As has been the case for previous years, my definition of "this year's games" is pretty loose. It may have been released in 2017! Sometimes games were released previously, but continue to be updated and gain my attention this year because of new content. Or maybe it was released in 2015 and didn't make it through my queue of games until this year! No one really knows what will turn up on the list - we'll just find out as we go along.
I dropped out of World of Warcraft for a pretty long time. And even when I played, previous expansions saw me jump in, burn through the content, and quickly disappear again for another year.
Legion doesn't feel like a passing phase, though. I'm back in Azeroth and it feels good again. I think this is the expansion where the recipe for end-game content was finally figured out, and it's pretty delicious. I'm having more fun developing my characters than I ever did, and the content never seems to dry out.
The bittersweet feelings I have of the challenging-but-tedious grinds of the old days being replaced with a more streamlined WoW have mostly subsided. I still miss the old days when the world felt a little more dangerous, and things weren't served to you on a silver platter as much, but I understand the direction and feel it helps the game become more engaging in the long run.
Boy, it's hard to say anything about this game that isn't completely obvious. It looks amazing, sounds amazing, plays amazing, and captures just about everything I love about Persona.
One of the earliest things that had me excited about this game (aside from how beautiful it looked from early screens) was the inclusion of demon negotiation. I'm embarrassed to admit I have yet to finish a full playthrough of SMT: Nocturne, but I played enough of it to be able to appreciate the SMT roots present in Persona 5. This, along with the other options available in battle, keep the combat really fresh throughout the game.
Social links have the typical assortment of mostly good with one or two weak story lines. The main characters are perhaps a bit weaker than previous Persona games, but overall still pretty strong.
I have not yet delved into a New Game+, but it's high on my list of things to do because I can't wait to see the threads I missed, as well as experience the story a second time.
In the fighting game world, it is the year of Tekken! I'm so happy that this franchise has reached the level of hype it is experience right now - it has always been a good series, but Tekken 7 really put on the polish it needed to turn some heads that might otherwise not have turned. The inclusion of Akuma, Geese Howard, and Noctis is a fantastic move to pull newcomers in, and also really fun for existing Tekken fans!
The gameplay is not terribly different from Tekken 6. But the addition of just a small handful of new mechanics seemed enough to make the game special. Rage Arts are exciting and fun to pull off. The slow-mo finishers are hype. The spiral combos are a welcome change from a Tekken Tag Tournament 2 combo system which many felt was a bit too overpowering. A few new moves keep the characters interesting.
I'm seeing a huge surge of people with a newfound desire to get good at Tekken. It's a fun game to play and to watch, and there's never been a better time than right now to get into it.
