Looking ahead at the lineup of games awaiting their releases in the coming months, it’s clear that by the time the year is coming to an end, 2019 will have been an exceptional one for gaming. But with half of it having zipped by in a blink, before looking ahead, maybe it’s time to pause and look back. In this feature, we’ll be listing out what have been our fifteen favourite games released in 2019 so far.

Looking at just how massive the pool for selection was for us, we’ll obviously be missing out on quite a few games, so if you notice any omissions you feel deserved a place on this list, sound off in the comments section below. Also, do note that this list is presented in a random order– we’re not ranking these games. It’s not time to do that… just yet.

RESIDENT EVIL 2

Gun to our heads, if we had to pick our Game of the Year right here, right now… well, we still wouldn’t be able to do it, but Resident Evil 2 sure as hell would be one of the games leading that race. Capcom’s survival horror franchise saw a much needed revival in 2017 with Resident Evil 7, but it’s safe to say that with this year’s remake of the beloved 1998 classic, the series is back to being the best it has ever been. Resident Evil 2 strikes the perfect balance between paying loving tribute to an older game, while also being an excellent experience in its own right, and we’re more excited now about the future of this series than we have been in a long, long time.

Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu often ends up being among the first outlets to review several upcoming games, and their review scores and impressions can serve as a good indicator for the kind of reception we can see for the games in question. In their latest issue (via Ryokutya 2089), the magazine reviewed four more games, two of which were upcoming Switch exclusive Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, and Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, the long-awaited return of the flight combat franchise.

For those looking forward to any (or both) of those two, there’s good news- they’ve both scored pretty well in their reviews. Famitsu reviewers gave Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes three scores of 8 and one of nine, for a total score of 33/40. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, meanwhile, received three scores of 9, and one of eight, for a total score of 35/40. For the fans of both franchises, which have been dormant for some time, that is certainly good news- though of course, a single outlet’s reviews are never indicative of the larger public reception.

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes launches on the Nintendo Switch on January 18, with Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown coming out on PS4 and Xbox One on the same day, followed by a PC release on February 1.

We’re still not sure when exactly Ace Combat 7 is set to release, but some new details about the game’s story and setting along with some screenshots were just revealed by Bandai Namco.

First of all, we learn that the developers have been hard at work in trying to simulate natural weather conditions which includes weather effects like rainfall, fog, and more. It also looks like they have gone to a great extent to depict the skies realistically as it is based on principles of physics. This also means that we’ll be seeing some really cool sky colors and sunsets, depending on where we view it from.

As for the game’s story, it is set in 2019 when the Second Continental War breaks out between Osea and Erusea. The hero of the story is part of the Osean Self-Defense Air Force. The relations between the nation had been getting strained for a while until Erusea finally declared war. Osea also makes things worse by accidentally attacking the capital of Erusea, which is frowned upon by the public since this is an age where urban areas aren’t targeted during wars.

We also learn about the Orbital Elevator which is the largest international project since Ulysses. This was built by the Osean government and its allies in an effort to supply electricity to countries using a method of solar power generation. The ISEV was established just to handle the construction of the Orbital Elevator.

You can check out all of the new screenshots below.

Ace Combat 7, the seventh entry in Bandai Namco’s long running flight sim and aerial combat series, launches next year- and we just got the mother of all info dumps for the game today, to whet our appetites as we wait for the title.

First up- a new trailer, showcasing some thrilling gameplay footage, and some advanced aerial techniques that you can pull off in the heat of the moment, should you be a good enough pilot. Next, a bunch of screenshots, which show us the Mitsubishi F-2A, and the carrier-based F-35 Lightning II in all their glory.

Finally, we have new gameplay footage for the game- this footage, courtesy of DualShockers, shows us some more footage from mission 3 of the game.

You can check out all of this new media for the game for yourself below. Ace Combat 7 is due out next year for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC, with limited support for the PlayStation VR also confirmed.

Ace Combat 7 may be launching next year, but Bandai Namco is already bringing the hype. For the seventh entry in its long running flagship flight sim and combat series, it has released a brand new trailer, showcasing the game’s fantastic graphics, and hinting at its story.

The trailer basically gives us a peek into the events that are setting up the conflict for Ace Combat 7. Simultaneously, it looks gorgeous and stunning as well- we can hope that the final game does indeed live up to the vision that this trailer is setting.

Ace Combat 7 is due out in 2018. It was originally announced as a PS4 exclusive, with PlayStation VR compatibility. However, it will now be releasing for Xbox One and PC in addition to PS4. The PlayStation VR compatibility, meanwhile, has been revealed to be limited to just a handful of modes. It’s a shame, but hey- at least the game is coming along well. And now, more people get to play it, even if the VR vision is compromised.

 Ace Combat 7 hasn’t really been seen much outside of its announcement at 2015’s PSX. How has progress been on the game until now?

So we made the decision to instead of piecing it out, giving you guys big content that wasn’t really ready yet, we wanted to really hit it hard with a bang. So we have VR support, the new trailer and a lot of new elements of the game.

What can you tell us about the game’s plot and setting, especially given the resolution at the end of Ace Combat 6?

It’s going to take place in the same fictitious world as Ace Combat 4, 5, zero and 6. But of course we want new users to be able to appreciate this game and not feel intimidated by the story,  because they don’t have all the background; which is why it’s not going to directly linked although it will take place in the same world. As far as timeline goes, it’ll be 10 years after Ace Combat 5.

What changes can be expected and then campaign mode? Will we see the same style of dog-fighting or is there something new in store?

As far as the campaign in Ace Combat goes, because this is a numbered flagship title, we really went to the core with what makes Ace Combat so great for a lot of the fans. You can expect a lot of the great elements that made Ace Combat what it is. As far as campaign and innovations, one of our key slogans even internally is “innovation in the sky.” We went a long way to make sure the clouds, for example, you can really feel and see the clouds. And when the jet goes through it it’s going to leave trails, and you can also hide in the clouds – that’s an element of gameplay. So that affects the way you dogfight by hiding in the clouds, and using that to your advantage.

How long will the campaign mode be? What Aircrafts can players look forward to flying in, and how many missions will be available?

The total playtime is still being adjusted because it’s in development and we’re making a lot of campaign elements right now. So I don’t have an exact number for you. But you can expect a similar amount of content to those of the flagship titles in the Ace Combat franchise. As far as the number of aircraft goes, it’s going to be less than Ace Combat Infinity, I have to say. But that is in part because we had to create all of the models ourselves from scratch, because we had to bring it up to date because we have new systems, new resolution textures and everything. We build all of the models from the ground up.

"The main difference between the VR version and the so-called “flat version” is that the flat version is a bit prettier in terms of textures and the level of detail. "

How does the PSVR help to further immerse players in the games world? How did you leverage the console’s power to enhance the visuals?

So I think it really assisted in our pursuit of realism. For example what I mentioned earlier in the sky, about the trails and all that, is something that can only be processed on a piece of hardware as powerful as the PS4. What also assisted us in pursuit of that realism is the illusion of being in the world. The level of immersion with the PlayStation VR in the power of the PS4 has has gone up exponentially. You’ll be able to trick your brain into thinking you are in this world once you put on the VR headset.

Unreal Engine 4 is a first for the series. Considering the immersive results seen from other games, how does it allow you to open up the gameplay of Ace Combat 7 especially on the PS4?

In a more traditional development, when it’s completely vertical and you have to create the engine and everything, you also need to create the environment which people can plug into the engine. It’s a lot of extra tedious work for that level of customization. So what Unreal 4 allowed us to do was give the artist and engineers the freedom to explore what they wanted to do, which opened up a lot of doors. It was a more effective pipeline I think.

The PlayStation VR version has sounded fairly interesting to us, but how does the experience differ from playing with the controller on PS4?

The main difference between the VR version and the so-called “flat version” is the flat version is a bit prettier in terms of textures and the level of detail. But that is because of certain limitations we have with VR. But what we really focused on was the experience. What VR enables you to do is actually turn your head and look in whatever direction you want to, which is something you really can’t do on a flat screen. So I think that everything you’d want to expect when you intuitively turn your head is going to be there. And creating this experience was exciting for us. And I think it is a unique way to see the game and the world.

You mentioned the visuals are slightly down from the “flat version,” as you call it, what other challenges were faced with Ace Combat on VR?

The challenge with VR really is balancing all of the elements. Because you deal with so much more details that occur simultaneously. Obviously the frame rate is the key to the experience in optimizing that. The balance is extremely sensitive if you push the visuals a little too hard you’re going to drop frames immediately. Especially with the amount of data you’re dealing with. We had to look at the visual quality, the frame rate and put that on the scale and see where we could optimize and find a happy medium. In reality having developed and looking back I can say it was almost like making two separate games.

What new multiplayer mode can be expected in the final release?

The multiplayer element is still in development and I definitely want to have a expansive experience. With that said, what I can say is at this point there is going to be a lot of customization and somehow integrate it into the multiplayer experience.

Is there any specific reason why the game is not coming to the Xbox One?

I would certainly not say the doors are closed on a multi-platform release. However right now we are focusing on the PlayStation Experience because it is a PlayStation VR exclusive in terms of a VR unit. So once we get that optimized we can consider other options.

"I would certainly not say the doors are closed on a multi-platform release."

How is Ace Combat 7 taking advantage of the PS4 Pro’s improved processing power?

As far as the PlayStation 4 Pro is concerned we are still making adjustments and seeing what is possible with the console and what it can do. Some of the limitations I mentioned earlier during this interview…that is an area that the PS4 Pro can assist us with exploring in terms of forms of expression, of how we can put the player into this world.

What is your take on the PS4 Pro’s GPU? Do you think it’s enough to do native 4K in a game like Ace Combat 7?

I think that’s still kind of up for discussion right now. We really just got to service on what PS4 Pro can do and how we can best optimize the GPU – our team is working on that. So whether it’s resolution or frame rate or just simple details of the models, however we decide to optimize and improve that we definitely want to explore that. I can’t say right now though.

The PSVR has a lower resolution which results into slightly blurred image quality. How are you tackling this?

Perhaps I chose the wrong word, we were going to say lower. Although it is relative to its flat version sibling, the feedback that we’ve gotten from a lot of our people who played this says the level of immersion is certainly there. I think with the VR 60 FPS is an absolute must. You can’t drop from that ever. So we had to fix the frames per second. So in other instances where it may be a little more forgiving, this is not. Once you do that you have to start making adjustments in other areas to compensate the processing that’s required, because VR is extremely taxing on the system.

How are you taking care of the motion sickness while playing in VR?

In terms of motion sickness there have been some measures we put which will help prevent it, including the cockpit frame, having elements that are fixed. This will definitely assist in allowing people to lock onto something. Our feedback that we got was actually surprisingly positive, even for us. A lot of people who played the game said that they didn’t get sick. Which even for us was a pleasant surprise. So I think all in all the experience is a very pleasant one for whoever plays it.

When can we expect Ace Combat 7 to release?

2017. But not next month 2017.

Bandai Namco’s Ace Combat series will be making a comeback of sorts with Ace Combat 7 since it’s the first mainline series sequel in years. Given how it’s releasing so far after the PS4 Pro’s launch, we had to wonder how Project Aces would be taking advantage of the console’s power.

Producer Kazutoki Kono spoke to GamingBolt about the same and said that, “As far as the PlayStation 4 Pro is concerned we are still making adjustments and seeing what the console is possible – what it can do.

“Some of the limitations I mentioned earlier during this interview (about maintaining balance between visual quality and frame rate in VR mode) that is an area that the PS4 Pro capacity can assist us with exploring in terms of forms of expression, of how we can put the player into this world,” Kono said with regards to maintaining a balance between visual quality and frame performance for VR. Ace Combat 7 will be supporting PlayStation VR when it’s out next year.

With so much discussion on the PS4 Pro’s GPU and how capable it is of native 4K in current and future titles, would Ace Combat 7 support the same? Kono noted that, “I think that’s still kind of up for discussion right now. We really just got to service on what PS4 Pro can do and how we can optimize it at best of the GPU is still – our team is working on that. So whether it’s resolution or frame rate or just simple details of the models, however we decide to optimize and improve that we definitely want to explore that. I can’t say right now though.”

What are your thoughts on Ace Combat 7’s features? Let us know in the comments below.

Ace Combat 7 looks to be a return to form for the beleaguered, once beloved aerial combat franchise- and one of the most intriguing bits about this new, upcoming game promises to be its VR support and compatibility.

If that is something that you were curious about, then you will appreciate the footage that YouTube user dovmxjqjsj posted (via DualShockers). The footage is a recording of five minutes of gameplay of the game filmed from PlayStation VR’s social screen, and it shows us a lot of what we can expect from the game running in VR, also showing VR specific features such as head tracking in action.

It looks like it might even work- it actually makes me a bit disappointed that the VR functionality for the game will be limited to just some parts of the game. But regardless, those parts, at least, should be stellar- hopefully the rest of the game is, too.

There’s not a whole lot known about Bandai Namco’s Ace Combat 7. Then again, it is Ace Combat, a series that holds a strong place in many a fantasy fighter pilot’s heart and this will be the first numbered entry since Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation released in 2007.

However, unlike Ace Combat 6, Ace Combat 7 won’t be releasing for a Microsoft platform. It’s currently exclusive to PS4 with support for PlayStation VR. Could an Xbox One release happen down the line?

Producer Kazutoki Kono revealed that, “I would certainly not say that the doors are close for a multi platform release. However right now we are focusing on the PlayStation Experience because it is a PlayStation VR exclusive in terms of a VR unit. So once we get that optimized we can consider other options.”

That could be a long ways off though. For now, if you want to experience Ace Combat 7, the PS4 is the place to be. Stay tuned for more information on its 2017 release in the coming months.

Ace Combat is finally returning with the upcoming Ace Combat 7, which looks to be a return to the series’ roots (while also being forward looking with its PlayStation VR compatible component). But this renewal of the series, as well as the fact that companies in general are pretty remake and remaster happy these days, has led to a lot of hopeful fans apparently hoping for Ace Combat 4 and 5 remakes for the PS4- something that would be ‘very tricky,’ according to the producer of Ace Combat 7.

“In terms of remakes, I’m very thankful that there are a lot of fans and voices saying “hey, we want to experience the story again”,”Ace Combat 7 Producer Kazutoki Kono told DualShockers. “Should the chance present itself, I would certainly like to examine it, but there are a lot of tricky issues that we took on with the past wars, thematically, so it would be a very tricky thing to navigate.”

That said, he did admit that if it were possible, he would like to look into it. “But if the chance presents itself, then I would like to explore it, absolutely,” he added. Ace Combat 7 is due on PS4 some time in 2017.