Oh 2016. You're not over yet and people already say that this is the last year of the 20th century - mostly as a reference to the recent passing of important cultural figures of the last decades and the political turmoil we've witnessed in the previous months. That's how much impact the world events had on us all in the last 361 days. There's a feeling of an era having ended.
On the tech world, nothing was more intense than the mobile and Android worlds. We feel that on the Android app world things have forever changed with ground breaking releases such as Pokémon GO causing a worldwide disruption - anyway, just check our analysis of the best apps and games of 2016 for our opinion on the subject. For Aptoide is was also an intense year where, thanks to all of you, we've reached the incredible mark of 3 Billion Downloads. We're glad to be able to serve you guys apps and games every day of the year!
But enough about 2016. That year is (nearly) over. Let's see what 2017 has in store for us. Here's our list of the most anticipated games of 2017!
1. Super Mario Run
This is undoubtedly the most anticipated Android game worldwide. Some people already call it the new Pokémon GO. It's a bit different though. First of all, because while Pokémon is a trademark that is still owned and managed by Nintendo, the game itself was developed and published by Niantic, which means Nintendo only made revenue out of the brand licensing royalties and not from in-app purchases (or at least only partially). So this may actually be Nintendo's first big release for Android (Miitomo, released back in March 2016 was the first Android game directly developed and published by Nintendo). It has already been released for iPhone and iPad on December 15th, but the Android version will only come out in 2017. We can't wait!
2. PES 2017
Every year Pro Evolution Soccer is one of the most anticipated games. The franchise took the industry by storm in 2001 making it the first football game to rival with FIFA (other than maybe Sensible Soccer). In this new Android age FIFA has always had a good competition, not only with PES but especially with Dream League Soccer and Real Football, two amazing and free titles. This new version has provided a number of new realistic features in the non-mobile version of it, such as a revamped new real touch system in which different players have different dribbling styles, more natural player movements, and a brand new precision pass system. It's very likely that many of these features will also be available on the Android version. A Beta version of PES 2017 is already available on Aptoide, so you can check it out right here.
3. Transformers: Forged to Fight
By looking at the trailer you feel the following:
a) Seeing one of the most badass Android game trailers ever.
b) Seeing a childhood dream come true.
This is pretty much how we've always imagined that a Transformers game should look. But oh... And yeah, we realize that a lot of it is "Not actual gameplay". But still, it looks pretty good. By the video description, we also know that it will be an Action RPG with "heroic" storytelling. Some of the game's previews available on Youtube also seem to confirm the same action paced gameplay style. It's not clear though where the RPG will fit into it (maybe it will be like a MOBA?), but I guess in a few months we'll find out!
4. Attack on Titan
Here at Aptoide there's quite a few fans of Attack on Titan. In case you're not familiar with it, Attack on Titan is a Manga turned Anime that some people have considered one of the best made in the last few years. It features this massive creatures, titans, who have managed to take over the world and force humans to live in fear behind huge walls. The creepiest thing about these guys is that they tend to eat people with a smile in their faces :)
*An Adventure Time tribute to Attack on Titan!*
The only issue is, like what happends with alot of Anime series, they rarely ever get turned into games (other than Visual Novels). But in the meantime a couple of action games have been published: "Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains" which was released worldwide in 2015 for Nintendo3DS, and more recently "Attack on Titan" which was released worldwide in 2016 for PS4, PS3, Vita, Xbox One and PC.
There's currently a few more games in development (including one by Capcom), and one of them is "Attack on Titan: Howl Toward Freedom" which was delayed for 2017, and will be available for both Android and iOS.
The premise of the game seems really cool. Kinda like Clash of Clans, but set in the Attack of Titan world. You have to build your base and defend it against these huge titans, and I guess using troops like the ones we see on the show, that use a device to "fly" between buildings and trees while chopping the titans with a kind of gigantic expendable x-acto knives.
5. Planet of Heroes
This is one of the most anticipated MOBA's (Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas). It seems to be kind of similar to Heroes of the Storm (the MOBA by Blizzard) or League of Legends, but for Android.
You can already get the beta version on Aptoide and see for yourself, right here.
6. Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series
As the name implies, this will be a series of games that will be released for a number of platforms, including Android, during 2017. Telltale Games are known for doing episodic adventure games based on popular IP such as Walking Dead or the Borderland game series.
Marvel has recently announced a partnership with Telltale, which means we will be seeing a series of adventure games based on Guardians of the Galaxy - and we know that if the story is being told by Telltale, we're pretty sure it will be amazing!
7. Alto's Odissey
After the great success that was Alto's Adventure, the followup was recently announced, and this time it will be an Odyssey.
Originally it was to be released in 2016, but the project got delayed. Not alot of information is currently available about it, but we're expecting it to come out in early 2017!
8. Kabam's Avatar
We still don't know a lot about this game, but we know it will be developed by Kabam, which is known or making free to play social RPG games based on well-known intellectual properties, such as the Avengers and Lord of The Rings.
9. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links
We had already talked about Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Generation here on the blog a while ago. It was, so far, the only Yu-Gi-Oh! Android game. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links is the long awaited update, which will, not only feature the new card game rules, but also a number of visual improvements on the gameplay, and even, for the first time, a online PVP mode!
You can already check the Beta version on Aptoide right here.
We hope you've enjoyed our list of the most anticipated games for 2017, which promises to be the best year yet in Android gaming!