My 2017 in Games

The Troubles of Travelling

2017 began the same as any other year with the exception of me knowing i'd be leaving the country within the month and moving to the other side of the world. I therefore attempted to complete a few games as i didn't know if i'd have anytime to play games when travelling. So i chose Pikmin 3, Mafia III, Dying Light, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Ratchet and Clank. It being a busy month i completed the first 3, a very good game, a good game, and an OK game. Those were the last games i played for a few months..... probably the most needed and longest break i've had in years!! From February until June i didn't have either a system to game on or a stable financial situation to fund it. As June came round i got a job, a new flat and a kickass gaming laptop to satisfy my PC gaming needs, i didn't have any money for new games but i did have a huge backlog i could work through.

I worked through 17 games in my backlog but gathered added another 38 games to it that were released in 2017, 2017 seemed like an amazing year in gaming it's a shame i never got to experience any of them. The good thing about clearing your backlog is you find games you never thought you'd like so much! These included Metroidvania games such as Ori, and Guacamelee! And a charming little pixel game called Owlboy. I managed to squeeze in a couple AAA games between these shorter Indie titles, Watchdogs 2, a very well built stealth game, and Dark Souls 3, which probably ranks just behind Bloodborne in my favorite Souls experiences. Disappointments were Mafia III, which started so well but was ruined by the lack of mission variety, and Aragami, a stealth game i hoped would replace that Tenchu hole in my life. Another category of games that i found out i dislike and don't intend on touching again are rogue-lites, 4 attempted and i got close to completing 0 of those, the fail and try again formula of gameplay just didn't satisfy me, i never felt like i was progressing at all throughout them.

Next year my plan is to pick my games carefully and choose some of the highest rated and critically acclaimed games i never got round to in the past few years and see what the hurrah around those are. I plan on moving to Brisbane from Canberra so hope i'll be in a better situation to play and enjoy the best gaming has to offer over the next year.