Shacknews has returned to begin a year full of gaming coverage. It all starts with the continuation of our annual tradition, where each staff member lays out a number of games that they're anticipating for the new year.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

I got into the Witcher series when The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings released onto the Xbox 360 back in early 2012, and even though I didn’t get a chance to complete it, I absolutely loved the experience CD Projekt RED delivered. The Witcher plays like a much grittier Dragon Age with a much more challenging, yet rewarding, battle system.

From what I’ve seen of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt so far, I anticipate I’ll be spending much of my summer playing through the game’s story and completing as many side missions as I can.

King’s Quest

Much of my gaming history was spent playing point & click adventure games and Sierra’s King’s Quest series was one I will always hold a special place in my gaming heart. I started playing the series with King’s Quest V, then continued to play each sequel and went back to play previously released games in the series, and I enjoyed them all a great deal.

I’m hoping King’s Quest will continue to bring adventure games into the mainstream, although I’m also hoping the game will be as unforgiving and brutal as the original series was. I can’t tell you how many times I played King’s Quest VI and forced Prince Alexander to be swept away by the strong island’s strong currents just to see him drown over and over again.

Evolve

I played through the Evolve Big Alpha and I enjoyed what I experienced so far from the game from the team who brought us the Left 4 Dead series. Even though the alpha was pretty limited on what you can do and unlock, Turtle Rock has released new information regarding the game that gives me confidence this will be the new multiplayer shooter to beat in 2015.

Steins; Gate

Steins; Gate was a phenomenal anime when it originally aired in Japan back in 2011 as it involved a self-proclaimed mad scientist who builds a time machine in order to alter the past in order to change what happens in the future. Through his tinkering, a number of different outcomes occur. Some benefit the mad scientist. Many don’t. He then attempts to fix the errors, although the more he attempts to fix things, the worse the outcome.

A Steins; Gate visual novel game is planned to be released in the US by PQube onto the PlayStation 3 and Vita. If the anime was any indication, I am prepared to experience Steins; Gate’s amazing story from a more personal level. If you are a fan of animes and visual novels, I suggest you keep this one on your radar.

The Legend of Zelda

C’mon. It’s a new Legend of Zelda on the Wii U. This is a no brainer.