Author: Individuo

Videogame Blogger and general layabout.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, SWITCH, XBOX ONE)

This review has been sitting in my drafts waiting for a slow day for the past 3 months. However now that the games are starting to dry up So with that lets get down and dirty with our Witcher (in all aspects of the term).

In The Witcher 3 we return to the story of Geralt of Rivea, a witcher which (for those of you who don’t know) is a monster hunter for hire. After reuniting with his on-again-off-again lover, the sorceress Yeneffer. She tells Geralt that he has been summoned to an audience with the Emperor Emhyr ruler of the Nilfgaardian Empire. The Emperor tasks Geralt with finding his daughter Siri who is being pursued by the Wild Hunt. Given that Siri is also Geralt’s adopted daughter after having been awarded her when he evoking the Law of Surprise after saving Emperor Emhyr’s life in the past, he accepts. Geralt then travels the land picking up Siri’s trail and confronting the Wild Hunt on the way.

As previously mentioned in my Metacritic post all those moons ago, I didn’t have a lot of past experience with The Witcher series before playing the game, a couple of hours with the original game and binging the Netflix series. So I knew enough to get me through the first module but no where close to achieving my Bachelors in Witcher Studies. This was fine however, the game seems to understand that it was going to bring in new players to the series so the game includes a handy glossary detailing important people, places and events for the unknowing, forgetful or slightly confused. It broke up the flow of the game a little, like having to stop and read the ingredients list of each item I put in my trolley when I do my monthly shop, but the upside was I didn’t feel as if the game was shunning me for not being one of the cool kids. This is also true with the first area of the game being one long tutorial detailing every mechanic of the game and giving a feel to how the rest of the game was going to unfold.

All this contributes to one of the strongest aspects of The Witcher which is it’s ability to create an interesting and engaging gaming experience. The world is teeming with background and lore, which makes you want to explore each of the small villages between Novigrad and Babylon in order to learn more about the world, as well as finding more quests and things to do/kill. Truly immersing you into the Ronin-esque lifestyle of a witcher. Strolling into town, bartering your loot, tracking down the local monster that’s been terrorising the locals, kill it, mount it’s head on your horse, get paid then mosey on out of town without nary a wave or tip of the hat. Along with the addictive card game of Gwent and the treasure hunts; The world is packed full of things to do and see. Plus if you ever get tired of dicking about there is always the main story which is encapsulating and very well written, everything about it from the characters you meet to the monsters that you slay feels like it belongs in the world, nothing feels out of place.

That being said, just like every time I go out for ice cream, it is possible to have too much choice. The combat is a good example of this. There are so many bells and whistles that just serve as extra baggage. There’s a whole assortment of potions to brew with various effects as well as a multitude of spells and sword techniques to master. However, I managed to get through most of the game using mostly quick attack, dodge and the fire spell. If I needed healing I’d had enough food I’d bought from my travels between inns to open a small chain of restaurants. It must have got to the point that by the time I got to the end of the game I must have eaten enough roast chickens to label them an endangered species. Although I did start to use the weapon oils around the end of the game, mind you it was only because it wasn’t until I’d upgraded them to max level that they really had any major effect. Whist I’m ranting a bit, what are Geralt’s swords made of? I know one is supposed to be steel and the other is silver but given how quickly they break they might as well be made of polystyrene wrapped in wet newspaper. To finish off my list of gripes I have about the game, there were one or two technical issues I had with the game bugging out now and again, mind you they were no where near in number or severity of that of Fallout 3 (which is my go to example of buggy games) but there were enough to get my dander up.

Besides my small tirade of niggles the game really is one of the pinnacle open-world action adventure RPG’s, which is quite the praise especially given how dense I mentioned the genre is in my Horizon Zero Dawn review. It delivers the goods exactly where it needs to and does it with such gusto it’s not hard to see why people are calling it “The greatest game of all time”. I disagree with the statement but I’d defiantly place it much closer to the top of the list than the bottom. Overall I don’t think I could have bettered the levels of enjoyment I got from The Witcher 3 for the £13 I spent on it, except maybe with the exception of some Nitrous Oxide and the Black Books box-set.

by Individuo

BONUS CONTENT: Player Personalities: What Gamers Want From Their Games

With my Game of the Year backlog done with, I can move on and discuss some more learned and thought provoking topics. For my bonus post this week I will be delving into The Bartle taxonomy of player types and scratching the surface as to what different gamer types enjoy the most from a game.

Richard Bartle is a British writer, professor and game researcher. In 1996 he wrote a research paper in response to what gameplay elements specific gamer types wanted from a MUD (Multi-User Dungeon). Since then, this breakdown can be used to look at player habits in both MMO’s and single player games. Bartle broke down gamers into 4 distinct different categories depending on whether a player acts or interacts when playing and whether this occurs with either the world or other players. For anything finding it difficult to follow, here is a helpful chart to help you follow.

You can see in the chart that each quarter represents a different category. Bartle originally assigned each of these categories as aa playing card suit. Achievers were Diamonds, Explorers were Spades, Socialisers were Hearts & Killers were Clubs. I’ve taken this concept even further and assigned them each a Hogwarts house as well. Achievers are Griffindor, Explorers are Ravenclaw, Socialisers are Hufflepuff & Killers are Slitherin.

(note: Achievers and Explorers have traits of both Ravenclaw and Griffindor and I had trouble deciding which way round to put them, I decided on this way in the end because it was my original thought and makes me feel a little bit happier being that way)

Achievers are the hard workers of gaming, enjoying the completing of tasks and objectives. They are the ones found trying to max out their achievements/trophies, getting the highest score, the best equipment or maximising their level. They tend to gravitate towards games with a bit more rigidity and structure, usually games that are more linear with less creative freedom. They usually be found grinding experience or equipment in games such as World of Warcraft or trying to get to the top of the leader board in games such as Call of Duty.

Explorers (such as myself) are the seekers of gaming. They are the ones that are found hunting the unexplored finding Easter Eggs or uncovering secrets of the game or world being played in, peeling back the veil to find the secrets that live within. We tend to enjoy games that feed that sense of exploration and discovery, large open games with lots of secrets or lore to discover. Games such as The Elder Scrolls or The Witcher are perfect for Explorer style gamers. Explorers tend to get bored of games quite quickly when they start to feel like a chore.

Socialisers are the extroverts of gaming and love games with more of a social aspect like meeting up with clan members in World of Warcraft or visiting friends in Animal Crossing. Socialisers tend to congregate with other Socialisers so sometimes you might find Socialisers spending more time as an active member of a games forum than actually playing the game.

Finally Killers are the trolls of gaming. They tend to be found making other players miserable and aren’t usually happy unless another playing is cursing them somewhere in the world. Killers are completely self-indulgent and treat the game as an ego trip & power-play a way to cement themselves as the best. They can usually be found picking off newly spawned players in Call of Duty or inhabiting an MMO’s weaker player areas killing off lower level players.

Developers will decide when making a game on what kind of balance they want to achieve . As an unbalanced game can lead to an unbalanced player base which will increase the longer the issue remains unsolved, for example an over abundance of Killer type players can put off a lot or Achiever and Socialiser type gamers.

There are many general correlations between how the rise and hall of each player base effects the others but as this can be a bit complex and this is just an overview I may leave that for another time. I hope that this will give some food for thought and that any new and aspiring game developers reading this will gain a better understanding into making a game more accessible for all types of players.

by Individuo

The Last of Us Part II (PS4)

Finally. A fat, juicy AAA title to sink my teeth into that wasn’t a reboot. Sure it is a sequel but that can be forgiven as it is a sequel to one of my previous Game of the Year winners. Let us re-join Joel & Ellie in their post-apocalypse fight for survival in The Last of Us Part II.

Just before you proceed, thought you ought to know There will Be Spoilers.

So we start the game with the ending of the previous game conveniently retold to us by Joel and the massacre he made of the Fireflies in order to save Ellie from being dissected in order to find a cure for the Cordyceps fungus pandemic. Fast forward 4 years later and the two have settled down to life in Jackson, Wyoming. During a scouting mission Joel and his brother Tommy rescue a survivor Abby from a hoard of infected. Abby takes the two back to Abby’s group who unknown to the brothers are remnants the Fireflies who ambush the brothers. Ellie finds Joel just in time to watch Abby beat Joel to death for killing her father, one of the surgeons who died in Joel’s massacre. Ellie swears revenge against Abby and sets out to Seattle in pursuit of Abby and her gang.

Now I like to think that someone somewhere at Naughty Dog read my review of The Last of Us and thought “Yes, we must fix those niggles for our next game”. I think this because that’s exactly what they did. Unlike the first game I really managed to get absorbed into the game and feel immersed into the world. The stealth aspect that felt as thought it was at times either too sensitive or not sensitive enough has been evened out too. The game looks and feels superior to it’s predecessor.

From the very onset of the game the visuals are absolutely stunning. The detail of the environment and the fluidity of the characters movements and facial expressions show that a lot of time and effort has been spent polishing the game to such a finish that even Rhianna would complement it’s shine. This enforces the immersive capabilities of the game. You can’t help but feel tense as you sneak up on an enemy as you hope to your preferred flavour of deity that the poor bastard doesn’t turn round.

The immersion is also helped by the depth of the characters in the game. You get a sense that these are real people, feeling real feelings and having real struggles. However, I failed to sympathise with either Ellie or Abby during the game. Ellie’s sole goal is Abby’s death because she killed Joel, but Joel did a shitty thing and kinda deserved what he got. On the other hand Abby did a particularly shitty thing in killing Joel so kinda deserves what’s coming for her. All my sympathy was spent on the horses having to stay out in the cold as long as they did and later on getting blown up and shot, despite the fact they never killed anyone (that we know of). This makes the message of cause and consequence in regards to revenge and taking a life that the game is so obviously wanting to portray somewhat weaker with each enemy Ellie makes new neck holes for.

So we have established that the combat is good (actually looking back I haven’t, btw the combat is good, done, moving on) and the story telling is good. However, the parts in between them are a bit of a slug-a-thon. These are the parts in films that are usually skipped over, like how you never see James Bond browsing through duty-free as he waits for his flight to be called to continue to where the rest of the plot is happening. Usually these parts consist of move in said direction for a while, except for the little open world bit where Ellie must roam the central district of Seattle looking for gasoline.

So if Naughty Dog are reading this (as we’ve already established, they are) recommendations I would like to make for The Last of Us Part III are in short: a) More open world explore and b) A bit less Ludo-narrative dissonance please. Aside from them just do more of the same please.

by Individuo

BONUS CONTENT: Game of the Decade 2010-2019

With 10 years worth of Games of the Year sitting there it only makes sense to finish off the catch-up with a Game of the Decade to choose the best of the best from the past 10 years. So the 5 Games of the Year up for the award are.

2010 – 2019:

Nominees:

Winner:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I jumped around a bit with this one until I finally made a choice. My original thought was The Witcher 3, then from that I went to God of War and then from that to Skyrim. Once I had Skyrim in mind the other contenders couldn’t shake it from the top spot. Slyrim stood firm in it’s spot no matter how many contenders I threw at it. The game is one that I have returned to many times since it’s release and now that I’ve named it my Game of the Decade I might go back to it again. It is an experience that I can go back to time and time again even 9 years on since it’s original release. At the time of writing this Skyrim is yet to feel old, It is a modern classic like the last few Elder Scrolls games before it. Number 6 has very big shoes to fill but if anyone can pull another Game of the Year/Decade, my money would be on Bethesda.

by Individuo

Micro-transactions: The Real Cost of Video Games

The video games industry has seen a huge rise in the number of games containing micro-transaction in the last 10 years, so much so that they are starting to become a norm. Although, what effect are they having on the industry? Are they being used to heighten the gaming experience or are they a cash grab to ring out as much money from the player as possible?

Micro-transaction are an in-game option where the player can purchase in-game items such as loot boxes, player skins, in game currency etc. for real world currency. They are predominantly popular in free-to-play games but have made their way in recent years over to larger AAA games. Depending on the items or the game in question these purchases can range from a few pence to hundreds of pounds.

There have been many problems with Micro-transactions through the years, however the biggest problem I have with micro-transactions is the cost of some of them. I have played games where prices for micro-transactions have gone into the hundreds of pounds (cost that high kind of defeats the point of the ‘micro’ part of micro-transactions). I get that there will be people out there to whom a few hundred pounds is pocket change but to the rest of us mere mortals £100 is a significant amount of money and not an amount I would spend on purchasing a whole game let along items within a game. This is especially a problem when you consider that there are micro-transactions of this value in games that are also aimed at kids. There have been so many horror stories about children taking thousands from their parents accounts when playing games such as FIFA or GTA. In fact I personally know of someone who spent nearly £200 of their parents money in micro-transactions on GTA Online not knowing that they were spending real money.

Another major problem I have with them is the pressure some players are under to make micro-transactions. The 2 greatest pressures are gameplay pressures and social pressures. Gameplay pressure can be found a lot in pay-to-win games where players who pay have an advantage over those who don’t which leads to paying players getting better rewards which gives them more of an advantage with the cycle growing exponentially the longer the game is played leading to a larger gap between paying and non-paying players. I found this first hand when I played FIFA Ultimate Team in FIFA 18. It got to the point where no matter how much I played I couldn’t improve my team because I couldn’t beat other teams who had world class players in order to gain the rewards that included the packs that these world class players were in. The only way it seemed was to pay for the packs directly, the pack with the greatest odds of me getting the best players in the game cost roughly about £70 and after doing some research I saw that these packs only had a 2.5% chance of getting the best cards. You’d need 20 packs to have a 50% chance of getting a world class card, which would cost you £1400. It was because I was stuck in progressing my team & refusing to pay for any of the packs that the game lost all interest for me and I quit playing soon after. I also never bought a FIFA game since nor have I had the desire to. Social pressure comes from other players influencing the player to make purchases. As in games such as Fortnite players using default or free skins are usually labelled as being financially poor or bad at the game. These social pressures play on peoples insecurities and will cause people to make purchases they might not particularly want to or can’t afford in order to fit in.

As I stated in my previous posts I see why developers are including micro transactions in video games. The idea that it allows those people who can afford to pay more for video games can in a way subsidise the price for those who aren’t as well off. Sadly however, this doesn’t seem to be the case. A survey carried out by Parent Zone on 1001 children in the U.K. between the ages of 10-16 found that 76% of them agreed that online games try and make players spend as much money as possible. Personally I think a few developers rip off their players because they can get away with it. Not that I am painting all developers with the same brush, there are some examples of how micro-transactions can be implemented correctly but sadly they get overshadowed by the numbers of occasions that they are used unfairly. Fallout Shelter is one of my prime examples of good use of micro-transactions, players can buy lunchboxes which contain extra game items such as weapons, armour and characters. Lunchboxes can also be gained by grinding in-game too. This means that although micro-transactions are available the game is still totally playable without needing to purchase them, they become more a tool of convenience than a necessary part of the game.

Whether you love them or hate them, I don’t think micro-transactions are going anyway any time soon. They are too much of a cash cow, in fact in 2016 EA recorded over $1.3billion in revenue from micro-transactions across their entire catalogue that year. These levels of revenue also means that developers would rather prolong the life of existing games that is making money than take a risk on new IP’s that could potentially make a loss financially. This can be seen in GTAV, despite being 7 years since it’s initial release on the 360 and PS3, the game (especially GTAOnline) continues to generate massive revenues, according to Tweak Town in 2019 GTAOnline generated $595million in revenue through digital in-game content alone. This will only increase with the release of the game on the PS5 & Xbox Series S/X later in the year. Looking at it this way you can see why they are not putting a rush on GTA6. I just hope that the industry doesn’t start to stagnate because of this. Although looking back at the games I’ve reviewed from this year I don’t think it’s going to be too far off.

by Individuo

BONUS CONTENT: Game of the Year 2019

Now here we are, finally up to date. I also don’t think it’s going to be very hard to guess what my Game of the Year will be for this year. The nominees are as follows.

2019:

Nominees:

  • Kingdom Hearts 3
  • Resident Evil 2
  • Total War: Three Kingdoms

Winner:

Resident Evil 2

Did you get it right? Well done if you did. Resident Evil 2 was exactly what I hoped it would be when it was first announced in 2015 and more. The atmosphere was thick and at times bed-wetting, the gameplay was crisp and the story was… well… still as bat-shit crazy as the original but it was told in a much more compelling way. You can tell a lot of time and effort was put into the game and it shows. Nostalgia still runs deep in the game and the improvements only serve to amplify it’s appeal. Well done Capcom for making Resident Evil great again. Next week I will follow up with the big one, Game of the Decade.

by Individuo

Loot Boxes: A Chance Worth Taking?

I was originally going to lump Loot Boxes and Micro-Transaction together and have one article that covered both but in the end I just wouldn’t have been able to do both topics justice if I watered them both down for one piece. There is far too much to say on both subjects, so as such they are both getting their own spotlight. Plus since I quite enjoyed the change of tone in my article about conflict minerals I’ve decided I wanted to ride the momentum of this wave and see how many more pieces I can fire out before it subsides.

Loot Boxes (for those who are unaware), are items in video games that contain random loot which can vary from cosmetic items (such as skins or costumes), gameplay items (such as weapons or characters) or in game currency. How to achieve Loot Boxes varies from game to game but the usual methods are through in-game achievements (such as levelling up your character or team) or by purchasing them using either in-game or real currency.

In a number of countries across the globe there have been discussions raised asking whether or not Loot Boxes are a form of gambling due to the rising numbers of video games containing them that are aimed at children as well as the addictive nature that surrounds them. People who are pro Loot Boxes will argue that they are not gambling as you cannot trade your Loot Box prizes for real currency in the same way as casino chips for example, plus since you are guaranteed a set number of prizes for each loot box there is no risk of loss, much in the same way as a toy gumball machine will always guarantee you a prize. On the other hand however, those opposed to them will tell you that since they are a game of chance and the addictive nature of them, they should be classed as gambling and as such not marketed to children.

I personally think the subject is far too complex to sit wholly on one side or the other. I personally don’t think they should be classed as gambling. I see loot boxes in the same light as Pokemon cards or football stickers but nobody’s been in an uproar about these being a form of gambling. The main thing to me is that in gambling there is an element of winning and losing. You can get a return on your stake or you can loose it, this isn’t true with Loot Boxes. Like trading cards you are guaranteed a set number of rewards, you don’t get any more or less each time you buy. It’s also true that some items will be rarer than others but in the end you still get something. With this in mind, a tombola is closer akin to gambling than loot boxes but we still let our kids buy tickets.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a problem with loot boxes in their current format. The biggest being that even if there is debate about whether or not they are classed as gambling, they still create the same feeling that gambling does, which can lead to gambling addiction. This can potentially be dangerous, especially since a lot of games with loot boxes are available to children, who are more mentally susceptible to addiction. This is what leads some people into spending thousands on loot boxes and other micro-transactions (I will go into this in more depth in my post on Micro-transactions).

So how do people get addicted to loot boxes? It’s the same way people get addicted to gambling, some people win big and get one of the rarest items and continue buying in order to re-create that winning feeling, some will keep playing because they have had poor box after poor box and will keep going wishing to “recoup their losses” or that “the next one will be the winner”. There are many reasons but what most of them have in common is that they all chase some sort of reward and a sense of a high that comes with it. As these players “win” more they can become desensitised to winning causing them to take higher risks in order to maintain the same states of euphoria.

I understand why the games industry has shifted to including elements like loot boxes and micro-transactions. With the rising development costs as games get bigger and require more staff and resources. In order to keep the game costs low for the gamers, developers have to subsidise the cost by generating revenue elsewhere. Back in 2016 US$650million was spent on EA’s Ultimate Team Player Packs across all their sports games, accounting for about half of EA’s entire micro-transaction revenue that year.

I do believe that the games industry should be doing more to combat problems caused by loot boxes. They should be making sure that those who buy loot boxes can do so in such a manner that it is sustainable. Games should be just as playable with or without loot boxes in order to allow them to be an addition to the game rather than one of it’s major components. Warnings should be provided to help warn both gamers and parents about the contents of the games they are playing or buying for their children, and support should be made available to those who need help. Laws should be put in place to enforce this as well. Here in the UK the Gambling Act was last updated in 2005, long before anyone saw the rise of loot boxes. In the case of children, parents should take an active interest in the games their children play and the content within them. Being a little game savvy will help both you understand the games your kids are playing and also provide a new ground of common interest. If we all band together and do our bit we can protect the most vulnerable among us without sacrificing on the games we love.

by Individuo

BONUS CONTENT: Game of the Year 2018

Now 2018 was a year of good games. 3 of the nominees made really good contenders for the top spot and I put more hours into the other 2 than I choose to account for. I would forgive anyone guessing the outcome of this one for getting this one wrong, but lets see if you can get it right.

2018:

Nominees:

  • God of War
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man
  • Monster Hunter: World
  • Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Two Point Hospital

Winner:

God of War

I did state in my review of God of War that I would have given it my Game of the Year award and here it officially is, anyone who spotted that and guessed correctly, well done. With the original E3 reveal of the game I was intrigued to see how a more mature God of War would pan out and I was more than pleasantly surprised with the outcome. The game is just fantastic, if you want the details click the link above but in short the story is emotional and full of depth, the gameplay is brilliant and the characters are solid and well rounded. A brilliant piece of work which leaves me excited about what the future of the franchise has in store.

by Individuo

Hades (PC, SWITCH)

I almost yearn for a day where games stop being about ancient Greece and the mythos surrounding it. Sure I understand that it’s culture and it’s stories were very well documented and preserved, making it a very easily accessible idea barrel for writers of all kinds. However, when the same games are set around the same fables doing the same thing it makes the whole pot a bit stale. Hades on the other hand, does things a little different.

In Hades you play as (as you would expect) Zagreus (got yah!) the son of Hades who has grown tired of lazing on his father’s infernal sofa eating Doritos and playing GTA and instead wants to go outside to play with all the other deity atop of Mount Olympus. Hades (the god, not the place) is very nonchalant about Zagreus decision to leave, probably because he believes Zagreus will give up trying to cut through the legions of the damned that guard the way. This is because Hades is all in favour of serving life lessons, he could just tell Zagreus no and send him to his room with no dinner after Zagreus tells him that he hates him and that he’s an asshole but nobody would learn anything, Zagreus would just hate his dad and still hold a desire to leave. However if he lets Zagreus try to leave only to find how difficult it is to do and have him return home with his tail between his legs, then that desire would be gone. Anyway, enough of deity parental strategies and lets get back to the game.

First things first, I love the art style and visuals of the game, it makes it feel like an animated heavy metal music video which scores many bonus points in my book. I also very much enjoy the looping gameplay mechanics the game offers. It seems to play with the idea that everything in the underworld is already dead, therefore cannot die. So each time you do “die” you get revived back in daddy’s lovely country villa with all your level ups intact and all the previously defeated enemies re-spawning. That’s great because it means that with each death the difficulty curve flattens a bit making the difficulty feel a bit more adaptive meaning you’ll never find yourself getting stuck at the same place for too long. The not so great thing about it is the slogging through of early areas to get back to where you were previously. What does make it interesting is you can randomly encounter other deities along the way who will lend you special powers to help you through your journey, These powers however do disappear when you die. The rouguelike-ness-ness-less-ness of the game means the maps regenerate every time you die too which in turn randomises the enemies and the other deities you meet. This keeps the game feeling slightly fresh as each play though is unique to the one before, even if only slightly. The gameplay is by far some of the best I’ve experienced this year. The controls felt very fluid and I could easily get Zagreus to do what I wanted him to do when I wanted him to do it. I could start firing a volley of arrow at my target and in an instant dodge any incoming attacks. This fluidity of controls becomes very important as the number of enemies increases.

If I have any gripes about this game it would be that the mechanics and rewards can be a bit overwhelming when first starting the game, it’s attempts to educate the player fall a bit wide of the mark but once you start playing the game and experimenting around with different types of weapons and level ups then they become a little less daunting and the variety that it creates adds to the games charm and fun. Later on in the game as you come across more enemies in each room the visual effects can obscure the view of the player somewhat and yes I am scraping the bottom of the niggle barrel to find something less than good to say about the game.

Overall Hades very much has a “Just one more” factor on it’s side which will keep players engaged for longer and longer the more powerful you become and the further you travel. It is most defiantly a game I will most defiantly continue playing after I finish my review. It also great for both those all day sessions and those moments where you only have a few minutes to spare whilst you’re waiting for your lockdown banana bread to bake.

by Individuo

BONUS CONTENT: Game of the Year 2017

Hopefully those who guessed incorrectly last years game of the year can do a little better this time around. As far as I’m aware the 5 games below are the only ones I’ve played from 2017 (EDIT: I actually played Mass Effect Andromeda as well but the less said about that the better) and of them only 1 of them deserves the Game of the Year title. They are as follows.

2017:

Nominees:

  • Crash Bandicoot N-sane Trilogy
  • Destiny 2
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
  • What Remains of Edith Finch

Winner:

What Remains of Edith Finch

Given the competition this one was a no brainer. Destiny 2 bored me so much I put it down without ever getting to the end. Uncharted was forgettable (I actually did forget about it until I re-read my writing before posting). Crash Bandicoot and Horizon Zero Dawn were both good but What Remains of Edith Finch just blew me away. The game was gripping, engaging and told a brilliant story in a brilliant, compelling way. It’s only downside was that there wasn’t any more.

by Individuo