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

For what it’s worth, I’m over the moon that someone discovered Twilight Struggle a year after it was released and liked it enough to call it their favorite game of 2017!

Once again I played and/or enjoyed far fewer 2017 releases than expected. The vast majority of my playtime this year went to 7 Days to Die and Warframe, but they’re not eligible, so:

  1. Prey It’s the AAA title I loved best. Wish the ending were better and the monsters a wee bit more interesting, but whatever, it was a delight.
  2. Rimworld This doesn’t feel released in the sense that it counts, but if it qualifies, I’d vote for it because it’s the game I spent the most time playing after 7DtD and Warframe.
  3. What Remains of Edith Finch This year’s Gone Home for me. Short but lovely.
  4. Unexplored I have one eye and must explore
  5. West of Loathing I have a soft spot for Asymmetric’s stuff, and this was an enjoyable and funny chance to experience their work in a one-off format. Way better than I expected. I hope they do more.

I can only play on PC so even though HZD looks great it’s not in the running. I played a bit of TotalWarWarhammer and XCOM, but not enough to say I liked them especially. Not sure if that’s my evolving tastes or the games themselves, but regardless I’m holding out for sales in 2018 since the big budget titles underwhelmed me comparatively. Wildlands seems ok but I only put in about 20 minutes, so who knows. Tacoma and Afghan '11 are on on the TBP list. Disliked Mass Effect, not because of the graphics or performance but because of the limp, DA-imitation game play and lack of imagination. Divinity didn’t grab me, and Middle Earth: SOW was almost as disappointing as Mass Effect.

  1. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus - shooting and punching Nazis yes please
  2. Total War: Warhammer 2 - Others have sung its praises more eloquently than I ever could.
  3. Nemo’s War: 2nd Edition - Beautifully designed in every sense. The board game that made me read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
  4. Ultimate General: Civil War - The Ultimate General games hit a sweet spot for me: just enough tactical meat to be satisfying, but not so complex that it overwhelms my non-grognard brain.
  5. Cold Waters - The most fun I’ve had in a sub since 688 Attack Sub back in the day.

And here are two that I originally had in my top five, but had to cut because they’re not 2017 releases:

  • Inis - Simple, clear rules and a tiny deck of cards that entwine to create an intricate Celtic knot of strategy. And the art is balls-out crazy.
  • MegaMek - I have never played this BattleTech boardgame emulator, but I have had a fantastic time following the ongoing AAR over at Octopus Overlords.

There are a couple of 2017 releases that I was tempted to include, but I got them for the holidays and haven’t sunk in enough time to nominate them in good conscience: Spirit Island and Gorogoa.

@Paul_cze given your choices, I’m curious to hear how you think this year stacks up overall against recent years.

I’ll bite.

  1. Mini Rails. Pretty much the only new boardgame I played at BGG.Con that I really liked, this is a conceptually simple game that packs a whole lot of ruthlessness and denial into 30 minutes.

  2. Time Of Crisis. A phenomenal example of game design. It’s full of colorful detail about the late Roman empire, but every scrap of chrome matters.

  3. Sol: Last Days Of A Star. A crazy original game of logistics and forced cooperation. That rarest of things, a Kickstarter game from unknown designers that is worth playing over and over.

  4. Jump Drive. I’ve been trying to get a copy of Tom Lehman’s game The City for years, and before I could get my hands on one, here comes a new version set in the Race for the Galaxy universe. Sure, it’s light as a feather, and you can play a game in about 5 minutes once you know what you’re doing, but I played it 50 times last year and will probably play it 50 more.

  5. LogiSTICal. Or however it’s capitalized. I freaking hate this ugly stupid game with its hideous UI, awful sound effects, and 2000 achievements. God damn it. I think I’m about 130 hours in to Australia. Sigh.

  1. Dirt 4. I’m not great at racing games, but I had a blast with this, and my criteria for this year are games that I had fun with. I didn’t fall in love with a game this year.

  2. Shadowhand. I was a big fan of the dev’s Regency Solitaire. This isn’t quite as good as that, but I’ve still gotten my money’s worth.

  3. Pinball FX3. This probably isn’t really fair since it’s more like FX2 version 2. But, like I said, it’s about games I’ve had fun with. I’m annoyed that Zen can’t make a technically decent Xbone game, but playing in vertical mode on the Switch almost makes up for that.

  4. Persona 5. I need to go back and play more to see if this is really worthy of this spot, but here it is.

  5. Agents of Mayhem. It was either this or Aven Colony. On a different day, it might have been Aven.

  1. Cold Waters Hot diggity after so many years of waiting, Killerfish Games gave us the spiritual successor to Red Storm Rising. It’s practically a one to one remake of the original with the addition of 3D graphics and external views. The '68 campaign is a new game unto itself with straight running torpedoes requiring you to maneuver your boat for that 90 degree broadside shot. Like Silent Hunter but with nuclear reactors.

  2. Rimworld There’s no rimming to be had here but that hasn’t stopped me from investing a hefty number of unhealthy gaming time into it. I’ve never been into Sims types of games before but Rimworld has me hooked like a crack addict.

  1. Prey - Even though I haven’t finished this, I still love that it is a new incarnation of System Shock.
  2. Super Mario Odyssey - A game that perfectly fits my lifestyle. I can pick it up for 5 minutes and accomplish things, or play for hours.
  3. Life is Strange: Before The Storm - I never would have guessed they could have made a prequel for LiS work, but they did. I loved being back in this world again and learning more about Chloe and Rachel.
  4. Assassin’s Creed: Origins - I spent much of the past few months actually finishing AC: Syndicate (which I loved), but I really like what they’ve changed about Origins. The systems are drastically better and a refreshing change from the established formula.
  5. Hollow Knight - An absolutely beautiful platformer about… a society of bugs.

Things not necessarily released in 2017 that I spent a lot of time with:

  • Spelunky - Still play almost every day and still haven’t beaten it. I get to the end sometimes though!
  • Dead Cells - Ok this did come out in 2017, but I’m not voting for any early access games. Great rogue-like that I am happy to keep playing as it evolves.
  • AC: Syndicate - See above
  • Jackbox (all versions) - Continues to provide lots of entertainment for family gatherings.
  • Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ - I was never a BoI fan previously (didn’t give it much of a chance), but I’ve played a metric fuckton of this on Switch. Speaking of, the Switch is hands down the most awesome thing to happen in 2017.

Yeah when it comes to new games, this has been one of the weakest years ever for me. Prey is the only game that broke 9/10 territory for me, and all those super acclaimed games like Nier, Zelda, Mario etc do not interest me at all (I might get Nier when it is 5 bucks on sale, just to try it).
But, because of buying PS4 Pro I also finished most games this year I have ever finished - 46 - but only those nine were from 2017. When I go through all the games I finished, the best ones would be:

Prey
Deus Ex Mankind Divided
Forza Horizon 3
Uncharted 4
Hitman
Tales from Borderlands

I also super enjoyed Mafia 3 with all DLCs, but man what a flawed game. I love it though.
Overall both 2015 and 2016 were stronger for me, you know why (Starts with W and ends with wine).

That’s an interesting case since the retail release only happened in 2017. IIRC the final bonus episode coincided with the retail release, so the game wasn’t even complete before that. Though obviously most people thought of it as a 2016 release anyway.

OK, I think mine are:

  1. Super Mario Odyssey - just magical.
  2. NieR: Automata - picked this up knowing very little about it, having only seen a gushing 5-minute review on Consolevania. Loved the way it jumped from genre to genre, and was still throwing surprises at you right up until the (5th) end.
  3. A Hat in Time - unfortunate scheduling made this only the second-best hat-based 3D platformer this year. Much like NieR, it wasn’t shy with throwing surprises and gimmicks at the player. But it did include a character with a terrible Scottish accent that irritated my (Scottish) wife no end.
  4. Opus Magnum - solve the puzzle in minutes, competitively optimize your machine for hours. Maybe not everyone has the engineering mindset to find it compelling, but fantastic for those who do.
  5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - hopefully, as basically a re-release on a new platform, this is allowed? My favourite gaming moments this year have been sitting back and watching my two youngest daughters play this against each other. The steering-assistance and auto-accelerate options are perfect for them, and remove much of the frustration. I even - for the first time in 20 years of playing versions of this game - successfully defended myself against a blue shell.

Runners up: Gorogoa and Edith Finch, both superb and short games, each doing what they set out to do perfectly.

Ack no! I hate that kind of thing. I’m currently playing Mario Odyssey and unsure whether it’ll make my list. Less than 10 days to decide! :-) A Hat In Time will have to wait, unfortunately.

This sounds awesome! Are you playing it on the Switch? The port works well there? Seems like on Steam a lot of people are complaining it’s a bad PC port, but I’d play it on my Switch if that wasn’t the case there.

I’m playing the Android version, but I hear the Switch version is even better. I considered getting it there, but decided the portability was worth putting up with the touch controls.

Switch version is still 20% off for a few more days… I’ve been tempted.

It wasn’t when I looked. Must’ve just missed it!

Hmm maybe it’s just a local discount then as it’s still showing 20% off here until the 8th Jan.

Definitely not on sale in the States but the PC version is on sale on Steam.

  1. Horizon: Zero Dawn - No hesitation on this one. Just a tremendous achievement in open world games. Amazing combat, incredible visual design work and wonderful world building.
  2. Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds - I got in on this game pretty early and have clocked over 40 hours in play time revisiting it occasionally as the updates came out. It’s probably the most fun I’ve had in an online shooter since Day of Defeat in the age of Half-life mods.
  3. Persona 5 - Tremendous style, amazing music and sharp turn based combat.
  4. Nioh - Even if I hadn’t played a second of this game after release it earned a spot on my list from the incredible journey I had with the alpha and beta tests.
  5. Elder Scrolls: Legends - My preferred digital CCG that I believe technically launched in 2017. I love the meaty single player content which makes me feel good about spending money on a F2P card game.

Other games I’ve enjoyed but just am not far enough into to justify including are Nier: Automata, Etrian Odyssey V and Divinity: Original Sin 2.

  1. Zelda: Breath of the Wild - This is my favorite gaming experience ever. It’s my dream game; systems-heavy, exploration-focused action-adventure, complimented by gorgeous presentation and near-endless surprises. Even after 100 hours, the game simply refuses to stop revealing new things! The game keeps presenting me with situations that throw me off balance; I can’t rely on rote gameplay reflexes. It’s not that I don’t love the familiar, that’s what keeps me coming back to FPS campaigns, but there’s something about how the systems interact, complimented by just the right amount of authored/scripted content and feedback, which I just find myself frequently losing hours to this thing at times where I can’t afford to stay up late! I know immersive is a word that gets thrown around too much, but Hyrule’s worldbuilding engages me in a way that others can’t approach, at least not since the original Thief.

  2. Super Mario Odyssey - The best 3D platformer ever. So polished and manages to remain consistently inventive despite such a small amount of player inputs: you can jump, throw your hat, and move. That’s it. The way Nintendo mixes these simple commands together, however, is fucking magic. Odyssey feels like a love letter to the series.

  3. Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Just like the other two games on my list, I feel that D:OS 2 is the best game in its respective genre has seen in years. It’s certainly my favorite CRPG since Planescape Torment. After all the studio’s struggles, I’m so happy to see Larian enjoy a runaway critical and commercial success. An absurdly generous game that offers a ridiculous amount of content, which is complimented by an unprecedented level of reactivity.

  4. Hollow Knight - An instant Oz-produced classic! Hallownest is an fantastic setting, recalling pre-shitty Tim Burton in the best possible way. I’m in love with this game!

  5. Resident Evil 7 - For a series that’s known for changing direction and moving in bold, new directions, I really enjoyed how faithful Resident Evil 7 was to the PS1-era classics, despite the perspective change. I went in thinking it was going to be an Amnesia-style jump scare-athon, shamelessly appealing to the Youtube crowd, but it was so much more! It doesn’t quite stick the landing, losing steam towards the end, and I wish there was more enemy variety, but overall I was pleasantly surprised.