Most Anticipated Games of 2017: A Year of Sequels

Most+Anticipated+Games+of+2017%3A+A+Year+of+Sequels

Jonathan Hershey, Staff Writer

Despite the third month of the year being already among us, the list of games to come out this year seems to grow with each exciting announcement. Here is a list of games that are highly anticipated for the remaining nine months of 2017.

10. Unannounced Call of Duty game makes the list due to the very strong and large fan base that the Call of Duty franchise has. Since 2003 Call of Duty has been the best-selling game 8 times (2003, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016)! The reason why it did not make it higher on the list is due to it having an entry every year since its 2003 debut except 2004.

9. Yooka-Laylee is a lesser known game but still makes a spot on this list due to it being a spiritual successor to the classic games Banjo-Kazooie. Yooka-Laylee is scheduled for a release on all Xbox One, PS4, PC and the Nintendo Switch on April 11th. What is extremely interesting about this game is that it was funded on Kickstart back in 2015.

8. Injustice 2, the sequel to Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013), releases this coming May 16th and is full of DC characters. This game was developed by NetherRealm Studio who are the makers of Mortal Kombat. In total, there are 20 characters announced so far, 10 of which were not in the first game, with more coming as the date grows closer to release.

7. Halo 6 has not been announced yet to be released in 2017 but should pending any delays. This game will take place after the events of Halo 5 and Halo Wars 2 (see bottom of article). Halo 6 will have split-screen, which was confirmed by 343 Industries’ Bonnie Ross at D.I.C.E. 2017.

6. Untitled Battlefront Sequel is set to launch around November per EA Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen. The game is confirmed to have a campaign and span multiple eras unlike the previous Battlefront (2015), in which is was specific to only the Original Trilogy and Rogue One era. Here is a review of the first game and here is an article on the sequel.

5. Mass Effect Andromeda, releases this March on the 21st. This game is 4th in the Mass Effect franchise and is set in the Andromeda Galaxy in the 22nd Century. It is not a direct sequel to the Mass Effect Trilogy but instead its own story that is based on either Scott or Sara Ryder who wake up in Andromeda after a 600-year journey.

4. The Last of Us 2, which many fans of the PlayStation 4 exclusive 2013 Game of the Year the Last of Us, did not believe that there would be a sequel until PlayStation revealed there is on December 3rd.

3. Untitled Destiny Sequel is slated for a 2017 release. Die-hard fans are hopeful that this will right the wrongs of Destiny (2014) but time will tell. A big announcement was made March 3rd in which players from the first game will not be able to transfer over any of their items except for your character creations. Everything from powers to items will be new in the sequel. Here is a review on Destiny.

2. Middle Earth: Shadow of War is set to release on August 22nd. It follows the story of Talion and Celebrimbor who were merged together. This is a sequel to the Game of the Year in 2014, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. In this sequel, you will be able to fight Sauron as well as others. Interested in the video? Click here.

1. Red Dead Redemption 2 is schedule for a 2017 release and after a trailer was posted on YouTube by Rockstar Games this past October there is little indication that this will not release this year. This game is a sequel to Red Dead Redemption which was released back in 2010.

 

Three months into the year and there are a couple notable games released already in 2017. The following games are best to worst rated from Metacritic and IGN:

  1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, was released worldwide March 3rd to spectacular reviews. It released exclusively to Nintendo devices, on the Switch and the Wii U. IGN gave it a 10/10 and Metacritic gave it a 98%.
  2. Nioh, a PlayStation 4 exclusive and new franchise, released earlier this year with strong reviews despite it being compared to the Dark Souls franchise. This Japanese developed game is set during the 1600’s in a fictional version of the Sengoku period. IGN gave it a 9.6/10 and Metacritic gave it an 88%.
  3. Horizon Zero Dawn is another new PlayStation 4 exclusive, developed by Guerrilla Games who is a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment, released this game on February 28, 2017. This Guerrilla’s first new franchise since Killzone was released back in 2004. After the four-year hiatus from releasing games, Horizon Zero Dawn has opened to strong reviews overall. IGN gave it a 9.3/10 and Metacritic gave it an 88%.
  4. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a horror game that was developed and published by Capcom. The Resident Evil franchise was originally released back in 1996 and has created many spin-off games and even a movie franchise. IGN gave it a 7.7/10 and Metacritic gave it an 86%.
  5. For Honor, another new franchise, was developed and published by Ubisoft. This fighting game features Knights, Vikings and Samurais in an all-out brawl. This video game features a single player campaign and an online multiplayer experience. The game opened to decent reviews. IGN gave it an 8/10 and Metacritic gave it a 78%.
  6. Halo Wars 2 is a real-time strategy (RTS) game that is a sequel to a cult classic Halo Wars (2009). This game was developed by 343 Industries in partnership with Creative Assembly and is an Xbox One exclusive. This game takes place after the events of Halo 5 and is an unrelated story. IGN gave it a 7/10 and Metacritic gave it a 79%