What an impressive gaming year so far!

[Spirit]

Last year for me as a gamer was bloody horrible. Very few games interested me and ones i did play didnt leave a lasting impression.

In fact my top ten of 2016 only had four entries, two were remakes and the other two were short digital only crowdfunded games...


2017 though, its only March and wow!!

Speaking for my personal tastes; Gravity Rush 2, Tales of Berseria, Nioh, Nier Automata, BotW and Horizon Zero Dawn have all been huge releases and all really good (and theyre just the games I'm interested in, more came out besides).

We'll soon have the likes of Yooka-Laylee, Persona 5, Dragon Quest 11 & Heroes 2 and then later in the year we have Mario, Fire Emblem, Tekken (Red Dead 2 for those who like that kind of thing) plus more besides (Final Fantasy's 30th should be noted) and we havent even had E3 and its surprises yet!

I'm struggling to think of a year that has started out as strong as 2017 has let alone one that had such momentum too.


How are you all feeling about this year so far?
Have the games had your interest?
Are they high enough quality?
Does the rest of the year hold intrigue for you?

 

[Dio]

Last year was pretty poor for me. I bought only two games that I remember and those were Deus Ex:MD which didn't hold my interest like the first and I ended up not finishing it. The other was FF15 which although I loved the game, I knew it had the potential to be so much more than it was so there was.

Two games for me and only one I really enjoyed.

This year will now be absent Scalebound but it has BoTW which I am playing now. Mass Effect Andromeda, Prey and XC2. Probably more I have forgotten on top of those. So definitely a stronger year.

 

[Link Floyd]

Oh yes, 2017 has probably been the biggest year of gaming out of all the years I've been into it.

I like this open world direction games are going in, as I believe all games should be like them. It's refreshing and nothing feels like a chore.

Games should be about involving the player and getting them invested in a world and story, instead of going from point a to point b.

I'm very much looking forward to the rest of 2017. I'm even excited about the new Mario game for Switch even though I'm not really a fan of the franchise. (That is if I ever buy a Switch.)

 

[Castle]

Yeah the past few years have been atrocious for video games, and this year already looked better months ago.

I think the releases so far have been good for business, but personally so far I am less than impressed. BotW and HZD could have been better. I expect better, in any case. Nier Automata is scoring off the charts with critics and "users" and that's pretty much solid indication that something's worth playing. I've yet to get my hands on the vast majority of games I've been interested in this year, so I can't speak personally for many of them but this year has more games I've even bothered to notice than the last several years in a row.

What's interesting is that more high profile releases have come out early this year than previously. For over a decade the trend has been to dump all the critical releases over the Holidays. It took the industry long enough to figure out how much that was hurting them. We're only three months in and we've already had a surge of some of this year's most highly anticipated titles. More are coming out this summer with very few slated for holiday release.

I've been saying it for years now. After attempting every conceivable way to screw over their customers, the video game industry is left with no other recourse. Either produce good honest entertainment (and stop lying to and abusing their consumers) or die. It's that simple. Given the choice between living honestly and going the way of history the industry finally chose to start doing their job and doing it right. They cannot afford to slack off anymore, which is why it seems like we've seen more original concepts and IPs this year already than in the last three or four years combined.

How are you all feeling about this year so far?

Whatever I'm feeling it's better than feeling betrayed.

Have the games had your interest?

More than in the last several years. Bonus points for not feeling jaded or pessimistic- only a little skeptical.

Are they high enough quality?

Yes and no. Games like BotW and HZD should have had much more going for them. They stopped far short of realizing their fullest potential. But quality's certainly been far better overall than previous years. So far it seems like only Wildlands has been a clumsy mess and critics and users are in accord on that. I had higher hopes for Tides of Numenera and those devs should be ashamed (and shunned) for churning out such a half baked exploitative cash grab. But we've certainly seen a measurable quality improvement. Not sure that says much when video game quality has been sitting at rock bottom for the last few years.

Does the rest of the year hold intrigue for you?

I got my eye on a few things. I hope the best for video games moving forward. A strong year may prevent a crash. Or maybe we've suffered a crash and we're already pulling out of it. Who knows? Maybe this year sparks the beginning of a video game renaissance?

 

[the8thark]

This year should be good for gaming.
Lots of great games coming out. What am I interested in?
Breath of the Wild, Blaster Master Zero, Fast Racing RMX, Yooka-Laylee, Super Mario Odyssey, Dragon Quest 11, Dragon Quest Heroes 2.

There's even been some great tech demos released. Horizon Zero Dawn is an amazing tech demo. One of the best graphical tech demos I've ever seen.

Nintendo and it's 3rd Party support as well as the 3rd parties making PS4 games and tech demos are all working over time. A great tiem to be a gamer. Not somuch comnig on the XBO front though.

 

[Spirit]

There's even been some great tech demos released. Horizon Zero Dawn is an amazing tech demo. One of the best graphical tech demos I've ever seen.

Hahhaha, ouch. Them's fighting words.

 

[DoomDash]

There's even been some great tech demos released. Horizon Zero Dawn is an amazing tech demo. One of the best graphical tech demos I've ever seen.

So butt hurt, and for no reason.

Anyway, Tekken 7 is all I need.

 

[A Link In Time]

This is definitely the best year for games since 2013, but still doesn't approach what was 2007 for the last generation of gaming. Perhaps I'll be proven wrong by the end of the year, but it feels like there are fewer major releases this generation with traditionally great franchises slouching a bit and not as many new franchises coming to the board. I don't know if we'll ever have another year with games the likes of Super Mario Galaxy, Bioshock, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect, Metroid Prime 3, Rock Band, and The Orange Box all releasing in one year. But it's still looking fantastic to be a PS4 and Switch owner this year.

 

[DoomDash]

I don't think I could pick the "best year" in gaming, only era, and this ain't it.

 

[the8thark]

So butt hurt, and for no reason.

I am not butthurt. I am amazed at all of the work that went into that tech demo.

 

[DoomDash]

I am not butthurt. I am amazed at all of the work that went into that tech demo.

Did that tech demo steal too many cookies from your fuhrer?

 

[Draymorath]

Yes, Mass Effect Andromeda is such a strong title. It's just oozing with that "quality AAA gaming experience".

But really though, this years has been impressively strong games-wise, and promises to continue to impress. So far I've really only played Breath of the Wild, but that's honestly enough to get me thinking very positively about the current state of affairs. I'm very excited to play NieR, Nioh, and Horizon: Zero Dawn when they finally get price-dropped (sooner rather than later would be appreciated). I hope to also get to Tales of Berseria sometime later this year. I have my hopes up for FE: Echoes as well.

I haven't even played most of these games and I'm already very optimistic about this year overall.

 

[the8thark]

Did that tech demo steal too many cookies from your fuhrer?

Was I supposed to laugh at that?

It's a seriously good tech demo. What's there to hate about it? The graphics tech used there is really industry leading.

 

[DoomDash]

Was I supposed to laugh at that?

It's a seriously good tech demo. What's there to hate about it? The graphics tech used there is really industry leading.

Graphics ain't even that great tbh. Prefer many other games like Witcher 3/Crysis3.