Editorial: The Top 8 Games I’m Looking Forward to in 2017

The Top 8 Games I’m Looking Forward to in 2017

          Christmas is over, the presents have been unwrapped, the turkey has been eaten, and New Year’s is almost upon us. I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and is looking forward to their post-Christmas games! But with the New Year arriving, it’s also time to look forward to the future, and all the best games coming out next year. For the sake of this list, I stuck to games that have been officially confirmed for 2017 release, so no games like Spider-Man PS4 or Last of Us 2 that have no confirmed release date. I also want to stick exclusively to games, but with that being said…

HONOURABLE MENTION

The Nintendo Switch

          Yeah, I couldn’t not put this somewhere on the list. Ever since its first trailer, people everywhere have been all over the Switch, and for good reason. It looks to be everything the Wii U wasn’t and then some.

          In all honesty, I think what I’m most excited for about the Switch is that Nintendo seems to be focusing on it being a gimmick free console, aside from the interchangeable controllers. There’s no cumbersome motion controls and the singular Wii U GamePad is a thing of the past, replaced by the awesome new idea of a console that you can take wherever you want. At home, you play on a Wii U Pro Controller-type remote, and when you take it outside it resembles the Wii U GamePad, although supposedly without a touch screen.

          After 10 years of the Wii and Wii U, it’s been high time for Nintendo to change things up, and that’s why I think the Switch is going to be successful. It doesn’t have to worry about escaping the shadow of any older consoles like the Wii U did. The Switch is its own thing, and I think that alone will make it a console to remember.

8. For Honor

          Honestly, after watching how excited that guy who always presented this game at E3 was, it was difficult to not get excited for For Honor. It also helped that the trailers made it look really cool and exciting, with a very Dynasty Warriors feel over everything. Plus, a multiplayer mode that allows you to smash through enemy forces online sounds just awesome. The theme of the game is really cool as well, being a massive battle between viking, samurai and medieval knight forces.

          The reason why it’s on the bottom of the list, though, comes down to one major reason: it’s Ubisoft. They tend to be very…hands-on when it comes to major releases like this, and with microtransactions already leaked for the game as well as some of the reviews for the beta being less than impressive, For Honor’s blade has been dulled, so to speak. But you honestly never know. As much as I dislike Ubisoft, there’s no denying they can put out a quality product every now and then, and For Honor just might be their next big success story.

7: Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite

          I enjoy a casual match of the Marvel vs. Capcom games. I’m nowhere near skilled enough at button mashing and combos to be a professional at them, but they’re always fun to pick up and play with a friend every once in a while.

          That being said, I’m always down to play a new installment in the series, and Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite looks to be a good next step for the series. It seems to be taking lots of inspiration from the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the theming of the game, having the Infinity Stones from the films play a large role in combat. Exactly how they’ll work hasn’t been revealed yet, but I expect them to be used similarly to Final Smashes in Super Smash Bros, as a massive finisher move that can be used to destroy opponents easily.

          My one fear for this game is that it follows in the footsteps of this year’s Street Fighter V, becoming another early access game being sold for $60. While the fighting mechanics in Street Fighter V were some of the most refined in a Street Fighter game we’d seen to date, the lack of singleplayer options and character variety essentially killed that game where it stood. Here’s hoping Capcom doesn’t make the same mistake twice.

6. Guardians of the Galaxy by Telltale

          Yes, I know, we’ve seen less than nothing from this game so far. And yes, I know, it’s not good to get hyped about a game before you know any information on it. But come on, it’s Guardians of the Galaxy!

While this is no doubt being made to tie in with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 next year, you can’t deny that Telltale makes some really stellar games. Plus, considering that now Marvel has become a juggernaut of a company, I highly doubt they would allow their good name to be sullied by tying in with a terrible product. I sincerely hope we see more from this game sooner rather than later, because I personally am really excited to see what Telltale has in store for us.

5. Red Dead Redemption 2

          Now let me explain: I’ve never played the original Red Dead Redemption, and that’s why this game is this low on the list. We good?

          Despite my inexperience with the series, I couldn’t help but be very impressed by the trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2. It looks absolutely gorgeous, and while the trailer didn’t show us much gameplay-wise, the graphics alone were enough to bring me back to watch it again many more times. Knowing Rockstar, I’m sure that the game will be filled to the absolute brim with stuff to do and places to explore, and doing that in a Wild West setting just seems awesome. Honestly, if anything, my excitement for this game has given me justification to go and play the first one.

4. Yooka-Laylee

          Ah, Rare. While I don’t quite believe that the company was killed as soon as they were purchased by Microsoft, I definitely agree with the sentiment that they were at their best when they were making games for the N64, such as Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64. It truly is a shame we never got a proper Banjo-Threeie, especially after the…interesting game that was Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts.

          But now with many of Rare’s original crew leaving the company once and for all and forming their own development studio, Playtonic Games, they’re on target to release their first ever spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie: Yooka-Laylee.

          If anything, Yooka-Laylee feels like a love letter to that era of video games, the days where mascot platformers seemed to be everywhere and Rare was the undisputed king of the genre. Now being released in beautiful HD, this game is likely going to be the game that Banjo fans have been waiting years for.

3. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

          This isn’t really so much a game as it is an expansion pack for Uncharted 4, but this is my list and I can cheat if I want to! Any long-time readers of my blog know my love of the Uncharted series and how much I adored Uncharted 4, and I’m glad that while the ending of that game seemed to wrap up the story of the games really well, it makes me extremely happy to see that Naughty Dog isn’t closing the door on this franchise for good.

          Focusing not on Nathan Drake, but instead on Uncharted 2 kinda-sorta-but not really villain Chloe Frasier, we don’t know much about the story in Lost Legacy yet, except that it focuses on Chloe adventuring with Uncharted 4 villain Nadine Ross, as I can only guess they’re off to find a treasure that’ll make them rich beyond their wildest dreams.

          Just from the trailer, it’s already clear that Lost Legacy is retaining the best parts of Uncharted, that being the climbing and spelunking segments, and honestly, that’s all I really need in an Uncharted game. Although Lost Legacy is likely going to be short, if it leads to further games in one of my favourite franchises, I will welcome it with open arms.

2. Horizon: Zero Dawn

          From the moment I saw Horizon: Zero Dawn back at E3 2015, I was hooked. I’ve been very vocal in recent years about how sick I am of brown and ugly apocalypse settings, zombie or otherwise. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve yet to play Last of Us or Fallout. But Horizon: Zero Dawn subverts those tropes, instead creating a green world filled with several biomes to explore, dominated by robotic animals and with a mysterious history that ties back to present day.

          The visuals alone are incredibly impressive, making me already want to see the art book for the game. I love the designs of the robotic animals, especially the crocodile and dinosaur themed bots. It’s an incredibly creative take on the very tired apocalypse setting, as the developers over at Guerilla could’ve taken the easy route and just made Horizon a Far Cry Primal knockoff or a zombie game. I really must applaud them for taking the high road and creating a game that stands out among the crowd.

          In addition to the setting, the gameplay looks to be a complete blast. Exploring this prehistoric-themed apocalypse as huntress outcast Eloy seems fun enough, but when you include bow-based combat against giant robot tyrannosauruses, the ability to turn the bots into rideable mounts, climbing massive mecha-giraffes and swinging across vines, Horizon: Zero Dawn looks to be an incredible adventure that I can’t wait to experience come February.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

          And here’s the big one; the game that we’ve been waiting years for just a smidgen of info on and Nintendo’s biggest headliner for years: the new Zelda game coming out for both Wii U and Switch.

          Just by looking at the first trailer for Breath of the Wild, it’s obvious that this is an extremely different Zelda game, one that we really haven’t seen from the series before but is still somewhat inspired by the first game in the series. Hyrule is now an open world waiting for you to explore, and classic series staples such as Hearts that refill your health meter are out, replaced by Skyrim-style food and meat. The world of Breath of the Wild is beautiful, being inspired very much by both Skyward Sword and Wind Waker, and I can’t wait to explore it all.

          Nintendo has been very tight-lipped about Breath of the Wild, and we truthfully know very little about what the game will have to offer us. I kind of like that, though. They aren’t blowing their load early, leaving us many surprises to find for ourselves once the game releases sometime next year. This return to Hyrule has been very long-awaited, making it easily the game I am most excited to play in 2017.

Song of the Week

          I figured it was a no brainer to feature a song from one of these games on this week’s editorial, and I chose the song featured in the Game Awards trailer for Breath of the Wild, called Life in the Ruins.