by audiobusting
so here's my 2017 games-i-played-and-liked list. like my previous years' lists, i'm gonna update this as the year goes on. the order is loose, and the takes are hot
Showing 1-10 of 37 items
the weapon combo system feels a bit disappointingly too much like the original nier, and the defensive interactions feel weird and loose, but the game as a whole is still pretty fantastic. the emotional highs and complexity of the story is quite impressive.
this game is a lot to process. to say the least, it is a game with a unique voice and very well-crafted aesthetics. i'll have to come back to this later, cause i'm still not sure what to think about it after thinking about it for like, a month, yes i'm pretty sure this is one of the best adventure games ever made. why does this year have so many games with some of the best stories ever ugghhh
The War of the Chosen expansion is so huge that it doubled the game in file size. While that isn't exactly a good metric for, well, anything, it's somewhat indicative of how much the game has changed, fortunately for the better. The changes elevate XCOM 2's main differentiator to Enemy Within of being "bigger and better" to an extreme, by giving players even more flexibility and variance through having a ridiculous amount of interacting systems. So much is happening at all time, and it constantly feels like playing a giant tower of Jenga that shakes suspiciously at every second, but somehow stays up.
there's something beautiful to this take of open world game design from nintendo. all the systems and their interactions with each other feel very well thought out, and the world design is also top-notch. maybe it isn't perfect, nor is it for everyone, but i'm sure it will be a very memorable and influential effort for the world.
this is a really fucking cool take on what mythology could look like with a modern 2017 perspective. the confidence with which it carries itself, from how it's got a well produced and inventive look and sound to how punchy the story is, is also simply impressive.
this is the first time since the original asscreed that i've loved this kind of game. it's a fresh take on an action RPG that doesn't sacrifice the presence and commitment to worldbuilding that the concept of asscreed carries. this is such a contextually detailed game that you can walk along the grain fields, one arm stretched out feeling the wheat, while you listen to the farmers work the soil and sing... not to mention the solid writing in general!
this is my dream cooking game... it kinda launched badly, but the game is still super duper fun to play. it's satisfying in all of the ways as what is esentially an arcade-y power fantasy. i'm also liking the weird alternate history lore they've put in the food and restaurant descriptions. there is one thing i'm a little disappointed by though. the available food selection is still fairly US-centric, although it is clear that significant effort has been made to combat that since the first game. i also wish there were more vegetable/vegetarian options for the mains. (yes, i refuse to ever call mains "entrees"!)
i honestly don't know why i'm so obsessed with this game, but i can at least say a few good things about it. it's got great variety, a fairly generous economy, a well-supported active community, and the dressing up part itself is surprisingly solid (despite being very limited to the one character). weirdly enough, it takes its own lore about previously warring states of different fashion styles and the lost-in-another-world protagonist very seriously, and it has Souls-esque storytelling through item descriptions to boot. the main loop of dressing up to grind for more clothes to dress up with is what it is, but it's fun enough. the competitive scene of dressing up to a theme well and get votes from other players is super fun and easy to get into, for a mobile game experience. my only big complaint is how unwieldy the menu interface is, which is a big minus for a game that is entirely menu-based. There's also dodgy practices with how some of the events are designed. it's common for these things, but still... anyway, i like this game a lot. by the way, join my stylist association with the ID 5972 =D
i still haven't finished this, but this game works in a way i think Transistor didn't. the pacing upfront feels a bit awkward, but i can get past it for all the cool stuff that it does. who knew there's going to be both a nemesis system-like (in xcom2) and a valkyria profile blitzball thing in the same year?
the return of the craz ass crpg with the crazy high flexibility and role playing potential. haven't played that much of it, but it's really easy to see that it's super good