Best Games Of 2017
As we approach the final quarter of 2017 we take a look at this year's top video games so far from January all the way til now, but there's more months to go yet and hopefully more deserving of shout outs.
January
• Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
The return of the horror survival series Resident Evil and it goes back to its creepy roots with the very atmospheric and rather claustrophobic trip to a derelict plantation in Louisiana. Ethan Winters is a nobody civilian without fancy S.T.A.R.S. training or anything like that and finds himself in serious danger while he tries to find his wife. It's a great revival of first-person horror.
February
• Horizon: Zero Dawn
Despite being the very first action RPG set in an open world from Guerilla Games, the adventures of Aloy in Horizon: Zero Dawn has been an eye-opener for all the right reasons. It's set in a future where Earth fell to mankind's folly with Artificial Intelligence that plunged the world into a post-Apocalypse. It's a beautiful world full of tribal societies going about their days and at times making sense of the 'Old Ones' who once ruled the world with their mighty machines.
Aloy goes on an adventure trying to figure out a new threat and stalks and hunts her way across the land inhabited by lumbering robotic 'creatures' that act almost like animals, from herd to predator. Its combat, visual fidelity, rich story line and unique take on a futuristic fallen Earth make it a gem of 2017.
March
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Aside from heralding the arrival of the Nintendo Switch, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a return to glory for Link who was back with a fresh heroes journey in a new and wide-open world to explore. You could take a leisurely stroll through the game world and find everything it had to offer as well as plunge into more familiar territory with dungeons. Breath of the Wild was a true breath of fresh air for the Zelda series.
• Mass Effect Andromeda
A contentious entry given the troubles with BioWare's latest in the much loved sci-fi RPG franchise, but Mass Effect Andromeda still managed to pull a mention thanks to what ambitions it did have and managed to land safely. While the trilogy shenanigans of Commander Shephard and the Normandy crew are notably absent, the Ryder twins and their A.I. buddy SAM were busy pathfinding a whole new galaxy of trouble in Andromeda.
Best laid plans rarely survive contact with the enemy and those golden worlds are in need of some serious work to make habitable for Milky Way colonists. While not having the strongest story, Mass Effect Andromeda still has its moments particularly when dealing with your Pathfinder crew and exploring new worlds.
• NieR: Automata
Android-on-machine violence is the conflict of the day now on Earth in this dystopic future where mechanical beings have driven humanity from the world. 2B, 9S and A2 are sent by the human resistance to lead a counter-offensive and hopefully deal a blow to the invaders. Action-packed battles across a beautifully desolate open-world with a power story and intriguing characters - what's not to like?
April
• Persona 5
Just like most remember their high school days, you spend time with those who matter most in your life to forge bonds and great power to fulfil your destiny! Then fire up your Metaverse Navigator app and get ready to infiltrate the surreal worlds of Palaces created from the hearts of corrupted adults. Using the power of Persona you steal the distorted desires of their hearts to reform society at large.
Almost universally acclaimed as one of the greatest RPGs ever made.
May
• Prey
While the original vision of Prey's sequel didn't ever see the light of day, Arkane Studio's spin on the sci-fi horror series is one that left an impression. We're aboard the TALOS 1 space station dedicated to research and development in this alternate future. Soon enough we realise there's something very wrong and before you know it even the most mundane of objects could be an enemy. Did that toilet roll just move? Was there always two lamps on my desk? Shoot'em just to be safe.
It had a very addictive set of player abilities and perks to unlock as you went about trying to survive the calamity aboard TALOS 1, with the option to even embrace some very alien powers to keep your edge. Few games make coffee mug mimicry both an art form and a deadly offensive manoeuvre in battling aliens.
June
• Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
A real blast from the console platforming past and with little in the way of mercy for jumps that don't quite make it. It's as close as any could expect to get of the original experiences from Naughty Dog without feeling like yours eyes will get poked by all those jaggy PSone-era graphics. This is practically required gaming for any PlayStation fan old and new but not for the easily frustrated.
Check back for more video games of 2017 as we keep compiling the list with hopefully more to add from the final quarter of the year.