BEST GAMES OF 2017 KOTAKU SERIES

It's a game that feels like it shouldn't exist, but I'm very, very glad it does.Ī third-person action-RPG about fighting giant monsters and using their hides to craft better equipment. Wildermyth's characters lay claim to their own stories, pulling you in unexpected and delightful directions throughout. A victory snatched from an almost-doomed boss fight is one thing, but Wildermyth revels in downtime – in moments of personal growth or character bonding. While Wildermyth has its fair share of awesome moments, developer Worldwalker Games also understands how important the little things can be. A charmingly simple papercraft art style defies both its tactical and narrative depth – combat is elevated by 'Infusion', an inspired approach to spellcasting, but the real strength lies in storytelling that's both epic and beautifully intimate, sparking the imagination quite unlike anything else released this year. Wildermyth captures the feeling of high-fantasy tabletop roleplaying in a way that simply doesn't feel like it should have been possible. Your very own tabletop experience, where an innovative take on turn-based combat meets astoundingly deep procedural storytelling. This is one adventure that absolutely should not be missed from 2021. Death's Door will delight you as much as it challenges, particularly as you begin to brush up against some of its outrageous boss encounters. With a manageable difficulty curve, precise combat mechanics, varied puzzles, and characters that range from undead nasties that must be slain to an NPC named Pothead, Death's Door manages to strike such an interesting chord that lies halfway between somber evaluation of death and silly jabs about croaking. Given the chance to leave your desk job behind and get some experience harvesting souls out in the field, you're thrust into a beautiful and bizarre isometric adventure cast across worlds that are chained together, linked only by the death that fills them. You play a crow who has been assigned soul-reaping work by the agency that oversees the afterlife.

Honestly, you won't have played anything quite like it this year.Īn action-adventure game that offers up equal parts The Legend of Zelda, Kingdom Hearts, and a Metroidvania about a crow reaping dead souls.ĭeath's Door is very much a vibe. The Forgotten City is a non-linear narrative puzzle game that shouldn't be missed, with a central mystery that you won't regret trying to untangle. Expect deep conversations with NPCs, sinister statues, philosophical pondering, and strangely satisfying time tricks. As you try to unpick the mysteries of this legend and the open-world city, you can jump back through the portal at any time, restarting the loop and getting a chance to make the most of any information and items you found on your last visit. After an encounter with an actual Karen, you head off to some ruins, find a portal, and find a strange Roman society where the residents live in fear of breaking a Golden Rule.

Test your brain and get lost in a story that, rightfully, won an Australian Writers' Guild award.

BEST GAMES OF 2017 KOTAKU SERIES

Format: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series XĪ time-looping mystery that started out as a Skyrim mod, and became a deep dive into Roman mythology and the nature of humanity.

Best games of 2017 kotaku