Game Of The Year - 2017

[Applo]

With the space in my calendar starting to run out, 2017 is nearly in the history books. As usual there has been a plethora of games released this year. Which one has been your personal Game Of The Year?

 

[IntrusivePenDesperateSword]

*smashes through wall*

So let's all jump up super high (Jump up super high)
High up in the sky (High up in the sky)
There's no power-up like dancing
You know that you're my superstar (You're my superstar)
No one else can take me this far
I'm flipping the switch
Get ready for this
Oh, let's do the odyssey

 

[Elle Joyner]

Zelda, Breath of the Wild... Ugh. so good.

 

[Aero Blue]

Divinity: Original Sin II.

Honorable Mentions: Breath of the Wild, Pyre, Nier Automata

 

[Greenie]

I have to say Rakuen. I don't think I've been this emotionally invested in a game since a long time. I didn't actually play it yet, but I watched the playthrough and it was just the most beautiful story that was so relatable. Many smiles and many tears.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

A'ight, I think I can narrow my picks down to about three games that came out this year.

PERSONA 5

I was a diehard fan of Persona 4, and oh my good golly fuck this game is everything I hoped it would be. Oozing style, shifting up the mechanics and gameplay whilst keeping it familiar for long-time fans, great writing and characters you can't help but love by the end of the game (yes, even Yusuke).

PS Futaba is my waifu

DIVINITY: ORIGINAL SIN 2

Hi I like classic CRPGs. I grew up on shit like Baldur's Gate and the first two Fallouts, so the recent trend in CRPGs towards run-of-the-mill, vanilla-as-fuck story fests that railroad you harder than the worst Magical Realm GMs has been a constant frustration of mine. Thank fuck for devs like Larian Studios, then, since they know just how incredible an open experience like the CRPGs of yore can be and have committed themselves to refining that experience to a polished edge. There's just so much to this game, so many actions and decisions and choices that you can follow that can fundamentally change how your character is perceived and how the story plays out for them. All the shit some devs promise about their games, about how choices matter and will affect the story in meaningful ways? Well they're full of shit, but Divinity: Original Sin 2 is the real fucking deal.

PS Fane is my husbando

HELLBLADE: SENUA'S SACRIFICE

I spent a lot of the last pick shitting on narrative-focused games, but that doesn't mean I don't like them and that doesn't mean that what Ninja Theory achieved with Hellblade isn't short of incredible. Psychosis and mental instability are rarely explored with the depth and nuance they require in media, especially video games, but Ninja Theory put in the work to really bring you into the mind of Senua and make you experience what it truly means not to know what is real and what isn't. I don't like the notion of some games being so "important" that you overlook a lack of gameplay either, so luckily Hellblade doesn't skimp on that either: combat can be a bit samey after a while but it still remains visceral and satisfying. Play this fucking game, guys, seriously.

PS The Darkness is deeply fucking scary I mean just goddamn

 

[Joan]

Zelda, Breath of the Wild... Ugh. so good.

This. So much this.

 

[A.O. Taku]

Not even a question for me.

Persona 5 is nice, too.

 

[Greenie]

HELLBLADE: SENUA'S SACRIFICE

I didn't watch much of this game (missed streams :/) but what I did was so darn interesting. Listening to Senua's mind for example. And then the graphics? o_o Just beautiful.

 

[A.O. Taku]

I was a diehard fan of Persona 4, and oh my good golly fuck this game is everything I hoped it would be. Oozing style, shifting up the mechanics and gameplay whilst keeping it familiar for long-time fans, great writing and characters you can't help but love by the end of the game (yes, even Yusuke).

What's wrong with Yusuke!
(# ` ω ´ )

 

[Hecatoncheires]

What's wrong with Yusuke!
(# ` ω ´ )

He came across as pseudo-intellectual art wanker at first, but I warmed up to him as the story progressed and got to know him more. Again, example of the top notch writing in this game.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

I didn't watch much of this game (missed streams :/) but what I did was so darn interesting. Listening to Senua's mind for example. And then the graphics? o_o Just beautiful.

See, Hellblade is one of those games I'd recommend not streaming but playing by yourself, since so much of the game is tied up with the isolation and atmosphere it creates. Slap on a pair of big-ass headphones, turn off the lights, and get spooked (and also deeply saddened).

 

[Dipper]

Yeah, uh, I'm gonna agree with everyone here who's said Zelda. A+ gold right there.

 

[Kagayours]

Zelda was really really good this year.

But Odyssey was also really really good.

Both great games.

Both feature fantastic Shivering Nintendo Bois™

It's hard to choose, really.

 

[Quiet One]

Would have picked either Horizon Zero Dawn or Breath of the Wild, so was happy when Breath of the Wild won. Really wish Horizon would come to the Switch, but almost positive it never will.

 

[Wolk]

No real game of the year.
My favourite games still are ones like Europa Universalis IV, Stellaris, stuff like that.

 

[Torsty]

Finding Paradise, the sequel for To The Moon, is released TODAY! So I'll wait until I've played that.

@Greenie , if you haven't played these games and you enjoyed Rakuen, check 'em out!

 

[Artorias]

Nioh. Those Soul-formula type of games always get me and pair it with the fact Nioh is loosely based on real Japanese History and the first ever European Samurai (William Adams, who you play in the game). I play this game when it first came out and I still play it today and just love the game.

 

[Darog]

Persona 5, NieR Automata, Yakuza 0 and Pyre are all my top picks for my personal selection.

Kinda wished Persona 5 would win GoTY because that series from 3 has just gotten better each addition, but it did win RPG, which is probably better imo, but hey, it's not like the choices were shit, all great in their own right.

 

[Legens Legentis]

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