Welcome to the PSXBoxIndies Top 15 Games of 2017! Why 15
instead of the traditional 10? Because I’m combining my favorites on PS4 and
Xbox One (and a lot are multiplatform) and just didn’t think 10 was enough to
give props to all of my favorite games. And it’s my site, so I do what I want.
I also want to make it clear that this is just my favorite games of the year.
Not the most popular. Not your favorites. MY favorites. It is also mostly indie
games with no “AAA” to speak of. Triple A games don’t really need any more
attention, anyway. There’s plenty of other sites to handle that. This list is a
love letter to great indies and other niche games that deserve to get a shout
out. Also, the order doesn’t really matter, though the top 5 are definitely my
favorites and #1 is my actual Game of the year. Got it? Good. Now let’s get to
the list!
Before we get started, if you see a game you like, how about buying it with a PlayStation Store or Xbox One gift card from Amazon.com? It'll help out the site and you'll get a great new game to play.
#15 - GNOG – PS4
One of the most charming, and criminally underlooked, games
of 2017 is Double Fine and KO-OP’s GNOG. This problem solving game involving 3D
puzzle boxes – in the form of robot heads - is amazing. The graphics are bright
and colorful and wonderful and the soundtrack is just freaking perfect. It is
playable either on PSVR or on a normal display (which is how I played it) and
is great either way. Definitely check it out.
#14 - Vostok Inc. – PS4, XONE
I hate the dumb Wall Street in space premise (that isn’t
really all that present outside of cutscenes anyway), but everything else about
Vostok Inc. is incredible. It’s part shoot-em-up, part clicker, and all
awesome. Fighting your way through hostile solar systems in order to colonize
planets and exploit them for profit is amazing fun. Watching your bank account
fill up buy millions and billions and trillions (and beyond) as you progress
through the game is immensely satisfying and keeps you coming back for more and
more until you’ve bought every upgrade and every planet is maxed out. I really
loved Vostok Inc..
#13 - Sky Force Reloaded – PS4, XONE
Sky Force Reloaded is better than Sky Force Anniversary in
pretty much every way, which is saying something because I also really loved
Sky Force Anniversary. This shmup starts off a little slowly due to grindy
upgrade system, but once you start earning some stars and upgrading your ship,
Sky Force Reloaded is incredibly fun and addictive. It is also significantly
more challenging than the previous game, too, which makes it all the more
satisfying when you can tear through the late levels with a pumped up ship. Sky
Force Reloaded is my favorite current-gen shmup.
#12 - Invector – PS4
Invector borrows heavily from Harmonix’s great Frequency and
Amplitude, adds a few of its own twists, and matches it with an incredible
22-song set from EDM star Avicii to create one of the best new music games in a
long time. The visuals are clean and gorgeous with a sci-fi motif and the music
is excellent even if you don’t know if you’re an Avicii fan (you will be).
#11 - Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone – PS4
The Hatsune Miku games combine a bunch of my favorite things
– cute anime girls, J-Pop and J-Rock, and rhythm videogames - to create
something that is just amazingly appealing to me. The best title yet in the
long running franchise is easily Project Diva Future Tone by the simple benefit
of it offering more than 220 songs for the same $60 asking price of most other
games. The gameplay isn’t exactly tops of the rhythm genre, I have to admit,
but the full package of the anime girls, cool music videos playing in the
background, and generally excellent songs make it a very enjoyable experience
overall.
#10 - Puyo Puyo Tetris – PS4
Two great games that go great together, Puyo Puyo Tetris is
just awesome. With a ton of modes, including a few that combine the very
distinct gameplay styles of Puyo Pop and Tetris together, this game has a lot
of content in both solo and multiplayer to keep you chasing high scores for a
long, long time. It also is noteworthy because it is easily the best version of
Tetris available on the current gen consoles, which makes it worth a look even
if you aren’t all that interested in Puyo Pop. Watch Puyo Puyo Tetris gameplay here
#9 - Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash – PS4
Is this the only game of the year list with Senran Kagura on
it? It probably is, and that’s a shame because Peach Beach Splash is actually a
pretty awesome arena shooter underneath the bouncy anime fanservice. With solid
third-person-shooting gameplay, an addictive upgrade system, crazy
customization, and a bouncy cast (hey, I actually like fanservice), Senran
Kagura: Peach Beach Splash has been one of my most played games of 2017. If
you’re offended by anime boobies you’ll hate it, but I highly recommend anyone
else to give it a try. Watch Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash gameplay here
#8 - Absolute Drift: Zen Edition – PS4, XONE
Plenty of prettier looking and more realistic driving games
came out in 2017, but the one that I had the best time with is easily Absolute
Drift: Zen Edition. This top-down perspective drifting game with a three color
palate – black, white, and red – looks gorgeous, plays incredibly well, and has
a great soundtrack and excellent sound overall. The controls take a while to
get used to, but once you get a handle on precisely sliding your car around
corners and between obstacles there are few racing games as satisfying as
Absolute Drift. It\s intuitive and challenging with a great unique art style
and is probably the best drifting game ever. Watch Absolute Drift: Zen Edition gameplay here
#7 - Spintires: Mudrunner – PS4, XONE
Slowly crawling through the mud in big trucks out in the
Russian wilderness sounds boring, but Spintires: Mudrunner is one of the most
engaging and satisfying experiences of 2017. It is basically Elite: Dangerous
meets Farming Simulator and it’s honestly everything I ever dreamed of as a kid
playing with trucks in the dirt. It’s a bit slow and grindy, for sure, but it
is also immensely rewarding and fun if you’re of the right mind for it.
Spintires: Mudrunner is easily my favorite simulation game of 2017. Watch Spintires: Mudrunner gameplay here.
#6 - Rabi-Ribi – PS4
Another game that checks off a lot of boxes for things that
appeal to me, Rabi-Ribi is a 2D sprite-based, Metroidvania-style, platformer /
shmup / RPG hybrid with an incredibly cute (and a bit sexy) anime art style
that I just absolutely freaking love. The gameplay is surprisingly complex with
a lot of stuff to do and items to collect, but it plays really, really well.
There’s a ton of content, too, which easily justifies the $30 asking price. I
know some folks are against fanservice-y things like this, but if you dig the
art style, you’ll love the game.
#5 - Nex Machina – PS4
The current peak of the twin stick shooter genre is easily
Nex Machina. With gorgeous visuals, awesome sound, and incredibly addictive and
satisfying gameplay where you kill off screens full of dozens of enemies at a
time, Nex Machina is simply amazing. It has plenty of content, too, including
local co-op, that all makes it well worth the price of admission. There are few
pick up and play arcade style action games as good as Nex Machina. Buy it. Watch our Nex Machina full LP here
#4 - Far From Noise – PS4
A game about a woman stuck in a car teetering on the edge of
a cliff that features only dialogue and no other gameplay probably sounds
boring to some folks, but if you give Far From Noise a try you’ll find one of
the best overall experiences of 2017. The story is fantastic and the
presentation is great and when things actually do happen (the appearance of
animals, mainly) they are wonderful and fun. The writing is incredibly smart
and realistic, too, which is what makes it so engaging. You give a crap because
it’s relatable, which is something not many games can pull off. It isn’t an
exciting game by any means, but if you like narrative driven games Far from
Noise is absolutely worth playing.
#3 - RiME – PS4, XONE
The best Legend of Zelda game of 2017 isn’t Breath of the
Wild, it’s RiME. Ooh, edgy, I know, but rather than a big boring open world
with nothing in it, RiME captures the same feeling of exploration and adventure
that Zelda games used to have. There isn’t any combat in RiME, but it has
fantastic exploration and puzzle solving and gorgeous presentation with a
stunningly great soundtrack that keeps you hooked. Reports of performance
issues are greatly overstated, too, (there are some dips, but it is certainly
playable) so do yourself a favor and just play it. RiME is awesome.
#2 - What Remains of Edith Finch – PS4, XONE
The undisputed current king of the walking simulator genre –
or the newly coined “strollplaying game” which I’m also pretty fond of – What
Remains of Edith Finch is great because it is more than just walking around.
There is actual gameplay in Edith Finch and there is a surprising range and
variety to the different gameplay types you’ll experience. With gorgeous
presentation, a great story, AND excellent and varied gameplay, What Remains of
Edith Finch is an absolutely incredible overall experience. Walking sim fans
will love it, but the varied gameplay means genre haters can warm up to it too.
#1 - GOTY - Night in the Woods – PS4, XONE
The most memorable game of 2017 that stuck with me
throughout the year is easily Night in the Woods. I really enjoyed my initial
playthrough on PS4 in the Spring, but it wasn’t until a second, more thorough
(and Greg-focused) playthrough on Xbox One in the Fall that I fully appreciated
how great the game really is. I love the art style, I love the animal people,
but most of all I really love the writing. It’s real and raw and relatable and
that’s what makes it good. And, personally, I’m from a dinky small crap hole
town, and I also fully relate to leaving school early despite pressures from
friends and family. The handling of a sensitive issue like mental health is
also very well done here. Most of all, it’s funny and fun and exploring the
town of Possum Springs and interacting with everyone and everything is great.
Night in the Woods is just awesome and well done in pretty much every way. It’s
my favorite game of 2017 and one I highly, highly recommend.
