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nweasel

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Weasel's Games of the Year 2017

2017 was a great year for video games, but a terrible year for my playing them.

In the midst of moving states and acquiring a new and quite taxing job, I was able to play a handful of games that came out BEFORE 2017, but not a ton that came out DURING 2017. For some reason, I took to playing a handful of "old" MMOs such as Guild Wars 2 and EVE Online for some time, which allowed me to reconnect with some old friends, but also, since both of these have free-to-play versions now, allowed me to introduce some of my current friends to new worlds that they hadn't experienced before. This was also the year in which I finally bought a current generation video game console with the PlayStation 4 and finally bought some console games again. Unfortunately, I can safely say that I haven't finished any of the games that you'll find on this list, but I have played enough of them to form an opinion that I will share with you for each game.

In order to keep this list like most Game of the Year lists, I've decided to limit the games to the ones that actually came out in 2017, which will make this (currently, unless I can remember any other games that came out this year that I played) a Top 8. Let me know if you know of any games that you think I'd like based off of this! Thank you for reading!

List items

  • Persona 5 may be one of my favorite games that I have played in a good long time. From the moment that I started playing it, I knew that I would be hooked. An enjoyable battle system (most of the time), an outstanding soundtrack, and the most fabulous STYLE, I sunk tens of hours into it after just the first few days of getting it. I am a sucker for a good, deep RPG story, and I haven't had a really good one probably since I played Final Fantasy X (though I have replayed other, older Final Fantasy games since as well). The characters in Persona 5 are fun and interesting and the voice acting is excellent as well. While I am nowhere near finishing Persona 5, I am excited for everything that it has to offer going forward, and I hope that I'm not making the wrong in-game decisions (which I probably am).

  • I never would have thought that this game would have been something that I would have enjoyed as much as I did, but seeing as I've put 125 hours into it, it has become one of my most played games on Steam. I'm also shocked to say that I can't consider this a higher ranked game, given how I am primarily a PC game player these days. Unfortunately, I'm having a bit of trouble agreeing with their new direction and the new map that they made for the 1.0 release. It just hasn't clicked with me the way that the Early Access version did, and that's feels odd to say. Every once in a while, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds makes for some amazing moments that I can talk about for days afterwards, but other times, it can be frustrating, especially when I am not good at shooting games. This game deserves to be on my list, and I am grateful for having it nonetheless.

  • As an avid player of the Hot Shots Golf series, I knew that I had to pick this up as soon as I got a PlayStation 4. Everybody's Golf holds a special place in my heart because the past games helped me connect with my father using my love of video games. Its a game that brings us together, and that means a lot to me. While this installment is a bit different and possible a bit less wacky than the previous games, I've still put plenty of hours into it. Admittedly, the course designs haven't impressed me as much as the previous game did, and the addition of a club progression has made the game a bit imbalanced when it comes to playing online. That said, I am definitely interested in sticking this game out to the end, and hopefully can join some of the online tournaments as they release in the future.

  • When I first started Divinity: Original Sin II, the first thing that excited me was how great the soundtrack was. Good video game soundtracks are something that pull me in, and this year has been excellent for them. As a past fan of Baldur's Gate games, DOS2 gives me everything I could want from that and more. I was shocked by how much voice acting there is in the game, and I haven't found a character yet that hasn't had actual voice lines, including a narrator to paint you a word picture of what should be happening when the characters can't animate that way. There is so much customization that you can do to each of your party members that it can actually be overwhelming at times. Additionally, there are enough side quests that I could just never leave the starting area and still have plenty of gameplay. My one complaint is that my nature to want to pick everything up and complete everything will make this game last forever for me, but I hope that I can continue to enjoy everything that they throw at me anyway.

  • I have a sweet spot in my heart for turn-based strategy games, 4X games, and Amplitude's games, so when Endless Space 2 turned out to be all three, I was fully on board. If you want to play this game, be warned. There are so many systems that you may never know why something is happening the way that it is, but there is probably a graph somewhere that can explain it to you. You are in charge of your destiny in Endless Space 2, and you can do it in so many ways. Unlike other 4X games, ES2 really wants to show itself off to you, so each time you enter a new system, you get a beautiful flyby of each planet, and if you colonize one, you get a cutscene showing what the planet looks like from the ground. This game isn't for the weak of heart and will take a lot of planning and thought-process. Controlling everything from your ships to your colonies to your government takes everything you have. Oh, and let's not forget the absolutely gorgeous spacey soundtrack that accompanies everything. I have a feeling I'll be playing a lot more Endless Space 2 in 2018.

  • Speaking of games that hold a special place in my heart, Koei Tecmo also falls into that wheelhouse. I've never been a huge fan of the Samurai Warriors games (and there is a new, open world Dynasty Warriors game coming out in 2018), but I had heard decent things about Spirit of Sanada, so I decided to give it a shot. Unlike most Warriors games, this game is more-or-less an open world game, but with a cohesive storyline that takes you into various battles that can have different outcomes depending on how you do in them. The combat definitely fits a Warriors game, but finishing objectives is a bit more important in this installment, because they can help give you new opportunities in the subsequent battles in that chain. I've found this to be a fun, new take on the Warriors games, and thus this deserves a spot on my list.

  • Slime Rancher is adorable. Slime Rancher is good for relaxing. Slime Rancher makes me happy. I didn't play enough Slime Rancher in 2017. I regret not playing more Slime Rancher in 2017. I want to collect more slime in Slime Rancher. I want to have the best ranch in Slime Rancher. I find it cute that slime "poop" (Plorts) is currency in Slime Rancher. Maybe Slime Rancher doesn't have enough to it. Maybe Slime Rancher is too easy. Maybe Slime Rancher doesn't have a full enough vision. I don't mind that Slime Rancher isn't perfect. I played some Slime Rancher and I enjoyed it. I wonder if I should play more Slime Rancher. Slime Rancher is a good game to play when you just have some time and want to relax. You should try out Slime Rancher.

  • Toukiden 2 barely snuck on to this list, but with the lack of recent games that I've played this year, and the fact that I actually put some hours into this, it gets to sneak by. After all of the talk about Monster Hunter, I was itching to get myself into the series, but there hadn't been any announcements of one coming to a modern console (or the PC) at the time, so I decided to check out what Koei Tecmo considered their "Monster Hunter" game. I wasn't disappointed, as this game follows a lot of the tropes that Monster Hunter games bring, but also dumbs them down a little to make the game more accessible. Instead of monsters, you are fighting Oni, and the game does have an open world setting for you to run around in to find these creatures. There is also a story which really goes a bit off the rails in some ways in my opinion, but still keeps the game moving forward. With the announcement of Monster Hunter World, I'm not sure if this game is worth going back to, but it is definitely good if you like the Warriors style gameplay with Monster Hunter hooks.
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