Winds of Change

  Introduction

So, I didn’t finish enough games to do a Top 10, so I’m gonna do a top 5! Technically I finished 9, but because of the timing (a few completed in January), it didn’t feel right. That said, among what I have played, 5 stood above the rest.

 5 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

BOTW is a great and beautiful game. Its deserved popularity makes me feel like I should justify it being down here instead of #1. The game is here only because I gambled and missed. I didn’t explore the entire game while actively playing because I wanted a reason to go back when Hard Mode came out. I gambled on the chance that hard mode would be a toggle, not a new save altogether. Once that came out, I simply didn’t have the time to start the game all over. So, #5 it is, because I loved it but not enough to push me to replay it from Square 1. As brilliant as it is, it didn’t immediately pull me back in, and I have to consider that in the face of its competition. A petty reason, but a reason nonetheless.

4 Metroid: Samus Returns

I never played Metroid 2, so this game was all new to me. And yet, Samus immediately felt at home. It was mildly terrifying just how quickly I took to the game. I still haven’t figured out whether the level design or my experience with Metroid made everything so fluid. Each upgrade was satisfying even if clumped together and strangely paced. I still can vividly recall the first Space Jump I did once I got the upgrade. I sincerely enjoyed every moment of it and immediately dove from first playthrough into a Fusion mode run – impressively more difficult and frankly too much for me to take in considering what I did for #3 on this list.

3 The Witcher III: Wild Hunt

I changed my life to beat this game. It took over a year to beat and I knew I would love the journey so I took my time. In many ways, though, I had to. I’ve reached a point where I can’t put 3 hours a weeknight into a 60+ hour game, hoping to finish it in a month. I could, but at the cost of other important parts of my life. My unfinished games are the collateral of that choice.

So with The Witcher, I pledged: “Whether I play for 10 minutes a sitting or 2 hours, I will keep pushing forward with Geralt. It’ll cost me, but I will play it on the hardest difficulty, because I want to have that tension in every encounter.”

It took over a year. I estimate losing at least 5 hours due to game overs. I had periods where other games took priority but I never stopped thinking about the game. My stubbornness was well rewarded. It probably deserves to be higher on this list, and I still haven’t done the DLC, but its impact is measured in more than the game — as evidenced by this being the third paragraph that has yet to discuss what I enjoyed from the game.

2 Fire Emblem Heroes

Fire Emblem is a sore spot for me, as a franchise. I believe it’s a series of unrealized potential, needing design improvements before I am comfortable with it. That said, Heroes is a totally different animal. I didn’t think I could get over my preconceptions, but as it turns out, all it took was a Skip function and I could ignore all the text. I couldn’t tell you anything about the plot and frankly it’s probably for the best. Instead, what we have is exactly what I want from a mobile SRPG: unit builds, tactical positioning, and enough restrictions to enable creativity and provide weight to my decisions. Combine that with a grind that’s essentially just a series of curious 3 minute puzzles, and you have this game that I have played daily since the first week of release. EVERY DAY. I think I’ve only missed two or three login bonuses, which is all kinds of awesome and terrifying. I can’t count the hours of fun I’ve had with this game.

1 NieR: Automata

Nier is at the top of my list, because out of everything in this list, it had the greatest emotional impact. Only Nier and Witcher III did that this year. One of those two were gonna be at the top, but because Nier came out this year, and Witcher III was tempered by time, I will put Nier here.

I love a story that asks questions, that breaks my heart and still asks me to hope for something better. Nier delivered on that, and it included my two favorite plot devices: multiple perspectives, and unreliable narration. Robots are cool too, and robots trying to figure out how to live is even cooler. Every moment Pascal was on screen, my heart was drowned in dread. I put my controller down more than once, taking time to breathe and absorb what just happened.

I could go on. Platinum Games delivered on another solid combat system, with my great vice of timed dodges and counters. There’s the mod system that allows you to equip passive skills, that evoked nostalgia for Mega Man Battle Network. And goodness, the music.

And yet, the real impact this game had was the credit roll. The moment when you realize what you’re a part of. That’s what made me cry, and made this my favorite game of 2017.

Appendix: Games played 2017

Bold means finished

Games on this list mean I played at least 5 hours of it. I would have done a percentage (50%) but then the list would be something tiny.

• Arms
• Assassin’s Creed Origins
• Darkest Dungeon
• Divinity: Original Sin
• Fire Emblem Heroes
• Hollow Knight
• Injustice 2
• Journey
• Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
• Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle
• Metroid: Samus Returns
• Nier: Automata
• Overcooked
• Persona 5
• Pyre
• Splatoon 2
• Uncharted 4
• Witcher III
• Wolfenstein: The New Order
• Yakuza 0
• Zelda: Breath of the Wild