Joseph Yaden's Top 5 Games of 2017
Written by: Joseph Yaden
2017 was one of the best years in gaming. With games like Assassin’s Creed Origins, Resident Evil 7, PlayerUnkown’s Battlegrounds, and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus, it became a time when just being great wasn’t good enough. With that, 2017 was a time where there were so many good games that I didn’t have enough time to play all of them. Still, the ones I played will stick with me. Here are my top 5 favorite games of 2017.
5. Cuphead
Not only did Cuphead live up to expectations, it exceeded them, which is a rare occurrence in this industry. Games often suffer from too much hype and fans are sometimes left disappointed. Studio MDHR did an amazing job, especially with it being their first game.
It's easy to want to jump right into how superb the art style is, but a game without solid gameplay can only go so far. Fortunately, Cuphead has the gameplay to match. The thoughtfully designed bosses, the fast paced run and gun levels, and the old school shoot em up style sections have all the makings for a Joseph game.
Also, yeah, the art style is impressive. I don't know how they pulled this off, but getting the game to feel like a 1920s cartoon, yet still keeping the frame rate to match the fast gameplay is an impressive feat.
I never thought I'd be this into a game where the main character is a cup, but thanks for proving me wrong, Studio MDHR.
4. Horizon: Zero Dawn
What's impressive about Horizon is that it blends a huge open world with an interesting story and still manages to be astoundingly beautiful. Usually a game this massive will suffer in the visual category, but Horizon is one of the most beautiful games I have played.
The gameplay loop had me hooked to the point where I couldn't put the controller down. As I kept going out and killing robot dinosaurs to gather resources to level up, it never felt like a grind, and it always felt rewarding. Many open world games lack this balance of progression and satisfaction, but Horizon does it exceptionally well.
Also, shoutout to Guerrilla Games for making a game with a strong female lead. It's a shame that we have to commend a studio for doing that, but this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully this is a sign that more developers can "take risks" and make more games with a female protagonist that isn’t overly sexualized.
3. Super Mario Odyssey
Concluding my 20 hour play-through of the main story, I had the biggest, stupidest smile on my face. Odyssey knows what it is and it does almost everything right. From the variety in level design, the gorgeous art style, to the catchy music, this will undoubtedly remain one of my fondest gaming experiences.
Without spoilers, I remember asking, "Am I still playing a Mario game?" That's because this game takes chances and throws things at us that we've never seen before in a Mario game. The ability to possess basically any creature in the game mixes up the gameplay style, especially given the vast creature selection.
Normally, I'm not too wild about 2D Mario games (Don't murder me), but the 2D style sections in Odyssey are not only welcome, but I looked forward to them.
My favorite thing about Odyssey is the way it invites players to explore. With moons hidden throughout the levels, I kept finding myself in a "one more moon" scenario more times than I should have. I can easily say that I lost sleep over this game and I'm happy to have done so.
2. Persona 5
Atlus knocked it out of the park, yet again, with Persona 5. The game has such a prominent sense of style and the developers know it. Even the title screen carries this sense of confidence that I just don't see often. The colors, music, and writing give this game such personality and it has kind of influenced the way I look at other games, for better or worse.
If I wasn't impressed enough with the art, Persona 5 grabbed me and sucked me in with its engaging gameplay. The relationship building and turn-based RPG style gameplay gives this game a dense, complete feeling. Maybe the sheer size of the game can be overwhelming to some, but I look at it as an experience to get lost in.
The fact that Atlus gives the players so much freedom says a lot about the developer-player relationship. They trust that the player will still progress though the story and the developers give hundreds of ways to do so.
I also appreciate that this game covers many uncomfortable topics and does so in a somewhat realistic way. Aside from all the weird “other dimensional” stuff, of course.
Persona 5 is gorgeous, smart, and has one of the most engaging stories I've played in 2017.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Breath of the Wild was a slow burn for me. At first, I wasn't too hot on it, but after about 6 hours, the game started to click and I fell in love.
Many people criticize the game for lacking a story or not feeling like what Zelda should feel like. As a person who is, frankly, tired of the Zelda formula and someone who doesn't usually get too invested into a game's story, I wasn't bothered by this.
Even more interesting are stories I had after my time with this open world game. For a game lacking a narrative, I was telling stories outside of the context of the game far more than I ever have, which I didn't expect. This is all due to how open ended the game is designed.
Nintendo wasn't afraid to let the player take control and be in charge of the narrative and I cannot commend them enough for that.
Being able to climb nearly everything is a feature that the series desperately needed. I liked Skyward Sword, probably more than most, but I was hoping Breath of the Wild would go in a different direction.
Yes, Breath of the Wild doesn't have the best story, but that doesn't matter because I made my own stories while playing and I think that's just as powerful, if not more.
There are so many things to mention when complimenting this game, from visuals, to the sense of progression, to the atmosphere, and ability to basically do whatever you want.
I know no game is perfect, but Breath of the Wild comes close and that's why it's my Game of the Year of 2017.
