Best Action Video Games of 2017

Gravity Rush 2

The Best Action Video Games of 2017

Gravity Rush 2 is the second installment in the PlayStation-exclusive action series. Like the first title, it stars Kat, a girl who controls gravity powers and spends much of her time flying through the air and beating up baddies.

In this game, players can choose between three gravity styles, which alter Kat’s speed, jump height, and attack strength. Combat requires fast switching between these forms in order to execute effective battle strategies. Adding more fun is the game’s destructible and vivid environments, filled with objects to toss around and NPCs who will react accordingly.

The 20-40 hour adventure kicks off as Kat and her friend Raven investigate a gravitational disturbance shortly after the events of the first game. They’re quickly sucked into trouble, however, and must battle their way across human soldiers, mechs, and some more out-of-this-world enemies.

All in all, Gravity Rush 2 is a worthy successor to the original, improving on both visuals and gameplay to make a fast-paced action title and one of the best action video games of 2017.

Nioh

The Best Action Video Games of 2017

Nioh takes players back to a fictionalized 1600s Sengoku period Japan, where protagonist William must hunt down his nemesis. You’ll have to fend through the powerful yokai swarming the region, all the while mastering the game’s merciless combat system.

There’s much here to compare to the Souls series — players trade in experience at shrines to level up their attributes, the world is brutal and filled with secrets, and even potion consumption brings back thoughts of the good ol’ Estus days. Even so, there’s plenty to love about Nioh itself. The cast is colorful, the journey flows between dramatic and lighthearted tones, and the combat system is satisfyingly layered, yet not overly alienating.

The Ki system places the focus on your character’s stamina, managed by precise combo executions and stance-switching. Melee, magic, and ninjutsu combine in a flurry against the game’s challenging bosses, whose mechanics only get more interesting with time.

Nioh offers dozens of hours of adventure, a journey well worth the time for an action enthusiast.

Yakuza 0

The Best Action Video Games of 2017

Yakuza 0 is an endless pit of entertainment. Originally released in Japan in 2015, the prequel to the Yakuza series finally hit the West in 2017. Step into 1988 Tokyo, a world of clubs, street brawls, and weird as hell activities you could only find in a Yakuza game.

Gameplay mainly involves switching between various fighter styles for protagonists Kiryi and Majima, and while the action is brutal, the mechanics lag a little behind modern systems, never as fluid as you’d really like. Still, the real jewel of Yakuza 0 is its wealth of side activities. This small expanse of fictionalized Tokyo will let you do everything from dancing to gambling to visiting cabaret clubs. Things only get weirder the longer you look, and though the main story has its share of drama, it walks delicately between intensity and comedy. When you’re not trying to survive the blackmail and car bombings of a clan war, you’ll be teaching a punk rock band how to act tough, or enjoying SEGA games in a local arcade.

This world is gripping in all the oddest ways, and if you’re looking for a wacky good time, we can’t help but recommend Yakuza 0.

For Honor

The Best Action Video Games of 2017

For Honor is a brand new IP out of Ubisoft, a title that takes warriors from across time and tosses them into bloody arenas. What could go wrong?

For Honor turned out to be one of this year’s more unique action titles, putting its focus on one-on-one melee duels. Battlefields are large areas filled with checkpoints and small soldiers battling for control, but here, you’ll spend most of your time locked into tight combat with an enemy faction member. Each will circle around the other, weapons raised and fingers twitching. The goal is to read your opponent to the best of your ability, taking their habits and slight tells into account fast enough to make a considerable counter. The warrior who can predict and execute with mastery will take the win – often by sending a metal object deeply into their opponent.

This gameplay is consistently intense, and For Honor’s system adds an intelligent method of customization. Fighters will choose their class, their feats, and even their gear before battle, working to improve all these aspects with each kill. And while all of this multiplayer is great fun, For Honor’s single player is actually quite engaging, featuring a near-campy story of all-out violence.

If you’re looking for fierce multiplayer and combat mechanics looking to recreate the old-school days of swordplay, For Honor is the action title for you.