Octopus Overlords

PC, console, tabletop, whatever. Put your favorite gaming experiences of the year here.

Best tabletop game, solo: Nemo's War -- Lives up to its reputation.

Best tabletop game, competitive: Inis -- A very, very tight design that encourages both conflict and compromise. Gorgeous art.

Best New Thing: the Nintendo Switch -- I don't use it as much as my family members, but it is fantastic to have a genuinely capable handheld gaming machine.

Best PC game (strategy): Total Warhammer 2 -- Total War + Warhammer is the greatest combo since PB+J.

Best PC game (action): Wolfenstein: The New Colossus -- Loved the stories and characters, and Nazi-punching feels particularly cathartic this year for some reason.

Didn't play enough tabletop games to have a vote. SImilar for PC. Played No Man's Sky but wouldn't call it a GotY candidate for me.

No, most of my gaming was done on the Switch this year. Solid cases can be made for both Mario Odyssey and Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I'd lean BotW for its braver take on the Zelda formula and fantastic sense of exploration.

I'm also currently hooked on Xenoblade Chronicles 2. While it's got its share of flaws, I can't say that I'm enjoying it any less than I did BotW or SMO.

But I've never loved GotY awards, as I feel it's too difficult to pick just one. What makes BotW better than SMO? SMO is a nearly perfect platformer. BotW is a nearly perfect Zelda game. XB2 is a super-fun JRPG with an engrossing world to explore. I like them all.

Side note: can I just digress for a sec and mention how much I appreciate the musical scores of all three? Talk about an embarrassment of riches. From the subdued yet beautiful BotW score:



...To Mario Odyssey's variety:



(With my favorite being Fossil Falls:)


To the spectacular Xenoblade Chronicles 2: (Favorites include Gormott, Incoming, Counterattack, and many others not on this linked video)


I'd also vote for the Switch for best overall gaming 'thing' this year. It's just a fantastic device. It's the closest thing to a perfect console I've experienced. Sure, it can't do 4k, and on portable mode the resolution drops in many cases. But it's a capable console that can be used on the couch or on the go, with controllers and software that seem to me to finally deliver what the Wii teased a decade ago--varied control methods, motion controls that don't totally suck, excellent battery life, competent online functionality, and smooth multi-user sharing.

I was going to post something but my tabletop choice came out in 2016 (Aeon's End) and my video game choice came out in 2015 (Bloodborne)... but there is one thing...

Expansion of the Year: XCOM2: War of the Chosen - I had already completed XCOM2 at least 6 times. This year I have completed the game with the expanded content 4 more times.

I really don't play enough games or a great enough variety of games to be much of a judge, but I played a lot of fun games this year. I'd call this the greatest year in video gaming since 2016!!!

coopasonic wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:33 pmI'd call this the greatest year in video gaming since 2016!!!

I concur!

Unfortunately, didn't get as much tabletop gaming in this year as I would like.

On console, my GoTY would be Horizon Zero Dawn. I can't think of another game this year that kept me as compelled all the way through the end.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:57 pm On console, my GoTY would be Horizon Zero Dawn. I can't think of another game this year that kept me as compelled all the way through the end.

Excellent choice.

For tabletop games it's most definitely Gloomhaven. I've put around 50 hours into the game easily, and we're still playing it regularly.

For console games my GOTY is a Horizon Zero Dawn.

For PC games it's Divinity Original Sin 2.

BotW cleaned up at The Game Awards last night, taking GotY, Best Action/Adventure, and Best Game Direction. Mario Odyssey got shut out.

I tried to watch a bit on Twitch but I was super sick last night and everything they were mentioning was console and I had never heard of it all so I just quit and went to bed.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 3:40 pm

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:57 pm On console, my GoTY would be Horizon Zero Dawn. I can't think of another game this year that kept me as compelled all the way through the end.

Excellent choice.

My choice is the same as coop. Literally. He sold me his copy.

Horizon is the only game I think I finished this year.

Captain Caveman wrote: ↑Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:10 pm

coopasonic wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 3:40 pm

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:57 pm On console, my GoTY would be Horizon Zero Dawn. I can't think of another game this year that kept me as compelled all the way through the end.

Excellent choice.

My choice is the same as coop. Literally. He sold me his copy.

Horizon is the only game I think I finished this year.

Same! Well, except for the "literally" part... and the part where I actually finished one other game.

PC Game = Battle Brothers
I like the game, but I also don't think I played any other games that came out this year.

Board Game = Terraforming Mars
Again, I like it but didn't play anything else that actually came out this year.

hepcat wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:52 pm
For PC games it's Divinity Original Sin 2.

#metoo

It's hard to pick one from the approximately no games that I bought this year.

That’ll do, Eeyore. That’ll do.

Zaxxon wrote:BotW cleaned up at The Game Awards last night, taking GotY, Best Action/Adventure, and Best Game Direction. Mario Odyssey got shut out.

BotW?

Breath of the Wild

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Breath of the Wild

Not ringing a bell, Zelda?

Some Nintendo property.

Console Game of the Year: Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Easy choice for me. Partially because I don't play that many video games anymore, and partially because this game is incredible.

Tabletop Game of the Year: Queendomino. This one is a little harder for me. I really enjoy Queendomino, but I know it probably will not end up being the game of the year for me. Pandemic Legacy Season 2 was close competition, as was Downforce, but I still have not played Gloomhaven or Charterstone, both of which are sitting on my shelf ready to play at some point. I could see either of them being my favorite of the year.

I really enjoy Kingdomino, and Queendomino takes the simplicity of Kingdomino, and makes it a little deeper while still remaining relatively simple. It's like the gamers version of Kingdomino. Highly recommend it.

Tabletop Expansion of the Year: Easy for me, Leaving Earth: Stations. Takes one of my top games of all time now and really adds a level of complexity to it. Can't wait to have more plays of it.

Some quick checking shows that, while I played a lot of great games in 2017, not one of them was released this year.