As is becoming an annual tradition here at Push Square Towers, we’ve corralled our core group of staff writers and prodded them until they’ve told us what their favourite five games of the year are. With such a strong assortment to select from, added force was required in some instances. We've had to drag Ramsey away from prime holiday game time to bring you this list.

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Fifth Choice: Assassin's Creed Origins

Assassin's Creed Origins ended up being the surprise hit of 2017 for me. The project always seemed to have potential, but I honestly never expected to enjoy the finished game as much as I did. Like all great open worlds, Egypt is a joy to explore. It's one of the series' best ever settings, and the level of detail on show is just crazy at times. I loved the shift to action RPG-style gameplay, and even after mopping up every map marker, I still feel the urge to travel back to Origins' sun-blasted sands.

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Fourth Choice: Yakuza 0

I've been a huge Yakuza fan for years, but I'll be the first to admit that the series was just starting to drag a little on the PS3. Enter Yakuza 0, which made me fall in love with Japan's seedy underbelly all over again. The way the narrative is split between mainstay Kazuma Kiryu and calculated nutter Goro Majima kept me on the edge of my seat, and that devilishly addictive disco minigame is now one of my favourite property pastimes. It's a standalone origin story that sets everything up perfectly.

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Third Choice: Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

"Oh FFS, Ramsey's put a bloody remaster in his Game of the Year list," I hear you mutter. Well you can get stuffed, buddy -- I adored Dragon's Dogma when it was running at 23 frames-per-second on PS3, and the comparatively stable PS4 port reminded me exactly why it's such a special game. This is crazy old Capcom at its finest. Dragon's Dogma is a dark and dreary action RPG with one of the best combat systems in the biz, and its truly haunting atmosphere makes it an unforgettable experience.

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Second Choice: Tekken 7

Unbelievably fun fact: Tekken 2 was the game that made me buy a PSone. I was just a kid back then, but ever since, Tekken has been a mainstay source of entertainment for me and my family over the years. Tekken 7 brought the magic back after such a long time, and I reckon it's the best that the series has been since the now legendary Tekken 3. I can just never get enough of its bone-crunching gameplay, and I dread to think how many hours I've put into this latest instalment.

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First Choice: Persona 5

Well would you look at that, it's Persona 5. Not only is Persona 5 the best game I played in 2017 -- by some distance -- I consider it to be one of the best games I've ever played, period. Really enjoying a game is one thing, but enjoying almost every single moment of one is another thing entirely, and that was me with Persona 5. The way it balances its multiple different gameplay components is masterful, and even now, more than half a year after its release, I can't get over how good it looks. Utterly spellbinding.


What do you make of Robert's RPG-heavy selection? Level yourself up in the comments section below.