Sonic Mania: Boy, it’s kinda chilly today, huh? As someone who grew up playing the classic Sonic games, Sonic Mania’s retro 16-bit gameplay is a literal blast (processing) from the past. Note that this only includes new games and full remakes but not remasters or mildly updated versions of older games.

Let’s start this shindig with my personal picks for the Top 25 Video Games of 2017. You know what isn’t terrible, though? These games in the annual Technobubble Big Game List that’s what. In that sense, I guess you can say that the Year of the Fire Rooster was “straight fire.” Yes, that was a terrible pun. Heck, I even gave out my first ever perfect-10 score as a professional reviewer this year. With an initial list that includes The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Persona 5, Resident Evil 7 and Nier Automata, the first few months of 2017 alone brought me almost a year’s worth of gaming enjoyment. It’s a shame given how the Year of the Fire Rooster kicked off one of the best starts I’ve seen in my decades spent as a gamer.

In the annals of video game history, 2017 likely will be remembered as the year that microtransactions and loot crates broke a beloved hobby.

Best games of 2017 xbox one.