Home Featured Content

6 Games Coming In 2018 That We Can’t Wait To See More Of

It's mind-boggling to think that the busiest part of the year, as far as the video game calendar is concerned, is yet to arrive. So far in 2017, nearly every single month has marked the arrival of a highly-anticipated title or long-awaited hardware launch, all of which have done their darnedest to take a cut of your hard-earned paycheck. Sony, in particular, has gone above and beyond the call of duty by bringing PlayStation 4 owners some of the best console exclusives to date in the form of Nioh and NieR: Automata, as well as first-party, triple-A whoppers like Horizon Zero Dawn.

6) Monster Hunter: World

Recommended Videos

Perhaps one of the more unexpected announcements at this year’s E3, Capcom revealed as part of Sony’s shorter-than-expected presser back in June that its mega-popular RPG series will be returning, next year, to the format that birthed it more than a decade ago. Indeed, while it’s still without an official launch date, the developer has, since the game’s announcement, confirmed that the series’ circling back to its roots includes not just Sony’s platform, but Microsoft’s too, with a PC port expected sometime later, thereby covering all the major bases.

Now, this is all surely good news for longtime fans of the franchise, but it’s no secret that, outside of Japan, Monster Hunter is far from being a household name, a disappointing reality that’s generally attributed as stemming from the series’ steep learning curve. From my own, albeit brief, experiences with the handheld titles, I don’t necessarily disagree with the sentiment – the intricacies of hunting and combat, as well as the wide array of underlying mechanics, is truly staggering – though I found the obtuse and sometimes clunky controls (having just one analog stick will do that) to be a bigger obstacle hampering my own enjoyment.

Despite those issues, though, what makes up the core of the series could never be described as anything but unique; it’s whether Capcom can do enough tinkering with the formula to expand its appeal that’ll be the biggest challenge. Thankfully, the developer appears acutely aware of what does and doesn’t work for us Westerners in terms of game design, evidence for which is clearly apparent in recent gameplay demos.

Let’s not forget, either, that World will, true to its name, allow cross-region play between Western and Eastern gamers – a rare, but extremely welcome feature that, I hope, will pay off for its longevity.