Your Game(s) of the Year for 2017

So this isn't a game I've sadly gotten around to playing yet, it's just sitting there in my library waiting. That said, this is a game with a really cool concept that was sadly overlooked by almost everybody minus a handful of YouTubers. I think when this game gets the triple recommendation from Super Bunnyhop, Tarmack and TotalBiscuit, it's probably worth something.

Basically you're at a Masquerade Ball where you're trying to stop the attendants from being murdered by the staff, by going back in time and indirectly altering the scene of the murder before it even takes place. Your time is limited, so often times you'll just go back in time to explore your options and planning out, until finally going back in time to foil the homicide. All this on top of a rather intriguing story and you have an excellent indie darling right on your hand. Also, don't mind the meh visuals; they really don't do this game justice for how good it is.

It's funny. I was really looking forward to the first game and was try ing to avoid Wolfenstein The New Order. Turns out that The Evil Within was underwhelming meanwhile Wolfenstein was great. Naturally, I was anticipating Wolfenstein II this time and avoiding The Evil Within II, and ironically enough, Wolfenstein II ended up being the disappointment meanwhile The Evil Within 2 turned out pretty great.

This game is still keeping its "The Last of Us" mechanics, but at least this time it's making things a lot more interesting by giving you the choice to choose which levels or chapters you wish to do and in which order, alongside some minor quests to do along the way. It's not entirely open-world; more like semi-open world where you have a big map to move around in and also have the option to choose which parts you'd like to tackle first. On top of that, The Evil Within 2 takes full advantage of its setting with its surreal and acid-tripping nightmare hellscapes, some creative weapon designs and a bucket-load of horrifying mon mons out to eat you.

All that's left is to download this behemoth because holy shit, 38 GB???

This is probably where my lack of exposure to the rest of some of this year's best games comes to show, but I still believe in this game. Out of all the so-called rage games out there, this one somehow feels fun, for despite the high probability of failure and having to start all over again, the physics are consistent enough to make it feel like a decent puzzle platformer. Some of the commentary past the cliff and just around the construction site is pretty entertaining to listen to as well. All it takes to enjoy this game is a lot of patience and focus, and you have yourself a wonderful, albeit slightly frustrating at times, experience. Also, you do get much better at the game overtime and manage to climb back up again much faster (it took me about an hour to reach the construction site the first time, but when I fell down and had to climb back up again, I managed it in only ten minutes).

I said it myself: Sonic is good as long as Sonic Team stays as far away from it as possible, and if this game and Sonic Forces' performances signified anything, it's that I was right.

While a majority of the levels here are simply remixes of older classic levels with some amount of variety added to them, it still feels like a brand new experience to anyone who's experienced the classics. It preserves all of what people enjoyed about those games, and leaves out most of the elements that people disliked about them. Also, the boss fights in this game are incredibly well-done. I personally felt kinda lukewarm towards a lot of the bosses of the classic games since I thought they didn't age well, but man are the boss fights in this one fun.

I haven't played much of this which is probably why it's not higher on my list, but considering the amount I played of it, it had me hooked, and considering that you can replay the game again as either Tails or Knuckles only adds more and more value to this game. Definitely consider giving this one a try.

So I wasn't really planning on playing this game at all because 3D platformers is a plunge I personally haven't considered getting into (although I was mildly interested in this game because of all the buzz it was getting on Twitter), but when I saw this game on GOG for sale at $15, and seeing how much my best friend wanted to play this game as well, I decided to take that plunge. As it turns out, that sale was a price error on GOG's part, so oops. That said though, this game wasn't an error at all.

To start with, having a dive move really helps strengthen this game, because not only does it boost your mobility, but even allows you to make harder jumps that would require specific items to be able to make. The level design is also friggin' amazing, with each of its four worlds having very different design philosophies to them (for example, Mafia Town's entire level is based around a hill, so it feels large but at the same time everything feels connected. On the other hand, Alpine Skyline has a central hub with branching linear paths for each collectible). It's worth mentioning that each world also feels completely different from the one before it, adding in a ton of variety to this game.

The reason I was worried about getting into 3D platformers in the first place was because of a few genre staples that were kinda off-putting, but as far as I know, I don't think this game really had a whole bunch of them, so my experience with this game was great. If I had one nitpick though, it's that the Time Rifts, where you have to collect photos to reveal the story behind each location, suck. Missing one photo means you have to do everything from the beginning again, and I hate that. Don't do that. Please.

This game has been all the rage, and for very good reason. I think I'm not alone in waiting for this game since its initial announcement way way back when, and boy was this game absolutely worth it.

A common trait to see among games with highly-detailed visuals is a fairly noticeable compromise in gameplay quality, but not this game. The controls feel really tight and responsive, and the challenge here feels justifiable (if a little unfair at times). The addition of co-op only sweetens the deal even more. Now it's not for everyone, but if you're into tough games, give this one a try. Heck, maybe the phenomenal visuals for this game could even convince you to keep pushing forward in a game as difficult as this. Whatever you do, don't play on Expert mode.

I had to get this game as soon as I could before my Twitter feed started ruining the game for everyone else, so I had to use some kind of express shipping which sadly pushed the game's price from $40 to $60. I ended up paying just as much for the much superior PS4 version despite getting a PS Vita copy. Nevertheless, for me, I felt like this game earned that extra hike in price.

This entry improves on the past entries in so many ways: the cast is more lively than ever with the perfect balance of flair and writing depth; the murders are way more over-the-top and intriguing; the plot twists are even more insane than those of the past games; finally, the big big BIG advantage this game has is the social commentary it delivers. Don't worry; it's nothing really political at all, but good insight. To the older games' credits, they did a great job at building fun and intriguing narratives, but I don't think either of the two made me think about things the way this game did.

Now it's worth mentioning that this game is pretty divisive among the fanbase since it does take some pretty bold risks. Your mileage may vary with this game, and a lot of what this game does can be taken completely differently. Thankfully, I was among those who really liked this game.

I'm somewhat of a recent Resident Evil fan. I didn't start playing the games until last year back in summer, starting with 4. I've been slowly playing my way through the series and loving everything about them all. It was high time I got around to playing the series' latest entry, and after upgrading my rig, what better time to start?

This game had me hooked real bad. I finished this game in only two sessions, with the second game being right after the first. The changes they made here not only elevated the original formula in so many ways that the technological limitations at the time couldn't afford, but hearkens back to many of the features people enjoyed about the classics. I wasn't personally impressed by this game all that much in VR, but that said, the first-person perspective does help this game a lot, especially during this game's brilliant boss fights and how being face-to-face with each boss really ramps up the tension even further.

This might be a bit of a controversial statement, but I think Resident Evil 7 is just as good as the classic Resident Evil games (minus Resident Evil Remake). Also the free Not a Hero DLC was actually very good, especially for something that was free.

This was the first game I thought about after upgrading my rig to manage a lot more tougher games. I've been eye-balling this series for a while now, but could never justify getting into it because of how poorly the first game's gameplay aged (yes, 'game'play is important in a video 'game', and not everyone will trudge through one if it's not as fun to play, doesn't matter if you have the best story out there). I did watch a short summary to give myself an idea of what to expect, and yeah NieR does have a pretty solid story, so this hyped me up for this game on top of Platinum Games being behind this game's wheels, and holy shit was this game phenomenal.

Now if you do go in expecting some grand hack 'n slash, you won't really find it here since this is technically an action-RPG. What you will find though are the well-crafted base mechanics of said hack 'n slash games, and boy does it work so well. This on top of the game's stellar writing,
it's excellent character designs (okay, Adam and Eve did kinda suck), and a haunting-yet-enchanting orchestral soundtrack, you have a very solid contender here for one of my personal favorite video game experiences ever.

Now all that's left is to remake the first NieR (no I'm not paying $30 for a seven-year old game I don't know if I'll even muster to play all the way through).

Let me make it clear just how excited I was for this game, alright? I got a used PS3 the moment this game was announced. My PS3 broke down before the game came out, so I had to go and buy another used PS3 for this game. I had to make special reservations with the store I frequent to import the PS3 version. This was the sequel to my personal favorite of all time, so surely I had to be this excited for it.

Needless to say, this game has dethroned my favorite game of all time.

I don't think I've ever played a game as religiously as I did this. Even with some of the longer games I played, I often took breaks and then went back to them at a later time, but not this game; as soon as I finished it, I went straight back into it again in New Game+ and ended up clocking in an additional 62 hours on top of my initial 118 hours, just to get the Platinum trophy.

I don't think anyone can deny that massive changes they did to the series' formula when it comes to gameplay. While it didn't completely ditch the same combat system, it did enhance it with so many little quality of life changes, on top of some new mechanics that helped make the game even more fun than it had any right to be. Persona always had fast, flashy and fun combat, so to see it kicked up a notch here is incredibly satisfying, and despite its simplicity, it's still intricate with how different elements work in tangent to one another.

While the character writing is a big step down from Persona 3, I think it makes up for that with its more intricate and complex story. The themes really work here and supplement the narrative greatly, far better than with Persona 3's themes honestly. There's so much to look into and a lot to think about, and despite some of this game's faults (to be fair, Persona 3 was also equally flawed in my opinion), it still manages to deliver a genuinely-entrancing experience that's absolutely worth every cent. Persona 5 is my game of the year and also my new favorite game of all time.

Just keep in mind though that this game is long as shit, so if you're getting into it, you're either going to stop midway or say goodbye to playing any other gameS for a while.

HA! THE SECRET TRUE GAME OF THE YEAR! KNACK 2 ALWAYS WINS! WINNER OF ALL THE AWARDS! GAMEPLAY SO GOOD IT MADE NINTENDO WEAP! STORY SO GOOD IT'S OVERTAKEN TOLKIEN'S LIBRARY OF BOOKS! THE BEST OF THE BEST! KNACK 2, BABY!