I'd love to get my hands on Legend of Grimrock II and Might and Magic X: Legacy, but reality dawned on the moment I finished watching their previews online that my crappy laptop has no chance in hell of running them well. Grimrock was my first exposure to the world of first-person classical RPGs/dungeon crawlers and it chimed with the explorer-cartographer side of me that loved putting together my own maps, finding my own bearings and familiarising myself with this strange albeit enclosed and labyrinthine environment.
Shadowrun: Dragonfall. This one's essentially an expansion to Returns rather than a full-fledged sequel. And that's fine enough with me. If anyone is looking for a decent strategy RPG set in a technologically advanced dystopian future where magic also comes into the equation, here's one. There's plenty to like with the original release, despite its disappointments and odd feature absences such as a reliable save system, something which Dragonfall will thankfully negate by finally allowing the player to save their progress at any time. Plus, this promises to be less linear. Roll on dystopian 2054 Berlin!
South Park: The Stick of Truth. Hopefully this does come out this year, and not delayed again for the umpteenth time. The show's writers have come in to do the script for this one, so it's genuine South Park. Also, Obsidian is making this. Solid combination. But if that doesn't excite anyone yet, the game has a Mario RPG-like battle system. It's turn-based and you have to time button-presses for your range of absolutely silly moves in battle. Intrigued? I am.
Tales of Symphonia Chronicles. I have never played a Tales game before. I came close to it with Eternia, but on that particular day I decided to purchase Crisis Core instead. Regrettable, given how rare Eternia is at the moment and how mediocre Crisis Core turned out to be. Still, I can't call myself an RPG fan and not having ever touched Tales, so this remaster looks like an excellent place to start. Never played Symphonia and I heard it's great. The sequel has garnered much criticism and apathy, but I'm very willing to give it a shot. If it's not hot then it's a free bonus add-on. Can't complain too much.
The Witcher 3 is on my radar, albeit pushed to the back. Sadly I don't plan on purchasing a PS4 or Xbone anytime too soon, and I want to actually play through the first two entries first. Witcher 2 will be pending on whether I have access to a decent PC or a 360, and Witcher 1 is just....I'm really struggling to continue. It's just so bland. But Witcher 3's promises taste like glorious elixir. It promises a huge open-world and it looks absolutely stunning. It has the potential to be a new genre-defining benchmark. Can they do a Skyrim with all the majesty and child-like wonder of giddily exploring the world but without the minefield of technical problems and horribly clunky combat?
X. I don't expect to see it come out this year, but I want to see more of it. Desperately. Please. Show me more. FFXV and X are two games that I must see more of this year.
Pillars of Eternity is on my "to watch" list. I've little experience with CRPGs and games of that particular style aside from BioWare's Neverwinter Nights (a game I must revisit if I can find what's happened to the discs...). Lightning Returns is on the "ehh, I'll pick it up somewhere down the line" pile along with Drakengard 3. Divinity: Original Sin looks great, and I'll definitely consider it if it ever gets out of the alpha early-access phase. Tales of Xillia 2 will be overly dependent on me getting a copy of the first Xillia first and liking it enough to consider a sequel.
At the moment, I've already picked up The Banner Saga and Bravely Default will be on the way. This is a FANTASTIC time to be an RPG fan. Of RPGs of all colours and types.