10 Best Open-World Video Games Of 2017
3. Super Mario Odyssey
In the run up to release, Super Mario Odyssey started ringing everyone's alarm bells thanks to not only its strange trailers that showed the classic Nintendo mascot interacting with real human beings, but also the decision to push the franchise further in the realms of the open world genre than it had ever ventured before.
Taking a page out of previous Mario games like Sunshine and 64, the open-ended level design and focus on exploration as well as treating every new map like a puzzle to solve gave Nintendo's new console yet another killer app, cementing 2017 as the year the company bounced back from the brink of irrelevancy.
Coming at a time where the industry is overflowing with one huge release after the next all being marred by controversy surrounding microtransactions and DLC, Nintendo showed the world how to push their most beloved franchises forward and create a great game that could succeed on its own without any insidious business practices taking focus.