Games Played in 2017 (Ranked)
Games I played in 2017, ranked! Note that they don't have to be games that came out in 2017! This year was so incredible that it's honestly hard to rank a lot of them above the other, but a lot of these games mean the world to me!
27 Games
At this point in 2017, I was already hooked into Persona. Two or three years before, I had gone through Persona 3 and 4, essentially changing my entire perspective on anime in general. Never had I become so obsessive over a series. It's a series that hooked me in with it's psychological examination, deeply interwoven themes, and it's stellar gameplay. So I would constantly read up on everything about the game, rewatch the trailers, and even purchased a Japanese copy. I had zero doubt that even if the game wasn't everything I wanted, I'd still probably love it. And almost unsurprisingly, it exceeded almost every expectation I had and then some. I still love 4 more, mostly due to structure and overall vibes that Persona 4 had given me, but Persona 5 is such an amazing game that it's almost neck and neck.
1
I had been waiting for this game for years. A return to the sandbox Mario that I loved was such a triumphant return to form. For my first playthrough, I felt a little bit disappointed from the structure of the game not letting you complete everything within a level all at once. But as I've replayed it, I've grown to appreciate this and actually understand it. It's probably the best 3D Mario game to date, though I will always have a soft spot for Sunshine and 64.
2
After seeing that a sequel to Nier was being made, especially by Platinum games, I had decided to finally dive into the Yoko Taro rabbit hole. I ended up finding out that, despite the many flaws that Nier has, it is a game that I unabashedly adore. It's such a fantastic little story, with such a vibrantly interesting world, and it plays with player expectations in such an interesting way.
3
I'm sorry, but I'm a Danganronpa apologist. I absolutely adore this series, and this game in particular provides some of the best cases within the entire franchise. The ending is polarizing, with good reason, but to me, I believe that it fits Danganronpa as a series like a glove, and is in part something I myself thought about while going through this series. I'm sure people might disagree with me, but at the end of the day, Danganronpa V3 is a fascinating game.
I hope Danganronpa stays dead.
I hope Danganronpa stays dead.
4
My first Suda 51 game, and at the time, I ran into a lot of the same issues that most people when they first played it back in 2007 experienced. A lot of the game can feel like padding, with the open area gameplay and the mandatory work mini-games not being very engaging. But as I've replayed the game, I've learned to appreciate these aspects of the game much more, and I've ended up loving the game even more on repeated playthroughs. It's a great gateway into Suda 51's entire game library.
5
There's a lot of contention about NMH2 by Suda fans, given that it wasn't primarily directed by Suda himself. There's a lot of little things missing from the original game that people tend to love. To me, while I can agree with those issues taking place, I still fucking love No More Heroes 2. I think the gameplay is great, the music is top notch, the bosses and environments are some of my biggest favorites in the entire series, and I think even the story is fun.
6
Such a bizzare experience under Suda 51's belt. There's a lot left out of the game to give context to the story, but it leaves a lot to the imagination in such an interesting way. Not to mention just how atmospheric and mechanically interesting it tends to be. What a weird little game.
7
Such a comfy little game that puts a smile on my face! Been thinking about just how much of a simple but interesting concept this game is for a while, and I think Matthewmatosis put it best when he said that there's not a lot of games out there where the focus isn't on killing, but instead on rather something simple. Such a nice, weird little game.
8
A celebration to the 3D platformer! A game I backed because I was so starved for 3D platformers, and it was one of the only games I backed that I ended up really enjoying! I do think the game takes a bit too many concepts and inserts them into the game, but it's such a rather fun experience that nails it's execution that I don't really mind that it's that.
9
The legendary first game in the Ace Attorney series! I tend to prefer the weirdness of Danganronpa, but Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright is such a landmark game for the VN genre, and it's a thrilling ride the entire way through. The way the game presents itself, along with it's story, is incredibly engaging, and the music helps sore these moments to extreme highs.
10
As a sequel to Nier, Nier: Automata gets a lot right. It's probably, more objectively, the better of the two games, and it's no wonder this launched Yoko Taro into the gaming landscape. Although I haven't played both of theses since 2017, I remember the story to the original Nier hitting me a lot harder than Automata's, as well as the music being not as memorable as that original game's soundtrack. But all of these things could change with a second playthrough of each. Automata is a wonderful game, with a wonderful story, and a legendary final boss.
11
God Hand is insane! Genuine insanity! One of the most complex fighting systems I've ever seen, with one of the most fucking insane stories I've ever seen to a game. Super tough game, but a game that rewards experimentation. I've only left it on that one playthrough, but god, should I replay this game.
12
Cuphead is another challenging game from this year! A really cool boss rush style game with a few Contra levels mixed in. Beautifully animated too! Amazing music as well! Good game!
13
A step down from the original 2 in terms of pure gameplay, but an otherwise really cool 3rd person shooter, with an interesting art direction and story.
14
Sly 3 is my favorite of the Sly Trilogy. It's a culmination of everything Sucker Punch did before this, and as a game, i think it's just more fun than 1 or 2.
15
I tend to prefer the sort of railroad-ness of the original Sly game over the direction that Sly 2 tended to take. I'm not really sure why that changed for 3, but I ended up preferring this game over 2, which is usually the fan favorite.
16
I think the change to the game to be more focused on setting up the heist ended up drawing lesser gameplay styles into focus, and I think they refined those gameplay styles in 3 to be more fun. But I dunno, it could just be that I expected 2 to be something it wasn't.
17
Ape Escape 2 was my first Ape Escape game, and I had a lot of fun with it at the time! I think in retrospect of playing the other two games in the series it's the weakest entry, but it's still a fun time!
18
A bizzare little puzzle game with an interesting story. I'm not a big fan of these types of puzzles, but I had fun with this one. Had a nice vibe to it.
19
I'm not a fan of 2D Sonic games, and after playing and replaying Sonic Mania, I've sort of come to understand why? It's mostly just that the design to these games aren't what appeal to me as a gamer.
20
Splatoon 2 is fun! It's just that after playing the game so often, it tends to not be as fun. A lot of the weapon balancing in the game frustrated me, and it never really improved on Splatoon 1's mechanics within the multiplayer. Still, a fun game.
21
A bit of a cool character action game. It's kind of a watered down Suda experience, but it's cool at times.
22
A very unnecessary sequel that I don't think I remember much about it! Still fun though, if I remember right.
23
A fun and clever experience, but it's hardly something you could experience twice. Not that that necessarily makes it bad, but it's just that it's not as memorable to me or impactful to me as a result.
24
I haven't spoken to the creator of the game in a long time, but we used to talk from time to time. Playing it was alright. I'm not a fan of 2D Sonic, and the difficulty towards the end of the game was a bit too brain dead simple, but Lake already knows all this. Still have yet to try any of the other games from him.
25
A cool vibe of a game, but fairly disappointing with its execution. Had some fun with it, vibed hard to the atmosphere, but overall just kind of okay.
26
I do not like Dark Souls 2. I don't like that the game takes "old school game design" in a more accurate approach to some of the worst elements of those old school games. A lot of the mechanics are needlessly annoying. In fact, a lot of the game is just kind of annoying to playthrough. Probably not a game that's necessarily bad, but a game I dislike regardless.
27