by Jessica Ham

2018 is going to be a big year for games. Red Dead Redemption 2, Far Cry 5, Sea of Thieves, and Wolf Among Season 2 are just some of the exciting games coming to players this year. I am overwhelmed by the amount of games I am wanting to play. 2017 is going to be a hard year to beat, but I think developers are up for the challenge. Unfortunately, January is a dead month for video games.

An interesting new product was announced by Nintendo just a few days ago called Nintendo Labo, cardboard toy extensions for the Nintendo Switch. This was not the announcement I was expecting or hoping for with Nintendo. A part of me always dreams that they will re-release the Gamecube, my favorite Nintendo console ever. But alas, no dice. Some of the cardboard toys will include a jetpack or remote control car. Labo is set to release in the U.S. April 20, 2018.

The Escapists 2 was released for the Nintendo Switch on January 20. The cute little cartoon game is all about escaping prison with your friends. Releasing for other consoles August of last year, the Nintendo Switch version promises to be just as fun. The game is playable with up to four players. Critics find this game incredibly fun and “worth breaking out the switch for,” according to the online magazine Metro.

The Inpatient, a prequel to the critically acclaimed game Until Dawn, released on January 23 for the Playstation VR. The game is set in the Blackwood Sanatorium and using the VR headset you play as a patient suffering from amnesia. The horrors become very intense as with VR, people feel as if they are really there. This is a choice based game where the player’s decisions greatly affect the ending of the game.

Monster Hunter: World, the sixth game in the Monster Hunter series, released on January 26 for the Playstation 4 only in Japan, but on the Playstation 4, Xbox One, and eventually PC in the U.S. The game is a third person open world RPG (role playing game). In this game the player is tasked with being a hunter that is asked by a research commission to capture monsters that run free outside of their base. Capcom promises bigger maps, easy transitions between areas of the maps, and four player online co-op.

While January is not a big month for games, some exciting products and games were announced and released this month to keep players occupied until the big guns are brought out throughout this life changing year of gaming.

You can use these links to purchase some of the games on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:

Jessica Ham is 25 years old and an ongoing contributor. With a love of all things nerdy, she’s right at home covering entertainment.

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