The PlayStation 4 really found its feet in 2017 and delivered some incredible games. Picking my Top 5 Games of 2017 was never going to be an easy task, but here it is. Please feel free to add your thoughts to the comments either here or on the YouTube Video.
Other great games I played that didn’t make the list include:
Final Fantasy XII the Zodiac Age, Oh Sir: The Insult Simulator, Wasteland 2, Little Nightmares and Gang Beasts.
Number 5 – Assassin’s Creed Origins
I’m not a huge fan of the series, having only played the original and Black Flag, but this just looked fun. And it is a huge amount of fun. The open world is a low-calorie Witcher 3 with excellent, interesting side quests and glorious environments. Interesting people fill a beautifully recreated Ancient Egypt, breathing life into the varied environments. Bayek makes for a compelling protagonist, his motivations are relatable and he is an interesting well-rounded character.
Combat is now fully action based with a wide variety of weapons to play around with. The ability system allows you to create a character that can become expert in Stealth, Ranged or Melee combat or a nice mixture or them all. Although the gameplay has mutated into an open world RPG it still feels like an Assassin’s Creed game. It is well worth checking out.
Number 4 – Elite Dangerous
I have such fond memories of playing the original Elite on my ZX Spectrum and Atari ST back in the late 80s. So this had a lot to live up to and it did with bells on! Elite Dangerous is a game that still delivers the sense of wonder and exploration of the original but with so much more. You basically get to explore the whole of the Milky Way. You can upgrade your weapons, cargo capacity, scanners and ships to become whatever you want to be. Pirate, bounty hunter, trader and even passenger liner are roles available to you, all within an intuitive space simulation.
One word of warning though… The in-game tutorials are total rubbish. YouTube tutorials will help you get started and I have a few tutorials you can access here.
Good luck commander!
Here’s is my First Impressions video of Elite Dangerous.
Number 3 – Uncharted The Lost Legacy
Anything coming from Naughty Dog is bound to be amazing. This started life as a bit of DLC and turned into a 9-hour game starring series favourite Chloe Frazer. Add into the mix Chloe’s partnership with Nadine Ross, an antagonist from Uncharted 4, and you have character dynamite. As always the dialogue fizzes and pops with one-liners, excellent banter and emotional beats. The bad guy is interesting and badass and the action never stops. As you would expect it looks utterly gorgeous and is one of the best looking games on PS4. I would recommend picking it up, at less than £30 it is totally worth the cash.
Number 2 – Horizon: Zero Dawn
Guerrilla Games was best known for Linear FPS Killzone, so they took a huge risk by going for an open world action RPG. What they delivered was simply awesome. Aloy became a PlayStation icon and rightly so, she is a compelling protagonist played with real flair and feeling by the wonderful Ashly Burch.
The story is really good and takes the narrative in an unexpected direction. The realisation of what Zero Dawn is really kicks you in the teeth.
The stars of the show though, are the monsters. Robot dinosaurs!!! They are intimidating and no matter how high a level you are mistakes will cost you dearly. You feel capable and powerful but never invulnerable. Defeating the metal monsters requires tactical thought, effective use of your varied arsenal and a mix of stealth and combat. There is nothing more satisfying than ripping off a Thuderjaw’s cannon with your tear arrows, picking it up and shooting it in the face with its own weapon. Awesome!!
Number 1 – Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
So here’s the number 1 in my Top 5 Games of 2017. Ninja Theory’s stupendous Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. It’s not only a great game of 2017 but also the most important.
Hellblade is a brilliant game with an interesting flawed principle character in Senua. The most compelling thing about the game though is the risk Ninja Theory took to get it made. They are respected AAA developer with a back catalogue of excellent titles. Ninja Theory got a bit fed up with the restrictions laid on them by publishers and decided to create and publish the game themselves. They funded it and created this beautiful game on a tiny budget. Proving that gorgeous, high-quality games are not the sole property of the AAA devs.
The game also deals with the very serious topic of mental health. Senua suffers from psychosis, hears voices and suffers hallucinations but she is a strong character and her mental health is woven into the gameplay. The journey she takes is not easy and you will feel the emotional impact of every horror she faces. Incredible voice acting, performance and facial capture enhance the impact of every emotional blow. The star of the show though is the amazing sound design. Ninja Theory used Binaural audio to really place you in the centre of the action and more importantly the centre of Senua’s psychosis.
Here is a link to Ninja Theory’s Development diaries, they are well worth a look.
Here is my video about why I love Hellblade so much
This is not a game for everyone, but if you have any interest at all I would compel you to try it out. Oh and make sure you wear headphones to get the full impact of the superb sound design.
Top 5 Games of 2017
So there we have it my Top 5 Games of 2017. I have missed some excellent games due to time and budget, such as Nier Automata, Persona 5 and Gravity Rush 2. So if your top 5 is different to mine please let me know in the comments.
2018 doesn’t seem to be slowing down either, here are some games definitely coming this year:
- God of War
- Detroit Become Human
- Kingdom Come Deliverance
- Spiderman
- Ni No Kuni 2
- Far Cry 5
And many more. Detroit Become Human is the one I’m most excited for, I love Quantic Dream and David Cage is a mad genius.
Have a fantastic year and I’ll see you with my Top 5 of 2018 this time next year.