Bajo’s 2017 games preview
2016 WAS A SOLID YEAR FOR GAMES, SO WHAT’S WORTH GETTING EXCITED ABOUT THIS YEAR?
OVERWATCH AND UNCHARTED set very high bars, and VR finally started to find its legs. But when you ignore those big and exciting events, there wasn’t actually a huge variety in 2016’s games compared to previous years. There was plenty of fine- tuning, but if you weren’t into shooters or skinning animals in Far Cry Primal, overall I think it’s fair to say, comparatively, there wasn’t much on the AAA scene for you. 2017, on the other hand, is going to be a long, big, exciting year for gamers. Here’s why...
HORIZON ZERO DAWN Release Date: Feb 2017
Horizon Zero Dawn is on the horizon. Why does everyone keep talking about it? Well, you play a human who lives in a world ruled by machines, and the game looks so different to everything else. The most recent footage showed us huge variety of untamed wilderness locations as well as creatures like boars that weren’t mechanical.
LAST OF US PART II Release Date 2017/2018
We know very little about The Last of Us Part 2, except that Joel and Ellie are a little older, and it appears Ellie in particular is on a path of revenge. For what? And Why? Who will be playable? Both in co-op? Wouldn’t that be something...
GOD OF WAR Release date: unconfirmed
God of War is going through a huge reboot by Santa Monica Studio. The camera is now third person, and it appears to be a more emotional journey (especially impactful if you have unresolved father/son issues like me). Some of the best PS2 and PS3 games were God of
Wars, for their unmatched action sequences and intricate combo fighting mechanics. Kratos is a fighting game character thrown into an action adventure, let’s hope he kicks much butt as an old man.
RESIDENT EVIL 7: BIOHAZARD Release Date: Jan 2017
If you haven’t played the RE7 demo, i highly recommend sitting in a dark room and getting the poop scared right out of you. It’s another big franchise going through a reboot, with the biggest change being the move to first person. Will this make the game more immersive or
more clunky? Time will tell, but what’s exciting is the atmosphere appears to be centred around discovery and mystery, which is what was so great about the early games.
MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA Release date: March 2017 ]
It’s hard to be excited about anything else in a year when a Mass Effect game comes out. There’s so many reasons to be pumped for Andromeda. It’s a new adventure for the series, and no doubt will feature many games that remember your choices (hopefully, our save files will be cloud saved). You get the sense from the developer videos that they want to make it more of an explorer journey, seeking out new lifeforms in new planets to pwn, and to potentially romance with. It’s going to be a story of new beginnings and alien sexy times.
RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 Release date: 2017
There’s going to be another Red Dead Redemption game. The beautiful teaser didn’t give away much, except that there’s going to be a new Red Dead Redemption game, and it’ll probably be Game of the Year. Seven dudes and no ladies in the poster might be a sign this could be disappointedly a sausage-fest, but we’ll have to wait and see.
GT SPORT Release date: 2017
Gran Turismo has a long legacy, but as the racing game genre evolved and changed into exciting, flashy sudo-simulation games, GT stuck to its roots and now feels behind the pack. GT Sport, however, is the first GT where I haven’t spun out on the first turn. Its style and handling seems to be looking to reenergise the franchise and fans at the same time. Plus, VR support *on select cars and tracks!
PREY Release date: 2017
The Prey announcement trailer was terrifying, and the recently released gameplay trailer showed a smooth and beautiful first-person game, where there is more than one way to solve a problem and weapons are rare. Also, you stab a needle into your eye to get upgrades. Gross! Awesome.
INJUSTICE 2 Release date: 2017
Fighting games is a genre that seems to have a few heavyweights, and no one else. But the first Injustice capitalised on the DC brand and, with the experience and care of developer Netherrealms, delivered a brilliant, balanced and fresh fighting game. The sequel is doing something totally new — adding RPG gear to the fights, forcibly unbalancing them, but also adding huge depth and a journey for you to go on with your favourite fighters. Also, we finally get to play as Blue Beetle and Gorilla Grodd! It’s fine if you don’t know who they are. What else to keep an eye on? Halo Wars 2, Sniper Ghost warrior 3. Tekken 7, Shenmue 3, Quake Champions, Project Sonic (truly!), Ghost Recon Wildlands, State of Decay 2, Gravity Rush 2, Yakuza 0, Nioh ( Dark Souls inspired!), Rime, Dawn of War III and, of course, the magical journey that will be South Park: The Fractured But Whole.