Top 10 of 2017

After typing this list out, I realized that it makes it seem like I actually hate videogames and should just stop playing.

This was a great year in games. Possibly one of the best in history.

But the year in general has been terrible. Maybe that's why so much negativity in my lists? Just the general feel of slime the rest of the year had? Either way, I do like games, and I like these the best this year.





Runner Up: Destiny 2

I can recognize that technically, Destiny 2 is better than Destiny 1. But the moment I started a second character, I started seeing the cracks everywhere. I start questioning why I was logging in weekly to get a dice roll at maybe slightly better gear for content I may never play.

I have warm memories of making a pot of coffee and running strikes all morning with Destiny 1. But Destiny 2 broke the spell. I think I may be done with Destiny?

10. Mass Effect Andromeda

I was a Mass Effect 3 apologist. I generally liked it. Andromeda though... so many misses.

Side quests in previous Mass Effects added to the world, flushed out characters, possibly opened new merchants or factions. Most the sidequests in Andromeda felt like souless MMO fluff. Main story mission might have you defending a settlement as multiple waves of transports dropped human enemies in. 10 hours later, you get a sidequest saying aliens are attacking a settlement. It's the same settlement, with the same transports coming in, dropping off the alien versions of the human enemies you fought.

It honestly was a disappointment.

But there were still some Mass Effect moments and like a sucker that will continue to give EA Mass Effect money, I forgot all the ills when these moments landed.

The combat was also very solid. They enhanced the foundation they built with Mass Effect 3.

The game honestly probably shouldn't be on my list considering it may have permanently killed one of my favorite franchises, but I played the entire game and generally liked it. It's a bit of a shame that there will forever be plot lines that won't see resolution since all DLC has been cancelled.

9. Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4)

It's gorgeous. It's nice seeing Guerrilla Games make a game outside of their normal wheelhouse. The story is intriguing.

But wow is there really nothing in between mission objectives. Horizon could climb up the list if it were a bit more linear.

I didn't feel the need to hunt. I didn't want to fight things in between missions. I just wanted to see where the story is going. And how are you going to make me spend supplies to fast travel? Come on Guerrilla.

8. Cup Head (Xbone)

My main knock against Cup Head is I didn't get to start playing it until this week. It's charm is off the charts. I sat on the floor crosslegged playing it this morning like I would sit crosslegged watching Merry Melodies when I was a kid. (I don't have a battery pack for my controller yet)

It takes the quick twitch action of Contra and throws in boss fights that pay homage to SNES and Genesis flowing orange parts during boss fights.

7. Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii-U)

I didn't like Breath of the Wild nearly as much as everyone else. Did I miss something? It just felt empty even though per map inch, it was full. It felt soulless as you climbed into these cold chambers solving mostly boring puzzles.

Part of what I love about Zelda is the wacky cast of NPCs that fill the world and quite honestly when the credits rolled, I didn't remember any characters from this game.

The dungeons were boring, the shrines were boring, and if I got caught in the rain one more time while climbing a rock wall, I'd like have broken my Wii-U.

I can recognize that this is the basis for what will be a very great Zelda game in a couple years, but this didn't have the magic for me others did.

6. Wolfenstein 2 (PS4)

This is the absolutely most bonkers, coo-coo-bananas story ever told in video games. There were so many crazy moments that Giantbomb gave Wolfenstein it's own category for best moment.

I couldn't wait to see the next cut scene or moment.

It made you feel uncomfortable because you saw that in some alternate universe, this world exists. You start seeing family members that would roll over for the Nazi overlords because it's comfortable.

The thing holding this back is the gameplay. It felt like when you play DND and instead of having a DM that wants to tell a good story and create a living world for the players, the DM wants to actively kill you. Every wave of enemies, map layout, and weapon felt like it was there to work against you progressing.

5. Mario vs Rabbids (Switch)

Since I played Zelda on the Wii-U already, I didn't have many options for the Switch early on, but Mario vs Rabbids charmed me in a way not many non-Nintendo games have in recent years.

If it weren't for Skyrim coming out for Switch, I'd be done with the game. I guess the only real knock I have against Mario vs Rabbids is it really just made me want Xcom for the Switch. I want just slightly more strategy, a few more options to approach.

I look forward to the second game in the series.

4. Resident Evil 7 (PS4)

They did it. Capcom actually did it. Resident Evil 5, although a very fun co-op game, should've been called Call of Evil. Resident Evil 6, although it had a couple very good moments, was mostly a shit sandwich. Resident Evil 7 was the first game that felt like a classic (1-Code Veronica) Resident Evil gave in more than a decade.

The puzzles were Resident Evil obtuse, the characters were memorable, and then they had to throw a huge cliffhanger at you at the end.

I had a chance to play this in VR as well, and it worked. That's just a bonus for the 2 million or so people with PSVRs.

3. Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (PC)

This is an action game. This is a horror game. This is a seachange. For years we will have Battle Royale games coming out and we can all point to when PubG landed.

I've not had an adrenaline surge like I had hiding in a bathtub, hearing a jeep pull up the house. I've not felt a sense of accomplishment as when I laid down suppressing fire across a field while my teammate crawled around behind the enemy and shotgunned them down.

Saying that, the game suffered from server issues, textures not dropping in, hackers, and endless invisible walls.

2. Mario Odyssey (Switch)

Charm. Just unabashed charm. Instantly I was brought back to the first time I played Mario 64. The frustrations I had with Mario Sunshine's gorgeously bright Isle Del Fino. All the lonely time during the summer in college I played Mario Galaxy daily.

Every world I got excited for what Easter Eggs were waiting, what new beings I could possess, and what great songs I would hear.

And as always, no one does movement better than Nintendo. You feel like you are actually in control of a little cartoon Italian.

If it weren't for the lunchbox world, this might have taken number 1.

1. Persona 5 (PS4)

I love Persona 5. I wanted to see where every story line concluded. I wanted to know more about every character. I wanted to date every girl.

The music, the world, even the loading screens were oozing with so much style that I almost started a new game + the moment the game was over.

There was so much to do, so many people to meet, I maybe saw 60% of the content.

If I had any complaint it's that the dungeons toward the end of the game don't have the same soul as some of the earlier ones. They could trim a solid 6-10 hours off the end just by cutting needless dungeons.