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bibamatt

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MATT'S FAVOURITE GAMES OF 2017

Another absolutely unbelievable year for gaming. I feel like I'm starting to say the same things every year but this year was truly one of the best in memory. Biggest shout out of the year goes to Nintendo for bookending 2017 with two of the best games that they've ever made. The Switch hit the market hard in it's first year and it's definitely left it's mark. Next shout out goes to Tekken 7 for being the best fighting game in a year of amazing fighting games and probably the best Tekken game ever made. For the first time ever my list includes a game that is technically in 'early access'. Early access games have been a big talking point in 2017 (mainly due to the colossal rise of PUBG until it's eventually 1.0 release in December) and it's something I've thought hard about and pretty much changed my mind on this year. In this age of evolving games, whether it's Destiny slowly rolling out new content over a span of two years or Splatoon 2 adding new maps and modes over time, what is a finished game? If a game is available to buy and is playable and is one of my favourite things I played this year, shouldn't it be on my list? Yeah, I reckon...

So without further ado... the list! Thanks 2017.

List items

  • What can I say that hasn't been said already? BOTW is bothering the number one spot on pretty much everyone's list and it's for good reason. It's an absolutely sublime achievement in games. A truly non-linear Zelda game, BOTW brings the franchise kicking and screaming into the 21st century, finally shedding the structure that we've had in place since the SNES days. But this isn't just Nintendo aping The Witcher, Elder Scrolls or Assassin's Creed. Well, it kind of is that. But they've done it with such expertise and mastery that it just simply eclipses those games in multiple ways. My favourite thing about BOTW is that it encourages exploration as the number one gameplay loop. The world is jam packed full of sights, sounds and characters. The environment itself is a character. The physics that cause the environment to react to your every move are a masterpiece of game design. The 'what's-over-that-hill' mechanic is taken to the extreme here and it's almost always rewarding. I can think back to my time exploring Hyrule in BOTW and think of countless stories, mini-adventures and challenges that will stick with me forever. It's phenomenal fun and a shining example of open-world gameplay at it's finest.

  • They've bloody done it again. I've really enjoyed every 3D Mario since 1996's Mario 64 but none of them have given me that child-like excitement that I got from exploring Mario 64's world. Don't get me wrong, I love Galaxy (and even Sunshine!) as much as the next person but Mario 64 was special. Maybe I'm just too old for those feelings now? I've tried to play other hyped 3D platformers in recent years and kind of bounced off of them all. Definitely too old. But no, Super Mario Odyssey bought it all back. There just hadn't been a game like this (for me) since Mario 64 and I'm so happy to have it back in my life. The world(s) that Nintendo have created as your playgrounds in Odyssey are diverse and intriguing environments. No other game feels like Mario to control and his new moves make exploring these environments more fun that ever before. There are A LOT of power moons (the new 'stars') to collect but I'd find myself often dipping in for 20/30 minutes at a time and grabbing a handful while I just played in the spaces. Perfect for a handheld Mario game? Super Mario Odyssey bridges the gap between a handheld and a home console Mario so effortlessly you just forget that there's even a distinction. There isn't one. Mario is love, Mario is life.

  • How did a fucking Yoko Taro game make it onto my Top Ten list? If you would've told me that a NieR sequel in 2017 would capture my attention like this I would've laughed you out of the room. But NieR:Automata is absolutely gold plated excellence and, if it wasn't for Nintendo absolutely smashing it this year, it'd be my favourite game of 2017. It's hard to explain the structure of N:A without spoiling the surprise but it's generally known that you have to finish the game multiple times. Most people say five times but it's kind of vague. Regardless, NieR:Automata is a story that you will revisit. One playthrough offers a typical Platinum action RPG game experience and is fun enough but it's the following experiences within the game that open it out and truly show you the bonkers nature of Taro's game design. Once N:A got it's hooks in to me I didn't play anything else until I'd finished the game (yes, multiple times) and gotten my Platinum trophy. I then promptly uninstalled the game and sold my copy. I never want to go back to NieR and I never want to forget it because it's incredible. A special game.

  • This year's list was full of surprises for me but Biggest Surprise of 2017 easily goes to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. An Arma 3 mod creator goes on to create his first 'real game' and it just takes over the charts and smashes Steam sales (and concurrent players) numbers throughout the year. Not a week goes by without a press release announcing how many millions more players are playing PUBG (I think the latest one I saw was 30 million players?) and it's easy to see why. PUBG is a triumph. Quite simply, it's the 'Battle Royale' game that I've wanted every since seeing the movie 15 years ago. Finally. 100 players on a massive island start with nothing and have to battle their way to being the last one standing using whatever weapons, armour and vehicles they can scavenge along the way. Sometimes it's 2017's Best Hide 'n Seek Simulator. I'll hear other players nearby and, fearing for my life, I'll cower in a bathroom for the next ten minutes until I hear them drive away. Sometimes I'll get lucky and find a house chock-full of armour and assault rifles and I'll feel a little braver. But every game of PUBG is different and it always keeps you on your toes. It's led me to play nearly 50 hours on the PC version and now it's arrived on consoles in the form of an Xbox One version I'm racking up the hours there too. And this is a multiplayer only game that has spent 95% of 2017 with ONE MAP (they recently launched a second). It's no wonder PUBG has become the biggest gaming phenomenon of 2017. It's a wonderful creation that is set to be copied for all eternity. Congrats PlayerUnknown for nailing the genre so wonderfully on YOUR FIRST GAME. Wowzers.

  • Cuphead (why oh why didn't they name it after the other character in the game - Mugman?) has maybe my favourite graphics of any game ever. Oh my god this game is just stunning. Taking it’s look from 1930’s American animation like Steamboat Willy, Cuphead is just a joy to look at. The colours, the animation, the boss and enemy designs… it all just comes together in this gorgeous package that just blew my socks clean off the first time I saw it. But visuals can only get you so far. A game that looks like Cuphead would be fascinating if the graphical style was all there was but, thankfully, there’s a really really great game in there to back it up. It’s a game that feels truly retro to play (in all the right ways) but also one that takes full advantage of modern technology to create a look that I could never have dreamed of as a kid in the 8 and 16 bit eras. Throughout my life, I’ve played games and thought ‘games will never look better than this’. As I’ve got older, that’s slowed down. I see the flaws in visuals more than ever these days and I can always see where they can improve. But Cuphead has bought back that feeling. I honestly believe that, for this 1930’s animation style, this is the peak. It’s just a good job that the gameplay matches it. What a game.

  • For a game that is, predominantly, about shooting Nazis in the face (and it does that really, really well), Wolfenstein 2 has more to say. But let's get the Nazi shooting out of the way. It's sublime. The weapon selection is a blast, the fun perks and upgrades are back (you upgrade the protagonist automatically as you play - get more stealth kills to upgrade the damage of your silenced weapons. Get more environmental kills to increase your resistance to explosions etc) and it's as fun as ever. But what really struck me about Wolfenstein 2 this year was it's characters and the story that it tells. The game is full of deep, interesting characters that all have personal stories to tell. Some are funny (a lot of them are funny actually - and a game with this much killing and grim far-right content really needs that...), some are just empowering and some are really complex. It's full of relationships and character moments that add depth and heart to the story. This all might sound like a game that is full of dialogue and stuff that doesn't involve shooting but that's really not the case. Machinegames have just done an absolutely perfect job of injecting humour, heart and soul into the game in just the right places for just the right amount of time. The shooting gameplay IS still the vast majority of Wolfenstein's playtime and it's incredible. When I'm dual-wielding shotguns and blasting my way out of a nazi courtroom I feel amazing. When I'm sneaking around and headshoting guys with a silenced pistol this might as well be a new GoldenEye 007. But the game is more than that and that's what makes it so good and so much better than other shooters. It's a fantastic game that is full of fantastic moments and I'm desperate to start playing it again.

  • This is just a huge surprise to me. I played SteamWorld Dig in 2013 but it didn't really grab me. SteamWorld Heist (a totally different style of game set in the same 'universe') peaked my interest. But SteamWorld Dig 2 captured my attention from the word go and held it until the end. It's a phenomenal achievement. It's just so fun to explore the world they've created, slowly digging and making your way deeper and further in to the landscape. It's got all of the fun traversal upgrades that you would expect from a Metroidvania game but it's semi Rogue-like loop of having to return to town every so often because you've run out of light or because you need to drop off your loot is just addictive stuff. It looks amazing, has a cracking soundtrack and the gameplay loop is pure joy. Don't miss this one.

  • The year that dragged me kicking and screaming back to Assassin's Creed. I always play the AC games but I really dropped off hard during the last few entries. The series needed a fresh start and BOY did it get one with Origins. Taking a year off from their traditional yearly release schedule allowed Ubisoft to make the largest environment yet. Ancient Egypt is just a huge amount of fun to be in. Climbing pyramids, RAIDING pyramids, hunting massive killer crocs in the Nile, riding a... chocobo? It's full of genuinely fun and engrossing side content and they managed to crowbar in a Destiny-like loot and skills system that actually absolutely works. It's phenomenal.

  • My Early Access addition to the list. Dead Cells 'launched' on Steam in May but is technically still unfinished. The developers continue to add new features, weapons and enemies to the game but, honestly, don't most games do that after release anyway? Dead Cells is 100% brilliant whether it's finished or not. It's a *gulp* rogue-like Metroidvania (which makes it the most 2017 game ever) but it's not just a mish-mash of popular genres. It's lovingly crafted, looks AMAZING and just has the most fun and visceral combat, traversal and loot systems. I'm hooked. The game will (hopefully) hit 1.0 in 2018. But it's almost perfect already <3

  • My only regret about playing Persona 5 is that it took me so long to do it. I had the game pre-ordered so got it at release in April. It took me until THIS MONTH to finally take the shrink wrap off. I dare say if I'd played the game for longer it would be probably be higher (it takes an estimated 100 hours of play time to finish the game...) but, needless to say, what I've played already easily gets P5 onto my list. Persona 4 Golden is one of my favourite JRPG games of all time and it's an absolutely joy to be back in this world with it's stylish visuals, engrossing social subplots and it's frankly unbeatable soundtrack. It kinda feels a bit weird playing another Atlus JRPG set in real world Shibuya after playing Tokyo Mirage Sessions just last year... but whatever, it's a great location to explore in-game. I love Persona.
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