If the first game threw every possible influence into a blender to produce an enjoyable yet sloppy survival-horror smoothie, Evil Within 2 built upon that promising yet flawed platform assuredly. Many of the individual segments were simply unforgettable afterwards from a fantastical dream-sequence, to a bath-time experienced as a baby, to a remarkable and unique sequence in a factory. Its exploration of the tragic lives – and deaths – of a family, spanning several generations, formed a beautifully engrossing and bittersweet narrative. Giant Sparrow’s poignant and deeply imaginative interactive story was one of the greatest ‘walking simulators’ yet. Scouring the landscape to take down its hulking behemoths held gripping, rewarding gameplay value. In all seriousness though, Horizon Zero Dawn married this undoubtedly fun hook with lush production values, an inviting gameworld, and a thoroughly decent story. A new IP featuring a cavewoman fighting giant dinosaurs? Sign us up! The kind of game that virtually sells itself. Tackling resonant themes of mental health with a genuinely original eye, the experience enthralled. But more importantly, the game itself was definitely one of the most rewarding in story, presentation and tone this year. Ninja Theory’s dark and twisted action game has been credited with offering an intriguing new ‘bridge’ in business between Triple A development and an indie release model. It’s also a challenging ordeal that puts your wits to the test. Darkwood proved rich in atmosphere and its sense of sustained dread. The story ultimately revealed surprising, hidden depths as well.ĭrawing on outlandish Lovecraftian elements as well as surreal and disturbing imagery to great effect, this top-down survival horror game quickly acquired a dedicated, enthusiastic fanbase. Tasked with preventing the deaths of various characters in a sprawling mansion, who were all marked for murder by the house’s servants, it proved to be original and darkly amusing, with tremendous music to boot.

Tequila Works’ stylish puzzler came armed with an intriguing premise – and didn’t disappoint. Those band practice mini-games were a treat too. It was also very, very funny packed with witty, heartfelt dialogue and genuinely endearing characters who lived long in the memory (choosing whether to hang out with Bea or Gregg was no easy task). Night In The WoodsĪ timely rumination on bored, alienated youth, Infinite Fall’s narrative gem nailed the experience of going home to a small, suffocating hometown where the past is painful and the future seems uncertain. Imbued with the spirit of classic Mario, riffing on the more open level-design of Super Mario 64 and yet serving up some surprisingly fresh ideas and visuals, this time it is Mario’s humble cap opening up new possibilities. And crucially, its flagship Mario title has not let fans down. Nintendo’s Switch console has really come into its own throughout 2017.

Best video games 2017 consol