Support NeoGAF

[Gartooth]

My list this year isn't as stacked as in the past few years. Part of that was me taking a little bit of a break from gaming. I could have included a few more great games on the list, but I think I want to give recognition this year just to those games that really got my attention.

1. Overwatch ; This game was never on my radar at the beginning of the year and I just bought it on impulse a couple weeks after release to see what all the hubbub was about. It is absolutely fucking incredible. This right here is my favorite new IP of this console generation. The art direction is incredible and resulted in a cast of characters that have become iconic overnight. The gameplay feels so fresh each new time I go back to it with all the varied heroes and playstyles. Some days I just can't stop playing this game. If there is one 2016 game I'm playing for years to come it is this.

2. DOOM ; I really really wish I could pick two Number 1's this year. What DOOM was to me for single player shooters is what Overwatch was to me for online shooters. It completely flew under my radar then took me by surprise and gave me one of my favorite FPS campaigns ever. I never played any Doom games before this but I instantly felt what it must have been like playing the original game decades ago. The game rewards players that play aggressively, use every tool in their arsenal, and navigate the combat arenas expertly. It also had great replay value with the different challenges and secrets to find. Oh and it is possibly the most jaw dropping game I have played with that beast engine. Id completely deserves all credit for beating expectations when they were stacked against them.

3. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; This was a great shakeup for the Pokemon franchise after the disappointing Gen 6. It left the traditional gym setup for the fun island trials, introduced Z moves which changed the battle experience completely, and introduced Alola forms which I only wish there were more of. The game also did a great job transitioning away from the longstanding isometric map design to a true 3D world.

4. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Naughty Dog continues their streak of being at the top of cinematic games. The graphical quality raised the bar yet again for console gaming, and the conclusion delivered a touching goodbye to characters I have grown attached to since 2007. The combat was also the best the series has to offer with setpieces that continue to impress. I had a few problems with the game such as the lower amount of combat encounters and the grappling hook not being as game changing as I had hoped. Still, my most hyped game of 2016 didn't leave me cold and brought about a great conclusion for this series.

 

[MilkBeard]

1. The House in Fata Morgana ; This was my first VN, and will probably remain my favorite. The story is very deep, and the characters have surprising depth for a video game. Add great art and haunting music, and you have one of the most addictive and emotional games I've played in a long time.

2. Final Fantasy XV ; It was a long wait, and sometimes the wait doesn't pay off. But even with the game's faults, I've still enjoyed greatly every minute playing this game. It may not be what everyone wants, but is a damn fun game, which is great to say about Final Fantasy again.

3. Dark Souls III ; While not as atmospheric as the original, FromSoft perfected the gameplay element. I played this game feverishly for 100 enjoyable hours. Haven't been able to touch the dlc, but I will soon.

 

[Turin Turambar]

1. Hitman ; Incredible return of the Hitman series, it's the best 'social stealth' right now, surpassing Hitman Blood Money.
2. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine; Yes, it's only an 'expansion', but with a beautiful, big world, new monsters, new abilities, cool quests, bro companions, good voice acting and cutscenes, etc etc all the good stuff that CD Projekt is capable of doing.
3. Doom ; It isn't perfect, but it has show a new generation the fun you can have killing demons without health regen, 2 weapon loadout and scripted encounters.
4. Inside ; Perfecting the formula of Limbo in a great little game. Superb atmosphere, and a twist at the end to remember for the ages.
5. Battleborn ; Intense, complex, varied, misunderstood online action game. Way more engaging than Overwatch, for example.
6. The Witness ; Beautiful and varied puzzles, some that may surprise you.
7. Paladins ; A few touches to the Overwatch formula produces a more engaging, interesting game.
8. Offworld Trading Company ; Deep yet accessible strategy game, RTS not slow. Pondering, but engaging. And a very original system, about... economic corporate warfare in Mars colonization.
9. Arcane Dimensions ; Great mod for Quake I. Therefore it won't count for the votes really, but I don't care. Try it. Pure FPS goodness, with really complex levels.
10. Owlboy; A pleasing mix of action, platforming, adventure and a few puzzles with incredible production values for an indie game.

Honorable Mentions
x. Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak ; It actually reminds of all the good virtues of the original Homeworld, which isn't a small feat.
x. SuperHOT ; What if a FPS would be a first person puzzle with some reflexes.
x. Carmageddon: Max Damage ; Or a vehicular action game done through the optics of an exploration game. Or maybe the other way around.
x. Oxenfree ; Cool setting and dialogue system, very natural characters, I just didn't like how the story ended.
x. Abzu ; So pretty! Which is a superficial appreciation of a game, but hey, it's really, really pretty!

 

[ConfusedGamer]

1. Uncharted 4 : A Thief's End ; Usually games are snippet of an adventure, but this captured it thoroughly. State-of-the-Art mo-cap made this an emotional roller-coaster that have never been done in games before, and Best TPS combat on top of it. A perfect end to Nathan Drake's legacy, can't say I won't miss him though.

2. The Last Guardian ; An unforgettable adventure, a special game in this environment of design-standerized industry, unique relationship dynamic captured with mesmerizing animation. It could have been number 1 but some of the technical issues were too big to ignore on my regular PS4.

3. Final Fantasy XV ; The game had a lot issue but still it managed to capture that Final Fantasy charm, Could've been something special if it had more development time. Still the best JRPG of this generation without a doubt.

4. Gravity Rush : Remastered ; Beautifully crafted world, great movement controls and intriguing characters made this a memorable game.

5. Battlefield 1 ; Back to WW1, who would've thought this would be interesting several years ago? but lo and behold Battlefield managed to make this happen.

 

[Punished_Snake]

1. Street Fighter V; The game that I played the most and enjoyed the most. Lack of content at launch was disappointing for players who wanted to play alone, but all I cared about is online play and getting better.

2. The Last Guardian; I really enjoyed the game much more than I was expecting. I loved the characters, world and story.

3. Dark Souls 3; Huge fan of the series and I can't wait for the second expansion.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD; Not my favorite 3D Zelda game, but I enjoyed revisiting the game in HD.

5. Final Fantasy XV; The game has many flaws, but I enjoyed it because my expectations weren't very high.

 

[Obliterator]

Man looking through the thread it's really sad that Titanfall 2 isn't even probably going to make GAF Top 10. Picked the game up a week ago and it deserves every bit of the praise it's gotten. Wonderful campaign and outstanding multiplayer. Total bummer

 

[Spieler Eins]

January alone might already beat out the entire last year for me, oh well...

1. Doom ; Talk about the definition of badass. I have not been a fan of western shooters in a long time, yet Doom is exactly what I needed and what the genre should be all about. The game literally throws out any attempt at a serious story within its first minute, so it can focus on fun level design and fluid gameplay that makes you feel like a total boss. Particularly once you have a full arsenal, fighting feels like a blast. controls work wonderfully, both the pacing and difficulty are almost perfect, shooting feels satisfying and the maps throw the perfect amount of gimmicks and enemies at you. Between the fighting, platforming has been done surprisingly well too and there's lots to discover for anyone interested. The metal soundtrack does its rest to give the mayhem the perfect feel. When story eventually interrupts, it feels awesome enough, especially since everything's done with a wink instead of being pretentious, nor is it in the way of the actual game. The only nitpicks to be had is one not so great bossfights and some maps can be a little confusing to navigate through every now and then. Apart from that, I guess there's potential for even crazier setpieces, but right now this game is everything it needed to be.

2. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir ; Needless to say, this game is an audiovisual treat, even more so in HD. It captures the feeling of playing a fairytale perfectly and only stumbles in its slow way of presenting the story. The actual gameplay on the other hand offers some of the best fast paced 2D combat one could think of and remains highly addictive for quite a while. On top of that, mild exploration and, more importantly, alchemy and RPG mechanics make this an deeper experience than your average brawler. Unfortunately, the balancing is a bit off. Normal difficulty is too easy and on hard difficulty unpredictable 1 hit KOs can be frustrating. Despite its uplifting, this remake still needed to cut some fat though. It's fun for a dozen of hours or two and probably even until the end, but by then you'll feel burnt out. At the very least, it offers a satisfying story climax that is neither too sappy nor cheery.

3. Batman: The Telltale Series ; This game is a buggy mess, which can feel beyond negligent. Plus, while The Walking Dead 1 still felt like an adventure game, even if heavily streamlined, it's hard to even call Batman a game anymore. It's basically a Batman show in which your only input factor is to decide whether Batman is either ruthless or still somewhat softhearted.
But screw it, that's all I needed to forgive the utterly blatant shortcomings. I don't read the comics, so I'm grateful for any awesome Batman adaption in other formats, such as games. For Telltale's interpretation I've got to say that I really enjoyed their take on the Batman lore. It's not without its hamfisted moments, but overall it feels like an awesome mixture of Nolan and some slightly more over the top moments. Though there's also quite a lot of original content - from what I can tell. And despite all the jank, they actually pulled off pretty awesome fight cinematography with their engine.

4. Monster Hunter Generations ; The new combat options might make this the most fun to play Monster Hunter to date. There's lots of content and decent new enemies. It's the culmination of the old series' traditions and a good sendoff. Well, hopefully it is. Because the basic foundation of this series has now gone beyond its zenith. For the next installment, I can't be bothered to deal with mini-maps that kick you out anytime a monster is too close to its exit, archaic menu systems whose clutter stopped making sense a long time ago, or Generation 6 graphics. This game was a fun last ride, but after this one, it desperately needs to see a complete restructuring.

5. Let It Die ; This F2P title gives you some of the best value out there and might as well be a fullfledged title given away for free. It might become a grind two dozen of hours or so in, but until then it is quite a blast – excluding a heavyhanded tutorial phase. The Dark Souls-esque gameplay is not as refined as its inspiration, but it actually is even more tense at times, since stakes are way higher. Apart from satisfying combat (even if a little iffy against mobs) the game also satisfies all your hunting and gathering instincts fully. On top of that, the whole presentation is weird and dark in a really good sense.


Honorable Mentions

x. Zero Escape: Time Dilemma ; ZTD starts off lacking the tension or even mystery its predecessors were known for. Which made the low budget presentation even more striking early on - the narrative wasn't strong enough to overcome it.
As it went on, however, I started to warm up with it. The endings improved, I liked the ways certain new story elements had to be unlocked and I started to feel the characters more, in particular when they started to see more profound endings. There were some great scenes that will certainly stick with me for a while. . On top of that, the puzzle sections were the most engaging in the series and remained great throughout the entire experience.
Unfortunately, the ending itself just threw me back to my ambivalency. It felt like the team suddely was either out of time, budget or ideas. I really wished this was something I'd easily put on my list, but within the context of this series its an undeniable disappointment. But on its own it might have been a hidden gem, even if not the biggest one.

x. Inside ; As a puzzle game, I quite enjoyed my time with this title. Despite offering only a minimal amount of commands, there's quite a lot of varied environment puzzles. They feel particularly rewarding when thinking outside the box is required. Still, the occassional trial and error can be tiresome.
It's especially tiresome when the atmosphere can't keep up. At first the third dimension really seems to add to the game's atmosphere compared to Limbo. But more than often you're left in bland warehouses and the mood falls flat. It takes more than a dark screen to feel dark nowadays. Nevertheless, there are very strong moments of atmosphere. Inside is actually a game I should love, but it never truly grabbed me.

 

[Ikon]

1. Dark Souls III ; It was a strange experience to play this the same year as I played Dark Souls for the first time. These games have immediately jumped up among my favorite games of all time. What really propels them to the top for me is the world, which is at the same time beautifully realized, full of clues about its mostly sad past, and incredibly hostile. Also, the gameplay from the third game is right now how I wish I interacted with basically every video game I play.

2. DOOM ; I praised Wolfenstein a couple of years ago for how well it made an old shooter series relevant among modern games. Yet, for how I impressed I was with that game, it's nothing compared to how floored I am by the new DOOM. I didn't think I'd ever play a new shooter that felt this good to play. No covers, no regenerating health, no aiming down sights (depending on how you you view two of the weapon mods). Instead there is a blistering pace, amazing weapons that are varied and fun to use and an irreverent attitude to the old games and itself that I never would have thought could work this well! Also the soundtrack is one of my favorite albums of the year, which is unusual for video game soundtracks for me.

3. Uncharted 4 ; What an incredible ride this game is! Now, that's to be expected from this series by now, but what I hadn't foreseen was the amazing way that they handled the characters. There are many great scenes in this game that develop the series mainstays and the people at Naughty Dog aren't afraid to show them in a less than favorable light either. And on top of that it's the best looking game I've ever seen (I don't even know anyone with a gaming PC anymore).

4. Fire Emblem Fates ; Birthright is a decent FE campaign with horrible story/characters. Conquest is a great FE campaign with horrible story/characters. All in all this game is the last in the series that I get without looking at reviews/impressions. I don't care for the path they're on with Awakening and this. Still, the gameplay is better than last time and it's easy to skip dialogue, so that earns it a spot pretty high up for me.

5. Overwatch ; I love class based shooters and Overwatch is in many ways the best one of these that there's ever been. I'm not going to sing its praises too much here, instead I'll take the chance to lament the one thing that still makes me prefer Team Fortress 2: They've borrowed all of the great ideas from TF2 but left out my favorite class: The Spy!

6. Tricky Towers ; I loved how different from Tetris this turned to be with a new physics engine and new objectives. This is the most fun I had with local multiplayer in 2016.

7. Street Fighter V ; I'd place it lower but these are the only games I care enough about to even list. I was so stoked pre release and was going to finally take one of these games seriously. Capcom completely bungled everything except the core fighting but I'm afraid that's not enough to keep me around. To be honest I'd even rather watch 4. I hope Marvel can bring back my interest before I walk away from this genre entirely.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

1. Pokemon Sun and Moon ; Really the only game released this year I played a lot. Has its issues but still awesome.

 

[Trey]

1. XCOM 2 ; 2016 handed out a lot of Ls. But in that chaos we were able to get a gem in XCOM 2 which - ironically - also has a habit of handing out a lot of losses. Much is made of this series' uncompromising brutality at higher levels, but XCOM 2 transcends its reputation in clever and rewarding ways. The amount of customization you can apply to your soldiers is notable, because it makes the inevitable losses hit just a bit more. The quality of life improvements from Enemy Unknown/Enemy Within, such as how overwatch functions, cuts down on the game-y frustrations that sometimes arise, while empowering the player with clear tactical feedback that allows them to kill aliens in a myriad of satisfying ways. The true beauty of XCOM 2 is the modding support it gets. Vanilla XCOM 2 plays very different from the almost endless iterations you have at your disposal, courtesy of the thousands of mods that can modify every aspect of the game. It's all at your discretion and tastes, at no extra charge. The replayability is nearly endless, and I can't wait to see what game XCOM 2 can be in the near and distant future. I plan to be there every step of the way.

2. Overwatch ; Gaming was brought together by one game this year, and Overwatch is that game. Birthed from the ashes of a failed MMO, Overwatch quickly established itself as a force to be acknowledged. Its diverse cast of characters honestly doesn't get enough love: while sometimes trite due to the lack of a story to wrap these characters around, each and every Overwatch hero feels distinct. You can generally tell the type of gamer someone is by the heroes they gravitate to; and what's most impressive is how these characters are authentically expressed in their kits and playstyles. This is a feat unmatched by any game this year, or in recent memory. Everyone has had their "fuck it (switches to Reaper)" moment, and everyone has felt the weight on their back carrying an instalock Hanzo. But mostly, everyone has felt that thrill of self satisfaction when things go just right. There's really nothing quite like that peak in all of gaming.

3. Street Fighter V ; I have been an avid fighting game player - mostly in the Capcom vein of fighters - for almost a decade now. SFV is the fighter that most immediately grabbed me. Its fluid animations makes the execution of attacks feel empowering in a way I haven't experienced in a fighter before. While SFV doesn't seem to be able to be the centralizing force for the fighting game community its predecessor was, I appreciate its commitment to broaden the competitive pool by making the game more approachable, while still making the game rewarding to be good at. It's a delicate balance that Capcom is still working on, and perhaps they won't succeed in full. The attempt is noted all the same.

4. Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns ; This entry is unapologetically a love letter to the game itself. While I put hours into this expansion, 2016 has been a stepping off of sorts for me and this game. 4 years of consistently challenging, rewarding, and damn beautiful content: Guild Wars 2 is, and always will be, my ideal MMO. The fundamental concepts that went into the game are the very same I demand from games to this day. On almost every single point where I dislike general MMO design, Guild Wars 2 addressed them directly. The information leading up to launch couldn't have been more tailored to my sensibilities: free form class role design, horizontal progression, action oriented with a huge emphasis on movement and vertical exploration - sign me the fuck up! Traversing the zones and looking at the gorgeous art design and attention to detail are some of my fondest gaming memories. And that coalesces into this expansion, which took that emphasis on exploration and emergent content, and dialed everything up to 11. Zones can now be taken by the skies, which is cleverly woven into cooperative player content that has players working together to complete missions. Rewards have been tailored to maximize "end game" content, while maintaining the game's fundamental ethos of making said content approachable for new players. I may not visit Guild Wars 2 as often as I used to, but when I do, it's like I never left. Guild Wars 2 is one of my favorite games of all time.

5. Pokemon GO ; I debated whether I should put this game on my list because the actual game is quite poor. It was buggy and unreliable the entire time I played it. The app bordered on hostile in how it destroyed my battery life, how it would force close at the worst moments, how it would freeze. Gym battles were hilariously broken, leveling Pokemon was a chore. The only real engagement the game asked from you was to tap on the screen occasionally as you walked around. The balance of the Pokemon was so ridiculously skewed due to the simplified battle system, any tactical or strategical reasoning was pointless. In so few words, Pokemon GO the game was hot fucking trash. So the reason I put this game on my GotY list is because despite all of that, Pokemon GO has provided me some of the most unforgettable experiences of the year. It literally brought the adventure of Pokemon to life in such a meta way that it transcended the very poor game itself. I remember when it first came out, two friends and I went to the cemetery in the middle of the day to take on gyms. People of all walks of life were congregating at points of interest, catching Pokemon, having fun. In the middle of a fucking cemetery in broad ass daylight. I had never seen anything like it. Even now I still can't believe something like the craze Pokemon GO caused occurred. It had the communal aspect of Twitch Plays Pokemon, memes and all. You really felt like you were a part of something bigger than yourself. It had the mainstream impact where grown ass retired 401k and stock dividends spending grandparents were not only aware of it, but were playing too. Popular Pokestops around my city were flooded with people at the peak of this game's popularity. And it all had a powerful nostalgic quality to it that took me directly back to my childhood days, playing Pokemon Yellow, sweeping the Elite Four with my level 84 Nidoking. Pokemon GO was a trash mobile game app that ran like it was coded by a room full of everyone's least favorite cousin. And somehow, improbably, magnificently, Pokemon GO - more than any other game of 2016 - truly delivered that joyful gaming experience that reminds us why we put our time and dollars into this hobby.

6. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; The emphasis the latest Pokemon entry put on cinematic quality guarantees Sun/Moon's story is the most robust in franchise history, but GameFreak finally doing away with HMs is the true headline here.

7. Titanfall 2 ; Titanfall 2 took me by surprise. Its flowing, kinetic gameplay is a breath of fresh air among the rote stop and pop design that has arrested the modern shooter. Some clever gimmicks keep the campaign fresh, as they introduce wrinkles in the base gameplay, while not overstaying their welcome.

8. Naruto SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 ; A gorgeous game that faithfully recreates the hype of the anime series. Storm 4 is as dumb as its source material, but it sure looks good amid the ninja fuckery.

9. Killer Instinct: Season 3 ; Basically became Microsoft's Super Smash Bros. Maya will forever be bae. Killer Instinct, and its continued support, is a success story that all gamers can appreciate.

10. Madden 17 ; The only way I'll ever see the Bills win the Super Bowl.

 

[upselo]

1. Hitman ; Episodic gaming done right, with complex levels that gradually reveal their depth, new targets and items added throughout the year, easy to pick up, gratifying to master

2. The Last Guardian ; Trico is a wonder that allows the game to transcend its simple platform formula.

3. Dishonored 2 ; Bigger, prettier, with more powers and a voice over at last, it's an accomplished sequel, home to two of the best levels of the year. It doesn't surpass the original in terms of character but it's more fun.

4. Uncharted 4 ; A succesful finale for Drake, managing to present interesting characters, big set pieces and above all beautiful quiet moments. A really fun multiplayer as well.

5. The Witness ; Blow makes all of us feels like the genius he is. A bit too cold and abstract but a masterclass in game design.

6. Overcooked ; tense and cute cooperative cooking. Levels designed to make you curse your loved ones.

7. 1979 Revolution : Black Friday ; A serious Telltales game, with good character moments and a noble intent. Bring on the following episodes!

8. Virginia ; Stylised Twin Peaks-like with a fun twist: no dialogs, written or otherwise. Interesting concet even if everything doesn't quite work.

9. Firewatch ; the game doesn't make good on its superb intro, but it's a stunning game with good performances.

10. Hidden my game by mom ; an absurd and riotous mini game on mobile. Try it out!

 

[Gigglepoo]

10. Hidden my game by mom ; an absurd and riotous mini game on mobile. Try it out!

Yay! It made someone else's list! The sequel came out yesterday if you want more.

 

[Shinigami]

1. The Last Guardian ; Truly an innovative and heartwarming experience from Ueda and team, bad camera and AI issues be damned.
2. Overwatch ; One of the most addictive and balanced multi-player experiences ever.
3. Pokemon Sun & Moon ; What a great way to revitalize the series. Good Job Gamefreak.
4. Dark Souls 3 ; Amazing experience for a souls game, and one that benefited from having Bloodborne as a direct predecessor. .
5. Inside ; Subtle story-telling mixed with some amazingly crafted atmosphere. Definitely a game worth playing and talking about.

 

[godisntheradio]

it's a shame i couldn't play more games released in 2016, i played 4 trails games totalizing 330 hours(i replayed cold steel 1 too) so that took a lot of my time and money, it's was very much worth it though.
I wish i could've played The house in Fata Morgana, Inside, FFXV and The Last Guardian.

1. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II ; The direct sequel to the excellent trails of cold steel 1, despite a few nitpicks, it's a great journey that provides closure on the Class VII we know and love. The unexpected
twists, the music, the world building, the great battle system, it has everything to love from classic jrpg's in a modern game.
2. Uncharted 4 ; A Thief's End ; uncharted 2 was the first game i played on my ps3 and saying goodbye to these characters was beautiful, a great ending to a great series.
3. Dark Souls III ; This is the kind of game i can play a day without getting bored, so another iteration of this is a treat.
4. Atelier Escha & Logy Plus ; Alchemists of the Dusk Sky ; My favorite comfy game, i fell in love with atelier ayesha and with this is no different.
5. Titanfall 2 ; I got this game for free and started it with zero expectations, so it blew me away when I loved its great controls and nice story.
6. Dirt Rally ; A punishing but satisfying game, it's been a drought of racing games lately, so this was a excellent change of pace.
7. Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma ; It was the wildest of the rides, breakneck twists and some great moments made a good ending to one of my favorite series.
8. Xanadu Next ; Falcom's dark fantasy action RPG comes officially to the west and it's awesome simple story and simple mechanics plus falcom's touch equals and outstanding game apparently.

 

[Knox]

1. The Witness ; It's a non-stop drip of "aha" moments. A beautifully created world that challenges you to focus on it's details in a way that's unmatched by any other game I've ever played. There's been a lot of great games this year but I feel like this one will stick with me for a long time.

2. DOOM ; Confident in it's aesthetic from every angle. Design, visuals, sound, music, story, presentation. Everything meshes with the hyper aggressive and improvisational play that the game encourages.

3. Overwatch ; Blizzard once again takes the best of what already exists, makes it better, and adds some magic to create something truly special.

4. World of Warcraft: Legion ; Speaking of which, WoW is really good again! Easily the best expansion since Wrath of the Lich King.

5. Hitman ; Such a great sandbox, and I've had a lot of fun just watching people play it.

6. Firewatch ; One of the few stories in games that treat the player like an adult. Paranoid suspenseful moments, moral quandary, and a few big gut-punches. It's also amazingly gorgeous.

7. Inside ; Super cool atmosphere and some great wtf moments.

8. Titanfall 2 ; Only played the campaign, but that was enough for me to put it on the list. Awesome movement and set pieces.

9. Civilization VI ; I love Civ, they made a good one. The additions were really cool but I guess not enough to put it high on my list. The expansions will probably make it amazing.

10. Thumper ; So intense. Still in the middle of playing it, I'm worried about gripping my controller too hard and crushing it.

 

[re_fan1996]

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; The best game in the series, and so far my favorite game this generation. I really enjoyed the fact that the focus was on much more than just combat. Great puzzles, great platforming and loved the story.

2. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; An amazing sequel to an amazing game. The detail and density of the world really blew me away. I got to know Prague as if I lived there. Put almost 70 hours into this gem.

3. Doom ; Easily one of the best reboots I've ever seen. I never had so much fun with FPS combat. Huge levels, great enemies and some really cool secrets.

4. Dishonored 2 ; Really well made sequel. Takes everything great about the first one and improves it in every way. I really enjoyed the size of the levels, and the amount of detail and things to find was truly astonishing.

5. Watch_Dogs 2 ; I loved the first game so I had no doubt I would love this one too and I do! The missions are really well designed and I love the tools it gives you. Growing up in San Francisco didn't hurt either.

6. Dark Souls 3 ; I played through all 3 DS games last year for the first time and I was worried I would be burnt out by the time 3 released. But I wasn't and the game was great, probably my favorite of the 3. Great design and some really amazing areas and bosses.

7. Far Cry Primal ; This is my favorite Far Cry by a wide margin. I love how they translated the core Far Cry gameplay into this new setting. Very unique to me, and also some of the best looking terrain I've seen in a while.

8. Titanfall 2 ; It's on here for the campaign along. Aside from Doom, easily the best FPS campaign I've played in many years.

9. Super Mario Run ; The best Mario game I've played in a long time. It's a full fledged game and I easily like it as much as the console games. I love the challenge in collecting all the coins and also the levels are literally completely different on the black coin run.

10. Recore ; Some old school platforming awesome-ness! I really enjoyed this game and it ran like a dream on PC. this game reminds me of the PS2 era and had some really well designed areas and dungeons.

Honorable mention:

x Quantum Break

Edited to add the 10th game on there and honorable mention. Comepletely forgot about Recore and it deserves to be on here.

 

[UrgentPS]

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; Beautiful new map, fun new characters, silly sidequests. A perfect farwell for Geralt.
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Great story and visuals and I enjoyed the gameplay a lot more than the previous games.
3. XCOM 2 ; Just as addicting as the first one, although the performances issues were annoying in the beginning.
4. Titanfall 2 ; Had a blast playing the campaign and it is my go-to shooter for a quick fix.
5. DOOM ; Bought it based on all the hype and wasn't disappointed. Everything just feels sooo good while playing it.

Honorable Mentions
x. Battlefield 1 ; It looks, plays and sounds amazing and I can acknowledge that. But as a long time Battlefield fan, they lost me. Just too much random bullshit going on, please bring back the Battlefield 2 days
x. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfware ; Really enjoyed the campaign, even more than the COD4: Remastered one. I thought it did some cool new things and I blasted through it with a smile on my face. Haven't touched the other modes.

 

[Drayco21]

1. Titanfall 2 ; A fantastic campaign full of character and some of the coolest levels I've ever played in an FPS, an addictive multiplayer that keeps me hooked and coming back for more, and fucking mechs dawg, what's not to like?

2. Gundam Breaker 3 ; Yo did I mention mechs? Because this create-your-own mech musou-style RPG is fantastic too; there's so much freedom, some amazing fanservice and combat that just feels good- every time I pick it up, I just can't stop smiling.

3. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth ; I'm still reeling that we even got this game here, that it turned out to be a phenomenal JRPG only adds to the excitement. It's a fantastic Persona-like, with gorgeous visuals, addictive grinding and rewarding nonlinear evolution that still has me sinking hundreds of hours in.

4. DOOM ; I didn't believe that it could be done; that a Doom game could be created in 2016, feeling like a Doom game, and still holding its own as one of the best of the year- but here we are. Doom's combat is an absolute madcap joy, where every mechanic plays into itself perfectly in the most satisfying of ways, and the campaign has a shockingly fantastic characterization that keeps me laughing and hyped from start to finish.

5. Overwatch ; Overwatch is like a montage of stuff I like a whole lot- superheroes, mechs, westerns, civilizations of talking apes, robots and the morality of AI sentience, nuclear wastelands- the only thing that really keeps my feelings for Overwatch lower on this list is that it's a multiplayer only game- more singleplayer content, and this could easily have been my favorite thing of the year.

6. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; The common criticisms of the game, aside from the rushed final act, seem to stem from it being too much like just another Human Revolution, and while that's true, it's also been five years and that's exactly what I was looking for. Mankind Divided maybe doesn't land the social messaging punch it was going for, but I respect more triple a games having something to say, especially when they're as fun to play as this.

 

[Slevin]

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; I was always averse to "cinematic" games with no solid basis as to why but after The Last of Us became one of my favorite games I had to jump into my backlog of unplayed Uncharted games. The 4th installment continues that prestige that TLoU exuded and in many ways topped it. It just seems so "grown-up" in an entertainment medium still in its infancy. It felt real to simply mosey about Nathan Drake's house, taking a moment to wash your face in a mirror.

2. Final Fantasy XV ; This was my first Final Fantasy game and I had a blast. The open world was beautiful, the action was fiendishly stylized in its perfect anime aesthetic, and I just felt such joy in having a grand adventure with my very own badass boy-band.

3. The Last Guardian ; I am a feverish animal lover; I donate every month to the Hope for Paws charity and my local animal shelter. Playing this game was very tough for me emotionally because of how incredibly designed Trico was. I absolutely loved the story as well. If the actual gameplay had been better, this would have easily topped my list.

4. Starbound ; 1.0 came out this year and I finally hopped fully on board. This game is so relaxing to play that I use it to actually adjust my moods. Beautiful pixel art and surprisingly fun combat, I've put over 500 hours into it without getting bored.

5. Paper Mario: Color Splash ; While I am one of the many haters for what has happened to my most favorite game series, this was the first Paper Mario game I thoroughly enjoyed since TTYD. Absolutely incredible graphics combined with some of the best writing the series has had, the terrible battle system and some baffling design omitions are what brings it to the bottom of my list.

 

[roytheone]

1. The witness ; My new favorite puzzle game ever made. It looks gorgeous, the island is a joy to explore, there are secrets everywhere, the game takes a simple concept but manage to build so many different puzzles with it, the way the game teaches you rules by doing puzzles instead of just telling you is simply brilliant and "the moment" when you discover

Spoiler

the plus puzzles

is simply mind blowing. A spectacular game.

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; The best DLC I ever played that builds on one of the best games I ever played. It may be just more of The witcher, but since it is of the same absurd quality as that masterpiece I will not complain one bit. Can't wait to see what CD project red does next!

3. Dark souls 3 ; Better then 2, less brilliant then 1. The way you move trough the areas is a bit to linear for my taste, but the areas themselves are fantastic and filled with side paths and hidden areas. And of course the core souls gameplay is still excellent as always.

4. Dishonored 2 ; Dishonored 2 takes everything that was great about 1 and adds some smart things to it (thank god for that non lethal drop down attack!) and goes all out with the level design. Some of the levels in this game are among the best I ever saw! They are a joy to move through and discover. Too bad the pc port is garbage

5. Overwatch ; I tend to dislike multiplayer games. But overwatch grabbed me like few of them did before. The great look, fun to play characters and overall feel good vibe meant I was almost always having fun, even if I was doing poorly. I just hope more maps come soon, it is a bit sparse on that front.

6. DOOM ; Doom is just pure fps fun. Put on the hard rock, grab a shotgun, aim it at monsters and go to town. Everything about DOOM just feels great to do. Add some good, non-linear level design and you have one of the best fps campaigns of the last few years. It's too bad the levels become a bit more linear towards the end.

7. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir ; The combat in this game just feels sooooo good. You always feel like you are in complete control of your character and can do exactly what you want. It helps that with skills and alchemy you also have many options during the battles. The world and story are interesting, the way it is told by having 5 separate campaigns that are interwoven is smart and boy, does it look stunning!

8. Rise of the tomb raider ; Yeah, the story is garbage. But the areas are fun to explore, there are plenty of things to do in them and the combat is more then serviceable. It also looks very good on pc. I don't think it is better then the first one, but it is still a very fun game.

9. Ratchet & Clank ; A beautiful remake of the first game, adding many of the improvements the series later introduced that makes the game a lot more fun to play! And did I already said the game is beautiful? Because boy is it beautiful!

10. Inside ; Beautiful, smart, stunning, atmospheric, shocking. A better Limbo in every way.

 

[Curufinwe]

1. Deus Ex Mankind Divided ; Immensely satisfying exploration and gameplay, plus an engaging story and interesting characters.
2. Dishonored 2 ; Immensely satisfying exploration and gameplay.
3. Uncharted 4 ; Great mix of precise shooting and solid stealth action.
4. Final Fantasy XV ; A summer road trip in the middle of winter makes for a relaxing, good time.
5. Zero Time Dilemma ; Complex motives, easy platinum.
6. Dirt Rally ; Driving model is great, but the AI is unfairly hard.
7. Table Top Racing: World Tour ; My favorite PS+ game of 2016.
8. Ratchet and Clank ; Not a patch on A Crack in Time.

 

[Xater]

1. Hitman ; Not only did id have a comeback this year, but so did IO Interactive as well. After the awful Hitman Absolution they had a lot to prove and they totally delivered. They created incredible killing sandboxes and the episodic delivery actually worked in favor of the game design.

2. Doom ; Despite being a big id fanboy Doom was still a big surprise. It's fast and ruthless gameplay combined with it's self aware tone just did it for me. The music is also just top notch. I played through the campaign twice back to back. The multiplayer is just ok, but that really didn't matter in the end.

3. Overwatch ; When it comes to multiplayer we have Overwatch. Blizzard just did it again. They took something familiar, polished it to no end and sprinkled in their own flavor when it comes to the characters. Great fun all around.

4. Forza Horizon 3 ; Australia in this game is just beautiful and this might be the most fun I have had with a racing game since Burnout Paradise. They find the right balance between realism and fun. The first expansion they just realized is also really good.

5. Battlefield 1 ; The campaign is just ok, but man the multiplayer is great. No other game manages to create such impactful moment in a multiplayer scenario as this series, which is why I was also very much enamored with the latest iteration.

6. Titanfall 2 ; Titanfall 2 added the often requested campaign and actually delivered one that is really fun. The multiplayer also feels somewhat more complete than the first time around, but I don't think they launched with enough maps to keep it interesting enough for a long time. I also don't think all changes that were made from the previous game are for the better.

7. Dark Souls III ; Hey it's more Dark Souls! I love the Souls games and this one was no different. It still felt a bit too much like a best of album, otherwise it might have been higher on the list.

8. Gears of War 4 ; Gears of War 4 is an amazing package. It has a very good campaign, coop, great multiplayer and the cool Horde mode. It just plays it a little too safe in the campaign and the microtransactions are a bit too slimey.

9. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Just like the games at 7 and 8 Deus Ex played it a little too safe for a top position. After all this time I kinda expected the sequel of Human Revolution to do a little more, but it very much was just more of that game. Not bad by any means, just not quite up to expectations. The main story also isn't that great and feels incomplete.

10. Final Fantasy XV ; Square has put so much different stuff in this it's crazy. The game is actually kind of a mess. Systems don't quite work well together, the open world and the story elements are at odds with each other and the story needed a lot more actual story. Maybe next time don't move that stuff to a movie and an anime? Despite all of that it still was great fun to play, which is shocking.

 

[Solid Raiden]

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; a satisfying conclusion to one of my favorite series of the last generation. The gameplay really opened up from the previous games in the series allowing you more freedom than has been accustomed and my only complaint is that there wasn't more of it. The ending is absolutely beautiful and the throwback to Naughty Dogs earlier work really tugged at my heart strings.

2. The Last Guardian ; I waited so long to play this game and now that I finally have I can say that it was well worth the wait. The level design is fantastic and while I usually look for clues in the game world to see where to progress it seemed like the developers put in fake clues to make it more difficult and the world to feel more realistic which I felt was a fantastic touch. The ending made me cry.

3. DOOM ; Along with Uncharted 4 this game rejuvenated my love for gaming this year. For the last few years I couldn't bring myself to finish many games and I would get bored and put them down when I used to finish 40+ games a year. I still have a massive backlog this generation but these two games were the ones which got me excited to jump back into them.

4. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; an improvement over the great Tomb Raider 2013 reboot.

5. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; I asked for this.

6. Ratchet and Clank ; despite its budget price there are few games I had more fun with this year.

7. Hitman ; at first I questioned the episodic release but it absolutely works with a series like hitman where you find yourself replaying the same level again and again trying to crack it's puzzles.

8. Final Fantasy XV ; a flawed gem. If there were more meat to the side content this game would have been a masterpiece. I loved exploring the world and the combat system.

9. Dishonored 2 ; held back by technical issues and from being a rehash of the first but remains creative and gives you a wonderful sandbox to go nuts in.

10. Titanfall 2 ; while I didn't have nearly as much fun with the single player as it seems many other players have had it absolutely delivered with it's fun mp.

 

[Moff]

First of all, I have to say that 2016 has been one of the best gaming years of my life. It's amazing how many different tastes of gamers are served today with high quality products, from the AAA to the indie market. It's rare that it's so easy for me to name 10 games in a year I really loved, and I could have named some more.
It's an amazing time to be a gamer.

1. Doom ; Straight up the best FPS in probably 10 years, incredible gameplay with constant risk & reward management through super satisfying finishing moves. A pure joy go play.

2. Hitman ; One of my favorite franchises ever strikes back with maybe the best installment, yet. Now that most bugs, performance issues are gone I am super excited for season 2.

3. World of Warcraft: Legion ; This is the best WoW has been in almost 10 years. Some key concepts made the endgame a lot more worthwhile especially for people who don't always play in groups. I played this for longer than all the other expansions combined since Burning Crusade

4. Deus Ex: Makind Divided ; Gameplaywise, this is peak Deus Ex, another of my all time favorite franchises. Sadly the plot and overall story were very unsatisfying.

5. Tyranny ; Obsidian made a small RPG with huge replay value through many choices and consequences in an intriguing, grim setting

6. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; Not as good as Hearts of Stone, but CDPR delivers their usual top tier RPG quality in an absolutely beautiful setting.

7. Overwatch ; I have not played an online FPS this long since the Counter Strike Beta. Overwatch is a supersmooth shooter with amazing characters and art design and the Blizzard level of polish.

8. Aragami ; A very fun and satisfying stealth game, made by a gaffer. In a year with many recommendable stealth games, Aragami still stood out to me.

9. Dark Souls 3 ; Despite the fatigue, this might be the most enjoyable FROM game for me, taking the best of both worlds from DS and Bloodborne in art design, but with the diverse builds I missed so much in Bloodborne last year.

10. X-Com 2 ; Improving basically everything from the first game with lots of fun abilities, vertical levels and destructible buildings, X-Com 2 has been one of the most exciting stregie games in years for me.

 

[JamesJoyce1882]

1. Dishonored 2 ; Incredible achievement, beautiful art style and ingenious level design. I agree with whoever said that this was the absolute best environmental story telling.

2. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ; My surprise of the year, wonderful combat system in refreshing and fun Japanese idol environment

3. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; As good as the reboot, deserved more success

4. Picross 3D Round 2 ; So good, and so addictive! One of my favorite pastimes these days is playing Picross 3D 2 while listening to audiobooks. Pure bliss.

5. Fire Emblem Fates ; Very good combat, but I did not enjoy all the base building stuff.

6. Doom ; It's just so incredibly smooth, forgot how nice fast FPS gameplay can feel.

7. Gears of War 4 ; Really nice production values, also very well optimized for PC. Mindless fun.

8. Kirby: Planet Robobot ; Mech Kirby is the best Kirby. Relaxing fun like all Kirby games.

 

[Schlomo]

1. The Witness ; The best puzzle game in a long time. Blow is a delightfully mad genius.
2. Batman Arkham VR ; The VR game that wowed me the most, and everyone I've shown it to.
3. Inside ; Perfect aesthetics and fantastic animations combine to form an emotional gut punch you won't forget soon.
4. Owlboy ; Beautiful, funny, and full of love.
5. Unravel ; The interesting yarn mechanics prevent this from becoming the shallow kitsch it appears as at first glance.
6. Tricky Towers ; Endless multiplayer fun.
7. The Last Guardian ; Didn't grip me as much as I hoped, but it's still a unique and beautiful game.
8. Picross 3D Round 2 ; A humongous amount of content. After a few dozen puzzles they become more like busywork, but you still can't stop.
9. Doom ; Kickass. Finally another shooter with good level design.
10. Ratchet & Clank ; Almost perfect remake that cuts away the bloat of the later R&C games. My only criticism is the story is told too fast (to match the movie perhaps) and thus losing much of its emotional impact.

 

[Jumping Chief]

1. Overwatch ;Overwatch is not only the most successful new game this year, but truly the best game of 2016. In a year where we got a great end to the Uncharted series with Uncharted 4, Heavyweights like Dark Souls 3, and the return of Doom. Overwatch truly shines as the best, past all those great heavyweights. Overwatch is known for its colorful cast of heroes who all are characteristically, and play different from one another. As well as its aesthetic which is drastically different from its FPS competitors, but that makes Overwatch shine is its great balance. Overwatch being an MP only game nails balancing. Overwatch's unlocks are purely aesthetic, and gameplay is all about teamplay. No grind to get that one unlock that is best in the game or getting soloed carried.The game is all about how good you are with your team. Keeping gameplay about how you play as a team with this cast of heroes and how well you can play these heroes truly leaves the game down to team skill vs team skill, in each eventful match you play. While making your 1v1 more pulse pounding as you try to make the final push to victory. With it great balancing Overwatch is perfect for both casual and hardcore players with its low skill entry- high skill cap play. Have a good time in quick play with friends, or drive deep in strategy and meta with competitive play. Overwatch gets the vote for Game of the Year because of how well made this game is, from the big picture with the gameplay and balance to the small details in its great art direction. (Plus all post release content is free is great.)

2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ;Once again Naughty Dog shows why they are the best in the business at story telling. Giving us a well crafted and fitting end to one of the best gaming series of modern gaming, both graphically and in narrative.

3. Doom ;Doom's fast pace and fun gameplay easily made this one of the best and funnest game of the year. Doom brought a great retro feel in a modern skinned game. From its art to its soundtrack Doom is all about having fun at fast pace while you fight like hell.

4. Inside ;Inside's not overly challenging, yet reward puzzles with a great art direction makes it a top game of 2016. A great art house thought piece.

5. Firewatch ;Although short and simple, Firewatch gives a good, emotional story that leaves you with a thought or two after. Also puts on show some of the best voice acting in games this year.

6. Quantum Break ; Quantum Break was nothing groundbreaking in terms of story or gameplay, but should get love for trying new thing on how a story is told. Remedy is willing to take risks while still making a fun game. For that Quantum Break gets some love.

Honorable Mentions
x. Dishonored 2 ;Didn't get a chance to play fully but loved what I did and happy to see its successes. Due to it being uncompleted for me it not in the voting ballet but will get first slot for Honorable Mentions
x. Gone Home: Console Edition
x. Far Cry Primal
x. Tom Clancy's The Division
x. Bioshock: The Collection

 

[upselo]

Yay! It made someone else's list! The sequel came out yesterday if you want more.

Thanks, I had no idea, playing now!

 

[01DragonFly]

1. Forza Horizon 3 ; One of best racing games I have played . I have 24+ hours on it and only aboout 30% done and there is so much stuff to do. The music, graphics and game play are all top notch.

 

[TheSaddestSort]

1. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; An amazing sendoff to series that started with a cult classic and finished by setting a new bar for future RPGs. CCCR have crafted a story that, while lighter and arguably weaker than the one in Hearts of Stone, still entertains and impresses.

2. Overwatch ; If I had to choose one word to describe this game it would be "polish". It runs impeccably, features a diverse and individually distinct cast of heroes, and has been my go-to multiplayer shooter this year.

3. XCOM 2 ; Building upon its predecessor's strengths, XCOM 2 is a game that will have you cursing the fickle nature of the RNG gods, mourning the loss of some of your favorite soldiers, and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

4. Dragon's Dogma (PC) ; Tight controls, frantic combat, and varied classes. Its sheer existence on PC is still something of a shock and the game is a joy to play at a rock solid 60 fps.

5. Hitman 2016 ; I was skeptical when I heard about the game's episodic release structure, but IO Interactive have managed to consistently deliver the goods. Though I personally have had some annoyances caused by the game's always online nature, the game is tense and engrossing when it works.

6. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; While it doesn't manage to reach the same highs as Human Revolution, Mankind Divided is still a successful return to Adam Jensen's corrupt cyberpunk universe. While parts of the plot struck me as been hamfisted and it ended all too abruptly, the game was enjoyable to play and features one of the densest and detailed hubs in the form of Prague.

7. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; The story is nothing to write home about and there are certain scenes that feel like reskinned versions from the 2013 reboot, but Rise is still an enjoyable game and features some truly impressive graphics.

8. ABZU ; While it didn't grab me in quite the way I was hoping, the game is beautiful in motion and features an amazing soundtrack.

 

[TheWorthyEdge]

1. The Witness ; Mostly a newbie to puzzle games I didn't know what to really expect here. I bought it day 1 mostly because I was itching to play something like this for the first time. To add a cherry on the top I listened to GAFFERs claiming that Jonathan Blow was a visionary puzzle maker. Boy...were they right. This game has everything. Adventure, Critical Thinking, WOW moments, and more importantly an experience I've never had before. Walking through the island solving it's many puzzles was magical. Something I don't remember feeling since...well, I don't really know. There's nothing in this game that shouldn't be there. Everything's there for a reason, most of the time teaching you new mechanics without showing you that you'll be using them later. As the one playing you don't realize until "AH-HA!" comes out of your mouth. It's brilliant and probably falls into my top 5 games of all time list. It's a masterclass in game design, world, and puzzles.

2. Uncharted 4 ; The end to my favorite game series of all-time. These characters have never been as fully realized as they were in this game. Amy Hennig's characters will be ingrained into my mind forever. She created the most real characters in any game ever and Neil Druckmann absolutely took them to another level in this game. The complaints of a slower game are absolutely justified even if I don't agree that it's a bad thing. I wanted to listen and take in everything that Drake and his compatriots were saying/doing. Yes, there were less set-pieces but they were arguably more complete and well made than past elevating these to the new heights of the series. The end to Uncharted was a brilliantly crafted one with some amazing levels. The Africa one in particular blew me away. I actually just had a conversation with a friend about him not enjoying it due to a lack of anything to do. You had to look, because details were strewn all over that level and the platforming with the Jeep is absolutely genius. The game technically is the best of the year. The colors, and the animations are perfect. It's sad to see a series go, but it's happy when it went off on such a high note.

3. Final Fantasy XV ; As my first Final Fantasy game ever I've got to say it's probably my favorite RPG of all time. Nothing comes close. The bond you make with your brothers on the road is insanely good. The characters are all so fun and charming with just the right amount of personality. Ignis has got to be one of my favorite characters in the medium. I hate anime bullshit with characters and I never once felt like it was too anime. The world itself is great, vast and explorative with something new around every corner. The combat is so good and satisfying beating out the Witcher 3 and some other RPGs I've played. This entire game beats the Witcher 3 for me. I don't understand the hate for this game at all. It's an amazingly entertaining and fun game, one of the few I've played over that past few years. Absolutely amazing. The story is captivating and interesting, and honestly don't understand what people were talking about with a disjointed story. I was able to comprehend everything. Fucking brilliant game.

4. Titanfall 2 ; Best First Person Shooter of the year (haven't played Doom long enough) and it may be my favorite FPS ever. The gameplay is top-notch and so fluid. It is literally like slicing a butter knife through butter and then spreading it on the controller. That's also disgusting and who would ever want to play with that controller again. That's besides the point. The campaign is AWESOME and some of the level design that is among the best levels of this year. There's nothing that feels better or looks cooler than most of the levels of 2016. I played the Multiplayer in the Beta and immediately uninstalled it. I LOVE the Multiplayer in this game. I don't know what the hell it was at first but now that the full game is in my hands I love it. Titanfall 2. Go. Buy. It.

5. Dark Souls 3 ; Bloodborne is my Game of the Generation so far with it's innovative design and it's insanely well crafted world and enemies but also my first Souls game. Dark Souls 3 is awesome. The combat is extraordinary and the bosses are super cool. The game was a bit easy but I still managed to log 60 hrs on one character. The locations were fully realized and the HUB was always cool to come back to. I don't know what the fuck happened in the story but I liked the progression. The world was kind of underwhelming though because there wasn't as many or nearly as satisfying as the shortcuts you would find in Bloodborne or (from what I've heard) Dark Souls 2. Still a fucking awesome game with some super interesting ideas and mechanics.

6. The Last Guardian ; This game is probably the Best/Worst Game I've played this year and possibly ever. The moments in this game are SO great, and the story is super inspired and incredibly thought out. The art style is amazing and Trico animates like a real living creature. I've never been so genuinely (and artificially but that's too come) frustrated at an AI, but also fall in love as if its my own pet. Now, these great moments come with some god awful controls and a horrendous camera. The controls themselves are fine and when they work they're serviceable...but they never work, or, they rarely do. I really enjoyed the weight and the animations of the boy but it was so finnicky. This game is a literal mixed bag but I have to say that the great GREAT moments outshine the bad and it's an unforgettable experience that I'm in no rush to play any time soon again. Unforgettable for good and bad.

7. Furi ; Absolutely my favorite PS+ game of the year and only under OlliOlli 2 as best ever. The music is the best in any game this year and the controls were incredible. The Platinum feel and the great parrying system made every fight feel fresh. There were some complaints regarding the walking in between bosses but I loved it. The music there makes me want to continue walking. The story was really interesting and the characters/bosses were nicely realized. Best controlling game as well as best OST this year.

8. Abzu ; The most magical experience of the year. The visuals and the music were great. I enjoyed it so much that I had my sister play it and she instantly fell in love. The moment to moment "set-pieces" were amazing, enthralling, and emotional. The finale is amazing, and there are some great secrets hidden in the world. Do I like it better than Journey? Maybe...I think I do.

9. Overwatch ; Probably the most fun with friends and GAFFERs I had this year in games. An incredible game to just go back and play when there's an event. The characters and the moment to moment action and cohesion of the team can provide for some amazing and satisfying moments. Wish there was some more content, but I'd agree to say this was the most important game of the year for the industry.

10. Battledfield 1 ; I knew this was gonna be a special shooter and it absolutely was. I feel it would be a bit higher if I had more friends to play with. The games auditory and visual fidelity is unparalleled. Game plays super well, and it's always fun to fill roles like in Overwatch. Medic is incredibly fun to play. Haven't played much of the campaign but I like what is there!

Honorable Mentions:

- Dishonored 2: Have it. Haven't started it. I've heard it's the best Level Design this year and so I have to mention that. Can't wait to get to it.
- Firewatch: An enthralling experience through and through. Beginning was outstanding, but I was expecting more(?) with the story. Sound was awesome.
- Hitman: Just got done with Chapter 2 in Sapienza. This game is SOOOOO satisfying but again need to play much more.
- Doom: Have played it but again not much. I respect it and need to get back to it. It was incredible from what I have played. Like Dishonored, can't wait to get back to it.
- Ratchet and Clank: Visual masterpiece and an awesome platformer from what I've played........which isn't much. HAVE to get back to it. It was awesome.
- Pokemon Sun/Moon: Great Pokemon adventure so far. Another game I fully respect and enjoy, but haven't it played it too much. 3rd island I believe? Super good so far.
- PSVR: Rez is outstanding, VR Worlds is so cool, Batman is special, Rush of Blood is the best VR experience I've played. PSVR is incredible.

Year in Review:

The year of gameplay for me. Most of the games I've played felt awesome to play. The end to my favorite game series ever, but the year that brought us innovation through VR. Fantastic year, and one of the best years in my gaming years. Exceptional. SO many games I need to still get too...

 

[Carlisle]

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Wonderful conclusion to a genre defining franchise. Gorgeous, smart, and packed with fun from start to end.
2. Final Fantasy XV ; A return to greatness. A hugely ambitious project that also serves as a love letter to the series past while embracing modern trends of the genre.
3. Doom ; Fun encarnate. Just wall to wall with pure, unabashed fun and nothing to slow it down or get in the way.
4. Overwatch ; MP game design so perfect even I can jump in and have a blast again and again and again.
5. Super Mario Run ; Proof not only that Mario can be transposed onto mobile with all of its genius intact, but also the best proof yet that the nature of the mobile platform doesn't preclude it from being a viable vehicle for objectively great games.
6. Virginia ; Probably more movie than game but it has some of the best storytelling I've seen this year. Exploring heavy themes while uncovering a gripping mystery without a single line of dialogue took guts and a lot of creativity.
7. Inside ; A wonderful game with excellent puzzles and, like Virginia, a brilliantly told narrative without any dialogue. The gameplay and puzzles tell the story and I'm still not sure wtf that is.
8. Overcooked ; Pure co-op MP joy. Work together with your friends while you continually get in each other's way. So much shouting, frustration, and laughter.
9. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD ; The best game on Wii comes back to life with the proper HD treatment it always deserved. A beautiful game with a great and unobtrusive UI utilizing the gamepad makes a masterpiece even better.
10. Amplitude ; Not the best soundtrack, which admittedly is a big part of the draw for rhythm games, but I was hooked for weeks regardless. Challenging, addictive, and too much fun to chase your friends on the leaderboard with.

Honorable Mentions
x. Pokémon Go ; A Pokémon game concept so obvious and overdue, but absolutely worth it. A bit glitchy early on but what a way to open up the franchise to millions of newcomers with a simple UI and approachable, addictive gameplay.
x. Four Sided Fantasy ; It was glitchy and rough around the edges but the concept was solid and clever and provided pure enjoyment from start to end.

 

[pseudocaesar]

1. Dark Souls 3 ; Excellent from start to finish. I loved the way they tied this game in with the first 2, and it has some of the best boss battles in the series.
2. Uncharted 4 ; A Thief's End ; Very close second, was an incredible journey from start to finish.
3. Titanfall 2 ; The best FPS single player campaign I have ever played, hands down.
4. The Last Guardian ; Stunning visuals, emotional and unique.
5. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; The Witcher 3 was my GOTY last year, the only thing stopping me putting this first is the fact its DLC.
6. Ratchet & Clank ; Nostalgia helps, but this is a fantastic game in its own right.
7. Dishonored 2 ; Great art style and setting, a great sequel.
8. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Loved the gameplay, had excellent stealth mechanics.
9. Doom ; If not for Titanfall, this would be the FPS of the generation.
10. Watch_Dogs 2 ; I really liked the original, and this was better in practically every way

 

[JCX]

1. Overwatch ; Starcraft: Brood War is the first online game I ever got into. Unfortunately, nothing from Blizzard had hooked me since then until Overwatch. While I don't usually play shooters, for the second year in a row I was hooked on a creative, colorful online team-based shooter.
2. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; Pokemon felt like a full-fledged JRPG for the first time. The shakeups in story, tone, setting, and gameplay made this my favorite Pokemon in generations.
3. Fire Emblem Fates ; So much Fire Emblem that I am still only halfway through this great 3 game package. This is a more polished version of Awakening.
4. World of Final Fantasy ; This game was destined to fly under the radar, having been revealed just before FF7r at E3. Despite that, SE made a wonderful homage to FF. While I'm not the biggest fan of FF, WoFF's blend of FF lore with Nomura's Kingdom Hearts design
5. RIGs Mechanized Combat League ; The closest I've ever come to fulfilling my childhood dream of piloting a giant robot. Looking-to-aim with the PSVR made shooting easier than ever for me. A barebones single player combined with a small online population limit the replayablity, but the core game is fun.
6. Kirby Planet Robobot ; Best Kirby platformer since Kirby Super Star. One of the better uses of 3D on the system too.
7. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ; This game almost makes up for Persona 5 being delayed to 2017. Battle system is fun, story's tone is similar to P3/P4, despite being a mashup of SMT and Fire Emblem. Really hope this game gets a port and/or sequel on Switch. It deserves another chance with a wider audience.
8. Pokemon Go ; I've been a Pokemon fan since Red/Blue. The series has definitely ebbed and flowed in popularity over the years, but had settled on a pretty reliable equilibrium. That was until Pokemon Go. This game echoed the things that made the originals special - talking to your friends about tips and secrets that may or may not be in the game. While i don't play it anymore, I am glad that I got to experience a true gaming phenomenon
9. Pokken Tournament ; I nearly forgot about this game since Overwatch quickly eclipsed it as my go-to online game. Pokken is a very fun fighting game. The specials alone make the taste of victory that much more delicious. Another game from Wii U's twilight years that deserves another shot on Switch.
10. Dragon Quest Builders ; I can never get into mainline DQ, but I love their spinoffs. DQB helped me finally understand Minecrafts appeal.

 

[krossj]

1. The Last Guardian ; The vast majority of games just don't communicate stories the same way that this and a handful of others do and thats why its my favourite game of the year. Through the animation and gameplay mechanics it does an incredible job of conveying the relationship between the character and Trico. The creature is one of the best animated characters in any game with its behaviours and movement all seeming natural and just expertly crafted throughout. The visuals are beautiful, they retain the same lighting and atmospheric effects as Ico and Sotc but the leap in detail and shear scale is incredibly effective for this type of game, even the vacant spaces which your probably not supposed to explore were interesting to run around in. Its filled with some great moments between the characters which help convey the story in an interesting way. The most effective for me was when Trico was desperately trying and clawing its way through a door to attack the armour as they pursued the character whilst trying to open the door from the other side. It was one of the many throughout the game that conveyed the relationship between the two without relying on cutscenes or dialogue. Its something that both the previous games directed by Ueda had and it would be great to see more of throughout games in general.

Like the previous games the controls and camera have issues, when navigating and climbing Trico in some instances both can be cumbersome but with a game that is this technically impressive and evocative it didn't really hamper my overall experience with it. I kind of wonder if this was the original game Ueda and his team set out to make originally. It certainly feels like it with it being so close in attention to detail and craft as Ico and Sotc. Similar with FFXV it would be fascinating to hear what went on in detail with the games development. I'll defiantly play through it again at some point (if they had something like the garden in Sotc that play though could turn in to multiple) as I would really like to see more of the stuff i missed. A mode where you can just move freely around the environment as trico, perhaps even fly and land on the constructed parts and just explore the would be brilliant. And now I'm just excited to see what Gen Design decide to do next.

2. Dark Souls III ; Bloodborne is joint top of the best games i've played this year.. but DS III is brilliant within its own. The thing I enjoyed the most out of this is getting to see how the online works. Yep, its the first of the Souls series I played online and having it here really made this feel fresh in a number of ways for me. Perhaps some of the most fun I've had with it is getting summoned as Aldrich Faithful and having some intense throw downs in that area, usually with a lot more than just two people converging for battle. Helping others take on the Pontiff or the Abyss Watchers was another highlight of that aspect, and just the general co-op nature of the game was a big surprise. As usual the concept design and game design are both fantastic. Irithyll, the high wall of Lothric and Lothric castle are up there with my favourite areas from the series and the design of these areas just flowed so well and seemed very well constructed in there gameplay. The pontiff boss fight was fun and intense and i kept dropping my summon sign just to repeat this over and over. Subtle throw backs throughout were really well done, especially the whole segment leading to the reveal of an old Dark Souls location, just really well interwoven with that area.

The first Dark Souls remains my favourite but both this and Bloodborne are right up there as my favourites in the overall collection. In a sense I'm glad DS III is being summed up as the end of the trilogy as it feels like the right way to finish it off and again similar with Ueda I'm super interested to see what Miyazaki and From Software try next.

3. Final Fantasy XV ; Had no idea what to expect going into this with a lot of the trailers and gameplay clips just not appealing to me at all, the combat looked clunky and the world while beautiful it looked bland when compared to some of the previous entries and there art direction. But i was very surprised for the most part with how much i enjoyed many aspects of the game especially the combat. I found myself just doing hunts for long periods, these hunts and boss fights such as Quetzalcoatl were just a blast to play through, zipping around while trying to blindside attack creatures, changing up weapons and link strikes was great fun and the remains of the summon attacks was just a great effect. It just wasn't what I thought the combat would be and felt unique for the series. It blends real time combat while also making aspects turn based with how it works and is just really well done. I'm not huge in to the story of any of the games, its more the world design and gameplay that I enjoy about the series and the only gripe I had with this was the lack of different environment designs. A lot of the dungeons seem to be copy pasted and didn't really have the same feel or creativity that many of the previous entries captured, they feel a bit rushed in this. On the other hand the creature design was a nice mix of older creatures and newer concepts and the music was incredible. The main themes and the mixture of different tracks is overall a great collection of music, a lot of tracks hit the same tier that Somnus set all that while ago. I also really liked how the previous entries soundtracks were available during the travel sections, was a nice nod to the series as a whole.

i was a bit skeptical before playing this entry about what the future of the series is but i'm a bit more hopeful that they know what makes the series what it is now even if this is a different direction form the previous games. I know there is DLC planned and I'm interested to see what it is and i've still got lots of post game to do but i also really hope they leave this as it is, don't try and expand it more and instead move on to future entries.

4. Axiom Verge ; Didn't get to this for last years but picked it up a few months ago and the atmosphere this game creates is incredible. The visuals, design and music all compliment each other well and make that atmosphere and surreal nature of the visuals appealing. It takes the best from its influences and combines them in interesting ways. I really like the visual design of everything especially the Rusalkis and entering a room with one of them really conveys the overall feel of the world and just look beautiful. The bosses are fun and it does the side scrolling exploration right and up there with the other high quality games in that area. Its just a really cool game throughout and its inspiring to think one person created the vast majority of the game.

5. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir ; The backgrounds and general presentation is beautiful, like with other Vanillaware games except this seems even more refined throughout. It is my favourite of theirs and is just incredible to look at. The backgrounds, characters, animations, UI all look great and its super fun to play. Its is in no doubt repetitive, your essentially fighting a mixture of the same enemies in the same stages and racking up combos as it goes but its these different combinations that make it fun to play through. Regular changes in characters at the end of each chapter introduce new mechanics which keep things fresh and offer a different challenge in how you approach each boss. The game is relatively straight forward but some very difficult sub bosses prove to be a rewarding challenge especially in Velvets chapter where these bosses can border on the side of bullshit in difficulty. The games just fun to play through and feels fresh no matter how many times you go through the same room.

6. boxboxboy! ; Its more boxboy and that is wonderful. The mechanics are changed slightly with the ability to create two sets of blocks and its enough of a diversion to make the puzzles feel unique but still have the same fun problem solving that the first did. The only fault for me in relation to its first entry is that the challenge worlds are a bit less interesting and varied than they were, its a small gripe as the extra levels that are there are still quite fun. They announced the third and final entry, Goodbye BoxBoy! which looks to change the gameplay in interesting ways with some bomb and rocket and who knows what other mechanics they will introduce. Really hope they bring it over as both games have just been incredibly delightful.

7. Monster Hunter Generations ; It was fun running around in the older maps again, the collection of maps in this version is very welcome and I hope they take that variety forward in the next entry. The new monsters and styles were fun to learn but there was not much which separated it from MH4U for me or perhaps it was just with that instalment only releasing last year that I just didn't get through much of the game. It still has the incredible combat that makes each quest fun and challenging and i might get back to it at some point in the future but as of right now just a little worn from the formula.

8. Overwatch ; I'm trash at first person shooters in general but the presentation and ”ability" based gameplay got me intrigued. The characters are all fun to play with and the design of everything is just really nicely done. The balance of how characters play off and against each other must be difficult thing to balance in any game like this but I think Blizzard has been able to achieve it extraordinarily well and has made something great and fun again.

Honourable Mentions

Bloodborne ; Ok so this is up there with the first couple of games on my list because holy shit is it good. It changes the formula of souls games but retains the many elements that make those games so good. The quickening of the combat and more condensed environments just made the game have such a new and fresh appeal in comparison to its development compadres. I prefer the dark fantasy setting but this gothic setting works incredibly well also and while it isn't vastly changed from the other games settings and along with the faster play speed and smaller scale it made the game refreshing from everything else by From Software. I'm not finished yet, just beyond the lecture building at the moment and there is some other routes i could take and search but i'm really enjoying it in a familiar and different sort of way.

 

[GoldCrusader]

1.Azure Striker Gunvolt 2; Fast paced, it gave me more GV and it added Copen...what else can I ask from the best looking sprite based game of all the 3ds gen?

2.Final fantasy XV; Absolutely outstanding! From having my favourite cast of characters in any FF game to the jaw dropping boss fights, this just easily won it's place on my list.

3.Naruto ultimate ninja storm 4; CC2 delivered one of the best looking game of the entire generation and did everything the anime did wrong right.

4.Fire Emblem fates; Well conquest more then the rest since it brought the game back from the disappointement that was awakening and made it awesome again! Hoping that the next game follow in the same line.

5.Digimon Cyber Sleuth; This game has both Omnimon and Alphamon AND it's an awesome game.

6.God eater ressurection; My first venture into the boss hunting genre and I had one of the best time of my gaming life. This also has an amazing opening.

7.Tokyo Mirage Session; Awesome characters, super fun combat and it's SMT and FE themed...insta win!

HM to

Star ocean 5; you looked good, but did not play well.

 

[texhnolyze]

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; A 'DLC' that's better than most full games released in 2016. How about that?

2. Dragon's Dogma ; I adored this game back in PS3 even with all of its limitations. And now it finally comes to perfection on PC.

3. The Last Guardian ; I'm not one of you guys who waited this game for years. I simply bought this game on impulse after reading the impressions. And wow, that totally caught me off guard.

4. Uncharted 4 ; A fitting end for the thief. Undeniably the best graphic/animation of 2016. Love the usual banters between the characters as always.

5. Final Fantasy XV ; I didn't follow this game religiously like others, but I'm still kinda disappointed. If only they have a few more months to bake this, it'll be a game of the generation for me.

6. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Jensen is back, and now he's more badass than ever. Prague is an amazing hub with lots of secrets and little details that most players would miss.

7. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Tomb Raider gone open world, well kinda. Solid gameplay, great graphics, meh story. Actually love the open world bits, I 100%-ed it.

8. Tom Clancy's The Division ; My most played game of 2016 (140~ hours). It's a love-hate relationship between me and The Division. Recent patch boosted it to be my top 10.

9. Star Ocean 5: Integrity and Faithlessness ; I don't quite get the hate for this game. It's gorgeous with some lovable characters. The story is short but I liked it.

10. Tree of Savior ; My most anticipated mmo since its reveal back in 2012 or so. It's a modernized Ragnarok Online which I adored back then.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; While there has been some controversy on whether this deserves to be counted because it's technically DLC/An Expansion Pack, I can wholeheartedly say that Blood and Wine was my GOTY. It added a gorgeous new area to the game, alongside improvements to the base game, new armor, new weapons, new characters and new mechanics to the title. The side missions were fantastic, and it was a giant love letter to fans and to the series as a finale.

2. Dark Souls III ; As usual, a Souls title ranks highly in my list but not necessarily at #1. Dark Souls 3 is a title I have a mostly love but some hate relationship with. I felt it did a disservice to itself by trying to appeal too hardly to Dark Souls 1 nostalgia. But ultimately outside of that the game was a winner. The faster paced combat and new additions ended up being fairly well regarded. The boss battles were great as usual, and the community while overbearing is always fun to play with.

3. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; I can't recall whether a Pokemon title has ever made my top 10 of the year, but Sun and Moon deserve it. It felt like outside of (what I consider) boring new pokemon designs, and a small number of them at that, the game hit it out of the park in every other regard. I was having fun with the title like I never had with a Pokemon in a long time. And I say that having enjoyed X/Y. The transition to full 3D character models was a success. I can only hope we are reaching a point of fully 3D HD Pokemon RPGs.

4. Dragon's Dogma ; THE WIND IS PUSHING ME. JUST LIKE A DANGAAAAAN. Having recently talked with a friend who has hated the game has made me realize how much I love it, because he's a fucking asshole anyways what does he know haha. The transition to PC was 100% a success. With 60 fps, this is the game I always wanted at the perfomance where you won't hate yourself. The combat is hands down among the best of any rpg, and a blast to play. I can only hope the PC sales have made Capcom reconsider making a sequel.

5. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; I was debating where to put this title. I wasn't about to be swayed and put it super high just because so many are ranking it #1. Ultimately, I really liked the game, but my personal taste tends to lean towards RPGs. On to the game itself, I don't think they could have concluded Nate's story any better if they had tried. The ending is particularly sweet and I'm glad I played it. I was a wreck.

6. Stardew Valley ; This game released so early I almost forgot it came out in 2016. Even from day 1, following fixing game crashing issues, I knew this would rank highly on my top games of the year. You cracked the top 10 little buddy, congrats. The game is crack personified, once you start and get a rhythm going you absolutely cannot put it down and before you know it 9 hours have passed. The farming mechanics are simple enough where they aren't a hassle, and the other content of the game including the mini dungeons and the town with its inhabitants only adds to a game that you can't imagine how one game made it. He deserves all of the success he gets from this.

7. Hitman ; The king is back baby. While the developer's necessity to sour the experience by making it an always online single player experience takes away some points, it still doesn't change the fact that Hitman is back and it's better than ever. Fuck Absolution, this is the Hitman we deserve and the Hitman we should get. It's so fun, it brought the best of Absolution (which wasn't much) and combined it with the best of Blood Money plus new additions. Ultimately, it's a game worth playing.

8. Dishonored 2 ; I'm not even done with the game and I already know it's one of my top games of the year. They took everything I may have disliked from the original and have fixed it. The gameplay has even improved if that was possible and it's now an even better experience. I can't wait to try a NG+ with the other character. They knocked it out of the park with this one. I just hate how much of a perfectionist I am with reloading to not be spotted, adds so much time to the gameplay haha.

9. Salt and Sanctuary ; Another little game that could. From the guys that brought me what is arguably my favorite 360 arcade series in Dishwasher the Dead Samurai, comes Salt and Sanctuary a 2D Metroidvania/Dark Souls mash. The combination worked with very little hiccups and I feel this will arguably be the most underrated game on GAF seeing how much people love Metroidvania AND Souls titles. Shame more folks didn't play it.

10. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir ; And finally I can't end my top 10 of the year and not include this title. I never played the original so this was my first experience with it. First of all, what a gorgeous game, and the combat is just absolutely fantastic and addictive. The presentation in english is also fantastic, the voice acting and music is spot on and it feels like everything is a ballet/play. The biggest detractor that made this game not rank higher is simply that it's super repetitive as most Vanillaware titles are. They seem to love to make you retry the same levels over and over and over again. It didn't feel as badly in this title because each character has a reason to go these levels so I guess it still wasn't a total waste of time. Even with this negative attribute, it still was an amazing remake/port to PS4 and it was a delight to play.

 

[SuperSonic1305]

1. Overwatch ; I've been a huge fan of Blizzard and all their games since the original Diablo and Starcraft. Pretty much all they touch turns to gold so I wasn't surprised when Overwatch became such a huge hit. I hadn't been into playing shooters on PC since Battlefield 1942 and UT2004. Every time I tried getting back into one I quickly bounced off as the gulf in skill between a good mouse user and a bad one was so huge. It was just easier to have a good time playing console shooters for the past decade. Overwatch changed that for me. Even if i'm not the best at aiming with a mouse, and I certainly don't have the reflexes I did 10 years ago, Overwatch's variety of characters and play styles allows me to succeed even without needing quick aim and headshots. Blizzard has been doing a good job at updating the game and creating new events that have kept me coming back regularly all year long and will surely continue in the years to come. It's even more surprising considering i've generally avoided games (especially multiplayer games) that don't have any sort of progression. Yes, there are lootboxes to get with every level up but the rewards from most of them are not any kind of driving factor in why I keep playing. I've probably put close to 80 hours into this game which is nuts considering there really isn't that much content in it. If you had told me i'd ever have a multiplayer only game at the top of my list i'd have called you crazy but here it is. Blizzard has done it again.

2. Stardew Valley ; I've been a fan of the Harvest Moon games since the N64. Stardew Valley is Harvest Moon cranked up to 11. There is so much to do and a surprising amount of depth in this game. Just when you think you've seen it all the game throws a surprise your way be it through a completely new area to explore or a mechanic you didn't know existed. Growing Crops, fishing, raising animals, relationship building, mining, fighting, cooking, scavenging, collecting, decorating, the list goes on and on. It takes the best aspects of Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, and Animal Crossing and crams it into one game. Time just melts away when you play this game. It has that element of "just one more" that keeps you playing for hours on end. The fact that a single guy managed to outdo the entire Harvest Moon series in a single try makes it that much more impressive.

3. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Uncharted 4 is the best Uncharted game and a fitting end to Nathan Drake's story. The series has always had great gameplay and characters but the story has been pretty standard fair up until now. Naughty Dog took their cinematic storytelling to new heights in this game. You feel compelled to continue not just because the game is fun but because you want to see what happens to these characters. They expand the Uncharted gameplay with big open areas to explore in vehicles and the combat arenas are far larger than previous games allowing for more strategy. It is one of the best if not the best looking game ever made. The ending is one of the best endings you could ask for when it comes to finishing a long running series of games. The only thing keeping this from being tops on my list is that there are pacing issues towards the final quarter of the game.

4. Hitman
5. The Witness
6. Ratchet and Clank
7. Fire Emblem Fates
8. Pokemon Sun/Moon
9. FIFA 17
10. Inside

 

[Milijango]

1. The Last Guardian ; Extremely glad that I snuck this one in before voting closes. Suffice it to say I'm going to be thinking about this one for a very long time.

2. Inside ; The only game that I didn't play to make the list. But it's just so well-realised, so carefully considered, yet with a smattering of whimsy and a hint of beauty, to keep you thinking, "maybe there's enough world left for this to be worth it, in the end". And then it ends. (Clarification: watched a full playthrough not knowing it would eventually get a PS4 release. Not ideal I know.)

3. Hyper Light Drifter ; A gorgeous game, maybe the most memorable in a year of gorgeous games (seriously!). Combat is super sharp, though it's let down by how the game's difficulty curve plateaus about halfway through. I can thank the secrets for slowing the pace just enough to savour the world, and many of them were genuinely inventive about the way they were hidden, or the combat/navigational challenges.

4. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; I've always liked Pokemon, so while this wasn't the surprise for me the way it was for others, this is probably the best entry thus far. Keep it up with the good Bug-types, Gamefreak.

5. VA-11 HALL-A ; Though its promise of Bartending Action goes unfulfilled, with few puzzles going beyond "remember their favourite drink", it's a video game that talks about sex in a non-terrible way! That alone would make it fantastic: that it does so with such style is just a great plus.

6. Overwatch ; The only competitive game to have ever held my interest. Wish my 25-hour playtime wasn't 80% support.

7. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; What do you know, the fourth Uncharted game was actually worthwhile! It's a shame it takes so long to get going or that the music feels empty, and the encounter design doesn't satisfy until the last third of the game (and shits in the bed in the final gunfight), but the story really clicks.

8. Dark Souls 3 ; The first Souls game not to be my GOTY. I didn't regret my time with it, but it has the misfortune of being the least ambitious entry, 2nd most poorly executed, and also the 5th entry in not quite enough years.

9. Furi ; I didn't finish it, because its visuals and gameplay didn't quite hit their mark for me, but kudos for that soundtrack, and that second boss.

Nominations also to Rise of the Tomb Raider and Valkyria Chronicles for getting rereleased this year. They're good games! Hoping to also add The Last Guardian and DOOM here somewhere if I can manage them before voting ends.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

^ are you seriously voting for a game you didn't play as your #1 game of the list?

 

[texhnolyze]

1. Inside ; The only game that I didn't play to make the list.

 

[Ansatz]

1. The Witness ; I will remember 2016 as the year when The Witness released. Its biggest achievement is how effectively it communicates ideas non-verbally. You're never explicitly told what to do, where to go or what a particular symbol means. Instead, everything is implied and you're subconsciously guided to the right path purely through design. Why can't more games be like this? The panels are there just to make sure you've been paying attention to what the game is trying to tell you. Figuring out how a puzzle works is more interesting than the act of solving it once you grasp the full picture, which is why we're all tired of the block-sliding puzzles in Zelda by now and its many variations.
2. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; This isn't a list of the only games I played this year but rather the two I think deserve to be mentioned in this context. I bought Sun because it's Pokémon, without expecting too much. I've only managed to beat two island kahunas so far, and just saying that instead of gym leader feels weird but in a good way. The reason why I want to mention this game is because it truly feels like an adventure with unexpected surprises around every corner, despite the obvious roadblocks preventing you from exploring anything but the intended path and how simplified battles are thanks to being told which moves are the most effective to use. I can't explain it using logic, the game just feels so fresh and is a joy to play.

 

[Bishop89]

im guessing he watched a full playthrough on youtube

 

[Trust me. I'm a PhD]

NeoGAF Game of the Year 2016

Let me just start by saying, despite all of my responsibilities at my new work and becoming a father, 2016 felt like my best year in gaming full stop. I am playing and loving Japanese games again, this is the best year in decades for single player shooters, and I have a steady drip of great games both big and small all year round. I have enough games to make TWO lists and 2017 is looking even better.

1. Final Fantasy XV; Let’s get this over with: no, FFVX is not a better game than Uncharted 4, or Xcom 2, or Dark Souls 3, but it is my favorite game from 2016. This game has been proving very divisive (it broke my heart to see Shinobi did not like it…) with some thinking it a flawed masterpiece and others thinking it is worse than XIII. I fall under the former, seeing this as a rough and rushed game, that still turned out much better and more memorable than it had any right to. The combat is the best in the series, the visuals are the best in the series, and while the story is half baked, the characters are (yes) the best in the series. There is more personality in one after battle Promto jingle or one Ignius “I’ve got it” recipe discovery than in entire other JRPGs. These characters went on a journey that changed them and we all got to change and grow along with them, creating a party that I truly cared about. That alone is enough for me to place it as my best game of a very quality and packed year.

2. Uncharted 4; I do not think people realize how hard it is to nail a part four. A trilogy can have a nice arc to it, but for the forth installment, people either try to set up a new trilogy and fall flat on that front (Halo 4) or they try to reinvent themselves, but do not do enough new or special (Killzone Shadowfall). Going in, the best hope I had for Uncharted a Thief’s End was that it would as least be fun, but it ended up being so much more. Out of all the games that have you killing tons of people, this is the only series that gets crap, but it is also the only one where it is undeserving in my opinion. This is the only game in recent memory that will take entire chapters not for puzzles, or shoot outs, or even treasure hunting, but will instead be solely for slowing down and building characters. This is what every narrative game should be striving for, making me care by taking the time to give me a reason to care. A real master class game.

3. Dark Souls 3; OK, let’s cut to the chase: yes, this is better than Bloodborne, but no, I still liked Bloodborne more. This game improves on the old formula in all of the best ways to create arguably one of the best fantasy RPGs ever. What makes it better than Bloodborne is the breath of choice in builds and the creative solutions to problems it allows players. Ultimately, the setting is what keeps it below Bloodborne in my heart, but it is still a perfect example of what Japan still offers the gaming world in the eighth generation of consoles.

4. XCOM 2; XCOM on the PS3 was in my top 10 best of that generation and I think Xcom 2 actually builds on that to make an almost perfect sequel. Everything in terms of class usefulness, skill and strategy diversity, and play ability makes it a must own game. What stops it from being higher? Well, two things, one big and one small. For the big one, performance, across the board, is not good. Even on PC it is not looking too smooth and consoles had to be patched to fix a 4 minute loading bug in between EVERY mission late game. It is much better now, but I am hoping they give us that promised PS4 Pro patch and it smooth things out enough for some DLC next year. Second, the very little story in the previous XCOM was tragic and dark, with the aliens accomplishing their warped mission even if you “win,” but this one recons the aliens goals for earth and undercuts what a great little story they first one was. I really hope the next expansion adds more depth in the other direction for our alien overlords.

5. Deus Ex Mankind Divided; I love everything about these Deus Ex games and this is better than the last in every way but one. Graphics are light years better (especially on PS4 Pro) and the world is denser with more to see and do per square inch making it feel alive and lived in. The characters are cool and the abilities are plentiful and let you tackle problems in so many great ways. It is just that story, while not bad, it does feel like a part one with little hope of getting that part two. Plus they way they handle DLC is straight garbage. They should just integrate them into the campaign and let me use my Jensen, not patch work a pre-leveled character for a one hour side thing. No good.

6. Destiny Rise of Iron; Still my most played game of the generation and will 100% be in my top ten of this era (or more likely its sequels will), but this year felt light. After the very fun, but very small, September content launch, I almost did not add them to my top 10, but thankfully their continued content drops since then shows that they are trying to spread the good stuff out over time and not just have everything hit day one. I am still dropping in at least once a week, so here is to hoping they keep giving me things to do until Destiny 2 drops.

7. Banner Saga 2; Even though I spend more time and money on AAA gaming, in total number or games played, it is actually a pretty close even split between them and indies. I give all sorts of games a quick look if their premise hooks me, but it really does take a lot to impress me and get stuck in my head enough to make my GOTY list. Banner saga one and two are such games. Amazing premise, gorgeous to look at, even better to play, and the choices you make along the way make it both a better strategy game than most, but also the best adventure game this year. Second only to FFXV in making me care for characters because they take the time to give your quite moments with them before making you make a decision that leads to their demise. Take me to Valhalla!

8. Salt and Sanctuary; A lot of games want to be Dark Souls. Salt and Sanctuary IS Dark Souls and a great feeling one at that. It is a little easier than its AAA big brother, but the smart conversations to 2D make for a game that it equally entertaining and terrifying. Highly recommended.

9. Call of Duty Infinite Warfare; This is the year of “make me care about your characters,” and CODIW is the best written, best paced, best acted, and best looking COD campaign. No, not since Modern Warfare, it is better than the remaster it comes packed with. I see a lot of hate about it being “more of the same,” and it breaks my heart that people hate COD so much they will put their fingers in their ears and not even try one of the best, grounded, and thoughtful military shooters in a decade. Also, best use of Pro with better resolution, AA, and frame rate over base PS4 for a no-brainer better experience.

10. Let it Die; Suda51 comes in here, like he owns the place, and says “I see you have Titainfall 2 on your list. Sorry, Senpai, he’s got to go.” This game oozes personality and is funnier and more creative than their original idea was likely ever to be. The “Dark Souls in an Arcade” premise is used to its best potential with a fair free to play model that makes me feel like I should be giving them more money, given how much fun I have had with it. The music is perfect and diverse, the characters are some of Grasshopper’s best, and I am going to play some more tonight.


X. Titianfall 2; Every story you heard about its quality is true, please go out and buy this game if you like single player shooter campaigns or multiplayer, but no co-op or horde mode makes me sad.

X. Zero Time Dilemma; So glad this got made, wonderful game, but came out in a crowed year or great games.

X. I am Setsuna; Best Final Fantasy story in years with a killer sound track, wish it was a little more produced or a tad cheaper at release.

X. World of Final Fantasy; Charming as hell and a lot of cutesy fun. Not enough to make it on the big list, but I hope to be playing a new one every two years of so^^

X. Ratchet and Clank; Mind-blowingly pretty and very fun to boot, so another game you should definitely play.

X. Doom; Super super super fun with great light RPG mechanics, but in a year of great shooters, its story and characters were good rather than great.

X. Rise of the Tomb Raider; Very good game, but complete nothing of a story with negative character growth, so I hope the next one tries to ape Naughty Dog a little more on the narrative front.

X. Battleborn; Significantly better than GAF would let on, it is a blast to play with friends in co-op and is still well supported by its developers, but the weaker of the shooters in a year filled with them.

X. No Man’s Sky; A linguist at heart, I fell in love with just going around the galaxy learning the language, history, and culture of the three races. Easily more fun than the internet seems to feel, but I am a special use case there.

X. Streetfighter V; Kept me playing longer than any fighter before, so that is something special, and great soundtrack and look to the game, but unless they add more than just new characters in 2017, I may not be returning to the ring.

 

[texhnolyze]

im guessing he watched a full playthrough on youtube

Hmm.. yeah. Just realized that there's no rule mentioning whether you have to actually play the game or not.

 

[FerranMG]

1. The Witness ; Independently of whether you like puzzle games or not, The Witness is one of the most polished experiences you can play. Very solid performance, close to no bugs, and a very tight experience all around.
The puzzles were very well presented. And more than the individual puzzles themselves, the way they are laid out, the way you discover different areas, different mechanics, it's genius.
Really loved playing it from start to finish.
2. Alienation ; I've loved most of what Housmarque has put out, and Alienation is their favorite game of mine. Very tight gameplay, amazing particle effects, and very cool online integration. I played the game for hours, and it's such a shame that it didn't sell so well, because there's probably lots of content left on the table because they couldn't justify working more on it.
3. Overwatch ; really cool online brawler that has hooked me as no multiplayer game has in the last 4 years. Learning the different layers of playing a character is really gratifying.
4. Inside

 

[Magic Mushroom]

So much Witness love. Great to see.

 

[Deathrace_K1ng]

Best games of the year:

1. Alienation ; The latest twin stick shooter jewel from Housemarque. Dead Nation/Resogun/Diablo mixture, that I played more than most AAA projects of the year. Simply exquisite work! Try it! 9/10
2. The Witness ; Jonathan Blow, you're quite a notable human being for giving us an opportunity to taste the unique feeling of discover. That moment when I realized that there is whole another layer of environmental puzzles was amazing. Audio part (in general, not the jungle puzzles) could be better, but otherwise excellent puzzle game. 8/10
3. Gears of War 4 ; Same old Gears in a new wrap. Superb sound design. SP/MP are both great. Solid game all around. 8/10
4. Furi ; Dark Horse award goes to this action/shmup/boss battle game. Excellent synthwave OST, voice work and visual style. Neon future is here! 8/10
5. Ratchet & Clank ; This game is the gold standard of what remaster should be. Wish it was more difficult, but it's very enjoyable nonetheless. 8/10
6. Dark Souls III ; Good game in every way, but felt somewhat off and uninspired. 8/10
7. Doom ; Great single player campaign and multiplayer no one cared about. DLCs should have been focused on single player. 7,5/10
8. Forza Horizon 3 ; My problem with this game is that it rarely feels competitive due to counter intuitive AI, classes/upgrade system that's hard to balance and most tracks not having "tube" design (so one mistake (trees, traffic) can lead to full stop). Two years later and Driveclub is still the undisputed arcade racing king. 7/10
9. Quantum Break ; Very nice story and disastrous technical performance on release day (PC). Bonus points for trying to merge video game and TV series. Not like it was a success, but props for trying. 6/10
10. Carmageddon: Max Damage ; Re-release of Reincarnation with some tweaks and fixes. It still leaves a lot to be desired, but I just like the game's idea and cheeky humour. 6/10

And the list of my biggest disappointments:
Mirror's Edge: Catalyst. I like the setting, so I had some expectations here, but after a few hours I didn't even care to finish it. It became monotonous really quick due to absolutely dead open world. Storytelling, dummy citizens staying there on the roofs all day and night and preposterous upgrade system were terrifyingly bad.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Yet another game that fell a victim of open world fever. Big levels to explore were the right format for that kind of game (like in Human Revolution), but devs moved further to (pseudo-) open world, filled it with tons of useless crap (like a dozen sorts of alcohol) and ultimately killed the pacing. I finished the game (yep, Pacifist award) with the thought that game design was annoyingly bad.
Uncharted 4. What I feared most - the tone shift to once lighthearted adventure - has happened. Why one of story lines was family drama? Chapter where the kids explore mansion and the old lady dies felt so _utterly irrelevant_ to the series. I really wish Druckmann to push his PC agenda and be girlie man and wannabe film director somewhere else. What even worse I can't even say it's cover-based TPS anymore, there is so much more jumping and "exploration". Oh, and there is no challenge in jumping and exploration, you literally can't make a mistake. smh
The Division. This game was released unfinished. Loved the decayed New York, but poor storytelling and no end-game was major disappointment. Maybe they fixed it now, but the moment's gone.

All in all great year for gaming, wish I had more time to check small games, but every AAA is damned open world or multiplayer juggernaut nowadays.

 

[Claptrap]

1. Uncharted 4; Very satisfying conclusion to the series. Looking back at the games I have played in 2016 Uncharted 4 is definetly the one that I enjoyed the most.
2. The Witness; I love to solve logic puzzles, even more so, if the puzzles are placed in a beautiful looking environment.
3. The Last Guardian; This game was a magical expirience and I am glad, that I wasn´t bothered that much by the technical problems of the game (Camera, Framerate).
4. Ratchet and Clank; As a huge Ratchet and Clank fan I really enjoyed this remake, but there wasn´t enough new content to place even higher on my list.
5. Let it Die; This game really came out of nowhere and now I am addicted.
6. Dark Souls 3; A really good game, but for some reason, I didn´t replay it nearly as much as other Souls games (Dark Souls, Bloodborne).
7. Doom; The most fun I had with a FPS in ages.
8. Civilization VI; The multiplayer games I had were awesome, sadly the AI was really bad.
9. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine; Normally I wouldn´t include DLC in my Top 10, but Blood and Wine was so damn good, that I simply had to put it somewhere in my list.
10 Darkest Dungeon; The first 10+ hours in this game are amazing, after that it gets a bit repetitive, but still one of the games I enjoyed the most this year.