Tokyo’s games show has sneaked by for another year, but we managed to catch the biggest news coming out of Japan. For some reason a lot of the incredible output from Japanese studios isn’t even considered for release in the West but we’ll be crossing our fingers for these beauties. Here are the biggest things coming out of TGS 2017.
City Shrouded in Shadow
Among all the glitzy new IPs at TGS, this is the most intriguing unreleased game to grace the demo booths. A godzilla/kaiju disaster defence game isn’t exactly groundbreaking (see our very next entry for decades of proof) but in City Shrouded in Shadow you play as a normal citizen. Experiencing classic Japanese heroes like Ultraman landing in crowded city streets from ground level as a member of the public has massive Cloverfield vibes. The game seems to revolve around you solving very minor problems caused by the catastrophic attacks and with the same producer as Dark Souls we’re excited for its end of October release.
Earth Defense Force 5 3rdPV
If you want to take a more active role in the protection of civilization from nasty baddies then the next EDF is on its way to let you live out your humanity saving dreams. This third-person shooter spin-off of the original series lets you ride motorbikes and tanks into battle as one of the humble ground infantry repelling extraterrestrials from cities around Japan. Of course, when everything gets too much you can just call in an airstrike and deal with all the spiders and ants overrunning your buds. The game should be out at the end of this month on PS4.
Neko Atsume VR
The resurgence of cats on the internet continues as mobile catnapping sim Neko Atsume gets a VR version penciled in for 2018. The PSVR game doesn’t have any details yet, but if you like buying a kotatsu for your virtual kitties to then your bases are likely to be covered. The surprise smash hit’s expansion out of your phone began last year with a live-action film adaptation called Neko Atsume No Ie (House of Neko Atsume) where a struggling writer befriends a cat, then tried everything to get that one cat to come back to their home. This is exactly who I RP as when tapping away at the game on my phone.
Fist of the North Star
Yakuza’s developers must be exceedingly busy at the moment, with Yakuza 6, Kiwami 2 and now an adaptation of one of Japan’s most popular mangas: Fist of the North Star. The extra-gory martial arts anime style will go perfectly with Sega’s team, as you can see from the trailer they revealed during TGS. The game will focus on Kenshiro, who for some reason since the manga has taken to serving drinks in a post-apocalyptic bar when he’s not crushing the skulls of thousands of bandits. It introduces the familiar bar, nightlife and hostess scenes from other Yakuza titles so if you loved those then you’ll be right at home here.
Phantasy Star Online 2
Right, this is probably going to enrage any of you excited and still waiting for the sequel to that MMO you loved on the Dreamcast: Phantasy Star Online 2 is also coming to Switch and mobiles...in Japan. The 2012 PC game, having found its way onto PS4 and Vita in 2015, now finds itself getting another port but still no Western release even mentioned. This feels especially cruel now, given that there is PSO2-themed DLC in games we can play, like Gravity Rush 2. Come on, Sega. I mean...come on.
Left Alive
Absolutely the star of the show in any foreign eyes, Left Alive is a new action game from Square Enix set in the Front Mission series of mech games. Excitement swirled around the game’s engimatic reveal as soon as Metal Gear veteran Yoji Shinkawa’s concept art appeared. But the game also has talent from the Armored Core series as the mech game’s director Toshifumi Nabeshima is involved. Look forward to this shooter in 2018 but if that’s too long for you, everything currently known about the game is on Gematsu.
Sonic’s been enjoying a good spell in the limelight recently. Sonic Mania went down a treat. Sonic Boom’s accompanying cartoon is, well, much better than the game was and genuinely funny to boot. So Sonic Forces seemed like it had an easy ride when it arrived at TGS with news of a playable Shadow DLC. All it had to was put out a couple of good gameplay trailers and favorable previews. What we actually got was a bizarre Hooters promotion and a DJ set with the most egregious use of rave horn samples we’ve ever heard. Look, there’s some gameplay as well but who’s paying attention to that when Tokyo’s Hooters restaurants are gonna be pushing Sonic alongside their chicken wings? What is 2017?
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom’s wildly popular multiplayer hunting series got a deep look at its latest adventure on the TGS stage. The new Monster Hunter: World trailer goes over the loose story of why you and all your pals are on an island hunting dinosaurs and other giant creatures. This is a good chance to see if the new game’s open world approach is for you, if you’re worried about how abandoning the series’ staple quest system and timing will work. Ten minutes of story are from 7:10, about the same amount of exploration from 22:50 and then a big boss battle from 34:30, enjoy!
Code Vein
When teasers for this arrived during E3 the art style immediately caught our eyes, and it seems the full game’s looking every bit as good. The God Eater team has been hard at work on this vampiric new IP which very clearly takes notes from the Souls series and derivatives, like NiOh. This new raft of gameplay should give you all you need to know about how it isn’t just a Souls ripoff though.
Anubis: Zone of the Enders
Kojima might not be at Konami anymore but that doesn’t mean they have to stop profiting off his work. The cult classic flying mech shooter Zone of the Enders is getting remastered for PS4, so if you missed out on buying it just to get the Metal Gear Solid 2 demo on the disk (good times) then it’ll be here with updated visuals and fresh sounds soon™.
