It’s GameRevolution’s Game of the Year 2017 week, and today is all about PC. For those that love superior graphics, the most choice in games, and spending a lot on hardware, PC is the platform of choice. This year was a great time to be a PC gamer and the ten games below were some of the best to come out in 2017.
Some of our choices are ports and some are PC exclusives, but all of them brought top notch gameplay. It was a tight race, but our staff came together and hammered out this list of what we thought represented the best PC gaming had to offer this year. There were plenty of awesome games released, but here’s our top ten PC games of 2017.
10. Night in the Woods
Night in the Woods shines a light on mental illness, economic turmoil, and failure to meet expectations, all with an adorable aesthetic. As Margaret Borowski, a 20-year-old college dropout you find a horrible secret which your small town has hid for years.
In this game, you have to deal with internal demons, as well as external ones, and it has an authentic feel in how you’re allowed to handle situations. Adventure is one of the oldest genres for PC, and Night in the Woods is an excellent continuation of a storytelling tradition that’s been around for over three decades now.
9. What Remains of Edith Finch (GR Review)
When “walking simulators” stepped into the mainstream with Gone Home, many didn’t think it was a genre that could last. However, What Remains of Edith Finch has shown that assumption was wrong.
Instead, it’s a genre that’s grown to embrace its eccentric “anti-game” aesthetic. Developer Giant Sparrow has woven an enthralling tale that reconciles the walking simulator into a bit of an adventure game-lite.
Finding and watching the vignettes of Edith’s family felt like how it would be if Wes Anderson made a video game and it was definitely one of the most unique and best games of the year.
8. Cuphead
If there’s a game that was the complete antithesis of What Remains of Edith Finch, it would be Cuphead. This game harkens back to the platformers of yesteryear, with a very adult-oriented difficulty level.
Cuphead is a game that rewards reflexes and pattern-memorization but is exceptionally fair and balanced. Each level brings new challenges and enemy designs to conquer, and the 1930s cartoon aesthetic is somehow cute and menacing at the same time.
The PC missed out on a lot of good platformers when they had their heyday on console, but Cuphead helps make up for that with some of the best gameplay this side of Super Mario Bros.
7. Assassin’s Creed Origins (GR Review)
Assassin’s Creed took a year-long hiatus, citing franchise fatigue. When Ubisoft brought the series back with Origins, it was apparent the year was exactly what the series needed.
Origins takes us further back than any other Assassin’s Creed game has, all the way to Ptolemaic Egypt. The mixture of Greek and Egyptian architecture and culture gives the game a fresh new feel, and Ubisoft’s rendition of Classical Egypt is absolutely beautiful.
If you got tired of the series with Unity and Syndicate, you might want to check out Origins. Not only is it one of the best Assassin’s Creed games, but it’s also one of the best games of 2017.
6. Total War: Warhammer 2
The Total War series has been the go to for formation-based real-time strategy mixed with turn-based strategy and resource management. No other series quite strikes the same balance as Total War, and when you throw the Warhammer franchise into the mix, it gets even better.
Total War: Warhammer 2 is an improvement over the original Total War: Warhammer in almost every way. The combat is tighter, it looks better, the campaign is longer, and the title is Total War at its finest. Additionally, if you own the first game, then you can import much of the content from the first game into Total War: Warhammer 2 for an even bigger game.
5. Wolfenstein 2 (GR Review)
B.J. Blazkowicz is back in Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus. If you loved Wolfenstein: The New Order, this game is a must-buy. It continues the story of the resistance fighting the Third Reich in an alternate universe in which Germany won World War 2. You’ll also get to see some much-needed details filled in about B.J.’s youth and his personality which helps flesh out the overall story of the series.
If you love running and gunning gameplay but want a good story as well. Wolfenstein 2 has you covered. It’s one of the best shooters of 2017, and now that Bethesda has ironed out the bugs on the PC version it’s one of the best games on the platform this year.
4. Destiny 2 (GR Review)
Destiny 2 is the continuation of Bungie’s smash hit. Love it or hate it, the game is extremely popular, and this marks the series’ debut on PC. Everyone knows that FPS games are best played on PC, and Destiny 2 is no different. The PC version is higher fidelity, feels much better with a keyboard and mouse, and fills a void for a big-budget PC MMOFPS.
We enjoyed our time with the game when we reviewed it, and even more content is coming out for it soon with the release of the Curse of Osirus expansion. There are also a lot of changes coming soon with items and vendors, so now’s a great time to get into the game.
3. NieR: Automata (GR Review)
NieR: Automata was one of 2017’s surprise hits. A Square Enix game is expected to do good, but gamers fell in love with Yoko Taro’s strange and beautiful tale of the Android 2B and humanities fight for survival.
The combat is fantastic and fluid, and there’s plenty of items you can use to upgrade and enhance 2B’s abilities. Additionally, there are 26 endings to the game, and each of them requires a slightly different playthrough to get.
If you want a game that blends action and RPG elements masterfully while also having enormous replay value, NieR: Automata will be one of your games of the year.
2. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Winner, winner, chicken dinner. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has become a cultural phenomenon and has outsold many of the AAA games this year even though it’s an indie title. While Battle Royale gameplay isn’t new, PUBG has packaged it in a way that is accessible and appealing to everyone.
The game hasn’t even launched officially yet, and it’s already sold missions of copies, with its full launch just around the corner. If you haven’t given it a try, now would be a good time. It’s still for sale for its early access price, and testing has commenced for the full release. PUBG has arguably made the most impact on the industry of any game this year and it’s available (for now) only on PC.
PC Game of the Year: Divinity: Original Sin 2
The CRPG genre seemed like it was fated to be abandoned to the sands of time until indie developers like Larian Studios started releasing games like Divinity: Original Sin. Divinity: Original Sin 2 doesn’t supersede the first game (which is really great), but gives players a new opportunity to see the world from a different viewpoint.
Various systems and overall presentation have been improved with Divinity: Original Sin 2, and the story is just as good, if not better than the first game. This is simply one of the best CRPGs ever made, and it’s an absolute joy to play that will bring you hundreds of hours of fun.
