What have been the best games of 2017 so far, outside the big

>>387623478
Nioh, Prey

Those criticisms in the early Pyre threads on /v/ weren't genuine or earnest, those """"""people""""" bounce from one recently released small title on /v/ to the next trying to chase it off of the board for no good reason.

Pyre, RiME, and Gigantic have been my favorite releases of the year that aren't the 7 or so /v/ approved games.

Outside of the ones you don't want to hear about, I've really loved Puyo Puyo Tetris and Sonic Mania.

>>387623609
>Prey
I'm torn about this. On the one hand it looks pretty cool, but on the other hand it's not Prey 2, nor has it anything to do with Prey and fuck them forever for that.

>>387623851
What's the puzzlan in RiME like? Is more of a sideshow to keep the game from being a walking sim or is it a big focus and actually interesting?

>Gigantic
You know I'd probably check this out if it cost a tenner, but as it stands I went to the steam page, saw
>f2p, moba
and noped the fuck out.

>>387624494
Puzzlan in RiME is mostly pretty easy but it keeps you engaged and aesthetically they do really cool things with the puzzles like creating doorways when you look at something from the right perspective.
There's also a lot of exploration in the game, I played the game through the first time and barely found any of the hidden shit in each world.

See I would've probably not touched Gigantic either, but it's got a pack that you can buy for 30 that gives you all the characters released now and in the future, I just bought that after like a week of playing it straight.

It's not a moba at all really other than the 4 abilities and an ult thing, there's no creeps for one, and the game mode is totally unique, I like it so much because it alleviates most of my issues with mobas and "hero shooters" like Overwatch

>>387623478
Pyre was fucking excellent. Good call OP.

Who did you liberate first? Who did you leave behind?

I chose Vagabond Girl (named her Dae) first & left Ti'zo & Pamitha behind.

Hollow Knight was one of the better metroidvanias I've played recently. I'd dare say that in some ways it even surpasses the classics of the genre.

>>387625002
That's fair enough, I've been noticing a trend for the last year or two of sticking the moba tag on everything. Like what does it even mean any more? Probably gonna give RiME a miss so, I'm just not a huge fan of wandering around/exploration so I don't think I'll enjoy a game with that at it's core. Damn shame it looked pretty decent.

>>387623478
Damn, that the only 2017 vidya that I've played so far which I love the most. I like how they departed from hack and slash in favor of unique blend of sport and VN, while retaining the awesome soundtrack and visual.

>>387625167
Hedwyn because he really deserve to be free and left Ti'zo and Betrude.

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>2010-2012 /v/ was always on the hunt for good shit people might not have found out about and trying to being games to /v/'s attention
>2017 /v/ doesn't play games and yells shill at you if you try to bring a cool game to their attention
This board is fucking dead, where can I even go to discuss games anymore?

>>387625167
>>387625573
Yeah I'm glad to see a studio with decent resources(read: good designers, Darren Korb and JenZee) willing to take risks on new ideas. I've only just finished Pyre but I can't wait to see what they do next.

I left behind:

Myself - because Oralech genuinely deserved to go free
Fae - because she seemed at home in the downside and didn't complain about missing the commonwealth all the time. Also I figured I could just have her do whatever and she'd be alright with it because "the scribes willed it". Stupid girl.
Pamitah - because her sister was down there and they hadn't reconciled yet. Also because I didn't like her that much.
Big Bertha - She's pretty comfortable in the Downside and doesn't really seem to care about getting back to the commonwealth. She seemed a bit bummed out about not being with Volfred but that guy was no good for her - he just kept stringing her along when he clearly had no interest in her.

>>387626389
>where can I even go to discuss games anymore?
No where I'm afraid. As shit as it is /v/ is still one of the best places to discuss stuff. You won't be able to put up with the shills and no taste faggots who sing Skyrims praises to the high heavens. Also once you've been here a few years it's pretty hard to go back to places where no one swears and insults each other.

RE: Pyre, does anyone know how well it's doing? Despite being a great game I haven't seen a lot of buzz about it, and the Wiki/guides for it are all quite lacking - which generally is a bad sign.

>>387626389
I personally blame Gamergate for that one even though /v/ was starting to rot since late 2011, but it was the catalyst with along with the increasing influx of newfags.

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>>387627580
>gamergate
Yeah, between that and general /pol/ fags this place has seen the biggest drop in quality since it's inception. I thought constant Costanza and Jimmies threads were bad but they had nothing on /pol/acks. I can ignore the obvious threads, my main problem is spillover. I just can't imagine the guys who are posting 20 BLACK'D threads a day are making meaningful contributions to discussion in other, on topic threads.

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>>387627913
Costanza was never comparable to offtopic shit you goof.

But yeah goofy offtopic shitposting was the prime of /v/
>Offtopic shitposters mostly stay in their own threads
>When there was spillover it was anons not being able to help but laugh at a stupid cartoon gorilla and not entire threads becoming pure bile and vitriol and salvageable
>Every two months or so the hot new joke would flood the board and the entire catalog would be something like cartoon gorillas or a stock photo man for a day or so and then things would settle back down again
Much better than literally every thread being uninhabitable garbage 24/7 like we have now.

>>387628372
unsalvageable*

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>>387623478
Good taste.

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>>387627520
It's a sleeper hit, give it some time and people will realize what they miss. Either that or people think that Pyre is an absurd game which makes those who like fast paced game turned off by the burden of narrative and those who like the plot can't stand the inclusion of NBA minigame.

>>387627913
I also think that /v/ is way too fucking fast for its own good, average thread can't exist for more than one hour. Moderation is absolutely nonexistent unless it's porn or gore, this board needs to be purged so I can finally rest in pieces.

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Has anyone played Strafe? Is it any good?

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>>387628575
>NOXALAS!
>mfw

>>387628716
>NOX ALAS!
But seriously the fictional language they used is the best kind of autism, it sounds great.

Also, what's the best song from the soundtrack, and why is it Grand Ceremony?

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>>387629330
Forgot pic

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>>387629330
>>387628716
>Every single voice clip you hear means something and they're used appropriately when the dialogue reflects it so you can pick up on a few key words
>They even designed different fucking accents for their language for different characters
>Use of English in the game is meant to represent an ancient lost language that only people who can read can actually understand
>Every single team has a NOX ALAS style ending cheer
>Every single character in the game is recorded doing every single cheer for the multiplayer mode
>Mfw making Lendel, Deluge, and Manley say it

These guys put ten times more effort into their gibberish speak than the Yooka Laylee devs.

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>the way Voice starts getting pissy near the end of a game

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>>387629851
>The Voice speaks to you in English because he used to be a reader and knows the old tongue
>When the mistral sings to pass the time, the lyrics are in the old tongue and no one else in the black wagon has any idea wtf he's saying
It's the small details mang.

>>387629330
I can tell that they mix Latin in the language. Also I can't stop listening to the song for Liberation Rite, they even insert different lyric for different adversaries you face and the ending song changes depending on the fates of your teammates.

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>>387630229
>Volfred just casually mentions near the end of the game that The voice is a former nightwing, and then entire commonwealth elite are former exiles, and Volfred partially ended the nightwings temporarily to cuck the flow of new blood to the Commonwealth rulers

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>>387630807
It's a stupid system devised by the Scribes to be honest. Letting branded criminals to participate in a holy event that will allow them to lead the very nation that exiled them? Now they wonder why the triumvirates they founded were corrupted from the original teachings. Which makes the Scribes to pull "You guys suck, The Rites are now ended. You stay there for good m'kay."

Sonic Mania, Gigantic, and Persona 5 have been my favorites this year

>>387631507
They don't simply allow any criminal to lead them, they need to greatly prove their worth to have a shot at freedom and whole system can judge whether or not the criminal became "enlightened" aka started following the teachings of the Scribes.

Of course, system gets fucked up if someone as smart and influential as Volfred gets involved.

>>387628617
Literal trash
everything from guns, movement, and stages feel awful

>>387631805
But of course The Scribes can't refuse the winning team's chance for freedom no matter how shitty they are only because they bested the Nightwings. Except for the Fate every triumvirates you face are the complete opposite of what the founder had intended because they do not adhere the teachings of the Scribes. Which is why even if you spectacularly failed to free every single of your teammates, the Commonwealth will still be destroyed precisely for that reason.

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OP here, as much as I wanted some good recommendations, I'm not altogether disappointed we got a decent Pyre thread instead.

>>387631805
In fairness I think the system would have gotten just as fucked if Volfred hadn't gotten involved. I mean it's not his fault that the likes of Manly or Sir Deluge have a legit shot at liberation. Those guys learn nothing and don't grow at all.

Was anyone else disappoint that that all the talk from Udmildhe about the return of Yslach ultimately came to nothing? I seriously thought at first that his awakening was causing the rites to end and a whole bunch of other stuff.

>>387631926
Damn shame. It looked cool.

How trustworthy do we thing the book of writes/the scribes were? It seems like of like they talked themselves up a bit. It would be interesting to have seen another perspective on it, like if Udmildhe tried to tell some of Yslach's side of the story.

>>387633215
Seriously, all the talk about the awakening of Titan-stars made me think that we'll face them or at least see them directly involved with the ending of the Rites. But no sir, it's like invoking Idols from Bastion or Limiters from Transistor, I use all of them against the wyrms once and acquired all the entry log.

>>387633869
>I used all of them against the wyrms once and acquired all the entry log.
Were you playing on hard? Maybe the Wyrm one was a bit easier than other rituals, but I found that turning on more than 2 or 3 at a time made shit way too difficult.

>>387625168
>Hollow Knight
I started in to this but was a bit burned out on Metroidvanias at the time, despite it being one of my favorite genres. I must go back to it at some point.

>>387634390
Nah, standard and for steam achievement. Even the Voice commented on my act of foolishness.

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>>387634974
>Even the Voice commented on my act of foolishness.
heh

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>>387629330
>not Will of the Scribes

>>387635439
Do you mind if I save this picture?

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>yfw the Dissidents first show up

>>387635729
What was the deal between Rukey and the other cur? I sent him home real early and never found out.

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>>387635729
When i understood the reasoning behind Rites it became really obvious why the shop is closing because if THAT thing had a chance to return as a person in power, whole ideology behind the Rites is compromised.

>>387636012
What are you talking about, he was a good boy he din du nuffin

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>>387636280
Lets start with a fact that he's called Barker Ashpaws.

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>>387636438
What's wrong with that? So what if he likes a good bark and his paws sometimes get a bit ashey?

>>387635907
Rukey owed him a bunch of money because of some failed gambling or business venture and I guess Barker goes a bit organized crime when debt collecting.

>>387636438
Barker Ashpaw is LITERALLY the only opposing captain that did nothing wrong.

>>387634793
Definitely play it once you get that itch for metroidvania stuff again. I liked HK because it kept things simple without sacrificing any form of depth and the "simple" philosophy is something that remains constant during the entire game.

>>387638238
>Dalbert
>Ignarius

>>387638730
Dalbert knew DAMN WELL what celebrating Dog Kwanza was gonna get him, and he doesn't parent Albert well enough to get the kid to fuck off so he isn't screwed too.

Ignaurius you have a case for but Barker in my opinion is the only one who is consistently in the commonwealth and downside doing nothing wrong throughout

>>387623478
Nioh is my current GOTY but I don't know if you consider that a big release.

>>387638238
What about Orelach? He is 100% justified in his actions. Or Dalbert?

Actually now that I mention it what was Orelach Exiled for?

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>>387638869
Hey it's not Dalbert's fault Almer is going through puberty, you know how teens are.

>>387635907
I like the story when he extorted Rukey's mom, she though that the thugs sent by Barker were Rukey's friend and treat them with tea. Barker in return thought that this is sufficient and decided that the debt has been paid.

Does Bayo count? I know it's a re-release but it's a great game aside from the performance issues.