This Old Neon Forum

The "BEST GAME EVER!!!" Project's Off-Season: Game of the Year series will be a simple exploration of the best games from recent years. It can often be difficult to remember which games came out in which years, so reflecting on what we've played and then compiling lists here can help hone our collective memories.

These threads will be organized in three sections:

1. long lists (a list of all the great games that came out in a given year),
2. short lists (narrowing it down to the ones you genuinely think are the best), and
3. the overall Game of the Year.

The administration will make an effort to compile everyone's picks for these three sections into the main post, so we can see which games float to the top, which games make the cut, and the kinds of difficult decisions people had to make in selecting an overall favourite.

2017

Long List



Short List



Game of the Year

A lot of the games from 2017 that I did play, I didn't really consider up to snuff for these lists... And then there are a few games from 2017 that I played on a different system in a different year, so I counted them there (e.g. Hollow Knight on PS4 in 2018). So this ended up being a weak year for me, but there are a couple of games I want to make a point of getting back to.

Need to Play / Notable Gaps:

Flinthook (PS4)
Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)
Persona 5 (PS4)

Long List

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (PS4)
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (3DS)
Fire Emblem Heroes (Mobile)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
Picross S (Switch)

Short List

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (PS4)
Fire Emblem Heroes (Mobile)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)

Game of the Year

Fire Emblem Heroes (Mobile)

Long List:

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U/Switch)
• Darksiders: Warmastered Edition (Wii U)
• Bye-Bye BoxBoy! (3DS)
• Hey! Pikmin (3DS)
• Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)
• Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy (3DS)
• Fast RMX (Switch)
• Lego City Undercover (Switch)
• Doom (Switch)
• Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (Switch)
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch)
• Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas (Switch)
• Sonic Mania (Switch)
• Picross S (Switch)
• The Mummy Demastered (Switch)
• Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)
• Yooka-Laylee (Switch)
• ...

Short List:

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
• Darksiders: Warmastered Edition (Wii U)
• Hey! Pikmin (3DS)
• Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)
• Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy (3DS)
• Fast RMX (Switch)
• Lego City Undercover (Switch)
• Doom (Switch)
• Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (Switch)
• Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)
• Yooka-Laylee (Switch)
• ...

GotY: Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)

Long List
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Switch
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix - PS4 (Narrow it down to Kingdom Hearts Final Remix)
Persona 5 - PS4
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Switch
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy - PS4
Splatoon 2 - Switch
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle - Switch
Super Lucky's Tale - Xbox One
Super Mario Odyssey - Switch
The Elders Scrolls V: Skyrim - Switch

Short List
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle - Switch
Super Lucky's Tale - Xbox One
Super Mario Odyssey - Switch
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Switch
Persona 5 - PS4

GOTY
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle - Switch

Notable releases:
Nioh
Hollow Knight
Nier: Automata
Outlast 2
Don't Knock Twice
FFXII: The Zodiac Age
Sonic Mania
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Life is Strange: Before the Storm
Knack II
Metroid: Samus Returns
Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth
Super Mario Odyssey

Sharecrow's honorable mentions:
Nioh
Outlast 2
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

BGFTWFY of 2017:
Nioh

BOTW was my '17 GOTY. I was always more of a Mario guy than Zelda, but BOTW was something special.