Was 2017 a good year in gaming?

[FraRPetO]

Has 2017 been a good year for gaming and are you satisfied with the games?

So, a lot of things happened this year.

Nintendo launched the hybrid console/handheld and showered us with big games here and there.

Amethyst finally launched E17, but people like me are still wondering when it will be completed.

Lootboxes and microtransactions proved to be a big part of gaming this year, and was a popular topic on the internet to say the least.

It's been a while since this gen of gaming has been this interesting. It's arguably a golden age of gaming. Except lootboxes are a thing.

But are lootboxes okay if it's just cosmetics? Some may say yes, but in my opinion, Super Mario Odyssey proved why lootboxes shouldn't be necessary. Maybe acceptable for free-to-play games, but who am I to say which is the right thing for gaming or entertainment as a whole.

Anyhow, I wanted to recommend my favourite games this year and talk about why I enjoyed them. Also I was bored and wanted to get this subforum a bit more lively.

 

First game I want to recommend is Cuphead. This game is a 2D run and gun platformer which focuses on boss battles.

The art and music of this game is heavily inspired by the 30's era of cartoons and jazz music.

I enjoyed this game because the bosses are challenging, I feel satisfaction every time I beat a boss, and the artwork really makes it feel like I'm playing a cartoon.

What really makes this interesting is that the developer of this game, Studio MDHR, is a small company by close relatives and friends who shared a dream of making a great game for gamers to enjoy and succeeded.

 

When Super Mario Odyssey was first announced, I had high expectations for it.

The game is about, of course, saving Princess Peach. But that's not all. You have to travel the world to do so.

What made me enjoy it is the incredible amount of moons which are achieved by solving simple, yet fun, puzzles scattered everywhere you go. The game is pretty simple, but the controls and mechanics are deep and opens up many stuff to do because of the addition of Mario's new companion; Cappy.

This game is literally for everyone. Casuals, speedrunners, completionists, young whippersnappers and old timers will definitely have a very enjoyable experience playing this game.

 

Do you like justice, but are you also the rebellious type? Then Persona 5 is for you.

In this game, you get to be a transfer student in a new high school after being falsely accused for assault. Make new friends, develop social skills and discover a new world where you can serve justice in your own way.

What I liked about this game is how the characters are written, they have their own struggles and interests that makes learning more about them fun. Dungeon crawling and turn-based combat is also well done and enjoyable.

 

What really surprised me this year in gaming is Doki Doki Literature Club!.

Do you like anime? Do you like cute girls? Maybe this game is perfect for you. But the game isn't as simple and plain as it seems for people who may not be into dating simulators or visual novels.

Here you get to join a literature club and interact with cute girls and learn more about their stories. Which girl will you get to know more about?

It offers very well written story with deep and interesting twists. As a fan of visual novels, this game nailed how the gaming as a media differs from other kinds of entertainment like books and movies. It's my personal Game of the Year 2017.

Also, not very suitable for children or people who get disturbed easily.

Petition for ame to play DDLC on stream.

https://ddlc.moe/

 

Some other interesting games for me this year are: Nioh, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Breath of the Wild, Gran Turismo Sport, Finding Paradise, and Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.

What games are your favourites this year and what do you think about the events that happened during 2017?

[Dreamy]

Yea, I think it's been a good year. I haven't played a huge amount, but one game I really really enjoyed was Hollow Knight, and Pyre is another one that I'm going to start in the next few days that I'm pretty sure is going to be great. also might give DDLC a go as I've heard good things.

[Arkhi]

Hollow Knight has been a blast to play, and it is the game for which I have the most praise. It is my favorite take on a Dark Souls-inspired platformer.

[5hift]

Good games will be around every year as well as shitty ones.

 

The only problem now is the shitty games are getting hyped and backed by big-name companies before they're released, only for the consumer to realize after the game released that the game is a travesty.

 

This year the issue of microtransactions pretty much caused a peak in internet outrage as Eat Ass (EA) tried to get around the lack of a season pass of SW Battlefront II by jamming it full of P2W lootboxes.

 

From a triple game developer and a game that had so much riding on its success, this was a completely new low for the industry.

 

For this reason, I feel like the games that were released this year that were already good, just got elevated to near god-tier.
 

Zelda BOTW, Nier Automata, Resident Evil 7, Wolfenstein II, and Nioh. All these games were good, hell even amazing to begin with. Its these other shitty games contrasting with them that makes them soooo much better.

 

So yeah, 2017 was pretty good for video games.

[FraRPetO]

I've noticed Hollow Knight. I'll definitely play it next year.

Also, EA has been out of touch for a while, and I don't like their business practises. Ubisoft also did that for a while, but they're kinda going positive. I think?..

[5hift]

Nah Ubisoft, Activision, and EA have always been figuring out new ways to screw over the consumer.

 

Take a look at For Honor. More P2W items, and not to mention PEER TO PEER CONNECTIONS.

[Feskik]

Get Out Of My Head

Get Out Of My Head

Get Out Of My Head

Get Out Of My Head

Get Out  

~ gg game r8 solid 5/7 2k17

[Wolfox]

it was. many good games came out. a few amazing ones, a few less amazing ones.

[Hycrox]

what the fuck

 

not one mention of nier: automata

 

i agree with the other games tho but you fucking plebs didn't even mention the best game

 

shame

 

EDIT: nvm @5hift is ma boi. still displeased at everyone else

[DiLimiter]

I really enjoyed whatever games I got this year (mostly). There were a few that were obvious "Why did I spend X amount of money on this crap?" but for the most part, it was all pretty damn fun.

 

Breath of the Wild came out and it is honestly the first Zelda game I've ever enjoyed and completed. Not the perfect game people paint it out to be, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

 

Mario Odyssey scratched that 3D platforming itch that Yooka-Laylee failed to, despite its best efforts.

 

Horizon: Zero Dawn was...alright, I guess.

 

Tekken 7 came out and reminded me that good triple-A fighting games can be still be made.

 

Battle Chef Brigade was surprisingly fun and I recommend anyone with a Switch and/or a PC to get it.

 

And finally, Persona 5 was my first Persona game and I'm planning on going back to do a 2nd run through after I beat a few other things that have been on the back burner. My Game of the Year personally.

 

Obviously those were not all of the games I've bought and played, just the more notable ones. 

 

And I'm actually really happy about all the controversy that revolved around the lootbox system and stuff like that. I'm glad that lootboxes are now associated with gambling in the public eye and, honestly, that's how they should be seen. I hate that garbage and I was one of those people of used to play games like Smite that had that type of system in place. Yeah, I bought into it. I'm not into it anymore and I'm ashamed that I even spent money on it in the first place. We need stuff like that to get rid of these kind of stupid systems. And I do realize that these systems will never truly go away until there's some serious legislation or something along those lines put into place, but this was a good start.

 

[Wendel]

Short answer: Yes

Long answer: Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees

 

>No one even mentioned Xenoblade

 

Shame on all of you.

 

The Switch be gr8 man \o/

 

2k fucked up badly with wwe on it tho, it's just terrible

[FraRPetO]

I actually wanted to play Nier Automata short after it came out, but I had too many games to play at that time.

Xenoblade, Arms, Mario and Rabbids.. It goes to show that Nintendo did something right with the launch year line up and so on. Hopefully next year will be as good as 2017, or better.

[Dreamy]

I've really wanted to play Neir: Automata ever since FFBE did a collab event and introduced me to the soundtrack and some characters, but sadly I don't have a good enough computer right now, nor a console (and apparently the PC version has a bunch of issues anyway because the publishers didn't give a shit about the port quality)

[Maelstrom]

I feel like the Switch is WAAAAY over-hyped.

 

What did the switch get:

Splatoon 2. Neat I guess. I'm sure they added more stuff from the original, but I got burned out of the original. I'm sure it's a good game worth getting if you bought a switch, but not something that made me very excited.

BotW. exceedingly overrated. Empty open world with the usual shallow, short LoZ story and simple gameplay. You compare it to something like the Witcher... BotW looks like a game for toddlers.

Arms. the new splatoon for nintendo, it probably has deeper gameplay than it first appears, but that's not saying much. It also looks like a lot of fun but also another game that can lose its charm relatively quickly. Catches the eye but doesn't really give me that 'long term gaming' feel.

Mario Odyssey. A legitimately good looking game that looks like even I might have fun with it, and I've long since grown tired of platformers both 2d and 3d. Doesn't look difficult but the variety of gameplay and abilities that the one new gimmick gives provides a lot of breadth if not a whole lot of depth. A fun, casual time to be had.

A ton of Ports. Ports of old games that have been floating around for quite a while on other systems, some of 'em seemingly since forever *coughskyrimcough*. It's a mixed bag of stuff you've probably already played. Would not buy a switch to rebuy these games.

 

Other things...

 

Cuphead- I personally don't understand the huge draw to it. Old style is the new style and fashion/taste is cyclical. Gotcha. Tell me if I wrong but it looks like metroidvania/megaman reskin, with all the charm and depth is in the skin. Take away the visual style and analyze the gameplay and mechanics without it and... idk, it just looks samey to me. The second coming of metal slug maybe? like platformers, 2d platforming shooters are games I haven't been able to enjoy in a long time. It looks different from what is the norm... but it doesn't play any different. snooze.

[Shamitako]

I only really care about four or five games that came out this year (if that) and have only played one or maybe two. Still, me being a picky twat that's still playing games from 2013 doesn't change the fact that a lot of great stuff happened this year in the gaming world.

 

But also EA so this year is obviously terrible too. owo

[Godot]

@Maelstrom Cuphead is Contra.

 

[Felicity]

This is a hard ass question tbh. There were a lot of stand out games, a lot of them showing us that devs remember that it's ok to focus on a single player campaign. That's fan-fuckin-tastic, right? As others have noted too, AAA devs have been getting "punished" in their reputation for terrible practices. The question there is if the companies see the money they earn as more valuable than their standing with the community.

 

We saw the crippling of a few franchises, ME:A may be a perfectly fine game now but it sure as shit let a lot of people down when it came out and EA also bought the studio behind Dead Space, leaving that IP in limbo until we get any information. Battlefront 2 was gimped from the outset by the substantial hate it got. Several games such as Lawbreakers just kinda slinked out onto the scene to die a death or go F2P nigh immediately.

 

Of course other franchises got huge pickups. Persona 5 released its first main series game in a decade, Metroid received a remake that brought it solidly back into the public eye and Nier came from an old PS3 cult classic to a blockbuster of the year with the backing of Platinum games. Resident Evil also found new life at the very start of the year with a return to the older brand of horror in a new first person perspective. A lot of Nintendo IPs came and reasserted themselves as mainstays in the community as well, Zelda and Mario in particular reigning from up high on their Nintendo polished thrones.

 

Other games also found themselves rising to the top of their field, PUBG took the battle royale spot and has been biting and scratching to keep it out of the hands of it's competitor Fortnite, which is known more for its F2P mode than the actual game its meant to be. Warframe has consistently been earning credibility as a grindy but fun action online game and is one of the best F2P games you can get right now, imo. In Mobile gaming I personally had a hell of a time keeping up with Fire Emblem Heroes, another franchise that saw a boost with 2 new titles besides Heroes, with its consistent content updates and balance changes and new units being added every month.

 

New IPs also made themselves known, Horizon Zero Dawn providing a breathtaking world of robot dinosaurs to hunt and conquer, Dead cells taking the roguelite indie scene by the hands and thoroughly shaking it to get all the lunch money it could to fuel its early access development and so, so many indie puzzle games that aimed to fuck with your head (Looking at you DDLC.)

 

Notable holdovers from last year includes Overwatch, still going strong with a huge playerbase and working to resolve the issues it has as well as introducing its esports league and facing the biggest content update since launch this january. League of Legends had a meta upheaval with the new Rune system (Which is ACTUALLY IMPACTFUL) that brought people back to a slightly less toxic environment as the toxic players in part fled to new games in the F2P market and were encouraged to stay nice with the new honour system that rewards skins alongside the lootbox system that now allows access to skins once left behind a paywall, provided you put in the time. Rainbow Six Siege is also going strong with a new content update for two new operators, a new map and consistent bug fixes and improvements to the game that boasts a growing playerbase higher than it was on launch.

 

The fact that so many of these games stick out to me? I think that cements 2017 as an overall good year for gaming.

[Chase]

Alright, so I'll start off by talking about a few games I have played sparingly to have yet to play.

 

1. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017)

 

I remember playing the older "Battlefront 2" for the PlayStation 2 for hours on hours. It was the first game of the series to include BOTH military eras from the Star Wars franchise (at the time, the sequel trilogy had yet to exist) with the addition of the Separatist droid army, the Grand Army of the Republic (or the Clones), and maps from that era such as Geonosis, Utapau, and Mustafar - as well as the classic Galactic Civil War maps such as Hoth, Endor, and Yavin 4, along with the Rebel Alliance and the Empire. All of the MTX hoopla that surrounds the Dice games and the heavy lean toward multiplayer play definitely has made me feel better about not even owning a current gen console - but I am missing out on the New Republic-First Order era (brought to us by 'The Force Awakens' and 2017's 'The Last Jedi') along with Resistance and First Order troops and Heroes such as Finn, Rey, and Kylo Ren. On top of that, Iden Versio's campaign and story add extra dimension and depth to the Galactic Empire that I feel compliments the "established government" well aside from the classic "thems the bad guys" take we get from the films. I don't know how it plays out - but as a huge Star Wars fan, I'm probably able to look past people trying to take my money here.

 

2. Cuphead

 

The game LOOKS pretty, and I remember reading a game reviewer slam it because he genuinely sucked at clearing the tutorial, which was amusing. I just feel like it's a sensation in the same sense that 'Bendy and the Ink Machine' (oh look, this game even features the same era Cuphead is featuring!) and 'Hello Neighbor' was this year. If you dig Indy developers a whole lot, you're going to be excited to play Indy games. I wonder how much of that is an effective hall pass. Not judging anyone for digging Cuphead though, if it's a platform gunner done right, then good for it. It just looks like a re-skinned AAA title that is holding onto Bendy's inky coattails to me though.

 

3. Nier: Automata

 

Probably the game I most wanted to play, but never got the chance to. My interest in this game though comes from a voice actor in a game I'll mention later though.

 

4. Super Mario: Odyssey

 

This game, from it's presentation, to the short time I had to interact with it, scratched my old Super Mario 64 itch. The problem is, it looks like it's the only game really worth owning a Switch for at this point - as Splatoon 2 looks like it leans too heavily on multiplayer experience and Breath of the Wild can be played on another console and seems like too much of a time sink.

 

...on to games that I did get to enjoy.

 

Fire Emblem: Heroes

 

2017 was probably the busiest year I've ever had. Between work, school, and being well behind on owning the latest consoles, I had previously opened the Fire Emblem floodgates on the most current gaming device I owned, the Nintendo 3DS, with Fire Emblem: Fates in 2016. I do not regret that decision - because in terms of "belonging to the Reborn community" - FE: Heroes was the game that solidified my being here. The mobile game features a now-two-part story with short-yet-gradually-difficult pieces of genuine Fire Emblem experience. It can be a bit predatory, as it can be difficult to get Heroes you want on limited Free orbs, but it is by no means impossible to play - even without spending anything on it. Also, comparing your barracks and builds with friends made this a 2017 highlight.

 

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

 

2017's almost over, and people somehow forgot to bring this game up.

 

In all honesty, maybe it's a bit fair. SoV was a remake of Fire Emblem: Gaiden - one of the most oddball entries in the FE franchise. However, with the gameplay and maps refurbished and most of the production placed in fully voicing the experience and fleshing out the story of Alm and Celica as well as the countries of Zofia and Rigel, the game's throwback gameplay, now 3D dungeons, and modern art and music adaptations blew me away. The post-game is also rewarding for the lorehounds - particularly with fans of the much later franchise entry that took this place by storm once - Awakening.

 

Seriously, Play this damn game already. I've already told you all like...thousands of times. I don't do it for my health.

 

Pokémon: Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon

 

The deluxe edition of Sun and Moon. If you somehow managed to miss out on Alola the first time around, these games make a strong run for best in the franchise. If you have played Sun and Moon though?...... They certainly felt too similar - and that wasn't always a good thing. Great games, but it comes down to perspective with these, big time.

 

Doki Doki Literature Club

 

Alright, so in October when this game was apparently spooping the internet - I was attending a meeting held by my university's gaming club and someone I knew offered to share with me a great visual novel after I had shown interest in the genre. He sorta glossed over the fact that this game isn't a damn visual novel, and I was SHOOK.

 

Fun story about me - I HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE horror games. HATE them. With a passion.  When Amethyst and I were a thing - she made it a point to play games of this type with me occasionally because she.....liked picking on me or something. So, When this extracurricular scaring the shit out of me happened outside of Reborn, the first thing I did was tell Amethyst about DDLC - and I wasn't the first to tell her - but that led to playing the game with her ...and having to play the game AGAIN.... to see how another of the girls' "routes" went..

 

 

(sorry person that wanted to see Ame play it on stream. I'm partially to blame for spoiling the uh.... fresh experience you might have hoped for..)

 

Anyway

 

Doki Doki would get my vote for Game of the Year. Yes. it's a horrible creation that shouldn't exist - but Team Salvato, in a game that was supposed to prey on people susceptible to the Visual Novel genre and showcase how deep it can really go - created characters that are actually surprisingly 3D despite their 2D appearance, some of the best meta-gaming experiences I've ever had, and a whole lot o lose ends as to who the girls in the Literature Club really are. As someone with a hatred for thrills and a rampant imagination, this is a game that will sick to the bone for a while. Also.. the memes are dank....

 

 

.... also, Yuri is the best girl. Fight me.

[5hift]

Lol holy shit I honestly forgot how much fun I had playing DDLC with my friends.

 

We hooked up my laptop to my friend's TV and we stayed up till like 3 AM playing this game and we were just slowly losing our minds.

 

Spoiler

My fucking friends were so reluctant to try this game since we all thought this was it was just another dating sim, so the moment we saw Sayuri fucking hanging from a ceiling we pretty much gave into playing through the entire game.

 

By far the most hilarious part was when Monika was like "Or is your name really [MY ACTUAL FUCKING NAME]" since we named the character after one of our friends as a joke. My friends were rolling around on the floor laughing and screaming and I just walked out of the fuckin room when I saw that, I was just done.

 

This game kinda changes with who you're playing it with, or if you're even playing it with anyone. I feel like I would be a lot more creeped out by the game if I were playing it by myself. But when you play with your friends, the game goes from a psychological horror to the funniest goddamn game ever.

 

[Magus]

2017 was such a great year for gaming. Too bad I didn't have time to play much. Honestly my favorite game this year was Persona 5, the only I got a PS4 was to play it underway and it was well worth it.