Games I played a notable amount of in 2017
Another year, another list to keep track of what I played a noteworthy amount of. The criteria is basically whatever I want it to be, though you can probably guess that it means at least a few hours.
List items
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Technically was playing this game when the clock struck midnight and 2017 happened, so yeah. This is my first Total War game, and while I'm honestly pretty turrible at arranging formations and executing on flanking maneuvers, I'm having a lot of fun trying to suss it all out. At the very least, it's a lot slower than the RTS games I'm used to and therefore less likely to cause me great sorrow due to incompetence.
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A neat little visual novel with loads of styyyyyle and a great soundtrack. Admittedly, the writing is a little hit-or-miss, especially when it goes "Lol Anime," but I enjoyed it all the same.
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A lengthy visual novel about Japanese teens destroying the future with time travel. It's really long and really great.
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Continuing right down that Warhammer Fantasy train, I've been playing that Left 4 Dead game with the rats and I think it's pretty solid.
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Turns out? Still one of the greatest games ever made. Gets surprisingly easy by the end.
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Still my current preferred "I have nothing better to do" game of choice.
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Will 2017 be the year that I finally get around to finishing the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy? We'll see. This game is kind of a slog.
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A surprisingly effective meeting between the sensibilities of old Resident Evil and the likes of Outlast or Amnesia.
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My first Yakuza game. I'm into the combination of dead-serious melodrama and random goofy side activities, though I don't think much of the combat.
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I'm planning on playing through most, if not all, of the Halo games cooperatively this year with my brother-in-law. Assume all relevant Halo games on this list are being played via the Master Chief Collection.
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It turns out that the core gameplay of the original Halo still holds up quite well, once you get past its relative sluggishness. However, the level design is actively terrible, and is only slightly alleviated with some small tweaks added in the 2011 Anniversary remake.
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Definitely seems like the anniversary version of Halo 2 had a lot more work done to it than the first game, with some sharp visuals and greatly improved sound design. I also like playing Halo 2 a lot more than the first game, now that dual wielding is a thing and I can use weapons like the Battle Rifle and Covenant Carbine.
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The sequel to Steins;Gate isn't quite as cohesive as the original, but as someone who really loved those characters and that setting, it's still alright by me.
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I've put enough time in this stupid mobile game to feel comfortable putting it on my list. It's stupid. I'm still playing it.
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The successor to Planescape Torment left me a little cold in the end, which was a disappointment. It's well written and follows the checkboxes one would need, but for various reasons didn't really resonate with me all that much.
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Even 10 years later, Halo 3 remains a game I can enjoy juuuuuust fine.
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Nioh is a pretty fantastic action game, with plenty of its own quirks and mechanics
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Legitimately one of my favorite games of the year. Fantastic soundtrack, insane story, pretty good gameplay. Absolutely something to pay attention to.
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Halo 3, but moodier, rainier, and with more saxophone. I'm okay with that, even if it feels more like an expansion than a full game.
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While I'm not quite sure where Persona 5 ranks for me personally in relation to 3 and 4, that doesn't really change the fact that I think it's an excellent game on its own and has been well worth the wait.
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Honestly, Halo Reach's campaign is probably the tightest, most well-paced one in the entire series, a far cry from the confusing, overly-long levels of Combat Evolved. I might still hold Halo 2 and 3 a bit dearer in my heart because of nostalgia, but Reach is much better than I expected it to be.
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For better and worse, Yooka-Laylee delivers exactly what was promised in its kickstarter campaign: An old-school Rare-style collectathon 3D platformer. I'm not convinced it comes close to measuring up to the games it's trying to imitate, but for what it is, I think I'm okay with it.
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I too have caught the murder island fever. I'm pretty bad at it, but I did win once as a duo.
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A System Shock game in all but name, Prey is actually pretty damn awesome in spite of some messy combat and lack of interesting characters.
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Hey! They remade Fire Emblem Gaiden! That's pretty cool, if I do say so myself.
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Platinum's ridiculous knee-sliding and cigarette-smoking simulator was an enjoyable enough 5-hour ride, though I honestly don't think any part of it will stick with me especially long.
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A delightfully messed up visual novel about Japanese teens murdering each other for fun and profit. It suffers from being a little padded and sometimes dipping into the well of tropes, but all-in-all a pretty good time.
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That robot dinosaur game all the cool kids are talking about. It's basically a better version of Far Cry, but unfortunately I've broken myself on a lot of open world stuff and am basically mainlining the story because following map icons fills me with zero satisfaction in my life.
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*fart noise*
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War of the Chosen expansion. I've enjoyed this game even more the second time through, though my core issues with XCOM 2's strategy layer and difficulty curve remain intact.
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I'm to understand that this "Zeldo" thing is popular. It hasn't quite grabbed me yet.
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They made a good new Sonic game in 2017. Wait, what?
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Original Sin II is a marked improvement over the first in most ways. As someone who liked that first game a lot, that's more than fine by me. I just need to get back to it.
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No amount of remakes or Persona-related spinoffs can truly compare to a full new Etrian Odyssey game. EO V is a pretty great comfort food RPG, though I think I still might like IV a little more overall.
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It took years, but Ninja Gaiden finally managed to "click" for me. An incredibly solid character action game, even if the camera is traaaaaaash.
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A surprisingly improved sequel to a game I found equal parts frustrating and compelling.
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Destiny 2's much kinder leveling curve and drop rates have the accidental adverse effect of making it a much more disposable game than the first one. That's a weird thing to complain about, especially since the shooting is still best-in-class, but for as much as I enjoyed the shooting, I can barely tell you a memorable thing about it.
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Utterly fantastic 100% pure unadulterated Super Mario Crack Cocaine. A perfect reminder that when Nintendo is on their A game it's incredibly hard to beat them.
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So, uh, my Brother-in-Law and I ran out of Halo games to play together...
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The release of a much-buzzed sequel was finally enough for me to play through Machine Games take on Wolf. It's very good! Well, except for the parts where you actually play it, but killing Nazis is alright by me.
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Doki Doki Literature Club is... a hell of a thing. I don't feel like I should say anymore than that. Play it. It's free and only takes a few hours.
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Wolfenstein II GOES FOR IT with its storytelling in a way that I don't think many other video games do, and is significantly better for it. Alas, much like the first one, I think the game part is the least interesting and enjoyable aspect.
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A lack of backwards compatibility for the vanilla Ninja Gaiden 2 caused me to pick up its *supposedly* inferior PS3 counterpart instead. I'm not quite sure if it's a Ninja Gaiden 2 thing, or a Sigma thing specifically, but this game is SIGNIFICANTLY easier than Ninja Gaiden Black.
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It's more Dishonored, and I'm mostly okay with that. Sure, it's pretty middle-of-the-road Dishonored, but I'll take what I can get.
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I replayed the original Bayonetta, and it's alright! To be perfectly honest, I think I still like its sequel far more.
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