12. Ni No Kuni 2
When the first console version of Ni No Kuni released it was a title that only the JRPG fans of North America seemed to notice but those who discovered it fell in love. The story grabbed at your heart, the characters were well developed and interesting, and the cartoony style added a sense of wonder to the entire experience, helping you get over the rather unpleasant incident at the start of the game. So here we are, waiting four years for the sequel to appear in North America and fans are quietly pawing at their screens waiting for the next adventure. Ni No Kuni 2 is going to be a huge improvement on what was already a nearly flawless game. If you haven’t heard the name before and are a fan of RPG titles this is absolutely a must for your collection.
Release Date: 2017
11. Hellblade: Seuna’s Sacrifice
This is a case of a games name misleading what it really is about. You might be forgiven for thinking a game called Hellblade is going to be a basic hack and slash title with very little in the way of depth, story, or replayability. Although for judging a game so deeply on its name you ought to be ashamed. No, Hellblade is something so much more: Senua, the protagonist of the game, is the last survivor of a Celtic tribe. She bared witness to the merciless slaughter of her people at the hands of the Viking invaders and the game does not take you on a simple mission of revenge, but rather through Senua’s guilt riddled and broken mind. There are hallucinations, PTSD manifestations, and all manner of fractured thoughts players will have to combat as Senua comes to terms with what happened. Ninja Theory (the studio behind Heavenly Sword and the DMC reboot) are calling this an “Independent AAA title”. Hellblade looks slick, dark, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.
Release Date: 2017
10. Nioh
Team Ninja returns to with this fantastic take on war-torn Japan with Nioh, a third person action RPG seeing players take control of William, a renowned samurai who enters into demon infested areas and slaughters them. It’s been a while since a game took us to the time of samurai’s but Nioh is shaping up to be quite the impressive title. Gameplay footage clearly lets us see the inspiration from Ninja Gaiden with the detail in combat and style of level traversal. Nioh has been on the tip of peoples tongues for a while now and the wait for it is almost over. Combat is supposed to be amped up with more challenging battles, and enemies are only getting larger and more difficult to destroy. As long as Team Ninja has handed us a lengthy campaign, Nioh will definitely be a title to watch for.
Release Date: February 9, 2017
9. Knack 2
With the first game serving as a launch title to the PS4, it actually surprised me to hear that Knack would be getting a sequel. That’s not saying the game was bad, it was a happy surprise. When I first got my hands on Knack I realized I was grinning like an idiot because of its simple mechanics but the absolute joy of it: the destruction of the world around me, building into a more colossal entity only for it to shatter all away. With the announcement of Knack 2 coming out later this year, all I can think of is those fond memories of childish delight playing as Knack and wreaking havoc against the goblins. One can only hope Knack 2 will take all the wonder of the original and give us something inspired to remind us again why Knack deserves to be in our library.
Release Date: 2017
Head over to PAGE 4 for the next games on our list…