I wanted to play a few more games before doing the list and I still have more to try but I didnt want to wait till June to make the list so whatever. Here is what I played from 2017:

• Resident Evil 7
• Horizon
• Zelda BOTW
• Robo Recall
• Castlevania Lecard Chronicles 2
• Nex Machina
• Splatoon 2
• Sonic Mania
• Uncharted Lost Legacy
• Destiny 2
• Metroid Samus Returns
• Evil Within 2
• Cuphead
• Super Mario Oddyseey
• Mass Effect Andromeda
• Hollow Knight
• Star Wars Battlefront 2
• Nier Automata
• Nioh
• Mario + Rabbids
• Doki Doki Literature Club
• Tekken 7

Plenty of games I still wanted to play like Prey, Wolfenstein 2, Mordor 2, AC Origins, Divinity Original Sin 2, Yakuza 0. But we have to move on so lets do my list.

Biggest Disappointment: Destiny 2

This category is being filled with fantastic games lately cause games are moving away from what I love and into weird do whatever free form games. Zelda was very dissapointing to me yet it was excellent. Mario dissapointment, also great. But I dont want to give it to them. Lets give it to the one with the most potential that just squandered all of it, Destiny 2.

Here you have a game that was beloved byu its community. All signs pointed to Bungie moving in the right direction, the expansions were getting better and better, clearly Desinty 2 would be the game we all wanted in the first place. Instead they go backward, remove the best weapon combinations. Remove the incentive to really hunt for new varient weapon types. Versus got worse, the post game was really reptitive and the new DLC didnt even have a new raid. They have spent months trying to revert it back to destiny 1 and in the process lost most of their fanbase.

Best Graphics: Horizon

This was basically a two game race between Uncharted and Horizon, but Horizon with the size of its game and the incredible robot designs wins by a hair. The incredible photo mode shows off how insane this game can look. It is a technical marvel.

Best Story: Horizon

I love a good sci-fi story especially those with great world building, Horizon checks all those boxes. There are parallel stories one the present day future where the world is overrun by robo dinos and the slow exploration into the past which explains how the world ended up there. The backstory is so fleshed out it could be its own story. Rich characters, detailed history and the best new protagonist in gaming makes this the best story of the year. Nier is a close second but its a little too nuts.

The Fuck You award: Star Wars Battlefront 2

Seriously fuck you Battlefront 2. Loot box garbage progression. Awful campaign. The game is just a mess.

Best Voice Actor: Ashly Burch, Aloy

My favorite new character of any game last year, Aloy is witty, smart, and has just enough sarcasm which I love. The voice acting was fantastic all around and really brings her to life.

Best Publisher: Nintendo

Landmark year for them. I was not a big fan of some of the directions they went with their big franchises but their output is unmatched. Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart, Splatoon, Xenoblade, Arms, covering multiple genres all very well. Sony is right there but they did not have as fleshed out a lineup.

And now the top 10 games of 2017:

10. The Evil Within 2

While not as good as the first IMO this game still delivers some great thrills and moments. When it is linear and being totally crazy with its level design and monster encounters it feels as good as the first. The open world parts geta  bit tedious and hold it back. Still one of the better horror games you will play this gen.

9. Nier Automata

So close to being a classic but some strange design decisions hold it back. The routes, specically route B where you basically play the game again as a worst character with less moves than the first rroute is a huge drag. But its necessary to get to the final act of the game which is epic. The combat is fantastic for an RPG but never reaches the highs of a true action game, so its left in a strange middle ground. This is the most Kojima like game I have played by someone other than him, filled with so many crazy ideas and moments, its a must play.

8. Splatoon 2

So damn good. Sure its not as original as the first so my addiction didnt last as long but the mechanics are still the best for any online shooter I have played. Matches are chatoic and a blast. The single player was well done but a little let down compared to the first. The best part is the new horde mode Salmon Run, to bad about the stupid one day on one day off thing, Nintendo did not learn with the first. Still one of the best online games out there.

7. Resident Evil 7

A return to the classic survivak horror roots was a smart move, action RE got too bloated. The switch to first person was made for VR, in VR I am sure this is a magical experience, outside VR I much rather see my character. I was not a fan of the beginning hide and seek portion of the game but once it moves past that and gives you weapons and ammo to manage it feels like the old days. It has some great setpieces with some varied gameplay sections which really keeps things moving and interesting. Never reaches the highs of the old ones but a really solid entry.

6. Sonic Mania

YES!!!! This is a dream game, a true Sonic 4. The remix levels of the classic games were so well designed, with some new gameplay idea filling the second act. It has some of the best designed levels in the series and a few missteps. Its bigger than Sonic 3 and Knuckles making the largest 2D sonic. So many fantastic ideas wrapped in the perfect controls of the original games. This is a platforming classic and worthy of being second best behind Sonic 2 in the series.

5. Super Mario Odyssey

Not as good as Galaxy or 64, but what is. Still this game has perfect controls, I have never felt so in control of a 3D platforming character like I did Mario and his expanded move base. What I was not a fan of is how bloated many of the levels were with mundane task. There are great linear levels which is what I feel the whole game should have been but instead they wanted to focus on just exploring. The massive amount of transformations mario can do really add to the incredible gameplay, its maybe the best in the series. But that level design and game structure is important and it just didn't live up to the best.

4. Uncharted Lost Legacy

Naughty Dog is full of wizards or something because in a year they made a FULL Uncharted game. Sure its a shorter one but still as big as a full game and with some great new design which should continue moving forward. The tired and true uncharted moments are there, the final setpiece is one of the best in the series. Right smack in the middle of the game is a big open world section with a bunch of optional puzzles and missions to do. This is the ideal solution to the open world mess we have been in, still have a mostly linear game but hav emoments of OPTIONAL open world sections.

3. Nioh

Play this damn game. Its an action game classic. Its Dark Souls meets Ninja Gaiden. It's what every action game fan could want. Go play it.

2. The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild

Any Zelda that is not my GOTY is an utter failure. This is supposed to be the greatest game ever made, it is not, in fact its my least favorite 3D Zelda. And yet its an excellent game with the best gameplay systems ever put in an open world game, no game has ever felt so alive. No game offers so much freedom to tackle anything in any way you want. No game offers this level of freedom to the point where you can skip it all and just go fight the final boss (without doing some glitchy TES bullshit). It is a majestic game, there are moments where the hints of the best game ever come out. When I randomly decided to sail to a random island and all of a sidden a trail of survival broke out which made me use every item in crazy ways to survive. No open world game of this size has such elaborte puzzles that make use of physcis and smart gameplay systems. It solves so many of the issues Zelda games had with its stiff old gameplay and creates a Metal Gear like playground to mess around with.

But there are no true dungeons, the best part of a Zelda game. No true progression, that joy of constantly finding new items that add new gameplay elements are gone. The world is filled with repetitive tasks and enemy bases. Many shrines start to repeat, many activites start to lose their luster after 100 hours. It is way too big for the game it wants to be, one can spend 10 hours doing nothing, or 10 hours playing great moments, it is too uneven. Sad part is all the solutions are in the past, no Zelda game had these issues, why fix the core mechanics are mess up everything else.

GAME OF THE YEAR:  Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon came out a week before Zelda and was a better experience. There are many areas where Zelda is better but Horizon never felt like it was wasting my time.The story and progression is exactly what I want from an open world game. I always had a new story mission and the side missions were filled with interesting things to do. This is because the entire world is filled with what feels like giant boss battles. Combat is the best I have played in an open world game, every battle I had was exciting, almost gif worthy. That joy of just fighting random stuff makes most every moment of the game a joy.

I thought the story was excellent, I want so much more from this world. I felt exploring the world was fantastic, the enviornments were so varied and beautiful I couldn't help want to explore every nook and cranny. I felt this game could have used more puzzles, better main missions and some more interactivity with the world but this is an excellent first start. Its the best Sony game this gen.

Good list bra.

I forgot all about Sonic! I need to play that. And yeah Horizon was pretty incredible. By far the best game those guys have made, I mean it kills the ERR, Killzone games. I'm guessing the reason Killzone PS4 was so bland was because they were busy with Zero Dawn. Horizon never gets boring, it kept me hooked from beginning to end.

I'd say Horizon and Prey were my two favorites from 2017 that I've played, and Nioh is up there as well.

Horizon gameplay was fun, but the story was very blah to me.  Zelda is my goty all the way.   I love getting lost in that game.  RE7 surprised me.  I couldn’t believe how fun the first three quarters of the game were.  Too bad the last part was mediocre.

Good list! Zelda should be lower and Nioh should be higher tho!  😜

😁😁 Another Horizon Zero Dawn GOTY award! I'm not such a loner after all! 👍

I didn't play Uncharted LL in time for last year but I'm playing it now and I agree with everything you said. I'm quite certain it'll be on my 2018 list.

In regards to Salmon run, it seems to have changed in terms of when it's availiable. It seems to be on most days, instead of having days off like it did before, at somepoint on virtually every day it is on there to play. It either comes on from 1pm or 10am or 7pm stuff like that and runs for 2-3 days, then has a brief break, less than a day usually like 7 hrs or something? Then it's back on.

Basically 9 times out of 10 it is there to play - I know this because I play the game and mode every damn day.

travo said:

Dvader said:

Nope should get back to it soon.

Then you have no right to make this list unless you’ve clocked 600 hours in Splatoon 2 like GG!

Hush, you kid.

I am a squid.

Game is basura.

We need your thread of top 10 Metroid like gamers ever made.

Only one CV or Metroid is allowed.

Unless you make a separate list where only metroids and CVs are allowed.

Double the work. Get on it.

Dvader said:

That was my idea, I was going to do that.

It is also your idea to wire me money.

Now in 3 seconds you will wake up. Counting back from 3... and 2... 1.... money.