by bobby
-- This list is updated as I play 2017 games, even in subsequent years. --
2017 was the year of me running of our enthusiasm or patience for games. I didn’t finish many of what I’d consider to be my favorite games but that didn’t really impact the list. It was also the year I bought a proper iPad and discovered the joys of playing touchscreen games on a big screen.
Games that would be on here that aren't currently in the database: Golf Zero, Miles & Kilo, Busy Work (a physical installation game),
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I've not yet earned a chicken dinner, despite putting close to 150 hours into the game. Turns out I'm not very good at the part of the game where the cursor needs to line up with another player's character model and I click on the mouse button enough. But the number of top-10s and even top-5s I've earned proves that I know what I'm doing when it comes to tactics and maneuvering. The only videos I've watched of this game come from Nuke.com's Murder Island series, so I'm sure if I put effort into learning it I might actually succeed. But, despite my murderous failings, there were few things this year that I looked forward to like coming home from work and unwinding with a few rounds of what I still call "Battlegrounds".
Greg Kasavin once wrote that "all games are played to the point at which the player loses interest. An ending is just an invitation for the player to lose interest at what's likely an appropriate time." My only knock against Breath of the Wild is that I lost interest before it invited me to end my time with it. Like Skyrim, I loved the seemingly endless exploration and the thrill of finding somewhere new. I wanted to conquer every shrine and trace every inch of the map. But, I could not beat Thunderblight Ganon in the Divine Beast Vah Naboris no matter how hard I tried. I watched videos, tried to power myself up, brought in strong potions and meals, but I just could not execute. And that totally killed the momentum for me. I ventured back out into the wild but eventually lost interest, putting the Wii U back on the shelf. Yet, despite all of this, my fondness for the great parts of the game outweighs my other experiences and it remains one of my favorite games this year.
Would you believe I had never played a Bridge Constructor game until now? I don't know why because this is right up my alley! I enjoy "set up the solution and execute" as a gameplay loop and the process of making small tweaks to get it just right. BCP takes some Portal mechanics (like portals, momentum, the different goo of Portal 2) and presents 60 levels of challenge. It's perfect on the iPad.
2017 kicked off with me playing Beyond: Two Souls, then Oxenfree, then Night in the Woods. By pure coincidence, they flowed together well because each is narratively driven by the paranormal and teen-banter. Night in the Woods is almost a perfect game. It's absolutely gorgeous, well-written, features great characters, and effortlessly pulled me to the end. The platforming bits of exploration were fun ways to punctuate the story. And the scene at Fort Lucenne Mall with Bae is one of my favorite things I've done in a game. Yet, I can't get over how incongruous I felt the ending was. Maybe missed some of the cues along the way, but I just could not believe the scenario they presented. I felt dissatisfied and it soured my immediate experience with the game. But, with a bit of time to distance myself, I'm able to remember that which made the game terrific. Sharkle.
I am bad rearranging letters in word-building games. I am bad at knowing facts for crossword puzzles. Typeshift fixes both of those things! The regular and daily puzzles are much more manageable and the clue puzzles are constrained just enough. Typeshift makes life a bit easier by showing you which letters you've used up, which means that making even a bit of progress on a puzzle benefits the player. The presentation is slick and it's the first game I can think of that really takes advantage of the iPhone display's haptic feedback. Sliding the tiles up and down is tactile and there are few things as satisfying as the little pop it makes when you complete a puzzle and the letters crunch and animate. Zach Gage makes good games.
MMM2 is precisely everything I wanted out of the sequel to one of my favorite mobile games of all time. As I've gotten into watching Formula 1 racing, I have a better understanding of all the systems I'm managing in my team's organization by hiring staff, developing parts, and improving my drivers' abilities. I also appreciate the more direct control I have over race strategy. Most importantly, MMM2 surfaces much more information during races with which to make the kind of small decisions that can push my drivers ahead and help me earn championship points. I imagine this is at least some small part of what it's like to be a team principal in the garage on race weekend.
As I started to play Gorogoa, I was seated on an airplane next to a woman who had brought with her a large sketchbook and a roll of variously weighted drawing pencils. About an hour in, she tapped me on the shoulder and said she had to know what I was doing. I explained to her the premise of the game and how it worked and she was fascinated. It's a striking game that's as wonderful to look at as it is to play.
"Weeeeee!! The Videogame" I've very much enjoyed by time with Odyssey since purchasing a Switch late in the holiday season. The capture mechanic creates natural variation in a way that's usually forced into special suits and the openness of the levels supports experimentation. However, there are some core issues that prevent this from being a #1 Great Game. First, I had trouble with depth perception in some of the platforming sections.
This random Switch purchase turned out to be a unique experience. Like Spelunky, it’s a game where all the pieces interact and it’s up to the player to learn how the world works. This sense of discovery kept me playing for hours. I only got the “animal” ending but I left satisfied.
SWD2 is the textbook example of a well-planned progression curve. Every time it seems like it's going to become laboriously difficult or repetitively easy, there's a new ability or upgrade waiting to bring you right back into the flow state of rapt attention. The game smartly did away with the consumable items of the first and introduced new traversal upgrades like the grappling hook and jet pack which made getting around the mines more enjoyable.