Games Watch: the 5 best new games coming out in December 2017

Doom VFR – 1 December

Last year’s Doom reboot was pretty awesome, at least on the single-player side, but the super-chaotic action wouldn’t be the best fit for a VR headset. Instead, we’re getting Doom VFR, which takes the assets and frenetic tone of the glossy shooter and makes it a bit more enjoyable to dip your head into.

Doom VFR is certainly shorter, but it seemed pretty sweet in our hands-on, keeping the delightfully gory chaos intact. And it even has a couple of classic, pixel-packed Doom levels for you to parade around in.

Also, for Vive owners: Bethesda is also releasing Fallout 4 VR on 12 December, while PlayStation VR fans just recently got The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR.

Platform: PSVR, HTC Vive

Price: £14

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – 1 December

If you’ve polished off Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, then your next big Switch time-sink might come from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, an anime-stylised Japanese role-playing epic featuring giant monsters and lots of emotions.

Granted, it’s a sequel, so you might be at a slight disadvantage if you didn’t play the earlier entries – but we’re hoping that it sets up new players who missed the Wii U/3DS/Wii games. And if you fancy Western role-players more, then you can always check out the slick Switch edition of Skyrim instead.

Platforms: Nintendo Switch

Price: £42

Destiny 2 – Expansion I: Curse of Osiris – 5 December

Destiny 2 launched a couple of months ago and it totally lived up to the hype, delivering polished shoot-and-loot sci-fi fun with a compelling storyline (finally!) to boot. Unfortunately, after the initial buzz, a fair number of die-hard fans are upset at Bungie for some lingering or emerging issues.

But maybe Curse of the Osiris will soothe their complaints, as the game’s first expansion promises new story content, a higher level cap, cool new environments, and plenty more content to keep players happily humming along into 2018. Hopefully, at least.

Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC

Price: £17

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – 12 December

Who needs branding? Despite its awkward name, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has been this year’s hottest PC game by far, and it’ll make its first console appearance just before Christmas thanks to an early access release on Xbox One. Kudos to Microsoft for snagging this massive exclusive.

PUBG, as it’s called, is essentially a take on the classic Battle Royale premise, pitting up to one hundred online players against each other in tense online shootouts – and once you’re killed, you’re out. Meanwhile, the PC version will exit early access on the same date, with a proper 1.0 release bringing fresh features into the fold.

Platform: Xbox One, PC

Price: £24

Okami HD – 12 December

We’ll always buy Okami again and Capcom knows it – that’s why this stunning 11-year-old gem, which began life on PS2, is being revived yet again with an HD edition for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. And yes, it still looks pretty fantastic.

That’s thanks to the game’s one-of-a-kind sumi-e cel-shaded art style, which also plays into the gameplay mechanic of using the Celestial Brush to perform special attacks and destroy enemies. Otherwise, it’s a Zelda-like adventure across vast, gorgeous terrain, and a game we’ll happily revisit again. Our only question: where’s the Switch version?

Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC

Price: £15