2017 for Gamers has been extraordinary with lots of fulfilled promises including 2017 and 2016’s E3 showcased games.
It featured not only games that gave us the hullabaloo but some also gave us much distress. In no particular order here are my top five games for the year 2017.
Horizon: Zero Dawn
A game set in a post-apocalyptic world, human civilization relapsed to an early way of life. Basic hunting and gathering lifestyle was the main groove of the gameplay to survive but the wonderful catch is; you gather materials from hunting machines! That’s right! Machines, a byproduct of advanced human creation, is in combination with a foraging and a tribesmen way of life. Not exactly a gameplay that you normally see but definitely mixes so much well together. You will be playing as Aloy, from the Nora tribe who was first banished but becomes the most tactful warrior their land has ever seen. She always thinks outside the box and because of this, she learns to craft weapons, bombs and traps from machines she disembodied and some machines you can even use to travel by ‘overriding’ their system. You can even customize her attire to suit your need in any situation, if you are dealing with machines that spits fire then you should be wearing the Carja Blazon. If you are infiltrating an enemy camp, stealth is the best way to avoid alarming more reinforcements then wearing the Nora Silent Hunter would be best. Exploration is also enjoyable because the map is so huge it has this open map feel and collectibles are also a joy to find. There is a lot to do in this game and this is one of the games that I will not easily forget. You better watch out that ending, it is such a tearjerker, if you are a softie.
Uncharted: Lost Legacy
It is the first stand-alone expansion of the Uncharted series and also the first not to show the main protagonist, Nathan Drake. This game features fortune hunter, Chloe Frazer whom we saw previously on Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and also in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. She is in the road to find the Tusk of Ganesh in the mountains of India, in the middle of the civil war with Nadine Ross who was the former leader of a private military group called Shoreline. Together they explored the beautiful landscape of the exotic location, visits surreal and amazing looking temples, solves these wonderful, intricate puzzles and fights off Asav’s men. While exploring you will get to save Sam Drake, Nathan’s brother, and the trio made their way to alas find the Tusk which was actually dear to Chloe. Why? Play the game and you will know not only how compelling the storytelling is of this game but how it unfolds. From exploring the an underground forgotten city to knowing the history of India’s, although it’s a short gameplay but the experience is indeed rewarding.
Persona 5
The first Persona series was released over 21 years ago and the game just keeps evolving into its own masterpiece. Persona 5 sets place in modern day Tokyo as we follow the player-named character as he gets cared under a coffee shop owner Sojiro because of a juvenile case. As a normal teenager he goes to a fiction school named Shujin Academy where he will meet his future squad as a secret vigilante who call themselves Phantom Thieves and changes hearts of criminals in Metaverse. Metaverse is a supernatural realm consisting of the peoples strongest desire warped into a heinous place full of Shadows that attacks the Phantom Thieves. To fight off these Shadows, you cannot just be a normal teenager but a Persona use. A Persona user must awaken their inner desire for justice and to help the human kind. But the player-named character is the most special out of the bunch as he can wield multiple Persona making him stronger and strategy must be used in order to defeat stronger Shadows. While the heroes in Metaverse, these kids have to maintain their average student lives. You would have to study for future exams, hangout with your team to get to know them better, help out in the coffee shop and well, to fall in love with someone or two.
Assassin’s Creed: Origin
‘Another AC Series?’ I know, right? I think most would agree that Ubisoft has milked this series long enough that it should’ve stopped when they released AC: Unity. Ezio Auditore will always be that iconic and bold assassin and AC: Black Flag is the only exception among the other disappointing installments released, until now. Origins setup is a rendition of the Ancient Egyptian world, it features desserts, pyramids, sphinx and tombs. I’ve always have this strong admiration towards the history of Egypt, from their Pharaohs, to their customs and to their interesting gods. Combining this with the familiar gameplay of Assassin’s Creed, it opened its doors to new possibilities and heightened the gaming experience. Taking the role of Bayek, an ancient Medjay who is sworn to protect the Pharaoh, is joined by her lovely wife Aya. A tragedy led them to annihilate the corruption that has befallen in their locale, helping other citizens and befriending animals. There is tons to do in this open world location and collectibles is fun to do. Visually stunning locations, surreal looking marketplaces and interesting submissions. This game truly set that bar high up again.
Little Nightmares
An Indie platformer in the mix, Little Nightmares gives that horror and macabre feel in every scene that story unfolds. A mystery from the very start, you follow the character of a tiny yellow hooded girl named Six. Six wakes up from a swaying boat called The Maw which has a despicable purpose. You will have to guide her along the innards of the said boat to escape but you will have to meet the antagonist of the story. The Janitor though blind but his hearing is as sharp as a knife, normal walking will eventually alert his senses and you may try to run to his long arms will eventually get you if you can’t get a head start. The Siamese twin chef with its ghastly deformed faces and that shriek that will send shivers while running for your life, two bodies joined together meaning four frightening hands reaching out to your puny body and when they do, you will be dropped in a boiling cauldron ready to be served. Those are just a few horrendous beings and while you run and hide from these beings you will have to solve puzzles to save yourself from the horror. At the end of the game, a lot of speculations befall on these characters but you decide whether those are true or you might have a different theory.
