Let’s be honest, when it comes to exclusives for PlayStation 4, 2014 was a bit of a letdown. Sure, we had inFamous: Second Son and Driveclub (I guess), but it wasn’t exactly a standout year for the PS4 — especially for a new(er) console.
While it can be argued that the PS4 wasn’t a “must-buy” console for much of 2014, the lineup ahead looks very promising. Barring any delays, 2015 is shaping up to be quite the year for PlayStation 4 owners. And if you don’t own a PS4, here are seven upcoming exclusives that’ll make you want to run out and buy one.
The Order: 1886 – February 20, 2015
Developed by Ready at Dawn and SCE Santa Monica Studio, The Order: 1886 is a third-person action-adventure game set in an alternate history London, where an old order of knights keep the world safe from half-breed monsters. While early previews of the game painted a bleak picture for this exclusive, I had a chance to go hands-on with it at PlayStation Experience in December, and it didn’t disappoint. Gorgeous and fluid, this story-driven exclusive is easily one of the most anticipated PS4 exclusives of 2015.
Bloodborne – March 25, 2015
From the makers of the hit Dark Souls series (FromSoftware) comes a brand new action-RPG that promises difficulty, death, and lots of gore. With development led by Hidetaka Miyazaki (director of Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls), that should be reason enough why gamers should be excited for Bloodborne. There’s still plenty of mystery surrounding the finer details of Bloodborne, but one thing is certain — if you like difficulty, you’re going to want a PS4 to play this bad boy.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – 2015
This is arguably the biggest and best reason to go out and buy a PlayStation 4 in 2015. By now, everybody knows about the Uncharted series and the adventures of Nathan Drake (PlayStation’s version of Indiana Jones). Even if you have never played an Uncharted game in your life, this one is probably on your radar. At PlayStation Experience in December, Naughty Dog showed off a lengthy gameplay video, and it didn’t disappoint.
No Man’s Sky – 2015
I’m going to be totally honest here, I still don’t really know what the point of No Man’s Sky is. But I’m excited nonetheless. This exclusive, created by a small team at Hello Games, may be classified as an “indie” title, but has all of the ambition of a AAA blockbuster. At it’s core, No Man’s Sky is a science-fiction game set in an infinite procedurally generated universe, but if you’ve seen the videos then you’ll know it’s much more than that. It’s massive — a truly open universe where you’ll explore uncharted solar systems and catalogue unique new forms of life. You can go virtually anywhere, flying seamlessly from the surface of a planet to another, sharing your discoveries with other players. No Man’s Sky is easily one of my most anticipated PlayStation 4 (timed) exclusives of 2015, with the only caveat being that I’ve yet to go hands-on with it.
Until Dawn – 2015
Developed by Supermassive Games, Until Dawn is an interactive thriller in the same vein of Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls. It’s a story-driven, action-horror in which every choice has consequence, creating a butterfly effect with branching storylines that promise no two experiences will be the same. As for the story itself, you’ll play as each of the eight friends trapped together on a remote mountain retreat. “Gripped by dread, with tensions running high,” your decisions will mean the difference between life and death for them. I had the opportunity to play a brief demo of Until Dawn at PlayStation Experience; you can read about my tension-filled experience here.
Street Fighter V – 2015
I’m not much of a fighting-game type of guy, but you’d have to be blind to ignore the fact that one of the latest chapter of one of the most legendary fighting franchises is a PS4 console exclusive (also coming to PC). Not much is actually known about the game right now, but it will allow for PS4 and PC cross-platform play that, according to Capcom, will “unite Street Fighter fans into a centralized player base for the first time ever.”
PlanetSide 2 – Beta in January 2015
We don’t know when PlanetSide 2 will “officially” release for PlayStation 4, but the closed beta is slated to launch in mid-January. That’s enough to get me excited as it marks the arrival of another free-to-play opportunity for PS4 owners. PlanetSide 2 is a solid shooter featuring large-scale warfare on a massive level. If you haven’t already played it on PC, give it a whirl and get pumped for its arrival on PS4.
If these seven games haven’t already convinced you to go out and purchase a PS4, then maybe I should point out a few other planned exclusives, like Deep Down, MLB 15: The Show, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, The Tomorrow Children, and Rime. Who knows, maybe Sony will even surprise us with The Last Guardian. The point is, 2015 is going to be a huge year for PlayStation 4.
