Late 2015 for AoD, which was sadly snubbed (iirc) that year.
Like I always say, the best part of these lists is laughing at the choices above your favorites. Apparently there were 34 games released in 2017 that were better than Nioh. This should be funny.
Nioh, Nier, and Horizon ZD all in the 30s. I’m not going to agree much with their list it seems.
- Lawbreakers
How is this even in the top 50? This is possibly the worst ranked list ever. :)
Lawbreakers wasn’t good? I thought none of us tried it, so we didn’t know. OTOH, Eurogamer assigned people to it, so they know of it’s quality better than us.
I was in the beta group for it and also tried again when they did a free weekend, it wasn’t good. :)
No one played Last Day of June either, whatever that is. I guess we’ll have to take their word for it.
They explain in the preable how there list was put together. And even address why it might have games that will surprise or annoy you.
Nioh is apparently a very good game, but surely you don’t think it’s for everyone? In fact I’d wager most people who play games would hate it. So how could it be high on a list made by a diverse group of people?
These lists always seem a bit silly if you are a fan of a certain genre that isn’t super well represented. The idea that there were 45 games better than War of the Chosen in 2017 is personally laughable to me, though I can see how it might fall there on a list made by mostly people who didn’t love strategy games.
That being said, there are always a few things you can agree with on a list this long. For me it’s that Horizon:ZD was probably a bit over-rated by critics in general. It’s a fun game with some beautiful visuals, but I don’t think it’s a classic that I’ll care to revisit in 5 years.
Oh, the lists always have their own quirky justification at the beginning to explain the weirdness. I can still laugh.
Looks to me like Nintendo hit it out of the park this year. Two launch games getting rave reviews and therefore selling consoles. That’s great, Big N!
My GOTY are more experiences than individual games, but I’ll throw my games in here:
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Assassin’s Creed:. Origins. I had more fun exploring the pyramids and tombs than just about anything else. The combat was decent, the new systems are good, but the ancient world they created has no equal, IMO. Like a lot of great games, it made me explore the setting, culture and history of the subject matter. I know all about Thoth, Osiris and Horus now. I can even tell you if a bas relief sculpture is Osiris before or after his death and rule of the underworld (hint:. He’s blue after).
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Ghost Recon:. Wildlands. Seeamless drop in and out 4 player online co-op is great, but what’s really great is the world they built and the game mechanics. It got tactical shooty just right. Plus, lakes of pink flamenco flocks, salt flats, dense jungles, and snowy mountains. Felt like a more realistic Just Cause 2. And oh, so much gun porn. Really, really good gun porn.
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Minecraft, again. I might be playing this until I am old and grey(er). How did this not exist before 2009? Also, where is Minecraft 2, which takes you past the iron age and simple machines to helicopters, cars, and guns? They better be working on a sequel. It’s been 8 years.
And of course Neogaf/resetEra is full of salt because the positions of some games. They could well write “BUT MUH JAPANESE GAMES!” and be done with it.
Horizon isn’t from a Japanese developer. Also Eurogamer’s number one game probably will be.
It will probably be Zelda, but I think Zelda and Mario are an exception to the usual Japanese-ness of a game. They’re usually more designed to be universal, both young and old-wise, and U.S. vs Japanwise, if that makes sense.
Jim Sterling put up his awards show:
I have to add Slime Rancher too, on behalf of Little Guap. He loves that game. Kid’s GoTY!
Best in game tech!
Next lot:
Yes, it’s official. Puyo Puyo Tetris on Switch is better than both Persona 5 and Horizon: Zero Dawn!
My personal top 5 of stuff released in 2017, either new release or first time US release on Steam:
1)Tekken 7 The best fighting game port ever released on PC. Solid fighting game on its own merits to boot.
2)Cosmic Star Heroine A really nice, quick-paced, decently strategic RPG that is an homage to the older Phantasy Star games
3)Heart of Crown The best card game on Steam right now. A combination of Dominion and waifus, non-collectible, and the cutscenes are charming. Got me off of Faeria, which I needed.
4)Monster Slayers Tom has covered this one plenty of times, it deserves its spot on the list
5)Trails in the Sky the 3rd The end of what became my favorite JRPG trilogy. I really should give Cold Steel a chance, but I’m just afraid of disappointment.
Ok, the one there that’s really making me annoyed is Mass Effect: Andromeda. Not because I really have an informed opinion on its quality, but since they got four writers to each write a snippet on why ME:A is on the list, and… Well:
- “Andromeda arrived as a fine but far from fantastic Mass Effect game. It was unpolished, in need of another few patches to iron out its most GIF-worthy bugs, and it required another writing pass to really draw out its soul. It didn’t get that, […]”
- “If you’re in a forgiving mood and have time to burn, there are worse ways to see out the Christmas period.”
- “The game’s biggest problem was how boring it all was. The characters weren’t particularly interesting, the planets were uninspired and the quests were instantly forgettable.”
- The fourth doesn’t say anything about ME:A, just riffs on Montreal being some kind of elephant graveyard of game development, where beloved franchises go to die.
Seriously, you can’t find even a single person to write a positive paragraph on a game that’s halfway up your list of top games of the year?