By Anonymous on Jan 03, 2018 12:16 am Join us as we ring in 2018 with the last week of Destiny 2's Dawning Event as well as the Garden World Nightfall with torrent and timewarp: zero hour.
In the aftermath of the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, debates about many things in the film have raged on. While some fans loved the movie the the direction it takes the Star Wars universe in, while others are vehemently opposed to director Rian Johnson's entry in the franchise and how it treats some of the stories set up by Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi follow.
One major sticking point among many is the identity of Rey's (Daisy Ridley) parents. After The Force Awakens, fans theorized many different possibilities about who could be her mom and dad--from Luke Skywalker to Obi Wan Kenobi, to even Han Solo and Leia Organa. One answer many didn't expect though was they they were nobodies.
That's exactly who they were, though. As revealed by Rey and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) in The Last Jedi, they were junk traders from the planet Jakku, who possibly sold her for alcohol money. Is that the final word, though? According to Johnson, not necessarily.
"Anything's still open, and I'm not writing the next film. [J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio] are doing it," he tells The Huffington Post. Still, if Abrams and Terrio decide to change course and have the moment amount to Kylo misleading Rey, it would be a very strange choice to make, especially when you consider Johnson's reasoning.
Were Rey revealed to have a familiar connection to characters fans already know, the director explains that "it would be the big 'I am your father' twist [from The Empire Strikes Back]."
"The easy thing would be, 'Yes, your parents are so and so and here's your place in the world. There you go,'" he says. "The hardest thing she could hear would be [...] 'No, you're not going to get the answer. This is not going to define you. You're going to have to find your own place in this world. Kylo is going to use that even as leverage to try and make you feel insecure, and you're going to have to stand on your own two feet.'"
As Johnson points out, there is an argument that can be made that Rey's parents being nobody important makes her a stronger character. For her, it's not about following or moving away from the path set out in front of her by a parent. In truth, her course is closer to that of Anakin Skywalker, who lived most of his early life as a slave before finding out he was strong with the Force.
Regardless, any answer is open to interpretation, especially to Abrams as he sets out writing Episode IX. Ridley has said that at this point, the next saga film will be her final appearance in the Star Wars movie franchise, meaning Rey's story will likely reach its conclusion in the the movie.
Now the question is whether her story will be massively changed in the process. Star Wars: Episode IX will be in theaters on December 20, 2019. Star Wars will next be on the big screen when Solo: A Star Wars Story, the Han Solo standalone film, arrives on May 25.
Microsoft's big end-of-year sale on the Xbox Store wraps up on January 4, but that doesn't mean your last chance to get cheap Xbox games has passed. The latest set of weekly deals has arrived for Xbox Live Gold members, bringing a select number of discounts on Xbox One games and DLC, alongside those on a few Xbox 360 games.
Among the most noteworthy offers on Xbox One is Diablo III: Eternal Collection for $30 / £27.50. This bundles together the base game, the excellent Reaper of Souls expansion, and the Rise of the Necromancer DLC (which adds the very fun Necromancer class). Alternatively, if you already own the game and Reaper of Souls, you can pick up Rise of the Necromancer on its own for $10 / £8.31.
Separately from these deals, the first of January's free Games With Gold titles are now available. Those include The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III; if you're taken with it or want to start with an earlier title in the series, Gold members can pick up the first game in the series for $5 / £3.96. Additionally, if you don't have Gold, there are still a few deals to be had, including Furi for $10 / £8.
All of these offers are available from now through January 8. You can see the full list here.
The GameSpot editors have already voted and made our decision on 2017's overall game of the year, but now we want to hear from you! Voting on our Player's Choice Game of the Year poll will end later today, set to close at noon Pacific Time On January 2. So if you've been holding off for any reason, be sure to jump in now and make your voice heard!
The alphabetized list of entrants below is culled from our own complete list of award winners and editorial spotlight choices across PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, 3DS, and mobile. A few rules on how we made the selections for this particular category: they must be new games released in 2017, or re-releases that were substantially updated and changed. There is one big addition worth noting that was not eligible for our own Game of the Year: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Since the game is now out offcially on PC, PUBG is also included in the list below.
So what was your overall favorite game? Let us know with your votes, and carry on the conversation in the comments as well as on our Facebook and Twitter pages! And for even more game of the year content, we have a whole feature dedicated to the best content across games and entertainment in 2017.
Microsoft has pulled an advertisement for the Xbox One version of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds after a fan claimed the company copied their artwork. Reddit user Macsterr says a tweet from @Xbox used an image similar to their own ad concept posted to Reddit in November.
Microsoft has now deleted the tweet in question and says the matter is under investigation. Longtime Xbox spokesperson Major Nelson commented: "I wanted to let you know that this is being investigated. In the meantime, our official channels have pulled down the asset in question. I'll follow up with the OP /u/macsterr/ once I get more details." No further update has since been posted.
It's the start of a new month--and a new year--which means more free games are now available for PlayStation Plus subscribers. January's allotment of free PS Plus games are out now on the PlayStation Store, meaning that titles like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Batman: The Telltale Series have temporarily dropped to the low, low price of free for paying subscribers.
Mankind Divided is the headlining PS4 freebie this month. The dystopian cyberpunk role-playing game casts you as Adam Jensen and tasks you with catching a terrorist group, which you can do by being a stealthy detective or a tech-enhanced killing machine, or some mixture of both.
As for Telltale's Batman game, this is the first season of the story and puts players in tricky situations as both Bruce Wayne and his crime-fighting alter-ego. The decisions you make will have some consequence on the relationships around you, and the overall story.
Other PS4 freebies in January include the wacky and fun party game That's You (if you're outside of North America) and StarBlood Arena (which requires PlayStation VR). Additionally, one of Vita's free games, Uncanny Valley, offers cross-buy with PS4. The other Vita game, Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness, should also offer PS4 cross-buy according to the PlayStation Blog, but at the time of this writing, it looks as if that may be an error. Additionally, PS3 owners get Sacred 3 and The Book of Unwritten Tales 2.
You can see January 2018's full PS Plus lineup--covering PS4, PS3, and Vita--below, or you can claim them on the PlayStation Store.
While it was unrealistic to expect The Walking Dead to maintain the record-breaking viewing figures of some of its earlier seasons, the AMC zombie drama has seen a dramatic drop in audience numbers over the past two years. The first half of the current eighth season has had the lowest figures since 2011. However, one of its producers has now defended the show's audience decline.
David Alpert told Variety that looking at the figures for the show's live broadcast was misleading as to how popular it really is. "I don't think in any way the brand has lost its relevance in general," he said. "I think we're just seeing a decline in urgency across all media to consume something at a specific time. I still get people coming up to me at conventions talking about, they're in the middle of season six. They can't believe what's going on."
It is certainly true that live broadcast figures only tell part of the story when gauging how many people are watching a show. This is been especially true of series such as Game of Thrones, which is also available via HBO's on-demand services, and The Walking Dead did add an extra 3.6 million viewers to its mid-season finale last month when DVR numbers were taken into account.
However, there is no denying that The Walking Dead has seen a steady decline in viewers over a relatively short period of time. The 7.9 million broadcast viewers of the mid-season finale was the lowest number since Season 2's in 2011. This is in comparison to the 10.58 million viewers that watched the mid-season of Season 7 in 2016, and nearly half of what the equivalent episode achieved for Season 5 in 2014.
Amidst the holidays, things have been somewhat quiet on the Destiny 2 front. However, we're set to get a small update this week along with a batch of server maintenance that will render the game unplayable for a period of time on Wednesday, Bungie has announced.
The maintenance period will follow a similar pattern to those we've seen in the past. On Wednesday, January 3, at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET / 3 PM GMT (2 AM AET on January 4), maintenance will begin, at which point players will no longer be able to log in on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. An hour later, everyone who was playing when maintenance began will be booted offline. Bungie expects maintenance to conclude at 12 PM PT, although, as always, that is merely an estimate.
At the same time that Bungie wraps up maintenance, it will release a new update, hotfix 1.1.1.2. The studio has not explained what this update will do, but these hotfixes tend to focus on bug fixes and other minor improvements, so you shouldn't expect any major new features to be introduced. We do know there is a lingering exploit involving the Warlock's Voidwalker Super ability in the Mayhem Crucible mode, but Bungie previously said that would not be fixed before the ongoing Dawning event comes to an end on January 9.
The Dawning has introduced a ton of new items to Destiny 2, though the easiest way to obtain them is through Eververse purchases with real money. For a look at what you can get, you can check out our gallery of all the new Dawning armor and gear. Even if you're not interested in paying for any of the content, there are still some new things to do, such as checking out the aforementioned Mayhem mode.
2018 is here, and so Valve is taking a look back at the year that was on Steam. Much as it did last January, it has revealed a list of the best-selling games on the platform, but it's also provided information on some new categories. While it doesn't provide any specific figures, it does give us a snapshot of what proved to be Steam's most popular games in 2017.
This starts with the list of 2017's top sellers, which is determined based on gross revenue earned during the calendar year. Valve provided a list of the top 100 games, which have been divided into Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels (though the exact distinction between these is not explained). Most of the games to reach Platinum were older titles and included the likes of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, Grand Theft Auto V, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, and Dota 2. There were some 2017 releases, too, including Divinity: Original Sin II and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, the latter of which we know has proven to be phenomenally popular.
In terms of players, Valve provided a list of the games with the most concurrent users (meaning those that were online and playing at the same time). PUBG, of course, leads the list, having recently eclipsed the 3 million mark. Eight others also topped the 100,000 mark during the year, including Dota 2, Counter-Strike: GO, Rainbow Six Siege, and Grand Theft Auto V.
Valve also shared a breakdown of new titles, offering a look at the top-grossing newly released games of each month. The number of games shown varies from month to month, and again, there's little insight into what allowed them to qualify. Some months have as many as 16, while June had just five, including Dirt 4, Tekken 7, and Cold Waters.
VR-only games got their own top sellers list (again based on revenue during the year and divided into four tiers). Job Simulator, Superhot VR, and Fallout 4 VR were among those to hit Platinum status. There's also a look at the top-grossing games that left early access in 2017, and while the expected ones like PUBG and Original Sin II show up, the Platinum tier also includes The Long Dark, Slime Rancher, and Ark: Survival Evolved, among others.
You can check out all of Steam's 2017 charts here.
Following the box office disappointment of last year's Alien: Covenant, the future of the long-running sci-fi franchise is in doubt. Director Ridley Scott initially suggested that he was finished with the series. But in a subsequent interview last month, Scott spoke about a possible new direction, arguing that the franchise should "drift away from the Alien stuff" and focus more on artificial intelligence.
In a new interview with the Toronto Sun, Scott again sounded more optimistic about the future of the series. "There's no reason why Alien should now not be on the same level for fans as Star Trek and Star Wars," he said. "I think the next [question] as to where we go is, do we sustain the Alien [franchise] with the evolution of the beast or do we reinvent something else? I think you need to have an evolution on this famous beast, because he's the best monster ever, really."
The decision to continue the series now lies with Disney, following the recent deal for the studio to acquire Fox's entertainment assets. Scott stated that the studio would be "crazy if they don't" make more Alien movies. He also praised Michael Fassbender's character, sinister android David. "David is a fantastic villain," he said. "I love what Fassbender did in Covenant. But it's f***ing hard, dude. We lifted Alien out of a ditch and made Prometheus."
Covenant made $240 million worldwide, much less than Prometheus's $403 million take. Prior to the movie's release, Scott had been talking enthusiastically about the future of the series. In March last year, he suggested that the next movie would be called Alien: Awakening, and that the series would continue for several more films beyond that.
In related news, Scott has also expressed his dissatisfaction with the running time of Blade Runner 2049. He produced the recent sequel to his 1982 sci-fi classic, and was recently asked what he thought of the movie. "I have to be careful what I say," he says. "It was f***ing way too long. F*** me! And most of that script's mine."
The Last Jedihas only been in theaters a couple of weeks, but another Star Wars movie is also due soon. Solo: A Star Wars Story is the second Star Wars spin-off, following 2016's Rogue One, and it arrives in May. The film is set to focus on the adventures of young Han Solo, and although we are yet to see any footage, director Ron Howard has released an intriguing new image.
The picture was tweeted by Howard as a New Year greeting. As with most of images that the director has released it doesn't reveal much, but it does suggest that Han might pilot a new vehicle--possibly some form of speeder. Check it out below:
Solo: A Star WarsStory stars Alden Ehrenreich as Han and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, with Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Emilia Clarke also star. It hits theaters on May 25, 2018.
Although Howard joined the production only a few weeks before the end of the principle photography, reshoots continued for several months. In November it was rumored that he had reshot up to 80% of the film. The scale of the reshoots meant that at least one role had to be recast, with Paul Bettany replacing Michael K. Williams. A recent comment from Bettany confirmed that they were indeed more extensive than initially expected.
While 2017 had its share of great games on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch, 2018 is also going to be filled with a wealth of exciting new experiences. Notable standouts include Red Dead Redemption 2, Kingdom Hearts III, Crackdown 3, God of War, Project Octopath Traveller, and more. With so many games to keep track of, we've compiled all the biggest ones coming in 2018 (that we know of, as of the end of 2017). Click ahead to get a glimpse of what's coming next year.
In this gallery, we're looking ahead to the Nintendo games we're most excited about. If you're curious about the biggest games to play in 2018 on other platforms, check out our individual features highlighting the most anticipated PS4 games, Xbox One games, PC games, and Switch games.
If you want to see our choices for the best games this year, check out our Game of the Year 2017 Top 10 List. And for more on our picks of the best games of the year across various categories, as well as features focusing on the year's performance for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch, check out our Best of 2017 hub.
A Way Out
A Way Out is the next game written and directed by Josef Fares, one of the creative forces behind the excellent Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. For those who may have missed it, Brothers gave you control of two characters, both controlled simultaneously and independently via the analogue. As a result, it featured challenging, but rewarding platforming and puzzles, and a heartwarming story to boot.
Like Brothers, A Way Out leans in to the idea of telling the story of two characters and allowing you to experience them concurrently. This time, however, the two characters are prisoners trying to escape from jail and eventually live out their lives on the run. To successfully put their escape plan into action, both characters will need to work together to, for example, distract a guard while the other scopes out a route or acquires a tool that will aid them. Developer Hazelight Studios has said A Way Out will feature multiple characters to interact with, and the solutions to their problems aren't obviously prescribed. This encourages communication between the two players, who can be playing together on a couch or over the internet. From a gameplay standpoint, A Way Out is an intriguing prospect, but we're more interested in seeing its handling of storytelling.
Anthem
Announced at E3 this year, Anthem is the next game from veteran and esteemed role-playing game studio BioWare, specifically BioWare Edmonton (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic). A multiplayer action-RPG, Anthem puts players into the role of a Freelancer on a journey through a "vast open world" to explore unknown planets and protect humanity. A key element of the game are the exosuits, called Javelins. You can customise them, equipping them with a range of new gear that you either craft or acquire. BioWare has a history of masterful world-building and storytelling. While it remains to be seen how these elements will play out in an open-world setting with what looks like more shooting than past BioWare games, we have faith in the legendary developer.
Publisher Electronic Arts has said Anthem will have some form of a "live service" model, and given everything that happened with Star Wars Battlefront II, it's understandable if you're feeling a little uneasy about this. But with Anthem not due out on PS4, Xbox One, and PC until fall 2018, EA has the time to get things right. From the first trailer and what we've heard, it looks like Anthem is influenced and inspired by games like Destiny and The Division, and it's exciting to think about what BioWare's spin on the online multiplayer shooter might look like.
Crackdown 3
Crackdown 3 was first announced at E3 2014 and planned for a 2016 release, but a delay pushed it back to November 2017. It was then hit with a another delay following its bold showing at E3 2017, and now it's set to launch at an unspecified date in spring 2018.
Crackdown 3 is going to be one of the Xbox One's marquee exclusive games, featuring immense levels of environmental destruction in an open world--an evolution of the previous games in the series. However, there will be a difference in how this is handled between single-player and multiplayer. The mass destruction in multiplayer relies on server-based cloud technology which will provide the grand spectacle in online games. On the other hand, the single-player campaign will be more tame, akin to a Just Cause. This open-world action game focuses its narrative on taking down criminal syndicates similar to the original Crackdown.
We can expect plenty of superhuman abilities for strength and speed, along with an arsenal of weapons and vehicles. It's apt to compare it to Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row, but Crackdown separates itself by instilling the feeling of being a true superhero.
Detroit: Become Human
Detroit: Become Human is the next immersive story-driven game from director David Cage and developer Quantic Dream, best known for Heavy Rain, Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy in North America), and Beyond: Two Souls.
The script supposedly took Cage over two years to write and, as the name suggests, the game takes place in a futuristic version of Detroit. It follows the journey of three androids. Kara gains sentience and escapes the factory she was built in. Meanwhile, Connor is designed to hunt down rogue androids like Kara. Finally, the third protagonist, Markus, is a freedom fighter who is devoted to freeing other androids.
Like Heavy Rain before it, many major characters will live and die based on player decisions, and the story will continue to progress accordingly. Those who enjoy strong performance-driven characters in their video game stories should definitely keep their eyes on Detroit: Become Human.
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Matching the style and over-the-top action of the Dragon Ball Z series has been a challenge for past games. The upcoming Dragon Ball FighterZ, however, looks to be the exception, pushing the trend of average DBZ fighters aside and bringing the series to new heights. Coming from Arc Systems Works--the same developer behind Guilty Gear Xrd, BlazBlue, and Persona 4 Arena--the new game is not only looking to be a faithful adaptation of the series, but also one of the most exciting fighting games of 2018.
Featuring characters from across the entire Dragon Ball Z series, and even some references from Dragon Ball Super, FighterZ is a mash-up that pits characters in intense 3v3 battles that will level environments and push the fighters to their limits of power. Moving away from the 3D arenas of Raging Blast and Xenoverse, FighterZ brings the action to the traditional 2D plane--and it looks all the better for it. With characters pulling off high-powered, screen-filling moves, and performing split-second dodges to get the upper hand against their enemy--no frame of animation feels wasted in Dragon Ball FighterZ. There's a greater level of detail here that the past games weren't even close to replicating from the TV show.
Anyone who's watched Dragon Ball Z knows that it's got a style all its own, and FighterZ lovingly recreates many of the series' most iconic moments in its core mechanics. With more characters yet to be revealed, along with a surprisingly robust Story Mode, there's definitely more to this fighter that remains to be seen. But what's been shown thus far looks to be everything a DBZ fan could hope for in a game.
Far Cry 5
When reflecting on the Far Cry series' past locales, Far Cry 5's rural America seems like a refreshing and evocative choice for Ubisoft's first-person shooter series. Between the sprawling farmlands and dense forests of the fictional region known as Hope County, Montana, the place is primed to make the most of Far Cry's open world and emergent gameplay. Far Cry 5 also promises to continue the series' tradition of featuring memorable antagonists. As the leader of a doomsday cult known as Eden's Gate, Joseph Seed looks to be as calculating as 4's Pagan Min and as fanatical as 3's Vaas.
What makes Far Cry 5 all the more promising is how it adapts fan-favorite features like Far Cry 4's cooperative play and Far Cry Primal's animal companionship. Along with a wealth of vehicles and weapons plus untamed animals you can turn against enemies, there shouldn't be a shortage of creative ways to take down Eden's Gate.
Ghost of Tsushima
With the superhero-inspired Infamous series, Sucker Punch Productions proved itself capable of creating beautiful, vast open worlds packed with gameplay opportunities. Its next title, Ghost of Tsushima, looks set to leverage the experience it has accumulated from other projects to deliver something completely different.
Set in 1274, Ghost of Tsushima casts players as one of the last remaining samurai as he faces the ruthless Mongol Empire. What makes Ghost of Tsushima interesting is the idea that, to succeed, you will have to cast aside traditional samurai methods, and the codes that govern them, in favour of stealth and subterfuge. This means Ghost of Tsushima is essentially a story about the birth of the ninja, and the idea of an open-world stealth game is a very exciting prospect, especially for fans of Metal Gear Solid V and those begging for a new Tenchu.
Although Sony and Sucker Punch haven't outright said Ghost of Tsushima will be released in 2018, it's believed the game has been in development since 2014, when Infamous: Second Son and Last Light launched. That means it's been in development for around three years, so there's a good chance the game will launch in 2018.
God of War
The upcoming God of War is a drastic departure from the style and tone of previous games in the series. Its somber, more deeply personal narrative, new combat mechanics, and aged version of series protagonist Kratos each contribute toward what looks to be an exciting new direction for the series.
Taking place many years after the destruction of the Olympian gods, Kratos now lives with his son Atreus in a hostile world ruled by Norse gods. He lives in peace, but when his role in the destruction of Olympus becomes known, the Norse gods plot to kill him, forcing Kratos and Atreus to embark on an adventure for survival.
While only a few trailers have been shown of God of War so far, it's already shaping up to one of the most exciting games in Sony's lineup for 2018. And with God of War II director Cory Barlog at the helm, the game could also be one of the finest in the series.
The Inpatient
The Inpatient looks to be an enjoyable experience in two areas. First, as a PlayStation VR title, it aims to scare you on a subconscious level, using psychological horror and binaural audio to worm its way into your deepest fears.
Second, it serves as a prequel to 2015's choice-driven horror game Until Dawn, with the same writers and director at the helm. Set 60 years before the events of that game, you'll take control of a sanitarium patient out to reclaim their missing memories. Voice recognition and player choices affect how you interact with the other residents of the asylum, changing how the story ends. January isn't traditionally a month associated with horror, but The Inpatient is still staking a creepy claim.
Kingdom Hearts III
It's hard to count the number of reasons to be excited for Kingdom Hearts III. Maybe it's the 13-year gap between Kingdom Hearts 2 and the next numbered sequel. Maybe it's the most recent trailer for a Toy Story world, the first in the series to be based on a Pixar movie. Maybe it's because the series will be coming to Xbox for the first time, letting a whole new player base experience the Disney/Final Fantasy crossover magic.
No matter the reasoning, Kingdom Hearts 3 is going to drop you into the climactic battle of the game's Dark Seeker saga, bringing together plots and characters from the many spin-offs the series has had in the interim. Along the way, you'll get to explore a batch of brand-new worlds--Rapunzel and Big Hero 6 stages have already been teased--and battle Heartless with an array of powers seemingly based on real-world Disney theme park attractions. It's hard for any game to live up to more than a decade of hype, but Kingdom Hearts 3 aims to deliver a satisfying conclusion to the war between darkness and light.
Monster Hunter World
The last few Monster Hunter games on 3DS have been terrific, and they've introduced a whole new group of players to one Japan's biggest franchises. But Monster Hunter World is poised to take the series even further. On PS4, Xbox One, and PC, the game will obviously look better than any previous version of the game, but it's the refinements in gameplay and online multiplayer that have a chance of finally pushing it into the mainstream.
For the first time, you'll be able to jump into other players' hunts mid-game, meaning you can help out friends (or receive help when you need it most), without going through a lot of complicated preparation. There's a more convenient training hall that lets you easily experiment with weapons and that lays out various combos and strategies. And best of all, the game will have worldwide (although not cross-platform) multiplayer. Given how helpful and supportive the Monster Hunter community is as a whole, jumping into a game and finding fellow adventurers to take down monsters with should be easy.
Make no mistake, Monster Hunter World still seems like it's going to be a complicated, complex game. But as titles like Dark Souls and Bloodborne have shown, there are plenty of players who are looking for a challenging experience as long as it's equally rewarding. And with this iteration of Monster Hunter, newcomers will have a better chance than ever before to understand what makes fans so passionate for hunting.
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
After the generally positive reception of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, it was not surprising that its sequel, Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, earned the rare spot as a "One more thing..." reveal to close out a PlayStation Experience 2016 keynote. Between the original game's heartfelt story, involving combat, and Studio Ghibli-crafted cinematics, there was a lot to love.
Revenant Kingdom looks to recapture the first game's charm and engrossing gameplay, despite the array of changes in this sequel. The shift to a more active battle system looks to address the arguably complicated and cumbersome combat from the first game. Add to that a Pikmin-inspired minion system that buffs your hero for added advantages. Furthermore, Studio Ghibli is uninvolved this time around, although former Ghibli character designer Yoshiyuki Momose returns. More significantly, Joe Hisaishi returns as music composer. Given how he's provided the music to all of Hayao Miyazaki's films (save for The Castle of Cagliostro), it's hard to doubt that Revenant Kingdom will feel like an unofficial Ghibli production.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
2017 was very good to fans of old-school, Baldur's Gate-style RPGs. Divinity: Original Sin II earned a rare 10/10 on GameSpot, and Pillars of Eternity II was announced and fully funded in the less than a day. Going into 2018, Obsidian is set to deliver on its promises of "truly living cities [and] more freedom to explore the open world."
In addition to building out the world and story of Pillars of Eternity II, the sequel will also introduce an expansive multiclassing system, which will allow players to build unique characters that tie both into personal playstyles and stories. But it's the expansive worldbuilding and D&D-inspired gameplay hooks that seem the most exciting.
In GameSpot's Pillars of Eternity review from 2015, we described the first Pillars as an "original fantasy universe, as well as with combat details that reduce frustration and keep the tempo moving." As long as Obsidian can build on those core elements that worked and refine the less-polished aspects of their previous isometric outing, Pillars of Eternity II seems like it'll be another RPG hit.
Project Octopath Traveler
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.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Out of all the games coming in 2018, Rockstar's follow-up to Red Dead Redemption is arguably the most significant. The developer's other major franchise, Grand Theft Auto, is a cultural phenomenon, and even in 2017, over four years since it was first released, Grand Theft Auto V continues to be one of the best-selling games in the US every month.
The first Red Dead Redemption was a critical success, driven by a powerful story and an inviting open-world. But what's most intriguing is finding out how Rockstar will integrate the elements that have made GTA Online so pervasive. Owning a garage full of crazy vehicles and high-tech weapons make sense in GTA's city environment, but what is there to spend so much money on in the Old West? Or will Red Dead Redemption 2 focus primarily on its standalone single-player story with the online multiplayer used as a fun, but secondary, amusement?
This sequel has a lot to live up to, and succeed or fail, the story of Red Dead Redemption will be one worth following closely in 2018.
Sea of Thieves
Sea of Thieves has been in Microsoft's deck for quite some time, since it was announced at E3 2015, but it's set to see the light of day in 2018 with an official release. This pirate-themed first-person action-adventure focuses on multiplayer across islands and the open seas. The game is shown to have range; there's a lot going on from ship battles and navigating the seas to digging up treasures and hoarding loot.
It sports a beautiful, easy-going aesthetic with a cartoonish vibe and lax physics. But that doesn't negate the intensity of large-scale battles at sea with cannonballs flying overhead or the sense of panic when trying to nail down a shot from a one-round flintlock pistol. The game isn't limited to PvP, as NPC enemies layer PvE scenarios into a shared world. Sea of Thieves is also one of the few cross-play games between the PC and Xbox One platforms, which should help sustain player count. If early gameplay is any indication, players will be building up their own characters for the long haul; this will hopefully instill more personality into a game already oozing with charm.
Shenmue III
Shenmue is a divisive franchise, but one thing that is undeniable is that the story is incomplete. The second game ends on a massive cliffhanger, and rabid fans want the series to return so much that they raised well over $6 million on Kickstarter for Shenmue III.
Considering the first two games are among the most expensive of all time, Shenmue III is going to need every penny. The original released on the Dreamcast and pioneered open-world games. Not only did it and its sequel allow you to explore large cities in Japan and China, but the games were meticulously detailed.
The series is predominately about its story, however. You play as Ryo Hazuki, and in the original game, villain Lan Di beats you up and kills your father in front of you. On a quest for revenge, Ryo learns martial arts and becomes stronger along the way. The 2017 teaser trailer looks like it picks up where the last game left off. In it, you see Ryo training and getting into fights surrounded by stunning vistas produced by Epic's Unreal Engine. The world of Shenmue has never looked better. The faces in the video do leave a lot to be desired, however, but famed director Yu Suzuki assures fans that they're just placeholders for now.
What fans can't wait to find out is if Ryo becomes strong enough in Shenmue III to enact revenge on Lan Di. Hopefully we won't have to wait much longer to find out.
Spider-Man
While Marvel is currently trouncing long-time rival DC when it comes to their respective film universes, it's an altogether different story when it comes to games. DC characters have had an impressive run of good to great games in recent years, with highlights including Arkane's hugely impressive Batman Arkham series and the well-received Injustice fighters. In contrast, poor Marvel fans have had little to crow about when it came to high-quality, big-budget games on PC/consoles (outside of Capcom's MvC series).
But Insomniac Game's upcoming Spider-Man exclusive for the PlayStation 4 might finally end the long drought. Though it's not specifically tied to Marvel's popular film universe, Spider-Man for the PS4 still looks like its getting the core of the character right: spectacularly athletic, remarkably swift, and unbelievably high-flying, Insomniac's take on Spider-Man looks to be, well, Amazing. It's about time for another great Spider-Man game, and we're hoping this fits the bill.
State of Decay 2
Perhaps the most exciting feature of State of Decay 2 is one that was sorely absent from the first game: multiplayer. The first entry in Undead Labs' and Microsoft's zombie survival game was a surprise hit, delivering a vast open-world with a robust survival gameplay and the unsettling, ever-present threat of zombies descending on you at a moment's notice. It seems like a setup that would allow players to connect with each other to collaborate, but that wasn't the case.
In State of Decay 2, Undead Labs has taken inspiration from Dark Souls for its multiplayer component, giving people the ability to fire a flare into the sky to summon help. Through drop-in and drop-out cooperation, players can come together to fight the undead horde or scavenge materials and build fortifications. Of course, there's also the survivors hanging around in the wasteland, all of which are crucial to your safety. With a massive number of skills and personality types for the player to develop and nurture, these characters become essential to ensuring that their burgeoning community can not only live another day but also ensure the little family you've built thrives. Like the multiplayer, Undead Labs is doubling down on role-playing aspects of State of Decay 2, making for a sequel is giving fans pretty much everything they asked for, which is exciting.
Skull & Bones
Ever since the release of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag in 2014, there existed an audience of fans who yearned for the series to return to or iterate upon the fantastic naval combat from that game. While Assassin's Creed Rogue expanded on those mechanics to some degree, it wasn't the true successor everyone craved.
Enter Skull & Bones, Ubisoft's direct successor to Black Flag. Aside from offering a traditional single-player-focused campaign, the game also offers 5v5 multiplayer modes where you and four others fight other player-controlled ships for loot.
While the reveal of Skull & Bones is an exciting step towards a new series that follows in the tradition of Black Flag, it also represents a divorce of naval combat from the expectations of future Assassin's titles. Seeing Ubisoft deliberately decide to split the two into separate franchises is certainly one the most exciting aspects about Skull & Bones.
Call of Duty: WWII has ended 2017 at the top of the UK physical sales chart. Activision's shooter finished at No.1 for week ending December 30, meaning it has now equaled the franchise's record number of consecutive weeks at No.1--Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 managed the same feat in 2009.
The WWII shooter is now just two weeks off the series' record for total number of weeks at No.1; 2015's Black Ops III finished top for 11 total weeks, seven of which were consecutive.
EA also finished 2017 strongly, with FIFA 18 at No.2 and Star Wars Battlefront II at No.3. Below these, Assassin's Creed Origins and Grand Theft Auto V end the year at No.4 and No.5, respectively, meaning the top five games of the week were the same five as the previous week, and in the same positions.
You can read the full top 10 sales chart below, courtesy of UKIE and GfK Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.
Playerunknown himself, Brendan Greene, has said he thinks the game could reach 100 million total players (not concurrent) to achieve League of Legends-like success. Three million is more than four times the number of the second-most popular game on Steam, Dota 2, which had around 705,000 concurrent users on December 30. It's down today, January 2, as the game had around 2.79 million concurrent players, according to Steam's own public stats.
OVER 3 MILLION!! Thank you all for helping us reach this amazing milestone! GG WP everybody <3 pic.twitter.com/twUQkSkP5U
The new player milestone comes on the heels of PUBG's 1.0 release in December. Some might have been waiting for PUBG to leave Early Access before jumping in.
PUBG came to Xbox One through the Game Preview program on December 12. It was a quick hit there, selling 1 million copies in its first 48 hours. The game has sold an astonishing 30 million copies; it sells for $30, so that's around $900 million in revenue.
The new Netflix show Dark, which is the network's first German-language original production, includes a scene that features the game The Surge where two people are playing split-screen co-op. The problem? The game doesn't actually have co-op. Deck13 has now officially responded, explaining that the studio allowed the show's producers to take some creative liberties to fit the story they were trying to tell.
A Deck13 representative said on Reddit that the Dark producers contacted Deck13 "months" before the show premiered on December 1 about their eagerness to feature The Surge in the show. This was principally because The Surge was developed in Germany. "We agreed and allowed them to even fake a splitscreen if it fitted better for their idea. Some kind of creative rework one could say," the Deck13 representative said.
The split-screen support for The Surge shown in Dark is fiction, but could it one day become reality for the game with a patch? Don't get your hopes up. "Technically it'd wreck the console though," Deck13 said about splitscreen support. Announcing a new feature like split-screen co-op by way of a Netflix show would have been a pretty interesting way to go about it, but if it does ever happen, it sounds like it'll be through a more traditional manner.
"We'd chose a different way to announce such a feature," Deck13 said.
The Surge launched in May 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. GameSpot's The Surge review scored it a 7/10. Reviewer Daniel Starkey said, "The Surge is far from perfect, but none of its problems are deal breakers."
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Join us as we ring in 2018 with the last week of Destiny 2's Dawning Event as well as the Garden World Nightfall with torrent and timewarp: zero hour.
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