14 Most Surprising Metacritic Scores Of 2017

1. Nier: Automata (88)

And finally, we have one of the best-reviewed and most talked-about games of 2017, Nier: Automata. While the game was always going to spark a lot of discussion, expectations for most fans were cautious optimism after the original Nier scored a middling 67.

As it turned out, Automata was a towering improvement of a sequel, serving up one of the year's most fascinating narratives, wrapped inside a wildly entertaining, diverse action RPG that saw director Yoko Taro once again challenging the limits of what games can do.

While the original Nier was a poor seller, Automata's reviews have no doubt helped it cross 2 million sales worldwide. Can the inevitable third Nier score even higher? As ever, time will tell.

Which video game Metacritic scores surprised you the most this past year? Shout them out in the comments!