Here are some of the big video game releases for the month of February 2017. Be sure to check out the list we put together of our most anticipated games of 2017 and subscribe to Polygon's YouTube channel for tons of gaming videos. Also, here are the free games you get with your Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus subscriptions this month. Additionally, here's what is coming to your favorite video streaming services and here's what is leaving in February.
What are you looking forward to playing? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments.
Note: This is not a comprehensive list of releases and only games with specific dates are listed below. Some games are announced for February but have no firm release date.
Feb. 2:
Fire Emblem Heroes (Android and iOS) — In Fire Emblem's first appearance on mobile phones, players will take the role of Summoner and "call upon Fire Emblem heroes throughout history," including characters from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates, in turn-based battles. Those battles will take place on an 8x6 grid designed to fit on smartphones, Nintendo said during its Nintendo Direct on Jan. 18, and feature the same weapon triangle system from the Fire Emblem franchise. Players will be able to upgrade their heroes and can even summon additional heroes to supplement their army. Vote before Jan. 31 to get your favorite characters in the game and earn rewards for your Nintendo Account.
Read our review.
Feb. 3:
Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World (Nintendo 3DS) — This 3DS port will feature all the levels from the Wii U game. In addition, the 3DS release will feature new levels in which players take control of the woolen Poochy. Yoshi will even have the option to team up with a trio of Poochy Pups, who will help sniff out secrets. Nintendo also plans to release a yarn Poochy amiibo alongside the 3DS game.
Feb. 7:
Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book (Windows PC) — The 17th entry in the Atelier series showed up stateside in June 2016 on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita but is now making its way to Windows PC. Here's a video showing off the battle system.
Nioh (PlayStation 4) — Polygon's Philip Kollar has spent a sizable amount of time playing three different levels of Team Ninja's newest game, which was clearly inspired by FromSoftware's Dark Souls series. The most obvious difference between Nioh and the Souls games is its setting. Nioh takes place in a fictionalized version of feudal Japan where mythological creatures stalk the land alongside samurai and ninja. Players enter this strange world in the shoes of William, a Westerner who finds himself tossed into the middle of the conflicts of a tumultuous land. Here's 35 minutes of 4K gameplay.
Read our review.
WWE 2K17 (Windows PC) — It's rasslin', but on your computer.
Feb. 14:
For Honor (PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One) — Ubisoft Montreal's medieval action game, For Honor, features three factions: the Knights, the Samurai and the Vikings. The unique multiplayer mode War of the Factions will track "all multiplayer activities across all platforms from all players," and the winning faction will receive in-game rewards on top of the rewards that everyone will get. Check out 10 brutal minutes of For Honor's single-player campaign.
Sniper Elite 4 (PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One) — The Sniper Elite fanbase is one of the most hardcore in the industry, enamored with a game that could be considered "boring on purpose." The first trailer sets up the story of Sniper Elite 4, which is headed to Italy to break Il Duce's 20-year grip on the nation. For more on its cult appeal, see this feature from 2014.
Read our review.
Feb. 21:
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk (PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Windows PC) — The legendary manga series, Berserk, is getting its own Dynasty Warriors spinoff from Musou developer Omega Force. Watch the protagonist, Guts, and his group of mercenary fighters "The Band of the Hawk" take on a horde of demons in this trailer.
Halo Wars 2 (Windows PC and Xbox One) — The real-time strategy game's new multiplayer mode, Blitz, is putting a twist on the genre's core mechanic by having the player focus on deck building and card-based strategy, rather than base building and resource management. The new villain in the single-player campaign, Atriox, along with his assembled a mercenary group,The Banished, plan to get their hands on "the most powerful weapons platform the galaxy has ever seen," according to the trailer’s description. The game will be part of Microsoft's Xbox Play Anywhere program, which allows customers to play the game on both Xbox One and Windows 10 with one purchase. The multiplayer demo is live until Jan. 30 and be sure to check out 11 minutes of gameplay.
Read our review.
Night in the Woods (Linux, Mac, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC) — Night in the Woods is the story of Mae, a cat who returns home from college to her beleaguered rust-belt town. We’ve spent time with this game’s E3 demo, which was lavish in presentation and dense with dialogue. But from the looks of this trailer, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It shows off the game’s many other characters, and also teases a few more mini-games including what appears to be a knife fight.
Feb. 28:
Horizon Zero Dawn (PlayStation 4) — Developer Guerrilla Games' new project, Horizon Zero Dawn, combines Monster Hunter-style hunter-gatherer gameplay, role-playing game progression and a mysterious post-apocalyptic world that's been overrun by robots. Here's our first impressions at E3 and the latest trailer.
Read our review.
Torment: Tides of Numenera (PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC) — Torment was funded on Kickstarter nearly three years ago and is heavily inspired by the cult classic 1999 RPG Planescape: Torment, but in Phil's time with the game, it clearly has a feeling all its own. "It’s why it’s taken us three-and-a-half years," InXile CEO Brian Fargo explains in our feature. "We think a greater focus on conversation would be interesting to push the RPG genre forward. From playing roleplaying games our whole life, we always look to find what we can do that’s a little different. How can we push the art and craft of it?"