghost of Tsushima

PS4 – Summer 2020

It’s been a long, long time since the last Sucker Punch game, but if what we’ve seen of Ghost of Tsushima is anything to go by – our latest glimpse coming at the Game Awards – it’s going to have been worth the wait.

The games casts you as Jin Sakai, the last samurai left fighting during the first Mongol invasion of Japan, struggling to defend the island of Tsushima. The setting is very much in vogue at the moment, with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Nioh fresh in the memory, but this game has a much less fantastical style to it, even if it does take inspiration from Japanese Chanbara classics such as Seven Samurai and Sanjuro.

Jin will start off with relatively traditional battle techniques for a samurai, Sucker Punch having spent a long time aiming to make the game authentic in that regard, but also learning new abilities and tactics as you wage guerrilla warfare across the game’s open world setting.

The game looks absolutely gorgeous, and could be a fitting swan song for the PlayStation 4 alongside The Last of Us Part II.

4 – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2

Switch – TBC

One of the biggest surprises from E3 2019 was the announcement of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, a rare direct sequel within the long-running franchise. That became a little less surprising when we discovered that the game originally started out as a collection of ideas for expansions to the hit Wii U and Switch game, but quickly outgrew the scope of what that would allow for.

As series producer Eiji Aonuma explained, “Initially we were thinking of just DLC ideas, but then we had a lot of ideas and we said, “This is too many ideas, let’s just make one new game and start from scratch.”

Though details are pretty sparse, the trailer shows Link and Zelda travelling underground, facing new and interesting dangers, before cutting to show a wide shot of a world and Hyrule Castle that looked very similar to that of Breath of the Wild. The implication from what Aonuma said is that they’ll be able to dig into the game and make much deeper changes to the world, where a DLC expansion would largely keep this intact and add new ideas on top.

What’s less than clear is when we could expect the game to come out. No date has been mentioned, but Nintendo will likely gone into full production on this around the release of The Champions Ballad expansion in December 2017. It’s feasible that the game could be released in 2020, but Nintendo are renowned for working on projects until they’re happy with them and Breath of the Wild was delayed several times until it ended up being a cross-generational game.

3 – Cyberpunk 2077

PS4, XBO, PC – 16th April 2020

I’m sure there’s an awful lot of people that would drop Cyberpunk 2077 at the top of their personal lists, with the developers of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt shifting gears dramatically to a sci-fi setting based around the tabletop RPG Cyberpunk. With Night City as your playground, not to mention cyberspace itself, there’s a world of possibilities open to you.

2019 has seen a lot more of the game revealed to the public, with the above gameplay trailer showcasing some of the different approaches you can take to the sandbox scenarios and missions you’ll face. You can customise your version of V however you see fit, from gender and looks to your background leaning into different playstyles, but the game’s main story will unite everyone’s experience, as you seek to uncover just why a digitised version of Keanu Reeves is now in your brain.

How will you play?

2 – The Last of Us: Part II

PS4 – 29th May 2020

The Last of Us’ story wasn’t really one that needed a sequel, but given how popular that game was, it’s not too much of a surprise that it’s got one. It’s now half a decade later when the relative peace and happiness that Joel and Ellie have found in the ruins of civilisation is torn apart once more.

We’ll be playing as a 19-year-old Ellie this time around, seeking to get her revenge on a group of survivors that have caused her some real emotional pain. I’m sure there’ll be much more pain to come through the rest of the game, as well, but even with the relatively revealing trailers that Naughty Dog have shown, they’ve apparently managed to keep a lid on any of the things they really consider to be secrets.

This is not a game for the squeamish. Where the first was already pretty violent, Naughty Dog have been pioneering new animation techniques to plant their characters in the world even more realistically, making them interact more fluidly in the process, and leading to even more gruesome deaths. Combined with the giant leap forward in visuals that the PS4 offers over the PS3, and the sheer brutality of the post-apocalyptic world has been apparent in every snippet of the game shown so far.

The only real shame is that there won’t be any multiplayer… yet.

1 – Final Fantasy VII Remake

PS4 – 3rd March 2020

Topping our list is a game that has been planned or in development for the better part of two decades. A remake of the defining Final Fantasy VII was mooted way back in the PlayStation 2 era even, but it wasn’t until a PlayStation 3 render of the game’s opening was shown for that console’s reveal that it became a demand from the vociferous fanbase. It wasn’t until the nostalgia-filled E3 2015, Final Fantasy VII Remake was formally announced alongside Shenmue III and The Last Guardian. Now, five years later, that dream is becoming reality.

Needless to say, it seems as though all of the waiting will be worth it. This will be a thoroughly modern take on a classic game, doing nothing to dilute the legacy of the original, but with the potential to create its own. The game looks fantastic, and from our hands on, it plays just as well. There’s a new real time battle system that still incorporates some of the feel of old. With direct control over characters, able to switch back and forth at while, you dish out damage until your ATB bar is filled, letting you then pause time and pick an ability, spell or item to use, effortlessly combining new with old, button mashing with tactical planning.

True to all of the reasons that held Square Enix back from doing this sooner, the development of Final Fantasy VII Remake has taken far longer than fans would have imagined. Rebuilding the game from the ground up hasn’t been as quick for Square Enix as Capcom found remaking Resident Evil 2 to be, but then this remake is adding whole new story arcs and expanding the game to justify being split into three parts.

Here’s hoping all the effort is worth the wait.

That’s the end of our fifty most wanted games in 2020 list, but what about you? Which games top the charts of your desires? Let us know in the comments.