It might not feel like it now, what with the inevitable, but no less lamentable, summer games drought currently in full swing, but 2017 has been an absolute blinder of a year for video games so far. Not in recent memory, can I recall such a heavily-stacked first six months of stellar triple-A releases all worthy of extracting cash from my wallet, and all eager to rapidly devour my free time.
Capcom’s triumphant retaking of the survival horror crown with Resident Evil 7, Team Ninja’s Souls-like sleeper hit Nioh and Arkane’s excellent Prey reboot, to name just a few of this year’s early birds, have already thrust 2017 to the top of the list to be considered as one of the best years for industry, but there’s still so much more to come. The holiday season is positively bursting at the seams this year, filled with annual sequels for all the heavy-hitters you’d expect, but even the curators of those usual suspects are promising to reinvent the once-stale formula.
Call of Duty: WWII and Assassin’s Creed: Origins are shaping up to be the most innovative iterations of their respective franchises to date, themselves due to be joined by long-awaited titles like Super Mario Odyssey and Destiny 2, and that’s only scratching the surface. On that note, here are some of the other titles that’ll no doubt be contending for best game of 2017 at the year’s end.
