It's time for the 2017 Quarterlies! Vote for Quarter to Three's Best Game of 2017

Haha…when I read ImaTarget’s list I thought, “him, too? (in addition to divedivedive)” Only, I hadn’t seen your list yet; you just sang Andromeda’s praises so much I imagined I had seen your list with it at the top!

My top 3 are interchangeable. Any one of them could’ve been 1, 2 or 3, and it was hard to choose between them. Ultimately, I went with the below order, based purely on which game I’m most looking forward to playing again.

  1. Mass Effect: Andromeda - I loved every bit of this game, and wanted more. As I said in it’s own thread, I would have bought DLC for this game, and I almost never buy DLC. One thing that drives a game to the top of my lists is whether I think I’ll replay it or not. I will most certainly go back for another run through of this game, using the sister as the main character.

  2. Prey - I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Prey, and will also go back and replay this at some point. I thought the levels were great, and the progression through the space station was perfect, and I really enjoyed the story. It truly felt like the next System Shock.

  3. Horizon Zero Dawn - This was yet another great game that I enjoyed from beginning to end. I honestly can’t understand any of the criticism it gets. I was engaged in the story, and loved the combat and progression. I will absolutely replay this one too.

  4. Aven Colony - I just picked this up during the winter sale, and might have missed it if not for Tom’s “The most surprising games of 2017” article: http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2017/12/28/surprising-games-2017/
    Since picking it up, I’ve dropped over 30 hours into the campaign, and still loving it. It’s a great colony builder that has almost zero frustration.

  5. Divinity: Original Sin 2 - I did not finish this game, and most likely never will. What I did play, I enjoyed, and that was 134 hours worth. I did eventually run out of steam for it, but with as much as I played it, it’s hard to not give it a nod.

Honorable Mentions -

  1. Logistical - Great time waster, but not much in terms of gameplay to earn a top 5 spot.
  2. Assassins Creed: Origins - Very enjoyable, but also very similar to past iterations.
  3. Agents of Mayhem - Fun for a while, but then it got old.
  4. NieR: Automata - From reading others’ comments, I am one of those that didn’t keep playing after the first run through. So, apparently I missed out on some of the best parts. It’s still installed, so maybe one day I will get back to it.
  5. Nioh - Good Dark Souls alike, but just not quite as addicting for me.
  6. Elex - I’m enjoying this now, and may finish it, but nothing about it stands out to elevate it from #11.
  7. Slime Rancher - Good fun, if not a bit childish.
  8. Everybody’s Golf - I love me some Hot Shots Golf, and this version is good. Same old formula, which is fine, but does not earn it a higher rank.

Please do! Just don’t bold anything :)

Ever feel like you’re invisible? :(

haha @Knightsaber likes Mass Effect: The Andromeda Strain :)

@Brooski , I want to make changes to my list, do I still need to keep the games I am moving out of the top 5 listed?

Rule 3 is confusing. :p

I blame Aven Colony for being so good. :p

I may need to edit Rule 3. @arrendek, should we have people post again?

(These tech nerds are so demanding)

:)

EDIT: To be clear - that rule was to make sure people didn’t stealth edit and get counted twice, so we could see who had voted. I think @arrendek has the script set up so that either way, it works: either your forum name gets picked up twice and only your second vote matters, or it is all going to get tallied at the end anyway and we won’t care. But in order not to seem like a South Korean hacker, I’ll wait for our tech wizard. Since it’s only the first day, I hope you can hold off until this is answered. By then, maybe you will have changed your mind again :)

The wait will be painful. ;)

Why not hold off running the script until voting is closed?

Because the peeps wanna see the real-time votes! This is today, baybee! All about the now!

Seriously, just edit it. I think that actually works with the script. My point was that even if you stealth-edit, the final tally will pick it up. Go ahead, I give you papal dispensation.

  1. Only your first voting post counts
  2. Edits are fine at any point
    I guess I’ll add: 3. If you really want to make a new voting post just change all the numbers in your first post to numbers greater than 5 or otherwise make it not look like a vote.

Just because I’m running this doesn’t mean I don’t get to vote …

  1. Afghanistan '11 – This is the smartest wargame I’ve played in a long time. Never mind that it’s build on a neo-con fantasy of a country that is looking for or even built for Western democracy as we know it. The reality-based Afghanistan ’11 would be far darker than Johan Nagel’s brilliant creation, but then, a Twilight Struggle based not on falling dominoes but simply on the evils of the system of communism would be far less interesting than it is. Same for Afghanistan ’11. The exquisite interplay of the systems as designed shows just how carefully Johan Nagel thought through his creation, all the way to the inspired nation-building moment of the Afghans actually having to defend their nation with the tools you built for them. Yes, for them. Don’t get me started. The MOAB? Eh, fine. I played it pre-patch.

  2. Through the Ages – Of all the games I played this year, I put the most time into this one, although I couldn’t back that up with Steam stats because this was played entirely on the iPhone and iPad. In fact, it isn’t out for PC. I like @tomchick’s assessment of it in his “Most Surprising Games of 2017” writeup, but I have another reason it “obsoletes the boardgame version:” have you ever tried to actually play a physical game of Through the Ages? “I build the last stage of my Wonder – oh wait, no, I need to build these Warriors or you’re going to have a three-point advantage on me and I only have two military cards. Ok let me put these three resources back. Wait, did I pay for the Warriors already? How many did I have to start the turn?” This happens constantly unless you are very rigorous and organized about your turns, and when have Euro gamers been rigorous and organized about anything? They’re all about abstraction! A cube is a cube is a whatever. Don’t even get me started about the “where did this card come from in the top row again? I gotta put it back” thing. So it is a terrible game to play face-to-face. But on the tablet or phone, this all goes away. And how sweet it is! Two words: Undo button. I really think this is the best boardgame port I’ve ever seen in terms of interface – sorry, Twilight Struggle. More importantly, it’s the best boardgame port I’ve seen in terms of making a game as good as it can be using the digital medium. Maybe it should have been a digital game all along?

  3. Race for the Galaxy – My second-most-played game this year, although again you wouldn’t know it from Steam stats because this is another iOS title. I don’t like RftG as much as some other deckbuilders because it is too prone to the “last-turn whammy:” oh you were getting hosed until you drew that last ?VP development and got like a hojillion more points. But I get that it’s part and parcel of the design. It just isn’t my fave. The rest of the game? A swift-moving, cleverly abstracted sci-fi cartoon about a galaxy full of colored numbers that evoke cool things. I’d love to read more backstory about the Uplift Gnarssh. I think this is the only game that has made me say that this year. Good enough for #3.

  4. Dominions 5 – I’m putting this on the list just because no one else is. Yes, I wrote the manual. Does that mean I love the game too much to be objective? Of course it does. So remind me what is objective about these ratings, anyway? I love how the developers Illwinter continue to evolve this series with smart design decisions, steady interface improvements, and a dogged refusal to ditch the beloved sprite-based “pixelated guys” that give the game so much of its character. I went all gushy about it on the Three Moves Ahead podcast last month and the fact is that this game fulfills that still-kicking middle-school D&D player in me that just wanted to explore a cool, almost limitless fantasy world with an accessible yet intriguingly complex backstory while dressing up my characters in magic armor. If you don’t get a kick out of kitting out a Jotun Jarl with Black Plate and a Soul Blade with Winged Boots just because it isn’t in 3D, then I question your childhood imaginative credentials. j/k! But still, you get what I mean. I have sent my friend @desslock every single iteration of this game, plus printed manual, since Dominions 3 and he had never played one turn. But you know what? The fact that I know that a cool, almost limitless fantasy world now sits on his shelf, waiting to be explored until the end of time, is enough for me. Don’t be a Desslock.

  5. Bomber Crew – OMG are you kidding?? You gave it a 40%!! That’s worse than Daikatana!!! Yeah, I know, dudes. But I never denied that it was a well-designed game. Runner Duck sure knew what they were doing when they created a frustrating clicker with minimal value to their game’s namesakes. They made an arcade game and I wanted an RPG and dammit I got one when I played it in a way that required a lot of effort on my part. Bomber Crew was so much more interesting when I paid attention to every crew member and documented his exploits the way the game should have but refused to do. That took me hours and hours of out-of-game time, though, which has nothing to do with Bomber Crew and everything to do with my brain and Microsoft Word. And I’m sorry, but Runner Duck doesn’t get credit for those. But my own efforts created a truly memorable experience, which Runner’s Duck promptly and thoughtlessly trampled by making it possible for me to click on my pilot and have him crash the plane for no reason. My bomber wasn’t EgyptAir Flight 990. Ok, I admit it – I’m hopelessly conflicted about this game. But I stand by my dislike until the inevitable B-17 DLC comes. Then talk to me. You know what else? It was the fifth and last computer game released in 2017 that I played. So they all make the list. How much more participation-medal can you get?

Actually only his first post will get counted as a vote so it’ll be fine even with numbering and/or bolding. :)

Hey guys, is Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age the same as Final Fantasy XII Remastered?

  1. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
  2. NieR:Automata
  3. Horizon: Zero Dawn
  4. Night in the Woods
  5. Yakuza 0

Honorable mentions: Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Cuphead, Super Mario Odyssey, and What Remains of Edith Finch

Yeah, ‘The Zodiac Age’ is the proper title of the remaster.

Thanks!

I find it interesting that Prey is sitting at #3 with only a single first place vote.

Quick note: If anyone notices a game that’s spelled differently or without subtitle or something and it’s not being counted as the same game as someone else who said the same thing let me know and I’ll add it to the configurable synonym list.

i.e. Recently there were both “Total War: Warhammer 2” and “Total War: Warhammer II” in the list. Also “Ghost Recon: Wildlands” and “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands”. If you notice things like these as separate scores, please let us know.

We are dozens!

Maybe he is fighting North Korean (cyber) terrorists? :-)

My Top Games of 2017:

  1. RimWorld (entered Beta 18 Nov 2017) I was going to hold off until it was released, but someone else voted for it and I want it to get more points. Its the best game / role-playing platform / story simulator I have played in years. Come for the sci-fi theme, stay for the romance between a one-armed prisoner and your elderly scientist who got to know each other sharing a fine meal made from ostrich and blueberries in your filthy jail. An example story about my colony (with mods): Link

  2. Dominions 5 (released 27 Nov 2017) A worthy update to a classic series I have enjoyed for 8 years. Last game I was an underwater sea queen sending my nymphs to shore to lure enemy commanders down to a watery grave. This game I am a flying demon prince whose death-worshipping priests animate hordes of skeletal corpses. These games are played versus a dozen human players (Golems, Knights, Ghosts, a Statue, more!) over a few months. I spend 15 minutes per day (or two) submitting my turn, but I spend all day thinking about the game. So do others: my Steam friends have put 250 hours per two weeks into this game consistently since release.

  3. Battle Brothers (released 24 Mar 2017) Surprised more people have not voted for this. This is the game I would have made myself if I had the skill. Overland travel via a Darklands-inspired world map, zooming into medieval turn-based tactical combat with a fun and semi-realistic simulation of different weapons, armor and formations. All of the crunch of HarnMaster without the dice. Hard but rewarding.

  4. The Long Dark (released 1 Aug 2017) Stark, cold and lonely. A direct opposite to the warm, cartoony, resource-filled open worlds in most games. Probably not the game to play during a long dark winter.

… and I don’t have a number five.