I can”t believe 2017 is already coming to a close. What an absolute stellar of a year it has been. There have been a plethora of amazing games released throughout the year and it is such a shame that I was so busy with university and a rambunctious child that it was impossible to play them all. This year I moved away from long JRPGs to shorter more compact experiences and I really enjoyed the breath of fresh air that that provided me with. All of my life I have loved the 100 hour long JRPGs but time constraints impacted my ability to enjoy them. Being able to beat a shorter game in a couple of days is definitely my new preference. That said I do really need to start Nier Automata and Persona 5.
That said I did get to play some amazing titles this year. A nice mix of both new and old. My rather large backlog was a large focus and as a result I really cut down the amount of games I purchased throughout the year. One of the best things I obtained this year was a Nintendo Switch; which has been an absolute godsend in regards to playing games with a young child on the go. The ability to play games in handheld mode and put the console into sleep mode when I need to do something has been so beneficial. It feels different than the 3DS even though you could do a similar thing. In fact I haven’t played my 3DS since owning my Switch.
I was lucky to receive a few review codes as well which was honestly an amazing experience and I hope I can continue to grow my blog further in 2018. I really enjoy writing and talking about games and I do appreciate everyone who takes the time to read what I have to say. It’s nice to have such a positive atmosphere in regards to the hobby that I love. So thank you and I hope your wishes for the new year come to fruition.
The Last Guardian
This was a game that I had been waiting years for. I absolutely loved ICO and Shadow of The Colossus and I had no doubt in my mind that I would love The Last Guardian just as much if not more than it’s two predecessors. I anticipated the game so much that I ordered and bought the collector’s edition. When the game released I was so busy that I didn’t end up playing it until early this year.
I did enjoy it. It has some rather glaring issues that I ran into throughout my time with it but as a whole it’s an experience that anyone with a PS4 definitely should experience. The Last Guardian holds the honour of being the only video game to ever make me cry. I do always feel like I need to back this statement up by saying I was heavily pregnant at the time though.
Pokemon Sun
I always buy Pokemon games at launch and Sun was no exception. I was intrigued by how the changes would impact the overall experience and to be honest they didn’t really change it at all. It was more or less the same Pokemon experience that we know and love. There was just one tiny detail that was left out. Just one thing that still bothers me to this day. Why on earth did they remove the National Dex and place it inside Pokemon Bank? Of course I know why they put it behind a paywall but it’s really frustrating as I like to collect the PokeDex once I have finished the game. Considering the majority of Pokemon are currently sitting in my Pokemon Sun PC without even being registered in a PokeDex, I couldn’t bring myself to even bother evolving everything.
I ended up having to really push myself to finish the game and because of that I still haven’t purchased either Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon. I have heard a lot of negative things about them. However, I tend to not let others negative opinions impact my gaming decisions as I tend to like things a lot of other people don’t and vice versa. I just feel that I need more of a break before I bite the bullet and buy the sequel.
Kirby: Planet Robobot
I absolutely adore Kirby. How could you not? He is a big pink, squishy, adorable ball of.. Squishyness? It’s nice to play something that isn’t incredibly serious and that oozes charm. Kirby: Planet Robobot was another enjoyable entry into the series with the ability to turn into a robot and smash up the levels. The only downside to the game is the fact that it feels like there is one thousand end bosses and I’ve never been a fan of the ‘THIS ISN’T EVEN MY FINAL FORM’ trope. So I finished the game on a bit of a sour note. That said the game itself is quite fun and worth a play through. I just probably wouldn’t play it again.
Crash Bandicoot
Although I played all three Crash titles as part of the N.Sane Trilogy I still decided to list them separately as they are independent games. That said the review covers all three of the games.
I owned Crash Bandicoot as a child and due to my not so great gaming skills as a child and a rather barbaric save system I was never able to beat it. This was the first time that I ever had and I took great pride in being able to beat some of the levels that stopped other people in their tracks.. Native Fortress and Hog Wild being the earlier ones and the awful bridge levels The High Road and Road to Nowhere. I refused to use the rope trick so it took absolutely forever to make any progress. It definitely felt good when I did though.
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
Crash Bandicoot 2 was the only game of the three that I had REALLY played. Nothing was new to me and this helped me breeze through it. In fact I beat Crash 2 and Warped in the same amount of time that it took me to beat Road to Nowhere. I had such a soft spot for the polar bear levels. I fondly remember trying to escape sliding penguins, jumping orcas and even jumping on the poor cubs head to obtain extra lives.
It’s definitely nostalgia but I really feel like this is the best of the three and if I had to recommenced just one to someone new to the series it would be this one. It is a vast improvement on the first in regards to how the game controls and the abhorrent hit boxes. Most importantly cute polar bear cub!
Crash Bandicoot: Warped
I spent less than a day on Crash Bandicoot: Warped and I am glad that I did because by the time Warped came around I was definitely all Crash Bandicoot’ed out. It was rather straight forward other than the motorbike and jet ski levels. I personally found that they didn’t control that well and I was always disappointed when I had to beat one of those levels as opposed to excited as I am sure I should have been as it was something different to the normal levels.
My only hope now is that Spyro The Dragon gets the same treatment as Crash. Those games were truly magical.
LocoRoco Remastered
LocoRoco was such a brilliant little game when I played it back in the day on PSP. The announcement that it was being remastered really excited me. It’s such a bright and bubbly game with a fantastic musical score to boot. I really enjoy that the game play has you moving the environment as opposed to the character you are controlling. It’s a nice change of pace from pretty much every other game in existence.
Originally when I bought it I decided I would go for the platinum but by the end of my run I changed my mind as I have no desire to suffer through those speed runs or even beat each level without losing a life. As much as I enjoy the game.. That just isn’t for me.
FFXIV: Stormblood
FFXIV is one of my favourite games of all time. I have spent way too many hours grinding away for the chance to get a rare drop. Stormblood improved the game in almost every way and I really enjoyed the new mounts additions to the game. It’s hard to really talk about without spoiling too much and FFXIV is a game that is very story heavy and a lot of people still aren’t up to date. I’ll just say that it does have a fantastic story for an MMORPG but I wouldn’t expect any less from a Final Fantasy title.
If you play it you should totally let me know! I am on the Moogle server and I would love to raid with people sometime!
Mega Man
I bought the first Mega Man Legacy Collection when it was on sale as at this point in the year I decided I really wanted to branch out and play some games that I had never played before. I had a lot of series I had never touched and I wanted to change that. I was always nervous to try Mega Man as I had heard that they were incredibly hard games. The first one in particular. It was too good of a deal to pass up however and there I was wondering which one to start with. I chose the original as I decided I wanted to see how the series progressed and starting from a later game and going back would be more jarring with the removal of mechanical elements and additions that later games added.
There were a few levels that I found hard and there were two points where I thought that I might have to just give up on beating it. Those were the Yellow Devil (which took around three hours with no glitch) and having to verse all of the Robot Masters in a row at the end. It took me multiple attempts before I managed to make it to the end. I did though! This is probably the game that I am most proud of beating this year. It is a genre I generally don’t play and known for being hard and I did it! It’s probably not a lot to other people but I was quite happy! That said I haven’t gone back to start the second game yet.
Sonic Mania
I decided last minute that I was going to buy Sonic Mania. I only JUST missed the preorder cut off so I missed out on those nice themes! Oh well, the purchase was still more than worth it as it was such an amazing experience. I loved the mix of nostalgia and modern elements. It looked like a perfect blast from the past and is one of the best Sonic games that I have played in a long time. I do want to try Sonic Forces because I am willing to give anything a go but I know that Sonic Mania blows Forces out of the past. Maybe I am just not a huge 3D Sonic fan but 2D really works for it and that seems to be the opinion of the majority.
I collected all of the Chaos Emeralds and I only had a few trophies to go until I 100% completed it. I just have less patience and I don’t think I have the time to get gold medals on all of the bonus levels. Although I do absolutely love them. It was my third favourite before I played Mania but by the end of the game it’s my favourite now. I’d say that’s largely due to the fact that I had gotten quite good at it by the end of the game.
Water levels still suck.
Angels With Scaly Wings
I received a review copy for Angels With Scaly Wings and going in I had no idea what to expect. It was my first dating sim that focused on dating something that wasn’t human and that isn’t particularly high on my interests list. Nevertheless, I was flattered to receive my first ever review copy for a game so I booted it up.
This game is honestly so amazing. So much thought and love went into the game and its lore. It is so much more than a dating sim. It’s a time travelling, murder mystery with light dating sim elements in my opinion. I really became invested in the plight of the characters and trying to save the world. I ended up beating the game multiple times to see the different endings as the time travel element left me with a lot of questions after the first run.
Knack II
This isn’t a game that I expected to ever play. The original seemed to be very hated and the second one was a meme before it even released. I obtained Knack II during the pricing error where it was free on the Australian store. I figured I might as well give it a go before they revoked the license; which they never did. It’s a really pretty game and it plays well. For a game with a younger audience it does get quite difficult at times. I also had the game glitch out on me three times. I felt like the game dragged on and that it could have ended three or even four chapters before it did. Until then though I was actually having fun with the game.
I wasn’t really invested in the story and I feel like if I knew what happened in the first game it would have been a bit better but it’s all about the game play and that was definitely better than I expected.
Life Is Strange
How did I get to 2017 and not have Life Is Strange spoiled for me? I love you random internet people who never spoiled the game. I mean, the game has what I would say is a pretty big twist and it’s something that I thought people would talk about. I guess they probably did just not around me.
I only ended up playing the game because it was free with PS+. If I knew what the game was like before this I definitely would have paid for it. It was great and the story was engaging. The choices seemed like they meant more than that of TellTale’s games where everything happens regardless. Being able to go back in time and change your decision at some stages did take some of the stress in decision making away though.
I do have the prequel now and I was hoping to have it beaten before the year was out but as that’s mere hours away now I can’t see that happening. Maybe it will be the first game I beat in 2018 instead.
LIMBO
I originally played LIMBO on Steam and never beat it. When it was free on PS+ I downloaded it and as previously stated I decided to give LIMBO a go due to wanting to branch out and play new games.
It is quite short and I got through it in a day. I got all of the trophies except for the one where you had to beat the game with less than five deaths. I thought about going for it but I have no idea if I have the patience to do that. I died.. A LOT when I was beating it so it would be a lot of trial and error to learn each level enough to beat it. For now I am just happy having beaten the game and the little extra dark area. I never want to try to avoid saws in the dark ever again.
Pokemon Silver
Pokemon Silver is my favourite game in the Pokemon series. Generation II did so much for the game. Breeding, shinies, time of day just to name a few. Plus it has the best Pokemon and legendaries in my humble opinion. I bought the VC release along with Gold as soon as they launched. I flew through the game but I ended up slowing down when I kept changing my party to add end game Pokemon that I wanted in my team. This made my battle against the Elite Four a little traumatic as my Pokemon were a lot lower than if I just kept the Pokemon I had and kept going.
My team ended up being Tyranitar, Ampharos, Espeon, Blissey, Typhlosion and Kingdra. I was quite happy with this team although I was limited with some of the move sets due to the lack of TMs and moves that some of the Pokemon learnt as they levelled up. I had used all of these Pokemon before except for Blissey. Blissey was a new one for me and I was inspired by all of the times I had put Blissey into a gym in Pokemon GO. They are such a pain to kick out of the gyms and for that reason I decided to try my hand with one in the game.
Although I bought Gold I can’t see myself playing it any time soon. I will more than likely play Crystal but at least Crystal has some changes. It also has the most important change of all – the ability to be a female Pokemon trainer. That amazed me when I was a young girl.
My Name Is Mayo
What is there to say about this game? It’s a game where you poke a jar of mayo. Repeatedly. Whilst it wears some rather.. interesting clothing. It’s a clicker game and the only reason anyone buys it is because it is a cheap and easy platinum. It’s not on the Australian store but I picked it up on my US account.
It’s not worth recommending unless you want an easy platinum or really like clicker games. I’m sure there’s someone out there that has a clicker addiction.
Mr. Massagy
Can you buy My Name Is Mayo without Mr. Massagy? I mean yes, you technically can but they’re both easy platinums by the same team and that’s what you’re after when you buy them right? I had no idea what I was getting into with this game but the name was enough of an indicator. Mr. Massagy is basically a parody of dating apps like Tinder. You choose between some rather interesting female characters and you have dialogue choices with the hopes that you will be able to massage the female at the end of the date.
The game itself isn’t particularly memorable and I would only buy it if you just care about trophies. There’s not really enough substance to play it for any other reason.
Tina’s Toy Factory
I bought Tina’s Toy Factory because it was 99c on the US eshop. It’s a puzzle game similar to other match-three puzzle games with a twist where you have to build toys during the level. Toy parts randomly spawn throughout the level and you need to connect them and get them down to the conveyor belt whilst meeting other requirements such as time limits or move limits.
The game was fairly easy and there was only one or two levels I needed to repeat when I went for 100% trophy completion. It was something different and I can’t remember the last time I played a puzzle game. Definitely worth 99c.
Tokyo Tattoo Girls
I received a review key for Tokyo Tattoo Girls and I was so very excited to try it for myself. I love niche Japanese games and Tokyo Tattoo Girls was rather interesting indeed. I had no idea what I was really getting myself into but a lite real time strategy game was not what I was expecting.
The game basically plays itself and you are more of a money manager who tattoos the girl of your choosing. That said it does get brutally difficult as time goes on. It’s fast paced and one wrong move and you’ve run out of honour and you’ve hit the game over screen.
I was so happy to receive a code for this title as it was from NIS and my biggest developer I have gotten a review code from to date. I hope I get such luck in 2018 too. It is an amazing experience.
Super Mario Odyssey
I got a Switch! This was something I had wanted for a long time. I had almost exclusively gamed on Sony consoles before this but I was sold on the Switch thanks to the Nintendo Direct that showed all of the amazing games coming out for it.
It was hard to choose between Odyssey and Mario + Rabbids but I chose Odyssey as everyone else was playing it and I don’t often get to play at the same time as everyone else as I kind of go at my own pace. It was a lot of fun playing at the same time as other people though!
This was the first 3D Mario game I had ever beaten and the second Mario game over all. I loved the music and most of the Kingdoms. Except Lost Kingdom. That Kingdom should just disappear forever. I had so much fun with the game. I’m not normally one to collect everything so I didn’t get all of the moons but I did get a lot of the extra ones and found myself doing more things that I wouldn’t normally do in games. I collected all of the outfits, went out of my way to collect purple coins and do puzzles. Which of course is nothing to most people but I like to beat something and move on.
The ability to take over other creatures for new abilities was really awesome. My only issue is that I wish you could take over literally everything but I was still happy with what you could do.
I am so glad I got to experience this game and from here I might go back and try Super Mario Galaxy. I mean I do own both of them!
Emily Is Away Too
I was given a code for this game and it’s definitely my cup of tea. It’s rather short and is based on the good old days of using IM messaging whilst in school. Although it is based on AOL (which I just recently learnt stood for America Online) it made me incredibly nostalgic for MSN which is what us Australian high school students used.
I remember rushing home to talk to people on MSN, even people I wouldn’t talk to at school but would suddenly have long conversations with online. You had to have some edgy song lyrics in your status and always show what you were listening to.
Emily Is Away Too was a reminder of what high school was like. It incorporated arguments and drama that I could see happening. It felt very real and I enjoyed my time with it.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Mario + Rabbids is the game that I most wanted a Switch for. Whilst a lot of the reactions to the leak were incredibly negative; I was so super excited! I didn’t mind the Rabbid games and I loved Rayman so any kind of collab was all good in my books. Plus it was just so interesting to see Mario in a cross over game with, well, anything.
The Rabbid versions of the the Mario characters are really cool. I loved how they made an Instagram account for Rabbid Peach and just how sassy they made her. All of this just made me more hyped to play the game.
I really enjoyed the game although it ended up being a lot harder than I expected. Some of the levels I had to redo a few times. The last boss was rather challenging and it took me far too many attempts to get it done. I didn’t realise that you needed to choose your team and weapons before you went into the battle so I just had to go in with what I had. It was hard. I ended up only having Rabbid Peach at the end and she totally saved the day for me. For that I will love her forever.
Dragon Fantasy II
I bought this from the US PSN Store as I read that it was a fun ten hour adventure that parodies JRPGs. It does do that. You know what else it does? Crash. A lot. The game crashed on me seven times and one time I got stuck in a wall. These crashes were all during boss fights; all but one crashing as soon as I beat the boss. I can accept one crash. Two crashes? Sure. But seven was honestly just too much. I actually liked the game but the amount of times I had to restart it just ruined any feeling I had for the game. I only kept at it so that I could beat it as I hate leaving things half done.
Hatoful Boyfriend
This is another game that I had started ages ago on Steam. I liked it but never played too much of it. I did like it enough to back the Hatoful Boyfriend plushie kickstarter though! I have three of the cutest pigeon plushies ever now. Anyway, since I had it on PSN I decided to give it another go. After dating dragons I decided pigeons weren’t so bad. The pigeons had rather interesting and emotional stories and I got more into it than I thought I would. I did only end up getting endings for two of the characters and then I just didn’t feel like continuing with the game but I might come back to it one day. Otherwise I will go straight to Holiday Star.
Doki Doki Literature Club
What is this? I don’t know. I had heard about it here and there but it wasn’t until it won all of those IGN awards that I decided to take it seriously. I made my way to the Steam store and was surprised to see that it was free. I downloaded it right then and there and decided to play it. I had read that it was a horror game but it looked like a pink, sugary, cupcake loving game. I was very intrigued to see from how it got from one extreme to the other.
The game definitely did not disappoint. But it wasn’t just the game that surprised me. It was the deeper lore inside the code that has me the most intrigued. The information about their next game. That’s what I really want to play. I want that game so bad. It sounds so incredibly interesting. Not to say that DDLC wasn’t interesting. It’s definitely the most surprising game I have played this year. There’s nothing quite as spine chilling as a horror game that breaks the fourth wall and DDLC definitely did that.
Oxenfree
I only just beat Oxenfree today! Right on New Years Eve so it only just made the list. I picked it up when it was $5 in the sale after hearing good things. I am so glad that I did. It’s just such a great game. Although it’s a little bit creepy it wasn’t too bad that I couldn’t play it at night and I am a wuss. The dialogue between the characters was fantastic and it felt real. So often game conversations sound off and you wouldn’t hear real people talk like that but that wasn’t the case with Oxenfree.
The story was interesting and NG+ is definitely interesting. I don’t want to give too much away in case people are still going to buy it and play it. I’m not sure how new it is on the eshop but if you haven’t already played it.. DO SO!
Well that’s it for the games that I played this year. I did spend a bit of time on Pokemon GO and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. I travelled to America and caught a Tauros on Pokemon GO and I am currently level 51 in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.
2017 has been such a good year for gaming. I can’t wait to see what 2018 brings!
Cilla vs. Games 