Contents
BEST OF 2017 NOMINEES
BEST PC GAME
Be sure to check back on December 20 to see IGN’s Best PC Game of 2017 winner. And of course our opinion isn’t the only one that matters — cast your vote in the poll at the bottom of the page to help decide the IGN People’s Choice selection!
Cuphead
From IGN’s Cuphead Review: As tough as it is beautiful, Cuphead won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but there’s absolutely no doubting its quality. Rather than simply offering the player what they want, Cuphead makes them earn that right – the rewards, if you can hack the tests, are absolutely worth it. Cuphead is incredible for more than just its looks. But before you dive in, make sure you actually want a game that plays like this, and not just a game that looks like this.
Destiny 2
From IGN’s Destiny Review: Destiny 2 is a blast out of the gate thanks to its excellent co-op shooter gameplay and strong storytelling in the campaign. The sequel delivers the same kind of highly social gameplay and rewarding, loot-driven progression that helped the original keep players hooked for hundreds of hours.
Divinity: Original Sin II
From IGN’s Divinity: Original Sin II Review: Divinity: Original Sin 2 may have been designed in the spirit of decades-old RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 2, but that legacy serves only as a foundation for the expansive game Larian has built on top of it. Few other RPGs allow such a wide range of flexibility while also supporting rewarding combat and a powerful story, all in a world that feels alive in the ways it reacts to you and goes about its business without you. It’s a rare RPG that you’ll want to play through again and again, driven by the feeling that so many fascinating and surprising paths remain undiscovered.
Doki Doki Literature Club
It should be apparent by the numerous disturbing content warnings that greet people on its websites and starting screens that Doki Doki Literature Club isn’t your average anime dating sim or interactive novel. It goes from fluffy pick-a-girl-to-date to… something different at the assumed climax of the story, and becomes a wild and unpredictable ride from that point on. Doki Doki’s intense, unusual storytelling isn’t the only unique feature about it — it does entirely unexpected things only a PC game can do, and executes them perfectly. Read as little about Doki Doki Literature Club before playing it, as that will lend you the best possible experience. Which is what it is — an experience above all else.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
From IGN’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Review: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a masterclass of atmosphere, storytelling, and the marriage of mechanical and conceptual design. While there are moments that feel shoehorned in to remind us we’re playing a videogame, the care and attention Ninja Theory has clearly poured into Senua and her story has created something amazing. This is a game everyone should play.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War
From IGN’s Middle-earth: Shadow of War Review: Similar to the way Batman: Arkham City built on the foundation of Arkham Asylum, Middle-earth: Shadow of War is bigger and more ambitious in scope than Shadow of Mordor, with great results. The way it expands the Nemesis system with far greater variety and fortress sieges makes even better use of the stand-out generated characters, and its battles with memorable uruk captains remain challenging all the way through the campaign and into the clever asynchronous multiplayer beyond.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
From IGN’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Review: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has taken the genre popularized by games like DayZ and boiled it down to only its best parts, making for quick and accessible rounds of pure, hassle-free survival-based action. Even though it’s as rough around the edges as the early access label implies, it’s absolutely worth playing right now.
Pyre
From IGN’s Pyre Review: From the art to the music to the story to the tactical gameplay, and even to how they’re all woven together so artfully, Pyre is an adventure that excels in every area of its design other than limiting its multiplayer to local only. It’s an epic journey with an emotionally charged ending, tinged with tragedy and melancholy. This is Supergiant’s best work to date, and that’s saying something.
Total War: Warhammer II
From IGN’s Total War: Warhammer II Review: Creative Assembly’s designers are honing their campaign and faction design consistently from game to game, and that progression is clearly on display in Total War Warhammer 2. There’s not as much progress in the politics and diplomacy systems, but each of the four factions is a distinct and fun-to-play addition to the growing roster. The story and objective-driven campaign is a league above anything we’ve seen in the entire Total War series before in both design and presentation.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
From IGN’s Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus Review: Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is a fantastic single-player shooter with brilliantly written characters and captivating performances from its cast. BJ and his crew are full of spirit and personality, and General Engel is as memorable a nemesis as you’re likely to find in games. Machine Games has once again turned the well-worn act of mowing down Nazis into something to get excited about.
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