2017 has been the best year for Snoman Gaming yet, and thanks to your help we hit 100,000
subscribers, in fact, actually, Youtube sent me the 100k plaque, but they made it out of
snow, so uhh...it's melted...but it's also been a phenomenal year for gaming, perhaps
the best in recent memory.
It's been hit after hit every single month and I've had such a hard time narrowing
down my choices for the Snoglobes this year, which are my video game awards in case you
didn't know, that's what I'm kinda getting to.
Things are going to look a little different this time around, instead of having 3 nominees
and a winner for every category, I'm going to quickly get to the victor of the awards
and spend a little more time talking about each one.
The Game of the Year will still have 5 nominees like normal, however.
It's probably also important to remind you that I haven't played every game out there,
and this is a personal list of what stood out to me the most, so don't get super mad
if your favorite didn't make the cut.
There's a lot to cover so let's dive right in.
The first award we'll be giving away is for this year's Cutest Game.
There were a lot of charming & adorable stories told in 2017, most of which seemed to come
out of nowhere and surprise me with how good they were, but I think without a doubt the
one that captured my heart the most was A Hat In Time.
In my Good Game Design on this title, I talked a lot about its creation and how it was developed,
but I didn't get a chance to just gush about all the things I loved about it.
I've heard complaints regarding Mario Odyssey, saying people missed the lengthier star missions
from previous games, since now it's a much faster paced treasure hunt, so if I hear these
concerns, I try to direct them to A Hat in Time.
Every single act has so much personality bursting at the seams, and it never feels repetitive
or like it ran out of ideas.
It keeps getting wackier and more ambitious with every mission, and each one can take
anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour!
But no matter where Hat Girl travels to, from a terrifying haunted manor to the sky-high
peaks of the Alpine, it always made me smile and was cute as heck from start to finish.
Hat Girl herself is delightful with all the different outfits she can wear and how she
sees the world through a child's eyes.
The way she interacts with the different characters were the highlights of the game for me, and
the supporting cast did nothing but emphasize the theming Gears for Breakfast was going for.
A Hat in Time threw caution to the wind and strived to be extraordinary, and I don't
think I've ever seen an indie studio give so much love and attention to how the game
played as well as how the world would appear.
It exudes polish, and after waiting years for its release, I can finally say that it's
exactly what I was hoping it would be.
Next up, we have the "It's Like Dark Souls" award.
This phrase has gotten a lot of use this year, mostly in a tongue in cheek way to simply
describe when a game is really difficult, but there have been a few titles that lived
up to this comparison.
While I wish it hadn't become such a meme, I can't help but think that the best title
that actually exemplifies the Dark Souls experience is Hollow Knight.
Yes of course it's a 2D Metroidvania, but the tone and atmosphere of the Souls series
is absolutely present in this fascinating adventure.
Hollow Knight has a strong focus on combat, and many of the boss battles exhibit the same
tense moments that reminded me of why I loved Dark Souls so much.
You have to learn patterns and become a better player in order to succeed - you will die
many times and have to pick yourself back up to try again, all while losing your sou-
I mean Geo - in the process.
But even further, the expansive world and hidden backstory drew me in and made me question
what happened here ages ago.
Hollow Knight just keeps on giving and when you think it's nearing the end, you aren't
even close.
It ramps up as you gain more abilities and challenges you in many different ways, from
learning the locations because of a limited map, to platforming gauntlets to test your
endurance, to balancing health as you slaughter your way through waves of enemies.
This is the first game produced by Team Cherry, which was a development team of 4 people,
and this blows my mind considering the full-scale quality release that is the final product.
If you're interested in compelling Souls-like stories, or the challenge that comes along
with them, with a base price of $15, you cannot go wrong with Hollow Knight, and it has quickly
become one of my favorite campaigns of this year.
Unfortunately, amidst all of the fantastic titles in 2017, there were some disappointments
as well, and now we're going to award the biggest one.
Of course there was AAA drama with games like Battlefront 2's lootboxes or Destiny 2's
locking of previously available content behind new DLC, but I didn't play those titles,
for good reason.
Instead I want to talk about the game that let me down the most: Yooka-Laylee.
I described at length my issues in my Banjo vs. Yooka video back in May, but supposedly
they've fixed some of these problems in recent patches, such as being able to skip
cutscenes and adjusting the slippery controls of the snow plow, but the sad truth for me
is that it simply is too late for that.
I've said from the start that if Yooka-Laylee had been given an extra 6 months to a year
of development it would have gone a long way in creating a fuller, more enjoyable experience
overall.
Instead what we're left with is a skeleton of a collectathon, a blueprint of what it
could have been.
There's references to past games and cheeky banter abounding but the core gameplay and
content feels lackluster compared to its history of great 3D Platformers.
Even if they continue to make small revisions, I don't think it would fix my main issue,
which has always been the lack of meaningful secrets in Yooka, especially after teasing
some big reveals, and to this day we still have nothing of value or wonder, but instead
what feels like a hastily completed project trying to be the first one out of the gate
for the 2017 collectathon rare-vival.
I can certainly still hope for a more thought out sequel in Playtonic's future and am
interested to see where they go from here, but for now, we've gotten 2 other 3D platformers
this year that are better in almost every aspect.
This brings us to the "What time is it?" award, and this one goes to the game that
was so enthralling that I just couldn't put the controller down and then eventually
realize that hours have gone by without even noticing.
It's hard to find a game that can draw you in without a care in the world these days,
but a few titles had me pining to play more while I fulfilled my other obligations.
And the one that captivated me the most was Breath of the Wild.
This game was truly a magical affair, and something I'd never seen from the Zelda
franchise before.
It emphasized discovery and exploration in ways I've only seen other open world games
dream of doing, by simply letting you free to wander the plains of Hyrule and reveal
everything hiding in its world.
When it first came out, people were already claiming it to be their Game of the Year,
but now that the dust has settled some quickly point out its flaws like the lack of enemy
variety or the annoyance of weapon durability, but I can't shake from my mind how engaging
my first playthrough was.
Breath of the Wild is sort of a unique case where playing through it again won't have
nearly the same impact that it did on your initial pilgrimage, but the secrets you'll
discover and the people you'll meet on that first runthrough are unforgettable.
The world is littered with such a vast amount of shrines, korok seeds, enemy camps, minibosses
and memories that no matter how you get from point A to point B, you're going to find
something along the way, and more often than not, a distraction so tantalizing, you'll
spend an extra several hours on a side-excursion before heading back to your original plan.
Zelda is normally a pretty linear series, but Breath of the Wild left me with such a
satisfied journey that I couldn't take my eyes off of it until I had finished,
many, many hours later.
Our last award before Game of the Year is for Best Art Direction.
There was a plethora of beautiful games this year, from hi-bit sensations to jaw dropping
masterpieces in both visuals and sound, but I think this Snoglobe has to go to Cuphead.
Despite my opinions on my how it handled difficulty some of the time, I still enjoyed it quite
a bit, and there's no doubt that Cuphead is absolutely gorgeous - I think this is what
drew most people in when it first came onto the scene.
I remember seeing it briefly during an Xbox E3 indie showcase and everyone saying, "Woah,
wait, go back!
What was that game that looked like 1930's cartoons?!"
It caught my eye to say the least, and now that it has come to fruition, I can definitely
say that it was a passion project that perfectly captures the style it's trying to emulate.
Not just in boss animation, but the overworld, the characters, and especially the music as
well.
What I didn't expect was that it brought all of the imperfections of the era with it,
like how Cuphead's clothes don't match on certain screens, or how the objects in
the foreground wiggle around and are much brighter than the hand-painted backgrounds,
making them stick out like a sore thumb.
Yet all of this is endearing, it's reminiscent of all the cartoons we grew up watching - gambling,
deals with the devil and cigar smoking are par for the course here.
But perhaps what is most impressive is the bar that this sets for art in games in the
future.
Not only is the loopy, unrealistic animations wonderful homage, but it's also clearly
well done and full of little details you probably won't even notice because you're focusing
on all the mayhem coming at you.
This combined with the challenge of each battle made sure you'll never forget the faces
of those that decimated you over and over.
And honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way...
Alright, the time has come - let's get to the Game of the Year award!
As I said earlier, it was painful trying to cut the list of awesome games that I've
played this year down to 5, but the nominees on this list not only were fantastic voyages
on their own, they also left a monumental impression on me that made me sit back in
awe of what I'd just played.
We probably won't have a year quite like 2017 in a long time to come, so let's celebrate
some of the best titles it had to offer.
Breath of the Wild - From the moment King Rhoam told me to go and...roam (oh wow, I
get it) Hyrule in an effort to figure out how to defeat Ganon, I was hooked and realized
this was going to be one crazy adventure.
The simple fact that you CAN go and confront Ganon from the very start is enough to make
this an unparalleled experience, and each decision I made felt like I was carving my
own path, and every other person's journey was going to look drastically different from
mine.
It felt rewarding to gain strength as I discovered shrines, uncovered hidden fairy fountains
and collected magical powers from guardians of legend.
And then, once I'd completed all the main dungeons, I didn't want it to end because
there was still so much to explore.
From shield surfing, to tower climbing, to the trials of Eventide Island, Breath of the
Wild is jam packed with the joy of an adventurer's heart.
A Hat In Time - Do you like pretty hats, booping noses and riding scooters?
I do...that's like my favorite things.
Then A Hat in Time is perfect for you.
I love that I can still remember every chapter of this game because each one is unique and
full of precious little momentos.
So yeah, it's cute, but it also controls really well and feels awesome to move around
the different worlds, which is very important for a 3D platformer to succeed today.
The base game is almost flawless, but what's even better is that free DLC is coming with
entirely new locations, and until then we have full mod support, so the community can
come up with some ridiculously wacky scenarios to place Hat Kid into.
I don't know if another game has made me so happy from start to finish like A Hat in
Time did.
Super Mario Odyssey - I think I purposefully kept expectations low for Mario Odyssey because
it had a lot to live up to.
I didn't think it could possibly be up to par with the likes of Mario 64 and Sunshine,
especially with his recent forays into more linear games.
But WOW YEAH I was totally wrong!
Odyssey is exactly what I wanted out of a new Mario game, big open worlds to explore,
tons and tons of collectibles to find, and somehow EVEN BETTER movement mechanics than
in previous installments.
Seriously, of all the take aways, the fact that Mario now controls better than 64 is
downright unbelievable, but here we are.
Though it didn't stop there!
We've now seen Mario in huge metropolises, taking over old & new enemies for tons of
variety, and beating up Bowser in the most anime way possible.
I love it so much.
Hollow Knight - Hollow Knight was my Hyper Light Drifter of this year.
What I mean by that is I originally tried it out, but quit after a few hours because
I got lost or didn't really understand it.
But luckily I gave it another shot later this year and as soon as I past where I had left
off, the game soared beyond my wildest expectations and became something remarkable.
I'm so glad I gave Hollow Knight a 2nd chance because now I understand what everyone had
been speaking so highly of.
It may have a slower start, but when you discover exactly how huge the world is and the potential
your character holds for combat and platforming, it turns into a quest unlike any other Metroidvania.
From the cryptic story to the variety of locations and enemies, to the novel bug-based art style,
Hollow Knight was intriguing, mesmerizing and weird, but in the best way possible.
Golf Story - I did not expect to love Golf Story as much as I did, but it must've hit
a hole-in-one in my heart to satisfy what I've been missing in my life because it
was so good you guys!
It made me remember loving the simplicity of games like Mario Golf, but also the silly
yet adorable storytelling of Stardew Valley, and combines them flawlessly.
Golf Story is a lot longer than I thought it was going to be, and it stays engaging
the entire time, which I mean, makes sense when you're going from hitting golf balls
into the eye sockets of skeletons to rap battling against elderly people.
While it does feel like you hardly ever play a round of golf, it does actually blend the
matches and other quests together quite well, and tells a charming tale of an optimistic
boy's rise to pro golfer, with a little bit of hijinks along the way.
And the game of the year is:
Super Mario Odyssey!
The hardest decision I had to make for this list was deciding between Mario or Zelda for
my game of the year.
They both were such fresh expeditions for their series that at the very least I think
we can all agree that Nintendo has had a sensational year - I don't want to hear anyone complain
about ol' Ninty for at least another 3.
But seriously, both Breath of the Wild and Odyssey are once-in-a-decade type games and
yet we got both of them 6 months apart.
I think it will come down to what type of game you enjoy more personally, and for myself,
that's platformers.
Mario has never looked better, and gave me exactly what I was yearning for, while also
taking our favorite plumber into new waters (much like what they did for Link as well).
Cappy changes the gameplay in so many different aspects, from captures to movement, but what
I didn't expect was how much the endgame content added to the experience.
Not only was it packed with loads of nostalgia, but also more than doubled the base package.
Not to mention that replayability and speedrunning felt great because of how fluidly Mario can
glide around stages thanks to his new abilities.
Sometimes I'll just boot the game up to simply jump around skyscrapers or find new
ways to climb mountains.
While there were so many adventures that took my breath away this year, I think Super Mario
Odyssey takes the cake for me because it was everything I was hoping Mario's newest outing
would look like in 2017.
So there you have it, that's my list of the best games of the year, but I would love
to hear from you!
What were your favorite titles of 2017, either for these categories I came up with, or some
of your own?
Tell me in the comments below and let's talk about it!
As we enter a new year I wanted to make sure you were aware that I stream
regularly on Twitch.tv/snomangaming, so be sure to follow me on there so you don't
miss a stream, in case you want to see more of me playing a game or talk about design.
I can't thank you all enough for an outstanding year and I can't wait to see what 2018 has
in store.
So thanks for watching, and stay frosty my friends!
*singing* It's soaking into my butt!
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