December isn’t traditionally known for having the biggest releases, as the year slides to an end and gamers are already jam-packed full of great titles to choose from. However, there are a few games hitting shelves before the Christmas rush that you should take note of.
Horizon: Zero Dawn: Complete Edition
Release date: 5 December 2017 (PS4)
If you were one of those PS4 owners who somehow missed the stellar Horizon: Zero Dawn earlier this year, there’s a Complete Edition of the game launching this week. Titled, Horizon: Zero Dawn Complete Edition, the fancy, spiffed-up package of the game includes the base game, along with the The Frozen Wilds expansion. The Complete Collection will also include all the bonus content from the game’s Digital Deluxe Edition, which equates to the Art of Horizon: Zero Dawn digital art book, an exclusive PS4 theme, the Carja Storm Ranger outfit and Mighty Bow, the Banuk Trailblazer outfit and Culling Bow, the Banuk Traveller Pack, the Carja Trader Pack, and the Nora Keeper Pack.
After PS2 classic Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy re-released on PS4 with some glorious HD upgrades, Sony, quite suddenly, announced that they’re bringing the rest of the series to the current-gen too. Jak II, Jak III, and Jak X: Combat Racing arrive with 1080p visuals and trophy support. If you’re a bit too young to remember, the Jak & Daxter games were Naughty Dogs’ foray into bigger, bolder 3D platforming worlds after the Crash Bandicoot Playstation era. They’re great titles that hold up surprisingly well today. You can buy each game separately or together as a bundle.
Release date: 5 December 2017 (PS4 | Xbox One | PC)
Destiny 2‘s first big expansion, Curse of Osiris, unleashed upon gamers this week, and introduces a new planet, Mercury, for players to visit, along with new story missions, Strikes, Crucible maps, weapons, armor, and more. Keep in mind that you’ll need quite a bit of free space to initiate the download: 88GB on PS4, 68GB on PC and 44GB on Xbox One.
Release date: 5 December 2017 (PS4 | Xbox One); Also available on PC
The colourful platformer A Hat in Time makes its appearance on Xbox One and PS4 this week after a rather successful launch on PC. The game is not unlike that of Super Mario Galaxy or Super Lucky’s Tale, in which you, playing as a young, space-travelling girl, have to use different hat-powers in order to overcome obstacles, solve puzzles, or combat enemies. It’s a fun, cute collect-a-thon platformer that fans of the genre should check out.
Steep: Road to the Olympics
Release date: 5 December 2017 (Xbox One | PS4 | PC)
The under-appreciated snow-sports game, Steep, gets a big expansion this week to tie into the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in early 2018. Road to the Olympics features a story mode in which players will experience the journey of a young athlete training in three freestyle events (Big Air, Half Pipe and Slopestyle) to reach the Olympic Winter Games and be the first athlete ever to win gold in 3 freestyle events. The adds the South Korean mountains where the real event will take place, and players will also be able to explore the mountains of Japan, carving through unique powder and some exceptional environments.
