Some thoughts on my year, completely optional!

TLDR, Tell me about the games!

10. Mass Effect: Andromeda / Persona 5

I have a hard time picking either of these for the last spot. I absolutely love the world of Mass Effect and Andromeda was a real eye poke of a bad surprise. But even so, there were glimmers of hope in there. I had my moments of fun with the game. But I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. Likewise, I have a hard time getting through the Persona games. I love them for several hours but after a while it feels like a chore to keep playing, mostly due to the battles. It's no secret I have no love for the way JRPGs function these days, if there was a way to play the game entirely without battles (save for maybe boss battles) I would love to continue just experiencing the story.

9. Yakuza 0

I have always found the Yakuza franchise fascinating. As I heard someone once say, they feel like better takes on a Shenmue-esque game design philosophy. But they are also more over the top, yet fittingly cinematic crime stories that is so unapolagetically steeped in Japanese culture that I can't help but admire it. The fighting is always a joy, the story is fun to go along with. And those mini-games, all those mini-games.

8. Observer

I am not entirely sure this is a good game, but I couldn't help enjoy it even so. It ran like shit at times, it crashed several more and once in a blue moon do you get a voice actor that isn't bad. Actually, it felt like most voice actors were doing voices for different games. It's a really stylish game that manages to truly set a mood and somwhere I just found myself really clicking with it enough to keep it this far up the list.

7. Cuphead

The game I wanted to play since it was first revealed in that now famous Xbox indie reel. The music, animation, attention to detail are all fantastic. The game is hard but rewarding to play. It is strange to feel like I have so little to say but every time I play it I get mostly overwhelemd with admiration for it's artistic intent and execution.

6. Call of Duty: World War II

When it comes to distractions, few things work as well as CoD multiplayer. It's fast paced, fast rounds and you end up zoning out and just relying in instincts. A year when I needed a break from thinking, this game truly delivered. And that isn't a veiled stab at Call of Duty, mind you. I always liked the Call of Duty of old that were set during WW2. While the modern games had their evolution and interesting additions, I fell off after Advanced Warfare. Things had turned too crazy visually and movement wise, it just wasn't fun anymore. Going back to basics, in a sense, were a nice compromise for me. Things are still faster in some aspects compared to the old games, but the weapons and settings just feel a little more fun to play around with. I haven't been this good at Call of Duty in years. I have only briefly touched the single player and what I have seen seems pretty by the numbers. But those, while sometimes fun, are not why I buy Call of Duty.

5. Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition

Technically the game isn't a 2017 release as a title, but it is a 2017 release as a PS4 game. I bought the game on a whim one night when I wanted to play something new. This game had gotten good reviews on PC but looking at images and video didn't quite convince me. But, beggers can't be choosers, I took a leap of faith and ignored that. Luckily for me, it was a fantastic game. I vanished into the game and the world and hours passed by as I explored the world and it's story. It was all like reading a nice book, by a fireplace while drinking hot chocolate-levels of good times.

4. Assassin's Creed: Origins

Not going to deny I am a bit of an Assassin's Creed apologist, I never grew tired of the franchise and contrary to most I like my AC games full of themselves and plenty of conspiracy. I also prefer the entries with cities rather than open spaces, which is why I enjoyed Unity more than both III and Black Flag. Ironically, open spaces are plentiful in Origins but the way there are implemented here feels a lot less grating than they did in either of the other two. When I first started playing and getting into the game, I picked up on the very obvious Witcher 3 inflences. But I think it was for the benefit of the game. I was further surprised and delighted that they had revamped the climbing to include basically every type of surface, not just limited to buildings. The story has been interesting, the world is fascinating and beautiful and the combat is actually quite fun. It is without a doubt my favorite AC title since the days of Ezio.

3. What Remains of Edith Finch

For a while, I was pretty set on this game being my actual GOTY, I was in love with the story of the game and the fates of all the people in the Finch family. Every room was interesting to explore and the characters whom you get to meet through the memories were diverse and enjoyable. But one room really set the bar for me and it was interesting to see that it did it for other people as well though perhaps for different reasons. The fish canning factory sequence in this game may have been interesting to people, but for me it hit almost too close to home. A few years ago at the job I have now, I was working a station not disimillar to the one depicted in the game (though a poultry rather than fish). When you know a boring job well enough to do it on auto pilot, that's when you need to keep the time running. Music and podcasts were a thing, but day dreaming your time away was equally effective. But working in such a place is also very mentally draining due to it's monotonous repetition. I saw a friend turn into a depressed alcoholic (luckily, he's better now and got a job he enjoys elsewhere) and another coworker commited suicide (not only due to the job, but it was in the mix). I was on the verge of quitting by the time I was offered a different, better, position. When that segment ended I was in tears, partially because it was a well crafted piece, but because I saw someone illustrate a small piece of my life with such pinpoint accuracy that I had to put the controller down for a while.

2. Wolfenstein: The New Colossus

This game is crazy. It is dark and grim but hopefull and empowering. It defies expectations and surprise you at every corner. It was even better than Pillars of Eternity in making me completely forget about the real world and just be somewhere else. Whenever I stopped playing it felt I had to reemerge into the real world. Sort of like when a movie you're really invested in ends and you are thrown back out into reality. I was at first sceptical of the talk of this game and it's moments, I find people tend to often be hyperbolic. And while some scenes were not to the degree I had heard, there were so many nuances to the characters and the story that when certain things happened I couldn't help but admire the game's ability to almost treat it's cast of characters the way certain tv-shows do. They love them, but they will sacrifice them for impact when needed.

1. Hellblade

"Have you ever died before? It’s a serious question. When an illusion of self is shattered, you simply cease to be. Though it may not seem that way to others. You know when it is true. You can feel it. A stranger in your own body. An imposter. And nothing is the same ever again."

Unlike most people, I didn't have much issue with the combat or the puzzles. I enjoyed them enough, they weren't either too hard or too easy. Probably because I was so enamored with the world of Hellblade, what might otherwise have been an issue I dealt with. I sat and translated the runes on the first stone you see when you reach the shore and get control of Senua, already there the game shined with it's attention to detail and even reveals an aspect of the story. Honestly, I think I mostly bought the game because of it's use of norse mythology. But playing it I was surprised. Pleasantly surprised by the game's visual style, the audio design, the fantastic music and it's world. Though the thing that surprised me the most was through dealing with Senua's struggles, the game spoke to me in related terms. The quote above hit me the way the cannery scene in Edith Finch did, it felt like the game spoke directly to me. And the deeper into the game I got, the more I felt for Senua and her struggle. For her sake but also for mine. It is a hard thing when your biggest enemy is yourself, how do to beat them? I can't praise this game enough.