Spring’s Biggest Games

Q2. Daylight’s Saving Time. March 20^th.

Whatever benchmark you use to signal the beginning of spring, the season is set to see some strong releases. Though they’re coming on the heels of such anticipated titles like Resident Evil 7 and Gravity Rush 2, these springtime releases can hold their own. The Xbox One and PS4 are both slated to have an impressive year both in terms of hardware and software updates, which is getting us excited. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at 3 of the most anticipated games set for a springtime release.

Ghost Recon: Wildlands

Release Date: March 7^th

Okay, March 7^th is cutting it a little close, and by most accounts it’s technically a little early to be called spring. But what can we say? We’re excited about the latest Ghost Recon installment. Its open-world environment allows you to customize your gameplay, giving you a greater opportunity to modify the way you solve different objectives compared to what was allowed in previous installments.

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Release Date: March21 2017

Squeezing in on the 2^nd official day of spring, Andromeda is a long-awaited and frequently pre-ordered game for most fans. The latest game from BioWare takes on the Mass Effect universe and catapults it into an open-world environment. Not much is known about the plot other than the fact that you’ll be playing a character searching for her father in a world set 600 years after the last Mass Effect. Technical aspects like its open-world concept and the ability to assign and build skins as you see fit suggest it should be an enjoyable addition to the franchise. Customization will be a focus of the game, if the rumors about being able to romance the character of your choice, including the ugly AsariPeebee, are to be believed.

Prey

Release Date:Q2 2017

After 5 years in the making, we can finally say the long-awaited Prey will be seeing the light of day. Since its debut at E3 2012, it’s undergone quite a few changes — so many that we’re not sure what to expect from Arkane Studios. From what we can tell from the trailer, we do know that you’ll be playing as a subject of human experiments, and, if that wasn’t enough to ruin your day, it’s set on a space station overtaken by a mysterious alien force.

The true list of games slated for release this spring is pushing 30, with even more set for a release later this year. A springtime release of Scorpio, on the other hand, is becoming increasingly unlikely, as Phil Spencer has hemmed and hawed over it hitting shelves before E3. We’ll have to wait to see how the most powerful console ever made measures up, but chances are it will out-perform the PS4 Pro and the Slim — both of which let down most critics and gamers at home.

For those of us who’d rather save the cost of a brand new console so we can buy more games, we’re lucky enough to have companies like dbrand in our corner. They’ve created a line of customizable decals (or skins) to cover both the Xbox and the PS4 and reinvent their looks. With an Xbox One skin or a PlayStation 4 skin from dbrand you can get the look of a new system without paying for one. They cover up any grimy, scratched console even if you do plan on taking advantage of the PS4 Pro or Scorpio — whenever that comes out.

Your disappointment with hardware comes with a silver lining. The Scorpio’s delayed release means you have more money to invest in your library. When there are over 200 expected games to hit the shelves in 2017, every little bit helps. Most of these titles haven’t been given a date more solid than 2017, so we’ll keep our ear to floor come E3 to see if anything changes. In the meantime, we’ll look forward to the day we get to test out Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Mass Effect: Andromeda, and Prey for ourselves.