Let’s Try Not to Overhype These 2017 Games

Horizon Zero Dawn

Getting excited for an upcoming game is all part of the fun. Immersing yourself in gameplay trailers, screenshots, and hands-on previews is a great way to ensure you’re all clued up on the game even before it releases. But sometimes, expectations can get a little carried away. After Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky fell victim to overhype, let’s just make sure we don’t do the same to these games releasing in 2017.

Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn is almost upon us. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans have gone back to their prehistoric lives and giant robot dinosaurs roam the world, players will take control of Aloy as she searches for answers to her unknown past. It’s certainly a different take on the post-apocalyptic setting compared to the done-to-death zombie affairs, and that’s part of what makes it so darn interesting.

This is a completely unique setting and premise compared to pretty much everything else out there right now, and that has fans clamoring to just jump in already. Guerrilla Games has done a great job at teasing the story and setting in trailers, and fans are interested to see what the Killzone developer can do with an entirely new IP. From what we’ve seen so far, the developer looks set to nail the action RPG genre, and build a significant franchise for Sony in the future. While this is all certainly promising, brand-new IPs sometimes need a game to refine features based on feedback and truly come into their own. From Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs to Guerrilla’s very own Killzone series, mechanics and ideas only really became fully realized in the sequels that followed.

That’s not to say that Horizon Zero Dawn isn’t going to be a great game. Guerrilla has certainly got the potential to knock this out of the park. Let’s just hope they deliver a world that continues to offer interesting things to explore.

Mass Effect: Andromeda

EA and BioWare have been keeping their cards very close to their chests regarding Mass Effect: Andromeda. Gameplay trailers and information drops have been enough to give us a vague idea of how things are going to go down, but neither have really gone in-depth about the upcoming title. Considering Mass Effect 2 and 3 were both released with huge fanfares, the relative quietness is surprising.

Silence doesn’t necessarily mean a bad game is incoming, though. There’s always the chance that EA and BioWare are simply wanting to ensure the experience is one great surprise for players. However, with the game due out in just a couple of months, the lack of any major hands-on previews and prominent lack of gameplay demos and trailers does mean we’re going in a little blind. Just as we saw with No Man’s Sky, leaving an air of mystery around your game can really build hype. Failure to deliver on said hype, though, can make your game’s shortcomings stand out even more to players.

While it’s bound to be a great game, whether this leap to the next generation for Mass Effect will match the dizzying heights of its predecessors very much remains to be seen. We’ve already had an overhyped space escapade once recently, let’s not have another.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Breath of the Wild feels like it’s been kicking about for ages now, and that’s because it’s been over five years since it was shown as a Zelda HD tech demo. Looking set to finally release in March, Nintendo fans are understandably excited to get their hands on the next installment in the Zelda series.

With the promise that the game’s open-world will be fully incorporated into the gameplay, as well as Link’s newfound abilities to climb and craft, it’s sure to be an evolution of the traditional Zelda experience. Of course, there’s always the concern that as the series adopts these industry-wide RPG elements, it could lose the very things that made the experience special. Though Breath of the Wild was one of my personal favorite games back at E3 last year, that was only a short amount of time for a game that carries the hopes of many fans who have been long in waiting. If anyone can pull it off, though, it’s definitely Nintendo.

 Sonic Mania

When SEGA first showed fans what they could expect in the upcoming Sonic Mania, fans lost their minds. It was everything they’d been asking for, for so long. A 2D adventure that harks back to Sonic’s glory days on the Genesis. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles will have a range of new and old abilities to help them navigate their way through new worlds. Oh, and there will even be classic stages with “new twists” thrown in for good measure. This game has so much potential to put the recent run of bad Sonic games to an end, but there’s just one problem.

We’re sorry SEGA fans, but c’mon, it’s the Sonic cycle all over again. Sonic fans are already banking a lot on this one, and while it definitely looks like it’ll be one crazy throwback, whether or not its gameplay will live up to today’s standards very much remains to be seen. As much promise as Sonic Mania has, the series’ run of poor form lingers over it.

Red Dead Redemption 2

On Oct. 20, the internet had a bit of a meltdown. Not only was Nintendo’s upcoming Switch system shown for the first time, but Rockstar dropped its reveal trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2. Though only a minute long, it was enough to send fans over the studio crazy. People have been speculating on who the protagonist and that group of bandits are. Do they have any relation to the beloved John Marston from the game’s predecessor? Who knows.

Off just a quick teaser, expectations are already sky high on Rockstar’s upcoming project. While the developer is definitely capable of delivering stellar experiences, expectations are likely to only get higher as more of the game is shown. As Rockstar’s debut on the current generation of consoles, all eyes will be on them to see if they can deliver a truly revolutionary open-world experience. A tall order, even for the experts.