Wow.  I expected to wait much much longer for a year to top 2015 for video game releases.  But this past year was just full of great new ones, on both console and PC.

Speaking of which, 2017 was also the year I switched over to PC gaming.  I still have my consoles and still play them some, but just about any new game that came out after July, I ended up buying for PC.  Graphical quality is better than I ever imagined.  Playing a game like Destiny 2 or Rocket League at a consistent 75-100 framerate is amazing.

Anyways, as usual, I only have so much time to check out new games that come out, so there are a handful of top reviewed games that I haven’t been able to play.  But when it comes to the ones I HAVE played, here are a few that didn’t make my top 5 but I still enjoyed somewhat:

NBA 2K18 (too much grinding and microtransactions, otherwise great)

Cuphead (super fun, super hard, and I need to play more of it)

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age

AC Origins

With that, here are the ones that made the cut for 2017:

#5 Destiny 2

The first Destiny had, in my opinion, the funnest and smoothest gunplay of any FPS I’ve played.  Destiny 2 is just as smooth, but it added much more substance around the gunfighting.  This was a great game to play on my new PC, clocking in a framerate around 80-100 almost the whole time.

#4 South Park The Fractured But Whole

There are few games (especially RPGs) that I am able to dive into and keep at it all the way to the end without taking a few month breather from it.  I beat the first South Park game in a matter of a week or two.  TFBW changed the battle system to a grid-based one, greatly improving the overall strategy and difficulty.  The story felt like it dragged on just a bit too long, but the constant jokes and chatter from the citizens of South Park never gets tiring.  I especially loved one battle inside a prison with a certain former sandwich spokesman.

#3 Horizon Zero Dawn

This is the one game in my top 5 that I haven’t finished yet.  But all that I have played of it so far has convinced me that it’s one of the best of the year, and I’m looking forward to jumping back in soon and beating it.  I’m a sucker for 3rd person action games that use a bow and arrow as its main arsenal.  And shooting robot dinos in the sweet spots makes it even better.  It’s quite a unique premise for an action RPG.

#2 Resident Evil 7

Releasing all the way back in January of 2017, this game deserves more praise but I think it’s getting forgotten about just a little because of how long ago it came out.  I’ve been a fan of RE games since the first sequel released about 20 years ago.  Unfortunately, I shared the sentiment that many people had that RE6 was dreadful, and it seemed the series was going downhill fast and that I might be done buying any new sequels that come out.  So when RE7 started getting chatter, I completely ignored all of it, assuming I had enough of the crazy over the top hot garbage it evolved into.  But when the demo was released, and I got a glimpse of some screenshots, I decided to pay attention.  And now after playing it all the way through, I strongly feel the RE series was meant to be played in the first person.  This game was fantastic from start to finish, and it definitely rekindled my affinity for this series.

#1 Pyre

Story and choice-driven adventure combined with some interesting RPG elements, AND topped off by a really fun little 3 on 3 competition within the game, Pyre was the most unique game I’ve played in a very long time.  It starts out wonderfully, but the attachment the player has to the characters doesn’t begin until later in the game when they must make some very crucial choices.  Choices that are like a double-edged sword in a way.  That by itself is enough reason for anyone to give this game a try.  It also has tremendous replay value.  I loved it, and am happy to claim it as my favorite game in 2017.