I said this in 2016, then 2016 petered out towards the end of the year.
But is it just me or is 2017 having the best start of any year in video game history?
Honestly, two of my favourite games of the last five years were released within a week of each other — Horizon: Zero Dawn And Breath of the Wild.
Then there’s the games I haven’t even had time to play: Persona 5, Nioh, Neir: Automata, Mass Effect: Andromeda.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Dawn of War 3 are coming out this week.
Lord have mercy.
I mean, at this point it looks as though we’re having one of those years. A magical year. A Mario Galaxy, BioShock, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare year. A Skyrim, Dark Souls year. A 1998, a 2004. They come around like World Cups these years. Maybe we should just hunker up and enjoy the ride while it lasts.
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21 responses to “Community Review: 2017”
I think it has something to do with the fact we don’t and have not really known what’s coming out in the short-term.
These are genuine surprises, and they are great games that maybe if we were too hyped, or had too much info about them prior to release, they wouldn’t have had the receptions they have received.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence after stuff like the No Man’s Sky-ish pre-release extravaganzas we’ve seen.
Also, the Youtuber ‘hey guys let’s play this new game’ stuff has ever so slightly been neutralised a little bit, thanks to a lot of factors, that also cuts off a lot of information streams we used to have about games not yet released.
I will never understand the hype behind Horizon. I took the day off work and sunk 10 hours into it. Its pretty good but hardly a Witcher 3. Is it because in 2017 everyone wants a female lead or????
Mebbe… though more likely people appreciate the sheer breadth of world-building Guerilla have accomplished, alongside the slick mechanics and cool monster design.
*shrugs*
Tbh, I felt basically the same until I was about 15hrs in – considered giving up on it a few times. Once I got past Meridian, and started on the main story, it hooked me for another 10-15 hours. The history of that world, and the way it gradually gets unveiled to you… brilliant and sad as hell.
For me the story and world in Horizon was much more interesting. I wouldn’t say the game is better than Witcher 3 though. I never really thought to compare them to be honest. They are both open world but Witcher 3 is more of a hardcore RPG and Horizon I’d term action/adventure with very light RPG elements.
2017 needs to pull over and stop for at least a couple of months! SLOW DOWN!!!!
I’m absolutely loving Has Been Heroes . It got a bunch of mediocre reviews, but I gave it a chance and I love it! It’s like the weird cross of Plants vs Zombies, Darkest Dungeon, puzzle game and the Active Time Battle system from FF.
I disagree, the back half of 2016 had a lot more games I enjoyed. What I recall of the first half of 2016 was really bare. Uncharted 4 I think? And that was basically it. Second half we got FFXV and The Last Guardian, both games that were far better than expected given their tortured development history.
2017 so far has been a lot of disappointment and missed opportunities for me. One game I enjoyed, one game I clocked a ton of time in despite it being objectively mediocre, and a few that just have done nothing for me, plus a really half-assed localization of a game that deserved far better. Still need to spend time with Nier so maybe that’ll turn around a little. Even then, it’s been far stronger than 2016 was.
Additionally there doesn’t really seem to be much in the pipe for the rest of 2017 for me to be particularly excited for, either. Maybe things will change post-E3.
Only game of 2017 that I’ve played is Yakuza 0. After 20 hours I’m still only maybe 15-20% through the main story because I keep getting distracted by side quests and mini-games. At the rate I’m going, it’ll probably be the only 2017 game that I play this year 😛
Holy shit 2017 is delivering faster for me than I can handle.
I’ve already been bombarded with more than I can play but that I desperately want to: Berseria, Yakuza, Nioh, Sniper Elite 4, Ghost Warrior 3, Berserk, Horizon, Torment, Breath of the Wild, Nier, Wildlands, Andromeda, Persona 5, Telltale’s GotG, Wonder Boy…
I mean for pete’s sake, in the next couple of weeks I’m staring down the barrel of DoW3, Prey, and The Surge.
Great games every week? Bloody hell, I don’t have the time or money or time, or did I mention time?
It’s been an expensive first quarter, that is for sure. For us it has been Yakuza 0, Breath of the Wild, Kingdom Hearts 2.8 and 1.5/2.5 remix, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Gravity Rush 2 and there is still Persona 5, Horizon Zero Dawn and Nier to get when I have a few more dollars. And that is just console games.
I actually mentally thanked Square Enix for Kingdom Hearts 3 not being out yet (but if they want to give us a release date or heck, even some actual NEWS about KH3 I would not be disappointed.)
I haven’t been overly excited by anything so far, but Elex is coming out this year, so it MUST be a good year!
Indeed, 2017 has been a really solid year so far. And let’s not forget that we had the Switch console launch too. I think there’s no question this momentum will sustain itself over the duration of the year.
All this talk about standout years has got me thinking: when were the particularly lean years?
The only game I’ve been remotely interested in so far is Zelda: BotW, and that’s a “eh, I might pick it up at the end of the year” kind of deal.
2017 for me is following the same disappointing trend as the last few years.
It’s looking good. Two big hitters coming up for me are Splatoon 2 and Mario. No idea which one will hit harder but am excited.
It’s been good for me 🙂
Horizon. Andromeda delivered. Prey soon. Shadow of War’s surprise announcement had me stoked. The usual Xmas time rush will no doubt net a few surprises…
Hopefully Borderlands 3? Gearbox? Are you listening?
*flutters eyelashes*
I’ve been so inundated by “Ooh, I really need to play new release X” that every time I come up for air I see two more releases I really want to play. My year thus far:
Finally got to Last Guardian in January… Destiny started winding down around then, too… oh Uncharted’s out. … Right, finished that… Ooh, Nioh looks really cool. … Right, done with that… Ooh, Horizon. … Right, done with that… Ooh, Destiny content update. … Right, that’s dropped to a few hours a week… Ooh, Nier looks interesting. … Okay, looks like I’m done with that… ooh Hacknet DLC. Right, I think I’m don- Persona 5? Okay, this will take a month or so- What, Outlast 2’s this week?! Prey’s next week?!! /o\
Zelda’s great, Switch is poo, not much on the horizon. 2017 seems pretty bleak 😛
been an absolute 0 for me so far….
Still think 2013 was the gold standard.
It was the year where great franchises continued greatness (BioShock Infinite, GTAV, Pokemon X+Y), fading franchises came back with a vengeance (Tomb Raider reboot, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, AC:IV) and indies cranked it up to eleven (Gone Home, The Stanley Parable). It saw the release of Telltale’s two best games (TWD: S2, Wolf Among Us) and one of the best pieces of DLC in Far Cry: Blood Dragon.
And on top of that it saw the release of gamechanger, Spec Ops: The Line (personal top 5 of all time) and my undisputed GOAT, The Last of Us.
Then Sony released a fantastic new console! It’s gonna take a hell of a lot to top that. As much as I loved Horizon and am enjoying Mass Effect, 2017 is not even close to reaching 2013’s pure epicness.
These new games should come with some spare time tokens.
Thimbleweed Park made me smile so much I don’t think there will be a better start to a year for quite some time…