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If you're reading this article, then welcome to the new year!
2017 is here, and it's poised to be one of the biggest, if not the most interesting, years yet: Just as a taste of what's coming up in 2017: Nintendo's Switch will arrive, Shenmue 3 is finally a reality, Red Dead Redemption 2 is this fall, and Xbox Scorpio is poised to drop, too. That's not even mentioning the new Mass Effect, or the new Zelda...
Between all the bombshells, it is easy to let a few smaller would-be hits slip through the cracks. Hence a new monthly series to keep readers in tune with all that's coming in the ever-shifting world of gaming.
January is no slouch, as we start off the new year in gaming with a line-up of huge hits from Japanese developers and a few smaller, indie developers, ranging from action RPGs to 8-bit retro beat 'em ups.
Here's 10 games for you to keep an eye out for this January.
10. Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth +
What is it: The latest expansion to the ever popular randomly generated twin-stick shooter, Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth +, is a "mini DLC" that promises to utterly revamp the indie roguelike.
Adding not only hundreds of new rooms to generate, new monsters and bosses, and countless new items and trinkets, not to mention a bestiary and a new game continuation mechanic, Afterbirth+ also adds fully fledged modding support.
By giving people access to the game's code with custom Lua scripting, alongside room editors, animation editors, and a custom challenge creator, Afterbirth+ will not only revive the game, but allows diehard fans to make their mark on the game permanently, as the best mods may potentially be rolled into the game itself.
When's it coming out: 3 January for PC, spring 2017 for consoles.
9. Tales Of Berseria
What is it: The legendary Tales of... franchise hits its 16th installment with Tales of Berseria, a far-off prequel to the previous Tales of Zestiria, but like all games in the franchise, it's a stand-alone story with no requirement to have played any previous games.
In what's possibly the grimmest Tales of... story yet, Berseria follows the story of a disease, Daemonblight, transforming people, creatures, and even plants into demons. Players take on the role of Velvet, a woman who turned into a demon, escaped death, and was imprisoned for three years. Now she's out for vengeance on those who she thinks have wronged her.
Improvements to the battle system include a "liberated movement" system, based on Zestiria's battle system, where the player's movement and camera controls are now 100% free. Which, coincidentally enough, fixes one of Zestiria's greatest flaws.
When's it coming out: 24 January for PS4, and the PC/Steam version follows up quickly after on 26 January.
8. Road Redemption
What is it: The kickstarter spiritual successor to EA's rubber-burning Road Rash franchise is finally coming to the finish line, with the console versions arriving this month, if all goes well. Get your engines ready.
Road Redemption, currently on Steam Early Access, takes the classic Road Rash formula of weapons on bikes, and adds a bit more to the mix, such as guns, weather effects, four player split screen, and Shovel Knight.
Permanent upgrades on death give an enormous amount of arcade replayability, while the developers are also promising online multiplayer and a voice-acted story mode.
Road Redemption has been in Early Access for nearly two years now, and it's finally shaping up to a finished product. The designers are all ex-AAA devs and have a good pedigree, so barring any potential last minute delays, this should be the final lap for the game.
When's it coming out: 15 January for PS4/Xbox One.
7. Dragon Quest VIII - Journey of the Cursed King
What is it: Only one of the most phenomenal JRPG games to ever grace the PS2.
Dragon Quest VIII, the first truly 3D game in the series, broke records upon its original release 12 years ago, shipping over three million copies in its first week in Japan. Its colourful world, memorable characters, and charming retro combat, made it JRPG perfection.
The 3DS re-release takes a massive game and improves it even further, with a massive laundry list of improvements. New side quests, two new party characters, no more random battles, an option to speed up combat, enhanced monster capturing and taming... it's a lot.
It even throws in an entirely new ending, giving those who've replayed the game a reason to come back and undo the curse of Castle Trodain all over again. The idea of that has never felt so refreshing until now.
When's it coming out: 20 January for Nintendo 3DS - a whopping two years after the original 3DS release in Japan!
6. Rise And Shine
What is it: Rise and Shine is an indie darling just waiting to happen. Published by Adult Swim Games, Rise and Shine is an utterly gorgeous game. All of the levels are entirely hand drawn - no tiled assets - so every single step forward in the world reveals more of a brand new piece of art.
The planet of Gamearth is under attack by the bald, lumbering, colourless space marines of Nexgen. A small boy, Rise, takes the legendary weapon, Shine, taking the fight back to them in a war that will decide the fate of the planet.
Rise and Shine calls itself a "think and gun", as unlike most shooters in the Metal Slug vein, it includes deep puzzles amid the difficult shootouts. Guiding hand-aimed bullets through mazes, or using electrical bullets to zap dead equipment to life, are just some examples of its brainteasers.
When's it coming out: 13 January for Xbox One and Steam.
5. Double Dragon 4
What is it: Out of nowhere, Arc System Works recently announced the newest chapter in the Double Dragon series, and that it will be a retro sequel to the NES trilogy. Whaaat?
Original team members involved in the classics, including Yoshihisa Kishimoto, Koji Ogata, and Kazunaka Yamane, are back to create the fourth chapter in the Double Dragon series. That is, if you ignore Super Double Dragon and Double Dragon V, which you probably should, in all honesty.
It remains to be seen if this retro return is one worth revisiting. While the original designs are nice, the visuals are no Shovel Knight, and the wonderful Double Dragon Neon already took the beat 'em up genre back to the '80s in a modern style with aplomb, so reverting back to 8-bit basics feels like it could be a mistake.
Luckily, with the game coming out so soon, we won't have to wait long to learn.
When's it coming out: 30 January.
4. Gravity Rush 2
What is it: The sequel to the Vita's finest exclusive is now a PS4-only title, and it's using all its new found power to come back in a much grander fashion.
In Gravity Rush, players controlled the amnesiac Kat and her cosmic cat Dusty as they explored and protected the picturesque, floating city of Hekseville from the Nevi, dark otherworldly creatures.
The sequel looks to fix the slightly bland combat of the previous game by adding new combat styles that affect your control over gravity and combat prowess, and the ability to tag with an AI partner in Raven, your rival from the previous game.
The unique cel shaded art style, which blends inspiration from French, American, and Japanese comics, cartoons, and manga, looked utterly gorgeous on the Vita, but now that it's been rebuilt for the PS4, it's a visual tour de force.
When's it coming out: 18 January. It was supposed to come out last year, but the developers are releasing a free story expansion to make up for it. Hey, I'm not complaining.
3. Resident Evil 7 - Biohazard
What is it: It's Resident Evil. Come on, you know what it is.
The horror franchise returns to its pants-browning roots with Resident Evil 7, a new, VR-inspired horror game. The new first person angle ensures players can be personally emotionally scarred by the horrors within. Fun!
Protagonist Ethan Winters receives a mysterious phone call from Mia Winters, his wife who was reported deceased three years ago. His hunt for answers takes him to Dulvey, Louisiana, and to the reportedly haunted farmhouse of the Baker family.
The new Resident Evil wears its root inspirations on its sleeves- in the new evils of the Baker residence, guns are scarce, puzzles are abound, and combat is heavily, if not entirely, a discouraging, uphill battle. Coming from the gun-happy Resident Evil 6, it feels like welcoming an old friend back home.
When's it coming out: We'll be welcoming Resident Evil 7 to the family on 24 January.
2. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
What is it: Kingdom Hearts 2.8 is the third HD re-release collection in the Kingdom Hearts franchise, and hopefully, promises to be the final one before Kingdom Hearts 3 releases. It's not like there're any other games to remaster at this point.
Featuring a triple pack of content, 2.8 HD's leading attraction is a remake of the 3DS's Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, with brand new controls, a card system instead of touch screen minigames, and revised battle difficulty. It's practically a whole new game now.
Alongside it is KH 0.2: Birth By Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage, a brand new chapter entirely, which is set after the PSP's Birth By Sleep, using the engine from Kingdom Hearts 3, making it a both a prequel, a sequel, and a demo. Phew.
Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover, the third package in the game, is an hour-long cinematic which details a new chapter of Kingdom Hearts history.
When's it coming out: 24 January.
1. Yakuza 0
What is it: Yakuza 0 is a prequel chapter to the Yakuza franchise, an open world action RPG inside the fictional district of Kamurocho. Play as series mainstays Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima in the cash-crazy wild-life of the 1980s, before they both came to power, as they fight to prove their innocence in murder and protect an assassination target.
Featuring an in depth plot of warring families that's spanned a decade of real time, the Yakuza franchise has always excelled in mixing both high octane combat, ridiculous sidequests, and business management, into a cohesive, gripping story. It's not just the youth of Kazuma and Goro you're seeing - it's the youth of Kamurocho itself.
With Yakuza 0, we'll be seeing further Yakuza games finally localized into English territories, so there's no better time than now to finally dive into the world.
When's it coming out: The worldwide release comes 24 January, two years after the Japanese release. What a coincidence, huh?
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Anything else coming out this month that you'd want to bring attention to? Feel free to comment below on anything this list is missing.
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