2017 was the biggest year for me in quite some time. I moved to a different city, got a nice apartment and a job that pays well enough for me to purchase the subjects of my reviews as well as said apartment, joined with some friends in starting an LLC, and managed to do it all with the knowledge that I'm going to die someday and that every record of my existence will be gone in a few hundred years so literally nothing I do will have any impact on the universe at large!
....I mean....*cough*.....2017 was a year of ups and downs in the game industry. There were some fantastic releases, some less-than-stellar releases, and releases that generated enough controversy to possibly change the industry as we know it (looking at you, EA). But, as with every year, we survived. We've made it to the end of 2017, so it's time for me to do my massive article covering the best of the best from this past year! You might notice that this year's article is shorter than last year's, and you wouldn't be mistaken. I've canned one or two more categories since last year as well as quite a few of the honorable mention categories. You see, these lists are a constant exercise in improvement. Every year I learn a new lesson and try to apply it to the next year. While 2016's lists were definitely less bloated than 2015, upon reflection, they were still a little bloated. With that in mind, I tried to take note of which categories were still adding to the fat and cut them out. My goal is to keep on having these lists take up a novel's worth of space, but I only want categories that are necessary avenues of celebration. Combine this goal with a much shorter break this year than in any year prior to this one, and the result is an article that is still unbelievably long, but that is short in comparison to past years.
Just a few notes before we begin:
1) As always, only games I have played and reviewed are in the running for any of these lists. I played the few episodes of Batman: The Enemy Within that came out this year, but I didn't feel like reviewing them, so nothing from that game is going to show up here. Some other high-profile games I haven't played are: Cuphead (because I don't own an xbox one), Star Wars Battlefront II, South Park: The Fractured but Whole, Resident Evil 7, Outlast II, Injustice 2, and many more. Long story short, scroll up to the navbar. If you don't see a game's title, it isn't going to show up.
2) Similar to last year, there will be spoilers for some of the games that are listed. I will always call it out at the beginning of the list, and the picture I use will not spoil anything. So, if you see the words "There will be minor/major spoilers for X," then you come across the point where "X" wins a place on the list, if you don't want to see the spoiler, scroll past that item. Provided you're careful, you should feel free to browse on if you haven't played every game that came out this year.
3) Keep in mind that these are my lists. This is the time of year where I get to be as subjective as I want to be. Granted, I have a somewhat empirical process for determining GOTY order (which I'll break down in detail when the time comes), but if you disagree with me, that's fine. The last thing you need to get emotional about is some stranger's opinion on which games had the best level design this year. These lists are a place to come get my take on the year and have fun doing it. I've always enjoyed reading and watching end of the year lists, and maybe other folks don't enjoy them as much as I do, but I hope you have fun here today. One of the reasons I bring this up is that I made a decision in my GOTY list that's going to royally piss people off. But, as I mentioned, it doesn't matter. My lists, my rules.........I do sort of relish the thought of how many people it's going to make squirm, though.
Anyhoo, the time is now, the day is here, THIS IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This year, I'm continuing my tradition of separating the graphics category into realistic and artistic. For a game to end up on this list, it has to have graphics that are both striking and more-or-less realistic. This category is primarily the home of AAA releases or high-end Indie releases, and it's one of the most straightforward categories you'll find today.
#5): Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Hellblade really does epitomize the word "realistic." The graphics are by no means flashy, nor are they all that attractive, but there's a sense of realism to them that makes them endearing and clashes with the otherworldly nature of the story content. I thought it was quite an interesting choice to render something like the norse underworld (a location ripe for creative interpretation) in a manner indistinguishable from the real world. Beyond the greatness of the environmental graphics, the few character models that are present in Hellblade are also excellent. Senua herself is almost creepily realistic, and the faces of people in her memories seem like the developers just put in video clips of the actors talking rather than doing any rendering.
#4): What Remains of Edith Finch
The Finch House is a location tied directly to the game's story, so it's the kind of location that needed to be rendered flawlessly, and the devs behind Edith Finch did just that. The Wes Anderson-esque nature of the house is expressed through its vibrant colors as well as the sense of clutter. I could imagine real people living in this house, and yet the utterly adorable layout and colorful feeling both lend an almost otherworldly feeling to it. In other words, Giant Sparrow games do the exact opposite of what Team Ninja does with Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Whereas Hellblade renders a mythological location realistically, Edith Finch renders an ultimately realistic location in a way that makes it seem almost alien while still retaining an air of realism.
#3): Prey
Arkane Studios takes their signature Dishonored-style graphics and updates them to be just the slightest bit more realistic. The result is a strikingly beautiful world that is both realistic and unique all in one. Sci-fi games tend to follow a particular style guide inspired by the likes of Alien or Blade Runner, but thanks to Arkane's stellar artistic direction, Prey maintains a science fiction look all its own.
#2): Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
In direct contrast to Hellblade, the graphics for Wolfenstein revel in their flashiness. Everything you look at seems to gleam as if scrubbed with the world's most efficient sponge. Even though most of the areas you visit in-game are completely run down, there's still a sense of beauty to them that makes the ultimately uninspired level design hurt a little bit less. When graphics can draw attention away from a game's biggest flaw, you know that they're high quality.
Realistic Graphics of the Year: Horizon: Zero Dawn
To date, Horizon: Zero Dawn has the best graphics I've ever seen, surpassing even The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. From sunrise to sunset, there's a melancholy beauty to the world that is due entirely to the game's use of lighting and weather. Fire flickers realistically whether it's a part of a campsite or on the end of an arrow, and sunlight filters down through trees, casting shadows on the grass. Beyond how the world is rendered, animations are also fantastic. Robots move convincingly like the animals they're based on, and their metallic coats gleam in the sun and moon light. Character models are also fantastic, and they're animated as if they have as many muscles as an actual human being. Truly, there's no game more deserving of this award than Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Best Artistic Graphics
In contrast, the artistic graphics section is the category of smaller indie releases...usually. This year is a little different, but in any case, for a game to end up here, its graphics must be striking in some way that isn't trying to be realistic. In general, this category celebrates the more unique graphical styles. These were the five games with the best graphics of a non-realistic nature in 2017.
#5): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Nintendo leans towards an art style between Windwaker and Skyward Sword in this most recent installment in the saga, and it's just right for this world. It's the rare kind of game that seeks to emulate realistic graphics without actually making its graphics realistic. There's this ultimately playful aura to the world that makes this fantasy world feel like the kind of place you would've wanted to go on adventures in when you were a child, and the world is rendered just realistically enough to drive that feeling home.
#4): Persona 5
Developer Atlus brings a style that bridges together traditional anime and the pudgy-faced look of handheld jrpgs in Persona 5. What's truly impressive about Persona 5's art style is its use of color. The descriptor I've heard used to describe Persona 5's art style is "high contrast," and I think that's accurate. The dark colors are especially dark, and the light colors are especially bright, causing just about everything you see to pop out. It makes for a sometimes overwhelming visual experience, but I can't deny how striking it is.
#3): Last Day of June
Developer Ovosonico could've rendered Last Day of June any way it wanted. However, they chose a Tim Burton-esque big-head-small-body style for character models, and a simplistic-yet-descriptive style for the world. They poured their hearts into making animations that express how characters are feeling. The result is a story that feels alive despite having no words at all, and it's all thanks to the art style and the animations that go with it.
#2): Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight is unlike anything I've seen before in that it manages to simultaneously be cute and disturbing. Every character you meet has an almost comical body type and movement look, which ensures you remember them after you've left, even if you can't remember their names. The world itself ties directly into the idea of a bug kingdom. Everything you see is related to bugs in some way or another. Adding to the bug-like feeling of the world is the game's excellent use of lighting. Most of the crossroads are quite dark, but certain items (such as small lamp posts) and enemies (such as jellyfish) radiate with bioluminescent light. The fact that the developers were able to create an insect-like atmosphere with just strategically placed lighting is nothing short of amazing. The effort and passion that went into rendering this world is remarkable.
Artistic Graphics of the Year: Super Mario Odyssey
In the end, Super Mario Odyssey wins this award because of the sheer quality of its graphics. Sure, it's less artistic than the others on this list, but it can't be beat in terms of quality alone. Every world is bright, but not obnoxiously so. There's plenty of detail in all of Mario's outfits. Animations are slick and unexaggerated, something that Nintendo has had trouble with in the past.
Best Performing
There's more to a good looking game than just graphics. The best-looking games can still fall prey to screen tearing, framerate drops, animation glitches, you name it. For a game to end up here, it has to be able to carry the weight of its graphics and on-screen chaos. Contenders for this award maintain stable framerates and are as bug-free as possible.
#5): Persona 5
Given the sheer amount of stuff you can do in Persona 5, I was surprised to not find a single bug, framerate drop, or poor texture in my playthrough. It's sad that we've come to expect these things, but it does my heart good to see a game as tightly polished as Persona 5. What's even more impressive is the fact that this game is evidently at least 120 hours long. That's a lot of time with a lot of chances to accidentally let a bad texture slip or have the framerate drop at least once. Even so, in the 40 or so hours I've played thus far, it hasn't happened even once.
#4): Horizon: Zero Dawn
There were occasional framerate drops in Horizon: Zero Dawn, but not a lot. The sheer graphical power that this game boasts is phenomenal, and any other game might crumble under the weight of these graphics. However, HZD gets by mostly unscathed. What's more, textures never have to load in, so not only does the game manage to keep a mostly stable framerate, it also manages to load everything it needs in a timely manner. Know what makes this even more impressive? Developer Guerilla Games doesn't have the same kind of money that your average Ubisoft bug fest has. With a more modest budget, Horizon: Zero Dawn outshines 99% of the AAA market. The only reason that Horizon: Zero Dawn doesn't make it further up this list is because, as I said, the occasional drop in framerate is present.
#3): Yakuza 0
Yakuza 0 isn't exactly a heavy-hitter in terms of its graphics, but it understands what's most important. If you can't keep a stable framerate, lower the graphical burden. As a result of some of the last-gen looking textures and general lack of graphical quality, the game maintains a smooth framerate throughout, even when you're faced with countless enemies all attacking at different times. There are sometimes upwards of 20 enemies on screen, each doing their own thing, and yet the game is able to handle it at all times. It's a shame that the graphics had to take a hit in order to accomplish this, but given a choice between good graphics and a good performance, the choice is obvious to me.
#2): Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
There are many reasons why I kept trying to play Wolfenstein like I played Doom. The Mick Gordon metal soundtrack was one, but the silky smooth 60fps framerate was the first offender. Like Doom before it, this game manages to maintain its framerate in spite of its high graphical burden and in spite of the levels of chaos that can ensure. A notable difference between Wolfenstein and Doom is the ability to duel-wield. It's nothing short of amazing that Wolfenstein was able to maintain such a stable performance with not one, but two potentially different guns potentially firing at potentially different rates of fire.....potentially.
Most Stable Product of the Year: Super Mario Odyssey
What can I say about Super Mario Odyssey that I haven't already said about other items on this list? Odyssey maintains a smooth-as-hell 60fps throughout without a single drop in framerate. It loads unbelievably quickly. There were never any animation glitches, bad textures, texture pop-ins, or any gameplay bugs (game-breaking or otherwise). In addition (and this is a big deal for Nintendo), the camera was never out of control. In a nutshell, Super Mario Odyssey was the single most stable product to be put out this year. Sure, there isn't a lot of on-screen chaos, but Super Mario Odyssey is still a graphical powerhouse with quite a bit of weight to be supported, and it manages to support this weight flawlessly.
Best Sound Design
Sound design is an underappreciated art. Good sound design is the difference between merely participating in a horror game and feeling truly scared because of strategically placed noises. Good sound design is the difference between playing an open world game and feeling as if you're in the world, listening to the sound of the wind through the trees and the chirps of passing birds. Contenders for this award handle their sound in the way that best suits the needs of the gameplay or story.
#5): Prey
As a game that leans towards stealth as a major focus, it was important for Prey to get its sound right. Needless to say, it did. Firstly, the sound design was brilliantly incorporated into gameplay in that I could get a decent idea of where an enemy was at any given moment just by listening. Beyond the usefulness of the sound design in gameplay, it also served to make the setting feel alive. The overhead lighting of Talos I buzzed and fizzled out, the vacuum of space was utterly devoid of sound with the exception of what was going on in my helmet, and the sound of distant announcements being made over the intercom echoed through the hallways. It served to make the whole space station feel unsettling even when I wasn't in the room where the sound was taking place.
#4): Horizon: Zero Dawn
Similar to Prey, it was important for HZD to handle its sound well for the sake of its stealth mechanics. It did, but more than that, it also handled its open-world ambient noise well. In addition to being about 90% of the enemies of the game, the robotic animals were a part of the world's ambiance, so oftentimes I would, for example, hear one of the cow-related robots calling out to its pack in the distance. This would allow me to determine where a particular kind of machine was, and I'd be able to make decisions about my next steps based on this auditory information. The world just sounds alive, and that adds to Horizon: Zero Dawn's already stellar location design.
#3): Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Developer Ninja Theory was able to build a boss fight exclusively around this game's sound design. That's how good it was. It truly felt like the game positioned its speakers entirely around my head, not just in my left and right ears. Sounds came from corners I didn't realize headphones could touch on, and the result was complete immersion in the environment, especially in the game's horror sections.
#2): Emily is Away Too
Everything about Emily's sound design is fantastic. From the meaty sound of the keyboard (emulating the kind of ungodly large keyboards people used in the mid-2000's) to the perfect imitation of AOL Instant Messaging sounds to the hum of what might be an air conditioner in the background, the sound design in Emily is Away Too is specifically designed to make you feel like you're wearing a spiky belt and listening to My Chemical Romance again. Given how the game's entire concept depends on this illusion of being in the early 2000's, I can't express enough how fantastic it is that the sound design in Emily is Away Too is so spot-on.
Sound Design of the Year: Observer
This may seem like an odd choice to win this award. After all, Observer doesn't exactly handle its voices well. However, in the ways that matter the most, the sound design is flawless. The apartment squeaks under your feet. The sound of a dog in the distance is barely audible, but audible nonetheless. The muffled voices of people arguing with each other or with someone on the other end of a phone (in a way that reminds me of my neighbor) seem to emanate from every corner of the complex. The point is that while the graphics do an excellent job of making the apartment complex feel inhospitable and run down, it's the sound design that really hammers the point home and causes the player to truly feel unsettled and unsafe.
Best Soundtrack
There's more to a good soundtrack than just sounding good. A good soundtrack also has to fit the game. The example I always use for how not to do a soundtrack is A Knight's Tale, the film with Heath Ledger. The 80's rock soundtrack didn't fit with the film's medieval story, so it wouldn't have ended up on this list. For a game to be eligible for this award, its soundtrack has to be good, but it also has to fit the game.
#5): Persona 5 (Shoji Meguro)
Persona 5's soundtrack is pure funk! Mixing elements of traditional funk and jazz, composer Shoji Meguro creates a soundtrack that perfectly matches Persona 5's sense of style. Whether it's a bombastic boss fight or a reflective night walk through Tokyo, Meguro's soundtrack fits the bill in ways that may come as a surprise. It may even come as a....dare I say it?......Last....Surprise.
#4): Last Day of June (Steven Wilson)
Prog rock musician Steven Wilson brings his most melancholy tracks to the table for Last Day of June, and it's another example of a soundtrack that sounds exactly like the tone of the story. With such tracks as "Year of the Plague" (or "That Day By The Pier" on the official soundtrack that released at the start of December), Wilson paints a beautiful picture with his sound, but breaks it up every so often with key changes that break the emotional build up a little bit. This reflects the emotional rollercoaster that is Last Day of June. Wilson gives us the chance to find beauty in this world, but he never lets us remain engulfed in it.
#3): Horizon: Zero Dawn (Julie Elven)
Elven's (what an incredible last name) soundtrack for Horizon: Zero Dawn is a little bit harder to talk about in artistic terms like I've been doing for the past few entries on this list. The reason for this is that it's just more straightforwardly beautiful. It's not really symbolic or anything like that, it's just good. What more is there to say?
Okabe and Hoashi manage to take some pretty big gambles in the soundtrack to Nier: Automata, and nearly all of them pay off. From the ferocious war chants of "This Cannot Continue" to the dramatic beauty of "A Beautiful Song" to the sadness of "Weight of the World," every track on the soundtrack is a little different and is beautiful in a slightly different way. The composers employ a variety of vocalists, each with different kinds of voices, to keep the variety going and to keep the somewhat odd feel of the world alive.
Soundtrack of the Year: Finding Paradise (Kan Gao & Laura Shigihara)
I thought it was impossible for Kan Gao to craft a To the Moon caliber soundtrack a second time, and he made me eat my words. The soundtrack for Finding Paradise pulled on the heartstrings as much as To the Moon's soundtrack did. Even lacking such iconic tracks as For River, Gao crafted yet another watery piano and strings soundtrack that made the simple act of walking through memories beautiful. In addition, Laura Shigihara's contribution to this soundtrack was a heartbreaking track, the sweetness of which rivals even Everything's Alright. If you'd told me a year ago that I'd be giving this award to Kan Gao in his second full game, I would've told you it wasn't possible. Yet, here we are.
Best Soundtrack Piece
This category, on the other hand, is completely subjective. To be eligible for this award, a soundtrack piece need only impress me on the surface level. This year was a good year for soundtrack pieces, so I'm glad to be able to share with you the 10 tracks that I spent the most time listening to this year.
#10): Judgement (Yakuza 0)
My favorite song from Yakuza 0's karaoke minigame. I can't resist the urge to sing alone when I hear this song.
We're breaaaaking the laaaaaaaaw!!!! Breeeeeaaaaaking the woooooorld!!
#9): Your Reality (Doki Doki Literature Club)
The portal-esque credits song for Doki Doki Literature Club perfectly emulates the tone of the game itself. It's undeniably cute, and yet a closer inspection of the lyrics is a little creepy. All in all, it's just a good song.
#8): Last Surprise (Persona 5)
Maybe it's just because you end up listening to this song over and over again as you enter battle over and over again, but Last Surprise gets me moving every time.
You never see it co-miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!!
#7): Light of Hope (Sonic Forces)
It could just be because, when this song played, I realized my suffering was over, but I actually enjoyed Light of Hope in spite of its cringey lyrics.
#6): This Cannot Continue (Nier: Automata)
It was a unique choice to include lines of dialogue in a soundtrack piece, but the results gave me goosebumps when I first heard this piece.
#5): Year of the Plague (Last Day of June)
The sheer bittersweetness of this track is what lands it here. It breaks my heart more than any other piece of the soundtrack.
#4): Persona 5 Theme
I mean, really. Have you ever in your life heard a game theme with more style?
#3): Jump Up, Super Star! (Super Mario Odyssey)
When I first heard this piece, I found myself dancing in my chair as I played the level. It's simply delightful.
#2): Scale Song (Finding Paradise)
This song is just...so...sweet. When Colin and Sofia started playing this piece together as a way to soothe Sofia's nerves, I stood there, not progressing in the story. I was captivated by this piece, and I just didn't want it to end. It's beautiful on its own, but the sheer sweetness of this husband and wife playing it together was enough to do me in.
Soundtrack Piece of the Year: Wish my Life Away (Finding Paradise)
This piece is simply divine. Not only is it beautiful to listen to, but the lyrics sync up with the message of the game and with the game's resolution perfectly.
Best Level Design
Level design is another underappreciated art. It doesn't matter if you have the most impressive location of all time. If it isn't designed efficiently, it can fall flat on its face. Contenders for this award structure their settings and levels in a way that is compelling and has a positive impact on gameplay.
#5): Observer
Observer takes place in an apartment complex reserved for the lowest of the low classes. With that in mind, the developers designed the complex to be as run down as possible, to have as many holes in the wall, as many accidental entryways to apartments as possible. Then, in the memory dive sections, they designed the levels to be distorted versions of reality that resemble nightmares. All of this is effective in making the game unsettling to play.
#4): What Remains of Edith Finch
The Finch House is intricately designed from the inside out. There are so many little secret passages and alternate ways to get into rooms that it wouldn't surprise me if the devs built a little model of the house before they started development. Each room in the Finch house has personality to it, to the degree that no two rooms are exactly the same. Given how about 99% of the game takes place in this house, the amount of variety in room styles is a welcome aspect of the level design.
#3): Hollow Knight
The crossroads of Hollow Knight's world are deeply and uniquely intertwined. If you explore every nook and cranny, you're sure to find all sorts of secrets. In every single area there are paths to explore, to the point where it legitimately feels like these areas were actually built by bugs. It's possible to feel a little overwhelmed by the intricacy with which Hollow Knight's world is crafted, but once you get a feel for where you're going, it's hard to deny the effectiveness of its level design.
#2): Prey
Notorious game critic Yahtzee Croshaw once made the point that any residential environment used in a horror game ought to feel lived in. The developers of Prey obviously went into the project with that sentiment in mind. Though not really a horror game, Prey does take place on a space station, and the character given to this station is nothing less than impressive. The developers managed to create an environment that feels like people lived in it while still making the levels suitable for stealthy approaches. In other words, they created levels that would have been lived in by people not expecting any danger, and yet, the player is able to use the layout of these areas to remain undetected. One example is the residential quarters. At one point, I reached what was obviously a game room and managed to avoid detection by hiding under a pool table, then quickly taking cover behind a gaming chair when enemies weren't looking. I didn't quite succeed in remaining undetected, however, and I had to use the aforementioned gaming chair as cover from which to fire on enemies from. The environments of Prey can be utilized for whatever play style you choose, and that speaks to the quality of the game's level design.
Level Design of the Year: Super Mario Odyssey
The levels in Super Mario Odyssey are far from sprawling. Most areas are actually quite small, but what matters is the intricacy with which these relatively small levels are created. The game's collectible power moons and local currencies are hidden in the tiniest little nooks and crannies, making it so that exploration and experimentation are both consistently rewarded. While the levels themselves are small, they're jam packed with content in such unique ways that it's easy to forget the relatively small size. One descriptor that I've heard used to describe the level design in Super Mario Odyssey is "pre-emptive." In other words, the developers designed each level thinking like a player: theorizing on how a player might think about experimenting in a certain area, then designing the level to reward that kind of experimentation. That is an accurate descriptor, as some of the most out-of-the-box ideas I had yielded results. So much love is put into each of Super Mario Odyssey's kingdoms, and as a human being, I can't help but love just how much my thinking and playing was rewarded.
Best Atmosphere
Atmosphere is the product of several technical aspects working together, so it's fitting that it's the final award of the technical section. In order to truly immerse players in a world, a number of things are required: the necessary lighting and graphics to make the design of the world stick, sound that is designed to ground the player's senses in the world, and technical strength acceptable enough to prevent the player from being taken out of the experience too often. Atmosphere is the ultimate technical achievement simply because it relies on so many other factors. These 5 games were the games that kept me the most grounded in their worlds by utilizing as much of their technical aspects as possible.
#5): Nier: Automata
Nier: Automata's place on this list is due mostly to its use of music, but it's also due to its artistic consistency. There's an intentional bleakness to the world, and this bleakness is present no matter the location. Whether it's the desert, the forest, the city, or even an amusement park, the dreary nature of the world is ever-present. Try as you might, you'll have a hard time escaping from the gloom of Automata's world, and the game's soundtrack is the final straw on the back of the proverbial camel.
#4): Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
As I mentioned a few awards ago, Hellblade's use of sound is exceptional. In fact, the sound design is exceptional to such a degree that it's ultimately the reason for its spot on this list. Even in sunlit areas, sounds will still come out from areas you didn't realize headphones could produce sound from. It's not just horror sounds, though, it's the ambient noise as well. Beyond sound, the game's stellar lighting is always exactly what it needs to be. In nature areas, light filters down from the trees, occasionally being blocked out by clouds. When the light is blocked out, unsettling numbers of shadows dot the landscape until the clouds pass. Inside of dungeons, where your only source of light is a torch, the small circle of visibility flickers in and out as natural fire light would. In dark areas where you don't even have a torch, Senua is rendered with a grainy texture the likes of which you'll probably recognize if you've ever woken up in the middle of the night, looked at a chair, and been able to tell what it is without really being able to make out its features.
#3): Hollow Knight
Much like Nier, Hollow Knight's spot on this list is due to a combination of musical and artistic consistency. Taking place in a Redwall-with-bugs kind of world, the art style consistently reflects an insectoid feel. The benches, the walls, the buildings, everything seems like it would be built by bugs. Combine this with the simple-yet-epic soundtrack, and we have an experience that is simultaneously so cute that I couldn't help but get invested in and so mildly unsettling that I was kept just on my toes enough to continue to be surprised. Throw in a solid framerate and smooth animations, and you have a world that never breaks immersion unless you yourself take a break.
#2): Prey
Prey, being the semi-horror affair that it is, needed to nail its atmosphere. With a combination of excellent lighting, sound design, and level design, Prey managed to do just that. Taking place on a space station, it would've been easy to screw up the lighting. However, the devs smartly mixed internal lighting with lighting from space in a way that ensured there was always light, but that this light was distributed in whatever way made things more tense. In areas with many windows, internal lighting was fairly scarce, and this void was filled with whatever little light managed to come from the sun. In contrast, areas with no windows had some internal light, but there was a stark contrast between the areas beneath the lights and the shadowed areas surrounding them. It made the inside of the station no more inviting than the vacuum of space beyond it. In addition, I was never completely free of the Typhon that prowl the station (because I elected to be stealthy), so the sounds of enemy footsteps in the distance were constantly in my ears. I was constantly concerned about enemies changing up their patrol routes and discovering me every time I heard footsteps in the distance. The final, smallest nail in the coffin was the game's level design. Everything I've mentioned thus far could've been done in any space station scenario, but thanks to the game's stellar level design, the station felt like it was lived in. It felt like this station should've been a safe place, and yet that was decidedly not the case. It was a small thing, but it definitely added to the unsettling air that Prey boasts.
Atmosphere of the Year: Observer
Observer was a game I consistently dreaded having to start up again because of how badly I knew it was going to scare me (even in the non-horror sections). Observer took place in a run-down apartment reserved for the lowest classes. With that in mind, as a horror game, it was up to Observer to make me feel like I was in the most dangerous underdeveloped housing complex possible and to make me feel scared because of it. The floor creaked below my feet, the lighting was unbearably dim, and the sounds of dogs barking and people arguing so loudly and violently that they made my neighbor seem like he isn't a completely toxic person to everyone he screams at on the phone every single day (*gasp for breath because of the run-on sentence*) ringed faintly in the distance. Walking around, I wondered how people could possibly exist in such filth, so effective was the game's rendering of the complex's rotted walls and rusted doors. And that's only touching on the non-horror sections. Once the horror started, Observer kicked it into overdrive with a single technique: contrast. The game at first stranded me in complete silence, then it threw the sound of a woman screaming her throat out at me at the highest volumes it could manage. Then, there were segments where there was a constant droning in the background. As I progressed, that droning increased slowly, as if building to something. In situations like this, the game would then show me something that in any other situation wouldn't be scary. In one case, it was a club scenario. The screen would be black for a moment, then a strobelight would flash, revealing a cast of faceless, dancing people in a single position. That cycle would repeat endlessly with the faceless people in a different position each time. It sent chills down my spine, and it was only one example of Observer's stellar atmosphere. What was truly impressive about all of this was the fact that Observer managed to craft this unbreakable atmosphere while sporting one of this year's least stable framerates. This directly contradicts my statement from the summary of this award, but Observer did such an incredible job in every other technical aspect that even with a framerate that would've broken immersion in a lesser game, I was still captivated from beginning to end. Truly, there is no more deserving a winner of this award than Observer.
Best Character Development
This award is pretty straightforward. The following games had the best character development across the board of any games this year. Most of the lists in this section deal with individual characters, but we seldom stop to think about games that sport good character development as a whole. It's a more high-level award than others on this list, but I wanted to recognize the games that managed to have more good characters than simply one good protagonist or antagonist.
There will be minor spoilers for Doki Doki Literature Club.
#5): Doki Doki Literature Club
Though the cast of characters in Doki Doki Literature Club is the same as any anime dating simulator, each of the characters has a reason for their anime tropes. Whether it be a shy girl having a fetish for the taste of blood or a happy-go-lucky, carefree girl acting aloof to hide severe depression, each of these characters are more than the sum of their parts.
#4): What Remains of Edith Finch
We're only given a few minutes of time to interact with each of the characters in What Remains of Edith Finch, so it was important to really establish those characters within the fleeting moments we were given. Edith Finch leverages its semi-playful tone to successfully give players a good idea of who every member of the Finch family is through the sheer quirkiness with which they're presented. In some instances, we're shown the vanity of a child star through an old-school horror comic. In other instances, we're shown the depths of Edith's older brother's depression and dissatisfaction with reality through a daydream sequence in which he is a conquering King. Each character is given thorough development despite having only a short episode in which to do so.
#3): Finding Paradise
Though I would've liked to have seen even more character development in Finding Paradise, what we're given is not only satisfactory, it's brilliant. Whether it's the silly-but-observant Dr. Winters, the reserved-yet-loving Sofia, or our protagonist, who feels a deep guilt about the emptiness he feels as he's surrounded by his loving family, characters are developed well across the board. What's more, characters we've already come to love (such as Dr. Watts) get an extra slice of development as well.
#2): Last Day of June
Without so much as a single word, Last Day of June manages to create more believable characters than most AAA releases this year. Instead of relying on writing, LDoJ utilizes the tone of its voice actors and the way that the characters are animated to develop characters. To give just one example, we learn that Carl and June's next door neighbor has a crush on Carl exclusively through the bashful tone of her voice as she speaks her gibberish lines and through the way she holds her arms close to her body as she talks to him. Every animation is intentional and serves to further develop the characters.
Character Development of the Year: Yakuza 0
Yakuza 0 is essentially the exact opposite of Last Day of June in terms of how it crafts its characters. Yakuza is quite long and has quite a bit of writing. Through these two aspects of the game, no major character is left undeveloped. Through the course of its campaign, Yakuza 0 introduces a ton of villains, and every last one of them is effective. One would think that a story so completely saturated with characters might have difficulty keeping all of them relevant, but Yakuza 0 manges it without breaking a sweat. Sure, it's more of a traditional method of character development, but it's the most effective character development I've seen in 2017.
Best Voice Actress
There were several voice actresses that could've ended up on this list. 2017 was a fantastic year for voice actresses, but alas, I had to narrow it down to just these 5 to keep things from getting too lopsided. These were the voice actresses that I felt gave the best performances in 2017.
#5): Melissa Hutchison as Clementine (The Walking Dead: A New Frontier)
Every time a Walking Dead game comes out, Melissa Hutchison puts on a performance that earns her a spot on this list. The Clementine of A New Frontier is more hardened, more mature than in previous titles, and Hutchison's acting reflects that. What's always been remarkable to me about Hutchison in this role is her ability to translate what is essentially the same character to different stages of her life, and the 13-14 year old version of Clementine is no exception. In the episodes that came out this year, we got to see Clementine at her most complex, and thankfully Hutchison was up to the task as always.
#4): Christine Lakin as PeeBee (Mass Effect: Andromeda)
Playing a snarky character is the easiest thing in the world. Playing a snarky character where there's some depth and nuance to the snark is not. Christine Lakin could've easily phoned this performance in, but instead she gave PeeBee a personality beyond just quipping. Because of Lakin, PeeBee truly became a force to be reckoned with, an intellect that hungered for what new wonders the Andromeda galaxy might bring her. The writing itself might have done an ok job of expressing this, but Lakin brought such joy and personality to her role that PeeBee easily became my favorite character in the game.
#3): Ashly Burch as Aloy (Horizon: Zero Dawn)
Ashly Burch is mainly on here because I couldn't believe how convincing she was in this role. After all, a matter of years ago she was playing Chloe in Life is Strange and saying lines like "Isn't this awesomesauce?" and "Are you for cereal?" with a straight face. The performance she gave in Horizon: Zero Dawn was unrecognizable in comparison. Aloy was a brilliant character, but her writing was only a part of the equation. If Burch hadn't played the role convincingly, then even this brilliantly written and developed character would've fallen flat.
#2): Valerie Rose Lohman as Edith Finch (What Remains of Edith Finch)
What Remains of Edith Finch is a game that covers the whole spectrum of emotion, and this kind of range demanded similar range from the actress who would play the titular Edith Finch. Valerie Rose Lohman (who doesn't have much of a filmography yet) was selected for the part, and she has definitely proven her worth as an actress. She greeted the melancholy of rifling through her dead brother's room as well as the joy of narrating to her unborn child as one singular Edith Finch. As I played, I got the sense that Edith really did have history with the Finch house and with at least a few generations of the Finch family. She spoke of slightly distant uncles in the same way that I might speak of relatives I'd mainly heard about and seen maybe once. Lohman gave the character of Edith Finch a real sense of history and a personality that made her feel recognizably human.
Voice Actress of the Year: Melina Juergens as Senua (Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice)
Senua's character is a little one-note, sure. However, Melina Juergens plays that single note with everything she can. Whether it's sheer terror or hatred of the gods, Juergens brings her all to the table. As Senua feels fear, Juergens' frantic, hyperventilating whispers make the fear tangible. As Senua curses the Goddess of death, Juergens' screams of rage convey a sense of hatred that would've been impossible with a lesser actress. Though there isn't as much variety in Juergens' performance as there is for other actresses, she tackles the little range that was required of her flawlessly. Thus, she earns my voice actress of the year award for 2017.
Best Voice Actor
In contrast, I had to go digging for actors to put on the best voice actor list. 2017 didn't produce very many standout voice performances from men, but whatever. These were the voice actors who I felt put on the best performances this year.
#5): Nyasha Hatendi as Jaal (Mass Effect: Andromeda)
Do you see what I mean when I said I had to dig? The bottom line here is that Nyasha Hatendi's performance as Jaal is convincing, and that's kind of all that's needed to land on this list this year...fine, I'll go into some more detail. There's a lot more to Jaal's character than meets the eye. As might be expected, there's some degree of curiosity in him about these races that have come from another galaxy. However, there's also a degree of caution. Hatendi nails all these aspects of Jaal in a way that makes Jaal more than his not-exactly-shakespeare writing. I may have started this blurb off dismissing Hatendi as being in the right place at the right time, but in reality, he's one of the reasons why Mass Effect: Andromeda isn't a total failure, and if that isn't worth a spot on this list, then what is?
#4): Abubakar Salim as Bayek (Assassin's Creed: Origins)
While Bayek doesn't have many emotional moments, when he does have one, Salim gives it his all. This makes the few emotional moments in the story stick, and that was desperately needed in Assassin's Creed: Origins. Even for 90% of the game, where Bayek is pretty much emotionless, Salim gives Bayek some personality. Bayek was a quality protagonist, but he wasn't incredibly interesting. In spite of this, Abubakar Salim was able to breathe some life into his character.
#3): Keiji Fujiware as Homare Nishitani (Yakuza 0)
Homare Nishitani was the kind of villain who was insane to a frankly comical degree. I personally believe he was written that way, and that's what makes Keiji Fujiware's performance so notable to me. His screams of ecstasy in the middle of battle were becoming of the character, and it made this otherwise overexaggerated character feel a little more real.
#2): Jeff Schine as Javier (The Walking Dead: A New Frontier)
Last year, I mentioned that Jeff Schine's performance as Javier was more impressive than Dave Fennoy's performance as Lee, and that still stands. Schine brought such emotional depth to Javier that he was easily the best part of A New Frontier. Schine carried Javier's moments of joy, sorrow, and anger (also known as the three heads of a dodrio) with incredible prowess. I'll be keeping an eye on Jeff Schine in the coming years in the hope that I can see another performance from him.
Voice Actor of the Year: Hitoshi Ozawa as Daisaku Kuze (Yakuza 0)
As the actor for one of Yakuza 0's major villains, Hitoshi Ozawa brings with him a performance that is equal parts menacing and deep. Just hearing a few words from Ozawa's performance as Daisaku Kuze gets the major point across: "Don't piss this guy off," but further listening reveals a deep, personal sense of honor behind the tough, unforgiving surface of this Yakuza head. What's especially striking about this is that there isn't that much variety in Ozawa's tone. He fits every aspect of Kuze's character into his existing tone, and he does so effectively. Hitoshi Ozawa's performance as Daisaku Kuze is not only the best performance from a voice actor of this year, it's also a performance that was seemingly pulled off with ease.
Lamest Character
Unfortunately, not all characters in games land well. Far too many game developers think that simply putting characters in their games is good enough. There seems to be this thought in the game industry that giving characters one trait makes them well-developed. Sometimes it's having an angry, distant female character who spouts lines such as "I can handle myself," saying that this character is the "strong woman," and calling it a day. Sometimes it's having a brown-haired white guy who smiles out of the side of his mouth and speaks in one-liners. In any case, the game industry has a long way to go before it can match other mediums in terms of character development. These 5 characters were the worst written, cringiest, or most annoying characters in games this year.
There will be spoilers for The Walking Dead: A New Frontier in this list.
#5): William (Nioh)
William, the protagonist of Nioh, is your classic white guy in an Asian country kind of character. He looks out of place every single time he's on screen. Not only that, but there's really no character to him whatsoever. As protagonists go, William is worse than bad, he's mediocre.
#4): Joan (The Walking Dead: A New Frontier)
For someone who is supposed to be the main villain of this game, Joan lands surprisingly flat. There's no clue as to what her motivations really are, and she just kind of comes out of nowhere as a villain. In addition, she's only on screen for maybe a few minutes at most. The game makes it out to seem like Joan is sending people to destroy other settlements for the survival of her town, but there's no evidence to support that this is her reasoning, nor is there any reason to believe that her town ever runs low on food. Even with that being the case, she's just not a compelling villain in any way.
#3): The Archon (Mass Effect: Andromeda)
Marvel villains have something in common with each other: They will all, at some point or another, utter the words: "I will destroy hoo-mah-nah-tee!" (that's "humanity," in case you didn't catch it). Every time the Archon was on screen, the first thing that came to mind was, "I will destroy hoo-mah-nah-tee!" When your major villain is being accused of being a villain in a Marvel film, you know you've royally screwed up. The Archon is a prime example of the developers taking the easy way out with character development. He has a deep, somewhat multi-layered voice, he looks basically no different from his henchmen, and he spends all his time describing Ryder as various forms of parasites that he will soon crush. Combine this with line upon line upon line of dialogue in the final confrontation about how every world you love will burn and he will conquer the galaxy and you and everyone you love will be destroyed, and you have a third-rate villain the likes of which I've never seen in a Bioware title. He's just a weak, weak villain.
#2): Emil (Nier: Automata)
Emil isn't in the game for very long, but every time he/she/it is on screen, it makes me want to rip my hair out. Emil has the most annoying voice I've ever heard, and the theme song that plays when he's around is always too loud, and this theme song is incredibly annoying as well! That's basically all there is to why he's on this list: he annoys me. The only reason he isn't further up the list is because the character that snagged the #1 spot is way more annoying and because you at least have the option of shooting Emil multiple times in order to get him to stop traveling around.
Lamest Character of the Year: Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic Forces)
"This is boring! Next time, someone bring some chili dogs along!" "Do you like long walks on the beach? What's the secret of your power? Feel free to ignore the first question!" SHUT UP! For pete's sake, Sonic in Sonic Forces is the worst he's ever been. Ever since the sonic team decided to give Sonic a voice, he's been sliding down a slippery slope of terrible one-liners, and it all culminates in Sonic Forces, where he can't go two seconds without whipping out some terrible one-liner that just makes me inhale sharply through my teeth. Sonic is too irritating in this installment to handle, and that sheer amount of irritation earns him the infamous award for Lamest Character of the Year.
Best Love Interest
You know, I've never been accused of sexism for having this list in the GOTY lists every year. Maybe it's because I put this disclaimer up every year, or maybe it's because the real world isn't as eager to be offended by things as college students are. In any case, as I say every year, this is not a "Hottest Girls" list (that's even more true this year, as you'll see shortly). The purpose of this list is to honor characters whose role is love interest to the protagonist. The criteria to get on this list is, of course, quite subjective. In the end, it boils down to the love interests I enjoyed the most, but part of what informs that decision is how well the character is written within the context of being a love interest. Some of these love interests are partners in crime, some pretty much only exist to fall in love with the protagonist, but all are considered for this list.
There are minimal spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Finding Paradise,Doki Doki Literature Club, and Last Day of June in this list.
#10): Joseph (Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator)
Oh, Joseph. How well you handle your job as the cool youth Minister at the local church. How admirable your dream of being a sailor. How warm your dad-ly embrace....
umm...
I mean, Joseph, one of the romance options from Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator (which I still cringe at the name of) is actually quite well written as a character, and he supports the main character of Dream Daddy even as he (Joseph) struggles with marital problems. As I mentioned, part of what informs the decisions for this award is how well the character is written as a love interest, and as both a critic with integrity and a securely heterosexual man, I can say with certainty that Joseph is deserving of a spot on this list.
#9): Zelda (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
Zelda doesn't get much screen time in Breath of the Wild, but when she is present, her story is actually quite interesting as it pertains to Link. She feels love for him, and yet at the same time, he's also a reminder of how she's fallen short in her destiny. Link has the sword that seals the darkness, and as a hero, he excels at his job. Zelda, despite hours upon hours dedicated to praying to the Goddess, has never been able to awaken the power she needs to defeat Calamity Gannon. It brings up an interesting perspective on love. It's a situation that I don't imagine many people think of. How might you feel if you were in love with someone, and yet every time you look at them, they remind you of just how much of a failure you believe you are? It's arguably not the most touchy-feely love story of all time, but it's still a compelling one.
#8): Sofia (Finding Paradise)
While not nearly as well developed as River from To the Moon, Sofia (or "Fia" as she is sometimes called) is still effective as Colin's spouse. She seems pretty reserved, but she has her own unique language with Colin that speaks to several years of happy marriage. One of the most touching moments of the game is while Colin and Sofia are backstage in preparation for one of Sofia's piano recitals. She asks him to come with her and play alongside her for a while, because it'll help calm her nerves. This comes a few moments after she claims to not be nervous. From this, we can infer one of two things: 1) she actually is nervous, and playing with Colin really will help with that , or 2) she isn't nervous and she just wants to spend some time playing music with the man she loves. In either case, it's a touching look inside of a marriage that remains happy until the end. As a character, Sofia could have had a little more screen time. However, she is obviously smitten with Colin, and who can ask for more from a love interest?
#7): Anya (Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus)
Anya's place on this list is perhaps the most simple explanation of any of these results. The long and short of it is that Anya is simply head over heels in love with BJ. However, it isn't a passive, "hold my hand and give me goo-goo eyes" kind of love. It's more of a go in guns glazing with him whilst pregnant with his child kind of love. It's that simple.
#6): Aya (Assassin's Creed: Origins)
Aya (not to be confused with Anya) fits the "partner in crime" variety of love interest. After their son is murdered by the Order of the Ancients, Aya and Bayek seek out the members of the order together to get revenge. The passion between Aya and Bayek is...spicy, to say the least, even with such a heavy goal ahead of them. But beyond the romantic passion, Aya stokes Bayek's passion for revenge whenever it seems that he's running out of patience. One could argue that this is a little destructive, but she serves her role as love interest in this context.
#5): Kate (The Walking Dead: A New Frontier)
Some love interests make this list because of their quality as characters, and some make it onto this list because of what they add to the story. Kate is definitely an example of the latter. The wife of Javier's brother, the romantic tension between her and Javier adds a level of moral sketch factor to the story that really makes things interesting. In my first ever "Best of" lists back in 2012, Aelinore from Dragon's Dogma made this list for a similar reason. Sometimes choosing a particular love interests makes for a much more morally ambiguous story, and I like that kind of thing.
#4): Dillion (Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice)
The second bit of proof that this isn't a "Hottest Girls" list, Dillion is the deceased lover that Senua descends to the Norse underworld to retrieve. What causes Dillion to make this list is his support of Senua. In Senua's flashbacks, we learn that Dillion is well aware of her mental illness. Even when the other villagers accuse Senua of being cursed, destroying her self-esteem, Dillion is there to comfort her. It's really touching, and it sets him apart as a love interest to see such unconditional love and support of someone who is undoubtedly a little hard to handle at times.
#3): Sayori (Doki Doki Literature Club)
Any of the love interests from Doki Doki Literature Club (another title I still cringe at) could have conceivably made this list, so what is it about Sayori that caused me to choose her? Well...beyond me just being a sucker for the girl-next-door type, Sayori really is the best developed character of the lot, so she's basically the best choice. The childhood friend and next door neighbor of the protagonist, Sayori and the protagonist basically already have a strong relationship, mutual affection for each other, and interest in each other's well-being at the start of the story. As the story progresses, we learn that all her life, Sayori has struggled with severe depression. We also learn that her happy personality is just a way to keep the protagonist from worrying about her. In spite of her own unhappiness, Sayori always goes out of her way to make her best friend smile. Despite her being my love interest of choice for this game, she's also just the best developed character on the roster, so of course she would get a spot high up on this list.
#2): PeeBee (Mass Effect: Andromeda)
Maybe it's just because I actually dated a less flirty PeeBee and I'm therefore biased towards the personality type, but I thought PeeBee was the best Bioware love interest since Tali. A brilliant scientist with a hunger to explore and do things that have never been done before, PeeBee joins Ryder's team as a way to further explore the Andromeda galaxy and the ancient technology that lies within. Along the way, however, she discovers that she and Ryder seem to want the same things out of life. PeeBee is pretty much this high on the list because of personal preference, but out of the love interests available in Andromeda, I thought her arc was the most compelling.
Love Interest of the Year: June (Last Day of June)
One of my goals in life is to marry a woman who is as crazy about me as June is about Carl. As the youth of today might say: Carl and June are "relationship goals." They are simply the cutest couple in gaming history. They are so cute that just thinking about them puts a smile on my face. At the start of the game, June receives a wrapped box (which is obviously a present she's going to give Carl) from their neighbor. At the time, Carl is asleep in his chair (which is right next to June's because cute). June exclaims in excitement, then quiets down with a giggle as she takes the present. She then proceeds to tiptoe across the living room in a way that speaks to just how excited she is to give this present to Carl. She goes around the house trying to find just the right way to frame it until she comes across a picture of the nearby pier. Through a series of gestures, she communicates to the player that she's decided to take Carl to the pier and give the present to him there. She then runs one hand gently across her stomach and does the single happiest bit of giggling I've ever heard. In this way, June conveys that the present will, in some way, inform Carl that he's going to be a father. Everything about her posture, her tone of voice, and the way she moves shows that she can hardly contain the excitement of getting to have a baby with the man she loves as well as the excitement of getting to give him that news. If reading this didn't make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, then there are two explanations: 1) You have no soul or 2) You've played the game and know what happens. Regardless, June is perhaps the most deserving winner of this award in Right Trigger history because of how excellent she is as a love interest. Her only role in this story is to be head over heels in love with Carl, and she succeeds in this so exceptionally that their story has officially spoiled me for other love stories.
Best Supporting Character
I've noticed that people seldom leave a story really liking the protagonist. In the end, it's usually the side characters that stick out the most. Think about it: did people walk out of theaters liking Frodo or Sam more? These 10 characters were the best sidekicks, co-conspirators, and tagalongs. Whatever way you describe it, these 10 characters were the best lines of support to their respective protagonists.
There are minor spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Persona 5, and major spoilers for Finding Paradise.
#10): Jaal (Mass Effect: Andromeda)
It's safe to say that without Jaal's help, Ryder could never have defeated the Archon. His connections to the Angaran resistance proved invaluable in what little plot Mass Effect: Andromeda had. In a way, Jaal was pretty much fated to be a decent squadmate. After all, he's a member of a brand new alien race, so it stands to reason that one might want to take him along on missions to learn more about him and about the race. Even if the race we got looks kind of like the developers went with the first draft of the concept art, I was still compelled to bring Jaal with me in my first playthrough.
#9): Mipha (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
One of the champions who pilots the divine beasts, Mipha is, to me, one of the better side characters in Breath of the Wild. With her help, you get a suit of armor that allows you to climb waterfalls and a skill that revives you with extra health when you die. So, she's definitely the most useful of the side characters to get acquainted with, but it goes beyond that. The lore is also pretty fascinating. Mipha is deeply in love with Link, but she knows he is destined to be with Zelda. In spite of how disappointing it is for her, though, she still gives it her all in the final battle. In addition, the aforementioned suit of armor is the kind of suit of armor that female members of her race build for their future husbands. It's supposed to be a good luck charm, so even though she knows she won't get to marry Link, she still pours her heart and soul into making a suit of armor for him. As far as supporting characters go, her support is not only unconditional, it proves useful in gameplay.
#8): Drack (Mass Effect: Andromeda)
Drack is one of those characters who gets a spot on this list exclusively because I liked him, not because of any deep revelations about his character or because he's helpful to the protagonist in any particular way. I just thought he was a cool character. Moving right along...............fine, more details. Sure, Drack was far from Urdnot Wrex, but as a Krogan character, I thought he was an interesting take on the race. All Krogan are essentially the same character, but this was the first time that we've had an elderly Krogan squadmate. It was interesting to me to see how the tried-and-true Krogan aggressiveness translates into old age.
#7): Clementine (The Walking Dead: A New Frontier)
While Clementine's role in A New Frontier is pretty lacking in comparison to previous seasons, she's still quite effective as a side character. This time, she's actually useful to the protagonist throughout. A good shot and clever tactician, Clementine is a better survivor in this season than she's ever been, and she helps Javier out of quite a few jams.
#6): Ryuji Sakamoto (Persona 5)
The "troublemaker with a heart of gold" character is an idea we've seen a thousand times, but there's something refreshing about Ryuji's character. There's more to him that just his temper and his inner desire to help people. He also really cares about his mother's wellbeing, and he pours real passion into his duties as a Phantom Thief. As far as best friend characters go, Ryuji holds a spot among the best of them. In terms of how effective he is in supporting the protagonist, just about any of Persona 5's characters could get a spot on this list. As it so happens, many of the game's enemies are weak to electric type moves. Given that Ryuji uses an electric type persona, he tends to be exceedingly useful in gameplay.
#5): 9S (Nier: Automata)
Here's where we get into the side characters that really hit hard and took no prisoners. Without the help of 9S, there's no way that 2B could have accomplished what she accomplishes through the plot of Nier: Automata. His hacking capabilities are what causes 2B to be able to take down giant bosses almost every single time. Sure, he wants to...utilize her usb port...so his motives are perhaps a little on the shady side. However, there's no denying that 9S was one hell of a sidekick.
#4): Makoto Nijima (Persona 5)
Makoto Nijima is an interesting, self-aware take on the prim-and-proper student council president character. The daughter of a police officer, she's always had a strong, personal sense of justice. After the death of her father, her older sister takes up a job as an investigator and works long hours to support the two of them. Because of this, Makoto is pressured into being at the top of her class in order to someday stop living off of her sister's income. After so many years of living with the singular goal of a brighter future, she becomes the student council president stereotype. As you deepen your bond with her, however, she expresses a desire to change and to seek true justice. It's an interesting take on what is admittedly a tired trope in any product even remotely related to anime. Beyond how interesting her character is, she is essentially the brains of the phantom thieves operation. Her brainpower helps them succeed where a pre-Makoto phantom thieves wouldn't have.
#3): Amanda (Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator)
Someday, I hope to have a daughter like Amanda (though hopefully without losing my spouse in the process). Amanda is your high-school senior daughter in Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator. The two of you are a team to be reckoned with, complete with quips and bonding exercises in the form of baking. Amanda understands where you're coming from when you're angry at her for staying out past curfew without texting you, and she's willing to talk about her problems with you. What are the odds that your teen daughter is going to be that reasonable before the age of 20? I can only hope that someday (way, way, way) in the future, when I have children, that they'll be as easy to raise as this child evidently was.
#2): Akira Nishikiyama (Yakuza 0)
Earlier I praised Ryuji Sakamoto from Persona 5 for his quality as a best friend character, but as good as he is, he has nothing on Akira Nishikiyama (Nishiki for short) from Yakuza 0. Hell, the introduction of the game centers around Kiryu and Nishiki going out for drinks, karaoke, and ramen together. At first, Nishiki is made out to be the lavish playboy foil to Kiryu's cold, stern demeanor. However, as the plot continues, we get to see that Nishiki truly cares for and loves Kiryu as a friend. Nishiki is a good friend to Kiryu, but beyond that, he's also always there to help him take down his enemies, even when it means that he himself might be crossing the Yakuza by doing so.
Supporting Character of the Year: Faye (Finding Paradise)
It's safe to say that no character on this list was a better friend to their respective protagonist than Faye was to Colin in Kan Gao's Finding Paradise. After all, Faye was just a figment of Colin's imagination, so why wouldn't she be attached to him at the hip? Colin created Faye because he didn't have any friends, and his parents were never around because of work. She was the kind of rough, button-pushing tomboy of a best friend that Colin's reserved personality needed in order to get him out of his shell. Because of Faye's constant nagging, Colin ended up on the path that would see him become a pilot in his adulthood. Faye, in other words, crafted Colin into the man he was destined to be. But sadly, Colin was still lonely for most of his life, and so he kept Faye around even in adulthood (she was still around when he started dating the woman who would end up being his wife). As a grown woman (well, kind of), Faye was different. She was less the friend Colin remembered and more of a firm, but caring voice of reason. Eventually, she sat Colin down to have a talk with him about finding childlike wonder and beauty in what he has, not in what he imagines. It was a painful day for Colin, but because of it, he was able to let go of his childhood and start embracing his new life. For Colin's whole life, Faye was exactly what he needed exactly when he needed it. It doesn't matter that she was his imaginary friend, she was the friend who helped him to overcome his reserved nature and find happiness in the life he led. What better character could there be for this award?
Best Antagonist
2017 was kind of a crap year for villains, which is a shame. My personal favorite conflict type is man-vs-man, as I think a story is far more compelling when our hero goes up against a single force with a name and a backstory rather than an army or nature. These 5 characters were the best villains in games this year.
#5): Irene Engel (Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus)
Sure, I found her incredibly annoying, but like I said, this was a dry year for antagonists. As a villain, Irene Engel hit all the points she needed to. She was hatable and clearly a force to be reckoned with. She didn't accomplish much beyond that, but that's just the kind of year it's been.
#4): Mr. Kamoshida (Persona 5)
Mr. Kamoshida was the first villain that the phantom thieves targeted, and his crimes hit the closest to home for some of them. The coach of Shujin academy's esteemed volleyball team, Kamoshida held unprecedented control over the school. Even though it was common knowledge among much of the staff that he was physically abusing his team and sexually harassing some of his female students (sometimes going so far as to withhold team positions if they didn't sleep with him), his power over the school was so strong that nobody would do anything. As villains go, he didn't have any grand plan to destroy the world, but he was an effective scumbag, nonetheless.
#3): Homare Nishitani (Yakuza 0)
Nishitani could've easily been overdone to the point of being annoying (a-la Irene Engel). To some degree, he was overdone, but it ended up working out in the end. The eccentric leader of a smaller Yakuza branch, Homare Nishitani made a stunning entrance in Yakuza 0 when he entered Majima's bar, threatened him with a knife to get him to fight, then called the police on himself. The guy was clearly crazy, but there was a method to the madness. Imagine if Heath Ledger's joker were a little less subtle and 100% more Japanese, and you have Homare Nishitani.
#2): Hiroki Awano (Yakuza 0)
Lavish. Elitist. Apathetic. These are but a few of the words that could be used to describe Hiroki Awano, one of the Dojima family's three lieutenants. As a Yakuza operative, Awano's specialty is extortion and blackmail, so it should come as no surprise that his strength as a villain lies in his brainpower and way with words more than it does in his physical attributes. Decked out in a glittering purple suit and sporting a hairstyle that just screams "pompous," you could be forgiven for not being intimidated by Awano's appearance. However, when it comes down to it, Awano is a powerful man with the kind of eye for weakness that extortion requires. Yakuza 0 makes use of this power quite effectively, as the segments of the game that center around Awano managed to make me forget about his purple suit and perm entirely.
Antagonist of the Year: Daisaku Kuze (Yakuza 0)
From the second that Daisaku Kuze steps into the action in Yakuza 0, he earns his place on this list. From the first words he speaks, he commands all attention in every scene he stars in. He sports the kind of rough appearance that speaks the words "I can hurt you in ways you can't imagine," and his intimidating dialogue touts the same sentiment. He is a man for whom violence is a badge of accomplishment, and yet he follows an incredibly personal code of honor. For all of his straightforwardly intimidating villainy, the man has a code that he lives by, for better or for worse. Whether this code compels him to spare you out of respect or slice off one of your fingers, Daisaku Kuze is a man guided by principle. This principled nature is also part of what makes Kuze so intimidating. As another villain states, Kuze is "all about accountability." In terms of the Yakuza, that means paying for transgressions with your life or by forcing you to cut off one of your fingers. For Kuze, there is no mercy when it comes to the code; not even for himself. This kind of cold indifference to natural law and human nature partnered with Kuze's intimidating demeanor all serve to make him truly worthy of the title "Antagonist of the Year."
Best Protagonist
While protagonists aren't necessary for a good story, they are the eyes through which we see the narrative world. To some degree, our perception of right and wrong in the narrative is colored by the feelings of the protagonist. So, when protagonists exist, it's important that they be done right. These 10 characters succeeded with flying colors in that regard.
There are slight spoilers for Last Day of June and Yakuza 0.
#10): The Dad (Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator)
Some might think I have the protagonist of Dream Daddy on this list as a joke, but in reality, he's actually a half-decent protagonist. As a father, he is so giving when it comes to his daughter, Amanda. For all the quipping and complaining that the dad does, he really cares about his child's emotional well-being, especially given the loss of his spouse, her mother/other father. Beyond this, the dad's particular relationships with each of the other dads in the neighborhood are unique, well-written, and believable in the context of the dad's character.
#9): Joker (Persona 5)
The player-named protagonist (with the codename "Joker" during the activities of the Phantom Thieves) may be silent for most of the game, but he's still an interesting character. After preventing a powerful man from sexually assaulting a woman, he is then framed for the assault. As a result, Joker has a criminal record at his young age, causing him to have to move to Tokyo to attend a different school. He goes into this new school with a reputation as a criminal, but once he discovers his ability to wield personas, he dedicates his life to correcting the hearts of actual criminals. It's a thankless act that does nothing for his reputation or his record, but he still gives his job as leader of the Phantom Thieves his all in the name of justice.
#8): Link (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
Link hardly needs any introduction, but I'll talk about him nonetheless. 100 years ago, Link was the bodyguard of Princess Zelda, and he was crucial in Hyrule's upcoming battle against Calamity Gannon. He was dutiful in his position, ensuring Zelda's safety in spite of her protestations. However, Calamity Gannon still conquered Hyrule, nearly slaying Link in the process. Fastforward 100 years later, and Link awakened without memories. From there, he was told of his past and of his destiny, and he proceeded to venture into Hyrule armed with nothing but a sword, a bow, a shield, and the knowledge that the fate of the world rested on his shoulders. Link was a silent protagonist without much character, but there was something admirable about his sheer determination.
#7): 2B (Nier: Automata)
While I do take issue with the fact that the developers make it so that we get an upskirt view of 2B every single time she jumps (or climbs a long...long....loooong ladder), I can't deny that equal effort goes into her character. As an android, 2B isn't supposed to feel emotions. She's meant to be a tool of humanity sent to earth to eradicate the machines, and nothing more. At the start of the game, she seems to be just that, but as the story goes on, we see that there's more to her than just being a killing machine. She feels compassion towards 9S and towards other androids, though she wouldn't admit to that kind of thing. It's nice to see a character such as 2B utilized well instead of just being emotionless the whole time.
#6): Bayek (Assassin's Creed: Origins)
Bayek was perhaps the best thing about Assassin's Creed: Origins. The reason for this is just how well he fits in with his time period. A problem I've always had with Assassins Creed protagonists is that they (with the exception of Edward, who is a good protagonist and Altair and Connor, who are just boring) just seem so...millennial. They're all quipping atheists, no matter what time period they come from. Even Ezio, as good a character as he was, felt out of place in the catholic-ruled Italian renaissance. Bayek, on the other hand, felt like an ancient Egyptian. He believed in the gods of Egypt, and some side missions had him hunting down and killing people for sacrilege against them. With the exception of Edward, the assassins have always been just the slightest bit too altruistic to be believable in an ancient context. Bayek was a breath of fresh air in that regard. Is it a morally upstanding thing to do to kill somebody for sacrilege? No! But it's the kind of thing that a man of the ancient world might do, and it was nice to see Ubisoft venturing out of its millennial comfort zone. Beyond how well Bayek fit his time period, his ideals about the rights of the Egyptian people were made clear, and while he wasn't the most interesting character of all time, he was well-written enough that I consider him one of this year's best protagonists.
#5): Senua (Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice)
While it's true that Senua is a little one-note (with her only two emotions being fear and anger), her sheer power is impressive. After the death of her lover, Senua descends into the Norse underworld to free his soul. Armed with nothing more than her sword and the clothes on her back, she challenges the likes of the gods of illusion and fire in hopes of rescuing her beloved. What's more, she does all of this while being plagued by her psychosis. She descends further and further into the underworld while the voices in her head tell her she's unworthy, and in spite of their taunting, her determination remains unwavering in the face of her ultimate goal. Sure, there have been better-written protagonists, but Senua's power stuck with me long after I finished Hellblade.
#4): Aloy (Horizon: Zero Dawn)
It isn't a fair position to be in, but the future of female protagonists seemed to rest on Aloy's shoulders. That shouldn't be the case, but it's a reality of the game industry that developers don't want to make games with female protagonists. There was a lot of pressure on the developers not to screw it up, and what did they do? They went and made one of 2017's best main characters. Far from the never-shutting-up pointing-things-out machine that she seemed to be in 2016's E3 demo, Aloy turned out to be an intelligent and capable protagonist ultimately undefined by her gender. Unlike other attempts by developers to craft strong female protagonists, Aloy never seemed insecure about people forgetting she's a woman. She didn't constantly spout words of girl power in a way that felt pandering to the very audience she was trying to please. Instead, she led by example. In spite of her ostracism from her tribe, Aloy trained hard in order to prove her worth, and when she finally succeeded in winning in the coming-of-age ritual games of the tribe, she used her newfound influence to further pursue her goals. Her strength was in her sheer capability and willpower, and that's the kind of thing I've been wanting to see in a female protagonist for as long as I've been a critic. Here are some commonly used faux-strong-female-character phrases that Aloy doesn't use: "I can handle myself," "Try and keep up," "Just don't get in my way," "I don't need your help," the list goes on and on. Take notes, game developers: Don't have your female protagonist say, "I can handle myself." Have her handle herself. But it goes beyond her just being powerful, she's also emotionally vulnerable at times. For every moment that Aloy fells a giant machine using nothing but her own power and skill, there's another moment where she feels pain and processes it in a way that doesn't just involve anger. It's called being a human. I could write paragraphs upon paragraphs about Aloy's strength of character, but suffice it to say she more than earned her place on this list.
#3): Carl (Last Day of June)
I'm sure it's going to be odd for some readers to go from two powerful women to this guy, but bear with me. Aloy and Senua have combat training and the means to pursue their goals confidently. Carl is just a joe blow regular guy, and he has as much determination as either of them. After the death of his wife, Carl finds that he has the ability to manipulate the events of that fateful afternoon by interacting with his wife's paintings of the villagers. He re-lives the afternoon over and over again, taking control of the villagers' actions as he does so, in the hopes that he can prevent the events that led to his wife's death from happening. Rescuing a dead lover seems to be a common theme on this particular list, but Carl's resolve seems to be the firmest of them. After preventing the first scenario in which June dies, Carl awakens from a deep sleep with an excited gasp, as he thinks that he's succeeded in rescuing her. Upon realizing that his task isn't yet finished, he makes a noise that legitimately made me tear up. It was such a perfect representation of the kind of sound one might make as they wake up from a dream about a departed loved one, having forgotten that they've gone to their great reward. As I said when I crowned June "Love Interest of the Year," these two are "relationship goals." Carl's love for June is so strong that he's willing to brave waking up without her next to him as many times as it takes to prevent her death. And those who have completed the game and know how it ends will see even more truth in my words.
#2): Colin (Finding Paradise)
Colin is the kind of character that must be processed before one begins to judge him. Colin is more than just a character: he himself is a message to everyone who longs for childlike wonder in their adult lives. Since most of 2015's lists were vague in an attempt to avoid spoilers, for the past two years I've typically included spoilers with warnings so I could talk in greater detail. For Colin, though, I'm going to be vague again. Colin is the kind of character that must be experienced in order to understand what makes him so great. Finding Paradise is cheap, so for the love of everything good in this world, just buy it, play it, and spend some time digesting his character.
Protagonist of the Year: Goro Majima (Yakuza 0)
Goro Majima is one of the two protagonists of Yakuza 0, and of the two, he is the better crafted one. He strikes the perfect balance between flawed hero and antihero. He is far from a knight in shining armor, but he isn't a Walter White-esque villain with good intentions either. There's so much complexity in Majima's character that it would take pages to fully explain what makes him worthy of the title of "Protagonist of the Year," but I'll try my best to explain why relatively briefly. After defying his Yakuza family's leader in order to try and help his sworn brother, Majima is kept in "the hole" and brutally tortured for a full year. Of the torments inflicted upon him, the one that is easiest to notice is how one of his eyes was put out, which is signified by his ever-present eyepatch. After his year of torture, the leader of his family puts him in charge of running one of Sotenbori's nightclubs in order to rake in as much money for the family as possible. He is promised a place back in the Yakuza if he performs well enough, and with this goal in mind, he takes his nightclub and makes it the most famous location in Sotenbori. He is known all across Osaka as the enigmatic manager with the eyepatch, and money-flooded bigwigs from as far as Tokyo come just to experience his hospitality. However, the day comes when Sagawa, the middle man between him and the family leader, asks something extra of him: to carry out a hit. As a general rule, the Yakuza don't kill civilians, so despite being a criminal, this demand carries some significant weight. Majima's ultimate goal is to get back into the Yakuza, but doing so may come at the cost of going against the code of honor the Yakuza typically follow. This is but one example of the many complicated moral dilemmas that Majima finds himself in, and I believe it perfectly exemplifies the kind of character he is. He has a moral code strong enough that it makes him think twice about doing what needs to be done in order to accomplish his goal, but at the same time, his desire to accomplish his goal has the potential to outweigh what morals he has. He's an emotionally and morally complex character that is too gray to be an antihero and too well-crafted to be completely indifferent. As I said, I could write pages upon pages on the complexity of Goro Majima, but suffice it to say that he is beyond deserving of this award.
Best Boss
Bosses are to gaming what hydrogen is to water. They've been with the industry since the beginning, and they're part of what sets games apart from other mediums. No book tests your knowledge of the events leading up to a certain point in order for you to keep reading. No film requires you to prove that you've been watching in order for you to proceed. Games, on the other hand, throw various exams at you in the form of bosses. Bosses exist to test your knowledge of the mechanics you've been using in order to determine whether or not you're ready to move on to greater challenges. These five bosses were the best that 2017 had to offer.
There will be minor spoilers for Yakuza 0.
#5): Daisaku Kuze (Yakuza 0)
The reason Kuze's boss fight brings up the rear of this list is because you do end up having to fight him about a million times. It's a great fight each time, hence why it's on this list, but Yakuza 0 does tend to rely on him as a boss a little too often. In any case, Kuze is a brilliant boss fight. His punches hit hard regardless of your level, his adaptability to your tactics forces experimentation, and if you're anything like me, you want to beat him within an inch of his life anyway.
#4): Eve (Nier: Automata)
As a boss, Eve accomplishes everything he needs to. Taking him down requires the player to know how to use their melee weapons as well as their gun abilities, and experience with platforming comes in handy as well. As the battle rages on, the player's combat capabilities in both the standard hack-and-slash and bullet hell settings are tested strenuously, and if they aren't prepared, they won't beat the game. It isn't as hard a boss fight as I'm making it sound, but it's still as well-crafted a boss fight as can be.
#3): Calamity Gannon (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
While the second phase of the Calamity Gannon boss fight does depend on shield deflection (a drastically under-explained skill that can easily be overlooked) way too much, I can't deny that the boss fight itself is gripping and it kept me on my toes the whole time. This is truly a boss fight that tests your skills. Part of the reason for this is the fact that you can go straight from the tutorial to this fight without any other preparations. It is literally possible to beat the game based on skill alone, without any upgrade to your hearts or stamina. It'll be hard as hell to do, which is one of the many reasons that you should experience the story beforehand, but that's just how well-crafted Calamity Gannon is. He's a challenge to beat no matter how many upgrades you have, but as long as you're good enough at the game, you can overcome him.
#2): Lao Gui (Yakuza 0)
It should come as no surprise that a battle with the most expensive Chinese hitman money can buy would be thrilling, but it's so thrilling that it manages to be surprising in spite of itself. Lao Gui is faster than any previous boss, forcing you to stay on your toes and be ready to react at a moment's notice. This makes the already fast-paced gameplay of Yakuza 0 even faster. As if that weren't enough, the mid-battle quicktime event animations push the limits of what you might think the human body can do to such a degree that it makes the fight feel like an old-school wire-fu battle. Lao Gui is essentially a test to ensure that you can apply what you've learned to a much more intense, fast-paced scale, and as a result it's quite a difficult fight. Even though I lost several times, I still found it completely adrenaline-pumping.
Boss of the Year: Fenrir (Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice)
The bosses in Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice tend to be self-contained affairs. They tend not to really test your overall knowledge of the game, but rather your adaptability within its confines. Fenrir is, to me, Hellblade's most compelling boss, and the best boss of this year because of how creative a fight it is. Fenrir essentially exists to ensure that Senua can overcome her fear, and as such, he embodies fear itself. His design is grotesque and animalistic, but you don't get to see it very often. In the sound design section, I mentioned that this game bases an entire boss fight around its sound. This is the boss fight I was referring to. The battle takes place in complete darkness, with only an occasional flash of lightning to let you know where Fenrir is. Fenrir has a complete circle of an arena with which to surround and attack you. As the battle rages on, the flashes of lightning tend to stop completely, ensuring that you never see the boss. As a result, you have to rely exclusively on sound to determine where exactly on the battlefield he is and when he's about to attack. Not only that, but the only way to hurt him is to parry his attacks, so you have to be able to translate the game's sound in such a way that you parry at the exact moment he attacks with zero visual clues. I found myself sweating with the knowledge that Fenrir could strike at me from any angle at any time, and that my only line of defense was to listen to where exactly his growls were coming from in my headphones. It was a truly frightening experience that left an impression on me and made me feel accomplished when I won. There have been better "exam" boss fights this year, that's for sure. However, Fenrir is the best designed, most memorable fight, and for that, it wins the esteemed title of "Boss of the Year."
Best Setting
Setting can be the dividing line between a flop and a success. A game with the greatest story in the world would fall flat on its face without a compelling setting for the story to take place in. Beyond just being compelling, though, settings have to fit their stories. If a game deals with themes of corporate greed and then takes place in the medieval ages, as compelling as that setting might be, it doesn't fit. These five settings were the most compelling, most fitting settings for their respective games this year.
#5): The Finch House (What Remains of Edith Finch)
In my review of What Remains of Edith Finch, I described the Finch house as "Wes Anderson does family drama," and I feel that descriptor holds true even now. What was once a tiny home inhabited by a Scandinavian family was added onto with each generation of Finch children, resulting in a gigantic house of many varying aesthetics. The house maintained an air of realism while simultaneously imbuing a sense of almost childlike wonder from the various ways in which the rooms of the house differed from each other. It was a house full of crawlspaces, of adorable secret rooms and nooks and crannies to be explored, and this made the whole setting as charming as can be.
#4): Kamurocho (Yakuza 0)
I know next to nothing about Japanese geography. I know that Kamurocho is supposed to be a fictional section of Tokyo, but that's about it. Yet, despite my lack of knowledge, Kamurocho struck me. I've always had a strange fascination with Tokyo: from its cluttered shops lit by obnoxiously colorful neon lights to its slew of Japanese businessmen passed out in comas on the streets. Yakuza 0's Kamurocho gave me the feeling of exploring this odd fascination. As a game location, despite its small size, it was filled to the brim with things to do and nooks and crannies to explore, the kind of location that simply screams "Tourists love me." From its slew of karaoke bars and disco clubs to the seedier back alleys, I found Kamurocho a joy to play around in.
#3): The Post-Post Apocalypse (Horizon: Zero Dawn)
Horizon: Zero Dawn takes place in what is referred to by the developers as the Post-Post Apocalypse. The world has ended and enough time has passed that human civilization has more or less been restored in tribal formats, in other words. Machines roam the earth, and tribal humans hunt them like our ancestors would have hunted Mammoths and various forms of deer. This is perhaps the best portrayal of a modern world overcome by nature that I've seen in years. Corporate offices, places that are all too familiar to anybody in the modern world, appear almost alien when reclaimed so much by mother earth. In a way, it puts the player in a similar state of mind as the people of this time period. Even though we know what a corporate office is used for, it seems to be something completely beyond our understanding. It would've been easy to be lazy about it like most post-apocalyptic games are, but actual art design and effort went into making the world of Horizon: Zero Dawn stand out in what is a pretty exhausted genre. Not only that, but the locations that are exclusive to this time period (such as villages and the like) are all distinctive and memorable. Guerilla Games manages to take locations from two distinct periods of human history and make both types compelling, all while keeping a consistent aesthetic.
#2): Talos I (Prey)
I've never thought of space stations as memorable game locations. They tend to be too sterile, too scientific to be particularly memorable in my experience. However, Talos I from Prey turns everything about the idea of a space station setting and turns it on its head. Talos I is a location where people lived and worked. Sure, it's a place where dangerous experiments were being performed, but there was a culture to it. Workers would meet up after shifts for D&D games. People fell in love, suffered depression, and reflected on past glories within its walls. I already touched on this once during the level design segment, but the way that Talos I is designed makes it believable that all of this occurred. It's the kind of place that feels broken in, and that makes the unsettling nature of the Typhon conflict all the more tangible.
Setting of the Year: Hyrule (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
I don't have the same history with Hyrule that most of you reading this probably have. Breath of the Wild was my first foray into TheLegend of Zelda, so this was my first dive into the land of Hyrule. In case you couldn't tell by the fact that it won "Setting of the Year," I enjoyed it. Hyrule is a land made up of many ecosystems: a lush jungle, a frozen wasteland, a fiery volcanic landscape, a mountainous wetland, a scorching desert, and a valley crisscrossed with steep canyons. Yet, in spite of all of this natural diversity, the land feels intertwined perfectly. Stand atop the highest mountains and you'll be able to see where the desert meets the forest. Stand on the opposite side of the map, and you'll be able to see any divine beasts you've taken control of in the distance. The whole land is seamless both from a technical and visual standpoint despite its size, and it lends a sense of wholeness to the world. It would've been enough if that was where the brilliance of Hyrule ended, but it wasn't. The land is also dotted with shrines, caves, and secrets to uncover. It doesn't really count as good level design in my book, but the design of the location is more than deserving of this award.
Best Moment
The "Best Moment" award (which has been around since the original "Top 5 of 2012" lists) is perhaps my favorite list. It allows me to talk about the moments in games that really touched me or stuck with me, and it lets me do so with as many spoilers as I want. With that being said...
YOU SHOULD ASSUME MAJOR SPOILERS FOR EVERY GAME YOU SEE ON THIS LIST.
With that out of the way, the descriptors I use here shouldn't give anything away, nor should the pictures. But if you see a title you haven't played and don't want anything spoiled, scroll to the next item.
#10): Uncle Javi (The Walking Dead: A New Frontier)
If you're like me, you didn't like Javier's nephew, Gabe. However, in this moment, I was nearly moved to tears. After choosing to help Kate take back the town, Javier goes after David and Gabe to find David already dead and Gabe bitten. Throughout the season, Gabe's character has been improving as he grows closer to Javier. In this moment, Gabe is completely broken by the thought of turning into a walker, so he asks Javier to kill him. Shortly before Javier tearfully picks up the gun and does what needs to be done, Gabe, through sobs, says "I love you, Uncle Javi." It's the first time he ever says something like this, and I was actually moved by it.
#9): The Pier (Last Day of June)
After the events of Last Day of June, after the credits roll and Carl's decision goes into effect, we're greeted with the sight of June on the pier where everything started. She's alone, painting. Then, we hear the sound of excited footsteps as a little boy who looks exactly like Carl "toddler-runs" up to June with a flower in hand. Thanks to the game's stellar animations, we know that this little boy is June and Carl's son, and we know that he is so excited to give his mom this flower. June reaches out to him, then suddenly and slowly retracts her hand and holds it to her heart for a moment, looking down. The animations imply that she's thinking of Carl. The little boy looks taken aback for a moment, then June grabs him and pulls him into the warmest hug I've ever seen animated in a moment that brought me to the start of tears. The game at large deals with the theme of grief and how it doesn't just go away, and this moment perfectly solidified that message alongside the message that there's still beauty in life even in the midst of this grief.
#8): The End (Sonic Forces)
This moment could easily have been Moment of the Year if I were just a little more dedicated to being facetious. I'll never forget it. I'd been playing Sonic Forces for a few hours, and then the most miraculous thing happened. Suddenly, the screen went black and credits started rolling. I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks as I realized what this meant: It was over. I didn't have to play Sonic Forces ever again. A lot of moments are on this list because they made me cry tears of sorrow, but this one made me cry pure tears of joy. Dear readers, you simply don't know the ecstasy that life can provide until you've played Sonic Forces and then realized that you've reached the end and never have to touch it again. No amount of Kentucky Bourbon, cigars, opioids, or freaky-as-hell bedroom escapades can provide the sheer mental escapism that the feeling of never having to play Sonic Forces again can provide. I can only hope that you experience such joy in your lives, my friends.
#7): Chapter 3 (Emily is Away Too)
For all of Emily is Away Too up until chapter 3, conversations with Emily and Evelyn come one after the other, never really intertwining. In chapter 3, however, both girls start messaging you at the same time, needing your help. If you're like me, you try to talk with both girls at once. However, the messages start coming in faster and faster, with extra messages coming in if you don't respond in time. If you keep flipping between the two too quickly, the game replaces some of the dialogue options with details from the other girl's conversation, giving it away that you aren't giving one girl your full attention. This causes your relationship with one of them to be damaged. It was actually pretty stressful, and it was an unexpected twist from such a seemingly simple game.
#6): This Cannot Continue (Nier: Automata)
On Earth, 2B and 9S get a lead on heavy machine activity underground. After investigating, they find what can be best described as a commune of machines engaged in pure ecstasy. Each machine in this group appears to be obsessed with the concept of love. Some machines are simply cuddling together, some are simulating caring for a child, some are yelling phrases like "hold me," but every machine appears not only completely harmless, but completely happy. However, the mission is to eradicate the machines, and so you're forced to mow down these happy machines like they're nothing. The machines start to fight back, spouting lines about the unfairness of the situation and wanting to live in peace, and eventually they start chanting "This cannot continue." Enough machines start chanting this that it sounds like an audio glitch. After a while, the machines band together and produce a humanoid machine, and their war chants get incorporated into boss fight music.
#5): How I want to remember my brother (What Remains of Edith Finch)
This moment in What Remains of Edith Finch is so subtle, and yet it was the moment that caused me to have to take deep breaths and hold my face in my hands to avoid crying. At this moment, Edith enters what was her grandfather's childhood room and finds what was evidently either a diary entry or just a personal note that he wrote about the death of his brother. As the child form of the grandfather begins narrating the note, we take control of a child in a swing by a cliff, swinging higher and higher and higher. The narrator talks about how his brother was the kind of person who always went after what he wanted. He goes on to talk about how his brother wanted to be able to do flips on the swing in order to fly. The words go hand in hand with the swinging the player controls, and the swinging gets more and more intense as the narrator continues to talk about how he wants to remember his brother. It all ends with the player being thrown off the swing over the cliff as the narrator talks about "the day my brother decided to fly." I probably make it sound like this is a scary level, but it's more reflective than anything. The whole level has this depressing feel to it that makes the simple childish act of swinging upsetting, and the narrator talking about how much he misses his brother just makes things even worse. I remember deciding to call it a night after this part of the game because I just couldn't take any more for the evening.
#4): Do you love her? (Yakuza 0)
After the events of Yakuza 0, we learn that Makoto is studying under a teacher in Kamurocho. After she and her teacher are separated, she is confronted by two goons who appear to be trying to procure her for sex trafficking. Out of the blue, Majima steps in. The initial reaction I had was that he was there to save the day, but then the goons refer to him as their boss. Upon realizing who his goons are picking on, he beats them to a pulp. Because Makoto was unable to see during the events of the game, she has no idea that it's Majima standing before her, so she's still a little scared. Just then, her teacher returns and Majima senses that this teacher has feelings for Makoto. After the teacher starts questioning Majima's intentions, Majima pulls the teacher aside. He asks him a question: "Do you love her?" and eventually gets something resembling a "yes" out of him. Then, Majima informs the teacher that he should tell her, and that he'd better take good care of her, and he send the teacher and Makoto on their way. This moment stuck with me for a couple of reasons. The first is that, despite his love for Makoto and in spite of his knowledge of her past as a sex slave, Majima appears to be in the business himself now. He only attacks the goons when they're about to call him by his name, so it suggest that he feels ashamed to be in this business now that the woman he loves is right in front of him. The second is that, in spite of how hard he worked to protect Makoto during the plot and how much he wants to be with her even now, he understands that she has moved on with her life. Majima is ultimately a selfish person, so this twist on his character stuck with me. This twist combined with the revelation that he's dealing in a business that enslaved a woman he loves just adds whole new layers of complexity to Majima's character.
#3): You already said goodbye (Finding Paradise)
The penultimate moment of Finding Paradise occurs in the middle of Colin's life. At the time, he's been making his start as a pilot (getting flying hours and experience), playing in a local orchestra, and going on dates with the woman he'll eventually marry. With the exception of the aforementioned dates, he does it all with his best friend, Faye, at his side. Faye, as those who have played know, is Colin's imaginary friend from childhood who he has been unable to let go of. In this moment, the airport that Colin got his start in is closing down, and his boss offers to let him take his favorite plane out for a spin one last time. He and Faye take the plane to their special hideaway. It's here where Faye tells Colin that he needs to let her go, and it's here where the game's message is communicated. Colin acknowledges that Faye isn't real, but that he doesn't care about that. Faye then explains to him that there's so much beauty in what he already has and what lies before him and that if he keeps holding onto her and the happiness of what lies in his imagination, then he won't get to truly experience the happiness of what is yet to come in his life. After continuing to explain this, she finally convinces him to let her go, but he says that he can't bring himself to say goodbye. At this moment, Faye wraps her arms around him and says "You already said goodbye, Colin. All those years ago." Wings sprout from Faye and wrap around Colin, indicating that Faye was, in some part, inspired by the injured bird that Colin considered to be his only friend in childhood. It's the moment in which Colin decides to live in the real world. As a result, he's able to find joy in the love of his wife and in the birth of his son. Because of this moment, Colin is able to find the same childlike wonder he had with Faye in the simple adventures he has with his family. It's a truly beautiful moment that made me really take a step back and consider what makes life beautiful.
#2): The fourth painting (Last Day of June)
Last Day of June has a pattern to it: Carl finds out what led to June's death, then he rearranges the events of the afternoon so that whatever caused the car to crash doesn't happen. For most of the game, it's due to the actions of a neighbor. Sometimes, it's the little boy accidentally kicking his ball into the road. Sometimes, it's the female neighbor losing a box off the back of her car. After successfully making it so that the actions of three of the four neighbors don't cause the car to crash, Carl finds that his work still isn't done. He goes to June's painting room and touches the last painting to remember what happens next on the car ride home. The flashback starts. Carl and June are on their way home, and then a bolt of lightning strikes next to the car, causing Carl to lose control and causing the car to crash. Unlike the other events, this is a force of nature, not a human action. In other words, there's no way to prevent the lightning flash from happening. The game doesn't end there, but it's a true gut punch of a moment to be forced to watch Carl as he realizes that June is fated to die no matter what happens in that afternoon. There are other avenues that Carl explores afterwards, but it's still the most upsetting plot twist in recent memory. Well, that is, the second most upsetting plot twist in recent memory, the first being...
Moment of the Year: Get out of my head! (Doki Doki Literature Club)
Ah, yes. Doki Doki Literature Club. The game that pretends to be a cutesy, cringey anime dating simulator. Throughout the game (with my guidance), the protagonist chooses his childhood best friend and next door neighbor, Sayori, as his love interest. He structures his poems in a way that Sayori tends to enjoy. Things look good until one day, after reading the poem, Sayori starts to cry and runs home. The next day, the protagonist goes to visit her to check up on her. After entering her room and talking with her for a while, she admits to having suffered from severe depression her whole life. She explains in great detail the hopelessness that she feels and the feelings of self-loathing that always prompted her to be cheery around others so they might feel good. It's a shockingly honest portrayal of depression that took me aback, but ultimately made me respect the game a little more. As the day passes, Sayori admits to being in love with the protagonist, and from there, he has the option to either tell Sayori he loves her or that he's here for her as a friend. The protagonist (again, with my guidance) decides to go the route of the former. The protagonist and Sayori embrace briefly before Sayori starts to cry again, stating that she thought this would be the happiest moment of her life, but she still feels so much pain. Once again, pretty honest portrayal. After being reassured by Sayori that she wants to be with the protagonist, but that it will take some time to fully get used to being so open, the two of them part ways. The next morning, the protagonist notes that Sayori hasn't come out of her house yet, but thinks nothing of it, as oversleeping is part of Sayori's usual routine. After reaching school, the protagonist is given the list of the poems that each member of the literature club submitted to read during the school festival. As he reads through the poems, he comes to Sayori's poem, and in a split second the atmosphere of the game goes from cutesy with a side of sad to absolutely terrifying. The protagonist opens up Sayori's poem and it's just the words "Get out of my head! Get out of my head!" written over and over again with tangents like "Get out of my head before I do what's best for both of us!" The protagonist rushes out of the school to check on Sayori. He enters her house and opens the door to her room, which is completely dark. He calls out to Sayori a couple of times, building the suspense because of how long he pauses afterwards. Then, he flips on the light switch. With a musical sting, we're greeted to the sight of Sayori hanging by her neck from the ceiling, drawn in the same cutesy art style as the rest of the game. The whole thing is brilliantly executed. It starts off portraying Sayori as the carefree girl-next-door, then eases us into an honest portrayal of depression, then pulls a complete 180 by taking the idea of depression to the realm of the dishonest, making the shock all the more potent. From this moment on, Doki Doki Literature Club morphs into the psychological horror game that it actually is. After this moment, I had to literally take a minute to catch my breath and slow my heart rate. I had to put the game down for a little while to reflect on what I'd just witnessed and to prepare myself for whatever other deeply upsetting events might occur later on in the game. This moment is executed in a way that makes its emotional impact exceed what any anime dating simulator ought to reach, and it's the moment that stuck with me for the longest time after it happened. I've known since it happened that it would be a front-runner for this award, and I'm proud to officially recognize it as the Moment of the Year in gaming for 2017.
Biggest Disappointment
Of course, every year there are products that aim high but don't quite live up to expectations. The presence of this list implies that this was a strong year, as in weaker years this list is replaced by a "Worst Games" list. In spite of how strong this year was, there were still a bunch of disappointing releases, and I'd like to take the time to let you know which 5 products I found most disappointing. The fact that an item makes this list doesn't mean that the game is bad, necessarily. It just means that I had expectations that weren't met.
#5): Stay! Stay! Democratic People's Republic of Korea!
After the victory that was last year's Panzermadels, I had high hopes for DEVGRU-P's next project. Unfortunately, Stay! Stay! DPRK! lacked the brilliant execution, character development, and humor that was present in Panzermadels. It wasn't a bad game by any stretch, but it was just disappointing given how talented I know these developers are. Recently, it has come to my attention that DEVGRU-P quotes my Panzermadels review on the game's steam page. If the developers read my stuff enough to have found that review, it's entirely possible they saw my review for DPRK and that they're reading this right now. If that's the case, I'd like to reiterate that I only do this out of love and out of respect for the talent I know they have. In any case, as disappointing as I found DPRK, I'm still looking forward to seeing what these developers put out next, hence why it's at the bottom of this list.
#4): Aer: Memories of Old
Aer: Memories of Old would've been further up the list if I'd had any expectations for it whatsoever prior to an hour or two before playing. It appeared to be an atmospheric game in the same vein as Journey. However, it turned out to be a giant, boring snorefest with lackluster puzzles, floaty controls, terrible platforming, and no meshing of the game's lore with its location. It took me two nights to beat, and on the second night I'd forgotten that I still had to play it. When I remembered that it existed, the first words that came to mind were "Ah, man. I guess I have to finish Aer: Memories of Old." There've been worse game, but this one had so much potential and did so little right that I couldn't help but be disappointed by it.
#3): Pokemon: Ultra Sun/Moon
I didn't follow Ultra Sun/Moon's development very closely, so I was expecting a sequel a-la Black and White 2. Imagine my disappointment when I found that I was paying full price for what essentially amounted to a re-do of the original Sun and Moon versions. Sure, this version is a lot meatier in terms of content, and the combat is a lot more challenging, but it's too little, too late. Had this been the original version, it would've made the top 10 list for sure. As it stands, however, this just felt like footing the bill for Game Freak to give Sun and Moon a second try. It feels odd to give what is essentially the superior version of a game that made my top 10 list last year a place on this list, but I was disappointed by just how little was improved in this release. Better luck next time, Game Freak.
#2): The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
Sure, A New Frontier was better than Season 2, but after such a strong opening, I was shocked at how fast the entire series went downhill. The first two episodes of A New Frontier were among the strongest in Walking Dead history, and it set my expectations high for the rest of the season. However, starting with episode 3, the game just kept getting progressively worse, and it all culminated in one of the most laughable finales in recent memory (with the exception of the moment I mentioned in the "Best Moments" list). The whole thing felt rushed, as if Telltale felt the need to get another Walking Dead game out there and proceeded with only that goal in mind. As promised at the end of the season, this story is going to continue. I sincerely hope that Telltale puts a little more effort into its story if that's the case.
Biggest Disappointment of the Year: Act 4 of Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Middle Earth: Shadow of War improves upon its predecessor in almost every way with changes to the responsiveness of combat, the nemesis system, and even its story. However, once Act 4 rolls around, the real reason for this game (so Warner Brother can get their hands on some more money) becomes evident. For most of the game, you can get by without spending a cent on microtransactions. However, once you reach act 4, the entire game turns into the most disgusting money grab I've ever played. You have to take part in twenty sieges of increasing difficulty. The very first siege pits orcs of upwards of level 40 against the first orcs you brainwashed, typically around level 15 or so. In order to stand a chance, you have to spend in-game currency on siege defenses. I'd never spent a cent of my in-game currency up until act 4, and I was broke within two sieges. Even with that and after recruiting more powerful orcs to replace the lower level ones, I barely scraped by these two sieges. The purpose of this is to get you to spend real-world money on in-game currency and loot boxes so that you can survive act 4. This game literally becomes pay-to-win once act 4 rolls around, and the game's final cutscenes, the ultimate resolution of everything, is hidden behind this disgusting pay wall. Warner Brothers Interactive's bastard act deserves every word of condemnation it receives, and it truly was the biggest disappointment of 2017.
Most Unique
I feel that this category is pretty self-explanatory. These five games were the products that most pushed the envelope, the products that did something unique, and most importantly the products that did this unique thing effectively.
#5): Last Day of June
While stories about trying to rescue a dead loved one are plentiful throughout history, and while deus ex machina situations where a character receives a power after a traumatic event have a similar historical presence, Last Day of June goes about telling these kinds of stories without words. Using just speech tone and specific animations, Last Day of June manages to paint a world that just about anyone can relate to while still creating what is essentially a hamlet exclusive to its residents. It manages to tell a powerful love story without ever using the word "love," and it manages to paint a realistic portrait of grief without ever showing tears. On top of the unique way that LDoJ tells its story, it also sports a Tim Burton-esque art style that is simultaneously cute and a little bit creepy, much like its story.
#4): Observer
What earns Observer a place on this list is the way in which it approaches its horror sections. Rather than relying on monsters jumping out of the shadows, Observer elects to frame its horror the way that a nightmare might frame it. It takes the mundane and adds a deeply unsettling air to it. This kept me chilled from the moment I fired the game up to the moment I caved and turned it off. It manages to instill the kind of fear that nightmares instill, where nothing scary is happening, but the feeling of dread starts to grow deep inside, causing a panic.
#3): Emily is Away Too
The original Emily is Away was perhaps the most unique game of its year. This saga takes place in an AOL chatroom in the early 2000's, and the look and feel of the game perfectly emulates that environment. With Emily is Away Too, developer Kyle Seeley pushes the envelope even further than he did in the original game. He creates a version of youtube that contains exclusively the most popular videos from when I was in high school (as well as versions of myspace and the like) in your actual internet browser, making it feel like you're actually in an AOL chatroom window, not playing a game. The original game laid the groundwork, and the sequel took the unique premise of Emily is Away and took it to the next level.
#2): Persona 5
A game where gameplay is a combination of turn-based jrpg and life simulator isn't the kind of thing you might expect to see on the shelves. What's even more surprising is how well this seemingly odd combination works. Combine the game's success in the face of a truly odd gameplay divide with its sheer sense of style, and you have a game that truly stands out in a crowd.
Most Unique Game of the Year: Doki Doki Literature Club
Of all the products that came out this year, none pushed the envelope, none defied the medium like Doki Doki Literature Club did. Posing as an anime dating simulator, DDLC is actually a meta psychological horror game that borders on Undertale in terms of how effectively its meta side bends the boundaries of video games as a medium. As I may have already mentioned, I try not to be too vague when there's the possibility of spoilers in these lists, but given how this game is free I would feel bad if I elaborated on it any further before you yourself had the chance to go out and see what I mean. In any case, there is no game that came out this year that deserves the title of "Most Unique Game of 2017" more than Doki Doki Literature Club.
Best Developer
The focus of these lists tends to be on the games and the characters, but we seldom take a step back to celebrate the folks behind the games. A good developer is hard to come by, and more often than not, nobody really appreciates them. So, I'd like to take the time to point out the hard working developers that I feel deserve the most praise this year!
#5): Team Salvato (Doki Doki Literature Club)
Team Salvato managed to create what amounts to the most unique game of this year under the guise of the kind of cringey anime dating simulator that saturates the steam storefront. What's more, they made this game and put it on steam at no cost to the player, instead electing to include an optional $10 "fan pack," the purpose of which is to be an avenue through which fans can support the company. There's so much passion in this team, and I can't wait to see what they do next!
#4): Kyle Seeley (Emily is Away Too)
A few years ago, Kyle Seeley created a unique game that emulated the AOL chatroom experience of the early 2000's. This year, he returned to the scene with a game that took this already unique concept and improved it immeasurably, scoring his game a spot among this year's most unique entries. I'm always a sucker for excellent games that are created by one developer, so I'm proud to call Kyle Seeley out as one of this year's greatest developers.
#3): Ninja Theory (Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice)
With Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Ninja Theory set out to create the first "Indie AAA" game in history. The idea was to create a game with the kind of production values that come with AAA games with the kind of modest budget that indie titles tend to have. While Hellblade is far from a perfect experience, it accomplishes everything it needs to. The eyes of the gaming world were on Ninja Theory, and they delivered. Because of Ninja Theory's efforts, more and more developers are likely to want to break away from big publishers to pursue their artistic ideals with modest budgets. Maybe, just maybe, because of Ninja Theory, the stranglehold that scum like EA and Warner Brothers have on the game industry will be weakened in the coming years.
#2): Ovosonico (Last Day of June)
Ovosonico came out of freaking nowhere as far as I'm concerned. I happened to stumble across Last Day of June one day, and I was blown away by the love and care that went into every second of the game. After watching behind the scenes videos from the developers once I finished the game, I came to respect Ovosonico even more. It would've been easy for Ovosonico to churn out yet another narrative-based indie game without much effort and call it a day, but instead, Ovosonico crafted a world with a unique art style and told a story without reusing animations. This nobody developer from Italy somehow managed to make one of the best games of this year, and I have to give them props.
Developer of the Year: Kan Gao (Finding Paradise)
I never feel even the slightest bit of envy for Kan Gao. After he developed To the Moon, putting together a worthy sequel seemed like it would be an impossible task to me. So, what did Kan Gao do in response? He created an even better game. Finding Paradise was a marked improvement over the already brilliant To the Moon, and Gao's passion over the 6 years this game was in development showed. Sure, there were some areas that could have used a little bit more time, but Kan Gao basically achieved the impossible in Finding Paradise. Now he just has to one-up himself a second time for the third game in the saga. No pressure or anything. No matter what, Gao, I'm rooting for you!
Best Story
Even though games are supposed to be about gameplay, I find that the games with the best stories are the ones that stick with me the longest. There's just so much more that can be done with story in an interactive medium, so it's a shame when developers don't make use of what they have. This year featured a variety of high quality stories, and the following 10 games were the stories that stayed in my head long after the credits rolled.
#10): Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
In the world of Wolfenstein II, the Nazis won WWII. In 1960s America, the Nazis still rule, and BJ Blaskowicz and his band of rebels strike from the shadows in hopes of liberating the land of the free from their oppressors. Ultimately, Wolfenstein II is a story about courage in the face of impossible odds, of giving power to the oppressed, of showing people of all creeds and backgrounds that they don't need to be afraid to oppose the boot on their necks. Nobody could have predicted the political climate we have today when Wolfenstein II was first being developed, but this game about resisting tyrannical government is a welcome addition to the stories told in gaming this year.
#9): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
In the land of Hyrule, there is a prophecy centered around a dark beast named "Calamity Gannon." It is said that Calamity Gannon will return, and the hero with the sword that seals away the darkness and the princess with the blood of the goddess will seal Gannon away with the help of the divine beasts. However, upon Gannon's arrival, the divine beasts are corrupted. The champions of each race are killed, and Link, the hero, is nearly slain. As Princess Zelda battles with Gannon day and night, Link is taken to a shrine in order to have his life restored. 100 years later, Link awakens from his slumber and sets out on a journey to restore the divine beasts to the side of justice and to fulfill his destiny. Most of the strength of Breath of the Wild's story lies in its background rather than in the actual plot. The story is fantastic, but the fact that it's exclusively found by seeking it out puts it in this relatively low spot.
#8): Doki Doki Literature Club
On the way to school one day, you're stopped by your childhood best friend and asked about your plans for club activities. Upon promising her that you'll join a club, she invites you to the Literature Club, which she is currently Vice President of. When you realize that the club is made up of exclusively cute girls, you decide to join as a means of hopefully getting with one of them. However, everything in the literature club is not as it seems. From there, this evolves into one of the best meta stories since Undertale, and because this game is free, it will cost you literally nothing to find out what I mean for yourself.
#7): Horizon: Zero Dawn
It has been a century since the apocalypse. Machines roam the earth almost like animals, and the buildings of the ancient world have mostly been reclaimed by nature. In a matriarchal tribe in the north, a baby said to not have been born of a woman comes into being. The years pass, and this baby, Aloy, eventually becomes accepted in the tribe for her combat capabilities. After tragedy strikes, she set out on a quest to determine the cause of recent cult aggression and to discover the identity of the one the cult refers to as "Hades." The quest takes her deep into the heart of the ancient world, where she eventually learns how the ancients were exterminated. Though some plot threads are stronger than others, Horizon: Zero Dawn offers a fresh take on the apocalypse scenario and on the cult-as-a-villain idea. This new take on these ideas is so fresh that I couldn't help but put it on this list.
#6): What Remains of Edith Finch
After the death of her mother, Edith Finch inherits a key that supposedly opens a lock somewhere in the ancestral Finch family home. Edith travels through the halls of the charming Finch house, reliving the events of her childhood and learning more about the demise of her relatives. As she travels, she reflects on her brother's brutal, tragic death. She reflects on her mother's stance on religion and on the idea of the Finch family curse. As she reflects on all these themes alongside an overarching theme of personal versus family identity, she begins to put together a narrative to pass on to the child she is currently pregnant with. This is a story that spans the whole spectrum of human emotion. As a result, every emotion feels relatable and potent. What Remains of Edith Finch sets a new standard in storytelling for the walking simulator genre, and all aspiring developers who hope to develop in this genre had better take notes.
#5): Nier: Automata
It has been years since the machines drove humanity to the moon. In humanity's absence, the machines took over the earth entirely, and the humans put together an army of androids with the sole purpose of winning the earth back. Two such androids, 2B and 9S, are sent on a mission to earth one day and encounter a humanoid machine intent on killing them, as well as a tribe of pacifistic machines who mean no harm to anyone. As the plot progresses, the true nature of the android vs machine conflict is made clear, and indeed, the true nature of reality and time is made clear as well. Nier: Automata is far from the first story (or even the first game) to stick its hands into the "what constitutes consciousness? What does is mean to be alive?" cookie jar, but it uses its nature as a video game to look into these old-as-Bladerunner themes in a new, fresh way. Much like Doki Doki Literature Club, a lot of the story on display here is meta and extends beyond gaming as a medium, and like with Doki Doki Literature Club, I intend to let you experience the game for yourself rather than explain exactly what I mean.
#4): Persona 5
After being framed for an assault on a powerful man, a Japanese high schooler is relocated to Tokyo. On his way to his first day of school, he and another student end up at a medieval castle where their school ought to be, and they realize that they have the power to command personas, manifestations of their personalities. As they explore this castle, they realize that it's the manifestation of a teacher's distorted desires. In this castle, female students wear practically nothing and throw themselves at this teacher, and the male students are held in constant torture sessions. While in this castle, our protagonist and his new friend come to understand that they can make this teacher repent by "stealing his heart." As the story progresses, more and more students join the ranks of what comes to be known as the "Phantom Thieves," and inbetween the normal everyday activities of high schoolers, they band together to bring the criminal world to its knees. Persona 5 is a slow burn for sure. Critic and youtuber Jim Sterling endearingly refers to the pacing as "glacial," but it's all for the best. As the days go by, more and more story comes into being, and new plots and subplots reveal themselves. The plot involving the teacher is resolved over the course of a month or two of in-game days. Afterwards, more villains are brought to justice, and as more of the general public starts to believe in the phantom thieves, newer, greater challenges arise. In order to see these challenges, though, you'll need to put in the proper amount of time. You may need to take my word for it, so here is my word: The glacial pacing of Persona 5 is what allows its story to be as brilliant as it is.
#3): Yakuza 0
Kazama Kiryu, a member of the Yakuza's Dojima family, is framed for the murder of a civilian and finds himself caught in the middle of the Yakuza's bid for a seemingly unimportant empty lot in the middle of Tokyo's Kamurocho district. Meanwhile, Goro Majima, another Yakuza operative, finds himself at odds with his family leaders as he shelters and protects a civilian he has been ordered to kill. Several plot lines all weave together to form a narrative about the unexpected power of real estate in the dealings of crime bosses and billionaires. What sounds like a potentially boring plot manages to take more twists and turns than any other story this year. The only thing stopping Yakuza 0 from winning Story of the Year is the fact that there were two other stories that simply had more emotional impact.
#2): Last Day of June
After husband and wife Carl and June go out for a romantic afternoon at the pier, tragedy strikes. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Carl discovers he has the power to alter the events of that fateful afternoon by interacting with June's paintings of their neighbors. From there, Carl stops at nothing, takes no rest, leaves no stone unturned in his quest to make things right again. No matter how many roadblocks he faces, no matter how many times he fails, no matter how many times he has to relive the tragedy, Carl has a goal, and nothing eliminates his desire to see it accomplished. Last Day of June is the kind of story that you'll likely only be able to handle playing through once. This story is so engrossing and so deeply moving and upsetting that if you're anything like me, you'll be too invested and affected to want to experience it again. That's how good this story is and how effective its emotional power is.
Story of the Year: Finding Paradise
The Sigmund Corporation offers a service to people who will soon find themselves on their deathbeds. They essentially enter the client's memories and rearrange things so that the client relives their life one last time as if they had a certain wish granted. Dr. Eva Rosaline and Dr. Neil Watts are two operatives from this corporation who, one day, are called upon to perform this service for a man named Colin. However, Colin's wish is complicated. He loves his wife, he loves his son, he has led a fulfilled life. And yet, it isn't enough. Thus, Colin's wish is to get rid of the emptiness he feels in life without changing anything he experienced. From there, we're treated to a beautiful story about finding childlike wonder in the beauty of this world and about how you never really know what makes your life worth living until you look back on everything you've experienced with more informed eyes. This story is brilliant and complex, and it left me digesting it and analyzing it for a week after the credits rolled. Last Day of June had me analyzing for longer, but the variety of emotions that Finding Paradise made me feel in my analysis was broader, so in the end, I feel that there's no more deserving a story for this award than that of Finding Paradise.
Best Gameplay
Gameplay is what sets games apart from every other medium, and thus, it is the single most important aspect. In order to judge gameplay, one must ask themselves two things: 1) Is the game fun to play? and 2) Is the gameplay well-made? These 10 games were games for which the answers for both of these questions were "yes," a mix of pure fun factor alongside legitimately well-designed combat.
#10): Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Despite appearances, Wolfenstein II's gameplay is nothing at all like Doom. Sure, it's a run and gun affair, but you need to be more deliberate in your shooting and utilization of cover in order to survive. In addition, you'll need to utilize stealth to thin the herd and take out captains if you don't want to be swarmed with Nazis. When you finally get into a groove, and once you get through the initial slog of the first hour or so, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus excels as an fps.
#9): Persona 5
As you progress through Persona 5, you'll have to balance your schoolwork, your relationships, and your preparations (buying healing items and weapons, etc) with accomplishing your goals in the metaverse. Every mission has a deadline that you must finish it by, or it's game over. If you dedicate every day to infiltrating palaces, you'll find yourself in a bind due to a lack of healing items. However, if you dedicate too much time to your relationships and schoolwork, you'll be left with only a short window of time to tackle the palace. The stakes are always high, and the balance of life and crime fighting never gets old.
#8): Horizon: Zero Dawn
Horizon: Zero Dawn earns a spot on the list mainly because of how fast-paced and sweat-inducing its gameplay is, but it also earns a spot because it manages to blend seemingly tedious tasks such as resource gathering and crafting seamlessly into its combat in a way that keeps it feeling moment-to-moment. Machines and people alike are quick in their movements and their wits, so you'll need to constantly make corrections in your attack patterns if you want to survive. In the heat of battle, it's easy to lose track of how many arrows you have left, so as you're being chased by a robotic dinosaur, you'll need to hastily assemble a new batch of arrows sometimes milliseconds before dodging out of the way. Combat in Horizon: Zero Dawn is unbelievably thrilling, and were it not for the lackluster stealth, it would be higher up on this list.
#7): Super Mario Odyssey
The name of the game in Super Mario Odyssey is variety. Mario gameplay is hardly new, but thanks to the addition of the capture mechanic (wherein Mario uses his hat to possess and play as an enemy), both combat and puzzle solving become a breath of fresh air, and the possibilities for experimentation are bountiful. I found it a complete joy to try possessing everything I passed and trying to utilize the differences in gameplay that each enemy brings to the table to reach new power moons.
#6): Prey
I tend to enjoy stealth quite a lot, so it would've been enough if Prey's stealth mechanics were good. It turns out, they were quite good: just the right degree of challenging to force me to consider all my options before making the smallest of moves, but not so difficult that enemies have realistic memory and sight. But Prey does more than just its stealth well. In addition, Prey accomplishes what few stealth oriented games can manage: It makes its actual non-stealth combat a joy to play as well. Because this game primarily focuses on stealth, ammo and the like tends to be scarce. Combat is manageable, but it's the kind of combat where you have to be careful with the timing of your shots. A bullet wasted could be what brings you to game over. If you approach combat tactically, it's still challenging, but it isn't like Prey is punishing you for choosing the guns blazing route. Rather, it simply requires that you put as much thought into your blazing guns as you might put into your stealth routes.
#5): Middle Earth: Shadow of War
It's no secret that I wasn't a fan of the original game, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. Its combat was unresponsive and the whole affair was vastly overrated. However, Middle Earth: Shadow of War improves the responsiveness of its combat, making button presses yield instant results. Taking on hordes upon hordes of orcs tests your reflexes and your resolve, and the entirely skill-based nature of the game makes combat even more enjoyable. Even if you never leveled up, you could still beat tougher enemies if you're good enough at the game. For a game with so many rpg elements, that's quite a feat, and given how you can get every last ability within ten hours of gameplay, the fact that you still have to rely on your skills is even more impressive. Shadow of War had many flaws, but its gameplay was not one of them, and I for one was happy to see such significant improvements to combat.
#4): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Sure, the weapon durability is crap and the stamina meter makes things irritating, but the combat in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is rock solid (for as long as your weapons hold up). Combat consists of melee weapons, bows, various arrow types, shields, and runes. Gameplay itself tends to be your average hack-and-slash affair, but what lands Breath of the Wild a spot this high up the list is the sheer variety of ways in which you can dispose of enemies. See a large metal beam? Pick it up with your magnesis rune and crush nearby enemies with it. See enemies at the bottom of a steep hill? Plant a round bomb and watch it roll down, then detonate it once it reaches their camp. See an enemy camp in a valley below you? Paraglide down onto the watchtowers and take out the enemies that'll call for reinforcements, then infiltrate from there. The potential for creative combat approaches is seemingly endless, and the examples I've offered only scratch the surface of what can be done. Breath of the Wild has many, many faults, but I'm happy to say that the combat offered here has the kind of variety I wish every game could provide.
#3): Nier: Automata
Imagine, if you will, a game that lets you feel like you're playing an anime, but without schoolgirls and in which the main character never accidentally touches the female lead in an awkward place (and subsequently gets the crap beaten out of him for it). You've just imagined what it's like to play Nier: Automata. The gameplay is set at a breakneck pace with swords slashing and guns firing simultaneously and without stopping. 2B flips and twirls like an anime character ought to, mowing down enemies left and right in an unstoppable flurry of explosions and steel. Add the sheer variety of weapon and attack types onto the incredible feel of the gameplay and you have a game that was always going to be in the running for this award. As if that weren't enough, there are actually two gameplay types: third-person hack-and-slash and bullet hell, and both of these combat types are incredibly well executed and a joy to play. When you pick up Nier: Automata, you're picking up one of the most unique gameplay experiences in recent memory. The only reason Nier: Automata doesn't score even higher on this list is the fact that it can get just the slightest bit repetitive, especially due to the game's length.
#2): Mass Effect: Andromeda
To see Mass Effect: Andromeda this high up any of these lists is perhaps a little shocking, but I can't deny that the gameplay is the best in the saga. No matter which route you go, whether it's gun-exclusive, more tech oriented, or steeped in biotic power, combat is always satisfying. In my playthrough, I focused on skills that helped mobility, and in no time I was skating around arenas running and gunning like I was playing Doom. I realize that having the ability to pretend like I'm playing a superior game might be considered damning with false praise, but I do have to admit that I had a hell of a time with Mass Effect: Andromeda's gameplay. Not only that, but the variety of possible gameplay styles on display here is nothing short of incredible, and it kind of makes me wish that Bioware had put as much effort into the story and characters as they did in to the gameplay. Making fun of Andromeda (despite the fact that I enjoyed it more than your average bear) is always enjoyable, but I just think it's a fact that the gameplay is top notch.
Gameplay of the Year: Yakuza 0
Yakuza 0 revels in its over-the-top fist fighting action. Kiryu and Majima go up against hordes upon hordes of enemies, beating them all to a pulp with ease. Yakuza 0 sports three different fighting styles for both protagonists: slow, medium, and fast. Each style feels powerful on its own, but the game lets the player decide which they want to commit to, and it allows them to fully invest into that combat style in a way that makes it feel even more satisfying. For instance, as Kiryu, I invested in the fastest combat style possible. As I invested more and more money into improving this combat style, I gained the ability to execute skills that brought the already breakneck pace I was playing at to an even crunchier, even faster level. I was able to quickly dodge an attack if an enemy tried to hit me while I was backed against a wall, causing them to bust their hand on the wall. I was able to intercept an attack and use it to effectively switch places with the attacking enemy. Yakuza 0's core combat feels satisfying on its own, with enemy bones breaking with a satisfying crunch as Kiryu slams their faces into his knee or as Majima swings at the base of their skulls with a baseball bat. But as skills improve, the sheer impact of the nearly bloodless brutality on screen increases to levels befitting the campiest kung-fu movie you can imagine. Yakuza 0 is unmatched in its gameplay, and for that reason, I'm proud to declare that it boasts the best gameplay of any game in 2017.
Normally, honorable mentions are a portion of an awards ceremony where items that didn't quite make the cut are honored. My honorable mentions are not the same. You see, there are some categories that I'd be hard pressed to find 5 items for. Other categories have only one item that could possibly end up on a list. These awards celebrate such categories. Named after games or characters that epitomize the spirit of the category, these special one-slot awards call special attention to aspects of games that I don't go into in greater detail in these lists. In a way, I guess you could say that it's a traditional honorable mention section for categories instead of games. In any case, I tend to do these a little differently each year, and this year I decided to go back to the traditional practice of stating the award and its winner, rather than listing all the contenders as I did last year. I'll explain what each award celebrates, and then I'll explain why I chose the recipient.
Samus Aran award for Strongest Female Character
Named after gaming's first truly strong female character, the Samus Aran award for Strongest Female Character is awarded to the female character who was the best written and best executed. It's entirely possible that the winner of a traditional female-dominated list such as best love interest could be a male character, so this award is an entirely separate award that celebrates the women of gaming narratives. In order to win this honorable mention, a character must be a few things: 1) Female, 2) well written and 3) utilized effectively. There were so many possible contenders for this honorable mention, but in the end, I had to go with.....
Senua (Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice)
It's safe to say that no female character in any game of this year suffered as much as Senua did in Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. And yet, in spite of all of the pain she endured at the hands of her mental illness and at the hands of the norse Gods, she always remained fixated on her goal, never giving up in the face of the voices in her head telling her how unworthy she was. What's truly commendable about developer Ninja Theory's approach to Senua is that despite how beaten up Senua gets, despite how much pain she endures, the game never tries to make us feel sorry for her. The game never tries to make us want to protect her. Senua's personality and willpower are so strong that the instinct is instead to help her stand up and drive her sword through every norse God she comes across. In direct contrast to characters such as Lara Croft, when we see Senua being beaten down, we don't think "oh, you poor thing," we think, "get up! You can do this!" We as players, of course, make Senua continue on in these situations. However, it always feels in character that she lashes out after being wounded and kills everything in her way in spite of how dirty and infected her wounds probably are. This year was full of female characters who could've snagged this honorable mention, but Senua's dedication and willpower wins her the honorable mention in the end.
The reason why any game wins this honorable mention varies based on the year. Lost Planet had one of the most fulfilling control schemes I'd ever used, hence why it's used as this honorable mention's namesake. Though the reason why a game wins varies, the criteria pretty much remains the same: The game has to have a unique control scheme that enhances its gameplay in some way. Like the Samus Aran award, there were quite a few contenders, but I ended up deciding on...
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
In the case of 2017, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild wins this honorable mention because of how well its controls meshed with the gameplay. Image the Skyrim "favorites" system, but with a different set of buttons for different weapon types so you could only be forced to scroll through your swords, your bows, or your magic, depending on the button you used. That's the kind of control scheme BotW has, and it causes combat to flow pretty smoothly.
When I played Gears of War back in the day, I thought its story was lackluster. At the time, I was of the opinion that a game couldn't be good without a good story. Gears of War, however, proved me wrong. I had a blast with it on a primal level, and thus, I put together this particular honorable mention to celebrate games with gameplay that is pure, raw fun, regardless of whether or not it's well put together. After all, the very first recipient of this honorable mention was Goat Simulator, and that game was a complete mess. It seems to be a running theme in the honorable mentions this year, but there were several games that I found fulfilling in the Gears of War way, but one game stood out above the rest, and that game was...
Yakuza 0
What makes Yakuza 0 fun is the unbridled crunch of the violence on screen. I felt every punch I threw as Kiryu and Majima, and it appealed to something truly primal inside of me. The feeling of mashing the buttons and executing combos flawlessly as my enemies were taken down one-by-one either by Kiryu's swift punches or Majima's baseball bat was consistently satisfying across the 60 or so hours I poured into this game. Beyond the combat, the minigames, though corny and completely unnecessary, had me captivated. I spent an entire night of play mastering all of the disco modes because I was simply having that much fun making Kiryu get down and dirty on the dance floor. Yakuza 0 was pure, raw, primal fun, and that's what this award is all about.
Every year there are games that pleasantly surprise me. This is a category in which there are typically way fewer contenders, so it's the perfect category for an honorable mention. Named after my Game of the Year for 2015, the Undertale award for Biggest Surprise celebrates the game that most exceeded whatever expectations I had in a positive way. Only two games surprised me enough to be in the running for this honorable mention, and it was a tough decision, but in the end, I went with...
Prey
The other game that was in the running for this award was Doki Doki Literature Club, but in the case of Prey, I went into the experience fully expecting to hate it. I hated the demo, and I thought it was a sign of things to come. Imagine my surprise when Prey turned out to be pretty darned excellent. With stellar stealth gameplay, level, and sound design, Prey was, without a doubt, the biggest surprise of 2017.
Spec Ops: The Line was an unassuming military shooter that ended up pitting you against American soldiers who had conquered a foreign nation. It posed serious questions about the morality of nationalism in the face of war crimes and about the morality of war in general. Because of this, I decided to use it as the namesake for an honorable mention that celebrates games that set out to discuss a difficult subject or to send a particularly important message. This is another honorable mention that doesn't get very many contenders, so it was an easy choice this year. The winner of the Spec Ops: The Line award for Most Important game of 2017 is...
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
I decided this honorable mention ought to go to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice because of the tactful way in which it discusses the subject of mental illness. It would've been easy to incorporate elements of schizophrenia into gameplay and have it fall flat or be in poor taste. However, in practice, it worked perfectly, with Senua's internal voices occasionally warning her of enemy actions in combat and giving hints in puzzles as quickly as they belittle her. The mental illness was portrayed honestly while still being woven into gameplay seamlessly, and I believe that that is worthy of being awarded the Spec Ops: The Line award for Most Important game of 2017.
And now we move into the dishonorable mentions. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was a great rpg that was bogged down by terrible writing. The recipient of this dishonorable mention doesn't have to be a bad game, it just has to have bad writing. Thankfully, there weren't very many games that fit the bill this year. However, the one game that truly fit the bill was a real whopper. The winner of the Kingdoms of Amalur award for Worst Writing is...
Sonic Forces
And sometimes this dishonorable mention definitely does go to bad games. Sonic Forces is dreadful in every respect, but its writing truly stands out in terms of its lack of quality. Sonic's terrible one-liners never failed to make me cringe, and the writing of the supporting cast was hardly an improvement. It would've been one thing if I'd sensed passion behind the terrible writing, but it just felt lazy, which makes it even more unforgivable. Whether it's Rouge the Bat saying "The prisoners are being held in some kind of internment facility," whether it's Tails saying "True 'dat," whether it's Dr. Eggman saying, "No, it's going to be your finish, Sonic," or whether it's Sonic opening his stupid mouth in the first place, Sonic Forces, you truly deserve this dishonorable mention.
I did enjoy Borderlands 2, but I just never got the appeal of the original Borderlands. It was just...freaking...boring. Brown terrain, brown vehicles, brown everything, bland gameplay, and no story. Despite the fact that, more often than not, the Borderlands award for Most Yawn Inducing game goes to bad games, it isn't necessary for the game to be bad. It can be well put-together, but just not my cup of tea, and that's fine. What this award is here to call out are the games that I found myself bored to tears while playing. Thankfully, this is another dishonorable mention where there weren't many possibilities, so reaching my decision was a piece of cake. 2017's recipient of the Borderlands award for Most Yawn Inducing Game of the Year is...
Aer: Memories of Old
How do you manage to take a game in which you shapeshift into a bird flying around a nation of flying islands and make it into the most painfully boring game of the year? Seriously! How do you screw that up? The developers of Aer: Memories of Old managed it with flying colors. The entire game is one long slog from boring island to boring island, solving boring puzzle after boring puzzle, reading boring piece of exposition after boring piece of exposition. The game is just...freaking...boring. It's so boring, in fact, that it legitimately gives the namesake of this dishonorable mention a run for its money. Geez louise. So boring.
If this dishonorable mention exists, it's a good thing. It means that the year was strong enough that I didn't need to put together a full list of worst games. Instead, it allows me to shame one single game into oblivion. The namesake of this dishonorable mention, Brink, was at one point the worst game I'd ever played. I've played much worse since then, but Brink still holds a special place in my heart of hearts in terms of worst gaming experiences I've had, so I keep it as this award's namesake. The criteria for this award is simple: The game has to be the worst game I played this year. It was a tough choice. I had to do so much comparison to determine what exactly the worst game I played this year was, and it involved a lot of self-reflection and internal discussions about what exactly my criteria for a worst game of....oh, who am I kidding? You already know what I'm going to give this to! The winner of 2017's Brink award for Worst Game of the Year is...
Sonic Forces
Sonic Forces is not only the worst game of this year, it's one of the worst games I've played in my entire life. In its insulting runtime of 3-4 hours, Sonic Forces manages to tell the most schizophrenic story I've ever experienced with the worst writing of any game this year. More than that, it manages to make nearly every single level nauseating and bursting with unwarranted detail so over-the-top that it makes the remastered release of the original Star Wars trilogy look subtle. This game was physically painful to play, and I was legitimately bummed when I realized I'd paid money that I make at my job for it. Sonic Forces is lazy, repetitive, painful, and so short that my anger at the lack of content outweighs my hatred of the content I'm angry about the lack of. It may be a better game than last year's winner, Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor, but it isn't better by much. Sonic Forces, congratulations, you are the worst game of 2017.
And at last, we've come to the list that matters above all others, the list you're all here to see. It's time to break down the 10 best games of 2017. For those who are new to this blog, here's a brief overview of how I decide these positions. For starters, only games that I gave an 8/10 or above are eligible to be on this list, but the score only plays a minimal role in the game's placement. The first thing I do is calculate a "raw" score for each game based on the score I gave it, whether or not it compelled me to research other games in the saga or by the developer, how much it surprised me, the position I want it to be on this list, its replayability, whether or not I 100%-ed it, and the "bang for your buck" factor. After I've calculated this raw score, I add in the positions the game earned on each of the prior lists (with the #1 spot being worth 5 or 10 points) to create a total score. The games are then put in order from highest total score to lowest, and the top 10 results are what you see before you. I still have final say in the order (after all, because of the amount of times I played Mass Effect: Andromeda, it managed to reach #2 with almost no other contributing factors, and I wasn't about to stand for that), but this process allows me to approach this list with a slightly more empirical mindset. Before I begin, I'd like to once again reiterate that this is my list. If you don't see a game that you feel should have been on this list, make your own list and send it to me. I enjoy reading these things, so I'll take the time to do so. I can tell you right now that this list is going to step on some toes, but all I can do is report on what I felt was the best of the best this year. One last thing I'd like to do before we get down to business is show you the full list of every game that is eligible for this list under my rules, so you can see what kinds of titles the victors were in the running against.
The following games (in no particular order) were all eligible for this list, and the score they received in their respective reviews are listed next to them:
Mass Effect: Andromeda - 8.0
Horizon: Zero Dawn - 9.3
Nier: Automata - 9.1
Everything - 9.6
What Remains of Edith Finch - 9.3
Emily is Away Too - 9.5
Yakuza 0 - 9.5
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - 8.0
Last Day of June - 8.9
Prey - 8.7
Flood of Light - 9.7
Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator - 9.2
Hollow Knight - 8.6
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 8.3
Middle Earth: Shadow of War - 8.5
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus - 8.0
Observer - 8.0
Super Mario Odyssey - 9.5
Doki Doki Literature Club - 9.0
Persona 5 - 8.2
Finding Paradise - 9.0
21 games enter, only 10 games win. So, now that you know every title that could be on this list, it's time to show you lovely people which games made the cut.
These are the top 10 games of 2017!
#10):
What Remains of Edith Finch/The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Ladies and Gentlemen, there was literally a tie for #10. In the first edition of this list, I put Breath of the Wild as the "runner up" and selected Edith Finch for the #10 spot in spite of the fact that both games earned the exact same total score. Here's the thing, though: The odds of getting a tie in my empirical system are pretty darned low, and upon further reflection, I thought it was probably a sign. So, though it's a little unorthodox for me, and though What Remains of Edith Finch is objectively the better game, the #10 spot is shared this year. What Remains of Edith Finch is a new gold standard for the walking simulator genre. Free of the kinds of hassles I experienced in games such as Dear Esther or Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, What Remains of Edith Finch tells the kind of engaging story that a walking simulator should while avoiding common pitfalls of the genre. You'll never find yourself lost and having to spend 10 minutes backtracking to get where you need to go. You'll never find yourself getting sidetracked by arbitrary details unless you allow yourself to, and if you allow yourself to, the text on the environment is there to guide you right back to where you need to be. In addition, this story covers the whole spectrum of human emotion. As I played What Remains of Edith Finch, I felt joy, I felt sorrow, I felt a piercing intrigue, and I felt more sorrow. Edith Finch's journey through the memories of her childhood home is a must-play experience for anybody who is even remotely a fan of walking simulators. Even if you aren't a fan of the genre, I would recommend it just because of how successfully it dodges what makes walking simulators a hassle.
We haven't even started the list proper yet, and I'm willing to bet several folks have either stopped reading or started screaming in a fit of primal rage. Look, I know I have a reputation as a nonconformist, and I'll admit that I roll my eyes and exhale with exasperation every single time I see some trend-following reviewer name The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild GOTY in hopes of getting as many views as possible. However, like I said in my review, I loved Breath of the Wild. I feel like I shouldn't have to reassure you that I loved this game, given how, you know, it made it onto the top 10 games of the year list, but you know Nintendo fanboys with their weak constitutions and difficulty processing rational arguments. Though plagued with problems that made exploration a constant hassle and with poor design choices that made me consider only choosing What Remains of Edith Finch for the #10 spot in the first place, I can't deny how much fun I had with this game. No matter how nonconformist I am, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is more than a good game, it's a fantastic one.
#9):
Prey
Coming in at #9, we have a game that I thoroughly expected to end up on the worst or disappointments list. From the demo, I expected Prey to be a lazy Frankenstein's Monster of influence from other, greater games. Once I ended up getting my hands on it, however, I realized that it was not only my favorite game to take place on a space station, but it was also developer Arkane Studios' magnum opus. Prey is a brilliant sci-fi experience that manages to forge an identity all its own while still noticeably taking influence from the likes of System Shock and Deus Ex. For me, the tense atmosphere was ever-present, and I found myself taking entire nights of gameplay just to scavenge for resources and make sure I was well stocked for whatever surprise encounters might be around the next corner. As a stealth game, Prey is brilliant; giving you the tools you need to get by enemies unnoticed in seemingly limitless ways. The same can be said of open combat. In truth, Prey hands the player an admittedly overwhelming amount of freedom in how they wish to proceed through the game. It's a game that encourages thinking outside the box to solve puzzles. If you have an idea, chances are it can be made a reality. To give one example, I needed to get into an office on the second floor of an area, but I didn't have a key card. It was a side mission, but for my purposes, it was important that I retrieve what was on the inside of that office. I then concocted a plan. I used my gloo gun to create a series of stepping stones across the open area above the first floor (directly to the left of the office). Once I'd gotten in a position where I could see inside the office, I pulled out my foam dart crossbow and shot through the office windows, hitting the manual override button and successfully opening the door, allowing me to enter and grab what I needed. This kind of out-of-the-box thinking is encouraged throughout Prey, and I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised.
#8):
Super Mario Odyssey
I may have already pissed off the Nintendo fanboys, but please believe me when I say that Super Mario Odyssey more than earns a spot on this year's GOTY list. The word I use to describe Super Mario Odyssey is "delightful," and I feel that this descriptor will never stop being accurate. Sure, the story and characters are about as bog standard as you might expect from a Mario game at this point, but the gameplay is spiced up with the addition of the capture mechanic. I found endless joy in this game, and I found myself still wanting to play after the credits rolled. It says something about a game's quality when I find myself jumping for joy at a character saying "but our work's not done yet!" "Well," you might start to ask, "if you found so much joy in it, why isn't it further up your list?" That's a fair question to ask, as it was one of my highest scoring games of this year. The thing is, games like this that are just meant to be fun and don't have much meat beyond the gameplay aren't the games that tend to stick with me. I mean, if the kind of crap that I say in the best soundtrack section doesn't clue you in to the fact that I'm a pretentious little termite, then where have you been? In spite of this, I thought the quality of my time with Super Mario Odyssey was good enough to give it a place besides games that are more my style. The fact that such a game was able to captivate me for weeks despite my well-documented skepticism of Nintendo and my disdain for games without room for analysis is nothing short of amazing. And much like this fact, Super Mario Odyssey is also nothing short of amazing.
#7):
Persona 5
You never see it co-miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!!
Oh, how I wish I'd gotten this game when it came out instead of at the end of the year. At the time of writing, I'm nearly 40 hours in, and from what I hear, I have something like a solid 80 more to go. In fact, the only reason Persona 5 isn't higher up on this list is because I can't, in good conscience, put it any higher when I haven't yet completed it. I highly doubt the quality is going to go downhill from here, but I feel that, as a critic, I have to hold it back to some degree because I haven't experienced everything it has to offer yet. In my extremely rushed review, I was far too critical of Persona 5, and if I could take it back, I would. At the length of what might be considered long for a normal game thus far, Persona 5 still consistently feels fresh in spite of its admitted tendency toward repetition. Were I to score Persona 5 again, I might put it at around an 8.7-9.0 instead of the 8.2 it received. If you haven't yet picked up this game because you aren't a fan of jrpgs or can't stand slow pacing, I'd say it's worth your money to try it out at least. If you give it a chance, I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised by the many lovable characters and the brilliant story. And if nothing else, this game's unparalleled freaking styleought to at least somewhat win you over.
#6):
Doki Doki Literature Club
I remember tallying up the scores, looking over the list, and thinking, "Oh no. Doki Doki Literature Club scored higher than both Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. Can't wait for the hate mail I'm gonna get for that!" It just serves to prove how fascinating and effective a gamble Doki Doki Literature Club was. It came out of freaking nowhere and stole my heart over the course of an afternoon. From its memorable characters to the way that the story and gameplay push the boundaries of what it means to be a video game, everything about Doki Doki Literature Club is a breath of fresh air not just in the anime dating simulator department, but in the games industry as a whole. Not only that, but this game is 100% free on Steam, so everybody has the opportunity to experience this breath of fresh air at no cost. Maybe it's just because this year has been filled to the brim with scummy anti-consumer practices by big name publishers like Warner Brothers Interactive and Electronic Arts, but the fact that I was able to play a game significantly better than anything these money-grubbers published at absolutely no cost was unbelievably refreshing. This is a game that was so good that I would actually considering paying money for DLC or cosmetic items. With one game, developer Team Salvato managed to upstage the entire AAA game industry. No matter who you are (unless you're a child or you're easily disturbed), I'd recommend you give Doki Doki Literature Club the few hours that it demands. You won't be disappointed.
Folks, we're about to transition into the top 5. I'd recommend every game on this list, but the top 5 are the games that I hold above all others as the absolute cream of the crop, the single greatest 5 games that came out in 2017. These were the games that I played for the longest amounts of time, the games that I spent the longest amounts of time dissecting after I put the controller down, the games that I got the most out of, the games that I would most fervently recommend to anyone who asks.
#5):
Finding Paradise
Screeching across the finish line at literally the last minute this year (with a release date of December 14th) at spot #5 is Kan Gao's follow up to 2011's To the Moon: Finding Paradise. The six years that Gao spent developing this game were well worth the wait, as Finding Paradise surpasses its predecessor in nearly every respect. While it isn't as much of a tearjerker nor is it nearly as mushy and romantic, Finding Paradise tells a deep, complex story about finding beauty in what you have. Because all of this game's strengths lie in its story and characters, I've already said everything that needs to be said on the subject. It may surprise some to see Finding Paradise at such a high spot, but this was one of the games that I spent hours analyzing and thinking about after the credits rolled. Any game that can captivate me that much is deserving of a spot in the top 5.
#4):
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Horizon: Zero Dawn managed to take the tried and true Ubisoft open world game model and make it fresh again. A true masterpiece of setting design, environmental storytelling, graphics, and gameplay, Horizon: Zero Dawn was a true conqueror this year. Led by one of this year's single best protagonists, this game provided a level of passionately created content unparalleled by any of your average AAA sandboxes. There's a wealth of side quests and legitimately fun side activities and collectibles to discover. Even if you don't do any of the side content, you still have the opportunity to encounter each of the painstakingly crafted machine types, learning how they operate and taking parts from their corpses to beef up your equipment or sell to merchants. Taking down each of these machine types is an adrenaline-pumping, fast-paced endeavor that manages to always be thrilling no matter how many times you get pulled into combat. This was a game that I found myself looking forward to starting up again every single night that I played it. If you're even remotely a fan of sandbox games or action games, you owe it to yourself to get out there and play Horizon: Zero Dawn.
#3):
Last Day of June
Last Day of June is a beautiful story told exclusively through gibberish and animations, and it has become the 10 on the "scale of 1-10" for me in terms of games that make me feel feelings and force me to think about these feelings after I finish the game. I left Last Day of June with the single largest slump of depression and emotional drainage that I've ever experienced after a game (with the possible exception of That Dragon, Cancer). This game haunted me not for a day, not for a week, nor for two weeks, not for a month, but months after I finished it, so effective is the sense of hopelessness the game imbues. For a few days after I finished, I found myself unable to play any games, because what was the point? Everything from its somewhat-unsettling-in-its-beauty soundtrack to the unparalleled love that Carl and June feel for each other conspires to make this game not so much a tearjerker, but rather a deceptively simple exercise in unadulterated existential despair (try saying that five times fast). The moments of happiness that developer Ovosonico allows are fleeting, but they're so warm and wonderful that I would've done anything to get them back, even if it only allowed me a single moment of not having to share in Carl's unimaginable pain. As I played this game and progressed further in Carl's quest, my sense of hopelessness only grew as gut punch after gut punch was delivered in the game's latter half. Finally, the ending came, and with it, a bittersweet resolution that, for all that could've been, was essentially perfect. Though I know in my heart that I'd get even more out of a second playthrough, to this day, I don't have the strength to start Last Day of June up again. Having read this, you may be asking why it sits so close to Game of the Year. The answer is this: Not one game stuck with me like Last Day of June did. Even my Game of the Year didn't leave nearly as large an impression as Last Day of June did. What I really want out of a game is for it to be with me after the credits roll, and even now, many months after last playing this game, I'm still looking back on my time with it and remembering just how effective it was. Its animations are intentional and serve to create some of this year's most vivid characters. Its cutesy art style works in direct contrast with the emotional tone of the game, causing the emotional tone to be even more hard-hitting. It's a brilliant discussion of grief as a human experience: how the pain of losing a loved one goes hand-in-hand with memories of both the sorrows and warm embraces you shared with this person. Last Day of June, for all its repetition, is a masterpiece of interactive storytelling. If you think you're up to the challenge of this game's emotional barrage and you own either a PC or a Playstation 4, you simply must shell out the money for Last Day of June.
#2):
Nier: Automata
Fun fact, Nier: Automata had the highest "raw" score of any game on this list. Had it won more spots on these lists, it would've been Game of the Year in a heartbeat, but as it stands, it earns spot #2, which is really darned good. Having never played the original Nier, nor the Drackengard series before it, you can imagine how in for a surprise I was when I started up Nier: Automata. I'd never really had much of an interest in it, but after a friend recommended it to me, I tried out the demo and fell in love with the smooth combat. After purchasing the game, I knew for sure that it would end up high on the list, and given its quality, it's no surprise to me that I was correct. Where do I even begin with something like Nier: Automata? I suppose for starters, despite its relatively small map, it's been a long time since I've seen a game as content-rich as this. There are 26 different endings (one for each letter of the alphabet), a max of 5 of which are the result of the main story quests. At the time of writing, I've only gotten a total of maybe 5 (two of which weren't story based). In addition to the wealth of endings, there are several quests to take on, weapons to acquire and upgrade, locations to discover, and machines to talk to. I simply can't imagine how much work it would take to 100% this game. All of this would be for nothing if the game itself weren't a complete joy to play, though. Every weapon works a little differently, and while your play style isn't actually going to vary too much depending on the weapon you choose, the specific animations that play out will definitely change. In other words, not only is the gameplay a joy, there's as much variety in the look and feel of the combat as there is in the rest of the game. That alone would've been enough to score Nier: Automata a place on this list. However, the quality of this game isn't exclusive to its variety and its gameplay. Automata also manages to base its story around the question of "what constitutes life?" while still having it be unique. While certainly not as much of an existential downer as Last Day of June, Automata deals in heavy existential questions itself. But what if I told you that the quality of Automata doesn't even stop there? What if I told you that every playthrough you do will be different, but in a non-randomly generated way? In order to get the full picture of Nier: Automata, you need to play at least three times, and each of those three times will be an almost completely different experience. Even after the third playthrough, it's entirely possible that your experience will continue to be different. There's just so much going on in Nier: Automata that it's easily one of this year's deepest, most content-rich games. It simply makes no sense that a game that takes as many gambles as Nier: Automata manages to succeed in every last gamble it takes, but it does. As a result, I would recommend Nier: Automata to anyone. If you like action games, if you like anime, if you like deep existential discussions, or if you don't like any of those things, I still think you'll find something to like in Nier: Automata. After all, it was this close to being my Game of the Year, and it would've succeeded, were it not for...
Game of the Year:
Yakuza 0
When it comes right down to it, Game of the Year is reserved for the game that I enjoyed the most, that I got the most fun out of, that I wanted to play the most. That game is none other than Yakuza 0. Let's start from the top, shall we? Yakuza 0's story and characters are far better than an over-the-top martial arts action game has any right to be. All of the many villains that appear in this story are effective, and the game's involved narrative about the power that real estate has to tip that balance of power among billionaires and crime lords is surprisingly compelling. Even if the story and characters weren't unbecomingly fantastic, the gameplay itself is more than worth the price of admission. Whether you take the heavy fighting style and revel in the crunch of enemy bones as you mow them down left and right with baseball bats and store signs, whether you take the middle speed fighting style and enjoy a more tactical fighting experience, or whether you take the fast fighting style and zip around the battlefield like some kind of inhuman ninja, gameplay is at all times a satisfying experience. Beyond the story, characters, and gameplay, the game presents you with so much that you can do to pass the time. The example that I always use is the evening that I spent my entire time for the night simply mastering every last one of the disco dances because I was just that compelled by the dancing minigame. Well, there are many more examples. I spent a total of three nights of gameplay just playing the poker minigame as Majima. I lost so many yen in those games, but I was just having that much fun with the experience. Another night, I went around Sotenbori as Majima doing nothing but trying out the various games in the arcades and the bars, taking note of which of them were the most fun so that I could come back and play them more later on. After all these examples had come to pass, I decided that it was time to once again rededicate myself to the story. Thus, I carved out a full Saturday starting at around noon and going until around 10 at night to do nothing but the story. However, then I made the unfortunate decision to do one of Kiryu's real estate missions. Soon, 10:00 at night came around, and I had made my way through most of the real estate subplot, but I hadn't done any story at all. The next day, I once again spent the full day doing the real estate side quests instead of the main story, in spite of my protestations. Throughout the next week, I continued to ignore my own demands to finish the game and get my review out. When I finally forced myself to continue in the story, I was still having as much fun as I'd been having with the side activities. Every living second of this game is a joy to play, and it all culminates into what I consider to be a beautiful ending. After finishing the game and writing my review, I went back into my save data just before the climax and started playing around in the city once again. Even once the credits had rolled, I couldn't resist the lure of going back to karaoke, of going back to the disco, of trying to resolve the game's many side quests. Even as I write this, I'm listening to one of Kiryu's karaoke songs on repeat. This game simply captivated me to a degree that I haven't seen since last year's Game of the Year, Doom, so it's really no surprise. Yakuza 0 is the gift that keeps giving, and every aspect of it is brilliant and enjoyable, even with an odd amount of variety in cutscene types and some last-generation textures. As I mentioned at the start of this entry, my pick for Game of the Year has to be the game that I had the most fun with, that I enjoyed the most. Whether or not it's well made or not is completely beside the point. It just so happens that my absolute favorite game of this year also manages to be well-made in nearly every aspect. In case you haven't yet figured it out, not one game this year comes with as strong as recommendation as Yakuza 0. Its story is brilliant. Every character is strong. Its gameplay, no matter which style you choose, is always satisfying and only continues to grow in how satisfying it is as you upgrade your style of choice. Regardless of whether you're doing the main quest, side quests, or just screwing around in Kamurocho or Sotenbori, you're going to find yourself having an ab-so-lute blast if you're anything like me. I've had the sneaking suspicion that this was going to be my Game of the Year, and as it turns out, the numbers from the empirical method I use back up that suspicion. As 2017 comes to a close and 2018 appears on the horizon, I'm proud to name Yakuza 0 as The Right Trigger Game of the Year for 2017.
Well folks, that does it for 2017. I hope you had a great year, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what 2018 has in store for us! Feel free to drop a comment with your "best of" lists, or if you're a fellow critic, feel free to leave me a link to your stuff so I can go out and support other small timers like myself.
Thanks so much for stopping by, and I'll see you in the first review of 2018!
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