So…2017 was a hell of a year. Both eventful and in some respects…hellish. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t some high points. We had a series of favorites, so check out the other posts if you’re interested in the other genres.

PERSONA 5

Alright..

Hold Up!

Don’t get me started on the game that I have literally waited years for. If Persona 5 was a religion I’ve been converting people into Phantom Thieves since the day it dropped my guy. Let me tell you why Persona 5 is the greatest game of 2017 (shut up Breath of The Wild). Not only does this game pull on all your emotional strings, it helps you understand people with agoraphobia, how corrupted paths can bring out two different consciousnesses, and promotes the dismantling of a corrupted government!

You’re basically traveling through a metaverse within the realm of peoples’ mind to rearrange their distorted cognition of reality for the greater good. Yo, the metaphors in this game alone, made me say “Oh Shit” at least 15 times and if you don’t believe me, begin your life as an “infamous” High School Student and a Phantom Thief who travels into the mind of people’s consciousness on your free time with your talking cat, then come talk to me. Persona 5 was nominated for Best Soundtrack, Best RPG (won), Best Art Direction and Game of The Year. Come at the Persona Franchise? Skrrrrt. Bye Felicia. – Khadjiah

Injustice 2

I have an on again off again relationship with video games. I just haven’t had the time to play them as much as I want. And my entire life, I’ve always hated fighting games, mostly because I’m too lazy and dumb to memorize the combos. Play me 1v1 and I’ll be exposed in seconds. I get ANGRY.

BUT. Injustice 2 is flames.

This game lit a fire in me. I was enthralled by the story. But as I played more and more, I actually found the game mechanics to be a lot more streamlined than the last time I played a fighting game in 1998. I was afraid to play online though, because I knew I would rage quit and most likely break something valuable, so when I beat the game, that was it. But then I realized that all the accumulated coins and badges that I got throughout the game could be used for character customization. I was roped back in and I haven’t looked back since. All my characters got that Nth metal armor! I do play online now. I might get my ass beat, but at least I look good doing it. – Morgan

RESIDENT EVIL 7

First person horror? Creepy ass bayou? Hillbillies? Who knew this winning formula was all it took for Resident Evil 7 to be my favorite game of the year? Better yet, it put the Resident Evil series back on the map. Hell, after a few missteps I was ready to give up on them but Resident Evil’s return to horror had me calling out “Oh hell no!”

Forcing me to take a couple of breaks every now and then. Don’t judge me, I’m a grown ass man. It’s not perfect. There are a few moments where horror goes out the window and corny steps in but around every corner of the Baker estate, another good scare is waiting. – Chris

DESTINY 2

(I stand by it)

Objectively, I know there are better games than Destiny 2. However, I’m 363+ hours deep into the game (not including all of the time I sunk into the console and PC betas) and have not played any of these so-called other games because every night, I end up just wanting to pick up my trusted Reload Masterwork Antiope-D, equip my Syntoceps, and go to town in the Crucible.

The game’s currently mired by controversy and microtransactions, and the game’s trajectory reads the opposite of its predecessor. But my Traveler, I can’t stop playing it. The gunplay is stellar. The game is visually striking. The soundtrack is hypnotic. My space zombie robot knight has more melee kills in the crucible than the majority of the gun archetypes. My clan and my assorted fireteams still play at an alarmingly frequency even as we collect all the gear in our limited vaults. If I was to measure a game by the joy that it gave me, I have to rank Destiny 2 as my game of the year. Objectively, I know it’s not. Subjectively, I’m wondering why I wrote this up when I could be playing. – Mikkel

Horizon Zero Dawn

Here’s the thing, most Best of Lists will have Zelda: Breath of the Wild as their Game of the Year. I get it. Can’t argue with that too much. But here’s the thing, Horizon Zero Dawn turned the open world survival genre on its ear, too. A beautiful rendering of an original world, a compelling and not-just-good-for-a-video-game story, but an actually good bit of sci fi-fantasy. Brand new and badass female identified character. A pretty diverse cast. And some top notch combat mechanics with, yes, I’m saying it, the best bow and arrow mechanics in gaming history.

Have I mentioned the dope ass robot, dinosaur-like enemies yet? Have I mentioned the pitch perfect crafting system and the legit strategy involved in fighting the higher tier enemies? Horizon Zero Dawn wasn’t just my favorite game of this past year, it is Guerilla Games best game to date. Which is a lot considering they created a franchise that sold a lot of Playstation Systems over the years (Killzone). – William

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