Topic: Your Games of the Year in 2017

I've only played games on Nintendo systems and not all of the ones I've heard good things about. Botw, Mario Odyssey, Metroid, Stardew Valley, Rocket League, Splatoon 2, Skyrim.

Not sure of order but here are some of the best I have played this year

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Sonic Mania
Torment: Tides of Numenera
South Park: The Fractured But Whole
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

GOTY for me are Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. Metroid: Samus Returns was also great and I had a lot of fun with Splatoon 2.

These are the only games I've played that were released this year. I'll go from worst to best.

5: Player Unknowns Battlegrounds. It's a lot of fun, especially with friends, but unfortunately I'm awful at it, and it just got kind of stale for me. If I wasn't awful at it, I would probably like it more.

4: Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Fantastic in some areas, and completely and utterly disappointing in others, like the story, characters, music, voice acting, side quests, enemy variety, dungeons, world, etc. (Not all of those things were "completely and utterly disappointing", but they all could have been done better) It's a really good game, but I was pretty let down at the end of the day. It had such potential to be an absolute masterpiece. It was fun, though. A solid 7.5/10

3: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. A very fun Mario Kart game, but I wish there was certain things in the game like the ability to swap between two items. Still a great game, though. I really like the large number of levels.

2: Splatoon 2. An extremely fun game that I wish I wasn't mediocre at, lol. It is kind of held back by things like Salmon Run only being available at certain times, but it's a lot of fun, and I haven't put nearly enough time into it.

1: Super Mario Odyssey. Easily my GOTY. My only complaint is that it's too much of a collectathon. The semi-lack of really unique and often weird objectives like there was in Sunshine is a pretty big disappointment, and it only makes me want a Sunshine 2 even more. Everything else is top notch though, aside from the music, which was great but not quite top-notch. Nintendo has done better in that area. Tons of fun.

9. Garou: Mark of the Wolves (Switch) - After many different attemps, I think it's just safe to say SNK fighters aren't for me. Not to say it's a bad game, because it has a definite quality, but even on the easiest difficulty I find the boss characters too much for my liking. I've worked through it with a few different characters, but I doubt I'll touch it again.

8. LittleBattlersExperience (3DS) - Not a bad game, but not great either. A serviceable JRPG for 3DS owners in the mood for something a little more sci-fi.

7. Picross e3 (3DS) - It's just more Picross, but I like it, so I enjoyed going through it.

6. Senran Kagura: Burst (3DS) - It may get a little (okay, a lot) repetitive, but I enjoyed the cast, and my goodness it has a shipload of content (a real steal at $20, honestly). I'll definitely check into whatever entries Switch gets, spin-off or otherwise.

5. Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS) - Really solid adventure that brought in some great QOL upgrades, and while it's definitely a solid game, it lacks an "it" factor, IMO.

4. Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero (Switch) - The art direction in this was great, the characters are delightful, and the gameplay is really solid, but like the Samus Returns, I feel like it lacked a certain "it" factor to keep it from greatness.

3. Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS) - TBH, I was absolutely stunned by this game. The classic Kirby gameplay is as solid as ever, but the Robobot is also a really neat twist, and it had some awesome world/art design, and great bosses!

2. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) - What a fantastic game. It's both creative and nostalgic at the same time, with some very interesting worlds, lots to do, and even a few great bosses.

1. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (3DS) - I was really conflicted if I really wanted to place this above Odyssey, but at the end of the day I think my JRPG bias tipped this one over the edge. I was totally consumed with the game for an entire month, and even did most of the post game content.

@KirbyTheVampire I thought about listing PUBG but it's an odd one for me. I feel I shouldn't cause technically it's still not out yet. I don't like running solo and find it boring but with friends it's some of the best multiplayer I've had.

@RancidVomit86 I feel the same. I don't really think I'd have listed it if I had played other 2017 games like Horizon.

Breath of the Wild is my game of the year. It just felt sooo fresh and magical.

This year was too good to have just one GOTY for me so I'll just do a top 3-

3 - Sonic Mania, I really enjoyed this! I thought it did a good job of keeping the essence of the originals while adding new ideas.

2 - Breath of the Wild, I love Zelda games and this is isn't an exception. For the first week that played this I had that wonder that had when I played games as a young child, and I rarely feel that with a game. However I found that it wore off after a month or so, I haven't felt the need to play it much except for a week after a DLC pack releases. Still amazing though!

1 - Persona 5, I'm amazed at how much ATLUS has improved over P4G. I loved the characters, the story, the music, EVERYTHING! I liked the Tokyo from Tokyo Mirage Sessions so I LOVED P5's Tokyo. It's a really special game that rarely comes around and I was sad to see it end.

• I don't have a Switch yet but when I do I'll expect Oddysey to take 1st or 2nd place. I haven't played a ton of games this year but the ones that I have played have been really special

@Haru17 I cannot help but chuckle at seeing how much you felt let down with Breath of the Wild, seeing as I share the same view point as you do with regards to The Legend of Zelda series (although I don’t think quite so highly of Twilight Princess as you so often do). I feel a little bit reluctant about starting Breath of the Wild on my Wii U in the New Year, but we shall see how it goes!

@Switch_will_fail Perhaps I should have clarified that I do not own a Switch at present due to it only having one game that personally interests me, and that I have yet to start Breath of the Wild on my Wii U.

Even if I had played - and completed - both Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, I truly believe that my top ten wouldn’t be all that much different, with the exception of some readjusted placements.

@Peek-a-boo It's nice to know someone has a taste for my particular comedy. And yeah, I still think it's worth buying a Switch.

@Peek-a-boo Don't bother with the last Zelda. It's a pure waste of time. I would gladly drop the Link's variety of interactivities with his environment for a top notch narration like the one from Horizon Zero Dawn.
Nintendo is still stucked in the mentality of the tiranny of game designers like in the 80's when you had no idea if the game you bought played good or bad. They still haven't understand the modern industry is dominated by scriptwriters and story-tellers. Gamers want new universe, new characters, new stories, not some weird gameplay or level design experiment. All the gameplay standards have already been perfected. Videogames aren't toys anymore, they are an artistic medium. Nintendo will be outdated as long as they won't understand this.

I think sales prove you're totally wrong.

@Armbouncer I think @bitleman is right from an artistic perspective, but, yeah, complete singleplayer/narrative/linear games aren't as popular as open world and multiplayer ones.

I'd definitely feel a lot better about Breath of the Wild if it gave me any reason to give a damn narratively (or even just had an ending at launch), but the truth is it would need both the puzzle and dungeon side of the series along with a plot to add to the combat-focused content that was actually there. Maybe that's too expensive for even Nintendo to care about anymore, in which case we should really be mourning Zelda and the genre it created.

But anyway, I don't think 40 hours in Breath of the Wild are a waste of time. Completing it very much is, and that game has a bunch of little as well as systemic problems scattered throughout, but it's still 'fun' to play through and the most 3D Zelda we'll be getting until we're all five years closer to death.

@bitleman Or, you know, it's possible that the industry has enough room for "narrative" and "artistic" experiences as well as experiences that are primarily focused on being "fun" or "challenging." Maybe, just maybe, developers can and should cater to more than a single type of gamer.

Nintendo doesn't usually prioritize story in Zelda. I'm certain it was stated before that they do the story and 'lore' elements later on/last after designing the actual game itself. Basically trying to shove it in.

Whether you prefer one or the other is up to the individual, but I wouldn't say that playground games are outdated.

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As for my games of the year. I haven't played many, and I probably won't list them in a straight up order.

Super Mario Odyssey was genuinely a treat. That made me smile from start to finish, and kept me entertained. It's probably my most enjoyed game from Nintendo this year.

I started playing Bloodborne as well and I'm enthralled and frightened by it so that's also a possible choice if I keep enjoying it as much as I have so far.

Splatoon 2 is also up there. It started off pretty badly, and is only now starting to really kick off, but it's a genuinely enjoyable game despite it glaring flaws. Many of which are Ninty classics.

BotW is also a game I enjoyed playing for the most part. Similar to Splatoon 2 it has its notable flaws and includes weapon degradation to the max, which sucks as I almost always hate these types of system. Despite that, I had a fun time playing through it for the first time.

Resident Evil 7 was a blast to play, and frightened me at the beginning. In that it excited me and grabbed my attention consistently throughout it and is one of my favorite horror games in a long while.

But the future will prove me right. All the upcoming AAA games are directed by a scriptwriter, a storyteller or a guy in charge of the narrative part of the game. Nintendo is the only one left in the corner who keep giving the job of director to a game designer. And Zelda won't be a game changer. The rest of the industry understood the future of the media's creative freedom is into its narrative, not into its game design. This isn't the 80's anymore.

@bitleman This might come off as outlandish but, I think game design is a bit more important in a video game than story telling. Crazy, I know.

@bitleman As well as sales, the fact that BotW is one of the highest-rated games of all time should prove that most people disagree with you there. Nintendo is much better at game design than storytelling, so they almost always focus more on gameplay than story, and it almost always works.

I have 11 Switch games and 12 3DS games that been published in 2017, so Top 10 can be easy to say although i haven't even played most of those - my backlag is so long. Maybe i edit this post when i have clear picture.