Most Anticipated Games of 2017

In a continuation of end-of-year posts I wanted to carry over from last year, I wanted to take a look at the games I most excited to try out for 2017.

Looking back at 2016, Total War: Warhammer definitely hit all the right notes for me.  One of the few games I bought right at release, I still haven’t completed all the original races’ campaigns to start the DLCs (but will definitely be doing so).  On the flipside, No Man’s Sky fell right into its own trap – the hype was too large, and the delivery was extremely poor.

For 2017, there are quite a few sequels that I am anticipating.  In no particular order, here are some of my most anticipated titles:

Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy (TBA 2017)

Speculation has run wild when its come to Crash Bandicoot.  People have been clamoring for a new Crash Bandicoot, and not the Activision-styled ones either.  We want a new collectible adventure with everyone’s favorite Bandicoot.

Well, it appears Sony reads this blog and obviously understood the financial sense it made as laid out in my prior post here.  While I’m sure my post did a lot of convincing to top Sony exec’s, it only made sense that the Playstation brand revisit its rival to Mario.

While we won’t be getting a full-on new title in the now haphazard series, we are getting the three original, and consensus strongest, titles on PS4.  The developer is calling these “remastered plus” and not a “remake”, although that doesn’t exactly clear things up.

Either way, I just hope this remake does well, as it appears to be a litmus test for Sony to pursue a new standalone title.  With all the other remakes abound, especially with calls for classic platformers, Crash has a great opportunity to build nostalgia, and gain some new fans.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild (TBA 2017)

Skyward Sword was the last true home console Zelda game, and that was way back on the original Wii (Tri Force Heroes and Link Between Worlds were both on handheld).  The hype is real for this title, which has had a shifty history.  Is it a WiiU title or a Switch title? Both? Is it a Twilight Princess situation?

The game looks unique, blending the cartoony/drawn style that contrasts with a lot of the grimdark styling of many of today’s RPGs.  Nintendo has stated that the game will utilize an open-world design, and allow for the dungeons to be completed in any order.

The game has stirred a little controversy, as it was rumored to have been delayed and not accompanying the Switch’s launch.  While this has yet to be confirmed (as the Switch release date is not yet confirmed) it would be a bit of a bummer to have the Switch missing a killer lead title at launch.  Also, Link is now right handed.

Dawn of War 3 (TBA 2017)

While I may not have written much about it so far on this blog, I am a huge fan of RTS games.  I loved the original Dawn of War and, although less excited, still enjoyed some of the sequel.  Much like Total War: Warhammer, seeing Space Marines and Orks move from the tabletop to full 3D is always exciting for me as a Warhammer fan.

As I have detailed before, Games Workshop has been licensing anything and everything from the Warhammer IP to try to bring in some cash.  Luckily, there have been a lot of solid titles like Total War, Vermintide, and Space Marine.

Dawn of War III will return to the original base-building style of RTS, as seen in the original.  It also looks like the Blood Ravens chapter will be making a return to the series.

The one gripe I have with all these Warhammer games is the piecemeal distribution of the races.  DoW3 is only suppose to launch with Space Marines, Orks, and Eldar.  The original eventually added nearly every race to the game, but over the course of several expansions.  Hopefully they release the races in fairly quick succession as the Total War DLC schedule has produced.

Death Stranding

The last game I’ll include is perhaps the most mysterious.  Death Standing is the highly anticipated title from Hideo Kojima.  Death Stranding will be the first title from the icon post-Konami and the unresolved fallout and departure after Metal Gear Solid V.

What is this game about?  It’s anyone’s guess at this point, as each reveal trailer just adds to the confusion.  It looks like the game will be quite dark, perhaps taking some notes from the tossed-aside Silent Hills, but also appears to be set in the modern day.

How does this fit with the trailer above?

Kojima’s track record has been quite good, so I hope this title can deliver.  Sony has taken a risk to bring him in given his propensity to blow through budgets, but the Konami fallout built up a lot of goodwill for the next Kojima title.  We shall see.

 

What are you looking forward to?  What happened to Cuphead?  Comment below!