10. Sonic Mania
It has been a long time, but Sega finally decided to listen to fans and let Sonic return to formula; Sonic Mania is just as fast and fun as Sonic games of yore. Unfortunately, by sticking too close to the source material, it drags in one of the biggest flaws of yesterday that modern games have grown out of: an obsolete lives system. I think back to Rayman Origins and Super Mario Odyssey that did away with the concept of extra lives, resulting in games that flow better and are far less frustrating to play when your time is crunched.
9. Divinity: Original Sin 2
I am starting to warm to modern CRPGs. I confess to not being a fan of older CRPGs, but sometimes the new ones hit the sweet spot. Divinity: OS2 is one of those games. The characters were fascinating, and the choices felt like they mattered. The downside is the game's bugginess, particularly in the late game. It didn’t break the game, but the bugs certainly pulled me out of it.
8. Tales of Berseria
The Tales of series is hit-or-miss for me. I either love them or hate them. This one happened to fall in the "love" column. It adds a nice spin to the standard JRPG formula by making the player characters, ostensibly, the bad guys. It is more intriguing than I anticipated. On the other hand, a lot of them sound like the kind of characters that would come out of an 11-year-old's fanfic. "I'm a loose cannon on a quest for revenge with my demon's left hand!" "I'm a pirate captain; call me The Reaper." "I'm a samurai that will never unsheathe my sword until I meet my True Rival." It's all very cringe-worthy.
7. Mass Effect: Andromeda
I know Mass Effect: Andromeda gets a lot of crap, but I feel it is undeserved. I think its biggest fault is that it has to compare itself to the might of the original Mass Effect trilogy. I, personally, see it in a better light when I compare it to the original Mass Effect. Neither game was perfect, but they were still fun, and set an amazing stage for future adventures. I can only hope EA doesn't scrap it entirely, but builds off of the groundwork, as they did with Mass Effect 2.
6. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
I am only about half-way through this game, but everything I have seen so far is amazing. Steam lists it as an action game, but I consider it more of a walking simulator with occasional fighting. You walk through an absolutely beautiful world filled with death and despair. Adding to that is the main character's psychosis, which the load screen appropriately recommends experiencing with quality headphones. It all adds to a truly spooky experience that never resorts to cheap jump scares.
5. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
This game earns Biggest Surprise of 2017. When I first saw the marketing material for a game mixing Mario with Rayman's annoying, minion-like rabbids, I shook my head in disgust. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken us?" Lo and behold, the game came out, and it was amazing. It is a deep, but not crushingly deep, strategy game that gives you just enough challenge to make you think, but not so much that you quit in frustration. All they need to do for perfection is ditch the rabbids altogether and just make it a Mario game. Please and thank you, Ubisoft.
4. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Well now, this game has won nearly every award ever created by mankind. When I glance at the roughly 145 hours I have clocked in the game, I can sort of understand. It is an amazing world to explore and goof around in. However, I don't feel it is the Second Coming of Jesus that many reviewers are declaring. It took me a while to rationalize my feelings, but I eventually come to this conclusion: Breath of the Wild is more a tool for relaxing than for explicitly having fun. There is something calming about exploring the world, but I never found myself waiting anxiously for the next moment I could steal a chance to play. A more appropriate expression would be, "oh, I have a little bit of free time, let me squeeze in a few minutes with Zelda." There's nothing wrong with that, mind you, but it does prevent it from climbing any higher on this list.
3. Assassin’s Creed Origins
It seems Ubisoft's little vacation from the Assassin's Creed series was a good decision. This world is big, and, most importantly, worth exploring. Like Skyrim, there is reason to go off the beaten path and explore various nooks and crannies. The new Ancient Egypt setting is also extremely fascinating. I often find myself walking around and just looking at all the stuff going on in the background. Farmers moving water from trenches, merchants peddling their wares, birds flying around a lily-filled river. It is all very pretty to look at. I am truly looking forward to the upcoming Tourism Mode DLC Ubisoft announced.
2. Super Mario Odyssey
I don't know how Nintendo does it, but they just know how to distill fun into a pure, addictive substance. Super Mario Odyssey is basically a perfect game, and mandates the purchase of a Switch.
1. Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight finally forced me to admit that maybe, just maybe, not all metroidvania games are trash. I am still not entirely sure how it did it. It could be the art style, which is simple yet hauntingly beautiful. It could be the tight controls that flow smoothly from movement to movement. It could be the amazing soundtrack that perfectly fits the setting. It could be the NPCs that are funny and interesting, but never annoying. Maybe it is a combination of everything. Whatever black magic Team Cherry used, Hollow Knight is one of the greatest platformers I have ever played in a long time.
