2017 brought with it a ton of great new video game titles. We got Assassins Creed Origins, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn, Wolfenstein II, Cuphead, and many more. But for horror and sci-fi fans, 2018 looks even more exciting. In 2018 there are over a dozen games scheduled to be released that fans of the genres are sure to be excited about, some of which I mentioned in my E3 recap earlier this year.
The Inpatient
The Inpatient takes you back to Blackwood Sanatorium from the 2016 game Until Dawn. in The Inpatient, you’ll experience first hand what it was like to be a patient at the terrifying facility 60 years prior to the events of the Until Dawn. Set to be released on January 23, 2018, The Inpatient is a PS VR Exclusive where you play the role of an amnesiac patient who must find out who you are and why you are in the Sanatorium. The game uses deep immersion technology including voice control and a fully realized body model – when you look down you see your legs, arms, and hands – to make it feel like you are actually in the Sanatorium. As you play, your choices will impact your life and the lives of those around you and your decisions will affect the game’s storyline.
Metal Gear Survive
Metal Gear Survive is a spin-off of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Built on Metal Gear Solid V‘s Fox Engine, the latest in the Metal Gear series offers intense gameplay like that of Metal Gear Solid V while adding a new survival action element. Set in a dangerous, ruined world filled with zombie-like creatures and hazardous mist, your success relies on your ability to read the evolving situation and make strategic choices – placing defensive units, predicting enemy behavior and designing attack patterns. Metal Gear Survive is scheduled to be released on February 20, 2018 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Agony
If you like your survival horror games gory, set in hell, and with characters that look like they were created by Clive Barker then Agony should be added to your list of games to play in 2018. In Agony, you play as a tormented soul deep in the depths of hell without any recollection of their past. With the ability to control people on their path and posess simple minded demons, you must explore the hostile environment of the hellscape to find the Red Goddess, your only hope of escaping hell. Agony is set to be released on March 30, 2018 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
We Happy Few
We Happy Few is what you get when you mix Bioshock with 1960s England and some drugs. In this creepy survival game, you play as various residents of Wellington Wells, a city ravaged by war and rebuilt by delusionally happy people. Each character has a unique storyline that intertwines and helps to uncover the dark history of this bizarre retrofuturistic 1960s English city. The game is a mindfuck and no description I write will do it justice, so just check out the trailer below. We Happy Few is coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on April 13, 2018.
Days Gone
Days Gone feels like it’s been in development forever. It’s been at the last two E3’s and is expected to be released early next year. Set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, Days Gone is an open-world action-adventure game where you play as Deacon St. John, a drifter and bounty hunter. Taking place two years after a global pandemic has killed almost everyone and left the others to become zombie-like creatures called “Freakers” your goals is to help Deacon survive life on the road. Days Gone is a PS4 exclusive.
Detroit: Become Human
Expected to be released in Spring 2018, Detroit: Become Human has been an extremely ambitious project. Another multi-E3 entry, Detroit’s script took over two years to write and features motion capture work of over 100 actors. Another PS4 exclusive, Detroit takes place in a futuristic city of Detroit, rejuvenated by technological development. Throughout the game, you’ll play as various androids trying to navigate a turbulent social landscape where humans and androids struggle to co-exist. As you play your choices will impact the narrative and your fate as well as the fate of those around you. There are multiple trailers for this game, all showing different android perspectives, which you can view here.
Vampyr
Another Spring 2018 release, Vampyr takes place in London in 1918 where you play as a newly-turned vampire who is ironically a doctor working to find a cure to save the city’s flu-ravaged citizens, but also feeding upon them to survive. Your actions will make or break London and the web of interconnected citizens will react according to the decisions you make. I’m still on the fence about this one, but it’s been too long since we had a decent vampire video game. Vampyr will be released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
State of Decay 2
The sequel to the highly popular State of Decay is set to be released in Spring of 2018. In State of Decay 2 you’ll be immersed in an all-new, multiplayer zombie survival fantasy where you’ll build a community working with other up to three other players or on your own to overcome challenges faced in a world overrun by the undead. If you played the first game, this feels like much of the same, but with a co-op multiplayer element. State of Decay 2 will be available on Xbox One and Windows 10 as an Xbox Play Anywhere game.
Metro Exodus
The latest installment in the Metro series is expected to be released in Fall 2018. Set in the dead of Winter in a post-apocalyptic Moscow, Metro Exodus is a story-driven first-person shooter that blends deadly combat and stealth with exploration and survival horror in an expansive, immersive world. As a survivor making your way across Russia you’ll come in contact with giant rats, radioactive bears and more during your hunt to survive.
The Last of Us 2
The highly anticipated sequel to Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us doesn’t have a set 2018 release date, but it’s one of the titles I am most looking forward too. While the game will continue the story of Joel and Ellie, recent trailers suggest more depth to the story featuring new characters and all new dangers not seen in the first game.
Call of Cthulhu
Originally set to be released in Q4 2017, the offical Call of Cthulhu video game has been bumped back to a not yet set 2018 release. Call of Cthulhu is a dark, atmospheric, first-person thriller where you’ll play as private investigator Edward Pierce, whose sent to uncover the truth behind a mysterious death of a family. But as you investigation your perception of reality becomes more skewed thanks to the Great Dreamer’s sphere of influence. The game will be released on PC, Xbox One, and PS4.
Darksiders III
In Darksiders III, Earth is now overrun by the Seven Deadly Sins and the evil beings that serve them. In order to restore balance, you’ll play Fury, one of the Four Horsemen. Armed with your whip and magic you’ll use your various forms, to access new weapons, moves and abilities to restore balance between good and evil. Darksiders III does not have a set release date, but will be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
CodeVein
Mixing anime vampires, gothic horror, and the apocalypse, Bandai Namco’s CodeVein is set to be released sometime in 2018. The story-driven action-RPG allows you to create your own character and choose an AI partner to venture out into the world and combat the Lost. Drain your enemies of their blood to unlock “Gifts,” which will enhance your abilities, but don’t give in to the bloodlust fully or you’ll risk becoming one of them. CodeVeinis being released for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
If you were a fan of the Castlevania games, you’ll want to check out Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night when its released in 2018. The game, which is being developed by Director Koji Igarashi, the creator of Castlevan: Symphony of the Night was funded by a record-setting Kickstarter campaign that raised over $5.5 million. The game will have a similar look and feel to the Castlevania games you loved, but with a new storyline and female protagonist. A 2018 date has not yet been set, but once available the game will be released on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, and PC.
There are sure to be more games released and announced as we head into 2018? What game are you looking forward to most next year?
