I’m retroactively upset at myself for not playing the original SteamWorld Dig, but in a sense, it worked out my adoration for SteamWorld Dig 2 became an unexpected delight in a year full of surprises. Part of the reason I enjoy making a list is because it forces me to be cold, calculated and discerning-cutting to the heart of the matter. So, apologies to games like Horizon: Zero Dawn and Gravity Rush 2. It would have been easy to make a list of 20 games I enjoyed. Only having 10 games is, of course, arbitrary. 2017 would have been a poorer year without them in my life. My list isn’t merely a collection of video games I enjoyed, it’s a thank you. I’ve been trying to find time for Andromeda all year and it’s never happened because there was always something qualitatively better demanding my attention.) (Side note: Can you believe a Mass Effect game came out this year and I didn’t play it? Any other year, I’d be happy to play a below average Mass Effect because it’s Mass Effect. Five days a week was enough, you know? Raising my kid, being with loved ones, and quietly enjoying the equally good games became my escape. I had to walk away from the parade of bad news. There’s a reason I stopped checking social media on weekends, except to share photos of my daughter with friends and family.

Best games of 2017 gamebomb