Game of the Month: Top 4 PlayStation Games of January 2017

Without question, 2017 has got off to a great start when it comes to gaming. January was packed with Japanese goodness, with a slew of highly rated releases from the East hitting the PlayStation 4 one after another. It was easily one of the best openings to a year that we've seen in a long time, which made for an especially close Game of the Month staff vote.

Bronze Trophy: Tales of Berseria

The latest entry in Namco's long running series, Tales of Berseria opts for a much darker tone than its predecessors, dropping players in the shoes of a vengeful group of antiheroes. Reviewer Jacob Hull had a blast with his hateful new friends, giving the game an 8/10 and describing its narrative as "perhaps the best storyline that the series has seen for quite some time". Let's hope that the developer can keep this winning streak alive.

Silver Trophy: Gravity Rush 2

Kat's back for more gravity-defying action in a sequel that's bigger, better, and smarter than the Vita original. Although it doesn't quite push the property to the heights of some other big PS4 exclusives, editor Sammy Barker reckons that Gravity Rush 2 is still well worth playing. "Even though the core of Gravity Rush 2 remains largely unchanged, you'll be hard pushed to find a fresher open world title," he wrote in our 7/10 review.

Gold Trophy: Yakuza 0

The franchise's first current-gen foray here in the West, Yakuza 0 is a prequel, and therefore one of the best places to start an especially violent affair with SEGA's bloodsoaked series. We've been singing the property's praises for years, but this could finally be the beginning of something beautiful for Kazuma Kiryu's overseas exploits. We gave the game an 8/10, and called it "one of the best entries in the series to date".

Platinum Trophy: Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Capcom has actually done it - it's managed to craft a Resident Evil game that's finally put the beloved series back on track. Sure, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a departure from the gameplay style that the property is known for, but at the same time, it's a return to the tense survival horror genre that it originally helped cultivate.

Sammy, still reeling from the fact that he reviewed the rotten Resident Evil 6 on PS4, penned our write-up for this one. He gave it an 8/10, and concluded that "at its very best, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a barnstorming survival horror with some truly brilliant boss fights [...] this is the change that the series has needed for quite some time."

That's January out of the way, but what was your Game of the Month? Do you agree with our picks, or did we miss something? Vote in our poll, and then spread your opinions in the comments section below.