2017 was a rock-solid year for games. So many top players came out at a killer pace that it turned out to be almost impossible to find the time to play everything. The Christmas holidays are therefore a great time to play the games that you previously left behind. These are the best games of 2017.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for Nintendo Switch recently won the prestigious Game of the Year Award, as voted by fans and professionals. Rightly so. It's not often that one particular game turns an entire genre upside down. But after this Zelda game, we'll be mirroring every open world game to this new, fantastic standard.
Where you were held by the hand more and more in the previous Zelda games, Breath of the Wild releases your hand almost immediately. You awaken with amnesia in a cave and once you take the first steps outside you are completely free to explore Hyrule. The world is at your feet may be a cliché, in this case it is more than true.
Read the entire The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild review here.
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Horizon: Zero Dawn is also an open world game, but in this case made in the Netherlands. Guerrilla Games puts our small country firmly on the map in the game industry, as the studio did before with the Killzone games. They were already known for the stunning graphics, and Horizon: Zero Dawn is again very progressive in that regard.
This game is ideally suited to christen your new 4K TV with HDR support. But in the end it is of course mainly about the gameplay, and that is also solid with Horizon. You play as the tough heroine Aloy, who must survive in a post-apocalyptic game world against deadly mechanical dinos. Every fight is a true spectacle!
Read the full Horizon: Zero Dawn review here.
Super Mario Odyssey
The Nintendo Switch is just a young console, but it has already spawned two titles that will forever go down in the books as some of the best games of all time. Because in addition to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odysey also launched this year, and what a party that is. If you thought that such an antique character could not surprise more, then you are wrong.
Super Mario Odysey is a platform game that constantly offers you new challenges, each more original than the next. For example, you transform into enemies by throwing your cap at them, so that you suddenly punch through the levels like a huge T-rex. There are hundreds of Moons to earn as rewards for your actions. So you're cool with that.
Read the entire Super Mario Odyssey review here.
Kidney: Automata
In 2017, the Japanese game industry flourished again. Just think: three of the five games in this top five come from the Land of the Rising Sun. Nier: Automata is also undeniably a Japanese game, full of scantily clad ladies in tight suits and action that is quite over-the-top. But that's only part of the story.
Beneath the surface of Nier: Automata lies an emotional and profound story, full of philosophical questions about the bond between man and machine. As the android 2B (or not to be!) you fight against evil robots that have taken over the earth, but nothing is as it seems. Described as a masterpiece by our colleagues from Gamer.nl.
Read the full Nier: Automata review here.
cuphead
You only have to take one look at Cuphead to fall completely in love with it. The unique graphic style is clearly inspired by the early works of Disney: nostalgia all around. But beyond the unique style, we mainly remember Cuphead for its difficulty. That is because it is important. Very spicy.
Cuphead is a game for go-getters. You play every boss fight on the cutting edge. It is imperative to memorize and anticipate enemy attack patterns. In practice, that means dying very often and trying again just as often. But when you finally drag in the win, it's all the sweeter.
Read the full Cuphead review here.
