The year 2016 was a great year for video games, as gamers around the world were treated to the likes of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Overwatch, and Titanfall 2. However, 2017 is beginning to look like a promising year for video games as well, with several iconic franchises releasing new installments.
2017’s Top 10 Video Games
10. Vampyr
YouTubeVampyr‘s official release date has not yet been announced, but the game is set to release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC by year’s end.
Vampyr is an action RPG in which players take control of a British doctor, Johnathan E. Reid, who lives in London during the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918. Unfortunately for the good doctor, he also happens to be a vampire. Throughout the game, Dr. Reid struggles to abide by the Hippocratic Oath while simultaneously fighting the urge to kill and consume his patients.
The game is being developed by Dontnod Entertainment, who were also responsible for the games Remember Me (2013) and the critically-acclaimed Life is Strange (2015).
9. Horizon Zero Dawn
Guerrilla GamesAfter an initial delay in development, Horizon Zero Dawn will be released on February 28 exclusively on the PlayStation 4 and is an open-world adventure game set 1,000 years into the future.
The plot revolves around a younger female hunter, Aloy, who fights murderous robotic creatures whose remains can also be looted for resources. The game will feature a myriad of side-quests (ala the Elder Scrolls series) to complete as well.
Horizon Zero Dawn has been developed by Guerrilla Games (known for the popular Killzone series) and will be published by Sony Interactive.
8. God of War
PlayStationAnother upcoming PlayStation exclusive game, God of War, is expected for release by year’s end. The upcoming action-adventure game is the eighth installment in the God of War franchise and will serve as a soft-reboot of the series.
God of War will featuring returning protagonist Kratos, who now has a son, as he enters into the world of Norse mythology. The game’s plot picks up after the events of God of War III and appears to feature several magical and fantasy elements as well.
God of War is currently under development by SIE Santa Monica Studio, who also handled the first God of War (2005) and its sequel God of War II (2007). Sony Interactive is publishing.
7. Red Dead Redemption 2
egmnowThe sequel to the 2010’s Red Dead Redemption is set to be released in Fall 2017. It will be available on PS4 and Xbox One, although fans are currently petitioning for the game’s release on PC.
Little is known in the way of plot for Red Dead Redemption 2, but it is the third installment of the wild-west RPG franchise which began with Red Dead Revolver in 2004. We do know that, for the first time in the Red Dead series, the game will feature online gameplay.
Famous developer Rockstar Studios, who spearheaded the first two Red Dead video games, as well as the infamous Grand Theft Auto series, are working on the project.
6. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Jelly DealsThe seventh installment of the popular survival horror series Resident Evil (which began on the first PlayStation way back in 1996) will release on January 24, 2017.
The game is set in present day, approximately four years after the events of Resident Evil 6, in the fictional city of Dulvey, Louisiana. This time, it features new protagonist Ethan Winters, who is searching for his missing wife Mia. His search leads him right to the haunted mansion of the Baker family.
Prestigious developer Capcom, which has been the studio behind several popular video game series such as Street Fighter and Mega Man, is responsible for the development and publication of Resident Evil 7.
5. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
PlayStationOne of the most popular video game franchises of the 1990s, Crash Bandicoot, will finally be making its jump to the PlayStation 4 later this year.
The upcoming Crash Bandicoot reboot, known as the N. Sane Trilogy, is basically just a remastering of the first three games Crash Bandicoot (1996), Cortex Strikes Back (1997), and Warped (1998), but that is surely no problem for the thousands of now-adult 90s kids who have been clamoring for a new release for the series for years.
Original Crash Bandicoot developers, Naughty Dog, have relinquished control of the franchise for the release of the N. Sane Trilogy. Instead, Vicarious Visions, former developer the Skylanders series, will be in control of the project.
4. Nioh
GameSpotAnother PlayStation exclusive game, Nioh, is set for release on February 9, 2017.
The game is an action-adventure RPG set in the early 1600s during a fictionalized version of the Sengoku period. Players step into the shoes of William, a Western sailor-turned-samurai who is enlisted by Hattori Hanzō to fight mythical beings of evil referred to as yokai. Gameplay has been described as similar to that of the Souls series and features hack and slash mechanics.
Team Ninja, of Ninja Gaiden fame, is developing. The game is being published by Sony Interactive.
3. Halo Wars 2
Fab NewzThe only Microsoft and Xbox One exclusive on our list, Halo Wars 2, will release on February 21, 2017.
The game is set in the familiar sci-fi universe of the Halo series in the year 2559 and is a sequel to Halo Wars (2009). The game features the return of the human crew aboard the United Nations Space Command warship Spirit of Fire and introduces a new alien faction, the Banished.
Creative Assembly and 343 Industries, who have been responsible for several additions to the Halo franchise, co-developed the game. Microsoft Studios is publishing.
2. Mass Effect: Andromeda
OriginThe fourth addition to the famed Mass Effect series is set for release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 21, 2017. Mass Effect: Andromeda will be the first game to bring the series to an open world environment.
The game takes place in the Andromeda Galaxy, 600 years after the events of the first three Mass Effect games. Players will choose to control either a male or a female sibling. However, the non-selected sibling will play a key role in the story as a non-playable character. The brother and sister are the children of Alec Ryder, a former N7 special forces soldier, and will explore an open world galaxy aboard an all-new ship known as Tempest.
The Canadian company BioWare, which developed every other game in the Mass Effect series, also created Andromeda, with Electronic Arts publishing.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Digital TrendsPerhaps the most anticipated Nintendo exclusive game in years, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be released alongside the Nintendo Switch later this year. Breath of the Wild is the 19th main installment of the overwhelmingly popular Legend of Zelda series and will also be released on the Wii U.
Breath of the Wild follows Link as he is awakened from a deep sleep by a mysterious voice that guides him to the now-ruined Kingdom of Hyrule. There, Link meets an elderly man who tells him that, one century prior, the evil creature Ganon (now known as “Calamity Ganon”) appeared and laid waste to the enchanted kingdom. Unable to be defeated, Calamity Ganon was sealed within Hyrule Castle. Despite being locked away, Calamity Ganon has continued to grow more powerful than ever before, and it is up to Link to defeat it before its power becomes too great and it escapes to destroy the world.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is different from the other video games of the famed series, as it will feature an open-world environment that is twelve times larger than the overworld of Twilight Princess, which released in 2006. Additionally, Breath of the Wild will allow players to complete dungeons in any order, a luxury never before given to players of the franchise’s previous installments.
Overall, 2017 is set to be a huge year for video games, with even more highly anticipated titles scheduled for release by year’s end.
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