Like a tiny snowball rolling down a hill that results in a full on avalanche, comics news did nothing but pick up steam in 2017, getting more and more shocking (and sometimes absurd) as the year went on.
From hirings and firings, to major controversies and dicy announcements, the world of mainstream comics has had a rocky year--and if the way things have ended with a bang this year is any indication, 2018 has got some pretty big shoes to fill come January.
Here are some of the biggest comics news stories of the past year and what they might mean going forward.
10. The Beginning (and end of) Marvel's Secret Empire
The event that's been dominating Marvel's news cycle for over a year, Captain America's cosmically manipulated, Nazi-flavored Hydra allegiance, culminated into an actual event this spring. Secret Empire officially kicked off in April, reigniting the controversy anew.
The actual reveal that Captain America had done a moral and ethical 180 took place in May of 2016, in Captain America: Steve Rogers #1, prompting no shortage of outcry from fans who felt the Captain's betrayal crossed a line. Things barely got a chance to blow over before Secret Empire was officially announced in February.
It only got rockier from there. By the time the first issue of Secret Empire hit the shelves, the entire Captain America franchise had become a polarizing, hot button issue for both critics and fans. However, despite the controversies, the event was actually extended from its originally solicited length of twelve issues to include a thirteenth, which dropped in September--meaning that, for better or worse, Secret Empire successfully dominated Marvel comics news for over half of 2017.
9. Marvel's Legacy Announcement Fizzles
The finale of Secret Empire was used as a springboard to launch a new line initiative called Marvel Legacy, which was announced, rather confusingly, by a scattered debut of lenticular covers across multiple news sites back in June.
The end result was a list of ongoing comics--some with new creative teams, some with the same--returning to their original numbering schemes, so the first Legacy issue of Captain America would be #695, rather than #1, and so on. The announcement initially sparked confusion about the initiative's intent--some books, like Marvel Two-in-One, were being relaunched for the first time in years, while others, like Daredevil, were simply updating their numbering scheme and continuing on their pre-Legacy track. It wasn't a relaunch and it wasn't a reboot, so what was it?
Prior to the re-numbering, Marvel also launched a giant sized one shot called Marvel Legacy #1 in September to herald the new line, a move that prompted some fans to draw connections between Legacy and 2016's DC Rebirth--but as of right now, only a handful of Marvel's lineup have actually set into their Legacy efforts in earnest, making the true nature of Legacy's effects on the Marvel Universe still hard to discern.
8. Doomsday Clock Sparks Controversy
Marvel wasn't the only publisher to make a controversial event choice this year. DC's Doomsday Clock, a follow-up event to last year's DC: Rebirth one shot to explicitly deal with the Watchmen involvement in the DC Universe proper, was announced this summer to understandably mixed reactions from fans.
The rights and usage of characters from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen has been a hot button issue in the world of comics for decades after Moore explicitly stated that he was adamantly against the continued use of the characters in any other properties. This, of course, hasn't stopped DC from cashing in time and time again, first with 2009's Watchmen live action film and 2012's Before Watchmen prequel comic series.
We've known about the imminent arrival of the Watchmen universe into the mainstream DCU for over a year now, following the final page reveal of Dr. Manhattan in the Rebirth one-shot, but Doomsday Clock set out to tell the story explicitly by literally hopping back and forth between the world of Watchmen and the DCU proper.
The maxi series hit shelves in November and quickly became a hot topic, despite its late-in-the-year arrival, and with eleven more issues to come, it's unlikely that Doomsday Clock is going to become any less of a conversation piece in 2018.
7. Editor Eddie Berganza Terminated at DC
In November, Buzzfeed published an investigative piece about one of the comics industry's most insidious "open secrets:" DC Comics' continued employment of noted sexual harasser and Superman group editor, Eddie Berganza.
The piece focused on the accusations and experiences of a number of women who had been victimized by Berganza over the last decade and ultimately culminated in DC terminating Berganza's employment less than three days after the piece debuted.
However, the issue remains a pressure point for the industry--both for the fact that Berganza was protected for so long after the accusations against him initially came out, and for the fact that he was and is not alone in his status as a known harasser employed by a major publisher, as reported by fans and creators coming forward on social media. As of yet, no other major, public actions have been taken by DC or any other mainstream comics publishers about these accusations.
6. Brian Michael Bendis Leaves Marvel
In one of the year's most unexpected twists, longtime Marvel-exclusive creator Brian Michael Bendis announced vita Twitter in the first week of November that he was changing teams and hopping over to work exclusively for DC.
To put that in perspective, it actually might be easier to count off characters and teams at Marvel that Bendis hasn't had some hand in. Over his twenty year career, Bendis made a name for himself as a creator practically synonymous with Marvel, creating characters like Jessica Jones and Miles Morales as well as having a major hand in iconic titles like Avengers, X-Men, Daredevil, and Defenders.
There's been no official announcement as to who will be taking up Bendis's current Marvel books, Defenders, Spider-Man, Jessica Jones, and Invincible Iron Man, after he's made the move, or which DC properties he'll be picking up. Whatever happens, this is easily one of the biggest creative shake-ups comics have seen in a very, very long time.
5. C.B. Cebulski becomes Marvel's Editor-in-Chief
Hot on the heels of Bendis's announcement came another Marvel shocker: longtime Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso had been fired from his position and replaced by Marvel talent scout C.B. Cebulski.
The move initially prompted some hope in both fans and critics--Marvel's 2017 had been rough all around on the comics side, and the thought was that some new leadership might start to turn things around. But less than three weeks after the announcement of his promotion, Cebulski became embroiled in controversy. News came to light that ten years ago Cebulski had assumed the made up identity of a writer named "Akira Yoshida," and had began writing comics with "Japanese flavor" for Marvel while also acting as an editor at the time.
"Yoshida" had even been interviewed (via email, of course) at Comic Book Resources, where Cebulski committed to the bit of his catfish-style identity and, when pressed on the issue back in June of this year, openly denied the fact that Yoshida was fictional. The truth came out in November--on Cebulski's first official day as EIC--when he admitted to falsifying the identity.
At New York Comic Con this year, Marvel made the surprise announcement of a promotional tie-in comic and at-con activation for defense contractor Northrop Grumman. The intent, apparently, was to promote STEM education and career paths to young fans--but the actual communication of that intent fell flat in a major way. Fans saw the splash pages and covers, conflating things like Northrop Grumman offices with the "real life" equivalent of Stark Tower and understood it as a propaganda effort for military contractors and weapons manufacturers aimed at children.
The outcry against the book was so rapid and intense that Marvel canceled the book and the plans for the activation at their booth on the show floor less than a day after it was announced. The initial shock and distaste was less quick to dissipate among fans, however, feeding into the overall feeling of general confusion and mistrust toward Marvel's comics arm for the majority of the year.
3. DC's "Dark Matter" Line Announced, Rebranded
DC announced a new line of "artist driven" comics called "Dark Matter" in April of this year, designed to spiral out of the Batman-centric crossover event Dark Nights: Metal. The books would pair legendary artists like Jim Lee, Tony Daniel, John Romita Jr., and Andy Kubert with heavy-hitting writers like Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV and Robert Venditti to re-introduce and re-invent classic characters into the Rebirth DCU.
However, the initiative abruptly pivoted away from its original title and the connection to Metal when it was officially rebranded "The New Age of DC Heroes" at this year's New York Comic Con, prompting some confusion.
The first New Age books are going to be hitting shelves this December, with more promised to be announced down the line--and they can't come a moment too soon, as the initial announcement drew criticism for being a completely male line up.
2. Jack Kirby's Centennial, Celebrated
August 2017 marked the 100th birthday of comics legend Jack Kirby, whose contributions to the medium made it what it is today. All across the industry, events and specials cropped up to celebrate the titan.
DC took particular care in celebrating the legacy with a line of one-shots with Kirby characters were announced with all-star creative teams, as well as a full twelve issue maxi-series for Mister Miracle done by Sheriff of Babylon team Tom King and Mitch Gerads. The series has since garnered massive and mainstream critical acclaim.
Mister Miracle, with four issues on shelves now and a fifth due in December, has since become one of the most buzzworthy comics of 2017.
1. DC/IDW Charity Anthology Love is Love Wins Eisner
Love is Love, a charity anthology organized by DC and IDW benefitting the victims of the Pulse night club massacre, was initially omitted from this year's Eisner nominations--a move that read to many involved as a snub, but turned out to be a question of eligibility. The issue, apparently, revolved around the anthology's publication date as listed on Amazon, marking it for January 10th and therefore only eligible for nomination in 2018.
However, just three days after the list of nominees was published by Comic-Con International, the issue had been clarified: Love is Love was added to the Best Anthology category for 2017.
Late comer or not, Love is Love wound up winning the category--and, better yet, managed to raise over $165,000 for Pulse victims and their families.
Okami is still fantastic. Even in a year like 2017, which had dozens of amazing games and several terrific open-world adventures, the updated Okami HD feels like it could have been a new release. Okami is an ageless classic that, even after 11 years since the last time played it, is somehow even better than I remember.
Loving Okami isn't a new hot take; when the original released back in 2006, it was a critical darling; it's currently 93% on Metacritic, and our own review at the time gave it a 9 out of 10. But publisher Capcom was disappointed by the game's low sales. After developer Clover had another commercial failure in God Hand--along with the departure of key personnel later that same year--the studio was shut down in 2007. And yet despite the game's post-release troubles, Okami still stands out as a significant achievement.
Much of Okami's timelessness is due to the bold, brush-stroke-inspired art style. Okami was gorgeous even on PS2, and Okami HD is a faithful tribute to the game's everlasting beauty. When you're stationary, the screen is a painting. Slight, subtle movements of the air are portrayed with thin flowing lines, and your wolf-form pulses with whirls of energy. In movement, the game runs at a noticeably lower frame-rate, at least on Xbox One and PS4, but Okami's hyper-stylized version of feudal Japan is like seeing a painting come to life.
The game overall is an obvious homage to the Legend of Zelda series, but your ability to use the world as a literal canvas for your god-like brush strokes makes Okami feel inspired and unique rather than just a derivative Zelda clone. The drawings you create on-screen are simple enough that they don't stall the momentum of battle, and the mechanics are generous enough that even for someone as artistically untalented as myself, creating circles and lines makes me feel like I missed my calling as a painter.
But how does the updated Okami HD change the experience? Having not touched the game since it's PS2 release 11 years ago, Okami stays true to my memories, but I'm constantly surprised by how modern it feels. There are no story or gameplay changes for this update. There are some aspect ratio options, and the game has a sharper look than its PS2 predecessor, but otherwise this is a port of the original game. Besides the frame-rate issue, there are a few small issues that could've used a fix. Text speed is inconsistent--sometimes you can quickly speed through dialogue; other times, words crawl slowly along the screen, completely oblivious to your button-mashing attempts to speed them up. And the game oscillates between gently pointing you in the right direction with a map marker, or putting a huge, unmissable arrow in front of you that points the way to your next goal. But these are minor issues that don't detract from what is a sprawling modern masterpiece.
One thing remains blissfully unchanged about the game--there is no voice acting. Oddly, the game was dinged in our original review for its lack of voiceover, and to be fair, it released alongside other cinematic games with great performances such as Final Fantasy XII, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, and Bully. But the lack of voice acting in Okami insulates the game in some ways from its occasionally inconsistent characterizations and the general danger of overacting--which, as we've seen in more recent games like Xenoblade Chronicles 2, can pull down an otherwise solid story.
In remakes and remasters, sometimes games can feel like historical relics compared to current releases--they were great for their time, but they have some element that just doesn't hold up today. Or worse, your memory of a game had glossed over the flaws that stand out in stark relief once you pick up a controller today. But the years have only been more kind to Okami. It's a humorous piece of interactive folklore; a fast and loose take on Japanese mythology that I loved back in 2006 and that feels just as fresh and exciting today.
Star Trek: Bridge Crew gives you a cool way of experiencing the Star Trek universe: hop into a virtual ship with several friends, each of whom takes on a different role, and confront challenges and obstacles together. Up until now it required either a Vive, Rift, or PlayStation VR headset to play. But today, Ubisoft updated the game so that you can play it even if you don't own a VR headset.
Now, anyone who owns the game on PS4 or PC can check it out with just a controller or mouse and keyboard. In addition, players with VR headsets can join games with non-VR players. This will certainly make it a lot easier to fill out your crew, now that the barrier to entry is much lower. You can check out Ubisoft's developer commentary on the patch in the video below.
In addition to removing the VR requirement, this update also adds "enhanced Windows Mixed Reality support." Although it's unclear how the game will work on Mixed Reality headsets, Ubisoft promises that it will add "more options for players to explore uncharted space."
If you're interested in learning more about the game, check out our 6/10 review of the VR version of Star Trek: Bridge Crew. GameSpot critic Justin Clark wrote, "When the game is at its best, the spirit of cooperation between various asymmetrical elements is encouraging--even special. In every other regard, however, Bridge Crew is forgettable the second you pull out of VR."
Disclosure: GameSpot's parent company, CBS, owns the rights to Star Trek.
Following its recent sales, Valve has launched the next big seasonal promotion on Steam. Hundreds of PC games are now discounted through early January, offering an opportunity to expand your backlog and ensure you can fill every moment of free time you have coming up. Coinciding with this, the Steam Awards are officially live.
That's just a small sampling of what's on sale right now; you can see everything that's discounted here. Even if you're not interested in spending any money, there's still a reason to check out Steam, as you can now vote for the Steam Awards. These were nominated during a previous sale and are generally in unconventional categories, such as Mom's Spaghetti and Defies Description. A different category will be up for voting each day, and you'll receive a Steam Awards trading card each time you cast a vote. Winners will be announced on January 3.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi has been in theaters for a week now, and is already massive box office hit. But despite the the strong critical response, film has been met with a more mixed reaction from fans, with some objecting to narrative and character decisions made by writer/director Rian Johnson. It turns out that Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill also has a few issues with how his character is portrayed. Warning, big spoilers ahead!
In a new interview uploaded by Youtube channel Jar Jar Abrams, Hamill reveals that the Luke in The Last Jedi "is not my Luke Skywalker." Specifically, the actor states that the Luke from the classic Star Wars trilogy would never end up in the place that we find him in at the start of The Last Jedi; a broken, disillusioned man who has exiled himself to a remote planet to die and take the entire Jedi order with him.
"I said to Rian, 'Jedis don't give up.' I mean, even if [Luke] had a problem, he would maybe take a year to try and regroup. But if he made a mistake, he would try and right that wrong, so right there, we had a fundamental difference," Hamill said. "But it's not my story anymore, it's somebody else's story and Rian needed me to be a certain way to make the ending effective. That's the crux of my problem. Luke would never say that. I'm sorry."
Hamill went on to admit that this classic character was now in different hands, and the Luke that he still thinks of is the one that George Lucas created for his movies, "I'm talking about the George Lucas Star Wars, this is the next generation of Star Wars," he said. "I almost had to think of Luke as another character. Maybe he's 'Jake Skywalker.' He's not my Luke Skywalker. But I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it serves the story well.
"Listen, I still haven't accepted it completely, but, it's only a movie. I hope people like it. I hope they don't get upset. I came to really believe that Rian was the exact man they needed for this job."
Hamill actually spoke about his disagreements with Johnson about the direction of the movie back in April. In an interview with ABC, he said that he "fundamentally disagreed with virtually everything" that would happen to Luke in the The Last Jedi.
Another controversial aspect of The Last Jedi is the truth about Rey's parents. Despite the number of fan theories that have built up ever since The Force Awakens was released, in the new movie we discover that her parents were no one of any note. This week, Johnson defended this decision, stating, "I can understand why that answer doesn't feel good. It's not supposed to feel good. It's supposed to be the hardest thing she could possibly hear in that moment."
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is now officially out on PC. With the 1.0 release comes a new desert map called Miramar, which was recently available to try out on the PUBG test servers. In the video above, we outline the new guns, vehicles, mechanics, and more that Miramar brings to the game, and how to best take advantage of the additions to get the coveted chicken dinner.
Miramar adds three new vehicles that aren't available on the island map: the minibus, the pickup truck, and the jetski. You'll probably use the pickup truck the most, as it's the most reliable vehicle on the map, and the jetski least, since there aren't any rivers running through Miramar. The bus is useful for squad games and provides a lot of cover, but it's painfully slow.
Of the new weapons, the sawed-off shotgun is the most exciting. It takes the spot of a sidearm rather than a primary weapon, meaning you can pack the power of a shotgun without sacrificing an assault rifle slot. The map also adds the R45, a .45 revolver that comes with a speed loader and is useful in a pinch at medium range. Finally, you can safely ignore the new Win94 rifle--it is incompatible with most weapon attachments and is horribly slow to reload.
The release of Miramar also marks the addition of vaulting to PUBG, which not only makes your life easier, but allows you to vault through windows. That allows you to quickly escape a building when you're pinned down or get the drop on an unsuspecting opponent.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds first hit Early Access nine months ago, and has become a major success since then. For details on everything new and improved in PUBG's 1.0 PC launch, you can read the full patch notes.
2017 was a big year for Star Wars--but these days, it's always a big year for Star Wars. Disney's been cranking out new material set in a galaxy far, far away since 2014, and it's not going to stop any time soon. Still, fans have been speculating about The Last Jedi ever since The Force Awakens ended on a massive cliffhanger two years ago. 2017 also saw the release of a major but controversial Star Wars video game, a number of new comic books and novels, and the start of Star Wars Rebels' final season. Did Disney and Lucasfilm deliver?
Yes and no. Here's how Star Wars fared in 2017.
The Most Divisive Star Wars Movie Ever Made
The Last Jedi shouldn't work at all. It subverts and dismantles the tropes that have defined Star Wars since The Empire Strikes Back. It gleefully tears apart The Force Awakens' carefully constructed (but possibly empty) puzzle boxes, and leaves many of that film's plot threads dangling. It's full of slapstick comedy, even during otherwise serious scenes. It makes Star Wars' black-and-white morality system infinitely more complicated. It's unabashedly and proudly weird.
And yet, The Last Jedi also adds much-needed depth to The Force Awakens' new characters, especially Poe Dameron, elevating them beyond simple archetypes. It recontextualizes the original trilogy in unexpected ways. Director and writer Rian Johnson threw tradition out the window, making Star Wars truly unpredictable for the first time in years.
Critics and casual viewers seem to love The Last Jedi. Hardcore fan reception is mixed, and with good reason. The Last Jedi thumbs its nose at the past two years worth of fan theories and speculation, implying that none of it matters. More than one character in the Last Jedi says that it's time for the past to die, and the movie embraces that message wholeheartedly. Depending on your point of view, that's either thrilling or terrifying. Fans either want Star Wars to change, or they want it to stay the same. Right now, there doesn't seem to be much middle ground.
Traditionalists might find some solace in the upcoming Star Wars spin-offs. This summer, Lucasfilm fired directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller while they were shooting Solo, the Han Solo-centric feature film, and replaced them with Ron Howard. In September, Disney announced that Jurassic World's Colin Trevorrow won't direct Episode IX as planned; The Force Awakens' J. J. Abrams will take his place.
As directors, Howard and Abrams are proven crowd-pleasers, but they're also safe and not exactly diverse choices. The Star Wars universe is big enough to accommodate all kinds of voices and stories, but the latest hiring decisions have raised concerns that Disney will stick to too closely to conventions. Of course, in November, Lucasfilm announced that Johnson is getting his own Star Wars trilogy sometime after Episode IX, focusing on brand new characters. Who knows? Maybe there's room for both the old and the new going forward.
Battlefront II Crashes In Controversy
In the lead-up to Star Wars Battlefront II, Electronic Arts and DICE said all the right things. Star Wars Battlefront II has locations and characters from all three Star Wars eras. It has more (and better) maps than its predecessor. It's got a single-player campaign with a story. It has space battles. All of the game's downloadable content is free.
EA delivered on all of those promises, but with one big catch: in Star Wars Battlefront II, you upgrade your characters with cards collected from semi-randomized containers called loot boxes. You can buy those loot boxes with credits you earn by playing the game, but Battlefront II doesn't dole out in-game cash very quickly. As designed, it's easier to buy loot boxes with real-life money.
In essence, people who are willing to pay extra can get a big competitive advantage. Understandably, that was not a popular decision. In response to pressure from fans (and, reportedly, Disney itself), EA removed the ability to purchase loot boxes using real dollars, but that only fixed part of the problem. Earning credits is still a slow and tedious process, and the system heavily favors players who can afford to invest a bunch of time into the game.
The backlash spurred some governments to investigating whether loot boxes should be treated as a form of gambling. Thanks to Battlefront II, politicians have called for the gaming industry to self-regulate loot boxes, or abandon them entirely. Meanwhile, some players are attaching rubber bands to their controllers in order to level up instead of, y'know, actually playing the game.
That's a shame. There's a solid, if simple, shooter at Battlefront II's core, but the loot box controversy is going to be the game's enduring legacy. It's not clear whether relief for beleaguered gamers is on the way, either. In October, Electronic Arts shut down Visceral Games, effectively canceling Uncharted director Amy Hennig's mysterious, story-heavy Star Wars title. Technically, development on the title shifted to EA Vancouver, but EA's statements make it sound like it won't be the same game--if it comes out at all.
The Books Are For Side Stories
Disney and Lucasfilm released nine Star Wars novels in 2017, and the majority of them are pretty good. However, three years after Disney reset the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the pattern is clear. The big moments happen on-screen. Print expands the world and fleshes out the characters but doesn't really progress the plot.
This year, that meant readers got a lot of origin stories. If you want to know how Leia met The Last Jedi's Vice Admiral Holdo, or what the Rebel bunker on Crait was originally used for, Claudia Gray's Leia, Princess of Alderaan will fill you in. Timothy Zahn's Thrawn tells how the Grand Admiral rose to power before tormenting the cast of Star Wars Rebels. Rebel Rising explains what happened to Jyn Erso before she ended up in a prison cell in Rogue One, while Christie Golden's Battlefront II: Inferno Squad gives the video game's cast some much needed depth.
Those are all interesting stories, but none are essential. You can enjoy and understand The Last Jedi, Rebels, Rogue One, and Battlefront II without reading a word of prose. 2017's Star Wars novels are well-written and full of interesting trivia (except for Delilah S. Dawson's Phasma, which, like its title character, was a wasted opportunity), but they're not crucial to the Star Wars mythos. Treat them like excuses to spend more time with your favorite characters, and you'll have a much better reading experience.
A Period Of Transition at Marvel
Compared to past years, Marvel's Star Wars comics lost some momentum. Previously, the line kept the stories vital by taking advantage of comics' unlimited special effects budget to tell big stories (Luke and his team stealing a Star Destroyer, for example) and by treating small plot points like big revelations. We didn't really need to know what happened when Darth Vader learned that the pilot who destroyed the Death Star was his son, but Jason Aaron and John Cassaday made that moment a pivotal scene in Star Wars history.
By those standards, 2017 fell short. The Screaming Citadel arc, which teamed up Luke Skywalker with the rogue archeologist Doctor Aphra, pushed Star Wars even further toward its fantasy roots and never quite came together. Jason Aaron's last issues on the main Star Wars title ended his run with a whimper, not a bang.
But there were bright spots. Other than the Screaming Citadel issues, Doctor Aphra's ongoing series is full of thrilling, quirky crime/adventure stories that feel right at home in the Star Wars universe. Even better, they aren't governed by a predetermined endpoint. Since Doctor Aphra and her friends are new characters, anything might happen to them.
Not only that, but Doctor Aphra's writer and creator, Kieron Gillen, just took over scripting duties on the main title. The new Darth Vader series is off to a good start, and the various character-driven mini-series are optional but well-made. In 2017, Marvel's Star Wars line may not have been at its best, but honestly, that's an awfully high bar to clear.
Don't Forget About The Small Screen
Last spring, Star Wars Rebels wrapped up its third season on a couple of down notes. Darth Maul's quest for revenge against Obi-Wan Kenobi ended with a lightsaber duel that felt awfully rushed. The season three finale, "Zero Hour," concluded with our heroes defeated, their plans in disarray, and Grand Admiral Thrawn hot on their tails.
As Rebels' fourth and final season ramps up, however, the stakes are getting higher and higher. Season four kicked off with a resolution to the Mandalorian Civil War, saw the Ghost's crew finally meet up with the rest of the Rebel Alliance on Yavin IV, and is quickly moving toward Grand Admiral Thrawn's endgame. With both Ezra and Kanan Jarrus's fate in question--there aren't any Jedi wandering around in Rogue One or Episode IV, after all--Rebels is kicking into high gear, and should stay there until the series' finale.
But then what? The animated Forces of Destiny series, which focuses on Star Wars' heroines, is fun, but its short episodes are designed for YouTube, not television. Disney announced that a live action Star Wars show will be coming to its exclusive streaming service, which is set to launch in 2019, but without any further details it's hard to get too excited.
Other Matters, In Brief
Carrie Fisher passed away at the tail end of 2016, and fans mourned throughout 2017. Through Star Wars Celebration, Comic-Con, and the recent press tour, the entire year has been filled with moving tributes to Fisher. Whether it was meant to or not, The Last Jedi served as the perfect send-off to Star Wars' leading lady.
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, Disneyland and Disney World's answer to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, keeps sounding better and better. It's not scheduled to launch until 2019, but if Disney's Imagineers can pull off everything they're promising, fans are never going to want to leave (the immersive hotel/resort in construction at Disney World sounds great, too).
As always, Star Wars merchandise ran the gamut from great to terrible to incomprehensible. On one hand, the Jedi Challenges augmented reality headset is allegedly tons of fun, Fantasy Flight's board games continue to be great, and those black series action figures are pretty slick. On the other, is anyone going to buy a bag of lettuce just because Rey's face is on the package?
If there's a friendlier and more positive fan convention than Disney's semi-annual Star Wars Celebration, we sure haven't heard of it.
Verdict
In 2017, Star Wars became predictable. Disney and Lucasfilm have a formula--release a film every year, and then build comics, books, toys, and other tie-ins around that--but it's a formula that works, and it looks like they'll be sticking to it for a while. Star Wars doesn't have to be high art. It just has to be entertaining, and Battlefront II aside, it was.
Even The Last Jedi; love it or hate it, Episode VIII is going to keep Star Wars fans talking for years to come. For the people who liked it, The Last Jedi marks a turn away from tradition, making the Star Wars universe less predictable and more exciting. Those who didn't, meanwhile, will nevertheless spend their time dissecting the film's merits (or lack thereof) and guessing what everything will mean for the final entry in the sequel trilogy. After all, when it comes to Star Wars, speculation and debate are part of the fun.
The Good
The Bad
The Last Jedi pushed Star Wars into uncharted territory, making the series fresh again.
Star Wars Battlefront II was an epic misfire.
Star Wars Rebels' final season is shaping up to be one of its best.
The Last Jedi proved too different and experimental for some fans, and seems designed to frustrate people who wanted answers to The Force Awakens' mysteries.
Lucasfilm and Disney continue to recruit top-tier talent to produce comics and novels.
The spin-off media feels increasingly irrelevant to Star Wars' ongoing story.
With the upcoming theme parks, television shows, and Rian Johnson's new Star Wars trilogy, Star Wars' future looks awfully bright.
From scandals, to creative shakeups, to major acquisitions, 2017 will go down as one of the most newsworthy years in entertainment history. Whether it's Kevin Spacey being completely removed from a major film--that was already finished!--or Doctor Who finally casting a woman as the show's lead, or even the future of Star Wars being revealed, there continues to be plenty to talk about.
With the end of the year comes the chance to reflect on all of the craziness that happened during 2017. With that in mind, come along as GameSpot revisits the 14 biggest entertainment stories of the year.
Hollywood's Sexual Harassment Scandals
There's no doubt that 2017 will be remembered as the year sexual harassment and assault allegations rocked Hollywood to its very foundation. From powerful film moguls like Harvey Weinstein, to actors like Kevin Spacey, to TV producers like Andrew Kreisberg, many throughout the industry continue to be called out for their alleged misconduct.
James Cameron And Linda Hamilton Are Ready To Revisit The Terminator
After 16 years--and three movies--away from the franchise, both James Cameron and Linda Hamilton announced their return to the Terminator series. Hamilton will once again play Sarah Connor, with Cameron serving as producer on the next film. Thankfully, they're going to ignore the sequels that followed Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
That Time La La Land Didn't Win Best Picture At The Oscars
In one of the most memorable Oscar moments of all time, it was announced that La La Land had won the award for Best Picture. However, as the movie's producers gave an acceptance speech, they realized it was actually Moonlight that took top prize. It led to an incredibly awkward moment on live TV that will be made fun of for years to come.
Doctor Who Finally Catches Up To The World
Not only did Peter Capaldi announce he was leaving Doctor Who this year, but his replacement was named. For the first time ever, a woman will step into the show's title role. Finally. Broadchurch alum Jodie Whittaker will become the 13th Doctor when the series returns in 2018. Beyond that, chances are that she'll appear in the 2017 Christmas special.
Daniel Day-Lewis says goodbye to acting
He's one of the greatest actors of all time. That's why it was surprising that Daniel Day-Lewis announced he was retiring from his profession in June. The actor isn't sure why now is the right time to leave acting but says it occurred to him during filming of his final film, The Phantom Thread.
Jamie Lee Curtis Is Here To Save Halloween
Jamie Lee Curtis agreeing to play Laurie Strode once again in a Halloween movie is, perhaps, the biggest horror movie news any fan could possibly want. Not only is the actress returning to the franchise, but so is John Carpenter, writer and director of the original film. The smartest thing the new Halloween will do is disregard everything after the first movie.
Is Any Star Wars Director Truly Safe?
While Rian Johnson's future in the Star Wars universe is bright, the same can't be said for Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Colin Trevorrow. All three were removed from Star Wars films in 2017. The moves showed Lucasfilm has a very specific vision for Star Wars, and if you don't fit, you can easily be taken out of the equation. In the case of Lord and Miller, it can even happen during production.
There may be no bigger acquisition in entertainment history than Disney buying 21st Century Fox. The sale means many things for the future of Hollywood, including Marvel regaining film rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four.
Quentin Tarantino Wants To Direct Star Trek? Really?
Quentin Tarantino has said he'll only make 10 movies. That's what makes the news that he wants to direct a Star Trek film so bizarre. Still, should he actually get to make the R-rated space adventure he has in mind, it might be the most interesting thing to happen to Star Trek in ages. Sorry, Star Trek: Discovery.
Queen Biopic Cans Director Bryan Singer
When the first photo of Rami Malek in the upcoming Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody was released, it looked like everything was going well. Then reports surfaced of director Bryan Singer disappearing from the set and getting into confrontations with the cast. Shortly thereafter, Fox actually fired Singer--who directed four X-Men films for the studio--and replaced him with Dexter Fletcher.
Venom Standalone Movie Does Something To Make You Care: Cast Tom Hardy
Venom is trading up! In 2017, Sony announced that Tom Hardy would play the comic book character in his own standalone movie. Considering the only other live-action Venom was Topher Grace in Spider-Man 3, Hardy getting the role is better than anyone could have hoped for.
Imagine you're a small child in a quiet suburb, playing in the street on an idyllic afternoon. Suddenly, there's a terrible shrieking from your neighbor's house across the road. You run over and peek in the neighbor's window just in time to see him barricading the basement door. What is he hiding down there? A prisoner? A nightmarish genetic abomination? Hello Neighbor has answers to that question, but not only is getting to those answers an enormously frustrating experience, but the answers themselves aren't worth the effort.
Hello Neighbor is based around a stellar idea: In the game's first act, you are that aforementioned child, who has taken it upon himself to sneak into his neighbor's house any way he can and get into the basement. The neighbor--a gruff gentleman with an all-time great mustache--doesn't take kindly to intrusions, though, and each time the child gets caught trying to sneak in, the neighbor sets new traps, locks doors, and patrols that area more often. Conceptually, it's a promising twist on the usual neck-snapping military shenanigans of the average stealth game. The aesthetics are also a bit unusual, with a sort of warped 1950s retro design to everything that truly stands out. Unfortunately, that's where the coolness ends.
In practice, even with the game spending significant time in Early Access, it feels unfinished at launch. While it's commendable that there's so much leeway in how you can approach the neighbor's house, Hello Neighbor tips the balance from player freedom to player neglect. The controls are bizarrely unintuitive, with an unusual and confusing button layout that can't be remapped. But the further you progress in the house, the more convoluted the neighbor's security system turns out to be.
Hello Neighbor hearkens back to the dark ages of point-and-click adventure games in terms of nonsensical solutions to simple problems. A complex magnet device, which you use to activate switches from afar in a couple of puzzles, is lying around in a place obvious enough to stumble on it by accident. Meanwhile, for some reason, something as useful as a simple wrench is lying in the neighbor's fridge, where you would never think to look. All the while, the game itself offers zero insight into what a given item can or cannot be used for, with many items' functions flying in the face of basic reason.
The game's complete disregard for logic or consistency shows itself when the neighbor is factored in as well. Left to his own devices, he just wanders his home aimlessly, with no discernible pattern. However, no matter how softly you sneak around, no matter how carefully you evade, the neighbor's ability to hear, see, and find you seems to be wholly unaffected by anything you do. In one of my earliest playthroughs, I had managed to sneak up behind the guy, trying to see if I could pick his pockets, and he never moved. Later, I was two rooms away from him, having snuck into an open window, and somehow, he went on high alert and found me. That level of unpredictability works when it's a xenomorph in Alien Isolation, but not when it's a guy dressed like Ned Flanders. The sole blessing here is that getting caught, despite being an experience entirely without tension since all the guy does is get up in your face, immediately drops you back at your house, typically with any items you've picked up along the way still in your inventory.
Eventually, with saint-like patience and persistence, you can grab the key to get to the basement. The game gets surreal from here, but with little payoff. Hello Neighbor limps into a second act, involving you as a full-grown adult moving back into your childhood home, while hinting at surprising revelations. Even then, that idea is executed in such a threadbare, half-baked, interpretive way that it doesn't land with any sort of impact. Act 2 and the wholly offbeat finale are at least easier to navigate than the rest of the game, but even that just ends up exposing just how little there is to grapple with after the fact.
Hello Neighbor is a game you persevere in due to sheer luck rather than any sort of actual skill, foresight, or cleverness. There's no catharsis, insight, or revelations waiting at the end of the ordeal, just a sort of uneasy malaise over what the images and environments near the end are meant to represent. As such, a simple, appealing concept is rendered inert. There's a wonderful game to be mined out of what Hello Neighbor wants to be, but there's nothing to be gained from experiencing what it currently is.
Loot boxes have arguably been the biggest controversy in gaming this year, especially with regards to the boxes in Star Wars: Battlefront II. It seems that Apple has taken note of the backlash, as it's implemented more stringent regulations on loot box systems.
Apple updated its App Store requirements recently, adding a clause that forces developers to disclose loot box odds. Now, games with random rewards available for purchase must tell players the chances of getting each type of item in a loot box.
This is notable because the United States currently does not federally require disclosure of odds, although several countries in Asia do require it. Up until now, unless developers voluntarily gave the information, players have had no idea how likely they are to receive especially rare items in any one loot box.
Although this obviously doesn't regulate console games like Destiny 2 and Battlefront II, there are still several big-name mobile titles that will presumably fall under the requirement. Hearthstone, for example, may now have to show its card pack odds for Western audiences, something Blizzard already did for Chinese audiences earlier this year.
Loot boxes are almost certainly here to stay, but greater transparency is good, as it gives players a better idea of what they're spending money on. Hopefully this trend will continue and eventually apply to console games, as well.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is now officially out on PC, and after a few issues that caused servers to crash, the game is playable again. The game launched overnight, after many hours of server maintenance that took the game offline. Fortunately, there's a free reward waiting for players when they log in.
For the next few weeks, players will receive a free in-game Winner Winner Chicken Dinner t-shirt, which will be dropped into your inventory after logging in. The 1.0 release comes with a few improvements to the game's stability and balance, as well. Developer Bluehole said previous adjustments had reduced stability issues, but it is expecting "progressive improvements" that should make the game more reliable in the near future.
Bluehole also said it's further strengthening cheat prevention measures in the game, after it already introduced improvements that saw a 66 percent drop in the number of players using cheats.
PUBG's 1.0 release brings many new game mechanics to the main game, including climbing and vaulting, which the game's creator says "will change the game severely." The new release also marks the debut of the new desert map called Miramar, which was recently available to try on PUBG's test servers. Players will find new types of obstacles, weapons, and vehicles in Miramar that will affect how you approach the game.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds first hit Early Access nine months ago, and has become a major success since then. The game launched on Xbox One earlier this month, available for $30 via the Xbox Game Preview program, and attracted more than 1 million players in its first 48 hours on the console. That version received its first patch earlier this week, which made "first pass" improvements to its visuals and performance and squashed a number of bugs. For details on everything new and improved in PUBG's 1.0 PC launch, you can read the full patch notes.
When you think about massive, open-world, systems-heavy games, there's a good chance Skyrim and Zelda: Breath of the Wild come to mind. In spite of six years between them, they share a lot in common: they're enormous RPGs with ambient activity everywhere, secrets to discover, and hidden areas to complete. As it turns out, this isn't a coincidence. The Breath of the Wild developer was, in fact, inspired partly by Skyrim.
We recently sat down with game director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and producer Eiji Aonuma to discuss the genesis of Breath of the Wild and how the developer pulled off such a huge game. They explained that they didn't look to other titles for elements or features to pull from them. In fact, Fujibayashi doesn't actually play that many games at all.
"I don't actually myself play a lot of other games," Fujibayashi explained through a translator. "I obviously am well versed in them, I know what's happening in them. But this ending up in this kind of bigger open world really started from the prototype stage where, just kind of naturally by virtue of what we wanted to do in this game, we started to realize that we absolutely do need this bigger open world in order to make the kind of game that we wanted."
However, the studio did look to Skyrim to learn more about the challenges of making open-world games. Having never tackled anything at Breath of the Wild's scale before, the team needed data and material to research. According to Aonuma, Skyrim helped provide some of that data.
"In the past I've also actually said that I have played Skyrim, so it's not necessarily that I don't play games," Aonuma stated. "But we don't look at it from, 'Oh, what kind of things can we take from this game?' It's more of like, 'How can we prepare for this? What should we expect from games like this?'"
"And so we also think about how many people we might need, or how we can make it improved, or with the number of people," he continued. "We would collect data and then work and see what worked, what didn't."
In other words, it appears that even though Breath of the Wild doesn't owe its existence to Skyrim, the studio nonetheless researched Bethesda's game to help understand how to improve the open-world RPG formula. And, like Skyrim before it, it appears that Breath of the Wild is a new benchmark in the genre.
Breath of the Wild was recently given GameSpot's Game of the Year award for 2017. In our feature, critic Peter Brown explains, "Like the most meaningful and landmark games of the past, Breath of the Wild is a game that will be discussed and analyzed for years to come. Everyone agrees that 2017 was an amazing year for games, but none other than Breath of the Wild can be considered a milestone for the medium at large."
Pokemon Go's second Christmas event is scheduled to begin very soon. Like last year's holiday event, it introduces new Pokemon to the popular mobile game, makes it easier to get your hands on Pokemon Eggs, and brings back a festive Pikachu for a limited time.
Beginning at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM GMT today, December 21, Ice-type Pokemon will appear more frequently in Pokemon Go, and players will have another chance to encounter a Santa hat Pikachu for the duration of the event. Like last year, it can evolve into a Santa hat Raichu, and this time players have a chance to hatch a Santa hat Pichu, as well. Niantic is also adding an additional 20 Ice- and Water-type Pokemon originally from Ruby and Sapphire to the game, including Milotic, Sharpedo, Wailord, Walrein, Relicanth, and more.
What's most interesting, however, is that Niantic also teased that another Legendary Pokemon from the Hoenn region may appear in Pokemon Go during the holiday event. In the promotional artwork the studio shared today, the Legendary Water-type Kyogre could be seen among the other new monsters being added to Pokemon Go. You can take a look at the image below.
While not outright confirmation that Kyogre will be available in Pokemon Go soon, it seems to be the next Legendary in line for the mobile game. Its counterpart from Pokemon Ruby, Groudon, is currently available and is thus far the only Gen 3 Legendary to appear in Pokemon Go. Players can still encounter Groudon in Raid Battles at Gyms until January 15, 2018.
In addition to the new Pokemon, players will have a chance to earn rare items during this year's holiday event. From December 22-25, you're guaranteed to receive an Egg Incubator the first time you visit a PokeStop and spin the Photo Disc on each of those days. A variety of holiday bundles are also on sale, each of which includes a new Star Piece item that increases the amount of Stardust you earn for a limited time. Pokemon Go's holiday event runs until January 4.
It's putting it lightly to say Marvel had a tumultuous 2017. With the comics end of the business seemingly hopscotching from controversy to controversy, the Marvel Cinematic Universe dug its heels into some vibrant, fresh new ground, making the sharp divide between the two divisions of the brand even more stark than they were before.
From major editorial and creative shake-ups to baffling promotional snafus, it's been a wild ride all around. Let's take a look back at how it all adds up.
The MCU Maintains Momentum
Marvel's film franchises had a spectacular year. They released three films this year: Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and finally Thor: Ragnarok, all three of which netted themselves high scores on Rotten Tomatoes with Thor and Spider-Man sitting at 92% and Guardians coming in at 83%. Beyond the MCU proper, Sony released Logan to massive acclaim, providing a renewed sense of confidence and voice for the X-Men film universe after 2016's X-Men: Age of Apocalypse provoked a mixed response from fans and critics.
While Logan pushed the conversation about the future and place of R-rated superhero films at large, both Ragnarok and Homecoming signified the start of a major shift in the MCU's filmmaking ideology, breaking away from the formula of near invisible direction and lack of "personal" style that corralled the first two phases of the film franchises. Ragnarok especially got its fair share of accolades for director Taika Waititi's unique directorial voice.
Now, with both Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War on the docket for next year, the MCU seems to only be getting better and more confident with age--and Marvel, understandably, seems to have no interest in pumping the brakes now. This year also saw the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, a new ride at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, the first MCU-themed ride in either of the America-based Disney parks.
It's apparently not the last, however. Despite being (understandably) dominated by Star Wars announcements, this year's D23 Expo also dropped some teases about future Disney Parks projects relating to Marvel properties both in the US and abroad, confirming that a "Marvel Land" was in the works.
Small Screens Keep Up The Pace
While less universally acclaimed than their big screen cousins, Marvel's TV efforts had a decent showing this year. 2017 brought the next phase of the Netflix universe with the much-maligned Iron Fist and Defenders, but The Punisher picked up the pace. Meanwhile, Hulu entered the ring with Runaways, and Freeform debuted the first teaser for their Cloak & Dagger project set to premier in 2018.
The non-streaming TV projects, however, did not enjoy the same sort of energy. ABC's Inhumans fell flat almost immediately after its release, despite an ostentatious IMAX screening initiative. It completed its first season this year, but the current buzz is that it won't be receiving a second.
ABC's other Marvel project, Agents of Shield, entered its fifth season this year despite declining numbers and the looming threat of cancellation with the promise to shake up the status quo. However, its late-in-the-year start (episode one dropped on December 1st) makes it difficult to predict how successful it will be going forward.
In The Shadow of Secret Empire
Unfortunately, things begin careening downhill just about everywhere outside of theaters for Marvel this year. The comics inherited a storm cloud from 2016's much maligned Captain America: Steve Rogers #1, which revealed that Steve Rogers had been cosmically manipulated, an agent for the fictionalized Nazi organization Hydra his entire life. This reveal had the unfortunate timing of coming hot on the heels of a massive, unrelated, and unofficial social media hashtag effort--#GiveCaptainAmericaABoyfriend,--which, needless to say, didn't prime many fans in a positive way for the fascist twist.
This year the reveal finally paid off, building into a line-wide crossover event called Secret Empire which nailed down the bulk of Marvel's publishing and promotional efforts between April and September--and surprising no one, considering the tone of the original twist reveal, critical response was incredibly polarizing. Social media became a battleground between those in favor and those against, with creators and industry pros often coming down on one side or the other in ways that only drew further lines in the sand.
Things got even more heated when Marvel announced a retailer promotional incentive where comic shops would be encouraged to stage "Hydra takeovers" of their stores by putting up Hydra-oriented branding. Some retailers were happy to participate in the viral campaign while others were adamantly opposed, citing Hydra's Nazi-flavored ethos being in poor taste given the political climate of the country.
Secret Empire came to a close in September, which meant, for better or for worse, it dominated nearly a full nine months of Marvel's year on the comics end--a big chunk of time for something that proved to be as brutally divisive as it was.
Promotional Confusion And Controversy
Secret Empire wasn't the only controversial move Marvel made this year with their comics. Things got a little strange starting with the announcement of Marvel Legacy, the newest line initiative supposed to be spiraling out of Secret Empire's finale. Announced via press release in April, Legacy seemed to many fans to be aping the DC Rebirth formula--a giant sized one-shot event book that would kickstart a new slate of ongoings.
In practice, that wasn't what happened. Legacy turned out to not be a line-wide reboot at all, but instead a line-wide renumbering of current ongoings to their cumulative totals (Captain America jumped to issue #635, and so on). Only a handful of books changed creative tracks at all, leaving fans and critics wondering just what Legacy's lasting effect on the disparate parts of the greater Marvel Universe would be.
Leading up to and following the release of Marvel Legacy #1 in September, a slate of new limited series and one-shots were added to the Legacy slate, as well as a new ongoing, Marvel Two-in-One, which set about to return the Fantastic Four to active duty after a nearly three year absence. Later still, a new X-Men ongoing was announced, X-Men: Red, bringing Legacy's ongoing slate up to an intimidating 55 books, set for a staggered roll out into 2018--meaning the question of just what Legacy will mean for the the Marvel Universe as a whole is still very much unanswered.
Meanwhile, Marvel suffered two major editorial and creative shake ups this year. The first was the departure of long-time exclusive writer Brian Michael Bendis, who announced in November that he would be leaving to work exclusively for competitor DC Comics for the first time in nearly twenty years. Almost immediately following Bendis' departure, it was announced that long time Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso had been let go from the company. His replacement came from within: Longtime talent scout C.B. Cebulski officially stepped into the role in the last week of November.
But the transition was anything but smooth. On Cebulski's first day in the new position, news broke that he had adopted and written comics at Marvel and Dark Horse under the false identity "Akira Yoshida" nearly a decade ago while also acting as a Marvel editor.
That was met with a mix of shock, offense, and support from both fans and comics pros, continuing Marvel's 2017 trend of starkly divisive news.
Other Matters, In Brief
Despite not fitting under the official MCU banner, the first trailer for New Mutants dropped this year to a generally positive reception.
Female Marvel employees launched a hashtag campaign, #MakeMineMilkshake, after editor Heather Antos was subjected to vicious online harassment following the posting of a selfie on Twitter. The campaign garnered both support and criticism from comics pros and fans, but had the net-positive effect of drumming up discussion about the comics industry's ongoing and systemic issue with gendered harassment.
At New York Comic Con, Marvel announced a promotional tie-in comic for military contractor Northrop Grumman, which garnered immediate backlash for what fans viewed as pro-military, pro-violence propaganda aimed at children. The tie-in comic and at-con "activation" for Northrop Grumman was canceled almost immediately following the outcry.
The Verdict
2017 was a rough year for Marvel. While the MCU tried its level best to pick up the slack, the comics side of the company seemed unable to keep itself from repeatedly stumbling, making the two halves of what ought to be a singular whole feel more disparate than ever before.
Regardless as to which side you came down on on any of Marvel's many 2017 controversies, the recurring motif was widespread polarization between fans and creators a like, something which fostered escalating and extreme reactions with very little middle ground to be found--not a very healthy or comfortable state for any part of pop culture to exist in long term.
With any luck, 2018 will bring some of the positive energy and momentum being experienced in the MCU over to the comics, but the all around gloomy shadow of 2017 is going to be a challenging one to escape from.
The Good
The Bad
Auteur focused films made the MCU fill fresh and vibrant despite its longevity.
Secret Empire set the tone for the year with divisive and polarizing takes from both fans and critics.
Logan brought new mainstream credence and respect to superhero movies as a genre.
Confusing and muddled promotional efforts with Northrop Grumman sent mixed messages.
Women at Marvel spearheaded an effort to bring harassment in the comics industry to the forefront of conversation.
Following its confusing announcement, Marvel Legacy has yet to provide any tangible change or rejuvenation to the line.
The long awaited return of the Fantastic Four was announced with Marvel Two-in-One.
Newly promoted Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski revealed that he had been writing under the assumed identity of Akira Yoshida, prompting more controversy still.
Legendary and 20-year Marvel exclusive creator Brian Michael Bendis jumped ship after signing exclusively with DC.
TV efforts, including Iron Fist and Defenders, fizzled, including a bombastic attempt at an IMAX debut for Inhumans.
2017 has been a big year for Nintendo, and even though the Nintendo Switch hasn't even been out a year, it already has a strong library of games to play. But there are still more to come in 2018 on both Switch and the 3DS; from a new Fire Emblem to the next Yoshi game, Nintendo has already announced some of the upcoming year's games.
In this gallery, we're looking ahead to the Nintendo games we're most excited about. If you're waiting for something to play in the meantime, don't forget to check out the rest of our Best of 2017 features.
Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night (Switch)
Castlevania has changed a lot over the years, but there was a time when game after game followed a familiar formula to great results. The developer largely credited for the series' past greatness is Koji Igarashi, who is presently working on Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a spiritual successor to Castlevania games of yore.
Early impressions of the game from events like E3 and Tokyo Game Show are positive. Igarashi's handiwork is on full display, meaning that you will explore 2D, gothic environments while fending off demonic enemies and gather new abilities to extend your reach and open new pathways.
It's the familiar "Metroidvania" formula, but the fact that it's coming from the person responsible for popularizing it in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (after Super Metroid laid the foundation) eases the concerns that Bloodstained is just a simple nostalgia trip. Igarashi has been out of the game for quite a while after leaving Konami, and our hope is that his return to 2D action games comes with improvements and innovations. The sub-genre has been approached by many developers in his absence, and we can't wait to see if Igarashi is able to rekindle his old flame in the light of the many great games his earlier works inspired.
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age (Switch, 3DS)
Unlike Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest games never quite reach the same fevered level of excitement in the West as they do in Japan. That's unfortunate, because it means there are a lot of people missing out on one of the most iconic and fun RPG experiences out there. And the upcoming Dragon Quest XI is set to continue the previous games' traditions of sweeping musical scores, epic stories, and turn-based combat against colorful (and sometimes wacky) enemies.
DQXI already released in Japan back in July 2017 on PS4 and 3DS, but the upcoming international release is notable because it should bring the series to a new platform: Nintendo Switch. That doesn't mean you should rule out the other versions completely, though. On 3DS, the game introduces a unique twist where the lower screen is an exact representation of the regular 3D gameplay, but redone in a classic, pixelated style.
And if this entry in the mainline series does well abroad, that raises the (very, very slim) possibility that the Dragon Quest MMO, Dragon Quest X, could also get a release in the West! Okay, now that might be too much Dragon Quest to ask for at one time.
Fire Emblem (untitled) (Switch)
Nintendo announced a new mainline Fire Emblem game for the Switch during a Direct presentation in January 2017. While the company hasn't given many details about the still-untitled game, it will be the first time a main Fire Emblem has been on a Nintendo console since 2007's Radiant Dawn on the Wii. Plus, it'll be playable on the go! Recent Fire Emblem games (including 2017's Echoes) have been popular on the 3DS, so the potential for a Fire Emblem experience that's both console-scale and portable-ready is exciting.
Indivisible (Switch)
Side-scrolling action RPG Indivisible comes from the same team that brought us 2012's insane fighter Skullgirls. Indivisible follows the story of the rebellious Ajna. She and her father live just outside a quiet little town, but things take a turn for the worse and a mysterious power awakens within her: the ability of "incarnations" to recruit different people to help her along her journey.
Indivisible is largely inspired by a number of different cultures and mythologies, which hopefully opens the doors to positive and meaningful representation. This also means that the game could run the risk of mishandling the sources from which it draws its inspiration, but it's worth having a little faith and hope for a game that's trying to pull from perspectives we don't see often. Everyone likes to have something they can see themselves in, and Indivisible may be one of those games where its representation could make it or break it.
Kirby Star Allies (Switch)
Kirby sucks. No really, Kirby sucks--that's kind of his thing. And the next installment in the Kirby franchise, called Star Allies, is coming to Nintendo Switch next year. This new title was the same one originally announced as simply "Kirby" at E3 2017, and it looks promising. Kirby can utilize abilities such as Sword, Fire, and Water, as well as his trademark vacuum move. You can also mix those skills together to create even cooler powers.
The whole game is designed for up to four-player multiplayer, with each player able to use a single Joy-Con. Alternatively, if you have enough Joy-Cons and Joy-Con grips, you can each play with a more traditional setup.
Following the likes of Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Kirby Star Allies has a lot to live up to when it comes to Switch exclusives. Here's hoping it becomes the console's next big thing when it launches in Spring 2018.
No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again (Switch)
No More Heroes and its sequel, Desperate Struggle, were some of the best action games on the Nintendo Wii, featuring gratuitous violence, crazy boss designs, a strong sense of style and attitude, as well as some, uh, interesting implementations of motion control. That was over seven years ago, and though developer Grasshopper Manufacture has had a number of cult hits (and misses) since then, talk of another No More Heroes sequel has always been a point of conversation for CEO Goichi Suda, aka Suda51.
Well, now it's happening. After skipping the Wii U, protagonist Travis Touchdown is coming back to Nintendo consoles with Travis Strikes Again on Nintendo Switch. We got a quick teaser trailer at the Nintendo Indies Showcase in 2017, where we were reintroduced to Travis in all his self-referential glory and learned of the game's primary conceit: A dangerous console that sucks players into video game worlds. Though these worlds will be original game concepts, Travis Strikes Back is also collaborating with other indie game titles, though this might only be superficially in the form of the game's always-extensive t-shirt wardrobe. We always expect off-the-wall ideas from Grasshopper Manufacture, so we're looking forward to seeing what Travis Strikes Back will surprise us with.
Owlboy (Switch)
The critically acclaimed PC-exclusive Owlboy is finally making its way onto consoles. While the console ports are receiving no major changes from the original, the Switch version bears notable mention given its portability. The game's endearing 2D twin-stick shooter action seems a perfect fit to bring on the go. Given the high praise it received when it released (GameSpot gave it a 9), it's certainly one of the more highly anticipated indie ports in 2018.
For the uninitiated, Owlboy is an action-adventure game set in a sky world where the lands below were torn apart by a catastrophic event many years prior. You play as Otus, an owl-human hybrid who sets out on a journey to save his village from a band of pirates. A charming and heartfelt adventure in its own right, Owlboy's upcoming console ports are well worth keeping an eye on, especially if you missed out on the original back in 2016.
Persona Q2 (3DS)
Fans of both Persona 3 and 4 were treated to an endearing collaboration between the casts of both games with Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth in 2014. In a wacky series of time-bending events, both Inaba's Investigation Team and SEES (Special Extracurricular Execution Squad) crossed paths and joined forces to back home from an alternate dimension. All characters received an adorable chibi redesign which drove home the fun, lighthearted interactions between the two squadsBut with Persona Q2 coming out next year, we're hyped up to see how the Phantom Thieves fit into the mix (and what their chibi versions will look like) and what Atlus will do with crossover casts. The only thing that was revealed for Persona Q2's announcement was a cartoony rendition of the phrase "TAKE YOUR HEART" with the Arsene top hat logo. Of course, this indicates the return of the Persona 5 crew, but whether or not Q2 involves past characters has yet to be shared.
We anticipate another dip into Etrian Odyssey-style first-person dungeon-crawling where you're expected to draw out maps manually on the 3DS touch screen. The turn-based combat system also differs from the main series; in Persona Q, actions are chosen for the entire turn before anything unfolds, changing how you strategize in battle.
We should also expect another stellar soundtrack. It'll be pretty tough to top the introduction song "Maze of Life" and battle theme "Light the Fire Up in the Night" from the first game, but with a bar set so high and coming off the Persona 5 soundtrack, it's hard to imagine Persona Q2 without the proper music to back it up.
Project Octopath Traveler (Switch)
Project Octopath Traveler on Switch evokes the qualities that are bound to please fans of classic Japanese RPGss. Its "HD 2D" pixelated visual style offers a unique take on the much-used JRPG aesthetic, combining 16-bit style character sprites and textures with polygonal environments and high-definition effects. Combat is involved and utilizes weakness exploitation much like the Shin Megami Tensei games. And its ensemble cast of playable characters even calls back to early SaGa games. There's already plenty of strong characteristics at play that make Project Octopath Traveler a promising adventure.
It's worth noting that the game is being worked on by Tomoya Asano, a Square Enix veteran developer who served as a producer on both Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV for Nintendo DS, Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, Bravely Default, and Bravely Second: End Layer. While we've only gotten a demo of the game since its initial announcement, we're eager to see what else it has to offer. Heck, we're still curious what the game's final name will be, seeing as Project Octopath Traveler is technically a working title. Time will tell.
Yoshi (Switch)
Nintendo's upcoming Yoshi game was revealed during E3 2017. Simply titled "Yoshi" for now, the announcement trailer showed some gameplay similar to 2015's Yoshi's Woolly World but with an emphasis on flipping the stage around to see behind walls and find secrets you wouldn't be able to notice from the initial angle. It would appear from the trailer that there will be co-op as well, though that hasn't been confirmed. The papercraft style is definitely suited to the adorable feel of a Yoshi game, too, so it seems promising as a cute, feel-good platformer on the Switch in 2018.
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