Looking back at the list of games this year it's almost impossible to process how many interesting and incredible games were released in 2017. There have been high-profile duds and a fair share of controversies as well, but more than most other years choosing a short list of must-play experiences is tough.

Brand new properties stunned us with their fresh ideas, sequels were refined (or redefined) to be better than ever, and more than one old series was brought back to relevance after previously having run off the rails.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Though it sounded like a worryingly bizarre crossover when the idea was initially leaked in 2016, Ubisoft's crazy, colourful and unexpectedly complex strategy game was one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.

With a smart, streamlined version of the cover-based combat made famous by X-COM, a take on Nintendo's highest profile mascots that manages to be both reverent and cheeky, and a much less grating iteration of the potty humour and screaming of the Rabbids, this is a must-own Switch game in a year of great Switch games.

Cuphead

Looking and sounding like a coloured Fleischer animation from the 1930s, but playing more like a tough '80s run-and-gun, Cuphead pulls you in with its perfectly-executed nostalgic style but keeps you hooked with its carefully balanced challenge.

From its hand-painted backgrounds to its original jazz numbers, this absolutely stunning game centres around a number of extended battles with bosses who are worth seeing for their design and beautiful animation alone.

Metroid: Samus Returns

Unlike past Metroid remakes, this is not merely an upgrade of an old game to make it more like series high point Super Metroid (itself now 23 years old). Samus Returns feels like a 2017 game, with its 3D cinematic style and fluid combat, but it carries the spirit of isolation and exploration that made the franchise great.

Samus feels powerful again, and everything from the satisfying upgrade system that gates the world to the atmospheric soundtrack are all here, foreshadowing a return to relevance for a series that's recently lost its way.

Gravity Rush 2

Mixing comic book looks, fun perspective-shifting gameplay and a quirky story with very Japanese sensibilities, the incredible world of Gravity Rush 2 shines despite some uninspired combat and quests.

Using your powers to fall, float and slide around the massive land of Jirga Para Lhao is a singularly thrilling experience, and I couldn't get enough of running around the sides and underbellies of its floating cities. Kat's mix of starry-eyed optimism and world-rending superpower also makes her one of my favourite protagonists of the year.

Steamworld Dig 2

Taking a simple concept and pushing it absolutely as far as it can go, the rhythm of exploration and upgrading in Steamworld Dig 2 is about as addictive and enjoyable as they come.

While the game centres around a core loop of digging and upgrading, it expands to tricky platforming challenges, puzzle rooms and roleplaying elements as well. There's something so satisfying about meticulously filling out your map and then returning later to find previously inaccessible areas, and Dig 2 does it better than most.

Tacoma

Despite never letting you interact with another human, Tacoma is an almost unrivalled success when it comes to emotional storytelling and facilitating a true feeling of empathy for characters in games.

Investigating a futuristic space station in order to retrieve sensitive information for its corporate owners in the wake of some undefined disaster, you watch the absent crew live their lives through immersive AR recordings. It's a brilliantly new way to frame a mysterious, voyeuristic tale, and it only gets better as it goes.

Persona 5

As with previous games in the series, Persona 5 is made up of two distinct but intricately linked halves. By day you choose how to spend your free time as a normal highschool student, hanging out with friends or maybe taking on a part time job. By night you infiltrate the minds of the evil to turn them to a life of virtue.

Saving the world as a group of rebellious teens, who also spend a good deal of time bonding and studying, is a thrilling and endlessly stylish experience, with brilliantly refined combat and inexplicably fun minutiae.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Nazis won the war, and by 1961 they rule the world with an iron fist and incredibly advanced technology. Against this backdrop The New Colossus tells a story of American uprising that vacillates between shocking you with the cruelty and overt racism of its villains, and charming you with the rag tag crew you pal with.

That this works at all is testament to the quality of the writing and performances here, and on top of that the actual gameplay is incredibly competent. As pretty as it is absolutely brutal, this might be one of the very few singleplayer shooters this year but it's probably the only one you need.

NieR: Automata

Sprawling and super-slick combat games are Platinum's bread and butter, but Automata is the best the studio has put out since Bayonetta 2. Blending visceral action and complex challenges with an impressively deep upgrade system, the whole thing is absolutely dripping with style.

Pulling it all together is an unexpectedly touching story about life-like robots sent to serve as humanity's proxy in a war to take back our homeworld from aliens. Captivating and surprising, Automata brings arcade-style action to a mature, interesting world.

Horizon Zero Dawn

A post-post-apocalypse set long after the fall of modern humans, Horizon tells a unique story while also offering a fresh take on standard action-RPG elements and being absolutely gorgeous.

The world has been retaken by nature, which now includes robotic animals (and dinosaurs) which make up part of the fauna. The quest to discover how this came to be is an engaging one, but getting to know Aloy and exploring off the beaten path to learn more about this stunning world is just as interesting.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

In hindsight Resident Evil 5 and 6 missed the point to a remarkable degree. By re-focusing on what made the original games so engrossing, but modernising things with a brand new structure and perspective, RE7 is a phenomenal return to form.

There are parts of this game that are genuinely terrifying but, like many of the best horror films, the bewildering insanity and surprise makes them kind of funny at the same time. It's an amazingly successful course-correction for the series.

Sonic Mania

Of all the comeback stories we saw this year, none mean more to me personally than Sonic's. There's something so amazing at the heart of this series, but ever since its shift to three dimensions Sega just hasn't been able to pin it down.

The result of Sega's handing the reigns over to a small group of outside developers with a passion of the blue blur, Mania goes back to the series' roots to prove how amazing Sonic can look and feel. A mix of lovingly restored old ideas and brand new content, this game is so much more fun than Sonic Team's own 2017 effort that I hope it spins out into a full sub-series of its own in the future.

What Remains of Edith Finch

Beautifully strange and gleefully morose, What Remains of Edith Finch is a singularly amazing work of video game magical realism, and it hit me right in the feels.

The multi-generational tale of the apparently cursed Finch family plays out through the eyes of our protagonist and narrator Edith, but the meat of the game is a series of vignettes that tell the story of each of her ancestor's deaths, marrying each whimsical story with a different art style and a new way to play. There's a personal, relatable story among the hocus pocus and tall tales and death, and while brief this is an experience I'll remember for a long time.

Super Mario Odyssey

Returning to a free exploration style after years of more linear adventures, the latest Super Mario is a relentlessly joyful celebration of the entire series, but it also drags Mario towards the future with the most modern game design we've seen from the series yet.

With our moustached hero travelling to many and various kingdoms in search of hidden moons, his new ability to capture and possess dozens of enemies and objects greatly expands the horizons of the game's puzzles and quests. On top of this, the expected gameplay excellence and a heavy dose of nostalgia and fan service (and collectible outfits!) make Odyssey a creative and incredible journey.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Since it came out so early in the year, there have been a few times I've thought back to Zelda and wondered if it was still my favourite game of 2017. Each time, I powered the game back up and immediately fell in love with it all over again. This game is literally peerless. That was true at launch, and nothing I've played since can match it.

Many games have presented a "go anywhere, do anything" structure, but few have been filled with places, challenges and mysteries as intriguing and charming as Breath of the Wild. The massive land of Hyrule, from beautiful grassy plains and craggy mountains to marshy swamps and long-forgotten ruins, is rife with wildlife, monsters, villages and all manner of suspicious landmarks that tug constantly at your curiosity, and demand to be investigated.

The story, though sparse, is also heartfelt and only makes the game more meaningful as you tug at its threads and it unfolds before you. More meaningful, of course, are the stories you make for yourself as you get lost in the wilderness, experimenting and exploring a world that's organic and dynamic, but that never fails to reward you for your efforts.