Top 10 New Game Releases To Look Forward To In June 2019

June’s new game releases are usually overshadowed by E3 announcements, but that doesn’t mean there are no releases to look forward to. Here are our picks for games to keep your eyes on in June 2019.

June is a huge month for news about upcoming games, thanks to E3, but it’s not quite as hot for new game releases. While E3, held this year from June 11 to 13, will probably be the most exciting time for games, there’s still a solid batch of new titles to keep you occupied for the rest of the month. The beginning of June is a bit light, as expected, but the end of the month has a varied enough batch of releases that you should be able to find something that appeals to you.

Here are our picks for the top 10 games to keep your eyes on this June:

The Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr

• Release Date: June 4
• Platforms: PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One

The Elder Scrolls Online transformed itself from a flop at launch into one of the most successful MMOs running today. On top of making some sweeping changes to how the game works, developer ZeniMax Online has kept things fresh by regularly introducing huge content updates called Chapters. The latest Chapter, Elsweyr, takes players to the home of the cat-like Khajit for the first time in Elder Scrolls history.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr adds a new playable class, the necromancer, which gives players control over the forces of life and death. In practical terms, that means you can heal allies, protect yourself, and even raise armies of the dead using your necromantic powers. This expansion will also add epic fights against dragons, who have returned to Tamriel for the first time in the Elder Scrolls Online.

The expansion is already in Early Access on PC and Mac, but it officially releases June 4 for those platforms, plus PS4 and Xbox One.

Trover Saves the Universe

• Release Date: June 4
• Platform: PC

It’s hard to say much for sure about Trover Saves the Universe, but, coming from the co-creator of Rick and Morty, it’s definitely going to be weird. It’s an experience that looks best played in VR, where you control a character in virtual reality who’s controlling another character in a different virtual reality, and — maybe it’s best to let the game’s website speak for itself.

Your dogs have been dognapped by a beaked lunatic named Glorkon who stuffed them into his eye holes and is using their life essence to destroy the universe. You’re partnered with Trover, a little purple eye-hole monster who isn’t a huge fan of working or being put in the position of having to save the universe.

Trover Saves the Universe will be playable with or without VR. The PS4 version launches May 31, with the PC version available on Steam and the Epic Games Store June 4.

Vacation Simulator

• Release Date: June 18
• Platform: PS4

Vacation Simulator is the follow-up to the surprisingly fun Job Simulator. While Job Simulator tasked you with performing a variety of jobs for robots in VR, most of the fun came from how quickly things fall apart when you’re trying to do simple things like operate a cash register with VR goggles on. Vacation Simulator will replicate the same formula, but with more relaxing activities like ice-sculpting and barbecuing. It’ll probably be just as much of a disaster.

Vacation Simulator will release for PS4 on June 18, just in time for summer. It’s already available on PC.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

• Release Date: June 25
• Platforms: PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One

Developed by a team led by legendary Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi, fans have been clamoring for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night for a long time now. Originally announced in 2015, the game’s Kickstarter was fully funded in a single day. Since then, it’s come a long way, including a recently announced change in art style after some fans complained about the game’s original look.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night intends to be a return to the classic action sidescrolling Castlevania formula. It will be available June 25 for PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.

Judgment

• Release Date: June 25
• Platform: PS4

Judgment is a spin-off of the popular Yakuza series, casting you as a lawyer trying to clean up the streets, instead of a gangster making the messes. This isn’t Ace Attorney though; you’re the kind of lawyer who goes rogue and settles things with his fists when he needs to, which appear to be often, based on trailers. The game takes place in Kamurocho, the same fiction district of Tokyo where the Yakuza series is set.

Judgment released in Japan earlier this year but was pulled from store shelves when one of its primary actors was caught in a drug scandal. Sega replaced all of his scenes with a different actor before putting the game back on sale, but fortunately, the controversy didn’t affect the game’s international release.

You can get Judgment on PS4 on June 25.

Samurai Showdown

• Release Date: June 25
• Platforms: PS4, Xbox One

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIaC7wL8mOo

Samurai Showdown is the 12th entry in a long-running series, but if you’re new to fighting games, you might not know it. The series had a good run starting in 1993, but there hasn’t actually been a new game released in a decade. Developer SNK has said that they returned to the series due to the growing popularity of the fighting game esports scene and fan demand. The new Samurai Showdown is said to be a return to the series’ roots, with a story set before the original and gameplay that tries to capture its intense battles. From what we’ve seen, it looks to be a fun return to form, with diverse, colorful characters.

In addition to traditional multiplayer, you can also train “ghosts” by fighting against them to teach them your own fighting style, then share them online.

Samurai Showdown launches on Xbox One and PS4 June 25.

The Sinking City

• Release Date: June 27
• Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One

There’s no shortage of games based on the work of acclaimed novelist and terrible person H.P. Lovecraft, but The Sinking City looks like one of the most exciting ones to date. Set in the fictional city of Oakmont, which is slowly sinking into the sea, the game casts you as a private eye hoping to find out what’s happening to the city and why all of its inhabitants are going mad.

Along the way, you’ll have to do battle with supernatural creatures while trying to keep your own sanity intact. It sounds a lot like the cult classic Eternal Darkness, but maybe even more interesting, thanks to the addition of a cool, open-ended investigation system that claims to change the outcome of the game based on what you uncover.

A recent gameplay trailer shows off the various parts of the game while being extremely unshy about showing some of its more unnerving elements. The game is set for release June 27 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Super Mario Maker 2

• Release Date: June 28
• Platform: Switch

Depending on how you play it, Super Mario Maker 2 can be a fun way to share your creativity with friends or a way to torture strangers on the internet. Building on the success of the original Super Mario Maker, the sequel adds tons of new items and features that you can use to create the Super Mario level of your dreams — or your nightmares. Just like in the original, you’ll also be able to share your creations with the world and download others from the internet.

Super Mario Maker 2 promises 100 original levels packed in, so, even if you aren’t in the mood for sharing, this game may still be worth a look. Super Mario Maker 2 launches June 28 on Switch.

F1 2019

• Release Date: June 27
• Platform: PC

Even if watching strange-looking cars drive around in circles isn’t your thing, it’s a whole different experience when you can actually get behind the wheel. F1 2019 is the latest in a series dedicated to simulating the experience of driving an F1 car, and it gets closer every year. This year’s edition adds an expanded career mode, shareable race highlight videos alongside weekly challenges and a robust online mode.

F1 2019 is due out June 27 for PC.

My Friend Pedro

• Release Date: June TBA
• Platforms: PC, Switch

If you remember My Friend Pedro’s explosive trailer from last year’s E3, it needs no further introduction. If you don’t, here’s how publisher Devolver Digital describes the game:

My Friend Pedro is a violent ballet about friendship, imagination, and one man’s struggle to obliterate anyone in his path at the behest of a sentient banana.

My Friend Pedro is a fast-paced, violent, 2D action game that looks almost as much fun to watch as it does to play. It even includes a built-in gif generator if you want to test that theory out and share your best moments online. It doesn’t have an exact date nailed down, but it’s set for release in June on Switch and PC.