It’s the last day of the year! After the announcements at PSX, Gamescom and E3 we’re excited about the amazing new titles coming out in 2017. Here’s our Top 25 List!
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard – 24th January 2017
After Resident Evil 6 misfired by going all-in on mediocre action. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard wisely brings everything back to what first defined the series: survival horror. On top of RE7 recapturing the sense of dread and suspense from the earlier games. It’s clear that P.T. was also a huge inspiration: you now explore the world from first-person. The environments are suitably dark and dingy. The RE7 demos we’ve played have already terrified us (in a good way). So we’re excited to see what kind of chilling scares and first-person combat await in the full game. Also of note – it’s fully playable in VR, for that extra layer of terror.
Platforms: PS4, PSVR, Xbox One, PC
For Honor – 14th February 2017
If melee combat is your thing, For Honor should be your most anticipated game of 2017. This 4v4 multiplayer brawler pits Knights, Samurai, and Vikings against one another in thrilling duels across chaotic battlefields. From what we’ve seen of it so far, For Honor‘s combat is absolutely superb. Every forceful hit or last-second block has a palpable weight to it, and the motion-captured animations are impressively fluid and graceful. As well as being unique to each of the four distinct roles in each faction.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Halo Wars 2 – 21st February 2017
While never quite as entertaining as core Halo, the Wars spin off offers something a bit different. Plus, it’s one of the very few RTS games available on console. This sequel brings more of the same tactical action, and there are multiplayer modes for up to six players, so that will get seriously intense. Halo Wars 2 brings a new enemy type to battle – the Banished. And it all takes place on a Forerunner installation responsible for creating the Halo rings, so will be packed with delicious lore.
Platforms: Xbox One, PC
Horizon Zero Dawn – 28th February 2017
Horizon Zero Dawn promises to take all the elements you love in an open-world RPG and turn them up to 11. Unique universe? Check. Epic story about fate, destiny, and identity? Check. Cool weapons and combat options? Check. Possessed robotic dinosaurs rampaging around attacking people? Okay, maybe that’s not a standard feature, but it’s here and we’re really excited. It’s a showcase game for PS4 Pro too, so expect it to look absolutely sensational in 4K.
Platforms: PS4
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands – 7th March 2017
Ubisoft is ditching the advanced tech you might typically associate for the Ghost Recon franchise. Making Ghost Recon Wildlands a more rugged, down-to-earth take on team-based military ops. The tactical warfare takes place in modern-day Bolivia this time around, as you and your elite squad of specialists work to systematically take down a drug cartel in a giant open-world setting.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Mass Effect: Andromeda – March 2017
Commander Shepard may have taken out the Reapers and saved the day. But there’s plenty more adventure yet to be had in the Mass Effect universe. BioWare‘s been keeping details for Mass Effect: Andromeda mostly under wraps, although the footage that has been revealed certainly looks slick. Here’s what we do know, though. It appears the story will take us on a journey to try to find a new home for humanity. Many of the more familiar concepts from the original trilogy – conversations, romances, and shooting things – are back in action. The game was pushed back from its expected 2016 release, so we’re even more ready for the new year to just get here already.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Yooka-Laylee – March 2017
Yooka-Laylee is one of the bigger Kickstarter successes in 2015. This colorful 3D platformer (made by some of the key minds behind Banjo-Kazooie) looks to recapture the simple glee of N64. In place of a bear and a bird, you’ll be guiding around the duo of Yooka the chameleon and Laylee the bat through utterly gorgeous landscapes, full of things to run across, jump over, and snag from perilous heights.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PC
Persona 5 – April 2017
After nearly a decade of development and a leap from PlayStation 3 to PlayStation 4. Persona 5 will finally, finally arrive in April 2017. While the role-playing game still follows high school students with supernatural powers in a highly stylized world, Persona 5 does represent a dramatic shift in tone for the series. Where Persona 3 and Persona 4 focused on fairly typical teens in unusual circumstances. Secret paramilitary ghost fighters in the former, a Japanese riff on Scooby Doo mystery solving in the latter. Persona 5 follows a group of flamboyant young cat burglars.
Platforms: PS4, PS3
Tekken 7 – Early 2017
Funnily enough, Tekken 7 has been in Japanese arcades since early 2015. It’s taking its sweet time in making the transition to Western consoles. But with any luck, that extra wait will be worth it. Tekken 7 is the next iteration of Bandai Namco‘s famed 3D fighting series. Bringing back veterans from the King of Iron Fist tournament alongside some spiffy-looking newcomers – including Kazumi Mishima. Kazuya‘s mother who can perform literal tiger uppercuts with her beast companion. Expect plenty of heavy-hitting animations, devastating ground bounce combos, and bizarre backdrops.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Early 2017
When The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild arrives in 2017. The Zelda series will be over 30 years old. This game, the series’ debut not just on the beleaguered Nintendo Wii U. But the brand new Switch, is actually very close in spirit to the NES original from all those decades ago. Emphasizing a wide open world that’s primarily monster-infested wilderness. Rather than a populated landscape prone to cutscenes. Breath of the Wild is a dramatic shift from the handholding adventures Nintendo has traded in during the 21st century. We couldn’t be more excited.
Platforms: Wii U, Switch
South Park: The Fractured But Whole – Early 2017
South Park has a special talent for satirising current events and trends. So it’s no surprise that this latest game is focused on gently mocking Hollywood’s obsession with superheroes and super-teams. The forever-young children of South Park are at war, all dressed up as their favourite characters. This RPG will have 12 classes to choose from, and as the new kid you’ll get to pick a side in the conflict and a gender. Farts are making a comeback too.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
God of War 4 – 2017
https://youtu.be/XXGq_AKsp9s
Having torn the Greek pantheon asunder, Kratos (now sporting a scruffy beard). Has set his sights on a new mythology to conquer: Norse. The fourth main entry in the legendarily brutal PlayStation series – God of War – drops the numbering. It looks like it’ll force Kratos to control his endless rage, as he acts as the father figure for a young, as-yet-unnamed boy with latent lightning powers. Don’t worry, you’ll still slay plenty of fantastical creatures along the way – but expect a lot more character development and quieter moments in between all the carnage.
Platforms: PS4
Uncharted 4: The Lost Legacy – 2017
This isn’t a brand new Uncharted game, but its not an expansion either. In The Lost Legacy you play as Chloe who teams up with Nadine Ross. Yeah, from A Thief’s End to track down an ancient Indian artifact. Does that mean it’s co-op? Unlikely, as the pair will likely assume the same dynamic as Nathan and Sam in the main game. It’s more Uncharted, which is a great thing, and you don’t have to own the original to play.
Platforms: PS4
Scalebound – 2017
First announced way back at E3 2014, Scalebound was shown off with a trailer that featured a character resembling Devil May Cry‘s Dante wearing headphones and hanging out with a massive, fire-breathing dragon. The DMC inspiration doesn’t stop at the main character Drew’s fashion sense: the hero can transform into a half-human, half-dragon form for increased strength and defense. Scalebound also stands out because of Drew‘s dragon companion. This dragon doesn’t just stand idly by as you hack and slash your enemies to bits in beat-’em-up-style combat. The mythical beast follows your orders, allowing you to send fiery blasts towards groups of enemies, and will take on other monsters in head-to-head Godzilla battles.
Platforms: Xbox One, PC
Detroit: Become Human – 2017
https://youtu.be/2L4NUAxxZVA
As is the trend nowadays, Detroit is an adventure about Androids achieving sentience. Remember the Kara tech demo Sony showed off years ago? Well, it’s the same character from that. We follow her as she makes her way into a futuristic version of Detroit. It’s a game of staggering ambition – it took David Cage two years to write the script. And 100s of actors have done mo-cap work for it. Let’s hope it’s a bit more than just a ‘moral decision making’ game, which early trailers suggest.
Platforms: PS4
Vampyr – 2017
Vampyr is an action RPG which puts you in the shoes Dr Reid. Who’s recently been turned into a blood-sucking denizen of the night. It’s up to you to decide whether to kill enough people to become powerful beyond belief, or heal London’s citizens from the Spanish Flu and bring peace back to the city.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Red Dead Redemption 2 – 2017
What do we know about Red Dead Redemption 2? Other than: we want it now? Very little. It’ll have both single player and multiplayer components, and has been tentatively scheduled for a late 2017 release date. Hot rumours suggest we’ll be playing as John Marsden’s son. And that forming a posse will be a big part of the game (as suggested by the early concept art). The setting is towards the end of the Wild West era (we see steam trains and brick housing in the trailer). So this will likely be set after the last game.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Outlast 2 – 2017
You are Blake Langermann, a freelance cameraman who visits a small, isolated village in Arizona. There to investigate the murder of a young, pregnant woman. What follows Outlast 2 is lashings of the same non-combat horror we saw in the original. You have a camera to look through – and because Blake is a cameraman, expect his to be more advanced – and legs to run away with. Early trailers make this look chilling, as you’d expect.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Prey – 2017
Don’t worry if you missed the 2006 FPS Prey. This reimagined Prey by the same name chucks everything from its predecessor out the window. Developed by Arkane Studios, the team behind the Dishonored games. This sci-fi shooter has you confined on a space station that’s been overrun by shape-shifting, shadow-like aliens. Protagonist Morgan Yu will have to fight back against these invaders in a struggle to survive, even as his sanity seems to deteriorate bit by bit.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Injustice 2 – 2017
Batman, Superman, and a slew of other heroes and villains are back to duke it out in Injustice 2. Netherrealm Studios‘ return to the slick new engine that powered Mortal Kombat X. There’s a ton of fanservice in this 2.5D fighter for anyone with even the slightest knowledge of DC Comics. Injustice 2 is taking an interesting gamble with the addition of gear in a fighting game, gathered over time to give your preferred character enhanced abilities and a personalized look.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite – 2017
During PSX 16, Sony and Capcom officially announced a Marvel vs. Capcom 4. Otherwise to be known as Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. Details are scarce for now, but the debut trailer did give us a little bit of information, including a handful of characters and the probability that it is 2v2, not 3v3. Either way, we are super stoked for MvCI to hit in 2017.
Platforms: PS4
Pyre – 2017
Supergiant Games has a couple of great games under their belt with Bastion and Transistor. That’s the main reason we’re excited for Pyre, their upcoming 2017 game. Pyre will be a high fantasy game that, is a “poetic, 4th-wall-breaking adventure.” You’ll level up three heroes, each with their own skill trees and battles occurring from the same overhead perspective as the developer’s previous titles. The encounters are all based around a glowing orb that’s placed in the center of a map, and two pyres on either end that you want to defend and attack. You’ll attempt to grab that beautifully glowing orb and send it into your opponent’s goal. Each character in the match is moved one at a time.
Platforms: PS4, PC
Days Gone – 2017
https://youtu.be/qkpE8neKrJU
If you think zombies have been done to death, well… you’re right, but that isn’t stopping the PS4-exclusive Days Gone. The enemies in this open-world post-apocalypse aren’t technically undead. The so-called Freakers are actually infected humans who have gone feral. And seem eager to devour our hero Deacon (voiced by and modelled after Sam Witwer, who you might recognize as Starkiller from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed). What really sets the Freaker horde apart is just how many can be chasing you at once. Rhere are times when they’re practically flooding out of the environment, and all you can do to survive is simply run. Another PS4 Pro optimised game that promises to look incredible.
Platforms: PS4
Crash Bandicoot: N.Sane Trilogy – 2017
Yes, you read that correctly. Crash Bandicoot is getting a remaster and we cannot wait. Announced at E3 2016 during Sony‘s press conference. Activision is re-launching Crash Bandicoot, Crash 2 and Warped in HD for PS4 as the N.Sane Trilogy. There’s no release date confirmed yet beyond ‘2017’, but the development team are branding this a ‘remaster plus’ because of how substantially they’ve had to revamp the code for PS4.
Platforms: PS4
Shenmue 3 – December 2017
The Shenmue series was never a huge commercial success, but thanks in part to Kickstarter and thousands of fans’ hard-earned dollars (plus some generous funding from Sony), the project is fully underway. In Shenmue 3, you’ll take the role of a martial artist named Ryo Hazuki as he attempts to uncover who is responsible for his father’s murder. The game promises to have gameplay reminiscent of the previous titles, enabling players to take on enemies in hand-to-hand combat, upgrade combat abilities, and explore a living world full of villages, shops, and an active populous. When is it due? Your guess is as good as ours, but it’s likely to be 2018 at the earliest.
Platforms: PS4, PC
