It’s award season here at Twinfinite! Let’s look back at the best console exclusive games from 2017 (PC excluded). Voted on by our editors, these were the exclusive games that our team felt made the biggest impact on current, and potential home console owners. Let’s start with some honorable mentions, and then our top vote getting runner-ups, and finally, of course, our overall winner!
Honorable Mention: Persona 5
The Best Console Exclusive of 2017
What more can we say about Persona 5? It has already wrapped up a couple of wins this year for us already, and is still on track to win even more, which potentially includes our Game of the Year. That said, the criteria for this award in particular is a little different. While it may not have been as much of a “system seller” in our eyes as some of the other games on this list, Persona 5 is obviously an excellent game.
If you’re a JRPG fan driven by narrative and lovable characers, Persona 5 is a can’t miss and if it’s your number one genre of choice, it’s absolutely worth getting a PS4 for, among other great games of course too.
Second Runner-Up: Horizon Zero Dawn
The Best Console Exclusive of 2017
If you’re looking for a game to showcase your PS4 (or PS4 Pro) look no further than Horizon Zero Dawn. Set in the post-post-apocalyptic future where civilization has regressed back to tribes, players assume control of a young huntress named Aloy as she aims to uncover the mysteries surrounding hostile machines and the world she finds herself in. You’ll meet a number of people from all walks of life, stumble upon an evil cult trying to put an end to the world, and fight a ton of robot dinosaurs along the way. What’s not to like?
Horizon Zero Dawn’s action is what makes it such a joy to advance through its twisting narrative. Its combat system feels more like a strategic puzzle, requiring you to identify your enemies’ weaknesses and use a combination of weaponry and various ammo types to exploit them. It makes each battle more than just a simple case of button mashing or repeatedly using the same weapon over and over again. It’s how you’d actually go about taking down a hulking giant machine like that in real life.
Guerrilla Games managed to pack a ton of content in Horizon’s open world. From collectibles fleshing out the world’s deep lore, to the hunting ground challenges and various side quests to distract you from the main storyline. What’s more impressive, however, is the level of polish that can be seen throughout the entire experience. Its visuals are nothing short of some of the best we’ve seen this generation, its mechanics work seamlessly, and performance is silky smooth. Horizon Zero Dawn is the complete open-world action package and one of the finest exclusive titles to release in 2017.
First Runner-Up: Super Mario Odyssey
The Best Console Exclusive of 2017
Super Mario games of this magnitude are generational games. They don’t just grow on trees. Super Mario Odyssey will likely be remembered as this generation’s big, legendary, can’t miss Mario Game. SMO returns Mario to the collect-a-thon genre that has recently swung back into favor, a genre that Nintendo themselves kicked off with the classic Super Mario 64. And, in typical Nintendo fashion, there’s plenty of new and unique mechanics to make the gameplay feel fresh and new all over again.
More importantly though, for this award anyway, Super Mario Odyssey, alongside The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, solidified the Nintendo Switch’s epic 2017. This one-two GOTY tandem made the already incredible piece of hardware absolutely irresistible to hardcore Nintendo fans, and washed away the bad taste left in the mouths of many after the disappointing life of the Wii U. Without these two games to bookend 2017, we might not be as optimistic about the Switch’s future heading into 2018.
Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Best Console Exclusive of 2017
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild often feels overwhelming. Over the next hill, you may be faced with an enemy camp to clear out, several shrines to beat, a world boss staggering around, Korok Seeds tucked away, a few NPCs with side quests, treasure chests filled with useful gear, and probably a few hundred other things. Nintendo has packed so much into this sprawling rendition of Hyrule that you’ll rarely know where to start. But once you do, you’ll keep wanting to do “just one more thing” before you turn your Switch off. This may sound somewhat negative, but it’s quite the contrary. Hyrule is the most captivating and immersive world you can explore in 2017.
After a very short tutorial, Breath of the Wild opens up and lets you tackle its thousands of different points of interest in whatever way you see fit. Want to go on a quest to complete all 100+ of the puzzle-like Shrines before doing anything else? Go ahead (though it might be tricky). Rather just take in the sights and sounds of Hyrule on the back of a horse instead? Go tame one and get exploring! Breath of the Wild’s freedom and seemingly endless amount of opportunities for the player blend together to create a fantasy sandbox that’s very difficult to grow tired of.
Breath of the Wild truly revolutionized the Legend of Zelda series. Be it the cooking mechanic, the fact you can climb just about any cliff you saw, the open-world design, or the weapon degradation system, every decision was made for a reason. Breath of the Wild is a truly special game and serves as an ode to the series thus far for long-term fans, while also providing a perfect entry point for newcomers.
It’s because of all this (and more), that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was far and away the best console exclusive of 2017.
Updated: Dec 13, 2017 04:14 pm