2017: Interesting Upcoming Games for PS4/XBO/PC

As 2016 lies in a starched hospital bed, thoughts punctuated only by the incessant tones of the heart monitor, it’s wife and children sitting around in apathetic silence, 2017 is outside on a skateboard or something, preparing itself for a slew of upcoming games.

We here at Zatu have decided to look ahead at some of the more interesting upcoming games next year will bring.

Vampyr

Exact date TBA. Platforms: PS4/XBO/PC

Developed by palindromic French company Dontnod Entertainment, Vampyr is a game about the eponymous misspelled haemogluggers.

Players take on the role of Jonathan Reid, a recently vampirised man-doctor, trapped between bloodlust and a sworn oath to heal the sick, a balance players must ride like a well-tamed pony.

Set in 1918 London, the game allows Reid to target any NPC, each of whom has their own life, routine, and relationships. Killing any of them will have potentially unforeseeable consequences within the story, and killing too many can lead entire areas to become deserted. Reid can heal the sick or, of course, drain them dry.

The game mixes RPG elements with real-time combat and a gothic aesthetic.

Night in the Woods

Scheduled release: 10^th January. Platforms: PS4/PC/Mac/Linux

Night in the Woods is a long anticipated 2D adventure game developed by Infinite Fall. The game was funded through Kickstarter, earning four times its goal.

Players control Mae, a 20-year-old cat who would likely be dead by then if biological reality had been correctly observed, who has just returned home to Possum Springs to live with her parents. The game combines a beautiful 2D art style with exploration, mystery, talking animals and paranormal abilities.

For Honor

Scheduled release: 14^th February. Platforms: PS4/XBO/PC

Named after the most effective answer to the interview question ‘Why do you want to work at this company?’, For Honor is set in a medieval fantasy world in which samurai, knights and vikings all occupy the same field.

The game boasts an innovative new combat system, one that aims to emulate tactical melee combat. Players can attack from above, the left or the right, and must predict their opponents moves to strike the squishy bits at opportune moments.

The multiplayer experience looks like an odd mix of moba-esque minions and HALO/COD/Battlefield PvP, but with blades.

It is, fittingly, set for release on Valentine’s Day, a day well known for its single combat.

Outlast 2

Exact date TBA. Platforms: PS4/XBO/PC/Mac

Outlast 2 is a sequel to 2013 survival horror Outlast, in which players were cast as a freelance investigative journalist in a psychiatric hospital.

The sequel casts players as a freelance investigative journalist in a desert. It brings back the mechanics of the original, equipping players with nothing but a camcorder with limited night vision and a notepad, forcing them to run and hide from enemies they are incapable of fighting.

In lieu of the homicidal inmate enemies of the first instalment, the player will find themselves pursued by members of an apocalyptic cult in an isolated village.

The nature of upcoming games is such that any one of these could fall into obscurity or become the best thing since loaves. Only time, specifically some months, will tell.