A quick blog I wanted to write up after completing my GOTY 2017 list reflecting my gaming habits in 2017 and what I hope to accomplish in gaming in 2018.

Here’s a link to my GOTY 2017 list if anyone’s curious.

Looking Back to 2017

GOTY 2017, Listing and Writing on 15 Games

Twenty seventeen was an incredible year of video games that I could not ignore my ranked #11 to #15 games when I finalized my full rankings because those games still made a strong enough impact with me that I wanted to write about them. Games on the lower end of this year’s list would have easily landed on another year’s GOTY list as in some years I listed games where I was more lukewarm on or grasping for something to put on the list (2015).

Happy with GOTY Write-Ups?

Considering that I was writing my GOTY list free-flowing without stopping to check frequently for grammar and spelling errors, I am happy on how my GOTY game summaries came out. The only game that I was not too thrilled with was NieR:Automata, which I expected it to be sloppy since I knew I was going to have a hard time trying to limit myself on the various reasons I liked and disliked about the game.

Excluding Puyo Puyo Tetris

Though I have played the game thoroughly enough to be included on my 2017 GOTY list, I decided to not include PPT because I felt playing the localized version through did not provide enough of a differentiating experience compared to the time I played my imported digital copy years back. Plus as I made my shortlist and decided that I wanted to write on the 15 other games that I played that was inclusive of this year instead.

Excluding Tekken 7

The only thing I have accomplished in Tekken 7 was completing the story mode. I did not venture too much into Tekken 7’s other single player modes or played any online to get a feel on how Tekken 7 stacks up against the other games that I have played to fruition. It was easy to leave Tekken 7 out but I’m upset that I could not play more out of this game to see where it would have landed on my 2017 GOTY list.

Awesome Games, Awesome Soundtracks

Not only the games that landed on my GOTY list were great games to play, but almost every one of them also had equally amazing soundtracks. There was just something to each game’s soundtracks that does their things so well. They were so good, I went ahead and purchased them, some myself and a few with help from my brother. Just this past week, I purchased the following soundtracks digitally from Amazon: Cuphead; Gravity Rush 2; NieR:Automata Arranged; Pyre. I purchased NieR:Automata’s OST upon finished the game back in April. My brother purchased the vinyl releases of Sonic Mania (Data Discs) and Persona 5 (iam8bit) though with caveats. Data Discs was able to include a redeemable digital copy with the vinyl, the soundtrack was limited to new compositions. The Persona 5 vinyl did not include a coupon to redeem the soundtrack digitally.

How the Hell Did I Manage to Play and Finish These Games?

Somehow against all of the hours dedicated to work, other hobbies, and life, I managed to play and finish a surprising amount of games in 2017. They’re not all the short runtimes like What Remains of Edith Finch, Pyre, etc., but long-running behemoths like Persona 5 (100 hours), Etrian Odyssey V (75 hours), NieR:Automata (42 hours), Fire Emblem Echoes (45 hours), and so on. There were a number of games that I felt my playtime was a lot longer than it seemed, such as Mario + Rabbids (30 hours), Gravity Rush 2 (25 hours), and even Super Mario Odyssey including post game (20 hours). A lot of time also went into competitive games such as Splatoon 2 and REV2.

The games being great certainly helped, but other contributing factors that helped was the enthusiasm around how great 2017 games have been helped keep my motivation high on getting through my current game and looking forward to the next game that I had my sights on. Focusing on only one or two games at a time was another factor in keeping me focused with those games and see them through, even when those games were not getting my attention from not being as great as I’d hoped they would be. My game time eventually took over my time and interests of reading books/manga and watching any TV programs or movies. I essentially just hunkered down and played video games for most my available time, taking necessary breaks in between.

The 2017 Back-Burner Pile

Here’s to backlogs! Not sure if I’ll be able to get around to these games in the near future, but who knows.

• Dragon Quest VIII (updated 3DS version)
• Tales of Berseria
• Yakuza 0
• DiRT 4
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Horizon: Zero Dawn
• Slime Rancher
• Yakuza Kiwami
• Ys VIII
• The Evil Within 2
• Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
• Wolfenstein II

Looking Forward to 2018

Wish: Less Frequent Big/Surprise Releases

2017 offered no breaks for anyone who wanted to play the best of the best for the year. From the start with Gravity Rush 2, Tales of Berseria, and Yakuza 0 in mid-January to probably Super Mario Odyssey and Wolfenstein II at the end of October, there was at least a number of games per month that was getting widespread praise throughout the year until the holidays. Though my wish is foolish, but I do hope the constant frequency of great releases slows up a bit in 2018. I did pressure myself into buying games outside of my comfort zone in 2017 due to their surprising reception (Pyre, Evil Within 2, Wolfenstein 2 to name a few). At least the gaming calendar for 2018 at a glance looks to be a bit less heavy, though who knows what surprising games comes out of nowhere to possibly continue 2017’s trend of constant great games coming out as a year-round thing now instead of being relegated to particular segments like it was before this decade.

Goals: Backlog and Online Gaming with Duders

Since I’m not too keen with 2018’s slate of games at the moment, my big gaming goal I am setting for myself is to knock out whatever games I have from my enormous backlog. In particular, I want to get through one or two more of 2017’s great slate of games and play at least one classic/well-regarded game and hope to play more from there. My other gaming goal is to sustain my online friendships that I attained through Giant Bomb and play games with them somehow, particularly FGs with the GB FGC Discord group.

2018 Releases of Interest

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] - 9 February

I did not play much of the imported digital PS3 game version I purchased in 2017, so I hope the localized North American release will get me back into playing Under Night more frequently this year.

Yakuza 6 - 20 March

I’ll definitely buy the game, though I doubt I’ll get around to this game in 2018. I have yet to play a Yakuza game and Zero sounds like a good starting point for me into the franchise before I get to the others.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 - 21 March

Same deal as above. I do have Valkyria Chronicles Remastered for the PS4 and would like to get through that game first before touching this. I probably will buy this game nonetheless.

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection - May

No explanation needed. Super Turbo, Alphas 1-3, SF III: 3rd Strike. Online too.

Bloodstained (Backed Campaign)

Hoping the original Castlevania creator can work his magic to bring that classic Castlevania gameplay back into the forefront with this inspired effort.

Indivisible (Backed Campaign)

Giving the Lab Zero folks support for their Valkryie Profile-esque effort after relatively enjoying Skullgirls with my brief time playing that game.

Dragon Quest XI

Never played a DQ game before and despite buying the updated VII and VIII 3DS versions, I think I’ll try to look at DQ XI as my icebreaker into the franchise.

Red Dead Redemption 2?

I haven’t played much of Rockstar’s games, but to my surprise I played, finished, and enjoyed RDR1. I’ll give RDR2 a chance.

Soulcalibur VI

For now, I’d rather try to play more and see if I can enjoy Tekken 7 between the two Namco 3D fighters. I am keeping an eye out on how this game shakes out.

The World Ends with You Final Remix

Heading into this year, TWEWY was one of the games that I really wanted to cross-off my backlog list. Thanks to today's Nintendo direct, I'll wait until the Switch version comes out. I'll be interested to see how the handle the dual-character combat/one screen gameplay on the Switch.

---

Thanks for reading. Here’s to 2018, in gaming and elsewhere.