The 10 best video games you should have played in 2017

Super Mario Odyssey

Nintendo upped their games this year. Super Mario Odyssey changes up its format and follows a little in Breath of the Wild’s footsteps.

The bones of a Mario game still remain: Peach is kidnapped by Bowser; you need to hop from world to world chasing him until you finally defeat him and rescue Peach.

What’s new this time around? The stars have become power moons and are as prevalent as coins in the old games (there are 999 moons to be had). You have a lot more freedom to explore each world, gathering as many power moons as you want or just going along the main storyline, as long as you hit the minimum requirement to power up your ship.

Oh, and you have a secret weapon: your hat. His name is Cappy. Honestly, I didn’t realize how satisfying it feels to throw your hat at things. His addition gives you a whole slew of moves and mechanics you didn’t have before. Think about how far you can jump when you can do a long jump, throw your hat, leap forward to your hat, and then jump again from there.

With Cappy, you can inhabit the bodies of enemies. You need particular ones to accomplish certain tasks in each world. My favorites include Pokio (a bird who pokes his beak into walls and flings himself up) and Uproot (the stretching plant dudes). Oh, and the T. rex. The T. rex is a lot of fun.

Odyssey is similar to Zelda in that worlds are much more open than prior game iterations. It’s the perfect blend of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. It’s fun, easy, and sometimes incredibly frustrating — that comes with every Mario game. Once you beat Bowser (after about 10-12 hours of play), the game gives you even more to do in each world along with new worlds to reach.

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It also helps to remember Mario game logic. Check every corner. Check the end of every hallway. And remember to have fun. It’s a Mario game after all.

What was your top game of 2017?