2017 saw many great games, however it wasn’t short on disappointing games either. Some were great concepts while others just failed to live up to the hype. Let’s take a look at some of the best and worst 2017 had to offer.
List of games that scored maximum points
Playerunknowns Battlegrounds — PC, Xbox One
It’s still far from polished, but with the game finally out of early access, the multiplayer phenomenon most definitely deserves a spot on the list as one of the best games of 2017. While the Battle Royale genre is nothing new, PUBG learns from other games and gives you an epic and exciting experience every time you live. Jump into 100 player servers as you scavenge for weapons while moving to the centre of play zone, last man standing wins. Play alone, team up with a friend for duos or get a squad of up to four players!
Persona 5 — PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3
Persona 5
Persona 5 had the impossible job of living up to the expectations set by years of hype and good word of mouth. When the game finally came out, it not only managed to exceed them, but did so with so much confidence and swagger that we had no idea when or how we became addicted. Before we knew it, we were captivated by the world and its characters, planning our days or even weeks in advance to make optimal use of our time. Most importantly, it built upon the previous games in meaningful ways by introducing fully designed dungeons and better implementation of the social link system. The main theme of teenagers rebelling against corrupt adults holds true for the world we live in, while its sense of style made every combat encounter or even navigating the menus a delight. It also happens to have arguably the best soundtrack of this generation. Persona 5 is one of the most unique and special games to come in recent years that will stay with you long after you have finished the 100 hour long journey.
Nier Automata — PC, PlayStation
Nier Automata
One of the year’s unsung heroes when it comes to games was Nier Automata. This game took everyone by complete surprise and ended up being one of the best games of 2017 by far. Set in a dystopian future the story revolves around the relationship between two androids and how they perceive the events and motivations of a catastrophic war between human and robots. The growth of the main characters during the course of the story, them finding out all is not how it seems, and the fact that your actions with the information presented has at least six possible endings (that we know of) makes Nier one of the most unique and engaging games of the year.
Horizon Zero Dawn — PlayStation 4
Horizon Zero Dawn — PlayStation 4
Horizon Zero Dawn is one of the few open world games that excels at both combat and narrative. While its design blueprint can be found in many games of this genre, rarely have all aspects been of this high quality. For a developer, known for making linear FPS, to nail so many elements of open world games on their first try is remarkable on its own; but they went one step further and designed a battle system that makes each encounter extremely dynamic and memorable. Horizon Zero Dawn shows excellence in multiple departments whether it is story, combat, graphics, animations, writing or music. It is not only a ‘best of’ collection of the open world action-RPG genre, it is the showpiece of big budget games for this console generation.
List of games that didn’t impress
Star Wars Battlefront II
Star Wars Battlefront II
We had hoped that DICE would learn valuable lessons from 2015’s Battlefront and implement them in its sequel, to an extent they did. Battlefront II had more robust multiplayer offerings in addition to a full single player campaign. But the end result was a mess of components that neither gelled well together nor were they any good on their own. The shooting still did not feel great and the disastrous story mode can be easily labelled as one of the worst FPS campaigns of this generation. It was also the centre of a massive controversy regarding lootboxes, as the game was designed to make players grind for dozens of hours in order to unlock their favourite characters.
Mass Effect Andromeda
Mass Effect Andromeda
Due to the relatively small amount of gameplay footage shown at events, there was a lot of concern leading up to the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda. Strangely enough, combat ended up being the best part of one of Bioware’s weakest games. Open world games had undergone dramatic changes this generation and having massive maps with tons of quests was no longer enough. This is exactly the mistake Andromeda made. In addition, the cast itself was boring and players had a hard time connecting with the lead characters. The quality of writing was also consistently poor and the game launched with an astounding number of bugs, probably the most for a big budget game since Assassin’s Creed Unity. With EA now putting the franchise on hold, we can safely say that the Mass Effect brand is forever tarnished.
Lawbreakers
LawBreakers
The highly anticipated shooter from Cliff Blezinsky(Gears of War) was supposed to shake up the multiplayer landscape with its focus on movement and verticality. A sort of FPS MOBA combined with a lot of jumping. While it definitely got some things right, the constant emphasis of movement and combat was something that didn’t sit down too well with everyone, especially on some classes. Despite a disappointing launch year, the games developers are keen to keep the game alive and can hopefully turn things around in 2018.
Need For Speed Payback
Need For Speed
The go to franchise when it comes to racing games, Need For Speed is in a bit of an identity crisis. At this point what haven’t they tried to restore the former king of racers to is rightful place. The latest edition was supposed to bring in a story driven narrative to an open world racer and while it was definitely an enjoyable story the amount of grinding required to progress really puts you off. Having to concentrate on upgrading just your main car to progress defeats the purpose of giving you access to hundreds of cars and customisations. It comes nowhere near the likes of Forza Horizon that offer freedom, great driving and a lot of great cars.
