If Shovel Knight was the best game that late-era NES never had, Owlboy is the best game that late-era Super NES never had.
Simply put, Celeste is a tour de force.
Rarely do you find games these days that could be described as a combination of "ambitious," "thought-provoking," "hard-hitting," "hilarious" and "extremely fun," but somehow Not For Broadcast delivers on that front.
What likely started out as an Xbox and/or Bethesda executive thinking "Hey, wouldn't it be neat if we kept this game a secret and launched it during a special event?" has led to what could easily wind up as one of this year's GOTY contenders exploding onto the scene in spectacular fashion.
One notable little detail in Enter the Gungeon is that every time you return to the hub area early on, the four characters keep decking out the little corner they've set camp in with more and more decorations such as bunk beds and pizza boxes, eventually becoming increasingly comfortable even as they keep heading back into the carnage over and over.
While its true potential is unlocked when you have three friends to play it with (heck, one of the game's achievements actually rewards you for hosting a LAN party), Move or Die is an absolute blast and quite possibly one of the best party games on Steam.
Much like last year’s treatment with Grim Fandango, Double Fine have successfully restored one of the true classics of the adventure game world and it is glorious indeed. While not as deep and story-rich as last year’s offering, Day of the Tentacle more than makes up for it in humor, style, unique gameplay and a truckload of charm. So put on some Janet Jackson, travel back to an age where adventure games were king and enjoy the ride. Now to begin the wait for Full Throttle Remastered next year…
Stephen Lavelle deserves a pat on the back. Creating a quality puzzle game with a concept as quirky as this is one thing, but going above and beyond to put so much care into crafting such a near-immaculate set of puzzles equally brutal yet forgiving is full-on applause-worthy. To put it simply, Stephen’s Sausage Roll might be some of the meatiest and most delicious food for the mind you’ll taste all year.
FRU bills itself as “The last Kinect game you’ll ever need to play!” While it may be easy to make jokes about that statement just based on the first few words alone, what we have here is not only what may very well be the best Kinect game ever, but also one of the year’s best puzzlers and platforming games overall.
While roguelike and roguelike-inspired games such as these feel like a dime a dozen in recent times, Necropolis stands out simply by being the best that it can be, with a striking visual style, great sense of humor and an enjoyable co-op mode working together with immense, randomized, yet terrifically-designed levels and some great combat.
The moment you begin Headlander and see the VHS-style lines show up along with the formation of the old-school title with a blast of colors and a jaunty tune, you know you’re in for something good.
NieR: Automata is an absolute masterpiece from beginning to end (or ends, to be a bit more accurate).
Candleman is the first true surprise of 2017.
In the end, The Sexy Brutale is a marvelous and unique delight of a murder mystery, one you’ll have walked away from feeling shocked over what exactly you just saw play out in the story, satisfied over the challenging puzzles you’ll have solved to help out each masked guest, and dazzled over the vibrant and mesmerizing aesthetics.
Sonic Mania is one of those games that your childhood has always dreamed of.
One might say that Where the Water Tastes Like Wine isn't for everyone, that it may be seen as a more "artistic" title with a smaller amount of gameplay.
When all is said and done, Omensight ends up being a dazzling piece of work, a terrific action RPG game with fast and fun combat that works perfectly alongside a well-crafted and impressive mystery that's guaranteed to keep you addicted until you've figured everything out.
GRIS is, simply put, one of this year's masterpieces.
Unruly Heroes is superb action game destined to go down as one of this year's sleeper hits.
One could easily make the argument that Control could very well be Remedy's magnum opus.