The 20 Most Anticipated Video Games of 2017
Geek out on the games that will dominate your life next year.
As 2016 comes to a close, we’ve already locked in our favorite games. All that’s left to do is look ahead, so here are the twenty games coming in 2017 that already have us breathing heavy.
Destiny 2
Release Date: Q4 2017
Bungie’s space epic MMO is set to return with a bounty of new gameplay to satiate their rabid community. The “shared-world” shooter that spawned a huge fan base will come back, presumably, with new raids, strikes, weapons and gear to keep all those guardians out there interested in seeing where a game like Destiny might go now that they’ve had a chance to learn from early mistakes. A terrific studio like Bungie is known for listening to its players and we have high hopes that Destiny 2 will expand on everything we loved about the original while doing away with some of its peskier shortcomings.
God of War
Release Date: TBA
We know that the next God of War game will take the series into Norse territory with Kratos moving into a role as a father to a mysteriously unnamed boy. The soft reboot of the series is a rethinking of the classic God of War combat system and promises an intense new plot with plenty of big reveals. Sony has yet to peg the new game as a 2017 release but given the level of polish from its E3 debut this summer and typical timelines for the series, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it as a fall release.
South Park: Fractured But Whole
Release Date: TBA 2017
Originally meant to hit audiences at the ass end of 2016, we don’t mind giving the guys behind South Park the extra time to make another excellent video game. Switching from Stick of Truth’s fantasy theme to one focused on the comic-book parodies we’ve loved in the show, we have high hopes that South Park: Fracture But Whole will be another epic adventure full of hilarious jokes and nods to long-time fans of the show.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Release Date: January 24th, 2017
The next installment of the horror classic will undoubtedly creep you out as you investigate terrifying locales…in first person. The change in perspective is a first for the series, typically remaining planted in the third-person genre, as are the planned VR elements to the game. Still, don’t expect that shift to change the strategy much. RE7 will still be about conserving your limited ammo and making shots really count. And there’ll probably be a big corporate conspiracy too because there always is.
For Honor
Release Date: February 14th, 2017
Ubisoft’s new total war game has had us interested since it first pit Vikings against Samurai. Exactly how they plan on explaining this clash of cultures doesn’t matter much to us because every time we see something new from this game it feels like William Wallace just gave us a pump up speech. If the final game can capture even half of that visceral battlefield adrenaline, we’ll gladly forgo our V-day plans to dig into it.
Mass Effect Andromeda
Release Date: TBA 2017
Taking the Mass Effect series back to its roots by reintroducing the action-RPG open-world gameplay of the original, Andromeda has had ME fans foaming at the mouth since it was first announced back in 2015. Scrapping the familiar character classes this time around, Andromeda is moving to a more customizable system so you have more control over your character when you set out to explore what the world has become 600 years after the events of the original Mass Effect trilogy.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Release Date: February 28th, 2017
Guerilla Studios, the team behind the Killzone series, has changed gears to explore the world of third-person adventure in Horizon Zero Dawn. The game drops you into the moccasins of Aloy, a hunter who doesn’t exactly fit with the rest of her hunter/gatherer tribe, as she fights for survival against the machines and discovery in a technological world reclaimed by nature. The sweeping landscapes were a highlight from our time demo-ing the game and Guerilla’s spit and polish made for some excellent gameplay.
Ghost Recon: Wildlands
Release Date: March 17th, 2017
Open-world drug-busting is about to find a new high-water mark when Wildlands hits shelves. It’s a sweet formula for a video game and one that we’re happy to see fall under the Ghost Recon banner since the Ghosts are definitely the right crew to take on hot zones and dismantle drug cartels all over the South American continent.
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Release Date: March 2017 (rumored)
Possibly the most anticipated game on this list, not just because of the fact that Zelda games are almost always Game of the Year material but because Breath of the Wild will also usher in the highly curious Nintendo Switch, Nintendo’s latest (and fascinating) console. Our time demoing Breath of the Wild was more reminiscent of the fan-favorite Ocarina of Time than any Zelda game we’ve played since and that’s an exciting proposition for anyone who’s picked up the Master Sword.
Crackdown 3
Release Date: TBA 2017
The Crackdown series began as an offshoot from the team that originally created Grand Theft Auto. Moving away from the criminal world, Crackdown gave you control over a government-grown super soldier and tasked you with dismantling gangs and crime families all over the city however you saw fit, working your way from the lowly enforces to the brains of the operations. Crackdown 3, a game hinted at since before the Xbox One was even available, is a Microsoft exclusive that purports to harness the horsepower and connectedness of the Xbox One console better than we’ve ever seen, allowing for environments that perpetually remember the damage you’ve done and co-op gameplay that will vastly improve what we’ve seen from the Crackdown series previously.
Sea of Thieves
Release Date: TBA 2017
Even in the small demo we played, we’ve never seen a game capture the pure joy of being a pirate on the open seas as well as Sea of Thieves. The vast MMO world found within is perfect for hunting treasure or having your crew fight off enemies with cannons. There’s still some mystery over just how free you’ll be in the world of Sea of Thieves but the team from Rare behind the game had some big ideas. The overwhelmingly positive response to the game so far will, hopefully, allow them to see those ideas through.
Gran Turismo Sport
Release Date: TBA 2017
The cornerstone racing simulator is scheduled to return this year and is touting a nice injection of Porsche for the first time ever now that EA’s exclusive deal with the car maker is over. GT is a Playstation exclusive and will thoroughly make use of the Playstation Pro’s 4K and HDR capabilities for what’s sure to be one of the most realistic and graphically stunning racing games ever.
Detroit: Become Human
Release Date: TBA
Announced in 2015 and demoed at E3 this past summer, Detroit: Become Human is Quantic Dream’s new hard-boiled story that’s part I, Robot, part West World. It’s largely an assumption that we’ll see Detroit in 2017, Sony has been especially mum on the subject since high-profile choose-your-own-adventure games like this are hard to rush, but we remain hopeful that the team behind this PS4-exclusive serve this one up by next holiday.
Nioh
Release Date: February 9th, 2017
The masters of combat behind Ninja Gaiden are returning for a supernatural samurai beat-em-up that’s sure to raise the bar for games that are so difficult you might break your controller. Nioh tells the tale of a western warrior who winds up entrenched in the lands of feudal Japan, battling his way through samurai and demons alike. If you’ve been a fan of games like Shinobi, Ninja Gaiden or Onimusha, this should be high on your list.
Crash Bandicoot Remastered
Release Date: TBA 2017
There are just three HD remasters of the classic Crash Bandicoot games coming this year. No big deal. Gamers are seething with excitement about this one since it’s a series they’ve been clamoring to be remade for years. Sony has hinted at it here and there but, finally, it’s really happening in 2017.
Spider-Man
Release Date: TBA 2017
Sony’s Spidey reboot looks to be getting a tag-along game and we don’t mind because Spider-Man is the exception to the rule that states all movie-inspired video games suck. We’ve web-slung around NYC on plenty of occasions thanks to both Toby Maguire’s and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man movies, why not do it all over again with Tom Holland.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Release Date: Fall 2017
Hold on to your ten gallon hats because Red Dead is returning. Rockstar’s wild west has proven to be a fantastic place to lose yourself in the past and the new adventure, boasting open-world online play (think GTA: Online with horses and saloons) is sure to be an addiction to the series’ many fans. There’s still much we have to learn about what Rockstar has in store but we’ll wait with bated breath as more details roll out from now until Red Dead’s fall release.
Star Wars Battlefront 2
Release Date: TBA 2017
Officially announced, officially containing a true campaign and officially featuring content from the newest Star Wars movies, Battlefront 2 should see the light of day in 2017. We figure it’ll be pegged to around the time that Episode VIII shows up in theaters but we’ll wait to hear from EA on that one. One thing is for sure, we’re eager to pick up our light sabers against the First Order and Battlefront 2 should give us our first chance to do just that.
Tekken 7
Release Date: “Early” 2017
If 2016 was Street Fighter V’s year to dominate the fighting game category, it looks like a lock that 2017 will go to Tekken. Tekken 7 came out in 2015 but is being remade and given a new campaign for a 2017 release on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. The game has become such a staple in the competitive fighting e-sport world that the move is no shocker at all, justifying our excitement for the release in “early 2017.”
Death Stranding
Release Date: Who the hell really knows?
We’ll come clean, we have no clue if Death Stranding will actually turn up this year. In fact, it even seems a little doubtful. But with Mads Mikkelsen and Norman Reedus attached (and looking badass in early trailers) and Hideo Kojima himself at the helm, out from Konami’s oppressive thumb and given new freedom under Sony’s wing, Death Stranding’s mysteries already have us hooked. Kojima’s known love of the cinema has played a huge role in the plots of his previous Metal Gear games and we expect him to go even bigger in his new game.