E3 2017: Here are the best video games not coming out until 2018

I didn’t get to play any of these, but they sure do look like they’re going to be fun.

God of War

PlayStation’s angry god killer Kratos has a new geography in the new game, expected early in 2018. He’s gone north, to the land of the Norse gods, and finds himself vulnerable because he doesn’t understand the order of things or the language. It’s a perfect setup to explore his humanity through his relationship with his son, Atreus, who becomes not only a companion but who acts as translator.

Kratos has ditched his Blade of Athena swords for an axe inspired by Thor’s hammer, and it opens up new combat opportunities for the protagonist. Game director Cory Barlog of Santa Monica Studio explained that although the new game has a linear narrative, there are other side levels that can be discovered through exploration with the more open world. It’s an attempt to give the player more control over the game in the hope that they will appreciate the magic that comes from discovery.

Monster Hunter World

Capcom’s endearing Monster Hunter franchise is exactly what its title promises. In the games, you hunt monsters. Well, really just different types of animals, many of which may seem like monsters but which are perfectly logical dwellers in the Jurassic-like forest setting. Some of these creatures are herbivores, some are carnivores or omnivores, and each provides a different kind of challenge to your hunter. After completing your objective, you harvest your kills, taking resources to be used for sustenance or to create and improve weapons, clothing, and gear.

Monster Hunter World is developed for the newer consoles, PS4 and Xbox One, and Windows. These systems provide enough power for an open world to be created and a fascinating ecosystem to be developed—one in which you may find that when hunting a creature, you’re competing with a nasty natural predator.

Spider-Man

While there’s a new Spider-Man film hitting theatres this summer, the new game starring the superhero is not a move tie-in. Instead, the developers at Insomniac Games are creating an entirely separate and original story that exists in its own universe and is not part of existing canon. That liberates the studio from a tight timeline imposed by another product and allows for sufficient development time to create something special.

The game’s combat is clearly inspired by Rocksteady Studio’s work with the Batman Arkham series, which is smart. And swinging through Manhattan on webs looks to be as exhilarating as you want it to be.

Insomniac spokespeople also said that although Miles Morales, who in the comics becomes Spider-Man, appears in the trailer for the game that was revealed at E3, players will be Peter Parker in this particular game. And don’t be thrown by the white spider logo on Peter’s costume. Insomniac says there’s a very good reason for it. We just have to wait until 2018 to learn what it is.

Starlink: Battle for Atlas

Developed by Ubisoft Toronto, this game is all about spaceships, both flying them and configuring them. It’s also a toys-to-life game, in which the spaceship components you can interact with in real life become part of the game. The studio has come up with a finely balanced stand for the spaceship that clips onto your game controller and into which you put a pilot. Then you create a spaceship around that pilot, switching chassis, wings, guns, and more, to create your own ship. You can switch any of these components on the fly, too, reconfiguring to adjust your speed and manoeuvreability, armour, and weapons to match the enemy you happen to be fighting.

Producer Matthew Rose explained that the game takes place in the Atlas system, which the developers have imagined as being in the Pleiades cluster, and that all seven worlds in the game are fully realized and completely open to players for exploration. Your ships will be used for much more than combat, too, as they will be used to scan the world and collect samples and resources to further the game.

Starlink was built with drop-in and -out split-screen co-op, too. And because your ship components exist physically and digitally, you can share the different pilots and parts, so households don’t need to purchase ships for all their kids. Rose said that Ubisoft has created the game without any gates or walls that require specific pilots or ships. Although they have created additional toys they hope gamers will want to purchase and collect, Rose added, you will be able to complete the entire game with only the starter pack, if you wish.