Top 13 Action Games - Best of 2017

The year 2017 is long over, but it will definitely be remembered for a number of groundbreaking action games that have resonated with the gaming community. The games differ in mechanics and platforms supported but all have some things in common: immersive gameplay, amazing high-res graphics, contagious in-game content and some other intangible factors which make them so popular.

While the games of 2018 have yet to prove their worth, here is the list of the top action games of 2017.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

• Developer: Nintendo
• Genre(s): Action Adventure, Open-World
• Platform: Nintendo Switch, Wii U
• Release date: March 3, 2017

This action role-playing game prolongs a story of breathtaking adventures in the mythical kingdom of Hyrule. Together with Link you are free to explore an open world and reach every single corner to find valuable items and artifacts. Collect numerous  weaponry, gear and food to vigorously face true-to-life challenges like item durability, starvation, enemy level scaling, treacherous weather conditions and many other surprises. You can climb the mountain tops and comb the wilderness, discover the whereabouts of multiple Shrines to solve perplexing puzzles and fight towering creatures to get unique rewards.

The game can please avid gamers with enhanced enemy combat AI, since all the deadly monsters you might encounter have their own melee methods and tricks. So, contemplate your tactics before plunging into the thick of battle!

2. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)

• Developer: PUBG Corporation
• Genre(s): Action, Shooter, First-Person, Tactical
• Platform: PC, Xbox One, Android, iOS
• Release date: December 12-20, 2017

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, widely known as PUBG, is a survival-style multiplayer online game that brings a brand new sub-genre of battle royale into existence_. _The game has noticeably disrupted the first-person shooters’ universe and topped the main game chart in 2017. The storyline boils down to a last-man-standing war campaign setting, meaning that you are one of 100 participants pitted against the other 99. The huge island is at your disposal, with manifold hideouts to wage your own war from. You are free to employ any military tactics you find handy to overwhelm your enemies. You can hit the invaders with a sniper rifle lying low behind the rocks. You also can shoot your enemies with a shotgun while lurking around the nearby houses or just sitting in a shady bush, waiting for a victim to come closer.    

You’ll do yourself a disservice if you start thinking of PUBG as yet another shoot ‘em up game. It requires much more attention and skills than you might guess at the very beginning. Heavy hitters perfectly know each spot on the map and every small detail, such as a door being open or a car getting relocated, can speak volumes to them. So we’d like to wish you good luck on your path to victory.  

3. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands

• Developer: Ubisoft
• Genre(s): Action Adventure, Open-World, Tactical Shooter
• Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
• Release date: March 7, 2017

In this tactical shooter game you are assigned as a leader of a fictional Special Forces squad, also known as the Ghosts. Your primary goal is to destroy a drug cartel that is trying to expand its criminal footprint worldwide. Ghost Recon Wildlands enables you to choose among numerous engaging missions, which you can play solo or with up to three friends. Needless to say, Ubisoft has generated a large-scale open world with wide opportunities for players to get involved. The game grants you a vast variety of weapons and gear, vehicles and drones that can greatly assist in dismantling the cartel. You will learn how to take advantage of night and day-time missions, take down the outposts, parachute from a helicopter and choose between stealth and point blank attacks.  

4. NieR: Automata

• Developer: PlatinumGames
• Genre(s): Action RPG
• Platform: PC, PlayStation 4
• Release date: March 17, 2017

This action role-playing game gives you a rare chance to act as a futuristic android, bulldozing its way in an open post-apocalyptic world. NieR: Automata offers incredible gameplay and meaningful storytelling that seems to last forever. You are able to equip your protagonist with four unique types of weapons, each of which has its own unparalleled combat style. A pet flying robot accompanies you during the fight to make your ranged attacks even more devastating. When killing enemies, you may be rewarded with some useful drops, namely specialized electronic chips to be further augmented into your gear. Alongside the main plot, the game caters to its devoted fans with a great number of side quests, which not only prolong the playing time, but significantly add to the lore of this fantastic universe.

5. Horizon Zero Dawn

• Developer: Guerrilla Games
• Genre(s): Action RPG
• Platform: PlayStation 4
• Release date: February 28, 2017

This game can serve as a perfect example of how video game devs should blend various genres to create an astonishing attention-grabbing solution. This is a well-balanced mixture of the best RPG and action elements that puts a player into a deadly environment inhabited by hordes of mechanical self-replicated monsters. You play the role of Alay, an outcast, who strives to survive among the hostile machines and fight off a group of cultists, known as the Eclipse.

The game was highly appreciated by both critics and ordinary players for its well written storyline, large-scale open world, great-looking visuals and top-notch voice acting.

6. Assassin’s Creed Origins

• Developer: Ubisoft
• Genre(s): Action Adventure, Open-World, Stealth
• Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
• Release date: October 27, 2017

Have you ever dreamt of living the life of an adventurer in ancient Egypt? How do you feel about exploring forbidden mummy tombs to unearth their mysterious artifacts? If these lines give you goosebumps, it’s time for you to start playing a worthy successor of the famous action game series.

You can enjoy a spacious open world environment with linear yet expertly orchestrated storyline. Besides the main quest, there is a number of side tasks to get engaged with during the game. In the meantime, you are free to wander about a plethora of locations: from vast deserts with sudden sandstorms to dense forests to rocky mountains.

Compared to the previous Assassin’s Creed games, this new one has been largely reworked and optimized to provide its fans with more plausible gameplay and realistic combat mechanics. Some RPG features, like skill tree specialization and melee techniques have been added to deftly complement the overall impression. No more simplified combat learning curve. No more scripted skirmishes resembling cut scenes. From now on, all the weapons you wield have their own characteristics such as speed, range and damage. You might as well give up if your melee skills leave much to be desired.

All in all, Ubisoft does respect its gamers’ feedback and implements enhancements based on the expectations of the game community.

7. Call of Duty: WWII

• Developer: Sledgehammer Games
• Genre(s): Action, Shooter, First-Person, Arcade
• Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
• Release date: November 3, 2017

Call of Duty: WWII is the 14th mainline entry of the famous warfare series. This time the game plot takes us back to the frontline of World War II as we did before when spending countless hours on Call of Duty: World at War in 2008. Once again gamers can enjoy a classical first-person shooter that boasts an immersive arcade singleplayer campaign, a narrative-based multiplayer mode, and even a zombie apocalypse in a co-op mode called Nazi Zombies. A heartfelt storyline tells us about a US Army platoon and its privates who undertake a number of perilous operations throughout the theatre of war in Europe. The soldiers have to face numerous challenges on their way to victory: wins and losses, bravery and betrayal, hospitalization and reunion with their squadmates.

Catering to the series’ fans, the title features all the traditional FPS gameplay mechanics empowered by simplified unintrusive HUD and user-friendly controls. Amazingly animated cutscenes in line with enticing narration complement the overall positive impression of the game.   

8. Fortnite

• Developer: Epic Games
• Genre(s): Action, Survival, Tactical
• Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, MacOS
• Release date: July 21, 2017

This is a co-op survival-style game that brings players to the setting of an alternate Earth where an inevitable catastrophe, known as the Storm, annihilated much of humankind. The survivors fight against hordes of hideous zombie-like creatures to stay alive. People are safe behind impregnable walls of storm-proof bases built across the globe as long as they have enough resources. The main character is one of the base commanders, whose paramount mission is to locate additional vital resources and other assets, and to find those who managed to survive the massacre.

The developers provide fans with two separate game modes that offer two completely different gameplay tactics. Bluntly put, these modes are nothing else but PvE and PvP-focused matchmaking approaches, enabling players either to combat monsters or compete with each other in a last-man-standing smackdown. The latter, Fortnite Battle Royale has gained huge traction among the gamers all over the world and keeps getting high scores in the charts.

9. Wolfenstein II: the New Colossus

• Developer: MachineGames
• Genre(s): Action, First-person shooter, Arcade
• Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
• Release date: October 27, 2017

A new offspring of the highly praised Wolfenstein series, a legendary title that pioneered the FPS genre and set the trend for all further games of the ilk. The game plot delves into an alternate history of America, with most of its territory being under control of the Nazis. The main character must undergo various challenges to prevail in this deadly standoff. To be victorious and liberate mankind from the Nazi menace, there is a set of consecutive levels to complete using various types of melee and distant weapons for killing enemy troops. Inventory allows players to carry as many firearms as they wish, to take down opponents with customizable guns powered by suppressors and sniper scopes.

10. Destiny 2

• Developer: Bungie
• Genre(s): Action, First-person shooter
• Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
• Release date: October 24, 2017

Destiny 2 is an online first-person shooter with MMORPG elements that managed to gain the same level of popularity as its predecessor. This time the only hope of the doomed last city on Earth is in the hands of players. The main character is one of the Guardians who are destined to protect the city from upcoming threats initiated by manifold alien creatures. The Guardians are in possession of a unique power – the Light, which may help humanity to overwhelm its oppressors.

The PC version of this game has been thoroughly reworked and enhanced to provide fans with impressive gameplay, groundbreaking visual effects and intuitive interface and controls. The enemies’ AI has been significantly improved as well. Besides, Destiny 2 on PC allows for smooth game performance without any hiccups and glitches, high FPS rate and quick loading time.

11. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

• Developer: Naughty Dog
• Genre(s): Action, Adventure
• Platform: PlayStation 4
• Release date: August 22, 2017

Yet another successor of the famous game series that continues the life story and breathtaking adventures of well-known characters. In Uncharted: The Lost Legacy players are in charge of helping the protagonist to locate and unearth the mysterious ancient Indian treasure, the Tusk of Ganesh. To make the situation even more complicated, the main characters have to protect a legendary artifact from numerous gangs of profit-driven thugs.

Adventure fans have a brilliant chance to enjoy a set of unique locations throughout their game journey, wield a wide range of melee and firearms, drive vehicles, and set stealth attacks to ambush and surprise their enemies.   

12. Star Wars Battlefront II

• Developer: EA DICE
• Genre(s): Action, First-person shooter, Tactical
• Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
• Release date: November 17, 2017

The title expands the legendary Star Wars franchise, now with an action first-person shooter sequel. Though being firstly associated with microtransactions hoopla, the game managed to retain its audience after EA decided to discard pricey loot boxes. The company listened to the voice of the gaming community and made them purely cosmetic and purchasable with in-game currency.

This new untold story is deployed in settings familiar to every SW fan, with a full scope of beloved heroes and villains like the Jedi, the Sith, Mandalorians, and bounty hunters, to name just a few. The main protagonist is an Imperial Special Forces squad leader meant to participate in multiple combat missions to overcome his enemies. The plot takes place thirty years before the events of the movie franchise. Gamers are free to choose between a meaty singleplayer campaign or action-driven multiplayer mode.

13. Prey

• Developer: Arkane Studios
• Genre(s): Action, Arcade, First-person shooter
• Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
• Release date: May 5, 2017

There is another FPS game to end our listicle. Prey is a highly immersive survival shooter featuring RPG elements. Players find themselves aboard an orbiting space station, Talos I, in the year 2032. After a surprise attack by some hostile alien species, the main character is forced to fight for his life and at the same time reveals secrets of his own past.

The title is set in an open-world environment and has a non-linear storyline with multiple endings, depending on the strategy and actions players choose to take during their gameplay. Equipping the protagonist with a vast range of handy collectables to be discovered on the station premises and in outer space can greatly help progress with the game journey.

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