E3 2017 brought a ton of new game announcements for games we’re expecting to see in 2018 for the Xbox One (One S, One X), PS4 (PS4 Slim, PS4 Pro) and PC. But even before we get the major releases to pencil onto the release calendar, most of the big guns in the world of gaming already have some heavy weight games expected to release before the year 2017 sets down. Whether these games are innovative new ideas, gorgeous remasters, or highly anticipated sequels, we can’t wait to play them. If you’re on the hunt for the best games to buy in the year 2017, read on, as we bring to our list of 15 best upcoming games in 2017.
Note: The titles in the list are arranged in the order of their respective release dates. Since they haven’t been released yet, we would like to refrain ourselves from arranging them in any other specific order.
The Best PC, Xbox One and PS4 Upcoming Games
1. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
A treasure hunter seeking an ancient relic, with a murderous thug hot on their trail, and a series of narrow escapes leading to a big climax. Sounds Familiar? Well, that’s the main concept of every Uncharted game for you. And while you would argue that isn’t the same backdrop being followed every time too cliched, it’s actually not. To give you a reference, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is actually the best selling PS4 games of all time. And developer Naughty Dog intends to build upon the success with the help of their upcoming game – The Lost Legacy.
Unlike the main protagonist of the Uncharted series – Drake, The Lost Legacy will feature Uncharted 2’s treasure hunter Chloe Frazer, team up with the mercenary Nadine Ross to battle through a massive archaeological site in India. Building upon the way that Uncharted 4 focused upon the relationships between the characters, The Lost Legacy builds upon the relationship between Chloe and Nadine as they come together in the search for the Tusk of Ganesha, a mystical artifact hidden somewhere in the Western Ghats mountain range.
The Uncharted series has always raised the bar to what users can expect from the game and has definitely lived up to the hype. Considering how massively successful A Thief’s End was, one can only imagine what Sony has up its sleeve this time around. From what it seems, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy has got a sense of wonder, of scale and adventure, of discovering something new.
Platforms: PS4
Release Date: August 22nd, 2017 (Pre-order)
2. Destiny 2
One of the most highly acclaimed games of 2014, Destiny quickly rose to become one of the most loved games of all times, considering it appealed to all sorts of gamers. Bungie is known for its excellent world-building, and Destiny is another example of that. An online-only game, Destiny was a first-person shooter in which players had to journey to different planets to investigate and destroy the alien threats before humanity is completely wiped out. That being said, the lack of a coherent single player campaign story was a key issue with the original Destiny, something which Destiny 2 hopes to improve upon significantly.
Much to fans’ expectations, Destiny 2 is focusing on its new character-driven single player campaign – which in fairness looks pretty epic. Also, building upon the 4v4 team system, Destiny 2 is set to expand its multiplayer combat to everyone and not just those who have a massively experienced fire team put together. Destiny 2 will also feature a new solo campaign known as the ‘Red War’ with more cinematics than ever before and a new Strike Mission, known as ‘The Inverted Spire’. A new Guided Games feature will let new players to partner with experienced clans for harder raid and strike missions.
Guardians can also look forward to a selection of new sub-classes, each with their own special abilities. All in all, Destiny 2 seems to be shaping up to be an amazing sequel. In case you wish to get a taste of the multiplayer, the Destiny 2 beta begins on July 18 and concludes on July 24., but is available only to those who’ve either pre-ordered the game or are lucky enough to bag a beta key from somewhere.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: September 6th, 2017 (Pre-order)
3. Dishonored: Death of The Outsider
Dishonored is one of Bethesda best games ever produced, setting the benchmarks for first person stealth-based games. After tons of DLCs, Bethesda finally decided to take the story to the next level. While in the first game, you played as Corvo, the sequel allowed you to take control of either Corvo or the young princess Emily whom Corvo had specially trained for combat. Now, with Death of The Outsider, Bethesda hopes to change the game and deliver to its users a completely new storyline while maintaining the balance of previous games as well.
Coming as a standalone expansion pack, the players this time take control of Billie Lurk, an assassin who was first introduced in Dishonored 1 DLC – Knife of Dunwall and reappeared in Dishonored 2 as Meagan Foster. In Death of The Outsider, she is reunited with Daud, her old mentor and the protagonist of Knife Of Dunwall, for the mission to kill the Outsider. Using all-new powers and abilities, Billie will infiltrate underground fight clubs and square off against the Sisters of the Oracular Order, the immortal Envisioned and the Outsider-obsessed Eyeless gang.
She’ll also face new Clockwork Soldiers – along with other new and returning foes – and retrieve ancient artifacts in a thrilling bank-heist mission, eventually facing the mysterious, god-like Outsider himself. Furthermore, the expansion also comes with an “Original Game Plus” mode, which lets you play through the Death Of The Outsider story with “a selection” of the abilities Emily and Corvo can use in Dishonored 2.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: September 15th, 2017 (Pre-order)
4. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite comes as the sixth mainstream entry in the crossover games series. The last time a game came under this brand was back in 2011, the Fate of Two Worlds, at which time the Marvel Cinematic Universe had just one movie. As a result, while the game was great, it primarily attracted attention from Capcom’s fan base and Marvel’s comic book readers that occasionally liked to play a game or two. Now, almost 6 years later, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown exponentially, and Capcom hopes to capitalize on it with the Infinite title.
Like previous installments, players control characters from both the Marvel Comics and Capcom universes to compete in tag team battles. Infinite features two-on-two fights, as opposed to the three-on-three format used in its preceding titles. The series’ traditional character assists have been removed; instead, the game incorporates a tag-based combo system, which allows players to instantly switch between their two characters to form continuous combos. It also introduces a new gameplay mechanic in the form of the Infinity Stones, which temporarily bestow players with unique abilities and stat boosts depending on the type of stone selected. Also, whilst the controls have been simplified for the players, the actual gameplay is as complex as ever.
Consisting of just 14 fighters till now – Ryu, Chun-Li, Mega Man X, Chris Redfield, Strider Hiryu, Morrigan, Ultron, Hulk, Hawkeye, Captain Marvel, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Rocket Raccoon, with more names to be added, Capcom has made sure that there is no imbalance amongst the characters. What I mean by that is that each player has an equal share of their power set, unlike the ones we’ve seen in Mortal Kombat or Tekken series, where certain characters seem to outweigh the others. That being said, a fight could be lost immediately from the character select screen if you didn’t choose three fighters that perfectly complemented each others’ strengths and weakness. For any Capcom and/or Marvel fan, Infinite is surely going to be an easy choice for investment.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: September 19th, 2017 (Pre-order)
5. FIFA 18
For any football (or soccer, if you’re from those parts of the world) fan, FIFA has long been the most favorite simulator game for the world’s most beloved sport. Yes, like some of you reading this, even I do prefer PES, but we’re talking about the majority here, and FIFA clearly does win there. Developed by EA Sports (cue music – into the game), FIFA 18 is the next entrant in the long running annual football simulator series. While it is quite difficult to continuously add new features to a game with each iteration when you know it will be an annual release, EA has still managed to check almost all the right boxes once again with FIFA 18.
Even though FIFA 18 isn’t a huge overhaul, but the various tweaks and additions make a game of football that’s much more realistic, fluid and very enjoyable. Having switched to the Frostbite Engine in FIFA 17, was a step in the right direction, which helped players get a taste of great graphics and improved gameplay. That being said, including the story mode, FIFA 17 was just a glimpse at the power of Frostbite. While the first switch always tags along certain bugs, FIFA 18 aims to improve upon the shortcomings of FIFA 17 and fill up its loopholes.
Frostbite has been known to be a very powerful engine, powering the likes of Battlefield all along. So having such an engine carefully implemented with proper code allows FIFA 18 to showcase further enhanced graphics, a new detailed lighting system, better stadiums, and an improved atmospheric gameplay altogether. The story mode is by far, the biggest improvement, as players will see a sequel to Alex Hunter’s story mode in this year’s game, where he faces the conundrum of which club to choose to play for. Furthermore, powered by the man himself – Cristiano Ronaldo, the game features realistic player movements, an improved stamina system, and individual player celebrations. While it might not be the kind of jump we saw from FIFA 16 to FIFA 17, the latest iteration is bound to keep users busy for another year, because, well, you know why.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: September 29th, 2017 (Pre-order)
6. Forza Motorsport 7
Forza is Microsoft’s crown jewel, alongside the Halo series of course, and is Sony’s answer to the Gran Turismo franchise. The Forza series has been divided into two variants – Motorsport and Horizon. While the Horizon series focuses on open-world/street racing, the Motorsport series focuses on professional racing. Coming as the tenth installment in the series, Forza Motorsport 7 is all set to become the biggest racing game till date.
Developed by Turn 10 Studios, Forza Motorsport will feature well over 700 cars within the game, with additional DLCs and expansion packs to include more. Also, sticking true to its core nature of allowing the users to customize their rides the way they prefer, each vehicle in the game will feature over 200 customizations. Along with the rides, new in this iteration of the Motorsport variant, users will get the chance to customize their drivers as well.
In 2016, Turn 10 Studios stunned the world with the superb graphics that came as a part of Forza Horizon 3. If you thought those were great, will till you’ve taken a look at Motorsport 7’s graphics. Kicking last year’s gorgeous Forza Horizon 3 out of the park (pun intended), Forza Motorsport 7 boasts a ridiculous commitment to realism and graphical fidelity. Add to that the fact that Microsoft had provided the Turn 10 team with a prototype XBOX One X System, which has allowed the game to be developed in order to push 60 frames per second at an astounding 4K resolution. The Forza Motorsport 7 is clearly a racing game made by the racing nerds for the racing nerds.
Platforms: Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: October 3rd, 2017 (Pre-order)
7. Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Picking up from one of 2014’s greatest games – Shadow of Mordor, comes Middle Earth’s sequel, Shadow of War. Shadow of War continues the previous game’s narrative, based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium with events occurring between those of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Like its predecessor, the game also takes heavy inspiration from director Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings film adaptations.
In Shadow of War, the player continues the story of the ranger Talion who shares his body with the spirit of the elf lord Celebrimbor, as they use one of the Rings of Power to amass an army to fight against Sauron and his Nazgûl forces. Also, combat has been slightly tweaked to give you access to more skills and the loot system has been upgraded to offer more variety, as well as statistical differences between items. But at its core, the free running and combat mechanics are pretty similar to Shadow of Mordor, offering you a choice of dodge, attack, and executions that can occasionally be broken up with ranged bow shots or magic.
The game also comes with a new Siege mode, which sees you rally your forces and attempt to steal control of a region from Sauron by capturing key points in the stronghold, and then killing the main warlord. Each siege is different as the orc leader and his underling bosses all have varying personalities, skills and weakness. It also allows the user to recruit and manage their army according to their preferences. If Warner Brothers can deliver on its promise to let you truly leave your mark on Mordor, Shadow of War could well be a contender for game of the year.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: October 10th, 2017 (Pre-order)
8. Evil Within 2
Back in the fall of 2014, Bethesda decided to have a take on the horror genre and brought out The Evil Within. A third-person psychological survival horror game, The Evil Within is a game that is directed by Shinji Mikami, the man behind the Resident Evil series. The game received heavy praise for its horror elements and atmosphere, where the players controlled the game’s protagonist through a distorted world full of nightmarish locations and horrid creatures.
Taking place three years after the first game, The Evil Within 2 is a direct sequel to Tango Gameworks’ original experience. Sebastian Castellanos, our smooth-talking protagonist with a suave-looking waistcoat, is back and more grumpy than ever. Years before the events of the first game, Sebastian’s daughter, Lily, passed away in a tragic house fire. At least, that’s what he originally thought. The Evil Within 2 follows Sebastian as he travels to the city of Union. With Lily’s mind at the core of its very creation, Union is a mix of claustrophobic environments and wide open areas ripe for player exploration.
Taking place in the city of Union, Sebastian will travel between a mixture of real world and supernatural locations in search of answers regarding his daughter’s whereabouts. Your former colleague, Juli Kidman, will be on hand to guide you through treacherous puzzles and hostile enemies. Sebastian will be expected to put his detective skills to good use if he hopes to stand any chance of survival. As always, the gameplay is expected to be top notch, with Shinji Mikami even coming out and stating how they’ve crafted a compelling storyline this year round for the users.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: October 13th, 2017 (Pre-order)
9. Gran Turismo Sport
Sony’s long running racing game franchise – Gran Turismo makes its return to the scene with Gran Turismo Sport, which will be the thirteenth game in the series and first one made exclusively for the PlayStation 4. Gran Turismo Sport has been referred to as not just a reboot, but an entirely new uplifting of the entire series, marking the beginning of a new era into the second generation.
As compared to Forza Motorsport 7, Gran Turismo Sport will feature only 137 super premium cars. While inferior to its competitor in the numbers game, it is still a big number nonetheless. The biggest advantage of Gran Turismo over Forza is the fact that Sony has been in the game for a longer time, and has a better experience of what gamers’ expect from a game. Add to that the experience they gained with the help of their second racing title – Driveclub, and you’ll realize that Sony is certainly a mammoth in this competition, at least on paper.
GT Sport will include three game modes: “Campaign”, “Sports Mode” and “Arcade Mode”, with the capability to play both offline and online racing in the game. The game has been described as different from the “Prologue” titles seen in the past in the series and will feature more content. While the Forza series has certainly expanded quite well in the market, the Gran Turismo Sport is back to give Forza a run for its money. That being said, considering both the games are platform exclusive, it will eventually come down to which console you own.
Platforms: PS4
Release Date: October 17th, 2017 (Pre-order)
10. Assassin’s Creed: Origins
Featuring historical fiction and characters, mixed with real-world historical events, and figures, Assassin’s Creed is one of Ubisoft’s most successful franchises to date. It depicts a centuries-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight for peace with free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control. All the games within the series have gone on to become best sellers, and some even going on to win the Game of the Year awards. So when Ubisoft announced at E3 2017 that it was bringing out a new entry to the award winning series, it is quite obvious that everyone went berzerk.
Assassin’s Creed: Origins is the tenth installment in the franchise, but like the previous games, it has no connection with the other titles in the series whatsoever. Origin’s story is set in Ptolemaic Egypt and follows Bayek, a Medjay, as he works to protect his people from threats. The open world design lets players freely roam Egypt. Playing from the third person view, the open world can be navigated on foot, horseback, camelback or boat. Unlike previous games in the series, combat isn’t limited to basic attack and counter dodge options. In its place, Ubisoft has provided a new fast-paced system that focuses on mixing dodges and shield blocks with light and heavy melee and ranged bow attacks.
This year, Ubisoft has directly focused on enhancing its combat system and has also introduced a new RPG-esque gear and skills systems. Origin also gives you a direct control over what equipment you use and, according to the devs, will have an advanced loot system that will let you scavenge and buy a variety of different weapons during your adventure. Keeping everything in mind, Origins seems to be a step in the right direction for the Assassin’s Creed series.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: October 27th, 2017 (Pre-order)
11. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Marking our third entrant in this list from Bethesda Studios, comes Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, which is the sequel to 2014’s Wolfenstein: The New Order. It is also the eighth main entry in the Wolfenstein series, and probably the most hyped one, following the success of its predecessor. In The New Order, the story follows an alternate history, where the Nazis won the second world war. The New Colossus picks up from the story and proceeds about tackling the Nazi rule.
The user is set to control the game’s protagonist, BJ Blazkowicz. Picking up from the grenade blast that concluded The New Order, The New Colossus opens up where our hero is badly broken and is barely able to walk. In the game, the player is forced to find his way whilst seated in a wheelchair. And although as weird as it may sound that you have to find you way against Nazi machine guns and other personnel, the world around is build to compliment the so-called disability of the player. As you explore the environment, you’ll find conveyor belts and elevators that send you flying through the area, blasting Nazis in the face in relative style. Like its predecessor, The New Colossus features on-the-rails level design, but it is its clever level design that uses vertical space liberally.
The New Colossus is another reminder of the fact that how sadistic the series is. While more features may or may not be added to the gameplay, the storyline of the entire Wolfenstein series has always been a strong point, and The New Colossus is shaping up to essentially live up to that fame.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: October 27th, 2017 (Pre-order)
12. Call of Duty: World War II
The biggest first-person shooter franchise in the world right now, Call of Duty marks its return to the scene with its fourteenth installment in the series with Call of Duy: World War II. It comes off as a sequel to Call of Duty: World at War, which was launched way back in 2008. After a terrible result with Infinite Warfare, which by the way is the most disliked game trailer and the second most disliked video on YouTube, Call of Duty makes it return to the “boots on the ground gameplay” of the original CoD trilogy and to its WWII setting.
Following EA’s success with Battlefield 1, which is set on the settings of World War 1, Call of Duty is inspired as well as pushed by its fan base to build a game on the story of World War 2. The game is set in the European theatre of the war, with the campaign centered around a squad in the 1st Infantry Division following their battles on the Western Front. The game does not feature unlimited sprint mechanic, seen in the previous two titles. Instead of “slide” movement mechanic, which allowed players to slide quickly on the ground, WWII features “hit-the-deck” mechanic that allows the player to leap forward and throw themselves on the ground in order to get to cover quickly, similarly to a previous mechanic known as “dolphin dive” in the Black Ops series.
Furthermore, WWII is the first title since the original Call of Duty to not feature health regeneration in the campaign. Instead, players must rely on their medic squadmates to provide health packs, as well as other squad members to provide ammunition. Other squad members can spot enemies, revealing their position in form of silhouettes. Also, all the players are in “Hardcore Mode” automatically, eliminating the campaign’s difficulty settings.Enemy soldiers in the campaign can be captured, and wounded allies can be dragged to cover. Both of these actions, as well as killing enemies and completing objectives, add up to player’s experience (XP) which can be increased and improve the character’s skills. With fast-paced gameplay and an overhauled class system, WW2 is all set to bring CoD back to its roots.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: November 3rd, 2017 (Pre-order)
13. Need For Speed: Payback
Need For Speed is a name that we all are familiar with. Possibly the biggest racing game franchise on the planet, every kid has played a Need For Speed game at least once in their lifetime. The franchise has always tried to set the benchmarks for racing games, and mostly they have been quite successful. But if you’ve been a follower of the series like me, you would be aware that the past 2-3 iterations haven’t really been able to climb the charts. Add to that the fact that the current market share of racing games is either Forza or Gran Turismo, it was evident that Need For Speed needed to think out of the box. Enter – Need For Speed: Payback.
While not totally thinking out of the box, the game seems to be a reminiscence of the Fast and Furious movie franchise, something that has been greatly implemented in the game’s Heist mode. Set in Fortune Valley, the game gives racers the complete freedom to choose their missions and races, and own the streets. Coming off as the 23rd installment in the series, EA certainly knows a thing or two about racing games, and hopes to learn from its previous mistakes by bringing back the customization options that made Underground 2 and Most Wanted 2005 one of the best games of the franchise.
The storyline follows the players taking control of three main characters: Tyler (The Racer), Mac (The Showman) and Jess (The Wheelman) as they attempt to take down “The House”, a cartel who controls Fortune Valley’s underworld. And yes, all three characters in the game will be playable, each with their own different set of skills. With all the new additions combined with breathtaking graphics and engaging gameplay, Payback promises high-stakes heists, challenges, races and lots more.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: November 10th, 2017 (Pre-order)
14. Star Wars Battlefront 2
It’s hard to imagine a movie franchise better suited to video games than Star Wars. The fans have wanted this for ages, and while there have been many Star Wars games, none have been as beautiful as the 2015 Battlefront. With the films featuring epic space dogfights, more memorable characters than you can shake a lightsaber at and legions of enemies who seemingly can’t aim properly, it’s a brand that fits the medium more than anything else. While Battlefront was great, it left the players wanting for more – a single player campaign mode, and that is exactly what Battlefront 2 comes along with.
The campaign is set right after Death Star 2 explodes, and ends around the time that Starkiller Base does – a story ambitiously spanning almost 30 years. The players take control of an elite Imperial Commander called Iden Versio, though there will also be segments that have you have you control Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren. The narrative intends to humanize the Empire in ways we haven’t seen before, giving us a glimpse into the world of a seemingly likable, genuine character who actually believes that the Death Star is a good thing.
Thanks to a level of attention to detail that its predecessor lacked, Battlefront II’s multiplayer actually feels truer to the movies than its campaign. It exhibits more depth and rewarding gameplay as compared to the original Battlefront. That being said, the beautifully-made cutscenes of the single-player do hint at a Star Wars story that we’re all eager to experience.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: November 17th, 2017 (Pre-order)
15. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) is a massively multiplayer online battle royal video game, brought to you by the clever minds at Bluehole. Easily one of the best upcoming games, released as part of Steam’s early access in March 2017, the game has already sold about five million copies. While the game is available for purchase as Early Access (Beta), the actual game is set to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2017, with added features.
The concept of the game is what defines battle royal. In the game, up to one hundred players parachute onto an island and scavenge for weapons and equipment to kill others while avoiding getting killed themselves. The available safe area of the game’s world decreases in size over a match, directing surviving players into tighter areas and forcing encounters. The last player or team standing wins the round.
As compared to the current game, the developers have assured that the final release will incorporate modding tools that will allow players to customize and play the game the way they want. If you’re a Windows user, you might as well buy the game already, or you could wait for the final release alongside console users.
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: TBA (Q4, 2017) (Early Release)
SEE ALSO: 15 Most Popular Games of 2017 You Should Play
Gear Up For The Best Upcoming Games of 2017
There are a ton of great games coming the for PS4, Xbox One and PCs in 2017, however, these 15 are indeed the most exciting upcoming games. So, if you’re looking for the best upcoming games of the year, our list should be more than enough for you. Well, tell us the game that has got you excited the most, and that you can’t wait to lay your hands on, in the comments section below.
Sanmay Chakrabarti
