I really shouldn’t be making a habit of posting these 2 months after the previous year has finished…

Despite my best efforts to really, truly, get back into the 1 game per week rhythm I still managed to only play 43 games last year (1 up from last year). My list of games I didn’t get around to is about as long as it was the years previous although, to be honest, most of them were missed deliberately. Unlike like the last few years I really don’t have a problem with crowning this year’s winner, even with 4 titles vying for the top spot. However it wasn’t always so as I went back and forth over which title should take the crown for a good part of last year. In retrospect now, and by looking at the scores it’s quite clear that there’s only one title it could be.

For reference here’s the list of every game I played last year in chronological order:

It is my not-so-guilty pleasure to assign last year’s worst game to none other than Space Hulk: Deathwing, my second game for last year. I went into that game with no real expectations; I simply hoped for another semi-decent Warhammer 40K game. What I got instead was a slow moving borefest that made the ultimate 40K fantasy, the one of being a Space Marine, a tiresome affair. I’m definitely not alone in thinking this either with 43% of owners simply not playing it and, for those who do, half of them have played less than 2 hours. Coming in at a very close second was STRAFE which proved that nostalgia can only take you so far, especially with “old school” 3D graphics. Thankfully both these titles have been overshadowed by the numerous better games I played last year and there’s a couple that fit into the honourable mention category.

This is likely going to land me in some very hot water but Star Wars Battlefront 2, yes that one, gets a mention as since it’s released I’ve poured some 100+ hours into the multiplayer. A small chunk of that came during the review and I was almost set to put it down until the holiday period came along. It was then that the Christmas Noobs flooded the servers, providing an incredible hunting ground for those like me who had unlocked some decent star cards. That then grew into a love for the base game and I’ve since unlocked all heros and topped the servers dozens of times over. To be sure the issues around microtransactions and progression tied to loot boxes still exist however, now that I’ve basically got everything I need, it’s a non-issue for me. Funnily enough had I shelled out cash to get to this point earlier I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. Still it remains one of my guilty pleasures, much like Call of Duty used to be.

I also want to mention Pyre as it’s a rare example of a company taking a massive risk when it comes to changing what they do. Whilst I didn’t score it as highly as Transistor it did stick in my mind as one of last year’s more unique experiences. For Supergiant games it signals something of a turning point, one which frees them from the shackles they so lovingly crafted for themselves. Their future is incredibly bright and I can not wait to see what comes from them next.

But enough beating around the bush, my Game of the Year for 2017 is:

Zelda: Breath of the Wild was destined for great things right from the beginning. A new Zelda game on a new Nintendo console is basically guaranteed to be a hit but the changes to the core Zelda formula could have swung either way. Thankfully what we got was an absolutely amazing game, one that managed to grow the franchise beyond the constraints that came from the decades of titles that preceded it. The fact that even after some 30+ hours the game could still surprise me says a lot about the game as there aren’t many that can remain new and fresh for that long. There are some small chinks in its near-perfect armour however, namely the weapon durability system which made some of the game’s more interesting and unique finds less useful and enjoyable than they could have been. Even that small flaw melts away in the face of the grander experience that the game puts forward. Honestly whilst my Nintendo Switch may sit not 3 feet away from me, still unused since I played Zelda last, I still consider it money well spent simply for the purpose of playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Coming in at a very close second was Horizon: Zero Dawn. Given that I played it immediately after Zelda it could have easily have been overshadowed but it managed to shine extremely brightly. For a long time after I finished it I was tossing up which of them was the better of the two games. On a raw score perspective Zelda wins, so you’d think that would seal it, but Horizon is a completely new IP and doing something new like that (and doing well at it) could be argued is the greater achievement. In the end Horizon had a few more black marks against in terms of overall experience but make no mistake, it’s still one of last year’s top tier games.

In third place is Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, which continued the series’ trademark classic shooter experience in a modern context. It also gets extra points for presenting the most captivating story experience in the series to date. Some of the mistakes of the past still haunt it but, at least for this old reviewer, it proved itself to be the best game in the series to date.

If my list of games to review is anything to go by 2018 is shaping up to be quite the year. Many of the developers who I’ve previously given Game of the Year to are releasing new titles this year and I’m eager to see how they all stack up.

Games

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About the Author

David Klemke

David is an avid gamer and technology enthusiast in Australia. He got his first taste for both of those passions when his father, a radio engineer from the University of Melbourne, gave him an old DOS box to play games on.

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