The 5 most promising games from Bandai Namco for 2017

SINGAPORE – Japanese game maker Bandai Namco showed off their lineup of games at their product conference held on Thursday, March 24, 2017. Though lacking in big surprises, Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia was able to confirm the wide selection of titles that games can expect within the year, spanning multiple genres. 

Some of the most standout titles presented during the conference were Project Cars 2, Little Nightmares, Ace Combat 7, Ni No Kuni II, and of course, Tekken 7. We got some hands on time with these titles, and below we share our thoughts on them. 

Project Cars 2

While there was no specific date given, Bandai Namco confirmed that Project Cars 2 will be released late 2017 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Fans of Asian autos will find Project Cars 2 a little more appealing as developer Slightly Mad Studios will be adding coveted racecars from Asia to its already large roster of vehicles – most of which will be coming from Nissan.

Project Cars 2 will also have eSports functionalities which will enable fans to host their own online tournaments, making it easier for Slightly Mad Studios to grow their eSports platform even further.

For enhanced realism, Project Cars 2 has been upgraded with Livetrack 3.0, a real-time weather simulator that affects the track’s surface and environment.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown

The sequel to one of gaming’s best flight simulators is here. After 6 years, the 17th installment of the Ace Combat series will now also take advantage of VR technology, giving gamers an even more realistic piloting experience.

The game features intense dog-fighting set in impressively rendered, immersive environmental graphics.

It will be released this year for PC, Xbox One, and PS4 with the PSVR for its VR version.

Little Nightmares

Little Nightmares is one of the most highly anticipated indie games this 2017. The game is being developed by Tarsier Studios and it features a little girl named Six who was kidnapped by large, grotesque people called The Maw, 

In this puzzle-platformer, players must navigate Six and help her escape the clutches of The Maw.

Though the demo was short-lived, the game shows ominous promise with dark and disturbing imagery and environments as well as large and small threatening enemies. The game will be released on April 28, 2017 for PS4, Xbox One, and the PC.

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

Fans of Ni No Kuni, rejoice! The second installment to what is heralded as one of the best J-RPGs is slated to be released this year.

Ni No Kuni II follows the adventures of dethroned boy-king Evan. Once the ruler of Ding Dong Dell, Evan must now take on a greater evil that is taking over the world.

Bandai Namco says that the sequel has reworked its gameplay, though some of its core features remain intact. One of the more significant changes is the switch from Familiars to creatures called Higgledies.

The little sprites are a little more straight-forward than the Familiars which you can previously control and customize. In Ni No Kuni II, the Higgledies can only be commanded which means you can only control the three members of your party.

The game will be released in 2017 for the PS4 and the PC.

Tekken 7

Fans have been waiting for the return of Tekken to consoles for a long while now. And this time even PC players can join in on the action.

The game sees the return of Eddy Gordo and the arrival of Street Fighter’s Akuma. But aside from them, Bandai Namco also teased two additional characters which will be revealed to gamers soon enough.

Tekken 7 will finally be released on June 2, 2017.

Which Bandai Namco game are you most looking forward to? – Rappler.com