The Last Of Us Part II won't have multiplayer. — AFP Relaxnews
The studio behind February 2020's The Last Of Us Part II got so involved with overhauling the first game's multiplayer that it's being split off from the sequel in favour of a standalone release at some point afterwards. On the other hand, here's a quintet of chiefly single-player games that nonetheless preserve some sort of multiplayer aspect.
Death Stranding
Nov 8, 2019 on PlayStation 4
Perhaps fittingly, seeing as human and technological connection is one of the game's core themes, there'll be a multiplayer component to predominantly single-player game Death Stranding. At this stage it's understood that players can interact with the game's environment in ways that can ripple through to others' playthroughs: leaving equipment, helping with construction projects, fertilizing wild plants and so on.
Doom Eternal
Nov 22, 2019 on PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Windows PC, Google Stadia
This demon-defeating themed shooter follows from 2016 franchise reboot Doom whose multiplayer mode wasn't really the main attraction and certainly wasn't responsible for its enthusiastic reception. However, November's Doom Eternal is introducing an asymmetrical 2v1 Battlemode, in which two players team up against another, who plays the hero character.
Watch Dogs: Legion
March 6, 2020 on PS4, XBO, PC, Stadia
While the single-player campaign focuses on recruiting and training a titular legion of freedom fighters in a dystopian near-future London, co-operative multiplayer for teams of up to four are confirmed to contain missions and activities specifically set aside for those small groups, including soccer, boxing, and graffiti tagging. The Watch Dogs series has been taking notes from the successes of Grand Theft Auto V, so while not matching its chaotic 30-person online mode, expect "Legion" multiplayer to provide longer-term engagement beyond solo mode's promised 60 hours of story content.
Cyberpunk 2077
April 16, 2020 on PS4, XBO, PC, Stadia
Not too dissimilar from Grand Theft Auto V in terms of ambition and publicity campaign, this sci-fi adventure has so far been presented primarily as an immersive, single-player experience. That said, multiplayer is being developed, though not scheduled to go live until after the game's launch, quite likely after other single-player expansions have been added.
Dying Light 2
First half of 2020 on PS4, XBO, PC
The zombie apocalypse action game sequel is adding a choice and consequence storyline to survivalist parkour and savage gunplay. However, that doesn't mean 4-play co-operation is scrapped – instead, one player will act as the host and get to make those key decisions. – AFP Relaxnews
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