I beat about 25 games that were released this year and sunk reasonable time into about another dozen 2017 games past that. (I have included a spoilered list at the bottom of this post). I have tried to whittle the list down, and I have created a top 10 as a result. This is one of the toughest years for having to choose a GOTY - any on my list have a reasonable claim to that title, I think. Other than my GOTY, the rest are listed in alphabetical order.
GOTY - Horizon: Zero Dawn - I made the argument that this game was better than BOTW back in March when I was playing both, and a shit storm ensued
(look back around page 83 or so of this thread to see where it starts). Nonetheless, and especially after playing through the game's DLC, I very much still stand by that claim - H:ZD is the better of two excellent games that both try to do many of the same kinds of things. Here's some what I wrote about the game upon completing it:
Horizon: Zero Dawn is arguably the best game I've played on the PS4. It takes many of the best ideas from so many other games -
Dragon Age Inquisition, Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, Skyrim, etc. - and blends them all together in a chunky stew of intense and speedy combat, epic exploration, satisfying leveling, and gorgeous graphics. The game is pretty much flawless, and would be a great experience even if its story sucked.
The story, fortunately, is one of the most complex and interesting post-apocalyptic tales I've seen told in a medium that often tends towards those stories. To say too much about it would ruin a lot of great moments in the game - there are a wealth of fascinating revelations, compelling plot twists, and well-fleshed out characters - but suffice to say that it blends a lot of genre tropes together in a new way, one that has some merit in its ability to criticize humanity as a whole and that earns its attempts to provoke introspection in the player.
I can't rave enough about this one. I have even been generally uninterested in the also-excellent
Breath of the Wild because I wanted to keep moving through this game more than pick up my Switch. The game took me about 35 hours to finish the story and many sidequests (I'm at 52% completion). If you have a PS4, you really owe it to yourself to pick this game up. It is a state-of-the-medium tour de force.
The rest of the top 10, in alphabetical order:Destiny 2 -
Destiny 2 is wonderful, but odd. It does basically everything better than the first game did, but it has nonetheless failed to involve me in the same amount of timesuck that that the first game did upon its release. I think the novelty of what the first one accomplished and the process of refinement over its lifespan were just more compelling because they were new…and
Destiny 2 doesn’t have that in the same way. Nonetheless, I played a ton of
Destiny 2 in 2017 (on PS4 and even a little on PC), and think it is probably the game on this list I will most likely sink a ton of time in during 2018.
Everything - This is one of the more thought-provoking and innovative games I have played, ever. Everything defines genre, is both massive in scope and manageable, and transcends many of the conventions of the medium in an attempt to be, well, a transcendental experience. I don’t know that it succeeds on that last point entirely, but the effort is well worth experiencing. A great take on the game by is
this piece by Ian Bogost - it is one that reflects a lot of my own thoughts on playing the game.
The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild - Here’s what I posted upon completing this one, much of which I still hold to:
What this game accomplishes from both a design standpoint and from a sheer "fun factor" standpoint is nearly unparalleled. I can easily say that it is, at least as of this moment, a game that I consider:
the best Switch game ever
the best Wii U game ever
the best Zelda game ever
the best Nintendo-made game ever
...and probably one of the top 10 best video games ever made
I don't know if Nintendo will ever again create the kinds of innovative games that have the same level of long-term influence as their most revered 8-bit and 16-bit titles (something I've brought up in the past (in a loooong discussion))...but this is arguably the closest they have gotten to that high water mark since that time. The way that it blends open-world dynamics with a lot of classic Zelda gameplay and design is really astonishing, and I enjoyed every minute of the 60+ hours I spent on this game.
Player Unknown's Battlegrounds - Given the massive success and player base this game has had this year, I am surprised it isn’t on more people’s lists so far! There’s not much I can write about this game that probably hasn’t already been written many times by many others, but suffice to say that this game became something to pick up and play with some regularity in the second half of 2017 for me. I will never be someone who dives deep into learning the nuances of the maps, the various techniques for gaining advantage, the differences between all the gear, etc. - but it is cool that the game offers some sophistication on top of its goofy exterior. For me, the basic premise itself is so enticing and so well executed (even with some bugginess) that this will probably continue to be a go to “I have 20 minutes to kill” title for a long time…
Polybius - Before polygonal-3D graphics were a thing,
Polybius is what everyone assumed virtual reality games might be like in the future. This is Jeff Minter’s best work: a trippy and complex Tempest-like game that oozes style, humor, intensity, and challenge. The game has a fantastic soundtrack and mind bending visuals. After taking off the VR headset for a 20 minute game session, a friend of mine declared the game to be a hallucinogen simulator, and I am inclined to agree. I have yet to beat this one (later levels are hard!), but if you have a PSVR this is amongst the very best games you could play (especially if you have any appreciation for the subgenre).
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - I played through RE7 entirely in VR, and it is a stunning accomplishment in creating genuine fright for the player. The switch to a first person perspective for the franchise is handled here in a way that retains all the suspense and panic that the series has always been known for, and the best parts of the series (memorable characters, hunting for scarce ammo and supplies, incidental music, etc.) are carried through flawlessly along the way. This is both my favorite
Resident Evil game of all time
and my favorite VR game available: I seriously considered making this my GOTY.
Sonic Mania - Who would have guessed that not only would 2017 give us the best ever Resident Evil game, but also the best ever Sonic the Hedgehog game?
Sonic Mania is a triumph: it is everything that was great about the original trilogy and the erasure of everything that was frustrating about other more recent 2D and 2.5D entries in the series (eg.
Sonic 4). It does an excellent job of both paying homage to classic Sonic titles and with infusing the series with enough new ideas across its dozen or so levels to make the series seem fresh.
Super Mario Odyssey - This is the best 3D Mario game since
Super Mario Galaxy 2 and should absolutely be experienced by everyone who owns a Switch (this game and BOTW alone are reasons to buy one). The hat gimmick works really well to give Mario a level of interaction with the various worlds he moves through that hasn’t been seen in the series so far and, like
Sonic Mania and
Resident Evil 7, the game provides a perfect mix of nostalgia/homage and genuinely new ideas/environments. I found the campaign to be a bit easy compared to the standards of most of the other main Mario titles, but there’s enough post-campaign challenge and depth that should give this game legs for series veterans who may want to play it long term
What Remains of Edith Finch - This is very much a game that feels inspired by the genre-defining titles put out by devs like The Chinese Room (
Everyone’s Gone to the Rapture, Dear Esther, etc.) and Fulbright (
Gone Home, Tacoma), but
Finch nonetheless offers a fresh and more fantastical take on the walking simulator. Some of the later levels are especially engrossing, and the game’s visuals are some of the most creative I encountered in 2017. This one is well worth the short time it takes to play through it.
Honorable Mentions: Doom VFR, Arizona Sunshine, Gorogoa, Wolfenstein II, Skyrim VR
2017 releases that I beat (or spent considerable time with) in 2017:
Breath of the wild: I am a person who does not enjoy 3d zeldas, Ocarina bored me, as did skyward sword, I never touched twilight princess, and majoras mask never appealed to me. I only bought it because it was the only thing on switch other than blaster master zero. This game took me completely by surprise and hooked me in a way that no zelda game since link to the past did.
