In the super competitive world of gaming, every year brings a whole new raft of games that are clamouring for players’ attention. Some are old favourites revamped and updated while others are brand new to the world – hoping to pick up a big following through great reviews and word of mouth.

The signs are that 2019 is going to be no exception, with a number of barnstorming titles on their way to keep us playing late into the night. In fact, online review sites are positively awash with the great things that are expected in the new year. So to save you time from having to read them all, and to maximise the hours you can spend actually playing the games themselves, we’ve put together a top five for your consideration.

Take a look and see which ones appeal and it could be that one will turn out to be the game you’ve been craving for years!

Days Gone

If you’re the sort of player who thought that post-apocalyptic games could never get any better than Fallout 4 then you’ve fantastic treat coming your way with the launch of Days Gone, due for release of 22nd February 2019.

You'll find yourself being one of the few survivors in a world where a global pandemic has left billions dead, with the rest of the population being turned into Freakers – hideous adversaries who are flesh-eating zombies in all but name. You have to negotiate the blighted landscape on board your trusty Harley Davidson avoiding being over-run by the seemingly endless tide of Freakers. Don’t worry though, you’re more than well enough armed to deal with the tidal waves of them that are aiming to overcome you and there’s also the opportunity to escape to the hills on your trusty hog.

The game’s only going to be for PlayStation 4 at this stage, but we reckon that it could well take off so quickly in popularity that it surely won’t be long before a number of different formats are introduced too.

Metro: Exodus

We’ll make no apology for including another post-apocalypto experience in our 2019 line-up – and that’s because Metro:Exodus promises to be so damn good. Fans of the game’s predecessors, Metro 2033 and Metro:Last Light, will certainly know approximately what to expect – but there are more than enough twists and developments to keep things more than interesting.

For example, while previous games mainly took place underground, in the forthcoming version you’ll be able to break out into the open air. But beware, because when you do there’s a Russian nuclear winter to be endured if you want to have any chance of surviving.

To make the gameplay even more realistic than ever before, it features a dynamic weather system so you really will find your self battling the elements along with the radioactive mutants hell bent on bringing about your own personal apocalypse. The action also switches from day to night – adding an extra atmospheric touch to the proceedings and means you need to be alert and on your toes 24/7.

If this sounds like your ide of fun then put February 22nd 2019 in your diary for the launch of this game, too.

Slingo

After battling to survive in a world where civilisation has broken down, you may well be looking to kick back and relax a little with a game in which you can win cash rather than lose lives. For the uninitiated, Slingo is a fantastic combination of an online slots game and bingo featuring the best elements of both games.

The display has five reels and each spin brings up a potential of five numbers to cross off on a game bingo card. As it’s a 5 x 5 grid, if your luck’s really in you fill up the card in a mere five spins of the reels.

Because you’re seeing five numbers at a time, Slingo is a much faster game than standard bingo and, to speed things up even, there’s also a time limit for making each spin. So if you snooze you lose.

Each game consists of 20 spins of the reel and the winner of the game is the person who’s accumulated the most points at the end of the game, and that’s going to mean a cash prize. The best thing is that you don’t have to wait until next year to check out Slingo – you can play it now at Wink Bingo.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

The Beta version of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 has been getting some seriously good press of late so we’re all on tenterhooks preparing for the official launch of the finished article on 15th March 2019.

Anyone who’s played the original The Division will be the first to concede that it wasn’t without its glitches, but these are all said to have been ironed out for this version of the game. Unlike the predecessor which took place on the mean streets of New York, here the action shifts to Washington DC, where protests and insurrection mean that the country’s headed for a civil war.

The action also moves to the burning remains of Air Force One and there are far more levels to be negotiated than before – so it will test you to your limits in this fantastic third person shooter whose storyline has been influenced by the arch crime writer, the late Tom Clancy.

Skull and Bones

For our final selection we’d like to take you to the high seas for some cutlass-wielding, keel-hauling, plan-walking fun that fans of other games like Naval Action are sure to love.

Emerging from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Skull and Bones has taken the sea-faring elements of the original to create an action game in its own right.

Whether you want to set yourself up as a commander of a pirate fleet or go it alone on solo missions with the aim of boarding enemy ships, it’s up to you. You’ll also be able to scour the Indian Ocean for hidden treasure and employ an incredible arsenal of maritime weaponry to fight others to the loot. Along with this, your choice of vessels will rival any car selection you’ll find in a driving game so whether it’s speed or might you need to deploy, all will be on hand.

So gamers: prepare for a swashbuckling, post-apocalyptic, number-calling 2019!