* Games with 4 or more reviews in Metacritic's database released between Januand Decem(based on North American release dates, except in cases where a game has not been released in North America).

Before that, here's a quick look at how each of the gaming platforms compared during the past year.

One of those great 2017 newcomers was even brand-new IP, and from an indie developer at that: Giant Sparrow's adventure game What Remains of Edith Finch, which scored 92 in its Xbox One edition.Ī bit further down the page, we'll reveal this year's best-reviewed games for each console (plus sections on PC and handheld games). That's up from just six such titles in 2016.

In all, 10 different titles (accounting for 11 total products, thanks to one multi-platform release) scored 90 or higher in 2017. Both titles were for Nintendo's brand-new Switch console, with the latest Zelda release, Breath of the Wild, barely edging out Super Mario Odyssey (by less than 0.3) to take the title of Metacritic's Game of the Year for 2017. After complaining for the past few years about a dearth of high-scoring game releases, 2017 saw two different games score 97, which represents the highest year-end Metascore for any game since 2013. Here's a switch-or make that a pair of Switch releases.

Top best games of 2017