2017 is almost over, so it’s time for an epic question: What were our best games this year? We deliberated for a while and came up with a list that includes what we think are the best games of the year.
In this post, we’ll detail the best games we played this year as well as some others we have yet to enjoy. Please keep in mind that we didn’t play all of this year’s releases, and that we’ll focus on PlayStation 4 games for this post. Later in the week, we’ll have more posts detailing our best PlayStation Vita releases!
After you’re done reading this list, please be sure to tell us about your best games for 2017!
PlayStation 4
The PS4 is now a few years old, and is now the console we’re playing with the most (except EdEN who is always bragging about how great his Nintendo Switch [Editor’s Note: which it is]). We had a lot of material to choose from, so without further ado, here are our best PS4 games of the year!
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
One of the things that impressed me in this release was how huge the world was. In my review, I mentioned that I played for around 4 hours for my first session, and I explored A LOT, going as far as I could in every direction, without going back to the main quest I was supposed to tackle. I had explored at least 4-5 zones at 100%, and I then noticed that I had only explored a measly 5% of the total map. FIVE PERCENT!
The map size isn’t the only place this game shines since the gameplay is also epic, with a great team of characters, each with varied skills and the ability to switch the playing character at any moment in real-time.
Honorable Mention: Minecraft: Story Mode – Season 2
The second season of Minecraft: Story Mode isn’t finished yet, but boy has it had a good story so far! Each time a new episode releases I was always downloading it the day it comes out, and I loved playing each one! After the amazing Telltale Guardians of the Galaxy, Minecraft Story Mode is my favorite Telltale series. I loved the first season, and the second one is even better! I highly recommend you to keep this one on your radar!
Persona 5
If you had asked me over the past few years what game I was most anticipated, I probably would have told you Persona 5. Even with the delays, I got more excited because I knew we would get a more polished title, I just wanted it released when it was perfect. April 4th finally came around, and it’s almost like I “never saw it coming.”
Persona 5 enthralled my life with its story about Akira, Ann, Yoskue, Makoto and everyone else. It’s probably the best RPG of this generation between the excellent battle system, the excellent life choices that need to be made… but really sets it apart from everything this year is just its style, it’s oozing with it. From the animated menus, the way your character walks away from battles while telling you the results, the music – It might be the best sounding game of all year and maybe the best soundtrack of all time. It’s excellent. Give “Life will Change” a listen, and you will see what I mean. Having it play while you are on the way to encounter your boss just makes you feel so powerful. Honestly, just play this game. It really is one of the years best!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk2eUGISZpk
Honorable Mention: Everybody’s Golf
I put a lot of time into Persona 5 this year, but it wasn’t even close to the amount I put into Everybody’s Golf. I’ve been a fan of Hot Shot’s Golf for years, and with it relaunching under the Everybody’s Golf moniker, like the European and Japanese versions, I was very excited to give it a go. This game took the great formula of the series and raised it to a whole new level. It has a great single-player campaign, but what really set it apart is the wide open courses with other players playing on them. You heard that right… this one is an MMO! When you are playing on the open courses, so are other players from all over the world. I got to experience this I was playing on the 2nd hole of a course and, in the distance, I saw a firework celebration for someone getting a hole-in-one. This is one of the year’s best sports title and something that will keep you coming back for more.
Horizon Zero Dawn
2017 has been such a great year for gaming, even more so since I started to review games on this site back in July. Remasters like the Crash Bandicoot Trilogy and the WipEout Omega Collection have been great for both the nostalgia factor and their awesome gameplay, and are clearly must-play titles for me. I’ve discovered some pretty awesome games I might have missed out on this year, for example when I reviewed games like Masquerada or Splasher that could’ve passed me by if I didn’t have the chance to cover them here.
One year late to the party, I also platinumed Uncharted 4, and it could’ve been my personal game of the year if it wasn’t for a game I started this November: Horizon Zero Dawn.
Although, as of this writing, I haven’t completed the game, this one has already blown me away in the time I’ve spent playing. The story is captivating, the openworld you are in is just gorgeous (and I’m “only” on a regular PS4 with a 1080p TV – can’t imagine how crazy it must be on a PS4 Pro with a 4K TV !), and the robot dinosaurs you hunt are some of the best and most original creatures I fought in a long time. With a New Game+ and some additional story content with the DLC, this game will have me hooked for awhile and I’ll be proud to soon showcase it as my hundredth Platinum trophy!
Honorable Mention: Marvel Heroes Omega
Even though it’s not as amazing as Horizon Zero Dawn, I have to give a special mention to the recently shut down Marvel Heroes Omega. This Diablo-style game was based on the Marvel Universe, with a free-to-play model that could cost you a lot if you didn’t want to spend the time grinding for levels, was a lot of fun to play. I’ve spent dozens of hours on it, and would’ve spent even more time with it if Disney/Marvel and Gazillion Entertainment hadn’t broken up their alliance.
Yakuza 0
I had the pleasure of reviewing Yakuza 0 at the beginning of 2017, and I was blown away by the graphics and the amount of content in this one. The game can easily set you back 100 hours, and no game this year has come close to topping this!
You have complete freedom to play the game as you see fit. Do you want to follow the story? You can do that! Want to sidetrack and do some optional stuff to earn money? Yep, you can do that too! This is a SEGA game and that means there are some awesome SEGA surprises in store. Yakuza 0 is my game of the year for the PS4 in 2017!
Honorable Mention: Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut
The awesome indie puzzler Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut is a blocky violent block-pushing game. The aim is to kill the innocent people in the area in the most gruesome way. It sounds gross, but its actually fun and there are lots and lots of levels to keep you busy for an afternoon. On top of the great gameplay, it’s a very easy Platinum trophy that should take you 6-8 hours at most to get!
Stay tuned for our best PlayStation Vita games post which goes live on Wednesday!
What were YOUR best PlayStation 4 games this year?
