10 Best Video Games Of 2017 You Haven't Played

4. Sonic Mania

A perfect, perfect game.

Sonic Mania represents Sega throwing their hands in the air after two decades of having no idea what to do with Sonic, yelling "WE DON'T KNOW", before passing the franchise onto fan-modder Christian Whitehead and his team.

The result is hands-down the best Sonic game of all time.

Comprising levels plucked from the original trilogy alongside a handful of new ones, you can tell Christian had an absolute blast being given the keys to the kingdom. Sonic himself has a number of additional animations and moves from releases post-Sonic 3 - all of which go alongside a drop-dash that keeps the pace up, even if you mistime a jump or landing.

It's the game's heart and soul that really comes across in every frame though. Boss battles call back to one-offs like Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, some of the most intricate and mind-blowing level design in platforming history shows a level of learnedness applied from decades of playing every Sega release, there are scores of easter eggs and it's all backed by one of the best soundtracks you'll ever hear.

This is the only game anyone needs to play if they ever need reminding why Sonic matters. Seriously, it's immaculate.