So what makes Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove one of the best games of 2017? Quite simply, it's the characters. Still, you could've said the same thing way back in 2014, when Shovel Knight first came out. The tweaks include a steer assist function that's a huge help for younger or less talented players.īut Shovel Knight is more than the sum of its parts, and while its influences are obvious, the developers at Yacht Club Games took these familiar elements and spun them into something that feels both retro and brand new.

(Just be warned: it'll take a while.) There are also a handful of new kart parts to earn, a completely revamped Battle Mode that's inspired by Mario Kart's Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 roots, and a few small tweaks to the game's racing controls.

Two Splatoon inklings, King Boo, Bowser Jr., and the skeletal Koopa Troopa known as Dry Bones are all available right from the start, while die-hard Mario Kart fans can unlock Gold Mario, too. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe ups the value by adding all of Mario Kart 8's downloadable content into the base package and introduces six new characters to the game. (And it isn't ruined by cheaters.) In other words, it just doesn't get old.Īnd that's just the basic version. It has the highest number of tracks, the biggest roster, and more kart parts to unlock than any other entry in the series. On its own, Mario Kart 8 is both the biggest and most polished version of Nintendo's mascot racer to date. It feels like less of a game and more like a magic trick, and with so much to explore and discover, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild may not be the only game you'll want this year, but it's pretty much the only one you'll need.īut there's also a good chance that you haven't played Mario Kart 8 or any other Wii U game-despite a number of quality first-party titles, the Wii U never caught on in the marketplace. Somehow, Nintendo's designers created an environment that's both meticulously hand-crafted and still gives players the freedom to do, well, anything they can think of. If you can see it, you can travel there, and new mechanics like climbing and horse taming help make Breath of the Wild more explorer-friendly than practically any other game that came before it.

Breath of the Wild takes everything you'd expect to find in a traditional Zelda title-fiendishly clever puzzles, lots of fun gadgets to play with, amusing mini-games, and a dark and moody plot tempered by a healthy sense of humor-and drops it in the middle of a sprawling open world that'll take hundreds of hours to fully explore. Yes, Breath of the Wild really is that good.

Best video games 2016 themed collage