Editorial

Dec 31, 2017

Justin Celani’s Top 10 Games of 2017

Justin of The Justin Show ends his writing duties with us on this day, but fret not! This is the last of we’ve read or seen of him. Before he rides off into the sunset, he gives us his personal top 10 games of 2017.

2017 comes to a close and with it brings up my personal top 10 games of the year. There was a lot of great games as always and players should be just overjoyed at how much quality content came this year from both triple A developers and indie teams. With so many games, here is a short list of other games that truly caught my attention in no particular order.  

• Nier Automata
• Cosmic Star Heroine
• Wolfenstein 2
• Shadow of War
• Gravity Rush 2
• RIME
• Friday the 13th
• Hellblade
• Nioh
• Knack 2
• Crash Trilogy
• Yakuza 0

So with that said, let’s get right into it. Some of these might surprise you!

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#10

Boot Hill Bounties – This one was a last minute surprise from me.  After having reached out to David at The Experimental Gamer, he gave me a code to play a western RPG called Boot Hill Bounties.  Taking inspiration from Earthbound and other classic retro-rpgs, this merges the Wild West and that classic RPG nostalgic classic perfectly. So much variety in enemies, locations, and just unique and fun situation to throw the cast into. Highly recommended to fans of RPGs and should be out now on STEAM as of this being published.

#9

Assassins Creed Origins – It just goes to show what a little extra time off for development can do for a stagnating franchise.  I’m not sure if I’d even call Assassins Creed a pure action game if not an action RPG as exploring Egypt, leveling up, and gaining new loot takes a key focus on the new formula. Huge, vast, and full of a new combat system. It’s a step forward for the franchise and here is hoping the new formula sticks around for the next.

#8

Outlast 2 – Outlast 1 was scary and terrifying and honestly 2 was even more intense for me. I actually dry heaved from some of the visual imagery at one point and that’s no joke.  Called me a push over if you want but this game has some intense themes, visuals, and moments to make it extremely memorable in my eyes and unforgettable in many ways. It might not be the happiest or most colorful game this year but it def earned its place.

#7

Horizon Zero Dawn – A new open world game set within a story about civilization crumbled and robotic dinosaurs sounds like an instant win.  It helps that the game had fun moment to moment exploration and combat and a story that only got more interesting the further in.  It’s arguable one of the best looking games this year and it earns a spot easily in the top.

#6

The Evil Within 2 – The first entry in the franchise was one with some highs and low but an experience I loved all the same. TEW2 aimed to make a bit more of a cohesive tale, mixing some open world areas along with some normal linear moments, creating one creepy town to explore.  While the first game def has a more nightmare approach in theme and setting, 2 seemed to carve its own path as a horror game a bit different and unexpected but still fun and terrifying. Let’s hope a third game results

#5

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – This game unexpectedly rose to one of my favorites for a few reasons. Its huge world and variety of location and enemies. Its ability to make me feel as if I’m on a legit adventure and the fact it just brings that nostalgic feeling of old PlayStation era RPGS. It’s colorful cast and simply yet in depth combat has kept me on my toes. That and the fact its portable just makes taking the adventure on the go that much easier. Def a roleplaying game that just feels right at home.

#4

Resident Evil VII – This game re-invented Resident Evil once again going back to its more horror like roots. It still has some great feeling FPS shooting mechanics, crazy characters, and the Baker family is simple unforgettable.  REVII is intense, insane, and exactly what a RE game should be. Part scary, part action, and part Biological weirdness. Can’t wait to see what they have in story for the rest of the franchise.

#3

Super Mario Odyssey – This game truly seemed to take the platforming genre and flip it on its head once more. Mario using a cap to posse enemies and other objects while traveling the world really make this Mario stand out as Mario usually does.  It’s amazingly fun just controlling Mario and jumping around and it proves Nintendo still knows how to do this best. Colorful, silly, and once again top tier in platforming, Mario solidifies itself as a must play game of 2017.

#2

The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild – Nintendo completely re-innovated on the Zelda format. Taking the que of less if more, Zelda has Link traveling a world going in any direction the players heard desired, crafting adventure on their own and as they see fit. The story has a solid structure that can be played in any order but it’s not constantly in the players face. With minimal markings on the map and everything the player needs at his disposal. Breath of the Wild is an interesting and successful new take on the series.

#1

Uncharted The Lost Legacy – This one is as surprising to me as it probably is to those reading.  This is my top GOTY for a few reasons.  I honestly never expected this side story featuring Chloe as the main character to be as good as or better than some of the main games in the franchise yet it is. I was worried not having Nathan might totally change the experience but this only made me appreciate it more and seeing it from a different character. The franchise could continue without Nathan and can still be an amazing adventure experience. The game isn’t the longest one in the franchise but its pacing is almost perfect, never a dull moment. Filled with adventure and action at every moment and turn, It blew me away just how good this turned out. I literally played through it twice in a row, which hardly ever happens and after much thinking is why I named it my personal GOTY in 2017.