It’s been one of the best years for video games ever.
Here are the titles that helped 2017 achieve that undeniable status.
Its been a truly special year.
So what is the best game of the year?
Well let you in on a dirty secret.
Its not our place to say.
What makesDarkwoodspecial is the way that the developers manage to find the inherent horror in survival.
Your imagination grows more intense as the fuel in the generator that keeps your lights on begins to dwindle.
Obscure, terrifying, and often downright clever,Darkwoodis a horror game for pure horror fans.
Nioh
Team Ninja | PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows
Youre forgiven if you initially wroteNiohoff as aDark Soulsclone.
That was certainly the narrative that surrounded the last of the games many months in development.
To be fair, there are many elements ofDark SoulswithinNiohs grand design.
Finding the perfect loot, meanwhile, is as satisfying as it was inBorderlandsorDiablo.
Buy Nioh
13.
Its too easy for a developer to take gamers for a ride off the mere idea of remember when?
Its far too easy and far too common.
This game is much more than a history lesson, though.
Its a look at many of the things that are missing from so many modern games.
You dont need to be a fan of point-and-click adventures to enjoyThimbleweed Park.
However, playing it will almost certainly make you a fan of this wonderful style of game design.
Its reliance on action greatly contradicts the horror that came before.
Its been said, though, that a flaw is most noticeable when it impacts something truly exceptional.
Make no mistake thatResident Evil 7is truly fantastic.
Resident Evil 7was criticized for picking upthe remnants ofP.T.while running away from theResident Evilformula.
Buy Resident Evil 7
11.
Its visuals, its music, or maybe its incorporation ofDark Soulselements into the Metroidvania genre.
It can be as grand as a boss battle or as small as a new song.
This is something thatWolfenstein IIdoes time and time again with seeming ease.
No…not ease.
That implies a lack of effort or devotion.
Buy Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
9.
Persona 5
Atlus, P Studio |PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3
Persona 5is so anime that it hurts.
That lone aspect of the game may turn some people away from it.
If it doesnt, the games strict JRPG mindset and almost 100+ hour possible runtime might do the trick.
Youd be a fool, though, to think you know whatPersona 5is just from looking at it.
Indeed, the game is one of the most remarkable series of surprises in recent memory.
This is a game where the menus come alive with spirit and song.
Buy Persona 5
8.
PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds
Bluehole Studio Inc., PUBG Corporation | Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
PlayerUnknowns Battlegroundsis ugly.
More than ugly, its incomplete.
It is also the one game from 2017 that we simply cannot stop playing.
The same is true ofPUBG.
Each newPUBGmatch feels like a narrative unto itself.
Its a setup that weve seen before in other games.
However, none of those other games come close to matching the subtle brilliance ofPUBGs design.
Buy PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds
7.
Nier: Automatabegins as an action JRPG that is almost frustratingly familiar.
Remarkably, that unbelievable story is complemented by a combat system that joyfully reminds us ofBayonettaandMetal Gear Rising.
Wait…thats not quite right.
We didnt get to talk aboutNiers bullet hell segments, incredible multiple endings, and fantastic upgrade system.
Thats the thing about discussingNier.
Its a game that only becomes more brilliant as you attempt to unravel it.
Buy Nier: Automota
6.
After all,Divinityis a Western-style RPG that arguably perfects the concepts pioneered by studios like BioWare.
This is a digitalDungeons and Dragonstype of experience that overwhelms its players with a daunting amount of possibilities.
Create the character you want down to their motivations.
Participate in the best co-op swords and sorcery experience since those tabletop RPG nights.
Thats the only possible explanation for why millions of us arent holding hands and singing this near-perfect games existence.
TheKillzonegames were occasionally brilliant but undeniably flawed.
Open-world titles, meanwhile, have been growing more and more stagnant for years.
What we didnt anticipate was the way Guerrilla Games would use the open-world format to truly create a world.
Your bow and arrows only succeed when they are accompanied by your cunning.
Buy Horizon Zero Dawn
4.
Their almost eight years of work resulted in a game that can theoretically be beaten in around eight hours.
Buy Cuphead
3.
Happiness found from walking a safe, pre-determined path can be denied with the slightest of missteps.
You havent gone crazy.
Youre just learning to love something unexpected because it is more than you imagined.
Buy The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2.
To them, we simply caution that doing so will deprive you of one of gamings greatest stories ever.
This exploration of a cursed familys individual misfortunes plays out like several different games rolled into one.
The best video game stories are those that can only be told through the medium of gaming.
That means that the story must somehow use interactivity to provide a unique experience.
However, its hard to honestly say that this games accomplishments can be replicated.
In many ways, some of which are quite overt,Odysseyis a celebration of theMariogames that came before.
