Our Top 10 games for 2017
Assassin’s Creed Origins
I’m as surprised as you are. I was excited about the new Assassin’s Creed from the moment word slipped out it would be taking place in Egypt. Ancient Egypt is a sort of a pet subject for me, something I enjoy reading and learning about. Even ignoring that, though, Assassin’s Creed Origins offers up some of the best exploration of the year, topping even Horizon Zero Dawn in terms of giving us an open world that’s fun to just wander around in and check out every detail. Few open worlds have felt alive in quite the same way Assassin’s Creed Origins‘ take on Ptolemic Egypt does. I do know, though, that this is the first time since Assassin’s Creed 2 that I’ve spent the time to explore every location I could find and complete every activity I could.
Cuphead
You kind of don’t even need to play Cuphead to understand why it belongs on this list. For a game so hyped, it wouldn’t have been a big surprise to see it tank when it didn’t live up to expectations but… it actually did. Seeing what people wanted from the game, the Cuphead team rolled back its initial plan and refocused development, coming back with a brutally difficult platformer that happens to be the prettiest game of the year.
In an age when so many games take shortcuts to make visuals work, the Cuphead team did everything the hard way. Everything was animated by hand, and it was done “straight ahead†style, meaning that the animators drew every frame of animation you see in the game, rather than using keyframes to make it look like that without actually doing it. Tens of thousands of frames of animation make up the game, and it’s worth highlighting simply as a modern marvel of game design just for that reason. If you have an Xbox or a Windows 10 PC, you owe it to yourself to check this game out.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Post-Apocalypse. Alongside ‘Zombies,’ it’s one of the most tired words in gaming right now. With a slight tweak, though, we can make it exciting again: Post-Post-Apocalypse.
The world’s death is old hat in video games, but the world being reborn has barely been touched.
As Horizon Zero Dawn begins, we have an idea that we’re probably on Earth, but something happened. Something sent us back to the stone age. And now, giant mechanical beasts roam the earth. That simple difference sets up one of the most interesting game worlds and game stories of the year.
Horizon Zero Dawn is, simply put, one of the best new game properties in years, and easily my personal favorite new series from this year. Guerrilla, known previously for the grimdark Killzone shooters packed with dirty sci-fi men, made a bright, beautiful, and mysterious world. Then they filled it with beasts that are fun to fight, dungeons that are fun to explore. Then, they gave us a character that was a joy to both play as and to learn about with Aloy. The game has its hiccups here and there, but Guerrilla seems to have learned from its predecessors when building an open world and managed to build one of the best worlds around.
In a year packed with great games, Horizon Zero Dawn is among the best games out there.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
It won Game of the Year and has been praised by fans and critics alike. So, what else can be said about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? Nintendo promised an open world Zelda experience and delivered a tour de force, complete with cooking, unforgettable characters, and a rich, vibrant world to explore. Best of all, Breath of the Wild let players do what they wanted, when they wanted, while offering a stiff challenge to boot. Zelda games simply don’t get better.
NieR:Automata
Our own Ron Duwell pegged NieR as a new classic right away when he reviewed it earlier this year, and its reputation has only grown since then. Ron was ready back in March, while we were deep in the fog of the Switch release, to call it one of the best games of the year.
“Yoko Taro’s storytelling, PlatinumGames’ hardcore action, and Square Enix’s localization decisions†took what should’ve been merely a “sleeper hit to a cult-favorite game†to new heights, signaling a return to form for one of our favorite Japanese publishers.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
No other game this year was as popular (or as surprising) as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. It overtook the Steam charts and surpassed 20 million sold—all before leaving Early Access. There’s simply never been anything like it. The Battle Royale-style title offers tense, heart-pounding gameplay as players fight to be the last man standing. With new maps, weapons, and refinements on the way, it’s very possible PUBG will continue to dominate into 2018 and beyond.
Article source: https://www.technobuffalo.com/2017/12/30/2017-top-10-video-games/