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[thequickandthedead]

Can I nominate the FFXIV patch that introduced Palace of the Dead?

 

[JasoNsider]

1. Inside ; A beautifully constructed experience. As close to "perfect" as I've seen in games. A masterpiece.

2. Batman Arkham VR ; unforgettable new experience in VR. This took my breath away and I couldn't get it out of my head. Just utterly jaw dropping.

3. The Last Guardian ; the best world and story of the year. A triumph of technology, storytelling, and restrained design. While it had some technical flaws here and there, the "tilt" value on this story was off the charts.

4. The Witness ; You know it was a killer year when something as amazing as The Witness didn't break my top 3. Utterly brilliant and a huge labor of love. A quiet, meditative experience.

5. Uncharted 4 ; The best in the series. It even inspired me to read more about historical adventures.

6. Rez Infinite ; Area X VR. One of the coolest, mind-bending game experiences I've ever had.

7. Firewatch ; An excellent story. I've got minor problems with some of the writing, but the atmosphere was amazing and the characters felt really genuine.

8. Thumper ; Intense and very comfortably ramped up. A rush.

9. Small Radios Big Televisions ; relaxing clicking adventure through facilities left to time. I loved it.

10. Picross 3D round 2 ; A great change to the picross formula.

 

[Tyrant Rave]

Yes, added.



New ports of games initially released in 2015 are allowed, ports of older games with no new content or significant enhancements are not.

Would something like Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code be eligible? It's not a brand new game but it just got an official English release for the first time this year and I was hoping to include it in my list. Didn't see it in the spreadsheet.

 

[Rexatality]

1. Dishonored 2; Improves on its gameplay formula. Amazing level design and well realized world building. Lots of creative ways to complete your missions as well as huge replayability The Clockwork Mansion and A Crack in The Slab are perhaps one of the best levels this year.

2. HITMAN; Lots of ways to kill targets. Lots of content for players to explore and play (From the episodes, contracts, escalations contracts, and elusive targets). You could spend several hours to play on a single level if you'd like. And in a lot of ways, its IO Interactive's apology for Absolution to their fanbase.

3. DOOM; A return to the old school classic FPS with a modern touch. The gameplay is heart pumping and the enemies are fun to fight. The music really gives you the adrenaline to rip and tear Demons

4. Titanfall 2; The campaign is may be one of the best FPS campaigns I've played this year. Its 5-6 hours, but its well paced and doesn't waste your time with useless bloat nor overstays its welcome.

5. Overwatch; Every hero play differently from each other and are well-liked. It has amazing Blizzard polish and it rewards you even if you aren't the best at playing online FPS gamers.

 

[redcrayon]

Queries:
with Fire Emblem Fates, does it matter which of the two initial campaigns is listed? Is it presumably just a vote for Fates as a whole?

Also, with platform awards, how does that work when virtually everything on the Vita was a multiplat? Would we need to say that we played the Vita version of Trails of Cold Steel or Stranger of Sword City?

 

[Nocturnowl]

DOOM is the FREEZE of the year for me, personally. A game that at first didn't appear to be anything special until you got your hands on it. Both are extremely finely crafted, don't really fit into AAA trends of the time, and, most importantly, have deep roots in timeless game design from the classic era.

Very true, I need to squeeze in another Doom run and refresh myself on the joy of slaying demons.

 

[alr1ght]

People only read pictures

if you want, add to op

 

[Wozzer]

1. The Witness ; A genre defining masterpiece of a game. Unaware of what to expect I had high hopes going in, and after 40 hours of puzzle solving bliss I put the game down with my expectations surpassed. The world design and attention to detail throughout is stunning; everything from a rock on the beach to a treeline in-land can have purpose and be part of a series of meta puzzles coming together towards the end of the game. The only downside being that the strands of a story, pretentious and nonsensical, does little to compliment the world it inhabits and the ultimate mystery of the island is either still yet to be discovered or lackluster. The journey more than makes up for the destination though.

2. Titanfall 2 ; I opted in for the multiplayer experience and left in awe at the campaign. The entire experience is expertly crafted, feeling familiar to a Valve game, in which you're frequently introduced to new mechanics, progressing through varied environments and obstacles all the way. The fifth mission, Effects and Cause, is the stand out moment where you know you're playing something special. I can't wait to see what Respawn bring us next, and it's tragic that they haven't received the reception they are owed for Titanfall 2.

3. DOOM ; Arguably the best FPS gunplay... ever? The combat flows so beautifully, supported by a fantastic array of weaponry, varied enemies to tackle, a stunning soundtrack that kicks in at all the right moments and the perfect balance of challenge on the harder difficulties. The melee system that looked gimmicky in early trailers is so flawlessly integrated and compliments the breakneck combat perfectly. My only criticism would fall on how repetitive it can all become before the ride concludes, with little variety in the level design and a dry story from start to end. Still one heck of an achievement for bringing back a classic, both in terms of DOOM and id.

4. SUPERHOT ; SUPERHOT is the most innovative FPS I've played in years. It's also a pretty great game with a game loop that I'd kill to have in most FPS games. Level after level I found myself saving replays in glee to the amazing gunplay I just executed. I really enjoyed the story too, which is unexpected given the platform its told upon. The biggest issue is that the game's core campaign offering is devastatingly short at around two hours.

5. XCOM 2 ; A great follow up to the already faithful reboot to the series with just enough polish and refinement to keep things feeling fresh. At just over 41 hours played I managed to conquer the world, methodically expanding my communication network whilst avoiding progressing the handful of core campaign missions for as long as possible. This stretched the game to its absolute limits as the repetition kicked in long before the credits rolled.

6. Firewatch ; With the meme of ‘what is Firewatch?’ having reached maximum saturation it’s unfortunate to see it finally release and conclude… not much. The presentation and voice acting is fantastic, and the game's core cast (two characters) bounce off one another brilliantly with dry wit and suspense from the events that unfold. Unfortunately the story itself doesn’t really deliver, and a late twist unwinds the potential that’s built up ultimately concluding with a whimper.

7. Destiny: Rise of Iron ; After spending far too much time grinding out King's Fall I took a long break and almost managed to skip Rise of Iron entirely. Peer pressure won over in the end and I'm surprisingly not regretful. Gearing up is trivial for anyone accustomed to the Year One pace and the raid gave me Vault of Glass vibes in its more natural level design and platforming segments, which have always been my weak spot. All in all the expansion has managed to remind me why I love(d) the game, and get me hopeful once again for Destiny 2 to come.

... it has been a volatile year, I plan to repent for 2017 and achieve the '52 games' challenge coupled with at least 10 2017 releases :|.

 

[offtopic]

lol @ more than half of the first page of voting not following the rules. Why not just wait and post your list once it's done?

People can see my pain as a teacher. Give exquisitely detailed instructions (verbal and written) to an intelligent group of high schoolers...will be immediately followed up with kids not bothering to read or listen, shitting up their answers and requesting clarification to something they couldn't be bothered to read in the first place. Their answers don't meet the requirements and they wonder and complain about not getting an A. Sigh.

 

[James Scott]

1. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ; Really dig this one. Felt like a good compromise between Persona and SMT with some of the best combat in the series.
2. Super Mario Run ; ...didn't expect a mobile game to make it to my top 3, but here it is. Actually in my top 3 2D Mario games too.
3. Paper Mario: Color Splash ; As someone who was disappointed with Sticker Star this game is a big improvement. Combat isn't as good as it should, but it's super charming
4. Doom ; super fun shooting mechanics if a bit repetitive near the end.
5. Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright ; Not as good as Awakening but still a well made strategy game.

 

[Wozman23]

1. Thumper ; It's a challenging, dreadful, rhythmic, progressive, audiovisual spectacle. I've never played a game that elicits anxiety so well. And it plays so much better in VR.
2. Unravel ; Yarny's character design and animations evoke an empathy that I didn't think was possible for a yarn ball. The environments, and the game's story, are beautiful and heartfelt.
3. Soft Body ; Minimalist weirdness at its finest. Hard mode is a mind-melting challenge for dual stick multitasking.
4. Doom ; Proof that more shooters should favor the old school approach.
5. The Witness ; I don't mind using my brain if it's in such a vibrant world. A lot of work went into the puzzle design for something that seemed to be just a series of line puzzles.
6. Hyper Light Drifter ; I normally don't like pixel art, but the look and feel were just so good. It strikes that old, original (still the best) Legend of Zelda chord for me.
7. Inside ; The ending was insane, but the gameplay up to there felt kind of redundant and Limbo-y, otherwise it would have placed higher.
8. Ratchet & Clank ; As my favorite franchise ever, the only thing keeping it from ranking higher is that it wasn't a completely new game.
9. Hue ; A simple 2D puzzle platformer, a simple aesthetic, a simple concept, yet better than the sum of its parts.
10. No Man's Sky ; I guess I'm just crazy, but I found it very meditative.

Honorable Mentions
x. 140 ; I'd rank this as one of my favorites, but it was a re-release, and I'd rather stick to new releases for my list. But it is definitely a game that shouldn't be missed. It's rhythmic platforming distilled to its purest, minimalistic form.
x. The Last Guardian ; A couple technical issues hold it back, but the world was very intriguing, and Trico's personality was well realized.
x. Recore ; Proof that we should have more B-tier games.
x. Headlander ; One of the funniest games of the year.
x. Aragami ; Another 'normally-I-don't-like" game, but it made stealth fun.
x. Furi ; A challenging game, with an excellent art style.
x. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; I was actually disappointed by this one, mainly due to lethargic pacing and lack of big set pieces, but even the worst Uncharted game is still an impressive game.

 

[Murkas]

1. Hitman ; IO Interactive back on form with a massive "we're sorry for Absolution". Probably one of few games that actually benefit being released episodically as you're encouraged to replay the levels again and again so you can fully master the levels in preparation for the elusive targets, temporary one attempt only missions, you die or fail the objective, that's it. No retries. This game was released in March and I've been playing it for 10-20+ hours a week since, I don't think any other single player game has had that effect on me. If they released it all at once, I think many people would have played through all the missions once and put it away. IO have continuously supported this game with regular patches, new missions, escalations, and even bonus missions like the recently released Christmas mission. Cannot wait for Season 2 news. Full gold 5 stars (or 5/5 ICA logos).

2. Dark Souls III ; As a stereotypical git gud Souls/Bloodborne fan, this is my first Souls game that didn't get my GOTY, all the others, Demon's Souls, and Bloodborne did but it wasn't a case of DS3 dropping the ball, Hitman was just that good for me.

3. Monster Hunter Generations ; The new hunter arts puts a great spin on a familiar franchise. Tbh I was a little burnt out in the beginning because it came out so soon after Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and I spent hundreds of hours on it but this is still a solid game and the new combat style definitely keeps things a bit fresh.

4. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered ; Very solid remaster of a great game. Highly recommended if your after a Strategy RPG.

5. Dishonored 2 ; late addition, I've edited my post as I finished it on Dec 30 and felt it was that good. Great sequel.

6. Resident Evil 4 ; It's RE4....

7. Dead Rising 2: Off the Record ; I only bought this Dead Rising remaster, Dead Rising 1 is a lot better and is supposed to be a smoother port so I'd say buy the first one. With that said, any of the old remasters are better than Dead Rising 4.

8. Street Fighter V ; Solid sequel despite the launch issues.

9. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Solid performance from Naughty Dog, on par with the second one I'd say.





I've not played much of 2016...

 

[JehutyRunner]

1. The Last Guardian ; Finishing the game and when the credits were rolling, I had full on tears in my eyes and actually full on crying at how the game ended (it’s still a fresh game with it only being two weeks after its release as of posting this, so no spoilers). But in the same way Uncharted 4 did, The Last Guardian had honestly one of the best endings in a game this year. Quite honestly, it also had one of the best endings in a game full stop.

When the credits were in mid-roll, I started crying again. Merely because after the longest wait – ten years since the release of Shadow of the Colossus in Europe, nearly ten years in itself since the game started development and seven-and-a-bit years since it was first shown to the world (unofficially as Project Trico, then a month later at E3 officially as The Last Guardian) and the intervening years since – it had all been worth it.

A lot has happened to the world in the seven years since the game was first announced, as well as to the team behind it. Team Ico as a collective is no more within Japan Studio in the same way Team Silent effectively broke up after Silent Hill 4, Fumito Ueda left Sony and founded his own studio in genDesign and the game transferred from its originally slated plan of a PlayStation 3 exclusive due for release in time for Christmas 2011 to being a PlayStation 4 exclusive released in time for Christmas 2016 because of hardware limitations and other things.

Yes, the game does at times show its age a bit to a degree and could be argued in some sense it’s a PS3 remaster for the PS4. But biggest of all yes, the camera and framerate do hamper the game, especially the latter towards the end of the game, at least on a base PS4 (PS4 Pro performance is apparently better, though I can’t confirm that).

But whereas with any other game which I would rightfully slaughter for with such bad camera and framerate issues – and is something still worth criticising here – with The Last Guardian, I didn’t care as much. Mainly because the experience over-rided any negative experience I had with the camera and framerate.

Playing the game, all I could do was just coo and caw at Trico as he pawed away at a barrel in the most adorable fashion, just laugh at how petrified he was of water before he’d have to jump in and make a massive splash and how at one point just be impressed at how he’d spear enemy soldiers proper Roman Reigns style at one point playing the game that he’d look out for you as the boy to that extent.

Look, I can talk to you about the game’s amazing art direction, utterly incredible score, its fantastic puzzles, and great setpieces – finally playing the section from E3 2015 when the game was reannounced was great, but there’s even better and more incredible setpieces after – but truly, the game’s star of the show is – and in hindsight, always has been – Trico.

There have been many games before that have raised the bar in AI companions and the stories you go through with them: the boy and Yorda of Ico, Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance of Half-Life 2 and its episodes, Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth Comstock of BioShock Infinite, Joel and Ellie of The Last of Us, to name a few. But – and while I realise what I’m about to say verges on hyperbole – I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a companion as real in a game as Trico until now.

His behaviorisms, both in dog and cat variety, the way he’ll look out for you after gaining his trust, you as the player to develop the patience of a saint to get him to follow your orders. Basically, he is the living embodiment of a pet realised in a game to an unreal impressive level in what should be – and is for me – an achievement in AI and character design in games. For me, Trico is what defines the experience of The Last Guardian for me.

Trico and the story the game took me through was enough to get me to overlook any major and minor quirk and flaw it had. Because it felt like something truly special, something unique. At this point, those things being trademarks and hallmarks of a Ueda game.

Credit to Fumito Ueda and the development team at Japan Studio as well as genDesign plus the Sony higher ups – including Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida – for keeping the faith in the game after so long when any other publisher would have cut their losses and bailed, even when the appetite was still there.

Because ten years since development started, in every possible sense, The Last Guardian was worth the wait.

2. Overwatch ; As someone who is not a big multiplayer guy in the slightest and prefers single-player all the time, Overwatch is the latest in the rare breed of games whose multiplayer I’ve enjoyed a lot on one hand (the others: the original Gears of War, Metal Gear Online 2, Splatoon).

Well, it’s a multiplayer-only game anyway, it’s not like there’s a single-player element anyway. But even then, in the same way you can apply such a thing to Nintendo’s games, there’s something uniquely Blizzard about their titles. Overwatch, the company’s first new and original IP since StarCraft in 1998, was a big bet for the company, coming as a meshing of other elements from the company’s cancelled MMO Titan, its successor to World of Warcraft and the company’s supposed big thing.

But in creating Overwatch, Blizzard found its next best thing from the ashes of what was Titan.

I’ve only gotten into Blizzard’s stuff this past decade, starting from StarCraft II in 2010, playing that, Diablo III and Hearthstone as well as Overwatch, but it’s Overwatch that has hooked me more than any other Blizzard game I’ve played.

Even in a multiplayer-only heroes shooter, it has a unique lore always fleshed out, uniquely designed characters with backstories, excellent level and art design and a whole ton more. On top of that, Blizzard’s first punt at a first-person shooter is an absolute success mechanically. It just works.

Another feather in Overwatch’s cap is how much mainstream success its had this past year. Plus, have you ever seen such widespread anticipation for a character reveal for a hero shooter or a character choice game as much as there was for Sombra, added with Blizzard’s ARG stuff around her? If you answered yes, you are not only wrong, but you are flat out lying.

I’m not playing Overwatch as much as I did over the summer – one day, I even spent from midnight to 8am playing it, near non-stop – but I’m starting to get back into it now as part of its Christmas promotional event, plus the addition of new modes, new maps, new heroes in Ana and Sombra and other minor things.

I don’t like my chances getting out unscathed again like I did this past summer. Then again, considering the quality of the game, is that such a bad thing?

3. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Nathan Drake’s farewell – or at least Naughty Dog’s farewell to him – was one of the most anticipated moments in gaming in 2016. And in ways I didn’t expect, how they handled it gave us one of the best endings in a game this year and of the past few years as well.

Uncharted 4 had a lot to live up to with the success of The Last of Us still fresh in the mind two years on, not to mention the departure from Naughty Dog of series creator Amy Hennig in 2014, who got a nod in the game’s credits for everything she did for the series.

What we got was something that the series’s legacy could be proud of with a heavier focus on storytelling, set-piecery that was on par with – and at times, even surpassed – its highest peak in Uncharted 2. Not to mention, an actual graphical showcase for the PlayStation 4. I said it at the time, but whatever the ICE Team is getting paid, it’s not nearly enough.

The end result is a combination of amazing story, gameplay, voice-acting, music and more to bring together Nathan Drake’s story to an end. And like I said in the way it does so provides one of the best endings in a game this year and of the past few years.

It may not have been Naughty Dog’s last Uncharted game after all with The Lost Legacy now coming as a standalone game rather than Uncharted 4 story DLC, but as its last Nathan Drake game, it left his story on a positive note.

4. Rez Infinite ; I don’t normally include remasters in my top ten. At best, it’s an honourable mention. Except Rez Infinite has three very good reasons for being here:

1 ) – It’s my list, I can do what I want with it anyway
2 ) – Besides a play of the game’s demo on both PS2 and the HD version on Xbox 360, I’ve never actually played the full game, so that in itself counts for it
3 ) – Area X and PlayStation VR

And it’s especially for that third point that Infinite is here. It is genuinely a VR killer app and is a good reason if you wanted to pick up a PlayStation VR anytime soon. Infinite does support non-VR play, but it does feel like Rez was built for VR and by giving it PSVR support, Infinite finally realises that vision.

And as great as the original game is in VR (true story, in finding and realising there was California Soul samples in the final act, I couldn’t stop grinning and have a big fucking smile playing it throughout), Area X truly feels like a unique new experience with a headset on and perhaps also a testing ground for what a new Rez would look like.

If so, going by Infinite, count me the fuck in.

5. Inside ; Inside’s motif was as much a mystery as the game was for the two year period between its reveal trailer and its release. Shown only twice before its release in late June, Playdead’s follow-up to Limbo was bleak, dark and dystopian.

But even in after finishing the game and knowing the game’s major twist, there’s still an element of it that’s still mysterious and curious of it that doesn’t get explained.

Regardless, though, for the three-and-a-bit hours you play it for, Inside has you grabbed. Its atmosphere is incredible, a soundtrack that is just excellent and is straight up a worthy successor to Limbo in every possible way gameplay wise.

Honestly, it’s a worthy successor to Limbo outright.

6. Titanfall 2 ; As someone who hasn’t played the multiplayer and is judging this solely on its single-player campaign, I’m going to go ahead and say Titanfall 2 is one of the best FPSes in the past decade, let along past five years.

It stepped up in a big way from the first game, which in itself was great but relied on it being online-only in terms of story. With Titanfall 2, not only was its story much better than its first, but also managed to find a robot be such a great central character in BT-7274.

Biggest of all, some of its gameplay and level design is on point big time. The game’s most influential level, Cause and Effect, is easily one of the best FPS levels in the past decade. Hell, I’d go as far to say it’s one of the best of all time. That in itself elevates Titanfall 2 to worthy status.

And even then, it was already a good game before it.

7. Forza Horizon 3 ; The past two Horizon games have been stupendous. Horizon 3 is another example of the Horizon series being the best racing series in gaming today. The only reason it’s so low on this list compared to two years ago (second) or even four years ago (fourth) is an example of how much this year has been a standout year for games.

It’s mostly the same Horizon formula, but why fix what ain’t broken. In going to Australia, it put you in charge of the festival rather than be a competitor like in the past two games. Not to mention, the soundtrack is as top peak as it has been previously. Rob Da Bank, who curates these soundtracks, should get a bumper pay rise with each passing game.

Never has a series nailed a feeling of a music festival so well and added in a great racing game in turn.

8. Watch Dogs 2 ; Watch Dogs 1 had a story which was absolute shite with a main character that was better off being Killjoy McKilljoyson, but mechanically, its gameplay was in a good place for a sequel to build upon.

What Watch Dogs 2 did was not only build upon that, but also its story and characters in a great and diverse way whilst chucking out the way too serious and grim tone of Watch Dogs 1, lambasting at Trump and pharmaceutical fuckhead twat Martin Shkreli among others and taking more of a aim at parody on par with Grand Theft Auto.

Its lead set of characters are a breath of fresh air too. Marcus is an excellent lead character, Sitara is just rad, Josh is something of a unique character (for the better) and Wrench is straight up one of the best characters in a game this year. Not to mention, a fully realised San Francisco that was a joy to explore.

Watch Dogs 2 is a very good video game. In many ways, more so than its predecessor.

9. DOOM ; I’d been waiting for the longest time for this to come down to around £20 as it felt like the perfect £20 shooter. Truth is after playing it, I would have been happy with it even paying £30 or £40 for it.

id Software came back strong after a few years out following the release of RAGE and years of dev hell with what was meant to be DOOM 4 (we all know of Danny O’Dwyer's excellent documentary that is absolutely worth checking that details what happened with D4 among other things). Fantastic level design, back-to-basics fast-paced gameplay and Mick Gordon’s immense soundtrack.

DOOM Next? I’m in day one.

10. Mirror's Edge: Catalyst ; There was a lot of criticism aimed at the long-anticipated sequel. The open-world, the story, etc. And while there are aspects of said story that are worth criticising – and is a bit shit anyway – plus a bad final story level, for the most part, I really enjoyed Catalyst.

Mechanically, its free-running gameplay was as much a joy as the first game and I rather liked the open world of the game, albeit it could have been slightly more condensed.

I don’t know if we’ll get a sequel, but I’m keeping the Faith (huehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehue) we get one. There’s a really solid foundation built upon here for this reboot. I’d dig it.

Honourable Mentions:

x Tokyo Mirage Sessions ; To say it's a stopgap for Persona 5 would do it a disservice. I mean I looked at it that way a bit too, but even as its own game, TMS was an amazing breath of fresh air on its own. It's honestly for me the last great Wii U exclusive.

x Gears of War 4 ; As someone who didn't expect much of Gears 4 - I've not played a Gears game properly 2 and for full disclosure, I've still not finished 4 - I've absolutely enjoyed the game so far. 2 acts down, three to go. But even then, it's still worth a shout here.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

1. The Last Guardian ; An absolute masterpiece in design. Ueda continues to progress the industry forward in his ability to create an emotional attachment in a way that only the videogame medium can provide.


Honorable Mentions
x. Uncharted 4 ; Not the best Uncharted game in the series, as there's simply too many flaws in terms of pacing and combat design in comparison to Uncharted 2 (and it lacks a few more large set piece moments), but the it's certainly the best told story in the Uncharted universe and manages to end the series in a superb fashion.

 

[sems4arsenal]

Didn't play alot of games sadly this year

1. Uncharted 4: A thief's end ; Played the SP 3 times and was fantastic, racked alot of hours in the MP and enjoyed myself, will probably return to it later.

2. Battlefield 1 ;Great shooter and an actually decent campaign

3. Dirt Rally ; The game lacks content but it makes up for being one of if not the greatest Rally sim of all time.

most of the other stuff I played wasn't released in '16

 

[gow3isben]

1. Uncharted 4; Perfect end with best story in video games, best graphics in videogames, and elite third person mechanics.
2. Gears of war 4; Love me some good ol' linear fun and this was so polished.
3. The Last Guardian; So emotional. Best AI companion in vidyas.
4. Ratchet and Clank; Insomniac has mastered the gamelay of this franchise. It is the perfect Ratchet game.
5. Final Fantasy 15; Managed to create a world as absorbing as Witcher 3 now if only story was as good.

 

[Emperor_Uriel]

1. Final Fantasy XV; The story may be incomplete, but the sheer amount of quality side content is unrivaled.
2. Dark Souls 3; While Dark Souls 1 still reigns supreme, this is a worthy followup with some excellent enemy and boss designs.
3. Dishonored 2; Weak story but top-tier gameplay.
4. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine; The perfect denouement to a series that set a new standard for AAA RPG storytelling.
5. Dying Light: The Following; More content for one of 2015's most underrated games.

Not sure if my #4 & #5 will be counted. They conform to the DLC rules as major playable expansions released this year, but aren't on the spreadsheet.

 

[Anno]

1. Dishonored 2: Improves on its gameplay formula. Amazing level design and well realized world building. Lots of creative ways to complete your missions as well as huge replayability The Clockwork Mansion and A Crack in The Slab are perhaps one of the best levels this year.

2. HITMAN: Lots of ways to kill targets. Lots of content for players to explore and play (From the episodes, contracts, escalations contracts, and elusive targets). You could spend several hours to play on a single level if you'd like. And in a lot of ways, its IO Interactive's apology for Absolution to their fanbase.

3. DOOM: A return to the old school classic FPS with a modern touch. The gameplay is heart pumping and the enemies are fun to fight. The music really gives you the adrenaline to rip and tear Demons

4. Titanfall 2: The campaign is may be one of the best FPS campaigns I've played this year. Its 5-6 hours, but its well paced and doesn't waste your time with useless bloat nor overstays its welcome.

5. Overwatch: Every hero play differently from each other and are well-liked. It has amazing Blizzard polish and it rewards you even if you aren't the best at playing online FPS gamers.

Just as an FYI I think you need " ; " instead of ":" as comment separators for your votes to be picked up.

 

[Spoo]

1. The Witness ; Beautiful, almost haunting, but provides the greatest sense of achievement. An intellectual and visual triumph, and an oddly emotional one. The best game of the year.
2. Final Fantasy XV ; Its myriad of issues can't hold it back -- it's one of the most fun and addicting games of the year.
3. DOOM ; Visually amazing, fun, but most importantly reminds us why we even bother with FPS games in the first place. A huge surprise.
4. The Last Guardian ; Brilliant, evocative, thoughtful and unforgettable. It's issues as a game are overwhelmed by its successes as an experience.
5. Dark Souls III ; An amazing entry in an amazing series, great for fans who have been there since the start and those just starting out.
6. Uncharted 4 ; Beautiful and one hell of an adventure to go on.
7. Inside ; Fires on all cylinders from the mysterious beginning to its explosive ending. Can't be missed.

Honorable Mentions
x. No Man's Sky ; An ultimately failed experiment, but an interesting one nonetheless.

 

[Cheesemeister]

People only read pictures
if you want, add to op

Thank you, added.

 

[Gaenor]

...

 

[8bit]

1. Watch_Dogs 2 ; Fun, brash, bright. Planet Earth will remain a fond memory and it's still full of great things. Found the Russian dancers last night. The end of Robot Wars.The music! Oh the music. Just like Sleeping Dogs where my first tune was Anti Pop Consortium, this found me listening to LFO (Leeds Warehouse mix) and beaming like a goon.

2. Pokemon Go ; So, uh, it's not really a game, and combined with the Plus it's a button in pocket that I push but it encouraged me to go a bit more, to miss a few tram stops and to walk more. So that's a good thing IMO.

3. DOOM ; AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. (That scream when you're in trouble.)

4. No Mans Sky ; Yes, I know. But I loved pottering around in this for a while, aimlessly but with a vague purpose.

5. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Playing this again due to sale and picking up a Pro, loved it last year so it's got to worth another shot.

6. Rez Infinite ; I don't actually like Area X, but it's Rez on HD. And 4K.

7. Ratchet and Clank ; Just fun, a long missed genre.

8. The Division ; Not sure if this year? Played it solo up until the end of levelling, had a good time but after that the game is fucked.

9. Dead Rising ; Welllllllllllll.

10. XCOM 2 ; Hard as balls, still need to go back to this.

Honorable Mentions
x. Uncharted 4 ; A bit of a grudging vote here, it had some great set pieces but went on far too long and I hated the epilogue. Hoping the DLC is good though.

Dishonorable Mentions
y. The Witness ; As someone that solves puzzles on a daily basis through byzantine interconnected computer systems in an enterprise organisation, this was too much like taking my work home.
y. Inside ; HURRY UP. OH NO, A DOG BIT YOU.

 

[Loudninja]

Thank you, added.

Lol must be tough dude.

Stay strong.

 

[Reverend Funk]

1. The Last Guardian ; Would give it all ten spots if I could. Best soundtrack of the year, best story, best everything, a true masterpiece. This is a game that I will be thinking about for years.
2. The Witness ; Incredible puzzle game and my first and only platinum trophy. I've never felt the sense of accomplishment that I got from solving the puzzles in this game and I don't know if I ever will again.
3. Street Fighter V ; A lot of problems with the game but its still street fighter, also bonus points for buffing Juri for season 2.
4. Overwatch ; I really thought I was over shooters for good but Overwatch managed to make me have fun with them again.
5. Enter the Gungeon ; As someone that put hundreds of hours into the Binding of Isaac, Enter the Gungeon managed to put a new spin on the genre that pulled me in for hundreds of hours more.
6. Stardew Valley ; Never played any games like this (aside from a minor amount of Animal Crossing) so it was a nice new thing for me, don't know if I want to play anything else in the genre but I had fun with it.
7. DOOM ; Didn't really expect to enjoy this one as much as I did, its a really solid shooter campaign.
8. Dark Souls 3 ; It was just an OK Dark Souls game, nothing new, but an OK Dark Souls game is better than most great games.
9. Thumper ; Still haven't beaten it as every time I play for more than a few levels in one sitting a sense of dread begins to set in, but that isn't necessarily a negative.
10. Uncharted 4 ; It was an OK Indiana Jones movie, I'm not too big on games like this but I can appreciate the craft that went into it.

Honorable Mentions
x. Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest ; Didn't finish it, the anime garbage became too strong for me but I still had fun with my time.

 

[Tevren]

1. Dark Souls III ; Everything I wanted from the finale. Lots of references to past Lore, Anor Londo, the legacy of Artorious. Great locales, great music, great bosses.

2. Hitman ; When i heard episodic, I was skeptical, and ready to shit all over this. I was dead wrong. The forumal worked in ways I never expected. I had reason, and time, to attempt all the Challenges. To really explore and learn levels rather than just clear once and move on. Easily my biggest surprie of the year, and why I rank it so highly.

3. Dragon Quest Builders ; Never been big into building games, but this one sank it's hooks in me, and never let go. I melted away hours, and had a blast doing it.

4. The Witness ; I love puzzlers. So when the Witness hammered me with it's barrage of them, I was super eager to beat my head on them. Drawings, notes, graphs, maps, I made them all. Thoroughly enjoyed it, even when I was frustrated.

5. Zero Time Dilemma ; More puzzles! Familair faces in new places, and some explanations amid new questions. I know it rubbed some the wrong way, but I'm not in that camp.

6. Digimon World Cyber Sleuth ; This game brought Digimon back to the forefront for me, and I'm eagerly awaiting a new dose of it in January.

7. Dishonored 2 ; More of the same isn't always a negative, especially when you loved the first so much. Haven't yet tried the NG+ mixed power mode, but definitely will.

8. Final Fantasy XV ; This may likely end up higher when i have time to play more. So far, I like what I've seen, which was admittedly surprising given the games' lenghty and troubled dev cycle.

9. Doom ; Rip and Tear, unti it is done. I did the first part, but never finished. Same deal as FFXV, my inabilit to finish it is all that's keeping it lower.

10. Dragon Quest 7 3DS ; Such a great, and long game. The beginning is a real slog, but beyond it lies a great experience, with ups, downs, and several punches in the feels. Many a sleepless night were eased by this game.

 

[ethomaz]

1. The Last Guardian ; It is a hard choice because the technical issues but the ending is the best of 2016.
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; It is a masterpiece in every single point... the best the series can get.
3. Inside ; There is no way to this game not to be in TOP3... you need to play it.
4. Street Fighter V ; Best fighting game I ever played in my life.
5. World of Final Fantasy ; Best Final Fantasy in years and overall better than the main title.
6. Destiny: Rise of Iron ; Best first person shooter by a good margin this year... perfect gunplay
7. The Witness ; Puzzles at best it can get.
8. Ratchet & Clank ; I good surprise and really great game.
9. Overwatch ; I know it is low in my list most due at tastes than quality... it is really awesome.
10. Titanfall 2 ; A disappointment compared with first game but overall a quality game that deserves more praise.

 

[viHuGi]

1. Uncharted 4 ; Absolutely outstanding masterpiece, best game of the Generation easily.
2. Inside ; indie Masterpiece, absolutely stunning game from beginning to end.
3. The Last Guardian ; Absolutely lovely tale of kid and beast, the end is amazing.
4. Doom ; Simply put, the greatest fps ever made, absolutely amazing.
5. Salt and Sanctuary ; indie Souls is absolutely amazing.
6. Dark Souls 3 ; The best souls game yet, the boss battles are epic and the game plays great.
7. Titanfall 2 ; One of the best SP campaigns in modern shooters, the bond between you and BT makes you emotional.
8. Ratchet and Clank ; Simply put, the best Ratchet ever made.
9. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare ; Disappointing multiplayer but stellar Single Player campaign and outstanding Zombies made it to my top 10.
10. Killing Floor 2 ; One of the best co-op games I've ever played, really fun and hard.

 

[Cheesemeister]

Can I nominate the FFXIV patch that introduced Palace of the Dead?

Yes, Final Fantasy XIV 3.3: Revenge of the Horde.

 

[chancellor]

1. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; I enjoyed playing this a lot this year. Breach mode is not that good but the single player is great fun and something I would highly recommend. I really wish it had better sales.
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; A great end to the series. The difference in graphics from previous games just shows how big an improvement the PS4 is compared to PS3.
3. Forza Horizon 3 ; Best racing game I have played, I have put so much time into this one.
4. Dishonored 2 ; A good sequel and both campaigns were really fun. I particularly liked the clockwork mansion mission.
5. Doom ; The best FPS campaign this year.
6. Titanfall ; The second best FPS campaign (just). Cannot believe EA squeezed this between COD and Battlefield
7. Quantum Break ; A fun campaign and I enjoyed the live action series that was linked to it.
8. Dead Rising 4 ; I really enjoyed killing zombies, the game is a bit too easy though.
9. The Last Guardian ; A unique game. Worth the wait.
10. Inside ; Such an ambiguous campaign but so good.

----------------------

Still need to play FFXV and I am still contemplating whether to include the Witcher 3: Blood and Wine somewhere, the only reason it is not included is because it is DLC.

 

[RK9039]

1. Street Fighter V ; I have a love/hate experience with this game, when things go well the game is really good. Best Street Fighter I think I've played so far (normally it would be Alpha 3). Unfortunately Crapcom fucked up so many times since release from server problems to missing basic functions such as region filtering - which they had in previous games, and there was that one time they thought it would be cool to install rootkits on everyone's PC (you dumb fucks). All the stupid things aside I keep coming back to the game, mostly ranked matches, where I get really salty. Season 2 just came out and even though my main got nerfed pretty badly I still have fun playing it. They even implemented a really nice rage quit punish system. I now have over 500 hours in the game, I don't think I've played many games for this long.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

1. Overwatch ; I don't get a ton of time to play, but what time I do get seems to be absorbed by this gem. Either on PC or XB1 (I double-dipped), I play a ton of OW.

2. DOOM ; a well-paced and secret-laden gem that both hearkens back to the old school vibe while being relevant in the modern shooter landscape. I've only played about half of it but will finish it eventually (once I can get my kids off my XB1).

3. Gears of War 4 ; I've only played a few rounds of horde mode here with friends, but even that showed a great attention to what makes Gears fun along with new things like the upgrade system. Will eventually play the single player mode as well.

 

[LinkMaster111]

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End ; The perfect sendoff to one of my favorite game franchises.
2. Dark Souls III ; From Software has been nailing it, DS3 is awesome.
3. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; Sun and Moon managed to switch up the tried and true Pokemon formula just enough to keep it fresh while streamlining the whole experience. One of my all time favorite Pokemon gens.
4. Fire Emblem Fates ; While it doesn't reach the lofty heights of Awakening Fates is still an amazing entry in the Fire Emblem series in its own right.
5. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ; Probably my biggest surprise of the year, Tokyo Mirage Sessions is totally worth playing if you're an RPG fan.
6. Hyper Light Drifter ; HLD is an awesome throwback to retro gaming, tough but fun.
7. The Last Guardian ; TLG could have been even better with some better controls and better Trico AI.
8. Titanfall 2 ; One of the best shooter campaigns I've ever played.
9. Final Fantasy XV ; I haven't finished FFXV yet but I know I like it a lot. The world, mechanics, and especially characters make me want to play more.
10. Firewatch ; Despite some story missteps the moment-to-moment interactions between Delilah and Henry make it an enjoyable journey.

 

[Spieler Eins]

I still want to either play Last Guardian or FF15, but I can't decide which... I certainly won't get both at full price. But they both seemingly have an equal amount of things that will most likely really annoy me, despite the overall packages still being intruiging enough. Doesn't help that they even have the same average score.

 

[Auctopus]

1. Uncharted 4 ; Just a beautiful example of the medium. You can argue that the game opts for story beats over raw gameplay but the details, pacing and visuals are such a fantastic achievement, I couldn't see anything else topping this game this year.
2. The Last Guardian ; Momentarily frustrating, there is not another game released this year that is anything like it. A worthy addition to Ueda's catalog. A great sense of adventure with one of the most unique AI Partners ever.
3. Titanfall 2 ; A reminder that a FPS campaign can matter and doesn't need to just be corridors to set pieces. Satisfying traversal and gunplay. Multiplayer is the best multiplayer this year, I believe (for solo queuing) with a range of guns and titans with their own personalities.
4. Dark Souls 3 ; Miyazaki plays the hits, better than most RPGS but I think this is the Souls game where I finally felt the fatigue. As time moves on, I still think about Dark Souls 1 as the definitive Souls game despite the heights that the third entry reaches.
5. Overwatch; A game that when everything goes right, is the best multiplayer experience in years. But sadly, when things go wrong and you're queuing on your own, the game is the pits. Thankfully, it's constantly being changed up with new characters, maps and balance tweaks. A game that easily has another 5-6 years in it.
6. Gravity Rush: Remastered ; I never played the PS Vita original. This game introduces a worthy Playstation mascot, a unique world and story soundtracked by a beautiful, soaring score. Movement feels like nothing else and makes me giddy when I'm plummeting beneath the city's borders. I <3 Kat.
7. The Witness; Gorgeous game with a such a sense of place. The puzzles are so immersing and mysterious.
8. Inside ; Oppressive, subtle and emotive. Such a limited palette that expresses so much. Simplistic but innovative puzzles. Some of the best animation in any game, nevermind an Indie title. I still think about it.
9. Hyper Light Drifter ; Effortlessly cool. Up there with Spelunky for Indie games with some of the tighest controls. Sick artsyle and another cracker of a soundtrack by Disasterpiece.
10. Bound ; This year's low-key best platformer. A game that sells itself as a more cinematic experience which in fact lends itself to skill-based controls whilst telling a grounded story through a unique artstyle.

Honorable Mentions

x. Blood & Wine ; I didn't want to include a DLC but CD Projekt delivered an expansion that put full-release games to shame.
x. Virginia ; Amazing use of cinematic cuts to tell the type of story that isn't usually told in the medium.
x. Firewatch ; Great first effort by Campo Santo and Olly Moss in some regards. Flawless art style and voice acting that's let down by a weak bait and switch story. I played on release which also had some nausea-inducing technical issues.
x. Abzu ; A game that sadly didn't stray far enough from the talent's previous efforts. Nevertheless, a beautiful game with a lovely art style and minimalist story.
x. Stardew Valley ; Peaceful yet addictive. So charismatic and encapsulates that "One more turn" feeling.


Overall, probably one of my favourite years for gaming. So much variety and creativity on display. Thanks to all the developers, publishers and talent that work so hard (too hard sometimes) to make this artform better and better. Here's to an amazing 2017.

 

[nynt9]

1. Overwatch ; Incredibly varied game with great art style and Blizzard polish, brought me back into multiplayer gaming.
2. DOOM ; Rip and tear until it's done.
3. The Last Guardian ; Totally worth the wait. Beautiful environments, whimsical and heartfelt.
4. Dishonored 2 ; The perfect sequel to the best immersive sim since the original Deus ex. Great world building, incredible level design and varied power sets all culminating in immersive gameplay that feels well thought out instead of gamey like modern DX.
5. SUPERHOT ; SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT.
6. Shantae: Half-Genie Hero ; Solid platforming, great level design, charming characters, awesome music and overall fun and varied. Best Shantae game.
7. HITMAN ; This is a true return to form. Huge levels with a lot of interactive elements and many approaches to take and many reasons to return. I didn't think they had it in them after Absolution, but they totally won me over again. Best HITMAN.
8. Dark Souls III ; The worst Soulsborne game is still better than pretty much anything else.
9. Final Fantasy XV ; This game is so oddly Japanese and a jumble of weird elements that I can't help but love it, like a fantasy Yakuza game.
10. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ; One of my favorite series, and it continues to provide great storytelling and characters.

 

[Acquiescence]

Holy shit, is The Last Guardian gonna win this?!

That's just not something I would have expected, given the amount of higher-profile releases this year and the fact that it came out right at the end of the year.

 

[PlayerOne]

Holy shit, is The Last Guardian gonna win this?!

Anything but uc4.

Ive yet to play tlg. Naybe I'll play it today Ahaha.

 

[Cheesemeister]

1. Final Fantasy XV ; My favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
2. Titanfall 2 ; My second favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
3. The Witcher III: Blood & Wine; My third favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
4. Uncharted 4 ; My fourth favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
5. Destiny: Rise of Iron ; My fifth favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
6. INSIDE; My sixth favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
7. ReCore ; My seventh favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
8. Forza Horizon 3 ; My eigth favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
9. Kirby: Planet Robot; My ninth favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
10.DOOM; My tenth favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.

The comment must be more substantial than "GOTF lol" or what have you.

 

[Dalibor68]

1. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; amazing, underrated sequel to Human Revolution that perfectly represents the tonal change from HR's goldness towards the darker, bluer world of Deus Ex in 2052 - everything has been improved and I loved every second of this game.
2. Hitman ; as many others expected this to be shit with the episodic model but it's the game I spent the most time on this year, simply amazing, so much love to detail and replayabiltiy
3. Doom ; incredibly awesome gameplay with cool collectables and an amazing soundtrack, just really fun to play
4. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; pc version obviously, looked amazing, loved the platforming, stealth and exploration, also a lot of love to detail and beautiful environments
5. Kathy Rain ; this is the odd one, I have a weakness for these sort of adventure games and Kathy Rain is amazing, loved playing this with hot chocolate on my bed
6. The Division ; I was surprised this made the list and so far up but in retrospect I spent a lot of time in the game and loved it all, perfect recreation of New York that was just oozing atmosphere everywhere and gave me enough narrative context with all the dataloops, audiologs etc
7. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; awesome expansion though imo not as good as Hearts & Stone, still an amazing landscape and cool change of tone and the usual CDPR quality quests
8. Quantum Break ; pc version obviously, looked and ran amazing on my machine, I loved the combination of realtime series and gameplay, really liked all the narrative stuff on the side and appreciated the slow noncombat moments
9. Dishonored 2 ; didnt finish the game yet at the point of writing this but it continues where the first game left off qualitywise so it's definitely great and the level design is amazing
10. Dying Light: The Following ; amazing story and ending, great characters, completely changed up the gameplay with the wide landscapes and cars, Techland is a great developer

Honorable Mentions

x. Titanfall 2 ; very cool campaign with funny moments and surprisingly open levels, very cool and polished multiplayer, just love the combat and movement
x. Uncharted 4 ; objectively very good especcially graphically and all the gameplay elements were very polished, however the story and the game overall to me just kind of lacked the special something
x. Fallout 4: Far Harbor ; much better than the main game with creative quests and multiple ways to solve quests as well as a mysterious interesting new island to explore
x. The Solus Project ; loved the atmosphere and mystery this game had and the survival aspects also fit in perfectly, the devs are really talented and I'd love to see what they could do with more budget
x. The Turing Test ; short but very cool platformer with a great AI "companion", tricky but solveable puzzles and cool atmosphere/setting/story

 

[whalleywhat]

1. Final Fantasy XV ; My favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
2. Titanfall 2 ; My second favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
3. The Witcher III: Blood & Wine; My third favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
4. Uncharted 4 ; My fourth favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
5. Destiny: Rise of Iron ; My fifth favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
6. INSIDE; My sixth favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
7. ReCore ; My seventh favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
8. Forza Horizon 3 ; My eigth favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
9. Kirby: Planet Robot; My ninth favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.
10.DOOM; My tenth favorite game of the year. No one gives a shit why.

lol, tell 'em.

 

[galv]

1. Dark Souls 3 ; A return to the roots of the series made for a very enjoyable game, filled with epic moments, gorgeous scenery and faster, tighter gameplay. I'll be honest, I think that the original Dark Souls is probably my favourite video game of all time. Which means that the fanservice in this game was always going to bring me to either smile, or shed a tear. And it's done very tastefully. Dark Souls 3 is like a more refined Dark Souls, bringing with it its own new ideas. Where Dark Souls falls short towards the end, Dark Souls 3 is fantastic throughout. Beautiful level design, the Cathedral of the Deep being one of the standout levels in all of From Soft's games, to the boss design of the

Spoiler

Nameless King and the Soul of Cinder, the latter of which I consider the best boss battle in the series.

From delivered a masterpiece to close out the series, one of the best trilogies in gaming history.

2. DOOM ; Solid FPS campaign, with some great moments. Actually, DOOM stands out because of those moments, the music crescendos as you slowly rip your way through incessant demons, in a glorious bloodbath. It's just straight up fun. Games nowadays have lost what it means to be "video-games," opting to try and ape cinema, in their quest to deprive the player character of choice and player agency (*cough cough Uncharted*). With the system of combat being near perfect, DOOM is a worthy addition to the fantastic year of gaming that has been 2016.

3. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; More amazingness from the Game of the Generation.The Witcher 3 remains to be one of the greatest video games ever made and Blood and Wine/Hearts of Stone redefine what it means to be DLC - they could be standalone games, which is why they're definitely up here for me. Moving into Blood and Wine, it's clear that CDPR are experts at weaving a story well together, with amazing dialogue and characters, coupled with rich lore and detail. For all the complaints of the gameplay, I've personally never had an issue with it - it far surpasses combat systems in most RPGs such as those found in the Elder Scrolls series, Dragon Age: Inquisition (which plays entirely like an MMO) and even to an extent, Assassin's Creed. If this was a new release in the series, it would have placed #2, just behind Dark Souls 3. But as it is, it's still a fantastic addition to an already fantastic game.

4. HITMAN ; This is, for the most part, what a stealth game should be. What the game lacks in the story department, it makes up in the gameplay department. Large, large open levels, endless replayability ensures that you can easily put over 100 hours into this game, now that all the episodes are out. It's remarkable how much you can miss following one "opportunity" thread - there really are a million different ways to tackle each assassination, and it harkens back to the roots of the franchise.

5. Overwatch ; Very fun, very entertaining multiplayer only title. It's well worth the price of entry, and has as much replayability as the big MOBAs. Blizzard really did deliver a worthy game out of the ashes of Titan. As someone who loved Team Fortress 2, Overwatch certainly hits many of the same notes for me.

6. Battlefield 1 ; If you haven't played Battlefield 4 on the PC in a while, I'd say you should definitely give it a shout. DICE has definitely refined the gameplay a lot, and the best mixed arms multiplayer shooter on the market is certainly the PC version of Battlefield 4. With that being said, Battlefield 1 is a very very good addition to the series in its own right. DICE's experience working with Battlefield 4 certainly allowed them to push a very polished entry in the franchise through, with Battlefield 1 being very well balanced between all sorts of combat. It's no surprise that I find myself slowly switching from Battlefield 4 to Battlefield 1.

 

[silva1991]

I still want to either play Last Guardian or FF15, but I can't decide which... I certainly won't get both at full price and both seemingly have things that will most likely really annoy me, despite the overall packages still intruiging me. Doesn't help that they even have the same average score.

Play the one that is mentioned the top of the lists more

Holy shit, is The Last Guardian gonna win this?!

Doom seems to everyone favorite this year and GAF loves Naughty Dog. It will be one of those.

 

[Jigorath]

1. Titanfall 2 ; One of the best FPS campaigns of the modern era, coupled with some extremely addictive multiplayer. Thanks to it's tight movement and controls, very few shooters feel this good to play. Titanfall 2 is the complete package.

2. Overwatch ; I never would have imagined I'd have ended up loving this game as much as I did. Well within one match it got it's hooks into me and hasn't let go. One of the best multiplayer games I've ever played.

3. Dishonored 2 ; Two playable characters, plenty of creative powers, some incredibly well designed levels, Dishonored 2 is the best action adventure I've played all year.

4. Rachet & Clank ; Finally, someone made an honest to god straight forward Ratchet & Clank game again. No co-op, no tower defense shenanigans, just the pure fun gameplay the series is known.

5. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; I love the worldbuilding, the cyberpunk aesthetic, and the stealth action gameplay. A solid successor to Human Revolution.

6. DOOM ; Yeah, this game is pretty sweet.

7. Tyranny ; I can't deny the game feels a little incomplete, but it's still a pretty solid Obsidian RPG.

8. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth ; This is the best Digimon game I've ever played. This is also the only Digimon game I've ever played. Well worth checking out if you like monster collecting RPGs.

9. Uncharted 4 ; Pacing issues aside, this was a solid finish to the series with by far the best shooting mechanics of any Uncharted.

10. Forza Horizon 3 ; I'm not huge into racing games but I had a lot of fun with this one. It's perfect for the more casual fans of the genre, and I'm sure it can satisfy the hardcore as well.

 

[Ridesh]

GOTY 2016

1. Dark Souls III
2. Dishonored 2
3. DOOM
4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt &#8211; Blood and Wine
5. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
6. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; It's probably the most beautiful game of all time, great narrative and characters, ridiculously high production values and some combat that rivals the best of the genre. It could have been the #1, but the pacing, oh, the pacing is just awful, too much platforming, I mean, I understand the narrative intentions behind this, but it gets boring.
7. Titanfall 2

Honorable Mentions
x. Inside ; It just didn't resonate with me.

 

[alr1ght]

Holy shit, is The Last Guardian gonna win this?!

That's just not something I would have expected, given the amount of higher-profile releases this year and the fact that it came out right at the end of the year.

It has the factor of being fresh in people's minds, but being so late to release I doubt enough people have played it.

 

[ghibli99]

1. The Last Guardian ; Flawed controls, camera, and other technical issues can't keep this game from succeeding with flying colors on an emotional or ambitious level. This is Ueda at his most optimistic, and it is a miracle that we got it at all. It would have been absolutely criminal to have cancelled this, so I am thankful to Sony for believing in it and keeping it alive. It's an experience not to be missed.

2. The Witness ; A game I almost wrote off after the first hour, but once I discovered some of its most amazing secrets, I couldn't help but be blown away by the tightness and ingenuity of its meticulous design. A triumph of puzzle and world synergy, I don't think I'll ever play anything quite like it again in this lifetime.

3. Final Fantasy XV ; I had forgotten about and written this game off years ago. Even in the months prior to its release, I didn't care much about it. But then I played it, and although it took a little while for me to get used to it and its rough edges, I somehow dumped 80 hours into it and got the Platinum trophy. The scale of the game is fantastic, the world is gorgeous, and the relationship you share with your childhood friends is built and delivered effectively. It's one of 2016's biggest surprises for me, and I hope that the FF7 remake utilizes a combat system that's similar to this.

4. Inside ; A triumph of mood and sublime animation, this had me hooked from its opening moments. It's also terrifying at times, but has that touch of dark humor that Playdead does so well. It raises as many questions as it answers, and I loved reading about everyone's interpretations in the spoiler thread.

5. Ratchet & Clank ; I didn't like this series back in the day, but this remake made me a believer. I had an absolute blast with it, and it remains one of the best looking games this generation, almost Pixar-like at times. Great weapons, excellent level design, and intelligent NG+ implementation kept me hooked until I got the last Trophy.

6. Doom ; Finished this with just a few days left in the year! It was a hilariously visceral trip down memory lane. Complete throwaway story, but the gameplay is 100% on-point, levels are sprawling, with tons of secrets, tight arena-based combat, and a soundtrack that literally blows you away. Runs buttery smooth on PC, and it has me in love with FPS games again.

7. Uncharted 4 ; A perfect send-off for a series I've been a fan of since the PS3's early days. Visually arresting, and touching on topics few games do, it was a fun journey that spanned the world, and I can't wait for the expansion DLC next year.

8. Devil Daggers ; The perfect distilling of what makes first-person shooters great. I still remain quite addicted to this game, and I consider it to be Super Hexagon's equal of FPS titles. Perfect controls, creepy atmosphere, awesome late-'90s aesthetic, and undeniably addictive gameplay.

9. Superhot ; Another game that came out of nowhere, and although I originally thought it might be a one-trick pony, it surprised me with not only its additional content, but its unique, sometimes unsettling presentation. It's such a unique idea for a first-person shooter that you wonder why nobody ever did it before, but I'm thankful that someone did.

10. Severed ; Absolutely perfect game on the Vita that plays to the system's strengths and features. Layered, Metroid-like ideas in how the game is designed, and the combat was fun, although I think I completely rubbed of one of my fingerprints in the process!


Honorable Mentions

x. ABZU ; Gorgeous, therapeutic, mesmerizing. This underwater experience captivated me with its beautiful design, and while its story about life, death, and rebirth is something we have seen in other games of its kind, ABZU does it in a subtle way, making you think about our relationship with nature and our place in this world.

x. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past ; A worthy remake for one of the best RPGs of the PlayStation 1 era. I didn't finish it again, but I got what I wanted out of it. Nice streamlining of a game seen as antiquated on its original base hardware.

x. The Room Three ; I played this on Android, which released in 2016. Awesome game that felt like the natural evolution of the previous 2 games' design. Completely had me in its grasp the whole way through. One of the best mobile puzzle experiences out there.

x. Super Mario Run ; I'm only 7 stages into this, but I'm loving it. It's exactly what I hoped a Nintendo game on mobile would be: polished, fun, challenging, feature-rich, with only a single in-app purchase.

x. Pony Island ; Seemingly innocuous at first, this game seriously tripped me out at times, with some moments that blurred the lines between reality, fantasy, and developer intent. Not all that interesting mechanically, but there is some brilliant design going on here.

x. Forza Horizon 3 ; Not even close to finishing it, but I can tell it's better than Horizon 2, and that was a great game (with an annoying announcer). Launch issues on PC tarnished it a bit, but it's an absolutely fun open-world racing game that I look forward to finishing in 2017.

x. Virginia ; A wonderful surprise of a game with unique storytelling, editing, mood, and subject matter. At first I thought it was going to be a straightforward story, but it goes places I didn't expect, and even with a somewhat ambiguous ending, I was left completely satisfied with what I had experienced.

x. Rhythm Heaven Megamix ; Not even close to done, but I'm really surprised with the amount of content and level of polish. If I can at least get through the main part of the game, it might creep into my top 10.

 

[Flipowa]

1. Dark Souls III ; Not as good as Bloodborne, but the most complete souls experience imo. A perfect conclusion for a series that changed the way I played games.

2. The Witness ; Braid was great, The Witness is incredible. A model of game design and just so beautiful and creative.

3. XCOM 2 ; Killing aliens while listening to Bob Ross' voice has never been so entertaining.

4. Planet Coaster ; This one was really a surprise for me. It's usually not my type of game but damn, not since Minecraft have I felt this involved in a sandbox mode.

5. DOOM ; Yet another surprise. Was expecting something bad, turns out it's the best solo-fps in years (multiplayer is meh). Also comes with a great map editor. Visceral, fast and with a great OST.

6. Civilization VI ; Civ 5's launch was terrible, but they learnt the lesson. From start Civ 6 is everything you can expect from a civ game and even more. Great district system that adds depth to the formula.

7. Thumper ; Fun, Brutal, Mesmerizing.

8. Steins Gate 0 ; If you liked Steins Gate this is a must play. Even darker than its predecessor, but so much fun. New characters are enjoyable and nothing feels out of place. Maho best girl.

9. Hitman ; Best Hitman game ever released. I was really suspicious at first, especially because of its release schedule (just got into it right when the Bangkok episode came out). Turns out I enjoyed this much more than expected, because I had no choice but to keep replaying old levels and discovering secrets instead of rushing the game. So much care has gone into this.

10. Pokemon Sun/Moon; A new take on the Pokemon formula. Maybe not the revolution fans were expecting, but all in all a great pokemon game that both fans and new players will enjoy.


Honorable Mentions

x. Furi ; It's not up there just bescause I haven't finished it yet but it's just so good. Souls-like combat for a boss rush game with incredible art. God tier OST.

x. Final Fantasy XV ; This game is far from perfect. I mean, it has some terrible issues and is obviously far from finished. But there's a reason why people can't stop playing this. Amazing world, interesting characters, best OST of the year imo. It could have been the best game of the year, even the best Rpg in years. Instead it's just a good game, but a damn fascinating one.

 

[Acquiescence]

Doom seems to everyone favorite this year and GAF loves Naughty Dog. It will be one of those.

That's what I thought, but TLG is killing it in the polls right now. Maybe the trajectory will change as time goes on.

 

[chrominance]

1. The Witness ; A unique masterpiece. Learning how to solve the various puzzles without hand-holding or really many hints at all was one of the most engrossing experiences of the year. Do I believe in Jonathan Blow's worldview as expressed in the game? No. But it's at least an intriguing subject of discussion. Finishing the "challenge" is still one of my proudest achievements in gaming.

2. Doom ; Adeptly mixes first-person exploration and tightly wound arena encounters that feel like barely controlled chaos. Nearly all the new systems id added to the Doom formula work, and nearly all of the old formula they kept has been polished to a fine sheen.

3. Overwatch ; Overwatch is one of the games I spent the most time with this year, and when everything works as Blizzard intended, it feels amazing: your team working in perfect sync, the enemy melting before you like it was a turkey shoot. But Overwatch is a multiplayer game, and hell is other people, so it can never claim top spot for me.

4. Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest ; Really I consider both Birthright and Conquest to be two parts of a greater whole (while Revelation feels more like a fanfic add-on), but if we're going to split the individual campaigns, Conquest goes at the top. The story is pure garbage, but the battles walk the fine line between challenging you to make use of extremely limited resources while still being achievable for relative Fire Emblem newcomers like myself.

5. VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartending Action ; Fantastic soundtrack, an endearing cast of characters, and an atmosphere that notes the industrial/corporate oppression of its world without getting all grimdark on us. A relaxing VN where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came.

6. Titanfall 2 ; Every so often we get a campaign that feels a lot like Half-Life 2: split up into discrete episodes that each feature unique gameplay mechanics, and aren't just a bunch of bombastic setpieces (though are fantastic when they are too). This year's entry: Titanfall 2, which plys the tried-and-tested buddy-robot theme to great effect while adding in exhilirating wall-running and a few well-placed gimmicks.

7. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ; It's a rather lengthy game and it doesn't quite have the staying power of a Persona. But it exhibits much of the same warmth for its characters and places it all in a showbiz setting that somehow works despite how ridiculous the premise is. Maybe the flashiest JRPG you'll ever play on a Wii U.

8. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; As series sendoffs go, this one's surprisingly contemplative. The quiet moments are some of my favourite character moments of the year, but there's still plenty of blockbuster action sequences and a little goofiness here and there (smile Sully!).

9. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book ; After a disappointing finale to the Dusk series in Atelier Shallie, you had to wonder if maybe Gust had exhausted itself after so many yearly Atelier games. But Sophie remembers what made the old games so addictive while still managing to be free of time management, formerly a core mechanic of the series.

10. Watch_Dogs 2 ; Among my biggest surprises of the year. I expected this game to be awful, another tone-deaf installment in a series with some interesting gameplay ideas buried in a mountain of shitty character motivations and awkward gunfight sequences. And while Watch Dogs 2 doesn't solve every problem (and brings along some of its own), it's the rejuvenation the franchise desperately needed. Does Marcus get his own Ezio-like trilogy? Guess we'll see.

x. Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright ; Just in case this tie-breaker vote matters for anything. A story that makes marginally more sense than Conquest and a more Awakenings-like experience in terms of gameplay. It might not feel as potent as Conquest when all is said and done, but in any other year Birthright would make my top 10.

x. Pokemon Go ; It's hard to ignore the game I spent the most time playing this year, and the concept is still great. But Pokemon Go is easily one of the most aggravating app experiences I've ever had. It's a memory hog and a bully with the sound output. The Pokemon Go Plus only connects properly half the time. Like the best games-as-a-service products, it gives you incentives to keep playing (though terribly few until very recently); like the worst games-as-a-service products, it occasionally feels abusive.

x. The Tomorrow Children ; There's no other game quite like it, which is a shame. It reminds me of some of my favourite moments in a very old, still-running MMO called A Tale in the Desert. But after you've restored a few towns here and there, it's hard to see the point of playing further. It's maybe a little too into the communism makework simulator vibe.

x. Superhot ; blah blah most innovative shooter blah blah. Jokes aside, though, it's one really killer idea used to build a surprising number of cool action movie scenarios. The one thing that holds me back from putting it in my top ten, though, is that I completely forgot I played this game at all when I originally made this list. I think the reason why is because despite the number of setpieces the developers spun off the main concept, it still feels more like a tech demo than a fully complete game.

 

[semiconscious]

1. the last guardian ; a unique, extraordinary experience, featuring maybe the most incredible, semi-controllable character in gaming history. all praise to ueda & team!&#8230;
2. tom clancy's the division ; gorgeous, addictive, & pulpy fun, & accompanied by the very clever &#8216;new york collapse&#8217; book&#8230;
3. mafia 3 ; horribly (&, imo, very unfairly) under-rated game. beautiful period reproduction, & solid characters, story-telling, & gameplay. really enjoyed my time with it&#8230;
4. gravity rush remastered ; so magical in so many ways! characters, environments, & music bursting with charm, & distinctive (& weirdly intuitive) gameplay. kat's world's a breath of fresh air...
5. ratchet & clank ; when mots is always welcomed. as usual, the best in full technicolor chaos!&#8230;
6. dark souls 3 ; when mots is always welcomed, pt 2. as usual, the best in challenging combat/exploration&#8230;
7. uncharted 4 ; weakest entry in the series is still a fantastic accomplishment in many respects&#8230;
8. shin megami tensei iv: apocalypse ; better cast than smt iv (which isn&#8217;t high praise), & the usual quality gameplay (tho, unfortunately, still not interesting enough to get me to finish that final dungeon)&#8230;
9. no man&#8217;s sky ; got it for $30 (which should&#8217;ve been the list price), & got my money&#8217;s worth. interesting-enough experiment. wish the developers&#8217;d been more up-front prior to launch. & i&#8217;m sure they wish they&#8217;d been, as well, at this point&#8230;
10. oxenfree ; as i&#8217;ve mentioned elsewhere, a surprisingly &#8216;comfortable&#8217; game. i immediately felt at home with it, enjoyed the ride, & never did any of it feel awkward or out of place. extremely cool little experience&#8230;

also liked witness, abzu, bound, & inside (up till the end, anyway). didn&#8217;t play ffxv, watch dogs 2, or any first-person/multiplayer shooters&#8230;