Well, that’s the end of 2016 effectively. We’re calling it a day on a pretty great year for games. Plenty of 2016’s scheduled releases unfortunately did not meet their release date. So 2017 features a few games that we were excited about playing this year, plus many many more. Here’s some of our most anticipated 2017 games.

The Resident Evil series has felt a little different since the epic Resident Evil 4. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy 5 (never played 6), but 4 was a bit of a turning point in the series, and 5 and 6 just seemed so different and not quite as Resident Evil as they could be. After the disappointment that Silent Hills was cancelled, Capcom took a radical direction change on their Resident Evil series and the premier trailer of 7 seemed reminiscent of the infamous P.T demo that later turned out to be Silent Hills. And it actually works really well. Capcom have been on the ball releasing demos for the game seemingly after each gaming convention. And having played it myself first hand in VR at PlayStation VR Experience, I can say I’m incredibly positive about how the series has turned with this iteration. Here’s hoping that it can deliver to the hype, because currently as it stands, it’s shaping up to be the scariest game in the series and potentially one of the scariest games period. The good news, we don’t have to wait that much longer for it.

Words cannot describe the excitement. Each time we see this at gaming conventions it just seems to get better and better. Hype levels for this are ridiculous currently. I can only hope that this isn’t another No Man’s Sky where the hype is unjustified for the game. I can’t see that being the case on this occasion. Should everything go smoothly this will be released in February and be the spearhead of PS4’s exclusive barrage of games hitting the console in 2017.

There will be 3 games on PlayStation 4 come February 2017 that were myths. The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy 15 (not 7 Remake), and NioH. All 3 were announced years ago. NioH was initially revealed for PlayStation 3 at E3 2005. 2005… that’ll be 12 years ago this was revealed when it finally releases. That aside it’s one of my most anticipated titles for 2017 based on the Beta and demo I’ve had with it. It’s also the closest looking game we’ll get to Onimusha in a while. The similarities are all there, but this isn’t just a hack and slash, there’s an element of strategy to the game and RPG elements too.

Well obviously this makes the list. The WiiU’s final swansong or the birth of the Switch. Depending which console you pick it up for. There’s every chance I’ll get this for both, as the last time I didn’t do this (Twilight Princess on Gamecube and Wii), the Cube version’s price rocketed and it’s something of a collectors item now. Everything we’ve seen from this so far seems ambitious. It’s looking to be one of Nintendo’s biggest projects ever, no hefty feat. Hopefully no further delays mean we actually see this release in 2017. And if it does, you can bet it’ll be a front runner for game of the year in 2017.

Just look at the picture, need we say more? PlayStation have teased Crash’s return for quite some time, and the fans want it. The nostalgia is so strong. Based on impressions from people I’m friends with on Facebook, this game is going to do gangbusters. People who don’t follow video game news at all were sharing the trailer around for this tagging in their friends with comments about how they can’t wait to get this. It’ll go down as one of 2016’s biggest gaming announcements. Not quite the holy trinity of E3 2015, but still it’s big.

Will this game actually make it out in 2017? I’m not convinced, but on the off chance that it does, then it has to make the 2017 anticipation list. Rockstar needed no marketing at all for this reveal. Simply changing their Facebook and Twitter profile pictures to a black and red R* logo sent people into a frenzy. Should this game actually see a release in 2017 it’ll be absolutely massive. There isn’t much more that can be said about it, as we don’t know anything about it. Other than we want it.

No you’re not seeing things, and yes you are still in 2016 (possibly, it could be 2017 if you’re reading this 2 days after it was posted). A Sonic game accompanies a Crash Bandicoot game in our anticipated 2017 games. Initially revealed as part of Sonic’s 25th Anniversary, Sonic Mania goes back to it’s side scrolling, pixelated roots and looks a heck of a lot of fun. Bright and fast, it’s just what Sonic used to be. Refreshing to see a potentially decent Sonic game again after some unfortunately terrible entries into the series over the years.
There are plenty more to be excited about, but it’d take up too much space to detail them all. Ni No Kuni 2, Wipeout Omega Collection, Nier Auotmata, Gravity Rush 2, Gran Turismo Sport, Parappa The Rapper Remaster, Mass Effect, Little Nightmares, Edith Finch to name drop a few.
– Murr