2017 was an incredible year for all kinds of games, but it's time to decide which one was the best.
Update: The polls have closed! We’ll publish the list of winners soon… stand by!
Holy moly, what a year!
It’s hard to argue against 2017 being one of the best years for gaming since… well, one of the best of all time, really. Its first few months alone saw the likes of Resident Evil 7, Nioh, Horizon Zero Dawn, Nier Automata, and Persona 5. Come on!
We’ve got a lot of the same categories below that we’ve featured in previous years — plus a few new ones. You may notice a slight change to this year’s “Most Anticipated” category: since The Last of Us Part II won the Platinum Trophy in that same category following its announcement last year, it’s no longer eligible for a nomination in that category this year. Games that previously won Gold, Silver and Bronze Trophies get another shot at the Plat.
All the polls you see below are open now, and will remain so until we close out 2017 at 11:59pm Pacific on December 31. Get those votes in, and remind your friends to do the same!
Finally, from the entire PlayStation.Blog team, thank you for an incredible year. We’re privileged to have the best fans in the biz, and it’s thanks to you that we get to keep doing what we do. Cheers!
Editor’s note: Since The Last of Us Part II won the Platinum award in this category last year, it is no longer eligible for nomination here.
I totally wrote in Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy for best PS4 game lol, but seriously for real, I really want the Uncharted 10th Anniversary theme to win for Best Theme even though it wasn’t listed there.
Part of our nomination criteria is that we won’t nominate a remaster of a game that had previously appeared on a PlayStation platform. Crash falls into a sort of gray area there since the N-Sane Trilogy was such an overhaul, but I figured competition is stiff enough that we should avoid adding more games to the list.
Agreed on the Uncharted theme — I’ll actually add that one to the poll!
Don’t understand why Atlus is not on here, they have been really good at communicating issues with the release of their games, and does their best to please their consumers. I might be biased since they make my favourite game. I somewhat follow the things that happen in the gaming industry, and from what I see, you never hear anything bad about Atlus. Even though they were bought by SEGA, though that doesn’t really count since SEGA has no influence on the company decisions. I don’t know, just my opinion. (I say that, while I have a Persona 5 avatar, please don’t judge me for that).
Best soundtrack definitely has to go to Persona 5, would always catch myself jamming whenever my brother played the game.
So it’s impossible for “Crash Bandicoot N’sane Trilogy” to win best PS4 game even if majority voted for it? @Justin Massongill
Thanks for the Uncharted Anniversary nomination for Best PS4 Theme @Justin Massongill. As for Crash, I was totally joking on that since I know being a remaster it doesn’t qualify for “game of the year” material, but I just wanted to make it known that on a personal level Crash would be my personal game of the year I loved it that much simply because it was such a special remaster of one of my favorite franchises and I want to thank PlayStation, Activision, and Vicarious Visions for reaching out to make it happen, and even though I’m only a more recent fan of MediEvil having got the games on Amazon in the past couple of years, the MediEvil remaster is actually one of my most anticipated titles for next year because of how great Crash turned out. I hope we can expect MediEvil II to be included in the remaster :)
For me i vote Destiny 2 beacues the graphics is awsome and destiny 2 have more new armor and weapons
This was a great year for the PS4. My personal GotY was Yakuza 0. It got me into the series and it’s characters were memorable.
I chose Warframe as game of the year. The way that Digital Extremes have continually built the game and evolved is quite remarkable. I’m a very seasoned gamer (code for 40 yrs old) and nothing has held me to a game quite like this.
Anyways if you haven’t seen it check it out, it’s free to play, it’s huge and yeah once you get your head around it it’s awesome!!
Psn me if you have any questions etc.
Yeah, still rocking the Crash Bandicoot theme on my PS4 :)
Nier automata will always be in my heart.
Persoooona! They will never see it coming!
Love that FFXIV is on the Post-Release Content Ballot twice. If only i could vote twice!
Studio of the year clearl was Pholophony Digital to me. Why wasn’t it in the list? Had to write it in with “others”.
I really think that Epic Games should be added to studio of the year, and Fortnite should be added to best game on PS4 but that’s just me I guess
Super Mario Run on Android
Good game, but no ;)
Grest year but already wishing for 2018.
2018’s gonna be nuts! What did you vote for Most Anticipated?
Spelunky 2, let’s goooooo!!!
i put concrete genie it looks so cool
I’m a massive maven fan so I will say spiderman ps4.!
Have a feeling Horizon Zero Dawn may rack up a slew of awards. It’s a fresh, inventive story with a unique setting, memorable characters, beautiful graphics and, of course, consistently enjoyable gameplay.
With that said: I’d like Destiny 2 to pick up some awards, if just because it’s the game that consumes most of my play time!
Destiny 2 will win biggest disappointment of 2017
I think you’re right about Horizon, and I’m with you on Destiny 2 — I’m nearly 200 hours in and counting!
I agree with you on Horizon, but seriously destiny 2,that game is garbage and boring. I think the worst game of the year is Star Wars Battlefield 2, i can’t believe it made it on any other list.
No offense but if you boil destiny 2 down what is it… Boring and repetitive. I bought the whole package and I don’t even know or care what that even consists of. Bring on the battle royal games please. Every game is like a box of chocolates. Peace.
Destiny vanilla was the best. anything after that is horrible. killed the experience for me. i get it was alll the whinning from the casuals and the media about its grind which i enjoyed most in Vanilla
Legacy theme might be the only theme I ever use again. Even the limited PS experience quest themes are paltry by comparison.
Nostalgia wins again!
I don’t know, the Undertale and Rez themes that came out this year are pretty stellar too…
Had to go with Horizon Zero Dawn in every catagory it was in. They deserve it
In best story and best soundtrack? Not really.
@Danterikxx Matter of taste. I did go with Horizon for best story though.
Me as well I have put so many hours into Horizon and the replay factor is still there for me. Love it so much
@Danterikxx I have it for best story too. Soundtrack does need to go to Nier though. Nearly changed my art direction to Persona as well, but ended up keeping it with Horizon.
@Danterikxx For story? 10000% Yes form me, the HZD story was amazing and really unique. That is a really cool universe. I don’t know if you know the whole deal but it is was different than any other post apocalyptic stories I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot.
For soundtrack, I voted for HZD as I liked it quite a lot, very atmospheric. But I intend to try and find some Persona and Neir music as a lot of people seemed to like them.
Nier Automata stoundtrack is a billion times more memorable and incredible than the one in Horizon. And Ashly Burch’s performance was flat as Aloy.
But to each their own.
HZD’s story was disappointing. I went with Yakuza 0 for that.
I love horizon but i disagree, best story for me was P5, best soundtrack was close between P5 a d Nier, I chose Nier, best art direction was easily Gravity Rush 2( probably the most unique), best performance was melina jurgens from hellblade( no argument there), best independent title Hellbladd, best post release content Warframe( for a free to play game digital extremes puts triple A games to shame), my Ps4 exclusive of the year was damn close between P5, Nier and Gravity Rush 2. I didnt put Horizon in here because the story did not connect with me on a emotional lebep so ot feels forgettable. P5. Nier and GR2 hit ypu were it counts, I chose Gravity Rush 2 for exclusive of the year because its amazing, the characters are memorable, the story is a bit convluded but immensely interesting, the world is probably the most unique I had seen all year, the music is stellar and it never got love from anywhere else so I think it needs to win at least something.
With so many games out, Horizon was the only game that was fun to play from start to finish and kept my attention through the main game and its expansion….so it gets my vote too.
Horizon for the win!!
Easily the hardest year to vote with so many great games. I could have picked 4 or 5 for almost every category. I don’t know if I’ll finish all the games I currently own before I die, but that’s okay, good problem to have. Nice work and keep the games coming!
Best Place to play is on PlayStation Best Exclusive ever!
Most anticipated game is a tough one. The PlayStation has so many great games coming in 2018-2019. I love it.
Detroit Become Human looks so good it’s my most anticipated
Gotta agree with you there…hard choice indeed.
Yeah but i mean where is The Last of Us part 2?
Destiny 2 shouldn’t even be on the list! It’s a Buggy Title with constant patches, updates and server downtime! Don’t even get me started on the DLC!
Horizon to win a Slew of Awards this year as it’s an amazing concept and it will pulled off perfectly, along with the DLC 10/10 for me
I know right i feel like this game and Star Wars Battlefield 2 are in competition for worst game of the year
Hellblade needs a lot more recognition, such a powerful game.
You’re right! It is a game with so much meaning
Pyre for soundtrack by hundreds of miles! Darren Korb is the best.
This is probably the toughest category for me to vote on this year. Pyre, Nier: Automata, Persona 5, Undertale, Stormblood… I spent a lot of money on video game music this year. ^_^
Most of my votes go to Persona 5! That game had an incredibly in-depth story, which goes way over 100 hours, something insane for a triple-A title in this day and age. I also appreciate the presence of FF XIV and XV in some of these categories!
Same for me! It was such a wonderful games with a great story and amazing soundtrack to match.
I’m 95 hours in and haven’t finished it yet! I’m going to try and wrap it up before I vote though, it’s in the running for sure.
Justin, try Yakuza 0. You’ll be surprised. The game can be completed in a few days.
Horizon Zero Awards will not win even on this poll.
Horizon Zero Dawn for the kill. Can’t believe it is console exclusive… That game alone should kill entire competing consoles.
PS: if you have any tips to beat the walking Deathbringer in the Grave Hoard (Hardest Difficulty) HELPPPPP! USED ALL ammunition with perfect hits and he still won’t DIE!
Horizon Zero Dawn my personal favorite GOTY, but what won GOTY with most publications (more than 90% of them) has been The Legend of Zelda – Breath of the Wild for Switch. Both released around same time, and both had a great expansion later in year.
Great games & consoles don’t negate other great games & consoles from being highly enjoyable and successful in their own right.
Just gotta overheat it with fire arrows and shoot at the exposed weak points, there’s plenty of cover around so always keep moving, that’s all there is to it. I assume this isn’t a NG+ save, in which case I see why you’re struggling with ammo.
Maxed out fire arrows 3 at a time, triple hardpoint arrows at vent tubes ,running across each side of elevated platform for cover.Never got hit on ultra hard . Horizon easily wins for me to.
I just did this a few days ago. Hit it with fire bombs from the sling, fully modded with fire mods. Then you can triple-shot the heat cores with sharpshooter arrows (fully modded for damage). If you’ve got time you can use a different sling fully modded with ice to freeze the damn thing before hitting it with your sharpshot arrows, for maximum damage. Main thing is just make sure you’re hitting the weak spots. Don’t bother trying to chip away at its armor.
@melka_ashur – Lol Horizon is only possible because its PS4 only.
@cusman – Media knows nothing about games and the VGAs hardly and I mean hardly give the awards for games that deserve them thus why Horizon didn’t win plus media hates Sony.
Difficult to choose between HZD and Hellblade on a lot of these; I really want to give a lot to the latter but I just liked Horizon better. Good year for games though!!!
Really would’ve liked to see Life is Strange: Before the Storm here.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm isn’t even “complete” yet. I think it is still on Episode 2 or 3 out of however many episodes there will be.
Actually, Before the Storm’s final 3rd episode came out yesterday. If ya don’t count the bonus farewell episode for Max included in the Deluxe Edition, which I’d liken more to add-on content because it’ll have nothing to do with the main plot of Before the Storm & it’s a bonus for Deluxe Edition purchasers.
Maybe the cut-off date for qualification was sooner though. All I know is that soundtrack was phenomenal from start to finish. I hope next year it’ll get the recognition it deserves.
Totalmente de acuerdo el desprestigio a Life is strange before the storm y agradecer el acceso a esta votación que tiene total libertad y gran variedad solo lamento que como siempre este título pase desapercibido han entrado los 3 capítulos ya e incluso solo con el primero se merecía entrar en muchas nominaciones :) pero en el diseño de arte y banda sonora con la argumentación esas esenciales ojalá como decís se tengan en cuenta en próximas nominaciones ya con todo el contenido
Hardest category to vote for: Most Anticipated PS4 Title
A great many highly anticipated PS4 titles in the pipeline, and that’s a good thing.
IKR, and it’s more of a hype thing as opposed to a question of how we felt about after playing. For me it’s Spiderman. Insomniac has a stellar track record for creating polished & fun games injected with humor. And from what I’ve seen in previews it seems like their writers really understand Spiderman is only one side of the same coin. He isn’t an alter ego like Batman. Peter is very much the same quippy nerd in & out of the suit who happens to have super powers, but he still has to protect his loved ones so it’ll be an interesting dynamic in a videogame.
Also, i haven’t felt fully immersed in a Spiderman game since PS2. Activision just hadn’t allocated adequate funding or talent to Spiderman because their priority since Modern Warfare took off was COD, and more recently Destiny. So I’m really anxious to see whether Insomniac can breathe new life into the franchise with their own take. Having Sony as a publisher helps too because they’ve always fostered creativity in their 1st and 2nd party developers, and don’t rush games out just tie-in with the movie release.
That one is easy for me: Ghost of Tsuchima
I voted for hellblade in most… and Nier as best story and goty
Hopefully Horzion Wins something here i felt bad for Horzion after getting destroyed by nintendo during The Video Games Awards. Also proud new owner of the nintendo switch added to the 10 million people that aready own the switch.
You must have a sad life.
there’s a lot of good games but yakuza 0 is THE videogame in my opinion
I’m working my way through Y0 and loving every insane moment of it.
I gave the majority of my votes to HORIZON ZERO DAWN.
It’s only fair; they deserve the wins here because the Game Awards was a biased flop.
@jayson619
Mmmm the salt is strong with u
The Curse of Orisis DLC for Destiny 2 is fun and all, but RE7 have the best Post-content releases.
Why is Uncharted Lost Legacy not up for PS4 Best Game vote?
My thoughts exactly. I can just type it as “Other”, but it doesn’t feel right as it’s one of the best experiences of the year.
You’re right! Adding to the list now.
Should be a banner year for Horizon: Zero Dawn in this voting, and well deserved.
Am I wrong, or isn’t What Remains of Edith Finch also on Xbox? That would preclude it from appearing in the “Best PlayStation Console Exclusive” poll.
Whoops, right you are. Removed! (But it’s still an excellent game.)
sorry Gamers BUT i have no place to go but to ask here FOR help , as Play station support are not supporting me and are blocking me in the chat
AM from Egypt and we have no PSN Store , so i created a US PSN account so i could buy and play games !!
but when i try to reach the Chat support to et help due a refund and i have one msg that says (you have been block from this chat)
i receive this msg because am a third world country in africa and playstation does not support me as a user or anything and instead of helping me they just block me to have support … so where should i go and ask for help ???
AM asking the playstation to support me as a customer. and stop showing me this msg (block coz am out of the US)
am in Egypt (africa) do we have a playstation support … NO WE DONT HAVE .. SO WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO NOW?
Wow, PlayStation is just KILLING IT! It truly was a great 2017 and a great year for gaming! Looking forward to 2018!
Fortnite
Best PS4 theme is a category? Really?
Yep
Well ok then. I vote for the 20th anniversary theme even though it’s a few years old lol.
I had to write Gravity Rush 2 for best soundtrack.
This is unacceptable.
Don’t worry, Persona 5 will win anyway! ;)
Horizon Zero Dawn ,Best game since Witcher 3.One of the best stories ive played in 40 years of gaming. A guaranteed PS5 purchase if HZD 2 is released as exclusive. I was surprised The Last of Us 2 was not in the most anticipated list.
It said above that the last of us 2 won’t be included in the most anticipated list because they won the platinum award for being the most anticipated last time
Hoou I’m really surprised someone else can see that…indeed Horizon is the best game since Witcher 3.
Witcher 3 and Horizon are a must-have for every single PS4 owner…if you own a PS4 and don’t own these 2 games you’re a sinner.
For some reason it won’t let me vote. Nothing shows up under each category.
Odd — try clearing your cache / cookies?
I had to pause blocking on Ghostery or hitting the vote button just sat there, so if you have any anti-adware kind of plugin disable it and refresh the page before voting.
Lobbied hard for Persona 5, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Hellblade. All amazing games!
Here’s to many more amazing years!
Uncharted and Horizon in every category I could pick them. Naughty Dog and Guerrilla are amazing studios!
Great choices but Indie Games was a definite write in.
Keeping my fingers crossed for Persona 5, and Nier Automata to win big. Also Dragon Ball Fighterz is easily my most anticipated game of next year. It’s been a very long time since i’ve seen the entire fighting game community unanimously get behind a single game like they have with Dragon Ball Fighterz.
While this year had a lot of bad stuff happening, I can’t deny how fantastic the PS family was this year. I seriously wish the best for all of the Playstation team for 2018.
Happy holidays to all Playstation fans.
Justin,
I see you’re actively following the comments in the Blog and I thank you for that.
I have one question for you: Was VA-11 HALL-A considered? It has good reviews, was released in November and managed to reach #2 in the Top Downloads List for the month…
Hey Steeler, thanks for pointing that out. Simple oversight on my part — I’ve added it to the poll.
Hi, I think that Gravity Rush 2 deserved to be nominated for Best Playstation game of the year. That game, evenwith it post launch content was awesome, deserved more love.
Glad to hear that. Picked it up, haven’t played it yet. Looking forward to it. Same with Nier Automota, actually.
Can’t imagine either will pass Horizon Zero Dawn for me, though. That was…wow. Playing through it again and doing the expansion early – and they reference the expansion in main story line cutscenes!
You have good taste for liking Gravity Rush 2.
I loved it from 1 to 2 and I hope there will be more in the future.
I gave my votes to most of the Nier: Automata stuff, but for the best PlayStaion game, Gravity Rush 2, as you said, deserves to be nominated.
I agree completely Gravity Rush 2 was hust as good as many other games this year. I hope people dont sleep on it.
Voted Persona 5 for everything I could that it was listed under. Easily the game of this generation.
Kingdom hearts 3 will take everything next year. Enough said lol. Glad Zelda won game of the year this year.
I am still wondering how “What Remains of Edith Finch” is a “PlayStation Console Exclusive.” Surely Sony hasn’t taken up MS’ practice of getting a game a few weeks early and trying to wrench “exclusive” into the marketing.
Persona 5 and YSVIII (Vita) are my GOTY. Excited for MH World, AO Tennis, Ni no Kuni 2, and Tennis World Tour.
Most Anticipated for me has to be Ace Combat 7. I loved Infinity on the PS3 and now that that’s coming to an end 7 better be close behind.
Why isn’t The Last of Us part 2 in the list of Most Anticipated?
Read the blog post
Read the blog post
PlayStation Experience 2017 Dynamic Theme should be on the list. Best theme of all time.
Persona 5 may not be for everyone, but the developers produced a title tailored to the exact specifications of its audience. I’m not necessarily saying it is a perfect game, but it is a perfect JRPG. The halcyon days of turn based RPGs, much to my dismay, are behind us. I love this genre. Persona 5 is my game of the year. Godspeed atlus and please make Persona 6 within a time frame that won’t have it be game of the year 2027.
Right there with you. How we waited. From 4 to 5. Such a gap. Almost as bad as KH2 to 3.
For most antisipated game i wrote in Death Stranding. At first i thought the catogory was for games to be released 2018 but some on that list cant be coming out 2018 like ff7 remake and KH3.
Good call, I should have put Death Stranding in for that category! I’ll add it.