The Xbox One has had a tough past year. The platform was down, but with the release of the Xbox One X, Microsoft has taken the lead in the console market technologically. Not all of the GameRevolution Game of the Year 2017 choice for the console are exclusives, but they all made a significant impact on the Xbox One.
Though Xbox One was overshadowed this year by the Switch and PS4, there’s still a ton of great games to play. The future of the platform is looking a lot brighter, and the Xbox One X is the console of choice now if you want the highest fidelity possible. Below we listed our favorite Xbox One games from this year and crowned the Xbox One GOTY 2017.
10. The Evil Within 2 (GR Review)
Shinji Mikami, the creator of the Resident Evil series, directed The Evil Within 2, and given the game’s content, it’s no surprised. This is an modern update of that classic survival horror gameplay made famous by Resident Evil and Silent Hill. While it might not be as atmospehric as the first game, the expanded selection of weapons, and an interesting open world make up for it. If you’re a horror fan, this is one of the must-play games of 2017.
9. FIFA 18 (GR Review)
FIFA 18 takes everything introduced in FIFA 17 and refines it. The game is an improvement over last year’s entry in almost every way. Particularly of note is the new animation system which makes player movement more fluid. In a game meant to simulate football, it’s essential that everything look and feel right. With FIFA 18, EA has finally captured the little nuances in motion that makes football such an engaging sport.
8. What Remains of Edith Finch (GR Review)
What Remains of Edith Finch is a poignant look at death and the legacy we leave behind. Exploring Edith’s family history through a series of vignettes was enthralling and heartbreaking. Walking simulators have been criticized before, What Remains of Edith Finch has enough exploration and variety to keep those who aren’t fans of the genre entertained. While it’s short, this game is worth the price of admittance and has the narrative feeling of a satisfying book.
7. Cuphead
Cuphead feels like what games would be like now if the platforming craze of the 1980s and 1990s continued. It takes that genre and perfects it with tight controls, frantic gameplay, and fantastic boss fights. Cuphead’s weird 1930s art style it cute and foreboding at the same time, and makes me feel sad for the children who lived back then. It must have been an incredibly frightening time when you had to worry about a talking cigar in animated shorts before movies getting violent or turning into the devil.
6. Assassin’s Creed Origins (GR Review)
By the time Syndicate released Assassin’s Creed felt done to death. Ubisoft must have caught on because during the year break it took from publishing the series, a lot of the repetitive and tedious aspects of the game were removed. In their place is a tale set in a setting that remains largely untapped by gaming: Ptolemaic Egypt. Assassin’s Creed Origin evolves the game from stealth-action to more of an action-RPG lite, and this formula makes the series feel fresh. With the added incentive to expand your much larger arsenal and the beautiful scenery, this entry revitalized the series in a big way.
5. Call of Duty: WW2 (GR Review)
We’ve been to Normandy many times before in video games, but after playing Call of Duty: WW2 it feels good to be back. The last few Call of Duty games were a futuristic mess, and the multiplayer had strayed too far from the style made famous by Modern Warfare. This game takes the whole series back to its roots and simplifies multiplayer into a more satisfying experience.
4. Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (GR Review)
B.J. Blazkowicz gets a backstory, and we get to kill more Nazis in Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus. The continuation of The New Order is longer than the first and takes us to the Nazi-occupied United States as B.J. and the resistance attempt to start a revolution. Though Frau Engel really could have used more screen time, the fast-paced, challenging gunplay made for a great game.
3. Forza Motorsport 7
After a rocky start, Forza Motorsport 7 is proving to be one of the best games in the series yet. It looks beautiful and is one of the titles that really shows what the Xbox One X is capable of. Forza 7 also supports Xbox Play Anywhere, which is excellent for those who like to play on PC as well as Xbox One.
2. Resident Evil 7 (GR Review)
Somewhere along the way, Resident Evil became a messy mishmash of action gameplay and horror. For those who started playing the series when the first game came out, Resident Evil 6 was a far cry from the world of survival horror we experienced in Spencer Mansion and Raccoon City. Thankfully, Capcom listened to fan criticism about the series and went back to the drawing board with Resident Evil 7. This game returns the franchise to the creepy, lonely feeling it had initially, and tangling with the Baker family made this one of the scariest games I’ve played in years.
Xbox One Game of the Year 2017: Destiny 2 (GR Review)
Love it or hate it, Destiny 2 is extremely popular. This game has received tremendous criticism, but it does offer an experience you can’t find anywhere other than the original Destiny. Bungie is addressing some of these problems with changes and new content, like Curse of Osiris which released yesterday and upcoming changes to items.
