Your GotY 2017

[Josh64]

1.) Yooka-Laylee: The Banjo-Kazooie sequel I always wanted. Amazing cast of characters, really fun worlds full of treasures to find, amazing music and humour from pretty much the same team from 1998 - Just fun from start to finish and one of the few 'collectathon' type games I've ever 100% completed. I left my job very suddenly the day after this came out, and I also lost my dog (coincidentally called Banjo) on the same day, so for a good few weeks I literally LIVED in this game, so while it was great, I also have rose tinted glasses at the escapism it offered me.

2.) Mario Odyssey: I have a lot of problems with this game but they mostly come after the main game itself. I keep reminding myself how fantastic it was at the start going from world to world and that explosive ending and then think "yeah this was a great game". It's the post-game that kinda put me off, just full of pointless moons to collect - Weird I know, considering I loved exploring and collecting stuff in Yooka.

3.) Super Lucky's Tale: Like a fusion of Crash and Mario 3D World, this cute platformer came out of nowhere and really took me by surprise. Really cute characters, fun settings and classic 3D platforming, I loved it from start to finish (though the last boss annoyed me)

4.) Paper Mario Color Splash: Really fun and original game, not like Thousand Year Door but enjoyable in its own right, with the kind of music and humour you WOULD expect from TTYD and graphics that are probably the best I've seen in any title - If you want an argument for art style, this one wins it. I loved collecting the realistic items and using them in battle and the gamepad use was really good. I felt kinda sad the whole time I was playing it though as it was an end of an era for Wii U and also the fact that pretty much no one had given this game a chance.

5) Snake Pass: Fantastic puzzle game with beautiful music by David Wise, really engrossing and each level ramps up the difficulty without somehow becoming too frustrating despite having to replay areas over and over and over. Though I didn't get all the coins in the end because honestly, I think it's impossible

6.) Crash Bandicoot Trilogy: I've only played the original on this but had a great time doing so. I never owned the original Crash so it was fun to finally play it properly after all these years. I slogged and got every single gem but I'm currently stuck trying to get all of the time trials done, hence why I haven't properly played 2 and 3 yet.

7.) Parappa the Rapper: You Gotta do what? I gotta believe! - Fantastic from start to finish (though granted that time frame is about 40 mins lol) with surprising amount of Replay value and considerably better than its sequel.

 

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As I only got my Xbox One this year, there's a bunch of games that I'd have loved to put in my list that I couldn't, as they're from 2015 and 2016 - The same applies to PSN games, I've played so many really fun and interesting titles that I just got on a whim in the many sales throughout the year. So here's my non-2017 top 5

1.) Rare Replay - Cheating really as its a collection of many great games but this is truly fantastic. This one disc probably provided me with more quality entertainment than the last 5 years of Virtual Console. Highlights being able to replay the original Banjo (which I 100% completed for the first time), Banjo-Nuts and bolts that I obsessively put hours and hours into and completed from start to finish, loving the vehicle customisation stuff all over again (and buying the DLC lol) and Viva Pinata which was a revelation and joy to play - honestly I wish I'd have known about that in 2008.

Elsewhere I dabbled in a bunch of different games and really enjoyed them and got a special kick out of the retro challenges which play like NES Remix and the bonus videos which have so many great behind the scenes insights and those lovely old Silicon Graphics renders.

2) Forza - I got Forza 5 for free when I got my xbox and wasn't fussed about it, I was bored one night so decided to have a quick go and quite enjoyed it. Then I had another quick go. Then a medium go. Then a long go. Then I was playing entire championships, buying all sorts of cars, spending ages putting ridiculous and awesome paint jobs on them and generally having a fantastic time. Then I got Forza Horizon 2 as I quite enjoyed 5 and man, that blew my MIND. What a fantastic racer, I haven't had this much fun with racing games since Excite Truck. The open roads, the arcade feel, the amazing music, I adored every second of that game. So literally last week I got Horizon 3 and I plan to play the pants off it for the rest of this year.

Of all the series to really take me by surprise, this is up there.

3) Grow Up/Grow Home: This cute little game has you playing as a robot with odd controls, like a walking Snake Pass, collecting crystals and fertilising massive plants until you can make it back to your mother ship. I got the second game first as it was on sale and looked cute and loved every second so got the original at full price. I'd highly recommend both as when you get the glider wings it plays like a super chilled out PilotWings game (reminded me a lot of the 3DS title)

4) ABZU - Short but sweet, there's not much gameplay here apart from swimming around and finding stuff but that's what makes it so great, the stuff you're swimming around and finding is masses of different species of awesome fish, ancient ruins and crazy lights. And it has one of the best videogame endings ever, honestly I was nearly crying lol

 

 

Disappointments of the year.

 

I should pre-face this with the fact that I know these are actually fantastic games, possibly the best in their respective genres, they just weren't up my alley.

1.) Zelda - It took me a long time to not be bitter about them ripping out all the GamePad features, after that it took me a good while to get engrossed as the frame drops and blank GamePad screen made it feel like a rushed Third Party port. The bits I did play were great though and it's clear the world is a spectacular piece of software, I'm just not into the open world feel and wanted a classic 3D Zelda with yknow, actual music and not feeling constantly lost.

2.) Persona 5 - Just like Zelda, I probably didn't give this a fair chance as I was judging it for what it isn't instead of what it is. Coming off from a mega high that is Tokyo Mirage Sessions I was hoping for something similar, and while the gameplay is similar I just felt too bogged down in what seemed like a pretty dark and depressing story. I wanted my crazy music videos and colourful dancing combos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Glen-i]

@Josh64 You bring up an interesting point when it comes to the difference between Yooka's collectables and Odyssey's collectables.

After finally finishing Yooka-Laylee, I've hit upon what exactly stopped Mario Odyssey from getting higher in my list. The main collectables are treated in a very different way.

In Yooka, the key items, the Pagies, are not the only thing to get. There's a lot of other smaller things to get and, consequently, are typically easier to get. The Pagies are typically the trickiest thing to get, requiring the player to complete some kind of challenge.

On the other hand, Odyssey has one main collectable, the Moons Just like the other old-school 3D Marios. Now this was fine for 64 and Sunshine, because it was still the same kind of premise, the player must complete some kind of challenge and is rewarded with a Star/Shine.

Odyssey's main difference is that compared to 64 and Sunshine, there are 5 times the amount of things to collect. I don't care how big your game is, that's a hell of a lot of things to hide. This ends up with a whole lot of Moons that are just there with no challenge connected to it. And because each Moon is worth the same (Apart from the pretty rare Multi Moons), this results in a lot of Moons being unsatisfying to collect.

Yooka (And by extension, the Banjo games) get around this problem by having the easier to find collectables be not as important as the Pagies, yet still help the player achieve the goal of collecting Pagies. This keeps a healthy amount of stuff to find, yet keep a sense of satisfaction when you do collect the main driving force.

Anyway, there's my thoughts. Did Yooka-Laylee come out this year? I mean, it did on Switch, but I can't remember if it was this year.

Edited December 30, 2017 by Glen-i

[Josh64]

1 hour ago, Glen-i said:

@Josh64 You bring up an interesting point when it comes to the difference between Yooka's collectables and Odyssey's collectables.

After finally finishing Yooka-Laylee, I've hit upon what exactly stopped Mario Odyssey from getting higher in my list. The main collectables are treated in a very different way.

In Yooka, the key items, the Pagies, are not the only thing to get. There's a lot of other smaller things to get and, consequently, are typically easier to get. The Pagies are typically the trickiest thing to get, requiring the player to complete some kind of challenge.

On the other hand, Odyssey has one main collectable, the Moons Just like the other old-school 3D Marios. Now this was fine for 64 and Sunshine, because it was still the same kind of premise, the player must complete some kind of challenge and is rewarded with a Star/Shine.

Odyssey's main difference is that compared to 64 and Sunshine, there are 5 times the amount of things to collect. I don't care how big your game is, that's a hell of a lot of things to hide. This ends up with a whole lot of Moons that are just there with no challenge connected to it. And because each Moon is worth the same (Apart from the pretty rare Multi Moons), this results in a lot of Moons being unsatisfying to collect.

Yooka (And by extension, the Banjo games) get around this problem by having the easier to find collectables be not as important as the Pagies, yet still help the player achieve the goal of collecting Pagies. This keeps a healthy amount of stuff to find, yet keep a sense of satisfaction when you do collect the main driving force.

Anyway, there's my thoughts. Did Yooka-Laylee come out this year? I mean, it did on Switch, but I can't remember if it was this year.

Yeah I think that was the problem, I wish they had turned some moons into a collectible for special outfits or something, or made them blue coins that you can put toward a single moon (because I know how much everyone loved blue coins in Sunshine lol)

 

And yeah Yooka-Laylee came out in March on PS/XB

[Dcubed]

I'm really not sure what to put for this one.  I'll have to have a bit of a think and come back later...

 

8 hours ago, Josh64 said:

4.) Paper Mario Color Splash: Really fun and original game, not like Thousand Year Door but enjoyable in its own right, with the kind of music and humour you WOULD expect from TTYD and graphics that are probably the best I've seen in any title - If you want an argument for art style, this one wins it. I loved collecting the realistic items and using them in battle and the gamepad use was really good. I felt kinda sad the whole time I was playing it though as it was an end of an era for Wii U and also the fact that pretty much no one had given this game a chance.

 

As great a game as it is and how much I'm glad to see it getting some praise, it came out last year, so it can't be included... I know, I know, I actually played it this year too, but it's a 2016 game...

[RedShell]

My game of 2017 is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I had a good feeling about it early on...

...but didn't realise quite how significant is was going to end up being for me personally at that time. Long story short, had it not been for Breath of the Wild, I wouldn't have bought a Switch at launch, wouldn't have played many other games this year, wouldn't be typing this right now and... well, let's just say that it arrived for me at both the worst and best time possible, and as a result is one of the most important games I have ever played.

Not just any game could've had the impact that Breath of the Wild did though, I mean it really is a masterpiece. From the beautiful atmosphere and its meticulous representation of nature, to the ingenious use of physics and unexpected gameplay mechanics, which are simply insane for an open world setting. The world feels truly organic and every journey would bring about new experiences and revelations. Every single session, now matter how long or short, felt like a bountiful adventure.

I remember being blown away very early on by one of the puzzles in a shrine, or rather, how I managed to solve it (basically in a way which didn't at all feel like the intended method ). There was no video capture for Switch at the time, but I nabbed a screenshot of the puzzle in question:

Spoiler

It was at this point I also realised that everyone who plays the game will likely get a completely different experience to everyone else. Sure, you can apply that logic to pretty much any game, but I think BotW definitely takes it to a whole new level. It's possible to bend the rules of the game in some truly wacky directions, to places the developers themselves probably hadn't even anticipated!

There were many surprising solutions to problems throughout my entire playthrough and it made puzzle solving for someone like myself (i.e. a bit thick ) all the more enjoyable. Here's a recent example of my unorthodox style with the latest DLC...

Spoiler

 

I just love the vast amount of creative possibility that is presented to the player in BotW, at times it's almost as if we're the ones designing the game as we play. And to create something with the scope of BotW, with that much potential variation is quite frankly astounding. Also, for a game from a series which more than anything sets out to tell a story, the commitment to ensuring it still offers high quality and compelling gameplay is something that I massively appreciate. At a time when games are increasingly becoming obsessed with presentation, narrative and zazz, often at the expense of gameplay, BotW is a wonderful example of exactly what makes video games such a great and unique form of entertainment in the first place.

While I obviously disagree with anyone who didn't enjoy the game, I can at least understand some of the complaints, particularly from those who were perhaps expecting a more structured Zelda experience that's similar to the rest of the series. But I absolutely love how BotW returned all the way back to its roots on the NES, and gave Zelda fans of that specific era the chance to freely explore and embark on their very own adventure once again.

 

So yeah, Zelda takes the top spot for me. As for everything else, in no particular order...

• Splatoon 2 - Amazing sequel. So much fun to play and evolving all the time.
• Super Mario Odyssey - Probably my favourite 3D Mario game since 64, astonishingly good.
• Yakuza Kiwami - Brilliant game. Plays great, looks awesome and is truly hilarious.
• Yakuza Zero - It's Yakuza... set in the 1980s... nothing else to say.
• ARMS - Fantastic fighter. Simple to pick up, yet quite a bit of depth to it.
• Miitopia - Super entertaining. Perfect 3DS swan song for me.

Honourable mentions to (some of these weren't 2017 but new to me)...

Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, Downwell, Golf Story, Thumper, DOOM, and probably Master Blaster Zero actually, currently playing that and really enjoying it.

 

 

[Happenstance]

Just completed Uncharted Lost Legacy so I'm revising my top 10 a bit.

1. Yakuza 0 - I've always been a fan of the Yakuza games but haven't managed to play them all, Zero however just seemed to click in all the right places. The 80s setting is really well realised with a lot of nice little touches to make it feel like Japan back then. The characters are brilliant, the fighting mechanics have upped their game and the story is just so well written with lots of twists and turns. I cant wait for Yakuza 6 next year.

2. Destiny 2 - Originally the first Destiny didnt really do it for me but I came back a few expansions later and thought they nailed it. Destiny 2 managed to do that right out of the gate. Much better story and the loot grind was a lot easier.

3. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds - I got all caught up watching Giant Bomb's quest for a chicken dinner this year and eventually got a group of friends together to play this ourselves. Its such a tense game, right from the beginning parachuting out of the plane and spinning the camera around to see who is coming down with you to the end where you are stuck in this tiny circle praying you see the other guy before he sees you. Even though it got its full release about a week ago, it still has issues but they just never seemed to detract from the game.

4. Super Mario Odyssey - 3D Mario games have never been my thing. I was always a 2D Mario guy and before this I had never actually completed one. Odyssey though was a lot of fun with some great level design, mechanics and music.

5. Injustice 2 - A sequel to one of my favourite fighting games. The MK fighting engine still holds up well but the story mode is where this game shines for me.

6. Uncharted: Lost Legacy - Uncharted can be a bit hit and miss for me. I thought I was done with the series after the shit show that was 3. 4 was very good but I felt I was done with it. Lost Legacy managed to pull me back in by switching up the characters and getting a bit more personal with returning Chloe and Nadine. Plus, god damn those facial animations are just unmatched! Oh and before I forget, that has to be one of the most satisfying final boss fights in gaming history for me.

7. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - This series is very similar to 3D Mario games for me. Never actually beaten one until now. Its probably quite low on my list compared to a lot of people's on this forum but certain mechanics like the breaking weapons/rain and the story/barren feeling world held it back to the point where I was starting to rush by the end to try and get to Ganon. Don't get me wrong though, I enjoyed a lot of my time with it and as a lot of people have said, the mechanics in the world were great.

8. Sonic Mania - I'm a big Sonic fan. My nostalgia for 2 may be rose tinted at this point but I struggle to let go of it. With Sonic Mania though, Sega (or more accurately Christian Whitehead) managed to create a game which kept all that nostalgia intact and possibly even surpassed it in some places.

9. Yakuza Kiwami - I had only watched the recap movie of the first Yakuza game as I started originally with 3 so it was nice to hear that a remake of 1 was coming. Kiwami uses the same engine as Zero and while the game and story may not hit the same highs, its still very fun.

10. Tekken 7 - I loved Tekken 1-3 but then just fell off from the series for years. While I wasnt a fan of the story mode in this one, the fighting mechanics still worked really well.

 

I ended up deciding to take Persona 5 off of my list as while I do like what I've played, I'm only 2 dungeons in so I dont think thats far enough to judge it enough for a GOTY list.

Edited December 30, 2017 by Happenstance

[Glen-i]

12 hours ago, Josh64 said:

And yeah Yooka-Laylee came out in March on PS/XB

Well then, I have to change my top 10 a bit then.

10. Splatoon 2

9. Sonic Mania

8. Super Mario Odyssey

7. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

6. Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon

5. Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment

4. Yooka-Laylee

3. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

2. Monster Hunter Stories

1. Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap

Sorry, Puyo Puyo Tetris...

 

[Josh64]

7 hours ago, Dcubed said:

I'm really not sure what to put for this one.  I'll have to have a bit of a think and come back later...

 

 

As great a game as it is and how much I'm glad to see it getting some praise, it came out last year, so it can't be included... I know, I know, I actually played it this year too, but it's a 2016 game...

Damn, I didn't realise! I actually thought it was a January release but I guess that's just when I got around to buying it haha 

[Hero-of-Time]

2017 has been a hell of a year for gamers. Nintendo found it's feet again with the a new console, Sony continued to go from strength to strength with the PS4 and Microsoft launched a new console that made them and their fans proud to have the most powerful console on the planet.

The lineup of exclusive games on the PS4 has been staggering and this year pretty much cemented the console as one of the all time greats in my eyes. I've usually been able to keep up with games releases, even when owning multiple consoles, but this year the PS4 lineup completely broke me. I have a staggering backlog and there is no let up at the start of 2018.

Anyway, this year I had some great gaming experiences that were spread out among a few consoles. I've listed games that disappointed me, games that got forgotten by many gamers, games that surprised me, my favourite song in a game and my best 3 games on the PS4, 3DS and Switch.

Spoiler

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

This year the title of my most overrated game that I have ever played finally changed hands. GTA IV has finally been surpassed by BOTW. The game didn't give me what I wanted from a Zelda game. Gone were the sprawling dungeons that had epic and unique boss fights. These were replaced by 4 same looking small dungeons that had 4 same looking bosses. I hated the weapon breaking mechanic, the awful voice acting, the lack of decent story, the empty open world, the rain....man, I hated the rain. Here's hoping Nintendo go back to something more traditional next time around or if they want to continue down this path in the 3D games at least make a 2D Zelda that goes back to formula.

2. Everybody's Golf

I was really looking forward to this game when it was announced. It looked like a Mario Golf style game but with a mixture of Wii Sports/Resort added into the mix, with an online world to play around in. What arrived was a big of a broken mess that had a rough online setup and an obvious FTP base game. The game gets you to grind your way up the levels as a lot of content is locked. This means you have to play the same courses over and over before you can get to the newer stuff. The fact that when you hit a perfect shot and the ball can still drift is a very annoying mechanic and one that a lot of gamers weren't happy was added to this version. The game had a lot of promise but its execution was handled very poorly.

3. Yakuza 0

This series has always intrigued me and I figured 0 would be a good jumping on point. I enjoyed the opening sections and the story looked really interesting but then all of the wackiness started. The game has a stupid side which I don't really care for. I found it in total conflict with the main storyline and a lot of the stuff I found really cringe worthy and not funny at all. Had the game just been a serious story then I probably would have enjoyed it and completed it but I gave up after having enough of the crazy stuff in the game.

 

Spoiler

1. The 3DS

It honestly upsets me how gamers dropped the 3DS like a brick once the Switch arrived. Many hailed the Switch as an amazing handheld and they were finally able to play games on the go, as if the 3DS had not and still was not a thing. The 3DS had an amazing line up of games and one that I think put the Switch to shame. Miitopia, Hey! Pikmin, Dragon Quest VIII, Fire Emblem Echoes, Etrian Odyssey V, Yoshi's Woolly World, Pokemon Gold and Silver, Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon, Mario Party, Monster Hunter Stories, Kirby Blowout Blast, Kirby Battle Royale, Metroid Samus Returns, Ever Oasis, Mario and Luigi, Dragonball Fusions...those who dropped the 3DS missed out on a hell of a year. Their loss, I suppose.

2. Poi

This Switch game got lost on the eShop, partly because the eShop is a mess but mainly because it released around the same time as Mario Odyssey. The game is a platform adventure very much like Mario 64, with a hint of Sunshine at parts. It copies a lot of those games in various ways and is very blatant about it. Stars/Shines are replaced with Medallions, the main characters pretty much has every jump and move that Mario did in 64 and even some of the tasks for Medallions are the same as what Mario had to do in Sunshine and 64. Despite this the game is a great platformer game that takes you back to the 64bit era. It's looks are very basic and the game could do with a little polish but the platforming is very solid and satisfying. The game is just digital on other platforms but the Switch got a retail version, which I picked up.

3. Sine Mora EX

Another Switch game that seems to have got lost in the eShop/retail. I do love the side scrolling shooter genre. I'll be the first to admit that i'm not great at them these days ( beat Nemesis on the C64 as a young kid and R-Type on the SNES as an older kid ) but it doesn't stop me from trying these types of games out. This one is especially great because of the way it plays. You have a time limit to get through the stages, get hit and you lose time but destroy an enemy and you gain time. Gone is the usual setup of getting hit, dying and losing all of your power ups, instead you get hit, your power ups escape from your plane and you lose time. The power ups you lose can be quickly collected again, which makes the game fun and more forgiving than the old school shooters. You can also slow down time for a while which allows you to either dodge bullets or do more damage to the enemy. Like most shooters, its short but has some great replay value.

 

 

Spoiler

1. Persona 5

To this day I have still yet to finish Persona 4. The game gets praised to high heaven but I have yet to put more than 15 hours into the game. I was back and forth as to whether to pick up the 5th game but I took a chance and i'm really glad that I did. Unlike the 4th game, Persona 5 really clicked with me straight away and I found myself engrossed in the story, world and characters that were presented before me. It was refreshing to tackle adult situations and topics in a JRPG. I love the genre but I often get sick of the same old tropes being put in the games. This really shook things up for me and has me contemplating giving Persona 4 another chance next year.

2. Inti Creates

These guys have been around for a while but I really fell in love with their output for the Switch. Blaster Master Zero was an amazing Metroid style game, the whole in my heart by the absence of a real Mega Man game was filled by Mighty Gunvolt Burst and the Azure Striker Gunvolt Collection was a great MMZ type game that I never knew I wanted. The way they have dealt with DLC in their games has been fantastic. A lot of it has been free, such as characters and various modes in all of their games, and the stuff that is paid is priced very well, with characters being priced at just over a quid. I look forward to more of their output on the Switch.

3. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

This was a game that I tried playing back when I had a PS2. I hated the characters, setting and battle system. Fast forward over 10 years and this HD remaster got a release on the PS4. I loved it. I found the story and setting very interesting this time around. The battle system I got to grips with pretty fast and actually loved how I could set up the Gambit system to allow me to grind automatically. The extra bosses that needed to be completed for the platinum trophy was one of the hardest i've ever faced in a FF game but there was a great sense of satisfaction from delivering that final blow. Playing the game again all these years later proves that's good to give games a second chance, especially if there is a large gap between when you originally played it. Your tastes change and mature as time goes by and this proves it.

 

Spoiler

1. Nier Automata ( Weight of the World )

 

 

Those who followed my progress in the Nier thread would probably guessed that this would be my fav of the year. The song is fantastic on it's own but once you finish the game the words have far more meaning. The way the song is used in the true endings credits was amazing and pretty much had me in tears. It was such a wonderful moment and one that will stick with me for a long time.

2. Persona 5 ( Life Will Change )

 

I listened to the Persona 5 soundtrack before I played the game ( I also done this with Nier ) and this song really stood out to me. I remember sticking my earphones in at work and having this song on repeat for ages. I was stood there doing experiments just tapping away my foot the whole time.   I love how the non vocal version is used in the game. You go and storm the palaces and this kicks in. It's such a "Hell yeah!" moment I can't help but get hyped when I launch my attack.

3. Kingdom Hearts 2.8 ( Simple and Clean Ray of Hope Mix )

 

This one is a bit of a cheat entry. It's not exactly a new song but I LOVE Simple and Clean and this remix hits all the right beats. I've listened of countless versions of this song and everyone of them still hits me hard. Love it. As a sidenote, I plan on playing the whole series next year from start to finish in the hope that 3 arrives by the end of the year.

 

Spoiler

1. Miitopia

This game blew me away. I hated Tomodachi Life when I played it a few years back. I just get the concept of it. This game took what that game done and added RPG elements into it. If there was a way to get me to play it then that was it. The RPG additions were the hook but what I found the most fun was the various Mii's that appeared in the game. If you check the Miitopia topic you can see the great adventures I had in the game once I recruited an army of N-E members as we set about to save the world. It's games like this that makes me sad that Miiverse is no longer a thing. It was great posting my adventures but also reading what Mii's others had come across.

2. Hey! Pikmin

I think this will be regarded as an under appreciated hidden gem in years to come. A lot of reviewers dismissed the game due to it not playing like other Pikmin games. If you take the game for what it is and look at it from a different angle then I think the game is pretty special. It has that great Nintendo balance where the main game is pretty easy but if you delve into trying to get 100% then that's where the challenge comes from. I doubt many reviewers even bothered with this and as such missed out on a great part of the game.

3. Metroid: Samus Returns

I have a weird relationship with the Metroid franchise. I hate the Primes series but I love Other M. It was nice to finally get on the same page with Metroid fans because I really enjoyed this game. I found it to be pretty straight forward, which is what I like about Other M. I hate getting lost in these types of games and it usually just leads to frustration. I never really felt that with Samus Returns and it made for an enjoyable experience. I love that feeling in a Metroid game where you are completely powerless at the start and after slowly building your strength back up you finally reach that turning point where you can now take on all those that caused your grief early on. This game nails that feeling.

 

 

Spoiler

1. Super Mario Odyssey

Nintendo often talk about how they want to make gamers smile when they play their games and this is exactly what they done with this game. After waiting years for a true sequel of Mario 64 this game arrived and it delivered in an amazing way. There was so much to do in the game, with a staggering amount of Moons and outfits to collect. Sure, some of them were filler but when you're jumping around the amazing levels you kind of forget about that and just enjoy the experience. Some of the music in the game was amazing, with my personal favourite being...

It came completely out of left field and I was bopping my head the whole way through the sequence. It kinda felt like something that would fit perfectly in Splatoon or a Saturday morning cartoon. Nintendo once again raised the bar with this game.

2. Xenoblade Chronicles 2

I honestly didn't think that the game would arrive this year, although given the state that it arrived in we all know how this was achieved. I'm not a huge fan of the Xenoblade games. I think the first game is good but overrated, X is a complete disaster, so I was so glad when this turned out to be a fantastic game. XC2 just appeals far more to my tastes than the previous entries. It has a strong story running throughout the game, this is told via long cutscenes that wouldn't look out of place in an anime show, characters that are all likeable and useful and voice acting that isn't half bad. As I mentioned earlier, the game does have some issues. The undocked visuals are very rough and the game can crash on you ( mate of mine text me this morning saying he had lost 6 hours progress due to a crash ) so you need to be on top of your saving habits. Despite these problems I loved the game and its easily my favourite entry in the Xenoblade series.

3. Mario and Rabbids

I think most of us were surprised just how great this game turned out. I'm not a huge strategy guy and I found the game to be challenging but fair. Picking the right units for the right situation was very satisfying, as was learning from my mistakes and restarting the battle to get full marks. The Ultimate challenges were no joke and took many attempts to get right. Most people find the Rabbids to be annoying but I have never really minded their antics. Their inclusion into the Mario universe was a stroke of genius and I think they fit perfectly well within the Mushroom Kingdom. Here's to a Rabbid adventure in Hyrule!

 

Spoiler

1. Horizon: Zero Dawn

What a game this was. This game had the whole package. Amazing gameplay, intriguing story, great characters, top notch voice acting, fantastic animations...just a fantastic game all around. It still boggles my mind that the guys you created Killzone came up with this. Sure, the Killzone games are solid games but this is on a whole different level to those and most other games.The game reminded me of Monster Hunter in some ways. You would track down a machine, watch it carefully to try and notice any tells and then go about attacking it in the best way. What was great is the variety of ways you could tackle each of the beasts, with one of the most satisfying ways being using your bow to rip the beasts weapons off of it and then using it against them. The DLC that arrived recently done a great job of giving the players more to do, with a different setting and different enemies to tackle.

2. Persona 5

I won't waffle on about this anymore as I talked about it in my surprise section. I'll just post a picture of the gang from their up and coming dancing game.  

and maybe a couple of pics of the best lasses in the game.

 

3. South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Absolutely hilarious game. This game had me crying with laughter numerous times throughout my playthrough. I honestly didn't think that they could top what they done with the first game but they proved me wrong. It's crazy to think that this is essentially a 20 hour episode of the series. I will say that I preferred the battle system in the original game but this one does allow for more tactical play. Being able to pick from a bunch of superheros that have different abilities and then trying to complement them with your own character is half the fun. The game is is sexist, racist...it's South Park! If you don't like the show then you best give this a hard pass.

 

 

Spoiler

Horizon: Zero Dawn

It was between this and Mario Odyssey but in the end I had to go with Horizon.  I sometimes need more out of games than just gameplay. I find a strong narrative sticks with me more than good gameplay. It's why I love the JRPG genre, it's why to this day I can remember certain scenes from each of the Metal Gear Solid games, is why I prefer the original Infamous game over the seqeul despite the sequel having better gameplay and it's why I think Horizon trumps Odyssey. The narrative in Horizon is such an intriguing one. It had some great twists and memorable characters. It's a world I would love to explore again someday and i'm excited to see what Guerilla Games can do with the franchise going forward.

I've never been a graphics whore but from a technical perspective the game is nothing short of a miracle. The gif that was posted on Era still blows me away, as do many other gifs and screenshots that have been posted over the past several months on various places. the game is simply beautiful to look at.

 

Again, this was done but the guys who made Killzone, which makes this whole thing even more impressive. Well done, GG. You have quite rightly won my GOTY.

 

 

While i'm here I may as well dish out my 2018 GOTY.

Spoiler

Monster Hunter World

 

[Happenstance]

You disgust me @Hero-of-Time

[Blade]

Wow!! Excellent post there  @Hero-of-Time. I have yet to start Persona 5 or Horizon but they are in the backlog to play. 

I fundamentally disagree with your assessment of BOTW. I note you also disliked the Metroid Prime series! 

I've just started Yakuza 0 myself. I'll see if the wacky stuff annoy me. I continuously read positive opinions about the game. I've started the game with an open mind.

 

[Dcubed]

Excellent choices @Hero-of-Time! Especially your music choices!  

 

I desperately need some time to finally start playing Nier Automata! I have it sitting here, beckoning and yearning for me to play!

[Nicktendo]

10. Fast RMX - Loved the original, this is more of the same but looks stunning and has fun gameplay. 
9. Sonic Mania - Didn't get into the Sonic series until the VC, but I prefer this over the original 3. Fantastic throwback, amazing soundtrack and lots of retro fun. 
8. MK8 DX - My favourite multiplayer game, can't be bothered going through the SP again, but Thursday League Nights are always fun. Top tier MK game. Over 100 hours for both versions now 
7. Miitopia - The only 3DS game I played in 2017. Fantastic game, reviewed it for the site and loved it. The writing in this game is up there with Paper Mario.
6. Super Mario Odyssey - Love the variety of the worlds, the music and the gameplay but lost all desire to continue after hitting 450 moons, will pick it up again next year.
5. Splatoon 2 - Splatoon was my favourite Wii U game, this is more of the same but with a number of tweaks which make the experience better. Salmon Run is class.
4. ARMS - My sleeper hit of the year. Wasn't too keen at first but after learning the mechanics it is now my up there as one of my favourite fighting games of all time. 
3. Stardew Valley - Harvest Moon: Perfect Edition. HM was one of my favourite franchises as a kid, this does everything that series did just bigger and better.
2. Rocket League - Played 15 hours on the PC a year or 2 ago but couldn't get into it. N-E game nights have changed that. I bloody love this game.
1. Breath of the Wild - Obviously.

Still a lot of decent releases from this year to pick up, plus the SNES mini stuff to go through. Too. Many. Games. 

2017, Nintendo killed it. Never had so much fun being a gamer. 

Edit: Honorable mentions: Blaster Master Zero, Snake Pass, Skyrim, Puyo Puyo Tetris, Kamiko, Golf Story (might have featured if I'd have finished it).

Edited January 12, 2018 by Nicktendo