Is 2017 ready to give us a quiet month for video game releases?
Not bloody likely. The year has already served up hits like Resident Evil VIIand Horizon: Zero Dawn, not to mention a sensational new piece of hardware from Nintendo -- the Switch -- and two must-own games: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildand Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
May isn't brimming with obvious blockbusters the way some of the earlier 2017 months were, but what it lacks in marquee names it makes up for in sheer volume. There's a lot of stuff coming over the next 31 days that should be noteworthy to a lot of people.
Preyhas been described as a spiritual successor to System Shock, the classic PC game that finds you trapped on a space ship with a homicidal rogue AI. As with the earlier game (and the BioShockgames it inspired), Preydeposits you in a deadly sandbox with a wide array of powers and weapons to play with as you wish.
Available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Will Farpointbe PlayStation VR's much-needed first killer app? The science fiction adventure game deposits you on the surface of a distant alien world with a gun and an army of alien threats to point it at. First-person shooters are a questionable choice for VR games, but the buzz on Farpointhas been quite positive so far.
Available for PlayStation VR.
NetherRealm Studios -- the Chicago-based team behind the present-day iteration of the Mortal Kombatseries -- is back with the sequel to its top-tier DC Comics fighting game. Injustice 2looks like it carries forward everything that worked about the previous game -- namely, the engrossing story and finely tuned combat -- and adds to it a new collection of gear drops that let you tweak the look (and performance) of your preferred heroes and villains.
Available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
The Surgehas a real Dark Soulsvibe, save for the fact that it features 100 percent more robots, exoskeletons, and powered armor. Electricity in general, really. The sci-fi story focuses on a distant future Earth where all of humanity's precious resources have been exhausted. Between the highly technical, close-quarters combat and what looks like a sticky loot system, there's a lot to get excited about here.
Available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Who knows if we'll ever see another Friday the 13thmovie? Really: who cares, when a game like this comes along to scratch that itch? Friday the 13th: The Gameis a multiplayer horror game that pits four camp counselors against one marauding murder demon in a hockey mask. It's one of a newer breed of "asymmetrical" multiplayer games in which a super-powered, unkillable team of one takes on a weaker, opposing team of four that just needs to escape.
Available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
I'm going to level with you, reader: I don't actually know much about Get Even. The Bandai Namco-published game from Polish developer The Farm 51 certainly has a pretty-yet-creepy vibe in its crumbling, graffiti-scrawled urban setting. It's a first-person... shooter? Combat doesn't appear to be this game's raison d'etre, but it definitely plays a role. I'll be keeping an eye on this one as the month draws to a close.
Available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Rimehas been kicking around since 2013. It's a third-person adventure game fueled by puzzles, tower defense challenges, and the most beautiful art style. The game is coming from Tequila Works, which made its promising-yet-flawed debut with the also-gorgeous Deadlight. This is the studio's third game; The Sexy Brutale, released earlier in 2017, is #2 and also quite good.
Available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Coming later to Nintendo Switch.
If you've got access to virtual reality, Star Trek: Bridge Crewis super cool. It's a cooperative game in which four players take on four different crew roles aboard a Federation starship. If you've ever played Artemis: Spaceship Bridge Simulator, this game is basically that, except with more Star Trekand in VR. It's been delayed a few times, but this May 30 launch should stick and -- based on a recent preview session -- it's feeling very good.
Available for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and PlayStation VR,
TopicsGaming