From action to narrative to family-friendly adventure, 2017 delivered a bumper crop of truly superb games. In fact, with such an abundance of excellent titles on offer, the discerning fan’s biggest challenge is making sure no worthwhile experiences are missed! Fortunately, Episode 38 of Vertical Slice is here to help. We're pointing the way to some of the year’s hidden gems: under-appreciated games that we played and loved this year, and think you’ll love, too. Along the way we’re also touching on environmental storytelling, nostalgia and its perils, and the narrow path to impactful indie releases.