GAME OF THE YEAR: DEATH ROAD TO CANADA
I'm not sure what kind of witchcraft is enchanting both Rocketcat Games and Madgarden, but it seems like the monkey's paw wish they made years ago is still paying off with their ability to flawlessly release game that push every single one of our buttons. we awarded Rocketcat Game of the Year for Wayward Souls [], and this year we are happy to announce that our 2017 Game of the Year is Death Road to Canada.
We absolutely loved the game back when it was released earlier this year. It was the game to beat, and while many games came close, nothing dethroned Death Road to Canada. The roguelike gameplay of completely random games and the absurd events that would transpire made trading tells from your time on the Death Road just as fun as playing the game itself. Additionally, a barrage of updates has pulled us right back into Death Road to Canada multiple times throughout the year. The game was among the most popular titles as well.
RUNNER UP: CAT QUEST
One thing we really loved about our , Crashlands [], is how it took a fairly complicated genre and made it unbelievably approachable. The Gentlebros' Cat Quest [] is dripping with similar magic, and is both a super lightweight RPG you can just play for a few minutes at a time which also features loads of depth if you're looking to explore it. Great touch controls, a ultra cute art style, and perfectly paired music all come together in one of the top must-play experiences of the year. (And also agree!)
HONORABLE MENTION: SPLITTER CRITTERS
With our top two picks being pretty deep in the gamer-y games category, we also wanted to give a special nod to the best iOS puzzler of the year, Splitter Critters []. When we first saw this at PAX it was obvious that Splitter Critters was either going to win tons of awards or it'd just be totally under the radar. Thankfully, they ended up winning all sorts of things including an Apple Design Award. As we explain , gameplay involves making tears (or splitting) in the game world to then rearrange those pieces of the level into a way that allows your Lemming-like little blue aliens to reach their space ship. The base game was amazing, and then to support ARKit, turning one of the best puzzlers of the year into the best AR experience we've seen yet. Folks on also really dig it.
For more end of the year coverage of the best games of 2017, be sure to check out , as well as these personal top tens that we've been drizzling out over the week:
Also, if you'd prefer to listen to our Game of the Year discussion in the form of an audio podcast, here's all the links to do that:
iTunes Link:
Stitcher: via Stitcher Radio for Podcasts []
RSS Feed:
Direct Link:
Thanks a ton for sticking with us all through 2017. It's been a wild year filled with amazing games, and we really can't wait to see what 2018 has in store for us. Something tells me 2018 is going to be filled with lots of mobile games, but that's just a hunch.
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