2017 Game of the Year Day 2

Hi there! If you're back from yesterday, welcome back, and if you're new, welcome for the first time. Day 2 is filled with the lightest categories of my awards before we start getting serious on day 3. Anyway, let's get started with the prettiest games of the year.

Day 1

MOST GRAFIX

• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• Horizon: Zero Dawn
• Resident Evil 7
• Uncharted: the Lost Legacy
• Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Runners-Up:

Horizon: Zero Dawn- NEON ROBIT DINOS

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy- REAL PERTTY TREES. Also winner for BEST PHOTO MODE

Winner:

HQ- CAN THE SCOTT LOOK REAL IF HE’S LOCKED IN A GREEN SCREEN CAGE? #FreeScott

MOST STYYYYYYYYLE

• Life is Strange: Before the Storm
• HQ
• Zelda
• What Remains of Edith Finch
• Pyre
• Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
• Yakuza 0

Honorable mention:

Life is Strange: Before the Storm: Before the Storm carries over most of the style from the first game, but modifies it to fit Chloe’s “punk” aesthetic. The soundtrack is the biggest change, but the visuals and some for the presentation stuff are all modified in some pretty cool ways.

Runners-Up:

Yakuza 0- Yakuza 0 is made of style. The visuals, the J-rock soundtrack, and the fact you can use the ancient, overpowered art of breakdance fighting all come together to make an incredibly styyyyyyyyyyylish experience.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus- The entirety of Wolfenstein II is a wonderful mixture of pulp and grindhouse put in a creative world where The Beatles are Nazi propaganda. Every cutscene is dripping with styyyyyyyyle and the presentation is half the reason this game is as good as it is.

Winner:

What Remains of Edith Finch- Technically What Remains of Edith Finch wins because it has the most styyyyyyyleS. Whether it's the comic book style for the flashback of a former child actress, the cannery flashback that won best moment, the soundtrack, or the absurd design of the house itself, this game has a variety of different styles that make it stand above the rest of the competition.

Best Music:

• Doki Doki Literature Club
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• Horizon: Zero Dawn
• HQ
• Life is Strange: Before the Storm
• Outlast 2
• Prey
• Pyre
• What Remains of Edith Finch
• Yakuza 0
• Yooka-laylee
• Zelda

(Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus was disqualified for the garbage tier cover of “We’re not gonna take it” during the credits)

Honorable Mention:

Doki Doki Literature Club- I’m still not sure how I feel about where this game goes, but the music sure is great. It starts with some of the catchiest tunes of the year, and as the game gets going, the soundtrack adjusts accordingly at times. The times it doesn't change, the cheery nature of the music beautifully juxtaposes the events of the game.

Runners-Up:

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice: Hellblade’s soundtrack is fantastic in much the same way Shadow of Mordor’s was. It's a lot of what sounds like modern Vikings chanting and it gives off the same feeling as the best Manowar has to offer. I've never felt more powerful in a game than when I had Norseman chanting alongside all the other voices in my head.

Yakuza 0: Yakuza’s action music is the most over the top, cheesy J-rock I've heard in a long ass time. It fits perfectly with the rest of the game. Even when not in combat, the game offers some amazingly chill music throughout the rest of the game.

Winner:

Life is Strange: Before the Storm- The original Life is Strange ran away with this award for having the best licensed music since GTA: Vice City. While Before the Storm’s soundtrack isn't as memorable, every time music plays you can be sure that it matches perfectly with the events on screen. The developers of the game even created a fake band that is rather good as well.

Best battle royal mode

• Fortnite
• Pubg

Runner Up:

Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds- A group of YouTubers I follow have been playing this type of game for a few years now. Starting with original DayZ, then H1Z1, then H1Z1’s king of the kill mode, I've been exposed to this concept for a while now, so when I got to experience it first hand, it's effect was certainly lessened. I do enjoy PUBG but I'm not in love with it the way many other people seem to be.

Winner:

Fortnite, but only the 50 vs 50 mode- I would put Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode on the same level as PUBG, but the 50 vs 50 mode was a fantastic way to change the game and I wish it was a full-time thing.

Most Fun to Watch:

(Aka the let's play award)

• Friday the 13th
• HQ
• Playerunknown's Battleground
• Snipperclips

Runners-Up:

HQ- Every time I play HQ, I last about 7-8 questions. Also every time, the question after I get eliminated is just as easy as the first few. However, the mixture of Scott being Scott and the chat being the chat, make me stick around long after I've lost.

Snipperclips- Snipperclips seems like a really cool idea, and watching people play it makes me wish I had a Switch. It just seems like a pleasant time for everyone.

Winner:

Friday the 13th- Maybe it's the people I was watching play this, but Friday the 13th seems like a fantastic idea and there are many fun possibilities and shenanigans to be had in this game.

And that does it for day 2! Consider today to be the calm before the storm as day 3 brings the awards fro most dissappointing, best surprise, best performance, and best new character. See you tomorrow and thanks for reading.

You can follow me on Twitter @_CJ_Pricefield