2017 was one of the best years in the history of video games. From the return of Nintendo juggernauts The Legend of Zelda and Mario to standout new titles in Horizon: Zero Dawn and Player Unknown’s Battleground, last year blessed us with incredible game after incredible game. The games alone would have constituted a great year, but 2017 also saw the releases of the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One X, and PS4 Pro, as well as the first year of Playstation VR. While there are no (announced) new consoles coming up in 2018, the coming year’s games already threaten to rival 2017. Here are 15 games that could make this year a banner year for the indoor kids.
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MICROSOFT
ORI AND THE WILL OF THE WISPS
Announced at E3 last year, the follow up to 2015’s Ori and the Blind Forest looks and sounds gorgeous. The first game combined a tight action platformer with an emotional story about friendship and loss, and the sequel looks like a solid continuation of the world, which is great, since Ori is one of the best new IP to come from Microsoft in a long time.
Release Date – TBA
CRACKDOWN 3
What’s better than running around a city as a super soldier, shootin’ baddies and tearing down buildings? Doing all that as TERRY CREWS! That’s right, Terry Crews is a playable character in this game, so get ready. This game has been delayed multiple times and seen a few internal problems regarding its online functionality, but if anyone can fix that, it’s Terry Crews.
Release Date – TBA
SONY
GOD OF WAR
Kratos hasn’t slain a God in a few years, and it’s about time for the Ghost of Sparta to take his rage to Norway. This time, though, he has his son in tow. The new God of War emphasizes story and character in a way previous iterations haven’t. Touting a 40 hour story without a single camera cut, God of War promises quite a bit of frantic combat and monster-slaying.
Release Date – Early 2018
DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN
Detroit‘s emphasis on player choice coincides directly with its story about sentient androids and free will. Players take control of various androids as they gain intelligence and stage an uprising against their human overlords. The demos thus far are beautiful and haunting, dealing with themes of abuse, freedom, and suicide; so expect a heart-wrenching game.
Release Date – First half of 2018
SPIDER-MAN
Spider-Man could not be in better hands with Insomniac Games, whose Xbox exclusive Sunset Overdrive nailed the spidey-like feeling of speeding through a city without ever touching the ground. With Activision losing their hold on the Marvel license, it’s time for us to finally get good Marvel games again. Spider-Man looks slick, fun, and fast, hopefully marking a return to form.
Release Date – TBA
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SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS
Shadow of the Colossus on the PS2 is regarded as one of the greatest games of all time, introducing a concept–boss battles only–and sense of scale that had never been seen in the medium. The Ps4 remake looks to hone those details even further, with beautiful graphics and hulking collosi.
Release Date – February 6
MULTIPLATFORM
DRAGON BALL FIGHTERZ
Many Dragon Ball games have attempted to replicate the frantic action of the anime, but FighterZ is the first to completely succeed. The game looks just like an episode of the show, right down to the shouts of rage and powering up. This game is already beloved by the fighting game community for boasting a Marvel vs. Capcom 3 vs 3 feel and offering over 20 of the series most famous fighters.
Release Date – January 26
RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2
Though not as successful as its sibling, Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar’s wild west open world was one of last generation’s best games, and we can’t wait to get back to hunting thousands of deer. Oh, and also bandits. Fans have been waiting years for a sequel to this cowboy epic, delayed from its initial 2017 release date, but it appears we don’t have to wait much longer.
Release Date – TBA
ANTHEM
It’s always exciting when Bioware, masters of the wester RPG, announces a new IP. Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, Mass Effect. All classics. Anthem is a sci-fi, open world, seamless multiplayer, action-RPG. That’s a crazy amount of tags. The game will let you and your squad of real-world friends embark on missions to save the small space humanity has carved out for itself in a hostile world. Oh, also you can fly like Iron Man while you shoot giant alien monsters.
Release Date – TBA
FAR CRY 5
Few games see controversy like Far Cry 5. The villain is a militant group of Christian extremists in rural Montana, which angered quite a few people. But the game looks fun as hell and follows Breath of the Wild‘s “go anywhere, do anything” mentality. Except instead of playing as Link and fighting Gannon, you are hunting far-right extremists.
Release Date – March 27
MEGA MAN 11
The Blue Bomber is back, baby! After 30 years of Mega Man, the newest title takes our sidescrolling hero into a 2.5D landscape to once again fight robot masters who are way better at this game than we are. The last major Mega Man title came out in 2010, but we’ve seen our favorite robot in games like Super Smash Bros.
Release Date – TBA
KINGDOM HEARTS 3
Kingdom Hearts 2 came out in 2005 so the third installment has been gestating for 13 years. If I’m being honest, I’m not entirely sure this game will even come out this year, but we can hope. Combining classic JRPG mechanics with the bright world of Disney, this series has some of the most die-hard fans in the industry, any one of whom will gladly fight you if you say the game isn’t coming out this year. At least it isn’t called Kingdom Hearts 2.875 Dream Drink or whatever the last few have been called. Either way, the game is pretty and looks incredibly fun, so the sooner the better.
Release Date – TBA
PSYCHONAUTS 2
Psychonauts also came out in 2005 but hasn’t seen as many interim releases as Kingdom Hearts. Last year saw a short PSVR experience to get us ready for the sequel and reminded us just how charming Razputin’s adventures are. The first game’s witty writing, psychadelic world, and tight platforming have been missing from games for years, so we’re excited for the series to return.
Release Date – 2018
NINTENDO
FIRE EMBLEM SWITCH
After lying dormant for years, Fire Emblem has seen a renaissance since 2013’s Awakening, with no less than 5(!) games last year. The tactical RPG/dating simulator has jumped to one of Nintendo’s main series, with 6(!) characters in the latest Smash Bros. Though details are scarce about the Switch title, Nintendo has confirmed that the console will see a mainline Fire Emblem game this year.
Release Date – TBA
POKÉMON SWITCH
Similar to Fire Emblem, few details are known about the next Pokémon, other than its 2018 release date. However, this will mark the series first mainline game on a home console. I’ve given up on knowing the names of all 807 monsters, but I’ll be more than happy to jump back in and not know a couple hundred more.
Release Date – TBA
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