Fall is finally here, and that means it’s almost time for the flood of major triple-A game releases. In the fervor of anticipation surrounding Call Of Duty, Super Mario Odyssey and Battlefront, these five PS4, Xbox One and Switch titles have mostly been forgotten.
1) The Evil Within 2 [Oct. 13 PS4, Xbox One, PC]: This sequel was announced during Bethesda’s E3 press conference, and we haven’t heard much more than a peep about it since. As a major followup to a Shinji Mikami creation, you’d think there’d be a little more buzz in the weeks leading up to its launch. Instead, its CG trailer confused us and we’ve seen very little gameplay to clear things up. Is Bethesda not happy with this one?
2) Gran Turismo Sport [Oct. 17 PS4]: Gran Turismo Sport is essentially Sony’s big fall game for 2017, but you wouldn’t know it. Since its reveal at PSX 2016, this whole project has been characterized by a strange culture of silence. The development team at Polyphony Digital has a history of keeping its head down, but with mounting competitive pressure from Forza, you’d expect the messaging to be a bit louder this time around.
We have a basic overview of its modes, VR support and eSports ambitions, but that’s about it. With sim racers there are so many opportunities to show off new cars and tracks. So far, we’ve seen none of that. In this case we think Sony has faith the series’ audience will buy it regardless of buzz. In recent years Sony has also leveraged post-release word of mouth to sell its exclusives too. That being said, we bet even hardcore industry watchers forgot Sport’s launch was so close.
3) Fire Emblem Warriors [Oct. 20 Switch, 3DS]: Fire Emblem Warriors is a game born from the combination of two niche audiences, so we’re not entirely surprised it has gotten lost in the shuffle. We know there are tons of Fire Emblem and Dynasty Warriors fans out there, but Nintendo doesn’t even seem to be trying to market this game to those people at all.
During the most recent Direct we got some quick and cool character reveals, but the showcase was dwarfed by the insane amount of time spent on Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Considering this game is coming so soon, you’d expect to see it mentioned and discussed more than it is. Releasing just one week before Super Mario Odyssey doesn’t give this game much of a chance to capture mindshare either.
4) Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus [Oct. 27 PS4, Xbox One, PC]: Speaking of Super Mario Odyssey, Wolfenstein II looks like it may be in trouble at retail, considering it’s coming out on the exact same day as both Odyssey and Assassin’s Creed Origins. We’ve seen a decent push from Bethesda to make sure this MachineGames effort gets noticed, but of the three titles releasing that day, this one is the most likely to be forgotten.
The Wolfenstein name still means a lot to hardcore gamers, but that doesn’t hide the fact that 2014’s The New Order was very much a cult classic. The sequel looks to improve on the established formula in almost every way, but at launch, consumers will only be able to split so much cash between three huge games. There isn’t a ton of overlap between audiences in this case, but, as we saw with Rise Of The Tomb Raider and Fallout 4 facing off in 2015, sometimes that doesn’t matter.
5) Need For Speed Payback [Nov. 10 PS4, Xbox One, PC]: Need For Speed is about to make its return, and we’d be willing to bet you forgot all about it. This Fast And The Furious-inspired racer had a decently strong showing at E3 and it’s barely been brought up since.
Just take a look at the game’s Wikipedia page. The obvious lack of details will tell you EA has done very little to push this title. Maybe the publisher has its hands full with Star Wars Battlefront 2, or maybe there’s an assumption that the brand has enough mainstream appeal to meet modest sales targets. If we had to guess, this game is probably very average and there isn’t much room for it in the marketing budget.
Which of these 2017 games is most likely to be forgotten? Which are you most looking forward to? Tell us in the comments section!
