Y’all remember E3 2017?  It seems like an eternity ago, but hang in there.  So last year across all of the press conferences, I made note of some of the more interesting games that I saw.  One of those games was “A Way Out” and since that’s coming out in a few days, I wanted to check in on some of the games I saw.

THE ARTFUL ESCAPE OF FRANCIS VENDETTI

You can probably already tell why I’m curious about this game.  It was revealed last year, got nominated for a bunch of website awards, and then promptly disappeared.  To be fair, the trailer very clearly says “Coming when it’s damn ready.”  But even looking through the official Twitter doesn’t yield anymore information on the state of development.  The only thing I really want to know is if the game is coming along smoothly.  Hopefully we get a hint of a pulse sometime soon.

UNRULY HEROES

In stark contrast to The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti, Unruly Heroes is a very much in development game that even poises itself as having a release date sometime this year.  I love the entire look of this game mixed with the focus on combat.  On the surface it reminds me of Rayman Legends smashed with Sacred Citadel.  I’m super jazzed about this game and can’t wait for it to come out this year.

RIVERBOND

Riverbond is the perfect example of “shit I like cause it has a look.”  But like, it totally does have a look, you can’t deny that.  What makes this game notable for me, aside from its already established awesome aesthetic and slick looking combat, it’s also cooperative for up to 4 people which is a huge bonus for me.  It too bills itself as having a release date in 2018, and I can’t wait to check it out.

PROJECT CODE: SHIFT

So I don’t know anything about this game aside from it looks slick as hell.  Most of this trailer is just air combos and juggling enemies.  Literally that’s the only substance.  But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t 100% sold on it just based off of that trailer.  The only thing is that there has been no update that I could find since it was announced at E3.  So, who knows what’s happening here.

TUNIC

Do I need to explain anything about why I’m excited for this game?  Seriously?  After everything you’ve read so far?  Look at it, just look at this game and tell me you’re not smiling?  It’s adorable and looks challenging as hell and I want it.  Tunic is slated for 2019 which, while it sounds far away, isn’t.

ASHEN

Take a look at Ashen.  Look at this game.  Since it was announced at the Xbox press conference last E3 and immediately made an impression on me.  I was excited by the prospect of going on this spooky adventure with a friend but apparently that isn’t how the game will work.  From what I gather, it does the passive online thing in the way that Journey did, which is cool in its own right.  They are currently looking for in-house playtesters and according to their Steam page, are slated for a 2018 release.

So there it is, just some of my standouts from last year.  Hopefully they come out soon and I don’t have to write about this game next March.