Top Ten Games of 2017

I can say without any hesitation that 2017 was one of the best years of all time in terms of video game releases. What makes it even better is that the real world events of 2017 were depressing to say the least, so it was nice to look to my hobby for new levels of happiness and quality. Video games rule, and I'm glad.

As usual I will be listing my top ten games of the year in descending order. Please keep in mind that these are my opinions based on games I personally completed in 2017.


10. Digimon World: Next Order

The original Digimon World was ahead of its time, and was truly a one of a kind game. Raising Digimon in an open world didn't happen again until now.

Next Order brings back the city building and Digimon raising that I love, but this time you raise TWO at the same time. I lost countless hours of sleep to this game, and I hope they continue using this formula.





9. Gravity Rush 2

Gravity Rush got its start on the Vita, which means it was pretty much DOA. Despite a rough start the game garnered enough of a following to garner a sequel that improves upon the original in almost every way.

Once again you control Kat, the Gravity Queen as you fly through the air using your magical Gravity powers. The world is larger, and the mechanics work a lot better than before. Sadly the story is wrapped up, so we might not get to see another.




8. Hollow Knight

Metroidvania games have been wearing out their welcome for me recently, but Hollow Knight pulled me right back in. Team Cherry has manages to create a beautifully bleak world that's surprisingly fun to explore.

You play a little bug knight with a nail as you explore a long abandoned kingdom. The combat initially seems a bit mashy, but I eventually got into a rhythm and enjoyed it a lot.




7. Nier: Automata

I feel like I'm one of the few people who played the original Nier, and am one of the even fewer people who actually liked it. Due to that fact I put off playing Automata for a lot longer than I should have, because I was worried that the hype would fall flat for me. It didn't.

While the combat wasn't the best, it was serviceable. What drew me in was the crazy existentialist story of a few androids. The themes and questions that Automata bring up are absolutely crazy.




6. Yakuza 0

I fell into the Yakuza franchise during its third entry and I have loved it ever since. What's crazy to me is that this is the entry when the series finally blew up in the West. The story goes back to the 1980's when the Japanese real-estate market was blowing up, and a young Kazuma Kiryu is just starting his Yakuza career.

You get to see characters you've known for years in a brand new context. On top of that it introduces many new combat styles to keep it feeling fresh.




5. Pyre

What I like about SuperGiant games is that each one of their games have been different. Bastion was an action game, Transistor was turn based strategy, and now Pyre is a visual novel mixed with a weird fantasy sport.

I thoroughly enjoyed dunking my way across the Downside in an attempt to rescue my fellow teammates from their banishment. I'd give more context, but it would ruin the experience for you. Just know that it's a well developed world, and the part where you play a sport is fun.



4. Super Mario Odyssey

Mario is the first video game I ever owned, which is why I think Odyssey is so special. To me it feels like the culmination of everything Nintendo has been working towards with Mario since its inception. It manages to be an excellent new adventure while paying homage to the days of old. I teared up a few times.

It feels like you want a Mario game to feel, and it's so awesome that you can possess enemies with your magical hat. Odyssey rules.




3. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Breath of the Wild is a reinvention of the classic Zelda formula that still manages to hold onto what makes people consider something to be a Zelda game. The open world is immense and filled with a lot to see.

What's amazing is that it made exploring an open world fun for me again. It's not overly concerned in funneling you towards all the coolest content, and lets you discover the secrets the world has to offer on your own. Even more importantly is that it proves Nintendo can renew their old formulas.



2. Persona 5

Persona 5 is exactly the JRPG I wanted it to be. Even though people seemed to turn on it relatively quickly I still think it's great. I like the characters, world, and story. Don't even get me started on how amazing the music is.

Yes, it should have come out in Winter of 2014. However, the game we got was well worth the wait.




1. Night in the Woods

I found out about this game from a random ad on the PS4 store and I'm so glad I did. It's an adventure game about a cat named Mae who has dropped out of college and returned to her home town. She realizes that everything is both simultaneously the same and very different. Something strange is going on and it's up to you to figure it out. All I can say is that you should probably play this game.

Game Time - October 2017

Is it halfway through November? Yes, it is. I realize that this October edition is very late, but cut me some slack I went on vacation! I had an absolute blast getting away from home! I went to a Halloween party dressed as Steven Universe, played Super Mario Oddysey a ton, went bowling, saw New Found Glory in concert, and ended the whole stint with a 24 hour stream for Extra Life.

Leading up to Extra Life I did not get a lot of sleep, and posting the donation and stream link here on the blog slipped my mind. However, it was a success nonetheless! Once again we had a goal of $200, but we literally doubled it and ended with $400. I said it during the stream and after, but I can't express my appreciation enough. As someone who doesn't stream or make videos very often it's absolutely crazy to see so many people come out and show support by donating.

We're here to talk about the video games of October though. The Switch has finally become exactly what I wanted it to be. The amazing games are piling up, and I want to snuggle with the thing at night. However, I can't let the Switch bogart all the attention, so I'll throw a bone to Shadow of War on the PS4. We'll launch into the video game discussion with Fire Emblem Warriors, bring the hype down a bit with Shadow of War, and then let the hype build back up and explode with Super Mario Odyssey. It's game time!

Fire Emblem Warriors

Every time I choose to write about a Warriors game I don't know why. There isn't a lot to say, because they're mostly the same. You play as a character and mash the same button a whole bunch to beat down thousands of enemies. Fire Emblem Warriors is very much more of the same, but now there are Fire Emblem characters! I used to find these games a guilty pleasure, but now I have come to terms with the fact that I genuinely love them. There's something so relazing about turning my brain off and mashing the same button for hours on end. Sure it's not hard, but it sure feels good to strike down foes with little to no effort like you're some kind of all powerful warrior.

Blindly mash and get tons of kills!

What's cool about FE Warriors is that it actually incorporates a handful of gameplay elements from the franchise it's drawing from. In case you're unaware Fire Emblem is a turn based tactical strategy game. In FE Warriors you control not one, but four characters. You can freely switch between them, but it's more efficient to open your map and give the units you're not controlling orders. This way you can focus on going ham while your AI companions defend or take over what they need to. It also makes use of the classic FE weapon triangle, which is another reason for controlling multiple characters per mission. Yes, you can beat enemies who you're weak against , but it takes forever. So if you bring the right characters into battle you can cover all the weapon types and never really run into trouble.

It's odd to see elements from the Fire Emblem franchise blend so well into a Dynasty Warriors game, but I guess it makes sense. Near invincible soldiers are the bread and butter of a Warriors game.

Shadow of War

I loved Shadow of Mordor and its nemesis system. Fighting orcs and having the game create dynamic rivalries was fascinating, and I couldn't get enough of it. Now that the sequel Shadow of War is here I'm not quite as excited as I thought I would be. Once again you take control of Talion, who is being inhabited by the spirit of the elf who forged the one ring. I am well aware of his name, but don't have the patience to try and spell it. In classic video game fashion you lose all the cool powers you amassed over the previous game and need to earn them back. I didn't even play the game long enough to earn them all again, because I just didn't want to keep going.

The fact that I didn't get way into this game continues to baffle me. The game is much larger and added a whole slew of new mechanics and content. A lot of the changes are interesting, but for some reason I just can't get into it. Part of the reason is that encounters with orcs in the original game felt special, and now in Shadow of War you can't turn a corner without running into a new orc to face off against. It happens so often that the encounters lose their luster and that's just a huge bummer. What's even more of a bummer is that all of the story missions are an unending slog. I still feel like the Lord of the Rings license isn't even needed for this game, but it's still here. You get to hang out with Gollum and Shelob, which is kind of cool I guess. The part where it turns sour is that all the missions are super generic and not fun. Have you ever wanted to follow Gollum around for way too long? If so, then this is the game for you! It's just a huge drag, because the draw of the game is the nemesis system and it isn't well implemented into the story at all. It's way more fun to run around the world like a moron and see what trouble you can get into.

The nemesis system makes its triumphant return.

This is one of the few games that I want to try and get back to, but right now I just want some time away from it. After playing a handful of hours I had to put it down, which made me pretty sad. Shadow of Mordor was one of my favorite games the year it came out, but this one just isn't doing it for me at all.

Super Mario Odyssey

I'm kind of distracted right now, because I have the TV near me playing Super Mario Odyssey speedruns. I have been enjoying watching Trihex blow through the entire game, but a few moments ago he brought up a valid point. He's doing the any % run, which means he's just trying to beat the game as fast as possible, but he doesn't want to be. He wants to move up to other categories that have him playing the game for longer periods of time, because he likes it that much. He wants there to be more Mario in his life, and I totally get where he is coming from.

This image makes me so happy.

Odyssey feels like the culmination of what Nintendo has been working towards with Mario for years. It has so much content that it's bananas, and a lot of it is catered specifically to long time Mario Fans. I won't spoil any of what that stuff entails, because witnessing it for yourself is magical. I won't lie, it was magical for me. Part of why I enjoyed Odyssey so much is that it made me feel like a kid again. It's a feel good game, and I felt good while playing it. What makes it special is that it feels both old and new, but in a proper blend. Mario 64 had you collecting stars, while Odyssey has you collecting moons. You still need to complete objectives to get them, but there are way more objectives now. You'll get them for beating a boss, but you might also get one for kicking a can the right way. There are over 800 moons to collect, which is mind blowing. It might seem a bit like overkill to have so many, but I personally think they're fun to collect. They give you a reason to explore, and you definitely don't need to get them all.

What really sets Odyssey apart from its predecessors is the fact that Mario can possess enemies with his hat. It's been possessed by a being called Cappy, which allows him to literally become his enemies. Yes Mario has his platforming skills, but now you can literally become a freaking Goomba. When you throw your hat and enter an enemy they wear Mario's hat and grow a freaking mustache. Possessing enemies allows for all kinds of new experiences that add a lot of fun to the game. That's what Odyssey is to me. It's a fun video game. A lot of modern games are cool and have a lot going on, but aren't necessarily fun. Mario Odyssey is exactly that for me. It's an amazingly crafted game with a lot of love, but above all it's just freaking fun to play.

The Wind Down

2017 has been a hell of a year for video games, and it's finally starting to wind down. There are very few games left that I want to play this year, and that is kind of relieving. I still have a ton of stuff I want to try and finish, but know I won't. I've finished a lot of games this year, but I have also found myself putting a lot of them down. I no longer have the patience to play things I don't particularly enjoy. In the past I'd power through games I didn't like just to say I did, but I think those days are behind me and that is probably for the best.

I'm trying to play through the re-release of the .Hack//G.U. trilogy right now, but I'm having a bit of trouble getting into it. The Steven Universe game is the only thing I'm actively playing right now, and I am enjoying it quite a bit. I would have finished it already if I wasn't trying to stream the whole thing. The new Pokemon games come out in about a week as well, and I'm kind of exited to play those.

It's hard to continue to be excited after beating Odyssey. As I said this year has been bananas, and I might have gotten my fill of what it has to offer, but I must continue on! See you guys in a few short weeks.