This year, I've played 7 games that were released in 2017 and it's time in the internet's honoured tradition to talk about which ones were good.
This year I played: A Hat in Time, Fire Emblem Heroes, Halcyon 6: Light-Speed Edition, Kingdom and Castles, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Rakuen and Seedship.
I don't feel like there's anything missing from my list this year. That being said I've avoided getting a switch until I get my PhD finished so there are a lot of very good looking games that I will hopefully get a chance to play pretty soon.
Unlike last year, I enjoyed all of the games I played so I'm only going to break this set down into: The Okay, The Good and The Great. It's also worth pointing out that I've played widely divergent amounts of these games (I mean Breath of the Wild is in there, so really really widely) and for some, I probably haven't played enough to comment really intelligently. Still, I wanted to capture a snapshot of how I've seen the games of 2017 while it's still 2017.
The Okay
Fire Emblem Heroes
I feel a bit conflicted about almost all of the Fire Emblem games (and honestly all grid-tactics games in general). I really enjoy the gameplay, the world, the characters, and the feel, but I'm really, really bad at them for the most part. Fire Emblem Heroes is great because it takes the basic Fire Emblem concept and breaks it down into bite sized chunks. All the great weapon triangle strategy, none of the ongoing stress and worry.
Beyond that, though, there's not really much more here. It's okay. It's not bad, it's fun and playable but it kinda lacks any depth, so while it's okay to play I'm not going to choose to play it over most other games in most situations.
Halcyon 6: Light-Speed Edition
Halcyon 6: Starbase Command is an interesting game. It's old school RPG combat (parties of three slug it out in a menu), but with spaceships rather than wizards and warriors. It's also a XCOM style base builder and a fleet assignment strategy game. It's also a 2016 game, except that they did a such an extensive "overhaul" that they released the Light-Speed Edition as a totally separate game to "classic". That being said, I feel a little baffled about the changes they made, why and what the new game is compared to the old game.
Last year I wished I'd played more and I guess I'm in the same boat. The gameplay is good and apparently they've increased the tactical depth of the game which was one of my primary complaints. I can't say I've felt compelled to play too much despite enjoying all the game elements, maybe Black Hole Edition will suck me in in 2018 (I'm sorry, this is a bad joke and probably mean to the devs.)
Kingdoms and Castles
In Kingdoms and Castles you can build Kingdoms and Castles. Well medium sized towns and castles anyway. I've actually looked three times to see if this game is in early access, but I don't think it is. The upside of Kingdoms and Castles is that it's pretty fun to build cities and make your little meeples happy, the downside is that there's really not much to the game. Fortunately the devs are continuing work and are adding new stuff to the game. I just hope they're able to expand the game without upsetting the existing fun.
The Good
A Hat in Time
I backed A Hat in Time on KickStarter a very long time ago, and I was pretty sure it was never going to actually come out. Fortunately it did, and it's actually good. As has been pretty widely discussed it's interesting that A Hat in Time finally made it out in a year with so many other 3D platformers, but I think the devs have done a very good job of focusing making a unique game that involves a lot of different elements.
I've played a lot of the first world and some of the second world. I have to confess to feeling a bit frustrated, but 3D platformers have never really been my genre. I think I need to sit down at some point soon and try to take the game as it comes so I can really see the whole thing together.
Seedship
Seedship was a very late in the year pickup for me, but a friend started playing it, and it caught my attention. You play the AI of a a ship containing the last remnants of humanity and you must find them the best place to live. It’s a Twine game and you play by making the best of whatever choice the game gives you. Games usually last for 5 to 30 minutes and end when you find the best option before your ship totally falls apart (or your ship totally falls apart). Then the game tells you how your humans faired after you landed them and then you play again.
What I particularly enjoy is that while the game is really “hard” to win, each game is interesting with new situations and new outcomes. Additionally unlike a lot of rogue-likes the decisions often tilt towards the player, so when you make a choice you have a good chance of getting a good outcome, but in the aggregate your ship always tends towards ruin.
The Great
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
I don’t think it should be too much of a surprise that I like Breath of the Wild. I’ve play ed211 hours of it by this point and it has all been really enjoyable. I think most of the things I wrote about when I summed up the game almost fifty hours ago stand and I think since then I’ve really gained an appreciation for the finesse and detail in their design. I’ve also gotten significantly better at the combat which has furthered my appreciation of the game.
I still miss larger dungeons and some of the story elements of older entries in the series, but Breath of the Wild is beautiful and stands on its own as an outstanding game. I think the level of trust it shows in its players is outstanding, and I think it demonstrates how passionate and skilled its creators are.
Rakuen
As I said in my write up on it, I’m biased, but I loved Rakuen. It feels like a SNES journey I took as a child, but dealing with grown up issues. The art is beautiful, the music is wonderful and the story is engaging. The game play is maybe a little thin on the ground but this game is focused elsewhere and that’s ok.
More diversity in games is good for games and for the people who play them. The more of the world we see and the more eyes we see the world through the richer we are. I’m thankful Laura Shigihara created Rakuen, spending four years on it and I feel richer for having played it.
