2017 was a very hectic year for me. I completed my senior year of College and successfully graduated, I moved to a new town closer to the job which marks the beginning of my career, and I'm all around just adjusting to no longer being a student in the world. This has changed my gaming habits some. For one, I have become much more picky on which games I actually play. I feel less inclined to just buy a game on a hunch at full price to see if I like it or not. I also enjoy games that I can take in smaller chunks rather than long AAA games that require hours of playtime at a time. Although don't tell that to Persona 5.

I think this tends to reflect itself in my list more this year because my list is comprised mainly of choices that are fairly safe for me as a person. I did not really go out of my comfort zone with games this year and try any genre that I don't care for. I usually prefer rpgs and strategy games, so those are what you'll see take up this list more often than not.

But first! Let's get the short awards out of the way. I felt like making a few small categories to acknowledge games that don't have the chance of being on my main list for one reason or another. They are...

Game(s) I’m Looking Forward to in 2018:

Monster Hunter World and Fire Emblem (Switch)

Most Disappointing Game of 2017:

Mass Effect Andromeda

Best Unreleased Game of 2017:

Gwent: The Witcher Card Game

Best Old Game of 2017:

Diablo 3

The 2017 Game I Wish I Had Finished:

Nier: Automata

Alright, now that those are out of the way lets get to the meat and potatoes of this post. Typically I make longer write ups and like to talk more about each game individually while listing them off, but I just wasn't really feeling like writing more than a few paragraphs for each game this year. Hopefully that makes for a quicker and more enjoyable read so that I can excuse my laziness.

10. Fire Emblem: Echoes

Fire Emblem Echoes just barely makes its way onto my list, and I feel like there was quite a bit of lost potential here. In terms of creating a faithful rendition of the original, they do it quite well. I would argue a little too well. While the story telling and overall presentation of the game is the best out of all three of the 3DS Fire Emblem titles, I feel the game falls short in terms of its actual gameplay. A lot of what is familiar in a modern Fire Emblem title is stripped out. There is no weapon triangle, classes and skills are reigned back, and the maps in general range from boringly plain to frustratingly pointless. I understand the need to keep things as they were in the original title, but the decision to leave almost every map as an open field with maybe one defensive position if you’re lucky is baffling. And when you do get something more interesting they push it to the point of being frustrating rather than fun.

I am only grateful that the story and characters were engaging enough to make me want to see it through. I really enjoy playing Fire Emblem games (Fates made my Game of the Year last year) However, this game was not without some glaring flaws. I can’t see myself going back to it over Awakening or even Fates. It makes me yearn for what could have been if the maps were redesigned to make them more palatable and interesting. I wish the characters here were in an overall better package.

9. Divinity: Original Sin 2

I will admit the original Divinity Original Sin did not do much to impress me. I think I played it too early on in its life cycle. I remember playing it very early on and feeling how woefully incomplete the game was at the time. I heard that it got better later on with updates, but I just did not have the motivation to go back to it. When I heard Divinity Original Sin 2 was in the works, I steeled my resolve and told myself I would wait until the full release to play it. Thankfully, it turns out this game is quite good!

The tactical turn based combat and the freedom to be as flexible and creative as you want to be is a treat to behold. It is what really kept me coming back to this game. There were not a ton of CRPG styled games released this year (personally I’m waiting on Pillars of Eternity 2), so this game was really the best option I found to scratch that itch. Oddly enough I felt that the story and characters were just kind of serviceable. I wasn’t terribly interested in them, but they were well crafted. This game also has the benefit of allowing you to make the main character be any of the story important party members if you wish, but you can opt to create your own personal character if you prefer.

8. Pyre

I will go ahead get this out of the way immediately. Pyre is my favorite Supergiant Games game. I really liked Bastion and Transistor was a fun game. However, Pyre just takes it to another level for me. I really enjoy the story telling aspect of the game, and the way the game gives you options to interact with the tale as it progresses.

Now, if this game was just a good story, I wouldn’t be as hot on it. It definitely helps that the gameplay between the story sequences helps bring it together. Their choice of making changes to your game based on which matches you win or lose is a great one. Although it was tough to kick the habit of resetting every time I lost to try and get that big win. It also helps that the gameplay is fairly simple to understand even though there are tactical decisions happening constantly. The premise is understandable to anyone who has ever seen or played a sport before. You are trying to get the ball into a determined location while the other team stops you. Simple. The tools you are given you reach this goal, and the tools you are given to defend your own is what makes it interesting.

I think what Pyre does best is its characters. I enjoyed the vast majority of the characters I gathered through the game, and I felt like each had some use during the matches. I began to feel bad when I could not field all of my favorites all of the time, but hard decisions had to be made. I also just want to take a quick moment to say that these characters are beautifully designed, but that’s no surprise given the wonderful Supergiant Games’ artwork.

7. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

My life has taken an interesting turn lately where I tend to favor casually paced games with short play sessions. I happen to be on the move a lot, so having an Animal Crossing game in my pocket at all times is extremely handy. While it isn’t a full-fledged Animal Crossing title, there is still plenty to do here. It also solves an interesting problem I’ve had with previous Animal Crossing titles where there becomes fewer and fewer things to discover each time you play a new title. These games have just been so similar that once you’ve played one, you have a pretty solid idea of what every other title in the series is like.

In this way, Pocket Camp is nice because it is fairly different in a way. Your goal is still to gather useful items like bells, fish, fruits, etc. You also still get to have a personal area for furniture. However, this game seems much more focused on interacting with campers (Basically an assortment of villagers from previous titles) in order to receive rewards, complete timed goals, and to gather more campers to hang out at your personal camp site. The main activity you do in the game is completing villager requests which consists of providing them with specific items that they are looking for that day. As you complete requests for them you’ll build up a friendship meter. As you reach certain levels of friendship and acquire furniture that the camper likes, you’ll unlock the ability to invite them over to visit your campsite. This allows you to gather a group of your favorite animals, and also free up space on the map so that new animals can come into play.

A regular Animal Crossing title has plenty of villager interaction, but this leans entirely on interacting with the Animals. There are much clearer and structured goals here, and for an Animal Crossing game that is a nice change of pace. It has also been a fun game for me to play with my significant other. While interactions between friends are fairly limited, it’s fun to just pop open the game and show off what new things we discovered that day.

6. Pokemon Ultra Moon (And Ultra Sun)

A returning title from my Game of the Year list last year, but I can’t say I was expecting to have another version of it so soon. While the original version of this game took my second place in 2016 (Losing to Fire Emblem Fates), this year’s version had to fall down the rankings a bit. That is not to say that this game is worse by any means. In fact it’s the opposite. This game is a definitive improvement over Sun and Moon in every way as far as I am concerned, and it is the best Pokemon game released in recent years. I don’t want to talk about it too much, but this game goes to some interesting places in the post-story part of the game. The trailers have shown what I am talking about, so if you’re interested you should go check those out. Basically, it feels like a bit of a love letter to the handheld series, and one last big hoorah for a lifetime of Pokemon on handheld consoles.

Since Pokemon is moving to the Switch for its next release, it is no surprise that they give long time players a bit of a nod with some enjoyable nostalgia. It is unclear what the series will be like going forward, but if they start drastically changing the formula now this at least feels like a satisfying send off to an era. If Switch Pokemon is just more handheld Pokemon like always, well, I’ll still enjoy it if it is good.

You will notice I’m purposefully not saying too much about the game itself, and that’s because I already said a lot about the main story of the game last year. For the most part it is largely the same, but they make some good additions to mix things up here and there. There is more to do in this game, so if you want to play generation 7 it should probably be on Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon to get the full experience.

5. Nioh

I always have one game on my list that I did not think I would like before I played it, and this year its Nioh. Technically Nioh has everything I would like in a game. I love Souls games and I love loot games. Making a Souls game that is more loot heavy and more action heavy sounds like a good recipe for me. For some reason early 2017 me just did not want to believe that though. Maybe it was because I needed to be strict with my purchases due to the sheer volume of stuff coming out all at once. Regardless, I eventually tried Nioh after watching some coverage here on GiantBomb, and I love it.

I initially was skeptical of Nioh because it seemed like another game in the coming tide of Souls-like games that just wanted to get in on the action that From started. I’m glad to say that Nioh earns its place among this style of games, and I like it more than the Souls games. (Although maybe not more than Dark Souls 1)

I really enjoy the character building flexibility that this game gives you. Having the options to unlock new moves and abilities for the two weapon types I carried was a great way to feel like my character was improving even if I wasn’t always improving my own personal skill with the game. I chose to go with the Katana and Spear option and felt fairly well equipped to fight just about anything in the game with those options. This game’s stance options created interesting options within every weapon type as well. Being able to switch between high, middle, and low stances with every weapon for different benefits and moves really expands upon the games combat in a way that Dark Souls never really did.

Finally, I’ll just say that the aesthetic of this game is great. I am a sucker for the older Japanese style of this game. Also it is pretty fun to play as Samurai Geralt even if he isn’t the most original character design ever.

4. Fire Emblem: Heroes

This game defied my expectations in multiple ways. One: I never expected Nintendo to make good games on the mobile. Rather, I never expected it to happen after only a couple attempts at the platform. Two: I never expected Fire Emblem Heroes to be the highest Fire Emblem game on my list this year with two other titles also released.

It turns out that Fire Emblem is a great game for a quick mobile title. The game is vastly simplified to allow for snappy gameplay and short play sessions, but it does not detract from the fun as much as I thought it would. There are less strategic decisions to make, and the best builds for heroes are determined fairly quickly. Most of the engagement with the game for me comes from getting my favorite heroes built up, and from taking on limited time events like the Tempest Trials, Voting Gauntlets, Grand Hero Battles, etc. That’s not to say that the Competitive aspect of the game isn’t fun, but in a game like this I just don’t care to worry about being the best when every else is paying money or spending every day putting time into it.

The story section itself is also surprisingly lengthy. With a recently released “Chapter 2” they look to be expanding on this even further into 2018. I can see this being the mobile game that I’ll be playing off and on for quite some time. Fire Emblem is one of my favorite Nintendo franchises at this point, and it doesn’t look like Nintendo and Intelligent Systems will be slowing down with it anytime soon.

3. Mario Odyssey

This is a surprisingly difficult game to write about. I suspect the next two titles will be as well. Nintendo has taken their skill at creating games that are purely fun to a whole other level. It is hard to write about Mario Odyssey because my brain just keeps coming back around to “It is fun!” I’m not a huge fan of platformers usually. Mario is one of the few exceptions, so I can’t put into words exactly what makes this platforming marvel so much fun. The gameplay feels good. There are things to do everywhere in every map, and playing around with different things in the environment almost always feels rewarded. The game has great presentation on top of this. I love the character and level designs, I love looking at Bowser in his silly white suit, I love the way Cappy is just a top hat with eyes and a ghost tail. It’s all just pure enjoyment.

I want to be more critical of this game, but it is really hard. I may need some more time away from it before I can really take a critical eye and talk about pros and cons, but at this point in time I’m just not in the place to successfully do that. From a writing standpoint, I wish I was so that I am not just gushing in this write-up, but hey, this is about my opinion and my opinion of the game is pretty one sided right now.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

So I would consider this to be Nintendo’s other great work of the Switch so far. I’m in a similar position as Odyssey where I just generally don’t have many bad things to say, but this game has been out long enough for me to at least understand the complaints of others even if I don’t agree with them. I’ll make my stance on this game clear from the beginning, I genuinely feel like this is Nintendo’s best Zelda game to date. They’ve taken a genre that I’m typically luke-warm on, the open-world genre, and turn it into one of the most mystifying experiences I have felt in a game. I truly felt like I was exploring this world. I wasn’t being told where to go to get everything I wanted with a map. I was finding vantage points, looking for points of interest, using a radar to hunt specific things I wanted, and I was genuinely interested in what was inside every nook and cranny of the map.

That’s not to say this game is perfect. A lot of what you can actually find when you’re exploring is a little repetitive. They will generally fall into a few categories, but to me they always felt valuable. Even if the little puzzle I solved just resulted in finding another Korok that was great! Koroks always felt like a reward because I always needed more inventory space. Likewise with Shrines, I never complained about finding a shrine because it meant I was one step closer to more Health or Stamina. I’m one that prefers quality of interactions over quantity. I don’t need a wide variety of rewards and things to do. As long as I feel purpose in the actions I’m taking and the puzzles I’m solving then that is generally enough for me. I don’t want to be overwhelmed like I’m in an Assassin’s Creed game with 10 different collectibles and 20 side quest categories.

I think where Breath of the Wild really shines is in the way it disconnects itself from the rails. Recent Zelda games in the past had a pretty clearly defined trajectory for you to be on throughout the entire game. You went to the only dungeon you could get into and then moved onto the next after you finished it. That isn’t bad, but Breath of the Wild gives you the luxury of choice. I spent an entire day following rumors that NPCs passed onto me, and it led to me finding important landmarks like a Great Fairy. I was making my way toward a Shrine I had seen in the distance when all of a sudden I saw a shooting star fly through the sky and land off in the distance. I followed it out of curiosity and I stumbled into a giant flying dragon gracefully making its way through the night sky as I ran along the hills toward the landing spot of the star. That was only one of many experiences that made this game feel magical. Whether it was exploring the forests, the mountains, or the fields, I always felt motivated to do something without the game directly requiring me to do anything.

1. Persona 5

I am so glad this game finally came out. This was basically the reason I bought a PS4, so it is no surprise that it ended up on my list this year. I’m just glad it was worth the wait. The style of this game had me hooked from the start. From the character design, the music, the environments, and the snappiness of the menus and battles, it all just clicks together into one of the most stylish experiences I have felt in a game. This game is a huge time commitment, so I’m happy to say that I was able to experience it earlier in the year rather than later.

Persona games are typically very strong with their characters, so it is no surprise that this game hosts yet another enjoyable gang to follow. I would say that the clear standout is Yusuke. He typically serves as the comic relief and the deadpan friend who doesn’t quite understand the flow of the conversation due to how he can be a bit of an airhead at times. He is very much the character that’s in his own little world more often than not due to his artistic genius, and his mind being a one way track for that art. Morgana is another standout character who we get to watch question his own existence and what it means in a way that’s not entirely unlike Teddy.

It’s difficult for me to rank this in terms of Persona 3 and 4. I have always had a tough time saying I definitively like one more than the other because they tend to win me over in their own unique way each time. It’s a case of each game satisfying its own purpose in my opinion. Because of that, I couldn’t say that Persona 5 is better than Persona 4, but I will say that it stands on the same ground as the previous two titles. All three are worth playing, and Persona 5 happens to stand out to me this year as one of the best JRPG’s I’ve played. I would go so far as to say it is easily the best JRPG of the current generation.

Happy Holidays!

And that's a wrap for my 2017 list! I'm glad I was able to get it out a bit earlier this year because the coming two weeks are going to be crazy. I'll be lucky if I have time to keep up on the crew's podcasts. I'll end this off by wishing everyone a great holiday, and a happy new year! I'm looking forward to seeing what games we have waiting for us in 2018.