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What's Coming for PS4 in 2017

2017 is going to be filled with an abundance of exciting new PS4 games. From heavy hitters like Horizon: Zero Dawn to Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, there's a whole lot to get excited about. With so many games to keep track of, we've compiled all the biggest ones coming in 2017. Click ahead to see what's coming to PS4.



Outlast II

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The first Outlast was a surprise horror hit. Released for free on PS Plus after its original PC release, it terrified us here at GameSpot, and now this sequel looks even better. Outlast prides itself on its atmosphere and sense of foreboding - plus the occasional jump scare - and that doesn't seem to have changed with the second entry.

What has changed is the game's appearance: even the demo version of Outlast 2 looked more graphically impressive than the first game, which - though striking - showed its low-budget, indie roots.

Thankfully, even though its appearance has been upgraded, Outlast 2 is sticking to the original's brilliant camcorder mechanic, which allows you to see in the dark - until you run out of battery power. That pressure forces you to conserve battery; when your batteries are dead, you're plunged into darkness, which ramps up the tension even more.



Mass Effect: Andromeda

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Mass Effect: Andromeda's been on our radar ever since it was originally announced back in June of 2015, mainly because the original trilogy is just so damn good. Now that we have some real, concrete information about the game, however, our hype level is higher than ever. Even though Andromeda starts fresh - opting for a new setting (the distant Andromeda Galaxy), era (600 years after the end of the previous trilogy), and hero (Ryder, a Pathfinder searching for humanity's new home) - the spirit of the franchise clearly lives on.

The alien races, military institutions, and political complications central to the Mass Effect universe return, as do the series' trademark dialogue trees. The cover-based shooting and planet-hopping exploration return as well, though both have been updated considerably. Recent trailers show Ryder rapidly dashing across great distances during combat, adding a frenetic new pace to the action. We've also seen a glimpse of the game's interstellar map and six-wheeled Nomad vehicle, both of which suggest a slightly more open structure.

We've done our best to wring as much information as possible from the available material, but we may have to wait until closer to Andromeda's March release date to get a real sense for how it plays.


Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

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Chloe and Nadine are two of the more memorable and mysterious characters in the Uncharted universe, so we were happy to learn at PlayStation Experience that Naughty Dog is devoting an standalone experience to the pair. We'll finally get to learn more about them next year with Uncharted: The Lost Legacy for PS4. The game will put you in the boots of Chloe, one of Drake's love interests from past games. We're interested to learn more about her backstory and how it connects to the evil yet sympathetic villain Nadine.

Naughty Dog has made single-player DLC before (like The Last of Us' wonderful Left Behind), but this is the first story expansion for Uncharted. All we've seen of The Lost Legacy is the trailer from PSX, but it captured our attention with its stealth and action moments.


Horizon: Zero Dawn

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Horizon: Zero Dawn's debut at E3 2015 was one of the most memorable moments from the show. Ever since then, we've been clamoring to hear more about its protagonist Aloy and her adventures across a post-apocalyptic world dominated by mechanical creatures. The setting creates an interesting juxtaposition of styles, blending elements of sci-fi and the pre-historic. In addition, it sports a mechanically rich combat and hunting system, allowing you the ability to methodically set up traps and fire various types of arrows and explosives at the robotic creatures that roam the lands.

Developed by Guerrilla Games - the creators of the Killzone franchise - Horizon: Zero Dawn marks the studio's first new IP in nearly decade. The game was initially set to launch in 2016, but it was delayed to 2017 to allow additional time to polish it to better live up to the standards of the studio's previous offerings. We're crossing our fingers that its launch remains in February, as we're eager to explore its captivating world to discover the array of secrets found in its beautiful vistas and countrysides.


Star Wars Battlefront 2

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2015's Star Wars Battlefront might have lacked depth for hardcore fans, but it was a fun, easy-to-play shooter set in one of the biggest and most recognizable franchises on the planet. For the sequel, DICE is working with Motive Studios to build what EA has described as a "bigger" game. Given that one of the loudest pieces of feedback around the first game was its lack of single-player (even Force Awakens actor John Boyega called it out), it will be interesting to see how EA responds to that criticism. Just recently, EA strongly suggested there will be a single-player campaign, so it appears that feedback didn't fall on deaf ears. EA has also said the sequel will feature content from "the new movies," which is exciting to think about with Disney's own plans to continue to build out the movie universe. Battlefront 2 is set for release in fall 2017.


Friday the 13th: The Game

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Given its origins as a Kickstarter-funded game that has already been delayed to 2017, skepticism about the project can be understood. But the new Friday the 13th game is high on our radar for 2017 for a number of reasons. Indeed, the game appears to be delivering on that front, as an almost hard-to-watch death sequence trailer from earlier this year contained no shortage of horrific over-the-top action.

Series creator Sean Cunningham not only gave his blessing to the development team at Gun Media, he also reportedly handed over the rights for free because he believed in what the team was doing. An asymmetrical multiplayer game, Friday the 13th sees one side play as camp counselors at Crystal Lake, while the eighth player takes on the role of Jason Voorhees and hunts them down (a setup with obvious parallels to Dead by Daylight). The game will also have a single-player component, which is part of the reason why it was delayed to 2017.


Yakuza 0

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Despite being around for more than a decade, Yakuza is a series that's flown under the radar for many people. Given the popularity of open-world games and nostalgia for the not-entirely-dissimilar Shenmue, that's something of a surprise but can be explained in part by how daunting it is to jump into. Unlike, say, Grand Theft Auto, the mainline Yakuza games tell one overarching story that spans five games and counting.

That makes Yakuza 0 - a prequel to the original Yakuza - the perfect entry point for newcomers and an exciting look into the formative years of series mainstays Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima. Both characters are playable, and each features his own set of three distinct fighting styles. You can rotate through these styles on the fly, allowing you to blend different approaches to combat when you're not picking up a nearby object - be it a couch or a bicycle - to beat enemies senseless with. Factor in the usual wide array of side activities - which include karaoke and dancing minigames, pool, batting cages, and playable retro games (like Space Harrier and Hang-On) - and you have the makings for a solid Yakuza game.


Persona 5

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The Persona series has a track record of expertly grafting seemingly disparate things: a traditional, turn-based RPG in the mold of Shin Megami Tensei and a high school student simulator. The student part manifests itself as a blend of the mundane - you go to class and answer questions, get a part-time job, and so on -and the improbable, like taking part in a murder investigation only you and your friends can hope to solve.

Persona 5 continues that, but with new wrinkles. You still build social links with friends and acquaintances by going to movies, visiting cafes, and other things in the real world. But this time around, you're in the shoes of a high school student who leads a group of "phantom thieves" that set out to help change the world for the better. The dungeon-esque Palaces you visit now include environmental puzzles and new ways to navigate. Rather than the more confining layout of previous games' dungeons, you'll find things you can jump on to maneuver around enemies, and a cover system lets you stealthily bypass foes. Similarly, combat introduces new mechanics, such as letting you high-five a teammate to pass a character's turn and give your ally a boost.

Oh, and let's not forget the game's visual style. The menus are perhaps the most stylish in any game ever, and what you'll see in combat is no slouch either.


Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

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Following a spinoff that bridged the gap between the first two games, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony will be the first new numbered entry in the series in three years. It's also the first game in the series to be developed from the get-go with a console (PS4) in mind - although by also coming to Vita, it seems unlikely the console's extra horsepower will be leveraged in any meaningful way. But in a game like Danganronpa, which hinges almost exclusively on the strength of its writing, that doesn't really matter. Developer Spike Chunsoft has proven itself capable of coming up with a compelling group of characters multiple times now, which bodes well for V3's batch of 16 newcomers.

The basic premise here is familiar: Students who are exceptional in some way are locked in a school and only allowed to leave if they can murder someone and get through a trial without being caught. But the setting has changed along with the entire cast, save for cover star/murderous-bear-thing Monokuma. Mechanically, class trials will have some new elements, including more mini-games and team-based debates, all of which should help to keep things fresh. But all we really need is another well-told story for V3 to warrant enthusiasm.


Red Dead Redemption 2

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Yes, it's really happening: Rockstar's 2010 open world western will have a sequel by the end of 2017. Unfortunately, we currently know almost nothing beyond some big picture bullet points. For example, it's still an open-world game set in an expansive swath of the American south and the northern portions of Mexico. There's also a multiplayer component that will complement the story-driven single-player campaign.

The rest is up for speculation. The game may take place after the original Red Dead Redemption and star protagonist John Marston's son Jack - along with six other gunslingers, judging by the game's Magnificent 7-inspired key art. Then again, it might be a prequel. Or an entirely unrelated story. Regardless, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick promises Red Dead 2 will offer "incredible emotional depth," as well as a "big, sprawling, optimistic view of America."

Developer Rockstar generally plays it close to the chest but always seems to have an ace up its sleeve. Expect to learn more about this one as we get closer to release.


Prey

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Prey, as a franchise, has had it pretty rough. The original sci-fi shooter launched more than a decade ago, and a sequel's been forthcoming ever since. Now, several developers (and IP owners) later, Prey has landed in the capable hands of Arkane Studios - the team behind Dishonored and its exceptional sequel. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Arkane's Prey reboot combines thematic elements from the original Prey with gameplay clearly inspired by Arkane's own games.

Just like Dishonored's supernatural assassins, protagonist Morgan Yu has a wide variety of unusual abilities and inventive tools at his (or her) disposal. He can possess objects using Mimic in order to hide from enemies or maneuver through tight spaces. He can use a rifle that shoots foam, which immobilizes foes and hardens to create ramps, ledges, or whatever else you can think up. And when all else fails, he can break out a pistol and blast his creepy, amorphous alien adversaries into bits.

According to the team at Arkane, Talos 1 - the derelict space station where Morgan finds himself trapped in some kind of scientific conspiracy - is fully open from the start of the game. It's simply up to players to figure where to go and how to get there, even if that means venturing out into space. It may not be the Prey 2 fans expected, but it's shaping up to be a cerebral, atmospheric shooter nonetheless.


Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

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When we learned that Disney chose not to renew its licenses with Capcom, Marvel vs. Capcom fans feared the crossover fighting game series would once again fade into obscurity. Imagine our surprise when Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite was officially announced at PSX.

The latest entry in the series is making a drastic change by switching from the traditional 3v3 format to 2v2. This links back to the series' roots with games such as X-Men vs. Street Fighter and Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, while also drawing inspiration from Tatsunoko vs. Capcom.

This shift in dynamic is exciting for longtime players, who can look forward to digging into a new system of fighting mechanics and unpacking their intricacies.

Another interesting addition are the Infinity Stones, which can be activated mid-battle to bestow strength, speed, and other yet to be revealed boosts. These could potentially be utilised to completely change the playing style of characters and create unique team compositions. Imagine Hulk, traditionally a powerful but slow character, using the Time gem to give himself greater mobility - terrifying.

And of course, there's the actual roster of characters. The game is reportedly aligning itself closer with Marvel's Cinematic Universe, which may come at the cost of Wolverine, Magneto, and other X-Men characters. But don't rule anything out just yet, as leaks have indicated some unexpected reveals in the future.



Injustice 2

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The follow-up to NetherRealm Studios' Injustice: Gods Among Us introduces loot, character customisation, and items that give their wearers stat bonuses. If you have any familiarity with fighting games, you'll know just how bold - and potentially upsetting - this decision is. On the one hand, it could introduce replayability that few other fighting games have by letting players create their own, unique versions of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and various other DC heroes and villains. On the other, if NetherRealm isn't able to properly balance the hundreds of pieces of unique equipment, the online multiplayer could quickly become filled with the same overpowered builds dominating anyone that dares to not use the "best" characters and equipment. It's going to be a challenge for its developer, and we're looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

The first Injustice is also one of the few fighting games out there that has a storyline worth paying attention to. The narrative was strong enough to spawn a critically acclaimed comic book spinoff, and for those invested in the story - yes, we exist - the sequel gives us the next chapter.


Nidhogg 2

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On its surface, Nidhogg appears to revolve around head-to-head, side-scrolling duels, but in actuality, it's a tug-of-war with swords. Rather than simply killing your opponent, your real goal is to successfully battle your way across three screens and reach a final scoring zone before the other player respawns and stops you. Of course, your opponent has the exact same goal.

You can slash, punch, and dive-kick each other, but only the player who scored the last kill is allowed to run towards their zone. Naturally, this results in plenty of unexpected, last-second momentum shifts that turn the game into couch co-op magic.

Nidhogg 2 takes the same formula as the original game and amps up the presentation while altering the underlying mechanics very little. The game features a new, more grotesque art style, as well as a revamped soundtrack, new weapons, and a larger selection of stages. You'll even find online options and a single-player campaign of sorts that lets you battle AI and complete special challenges.


Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

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At some point, Resident Evil stopped being scary. The fifth game introduced co-op, the sixth doubled down on action, and offshoots like Operation Raccoon City focused entirely on shooting. All of this felt like an unwanted detour for a franchise originally rooted in survival-horror. Now, finally, Resident Evil 7 is taking the series back to its roots.

Though it employs a first-person perspective rather than fixed third-person camera angles like the very first game, RE7 still revives several dormant concepts central to the series' identity: cryptic puzzles, collectible keys, limited saves, inventory management - even healing herbs return. Most importantly, though, what we've played of the game so far has been genuinely terrifying.

You play as Ethan Winters, who - unlike the musclebound, military-trained Chris Redfield - is just an average guy. While searching for his missing wife Mia, he's somehow captured and held captive by a grotesquely dysfunctional family on their derelict Louisiana plantation. And though he gradually collects weapons like a pistol, shotgun, and makeshift flamethrower, he still feels vulnerable in the face of the plantation's hidden horrors and stomach-churning bosses.

Ethan's search for his wife drives the story forward, but we've already noticed quite a few hints that something deeper and more sinister lurks within the swampy compound - and it may connect back to the series' long-running conspiracies. We'll find out soon enough since RE7 launches on January 24.


Nioh

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When Koei's Nioh re-debuted at last year's Tokyo Game Show after nearly a decade of being absent from trade shows, our collective jaw dropped. This once-dormant action game based on an unfinished script by director Akira Kurosawa started development internally at Koei for PS3, but then development stalled. Now under the direction of Team Ninja, Nioh takes the precise action elements from the studio's previous work on the Ninja Gaiden series and combines it with the tense, atmospheric dungeon crawling of Dark Souls.

You play as William, a foreigner who arrives in Japan during the Sengoku period in pursuit of a mysterious foe. While his journey has him crossing paths with famous figures in Japanese history, it also has him dealing with an infestation of demons and other monstrosities. Nioh's premise alone has us eager to play it: a Souls-esque game filled with Japanese mythological creatures is something we never knew we wanted until now.

From the two demos we've played, the upcoming action-dungeon crawler is shaping up to be a fascinating new twist on the Dark Souls formula. Its twitch-based combat system resembles the likes of Bloodborne, but its speed and flow are more punishing. We look forward to the struggle of rising up to Nioh's brutal challenges once it launches in February.


Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy

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After a nearly six years absence, Crash Bandicoot has finally returned. But rather than crafting a new entry in the series, developer Vicarious Visions (Skylanders, Crash: Nitro Kart) has instead remastered the first three games. Titled Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy, the game is already shaping up to be a charming celebration of Crash's past, reminding us precisely why he was such a popular character to begin with.

Early footage of the first game's remaster seems to recapture the quirky, vibrant personality of the PS1 original, while properly modernizing its visuals to current standards. Vicarious Visions' high-definition recreations of iconic levels instantly made us nostalgic. We're eager to experience it, if only to return the games that kickstarted Naughty Dog's career.

It's a miracle that this N. Sane Trilogy even came to be. After all, the current owner of Crash is none other than Activision, not Sony. However, the two companies struck a partnership to create the remasters. We're crossing our fingers that this remastered collection is only the beginning of what's to come from Sony's iconic former mascot.


Pyre

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Supergiant Games, the creators of Bastion and Transistor, is making a slight departure from the direction of its past two games. Judging from early gameplay footage, Pyre will play like a fusion of sports, strategy, RPG, and MOBA games. It’s conceptually akin to any sports game where an object must be placed in a goal, but each character has abilities similar to DOTA 2's champions. And the real twist: it’s wrapped into a story-driven RPG. It may sound crazy, but after playing through the game’s opening sequence, it’s easy to see how its gameplay elements will make for hectic, exciting battles.

There is strong familiarity in Pyre’s music and art style. The music harkens back to the acoustic trip-hop with a western flavor found in Bastion, but it incorporates an electronic touch reminiscent of Transistor. The hand-illustrated art style will make a comeback as well, painting a majestic picture of nomads traversing plains in search of a home...while battling in supernatural arenas. The game is set for release in 2017 on Playstation 4 and PC.


Tekken 7

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Tekken 7 has been in Japanese arcades since March 2015, but it has yet to land on home gaming systems. That should change in late Q1 to early Q2 in 2017 when the game hits PC and console, which also marks the series’ first entry on PC.

One element to the Tekken formula that we know is getting revamped is the story mode. In previews and interviews, lead developer Katsuhiro Harada emphasized that Tekken 7 will have a cinematic look and feel that seamlessly blends into the fighting sequences. Some situations will pit players in matches with special conditions to portray the story’s theatrics. And Street Fighter regular Akuma is said to be integral to Tekken's story mode in some way.

Tekken has been a staple of the competitive fighting game scene and tournaments around the world have already taken place for Tekken 7. Bandai Namco sponsors its own King of the Iron Fist Tournament and the game has been featured at Evo since 2015. The audience and competition may grow even larger once the game hits shelves in the coming year.


For Honor

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Despite learning more in recent months about exactly how Ubisoft's upcoming action game plays, there's still a lot of mystery around For Honor. We know the game is a mix of hack-and-slash coupled with the more complex mechanics of a fighting game, but how will the game turn that premise into a compelling experience in both its single-player and multiplayer components? How exactly will the For Honor campaign play out? How will multiplayer work, and how will the game's announced factions play into the larger scheme of things? For Honor has us asking these questions and more, making it one of our most anticipated games for 2017.


Gran Turismo Sport

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The low number of Gran Turismo releases has made the series feel overshadowed by other, more prolific racing games in recent years, but it's exactly this deliberate pace that makes us look forward to what the team at Polyphony Digital will come up with with Gran Turismo Sport. Every GT release seems to be a labor of love spanning years of work, with the series always pushing the boundaries of what's achievable in simulation racing games. We're particularly excited to see how Sport will utilize the PS4 Pro. Gran Turismo games have always looked spectacular, but with the power of Sony's latest console upgrade behind it, Sport may achieve levels of visual fidelity we've never seen before.


Dragon Quest XI

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The current generation of consoles have provided an abundance of Dragon Quest riches. In addition to Dragon Quest Heroes, and 3DS versions of VII and VIII, we're also going to get a new numbered version in the series: Dragon Quest XI. Little is known about the game currently, but it's going to release on a very disparate set of systems: PS4, Nintendo Switch, and 3DS.

The game hasn't been shown running on Nintendo's upcoming console at all, so it's unclear how it will compare graphically to the PS4 version, but it goes without saying that the 3DS version won't look quite as nice. To make up for the graphical shortcomings, the handheld version will have some kind of Streetpass functionality, and the lower half of the screen will display the world in retro 16-bit graphics.

And who knows, maybe if Dragon Quest Q XI is finally a hit in the West, we might get a port of Dragon Quest's MMO Dragon Quest X!


Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

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The original Ni No Kuni was a magical collaboration between developer Level-5 (known for the Professor Layton series) and Studio Ghibli (the Oscar-winning animation studio); it combined solid RPG mechanics with an absolutely gorgeous visual style. And while the sequel will not involve Studio Ghibli in the mix directly, their previous work on the series can be clearly seen in the game's screenshots. However, outside of the announcement at E3 in 2015, details about the game have been scant, but it will be set in the same world as the previous game.

In GameSpot's 9 out of 10 review of Ni No Kuni, our reviewer Kevin VanOrd said, "The hallmark of the greatest RPGs is that you don't want to stop playing them, and Ni No Kuni proudly joins that elite group of games providing such an enticing world that you can't imagine never having visited it. The only problem, of course, is that you may never want to leave." With that kind of pedigree, it's hard not to have high expectations for what comes next.


PaRappa the Rapper Remastered

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The classic PlayStation One rhythm game PaRappa the Rapper has been re-released before, but that was only on the short-lived PlayStation Portable. However, the upcoming remaster will bring the quirky experience to PS4 with beautifully enhanced graphics. Parappa has a timeless, cartoony visual style, but the remaster will remove the jagged edges that detracted from the paper-like aesthetic of the earlier versions while retaining the infectiously catchy tunes.

A demo of the remaster was made available in December as part of Parappa's 20th anniversary, but the final game isn't due out until an unspecified time in 2017.


Nier: Automata

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Nier: Automata is the upcoming sequel to a cult favorite action-RPG released 2010. The fact it actually exists is a surprise in itself given how the original's developer Cavia was absorbed by its parent company not long after it launched. However, famed developer Platinum Games has stepped up to the plate to craft a continuation to this once ill-fated series, and it looks like one of the most promising games the studio has made yet. With members of the original team also working on it, Nier: Automata is the sequel that hardcore fans have been craving.

Taking place sometime after the events of the first game, the game puts you in the role of an elite android tasked with driving off an invasion of machine-like beings from another world. It's a simple set up, but the hectic, fast-paced battles that ensue are the major highlight of what this game has to offer. We simply cannot wait to wail on robots with oversized swords and katanas and once this game launches in March.


Source: GameSpot