Games Reviews Holiday Gift Guide: Adventure Games

2017 was a great year for adventure titles, and there really just wasn’t enough time to dive into everything was available. That being said, we’ve collected a few of our favorite games from 2017 below, ones we see as titles you just cannot miss playing. Let’s see which games we felt were the best in 2017!

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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo – Nintendo Switch

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is massive, and seemingly full of outstanding feature after outstanding feature. While not everything is at 100% throughout the adventure, my low points where inevitably a result of my own short comings, not that of the game. Much time and effort went into taking the Legend of Zelda in a whole new direction, and I’m not sure Nintendo could have done any better.

Breath of the Wild is massive, full of life, interesting characters, and enough quests and puzzles to keep you busy for over a hundred hours. With years of development work behind this release, it’s quickly understandable that the developers thought everything through, down to the most meticulous detail.

You can purchase the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo eShop here!

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment – Xbox One, PS4, PC.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor was one of the best games released back in 2014, and received some major accolades from almost every media outlet. Even those who were not crazy about the subject matter and tone of the game, applauded the developers for what they did differently: creating the Nemesis System. At that time, it was hard to imagine Monolith Studios topping what they had done in Shadow of Mordor, but somehow, they seem to have elevated the franchise in almost every single way. For fans of the first title, expect much better things from the sequel!

You can purchase Shadow of War by visiting the Xbox Store or PlayStation Store!

Assassin’s Creed Origins – Ubisoft – Xbox One, PS4, PC

Assassin’s Creed Origins is a fantastic experience from start to finish, and very few things made my cringe in my current 40 hour play through. Full disclosure: I haven’t done everything you can do in this game yet, but am planning to do so. What I have done though, is experience all the new mechanics Ubisoft has included in the title, as well as completed what I consider a pretty good story, at least when compared to other Assassin’s Creed titles! How does it rank against all the other big games this year? We definintely think so.

Explore Ancient Egypt as brilliantly recreated by Ubisoft Montreal, and see all the fascinating sites that Bayek can travel too. You can purchase Assassins’s Creed Origins on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC!

Horizon Zero Dawn – Sony – PS4

New game IPs and new franchises are always exciting, but understandably terrifying at the same time. There is so much that could go wrong with new ideas, characters, and game play mechanics, but at the same time, so many possibilities to create something new in a marketplace of spin offs and copy cats.

While game play and mechanics wise, Zero Horizon Dawn is nothing new, the idea that Guerrilla and Sony might have a franchise on their hands with new protagonist Aloy is incredibly exciting.

To be frank, Horizon Zero Dawn isn’t really a new concept or a whole new way of playing a game, despite its unique characteristics. You could easily argue that Guerilla grabbed things that worked well in other games, played around with how they would roll them into this title, and shipped it to retail. If that was the end goal, congratulations: you made it. I can honestly say that Horizon took the best of Far Cry, Assassins Creed, and perhaps a bit of Monster Hunter, and produced a game with very few flaws.

You can purchase Horizon Zero Dawn on the Playstation Store here!

Super Mario Odyssey – Nintendo – Nintendo Switch

Every Nintendo generation has had an epic Super Mario adventure – 2 on the Wii! – so when Nintendo announces a Mario title, you assume it’s the only one you’ll get in the generation. Super Mario 64 on Nintendo 64, Super Mario Sunshine on GameCube, a pair of Super Mario Galaxy titles on Wii, Super Mario 3D World on Wii U, and now the pinnacle of them all: Super Mario Odyssey on Nintendo Switch. Odyssey spans the history of the whole series, from the 80s to today. And it is so good!

Mario Odyssey is a celebration of all things Mario, from the 2D side scrolling of the original Mario Bros. to jumping into paintings ala Super Mario 64, and the cat suite wall graffiti, a subtle nod to Super Mario 3D World. Everywhere you turn in Super Mario Odyssey, you are bound to get smacked with a really good dose of nostalgia, depending on your age and video game playing history.

You can purchase Super Mario Odyssey on the Nintendo eShop here!