NathanDiego
Member
I'd Just finished Inside now and the Last Guardian last sunday,can I update my top 10 list?
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GAF Games of the Year 2016 - Voting Thread [Voting closed]
- Thread starter Cheesemeister
- Start date
Admiral Woofington
Member
I guess there's no rule it just seems to ruin the spirit of the whole 'gaming' aspect if you can vote for something you didn't even play because you watched a youtube video. But if nothing states you can't do it...
Nothing is stopping you from going back to your list and editing it with new games you've played from 2016 until the deadline reaches. Nobody will officially count your vote until then.
1. Furi;This game screams love for video games. The gameplay is fun and the music
is just perfect
2. The Witness;Good puzzles, the map is gorgeous and a very good atmoshpere in general.
3. Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma;Finally the last entry in the serie. I loved the conclusion and the room puzzles are the best of the three games for me.
4. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past;I didn't finish it yet but as far as I went, the game has a really good atmosphere of adventure and the stories in each island are really captivating.
5. Dark Souls 3;I loved how boodborne influenced the game. I think it's the best entry in the series because the bosses are awesome.
6. Oxenfree;The ambiance is insane in this game. I highly recommend it for anyone who liked Life is Strange (and even if you didn't, like me) It's way better.
7. Inside;I liked it more than Limbo who had a problem about the puzzles and his general difficulty.
8. Hyper Light Drifter;Good gameplay and music. The art looks amazing too.
9. Owlboy:This game has a really good evolution in the gameplay. You're always doing something new each hour.
10. Superhot;Amazing idea and addicting puzzle game
is just perfect
2. The Witness;Good puzzles, the map is gorgeous and a very good atmoshpere in general.
3. Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma;Finally the last entry in the serie. I loved the conclusion and the room puzzles are the best of the three games for me.
4. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past;I didn't finish it yet but as far as I went, the game has a really good atmosphere of adventure and the stories in each island are really captivating.
5. Dark Souls 3;I loved how boodborne influenced the game. I think it's the best entry in the series because the bosses are awesome.
6. Oxenfree;The ambiance is insane in this game. I highly recommend it for anyone who liked Life is Strange (and even if you didn't, like me) It's way better.
7. Inside;I liked it more than Limbo who had a problem about the puzzles and his general difficulty.
8. Hyper Light Drifter;Good gameplay and music. The art looks amazing too.
9. Owlboy:This game has a really good evolution in the gameplay. You're always doing something new each hour.
10. Superhot;Amazing idea and addicting puzzle game
The Witness
My "videogame experience" since a very long long time. I really played it as I was living it. I was obsessed by that game but in a great way. The final part is one of the most memorable things of my entire life of videogamer. Possibly one of the 3 best games I've ever played. The word masterpiece couldn't be used in a better way. BTW I'm really impressed by the number of times this game was mentioned in this thread. Kudos to Neogaf.
Note: A guy I know played it with his girlfriend for a while (I think he beated a few lasers) then he told me that The Witness is a silly, boring game like a tons out there. I'd really like to open his head with an axe and sh*t inside it. But I'm pretty sure his head is already full of sh*t so it doens't matter.
1. Dragonball Xenoverse 2 ; As a longtime Dragonball Z fan who somehow missed the original XV, being able to finally make my dream character and choose my favourite attacks from the show within this universe was (and is) an absolute delight. Playing on large maps with over 6 players in both battles and coop is also amazing, with a fully fledged campaign that is still surprising me after over 30 hours too. I am very glad I picked this up, and would recommend it to any fan as it is probably the best DBZ game to ever come out, just ahead of BT3.
2. Trackmania Turbo ; Having never played a Trackmania game before, I bought this on a whim after loving the demo, and it became one of the most addictive and unique experiences throughout my entire gaming career. I still have not finished all the black tracks (not through want of trying!), but the dozens of hours spent in local 4p splitscreen on random user-made tracks has made this a game I will return to for many years to come.
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered ; I didn't think it was possible, but a remaster of one of my favourite shooters (and games) of all time came out this year and it lived up to all my expectations. I hadn't really got into a shooter heavily since MW2, but I platinumed this game within a week as both the campaign and multiplayer have not aged a bit in my eyes. I haven't spent as much time with the multiplayer as I would have liked, but I am sure I will keep coming back due to its absolute perfection.
I haven't played many other new releases this as I have been making a good dent in my backlog, but I am sure FFXV, The Witness and TLG will end up in the top 10 if I get around to them in time.
2. Trackmania Turbo ; Having never played a Trackmania game before, I bought this on a whim after loving the demo, and it became one of the most addictive and unique experiences throughout my entire gaming career. I still have not finished all the black tracks (not through want of trying!), but the dozens of hours spent in local 4p splitscreen on random user-made tracks has made this a game I will return to for many years to come.
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered ; I didn't think it was possible, but a remaster of one of my favourite shooters (and games) of all time came out this year and it lived up to all my expectations. I hadn't really got into a shooter heavily since MW2, but I platinumed this game within a week as both the campaign and multiplayer have not aged a bit in my eyes. I haven't spent as much time with the multiplayer as I would have liked, but I am sure I will keep coming back due to its absolute perfection.
I haven't played many other new releases this as I have been making a good dent in my backlog, but I am sure FFXV, The Witness and TLG will end up in the top 10 if I get around to them in time.
Tizoc
Member
1. Doom ; A great successor to one of the greatest FPS games of the past 2 decades. Featuring various Modern Gaming elements such as upgrades. It's a blood pumping fast paced demon blasting experience.
2. Street Fighter V ; I mainly play fighters for the multiplayer, and despite its shortcomings in gameplay modes, I really loved the combat system in this game. One of my fav. multiplayer games this year
3. Deus Ex Mankind Divided ; The sequel to Deus Ex HR features various gameplay improvements and a nicely design hub world to explore. There are also side missions that have specific triggers for and thus one could miss out on them if all they do is trudge towards the next objective marker.
4. Ratchet & Clank ; This 2016 remake of the the original R&C is a fun single player shooting game with lots of explosions and cool weapons to blow up things with.
5. Dragon Quest VII ; This remake keeps the DQ series traditional simple combat system and Toriyama design and updates the game for a new audience. Although it has some boring segments, the overall combat and gameplay is fun to exploit.
6. Guilty Gear Xrd REVELATOR ; The second game in the GG Xrd series features various rebalances while adding in half a dozen new playable characters. In addition the game also has an easy input mode for casual gaming sessions.
7. MELTY BLOOD Actress Again Current Code ; The Queen of Anime Fighters can now be experienced in all its insane combo and gameplay glory.
8. The King of Fighters XIV ; KoF 14 keeps the traditional KoF gameplay system from the past few games with a few minor alterations. All in all it is a solid entry in the series, long as you go in expecting KoF. I would've ranked it higher but the bizarre decision to have Lvl. 3 supers require irritating inputs and Geese's Raging Storm not having the pretzel motion really knocked it down for me.
9. Xanadu Next ; A great Falcom Action RPG with an interconnected world and a simple combat system. This game is more RPG than the Ys series in the sense that you can allocate Points to your stats. This may seem confusing at first but it is actually pretty easy to get the hang of as you set off on your adventure to find the legendary Dragon Slayer.
10. Kathy Rain ; A PnC game with a 90s setting as a young woman investigates her grandfather's past. The puzzles are simple and it has some good humor and characterization.
2. Street Fighter V ; I mainly play fighters for the multiplayer, and despite its shortcomings in gameplay modes, I really loved the combat system in this game. One of my fav. multiplayer games this year
3. Deus Ex Mankind Divided ; The sequel to Deus Ex HR features various gameplay improvements and a nicely design hub world to explore. There are also side missions that have specific triggers for and thus one could miss out on them if all they do is trudge towards the next objective marker.
4. Ratchet & Clank ; This 2016 remake of the the original R&C is a fun single player shooting game with lots of explosions and cool weapons to blow up things with.
5. Dragon Quest VII ; This remake keeps the DQ series traditional simple combat system and Toriyama design and updates the game for a new audience. Although it has some boring segments, the overall combat and gameplay is fun to exploit.
6. Guilty Gear Xrd REVELATOR ; The second game in the GG Xrd series features various rebalances while adding in half a dozen new playable characters. In addition the game also has an easy input mode for casual gaming sessions.
7. MELTY BLOOD Actress Again Current Code ; The Queen of Anime Fighters can now be experienced in all its insane combo and gameplay glory.
8. The King of Fighters XIV ; KoF 14 keeps the traditional KoF gameplay system from the past few games with a few minor alterations. All in all it is a solid entry in the series, long as you go in expecting KoF. I would've ranked it higher but the bizarre decision to have Lvl. 3 supers require irritating inputs and Geese's Raging Storm not having the pretzel motion really knocked it down for me.
9. Xanadu Next ; A great Falcom Action RPG with an interconnected world and a simple combat system. This game is more RPG than the Ys series in the sense that you can allocate Points to your stats. This may seem confusing at first but it is actually pretty easy to get the hang of as you set off on your adventure to find the legendary Dragon Slayer.
10. Kathy Rain ; A PnC game with a 90s setting as a young woman investigates her grandfather's past. The puzzles are simple and it has some good humor and characterization.
Magic Mushroom
Member
It's awesome, but fix your formating.
If anything, your list with games like DS3, Doom, Quantum Break and R&C (and UC4 as well), proves that not every AAA is open world. And while games like Doom and TF2 do have a multiplayer, they also have a really good SP. I don't really consider immersive sims like Deus Ex and the superior Dishonored 2 open word by the way, like Hitman they are self-contained sandboxes with lots of player agency. It's a great genre that I hope wil have a good future ahead of it with games like Prey and the new System Shock. Also, The Last Guardian is definitely a SP game and a lovely one at that.
ThatStupidLion
Member
1. Dragon Quest Builders ; Crafting game with a purpose! Enjoyed questing and exploring the worlds. Would gladly play a sequel.
2. No Man's Sky ; Enjoyed my time with it. Unfortunately it got pretty stale relatively fast and the controls wore on me.
3. Stardew Valley ; Scratches the HM itch, but lacks much challenge and purposeful doings.
4. Day of the Tentacle: Remastered Edition ; Nice remaster of a classic PnC game. Not too frustrating either.
2. No Man's Sky ; Enjoyed my time with it. Unfortunately it got pretty stale relatively fast and the controls wore on me.
3. Stardew Valley ; Scratches the HM itch, but lacks much challenge and purposeful doings.
4. Day of the Tentacle: Remastered Edition ; Nice remaster of a classic PnC game. Not too frustrating either.
1. Hitman ; Top class level design with so many posiblities to carry out your hit. I'm a sucker for well designed interiors in games and Hitman is full of them and so is also my game of the year.
2. Dark Souls 3 ; Souls fatigue has kicked in which hurt this game slightly for me. It's still Souls though.
3. Dragon's Dogma ;
4. Civilization VI ;
5. Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 ;
2. Dark Souls 3 ; Souls fatigue has kicked in which hurt this game slightly for me. It's still Souls though.
3. Dragon's Dogma ;
4. Civilization VI ;
5. Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 ;
His Majesty
Banned
1. The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine ; Geralt's latest and last adventure is a fitting swan song to the series. It retains the dark undercurrent present throughout the entire series while simultaneously providing a 'Geralt on holiday' feeling.
2. Hitman ; Hitman is a return to form for IO interactive. Huge levels and a large amount of opportunities to achieve your objective make this the best Hitman game to date. Season 2 cannot begin soon enough.
3. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Prague is a beautiful city with many interesting stories to tell. While the main narrative is sometimes disappointingly meagre, there are a lot of secrets to discover. Great art style and gameplay make this one of the best games of 2016.
4. Tyranny ; I am hopeful that Tyranny will be a major source of inspiration for the inevitable Pillars of Eternity II. An interesting setting, well-developed characters and an engaging plot are the most important ingredients of Tyranny. The forced encounters are an annoyance though and should have been redone or made optional.
5. Doom ; I rarely play first-person shooters so the fact that I finished Doom is already a compliment in itself. I really liked the fast-paced nature of the game as well as some of the platforming.
6. The Technomancer ; The sequel to Mars: War Logs didn't receive much attention on GAF but it's a very enjoyable game nonetheless. It's rough though, as can be expected, but the charm and atmosphere more than make up for it.
7. Dying Light: The Following ; The Following is the expansion to last year's hit Dying Light. The countryside is a welcome change of scenery and introduces the driving skill. Less horror, more mowing down zombies.
8. Dark Souls III ; Souls fatigue is a real thing but I enjoyed what I played of Dark Souls 3. The environments are beautiful and the combat is satisfying. The boss fights have been a disappointment so far though, with the exception of the Abyss Watchers.
9. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; The optional tombs were fun and there is a lot of sightseeing to be done in this game. Next time don't fill it with pointless collectibles though.
10. Hearts of Iron IV ; Despite being a major Paradox fan the Hearts of Iron series has never clicked for me and IV didn't really change anything. Despite that I had a lot of fun doing an Italy campaign, conquering the Balkans and Greece before being overrun by the Soviet horde. Maybe I should give it another chance.
Honourable mentions:
- Dishonored 2: I absolutely loved what I played (up until mission 5) but the performance here is unacceptable. I really hope there will be performance improvements over the coming months.
- Oxenfree: A game with a lot of charm but with an equal amount of frustration.
- Civilization VI: There is a lot of potential in this title but it is still a few updates and AI fixes away from becoming an enjoyable title.
2. Hitman ; Hitman is a return to form for IO interactive. Huge levels and a large amount of opportunities to achieve your objective make this the best Hitman game to date. Season 2 cannot begin soon enough.
3. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Prague is a beautiful city with many interesting stories to tell. While the main narrative is sometimes disappointingly meagre, there are a lot of secrets to discover. Great art style and gameplay make this one of the best games of 2016.
4. Tyranny ; I am hopeful that Tyranny will be a major source of inspiration for the inevitable Pillars of Eternity II. An interesting setting, well-developed characters and an engaging plot are the most important ingredients of Tyranny. The forced encounters are an annoyance though and should have been redone or made optional.
5. Doom ; I rarely play first-person shooters so the fact that I finished Doom is already a compliment in itself. I really liked the fast-paced nature of the game as well as some of the platforming.
6. The Technomancer ; The sequel to Mars: War Logs didn't receive much attention on GAF but it's a very enjoyable game nonetheless. It's rough though, as can be expected, but the charm and atmosphere more than make up for it.
7. Dying Light: The Following ; The Following is the expansion to last year's hit Dying Light. The countryside is a welcome change of scenery and introduces the driving skill. Less horror, more mowing down zombies.
8. Dark Souls III ; Souls fatigue is a real thing but I enjoyed what I played of Dark Souls 3. The environments are beautiful and the combat is satisfying. The boss fights have been a disappointment so far though, with the exception of the Abyss Watchers.
9. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; The optional tombs were fun and there is a lot of sightseeing to be done in this game. Next time don't fill it with pointless collectibles though.
10. Hearts of Iron IV ; Despite being a major Paradox fan the Hearts of Iron series has never clicked for me and IV didn't really change anything. Despite that I had a lot of fun doing an Italy campaign, conquering the Balkans and Greece before being overrun by the Soviet horde. Maybe I should give it another chance.
Honourable mentions:
- Dishonored 2: I absolutely loved what I played (up until mission 5) but the performance here is unacceptable. I really hope there will be performance improvements over the coming months.
- Oxenfree: A game with a lot of charm but with an equal amount of frustration.
- Civilization VI: There is a lot of potential in this title but it is still a few updates and AI fixes away from becoming an enjoyable title.
What's your #2?
Deathrace_K1ng
Banned
Yeah, not every, but many. Got worked up thinking about this fall's big titles like Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, Watch Dogs 2, CoD: Infinite Warfare and Mafia 3, every one of which lures you in by huge worlds or long lasting multiplayer, where single player is just part of attraction.
I do not insist on calling it open world. My point is the Prague area is way bigger than provided gameplay can afford and it really messes up the narration. Hitman has traditional mission-based approach, while in DE:MD (or should we call it Deus Ex: The Booze Collector?) we spend 3/4 of the game (at least time-wise) in one location presented as a seamless world reacting to your actions, where you free to go almost anywhere right from the start. Human Revolution did it right. Mankind Divided gone in wrong direction.
tiebreaker
Member
1. The Last Guardian ; it was worth the wait.
The bond between the boy and Trico is well developed. The first time Trico bows down his head to let me pat him was an unforgetful moment for me.
Puzzles are usually pretty organic and clever. There is one part where I think the solution to the puzzle isn't obvious. And the set pieces in this game are just breath taking. It is everything you would expect from an Ueda game.
I played this on a pro, the game was pretty smooth for me.
2. Final Fantasy XV ; Oh man, I'd rank this game pretty high on my best FF list. The game started with Noctis and his bros pushing their car and arguing among themselves and it set the tone of the game, laid back.
It's weird considering their hometown just got invaded, but somehow I love it.
The best thing about the game are the monsters. The designs and animations are top notch. It also has the best soundtracks of the gen yet.
If Tabata and the team have had more time to polish this game, it would have been my GOTY, but the fault in story telling and the later part of the game is too important to overlook, hence it is down to second place. It's a flawed gem.
3. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth ; It's been a while since I played this game. The story isn't great, but still fun and I love the casts, from the silent MC to the improperly dressed heroine Nokia. The combat system is nothing to write home about, but it's decent.
The highlight of the game is the evolution system. I still remember how engrossed I was, trying to digivolve and devolve my digimons to get the perfect digimon team.
It's definitely my sleeper hit of the year. Who tought that a franchise (Digimon Story) moving from handheld to home console would be a success. I hope that many franchises would follow suit (I'm looking at you SMT!)
4. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered ; this game is lauded as one of the best JRPGs last gen. Why did it take me so long to play it? TBH, I don't really like a WW setting, so it wasn't very appealing to me. But boy, I wish I had played it sooner.
Different to other strategy RPG games, in Valykria Chronicles it's more important to capture a base quickly than killing all the enemies. It also borrows an element from Fire Emblem and Xcom that once your team mates died in the Battlefield, they are gone forever.
The good thing is, experience is shared among the troops, not attached to a certain character only. Even if one of your troop died, you can easily substitute him/her with other character without level grinding.
This game also has one of the better love stories in gaming.
5. Uncharted 4 ; imo best Uncharted yet. Verticality really take this game to another level. I never really liked the shooting part in ND game, but in this one, I can't get enough of it.
I even liked the climbing part. Yes, it's easy, but the climbing parts are usually not that long, and you get some beautiful sceneries.
6. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ; love the game for the most part, but I hate the application of the gamepad. The combat system is one of the best in the genre until the later part of the game that it starts to get too long.
7.Gravity Rush Remastered ; Falling has never been so fun before. The combat is a bit repetitive for me. I hope they will correct it in the sequel.
8.World of Final Fantasy ; The game is pretty much a cute fan service game. And I think it succeeded in being just that.
9. Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright ; A case where the story bogs down the overall game. I haven't played Revelation yet, mostly because I hate all the characters in this game. But it's a still a good game nevertheless.
10.Let It Die ; a F2P Suda51 game. I haven't played much, but I like what I've played so far. I just wish it wasn't a F2P game.
Honorable Mentions:
x. Pokemon GO ; mobile phenomenon of the year.
x. Playroom VR ; blew my mind first time trying this.
x. Star Ocean V: Integrity and Faithlessness ; The game isn't as bad as many would have you think. Not on my top 10, but deserves a quick mention.
There are still a couple of games I still yet to play this month, which could be in contention for top 10, like Trails of Cold Steel and Dragon Quest Builders. I might change my list later, but I'm also content with my current list.
1. XCOM 2 ; I didn't really expect Firaxis to improve upon the great predecessor in so many regards, but they did it. The timers are a good addition as they create intense missions without being unfair, the more diverse classes and their respective upgrades are very appealing as well. Apart from the ufo shooting mini game which I am not a fan of, the strategy layer was improved greatly too. It's certainly difficult to let the player act at their own pace while still keeping up the feeling of immediate danger and pressure, but I think in XCOM 2 they absolutely nailed it. It's without much doubt the most addicting turn-based tactics game I've ever played and thanks to the appropriately high difficulty and of course the modding community, I'm certainly not done with it yet.
2. The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine ; The new marvelously beautiful map, several of the new characters (I haven't read the books, so they are new to me) and a certain late-game area that turns the fairy-tale references up to 11 put the final TW3 DLC even above the excellent HoS. I can't justify giving a piece of DLC the top spot but it needs to be high up the list as it contributes to making The Witcher 3 not only one of the best recent RPGs but one of my favourite games ever. It's been said before, but if The Witcher 3 wouldn't exist and B&W would have been released as a full game in its place, I'm sure it would still have been praised, and rightfully so.
3. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Another sequel that improves upon an already great predecessor in many aspects. DXMD obviously continues the formula but since Human Revolution's gameplay was mostly flawless, there's nothing wrong with that. Mankind Divided adds a much better hub area, wonderfully detailed areas in general and some of the best environmental storytelling I have ever seen. It could've been a bit longer (though it took well over 20 hours using a stealthy approach, so it's not that bad) but all in all I feel like my high expectations have been fulfilled.
4. Darkest Dungeon ; The only game on this list that I haven't beaten and I doubt that I will do so anytime soon. Still, I spent almost 100 hours with Darkest Dungeon as the turn-based battles are just so good and levelling up your roster and finding the ultimate combination of classes to stand a chance in the later dungeons is highly motivating if you can accept a certain grindiness. Additionally, the art style and the narrator create a lovecraftian atmosphere that greatly supports the gameplay.
5. Doom ; I usually don't like FPS games and I wasn't a PC gamer during the early days of the genre, so there's no nostalgia regarding the rather bare-bones, frantic shooters of old. Still, Doom immediately hit a soft spot that I didn't know existed. The non-stop action, tight gameplay and intense music just put you in a trance that's hard to get out of. Probably my biggest surprise of the year.
6. Stardew Valley ; An incredibly relaxing game full of content. While you're free to focus on whatever you please (farming, mining, socialising, ...), there is a redundant plot that guides you, so it's not a complete sandbox - a very good and important design decision IMO. Both binge-playing, as well as just starting it up for an in-game day or two work well with this game and despite a complete lack of nostalgia for Harvest Moon, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
7. SpeedRunners ; This competitive platformer has been a go-to game for both local and online multiplayer for such a long time that I was legit surprised it was only released from Early Access in 2016. It's obviously mostly skill-based, but has just the right amount of randomness via the items (thankfully there's no equivalent to the blue shell, so the items never actually punish you for being good). Surprisingly, the single-player campaign that has been added late in development is enjoyable and challenging too.
8. Civilization VI ; Most changes to the predecessor's formula make sense, I especially love the end of the single-tile cities and the enormous impact this has on the gameplay. Unfortunately, I had most of my play time right after the release and the questionable AI the game had (or still has?) even on higher difficulty settings hurt it a lot. I'm pretty sure Civ VI will become my favourite part of the series, but it might still take a patch or two.
9. SteamWorld Heist ; I love both XCOM and Worms, so consequentially I enjoyed SteamWorld Heist. Bringing the rather conservative turn-based tactics gameplay to a sidescrolling plane worked out really well and despite some issues with the difficulty balancing in later levels, this can be easily recommended for any fan of the genre. I still don't like the SteamWorld art style but found it to be easy to ignore.
10. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; The plot is stupid, the character development is once again inconsistent and implausible and a lot of the side activities make no sense at all. Still, somehow I have developed a liking to the current TR continuity and RotTR improves on the original reboot in every regard. Very solid gameplay and highly impressive visuals made the game for me. The optional tombs were probably the most enjoyable aspect of the game and if they were longer and/or more numerous, RotTR might even have been higher up this list.
Honorable Mentions:
x. Abzu ; A beautiful, meditative audio-visual experience. The main issue I have with Abzu is its very short length. A game doesn't have to be 10+ hours long by any means, but if it's as short as Abzu, I would prefer it to have some replayability, either by non-linearity (which doesn't exist here) or by optional content (which technically exists in the form of collectibles, but they aren't implemented well IMO).
x. No Man's Sky ; Another relaxing experience. Zoning out and just learning some new words, scanning a planet's fauna and mining a bit in order to advance was actually fun for a while (like, 50 hours). It probably helped that I hardly gathered information on the game beforehand, so I didn't build up absurd expectations. I'm curious as to what HG will add to the game in the future and will probably get back to it.
x. Starbound ; This is a weird one. I spent a lot of time with Starbound three years ago when it was rather basic and mainly consisted of mining in order to reach the next level of planets, rinse and repeat. I acknowledge that it was greatly improved regarding its complexity and variety leading up to its full release, but I couldn't really get into it anymore. It still gets an honorable mention for the good times I had with it back in Early Access.
x. Pokemon Go ; I never cared for Pokemon at all, but Go was fun while it lasted. Probably not because the game itself is that good, but having a reason to just take a walk on a summer evening or to just relax at the beach while creating a useless army of Magikarps was nice. I stopped playing after a month or so and I wouldn't play it in the winter, but I can't rule out coming back to it this year.
x. Life Is Strange ; Not putting it in the list because it's a 2015 game on the platform I use, but it would come in at #3 otherwise.
And for completion's sake, let me list some 2016 games that I had relatively high hopes for but that I wouldn't call GOTY contenders by any stretch of the imagination. Those would be Virginia, Watch Dogs 2, The Division, Hyper Light Drifter and, unfortunately, Owlboy.
Note to organizer: I'm 100% positive SpeedRunners should be added to the spreadsheet. It was released in April 2016 after almost 3 years of Early Access.
2. The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine ; The new marvelously beautiful map, several of the new characters (I haven't read the books, so they are new to me) and a certain late-game area that turns the fairy-tale references up to 11 put the final TW3 DLC even above the excellent HoS. I can't justify giving a piece of DLC the top spot but it needs to be high up the list as it contributes to making The Witcher 3 not only one of the best recent RPGs but one of my favourite games ever. It's been said before, but if The Witcher 3 wouldn't exist and B&W would have been released as a full game in its place, I'm sure it would still have been praised, and rightfully so.
3. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Another sequel that improves upon an already great predecessor in many aspects. DXMD obviously continues the formula but since Human Revolution's gameplay was mostly flawless, there's nothing wrong with that. Mankind Divided adds a much better hub area, wonderfully detailed areas in general and some of the best environmental storytelling I have ever seen. It could've been a bit longer (though it took well over 20 hours using a stealthy approach, so it's not that bad) but all in all I feel like my high expectations have been fulfilled.
4. Darkest Dungeon ; The only game on this list that I haven't beaten and I doubt that I will do so anytime soon. Still, I spent almost 100 hours with Darkest Dungeon as the turn-based battles are just so good and levelling up your roster and finding the ultimate combination of classes to stand a chance in the later dungeons is highly motivating if you can accept a certain grindiness. Additionally, the art style and the narrator create a lovecraftian atmosphere that greatly supports the gameplay.
5. Doom ; I usually don't like FPS games and I wasn't a PC gamer during the early days of the genre, so there's no nostalgia regarding the rather bare-bones, frantic shooters of old. Still, Doom immediately hit a soft spot that I didn't know existed. The non-stop action, tight gameplay and intense music just put you in a trance that's hard to get out of. Probably my biggest surprise of the year.
6. Stardew Valley ; An incredibly relaxing game full of content. While you're free to focus on whatever you please (farming, mining, socialising, ...), there is a redundant plot that guides you, so it's not a complete sandbox - a very good and important design decision IMO. Both binge-playing, as well as just starting it up for an in-game day or two work well with this game and despite a complete lack of nostalgia for Harvest Moon, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
7. SpeedRunners ; This competitive platformer has been a go-to game for both local and online multiplayer for such a long time that I was legit surprised it was only released from Early Access in 2016. It's obviously mostly skill-based, but has just the right amount of randomness via the items (thankfully there's no equivalent to the blue shell, so the items never actually punish you for being good). Surprisingly, the single-player campaign that has been added late in development is enjoyable and challenging too.
8. Civilization VI ; Most changes to the predecessor's formula make sense, I especially love the end of the single-tile cities and the enormous impact this has on the gameplay. Unfortunately, I had most of my play time right after the release and the questionable AI the game had (or still has?) even on higher difficulty settings hurt it a lot. I'm pretty sure Civ VI will become my favourite part of the series, but it might still take a patch or two.
9. SteamWorld Heist ; I love both XCOM and Worms, so consequentially I enjoyed SteamWorld Heist. Bringing the rather conservative turn-based tactics gameplay to a sidescrolling plane worked out really well and despite some issues with the difficulty balancing in later levels, this can be easily recommended for any fan of the genre. I still don't like the SteamWorld art style but found it to be easy to ignore.
10. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; The plot is stupid, the character development is once again inconsistent and implausible and a lot of the side activities make no sense at all. Still, somehow I have developed a liking to the current TR continuity and RotTR improves on the original reboot in every regard. Very solid gameplay and highly impressive visuals made the game for me. The optional tombs were probably the most enjoyable aspect of the game and if they were longer and/or more numerous, RotTR might even have been higher up this list.
Honorable Mentions:
x. Abzu ; A beautiful, meditative audio-visual experience. The main issue I have with Abzu is its very short length. A game doesn't have to be 10+ hours long by any means, but if it's as short as Abzu, I would prefer it to have some replayability, either by non-linearity (which doesn't exist here) or by optional content (which technically exists in the form of collectibles, but they aren't implemented well IMO).
x. No Man's Sky ; Another relaxing experience. Zoning out and just learning some new words, scanning a planet's fauna and mining a bit in order to advance was actually fun for a while (like, 50 hours). It probably helped that I hardly gathered information on the game beforehand, so I didn't build up absurd expectations. I'm curious as to what HG will add to the game in the future and will probably get back to it.
x. Starbound ; This is a weird one. I spent a lot of time with Starbound three years ago when it was rather basic and mainly consisted of mining in order to reach the next level of planets, rinse and repeat. I acknowledge that it was greatly improved regarding its complexity and variety leading up to its full release, but I couldn't really get into it anymore. It still gets an honorable mention for the good times I had with it back in Early Access.
x. Pokemon Go ; I never cared for Pokemon at all, but Go was fun while it lasted. Probably not because the game itself is that good, but having a reason to just take a walk on a summer evening or to just relax at the beach while creating a useless army of Magikarps was nice. I stopped playing after a month or so and I wouldn't play it in the winter, but I can't rule out coming back to it this year.
x. Life Is Strange ; Not putting it in the list because it's a 2015 game on the platform I use, but it would come in at #3 otherwise.
And for completion's sake, let me list some 2016 games that I had relatively high hopes for but that I wouldn't call GOTY contenders by any stretch of the imagination. Those would be Virginia, Watch Dogs 2, The Division, Hyper Light Drifter and, unfortunately, Owlboy.
Note to organizer: I'm 100% positive SpeedRunners should be added to the spreadsheet. It was released in April 2016 after almost 3 years of Early Access.
JustinJ004
Banned
1. Titanfall 2 ; Can't believe this is my game of the year as I wasn't really hyped at all! Loved single player but multi is still where it's at. Amazing and I can't wait for 3. Pro version looks awesome too.
2. Uncharted 4 ; Great way to end one of my favorite ever PlayStation series. Loved the story and looks amazing. I'll miss the Drakes but boy did they earn the rest.
3. Watchdogs 2 ; World feels alive, characters are fun and the whole thing is an improvement on the first which I also enjoyed. Please let the next Creed be this good.
4. Forza Horizon 3 ; Stunning and lots of fun. Almost felt too big at times but best driving game of the year for me.
5. Dark Souls 3 ; Need to get back into this but so far it's a great game even if I do prefer 2. Please Pro patch it From.
6. Civilisation VI ; Pumped hours into this already having bought it over Christmas. Best Civ for me since Call to Power 2.
7. XCom 2 ; Almost too hard on the first couple of attempts and I'm not the biggest fan of the timers even now but still one of the best strategy games of the year.
8. Hitman ; Still don't like the way they released this and I lost interest part way through but just picked up all the levels I missed in the sale and yeah it's very good.
9. Deus Ex Mankind Divided ; While I enjoyed the stealth what surprized me most was going through as lethal which I never usually do. Didn't think much of the end but getting there is a lot of fun.
10. Gears of War 4 ; Only just gets in when I expected it in the top 3 but still lots of fun and looks great.
Games that came close:
x. Doom ; Its good but also a fricking space hog so I had to delete it before I finished. Bit too liner for my tastes but Ill give it another go in the coming quiet months.
x. The Division ; I enjoyed this for a good 20 hours but then the loot got dull and the repetition set in. Not as bad as some make out.
x. Dishonored 2 ; Didn't like the first one at all but really enjoyed what I played of this, just didn't give it enough time to justify making the top ten.
x. Battlefield 1 ; Stunning looking but hardly touched it (see final note).
Note: I suspect that Final Fantasy XV will end up quite high on the list but I stopped playing after a couple of hours when I heard they are going to improve the Pro version.
Final Note: My actual game of the year is CoD4 Remastered and is a large reason I didn't complete a lot of the late arrivals this year as almost all of my time has been spent trying to kick ass on Crash!
2. Uncharted 4 ; Great way to end one of my favorite ever PlayStation series. Loved the story and looks amazing. I'll miss the Drakes but boy did they earn the rest.
3. Watchdogs 2 ; World feels alive, characters are fun and the whole thing is an improvement on the first which I also enjoyed. Please let the next Creed be this good.
4. Forza Horizon 3 ; Stunning and lots of fun. Almost felt too big at times but best driving game of the year for me.
5. Dark Souls 3 ; Need to get back into this but so far it's a great game even if I do prefer 2. Please Pro patch it From.
6. Civilisation VI ; Pumped hours into this already having bought it over Christmas. Best Civ for me since Call to Power 2.
7. XCom 2 ; Almost too hard on the first couple of attempts and I'm not the biggest fan of the timers even now but still one of the best strategy games of the year.
8. Hitman ; Still don't like the way they released this and I lost interest part way through but just picked up all the levels I missed in the sale and yeah it's very good.
9. Deus Ex Mankind Divided ; While I enjoyed the stealth what surprized me most was going through as lethal which I never usually do. Didn't think much of the end but getting there is a lot of fun.
10. Gears of War 4 ; Only just gets in when I expected it in the top 3 but still lots of fun and looks great.
Games that came close:
x. Doom ; Its good but also a fricking space hog so I had to delete it before I finished. Bit too liner for my tastes but Ill give it another go in the coming quiet months.
x. The Division ; I enjoyed this for a good 20 hours but then the loot got dull and the repetition set in. Not as bad as some make out.
x. Dishonored 2 ; Didn't like the first one at all but really enjoyed what I played of this, just didn't give it enough time to justify making the top ten.
x. Battlefield 1 ; Stunning looking but hardly touched it (see final note).
Note: I suspect that Final Fantasy XV will end up quite high on the list but I stopped playing after a couple of hours when I heard they are going to improve the Pro version.
Final Note: My actual game of the year is CoD4 Remastered and is a large reason I didn't complete a lot of the late arrivals this year as almost all of my time has been spent trying to kick ass on Crash!
Sephiroth_VII
Member
1. The Last Guardian ; It has flaws, but they are completely overshadowed by its strengths. At least on a PS4P
2. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine; The best WRPG ever made.
3. Batman: Arkham VR ; My first taste of what VR could be. I love it.
4. The Witness ; Mindbending.
5. Inside ; A focused and emotional platformer. Those are rare.
6. DOOM ; Return of the king.
7. Thumper ; INTENSE.
8. FFXV ; Not all that it could have been, but still great.
9. Dark Souls 3 ; Not Bloodborne, but not bad, either.
10. Summer Lesson ; ...shut up.
GOTG: Undecided still.
2. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine; The best WRPG ever made.
3. Batman: Arkham VR ; My first taste of what VR could be. I love it.
4. The Witness ; Mindbending.
5. Inside ; A focused and emotional platformer. Those are rare.
6. DOOM ; Return of the king.
7. Thumper ; INTENSE.
8. FFXV ; Not all that it could have been, but still great.
9. Dark Souls 3 ; Not Bloodborne, but not bad, either.
10. Summer Lesson ; ...shut up.
GOTG: Undecided still.
PanicFreak
Member
1. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; Best addition to best game.
2. Doom ; Rip and tear. Campaign was so much fun. I felt like I was on a roller coaster.
3. Gears of War 4 ; Loved this game. Action sequence after action sequence. I liked the addition of the Hoard mode campaign elements.
4. Dues Ex: Mankind Divided ; Story was a weak but the gameplay was fun as ever. I particularly enjoyed getting head shot after head shot while stealthing each level.
5. Dishonored 2 ; Sand box design taken to the extreme.
6. SUPERHOT ; Amazing game. Funny story. Best way to feel like a bad ass.
7. The Turing Test ; Fun puzzle game but very simple. I only got stuck once.
8. Oxenfree ; Interesting adventure game with decent story. The conversation system was really good. I hope other developers rip it off.
9. Quantum Break ; The game play of this game is criminally underrated. Held down by the addition of a crappy television show.
TBD – I didn't have time to play these games this year due to sinking hours into the Witcher 3 so this list is subject to change after I play Firewatch and Inside.
Best old game: X-Com
I only played 9 games from 2016.
2. Doom ; Rip and tear. Campaign was so much fun. I felt like I was on a roller coaster.
3. Gears of War 4 ; Loved this game. Action sequence after action sequence. I liked the addition of the Hoard mode campaign elements.
4. Dues Ex: Mankind Divided ; Story was a weak but the gameplay was fun as ever. I particularly enjoyed getting head shot after head shot while stealthing each level.
5. Dishonored 2 ; Sand box design taken to the extreme.
6. SUPERHOT ; Amazing game. Funny story. Best way to feel like a bad ass.
7. The Turing Test ; Fun puzzle game but very simple. I only got stuck once.
8. Oxenfree ; Interesting adventure game with decent story. The conversation system was really good. I hope other developers rip it off.
9. Quantum Break ; The game play of this game is criminally underrated. Held down by the addition of a crappy television show.
TBD – I didn't have time to play these games this year due to sinking hours into the Witcher 3 so this list is subject to change after I play Firewatch and Inside.
Best old game: X-Com
I only played 9 games from 2016.
Bl@de
Member
Here is my list. Some notes:
- I limit myself to games that I finished. I'm still playing some games like RotTR and DOOM but I don't want to include games at 50% completion.
- No remasters
- Only a top 3 because most games I played were released before 2016
- Plattform for all titles is PC
1. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Great cyberpunk thriller with a lot of freedom and classic emergent gameplay. It's also one of the best looking games out there.
2. Dead Rising ; Not a remaster because the game never released on PC and Playstation before. Reminded me of classic 80s horror comedies. The timer adds a lot of tension and the difficulty is unforgiving. I had a lot of fun dodging and killing the zombies in Williamette.
3. Quantum Break ; Another fantastic shooter from Remedy. Time powers are fun and the game looks fantastic. The live action cutscenes are pure trash and remind me of the early 90s.
And if anyone cares: My true GOTY of 2016 is Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines.
- I limit myself to games that I finished. I'm still playing some games like RotTR and DOOM but I don't want to include games at 50% completion.
- No remasters
- Only a top 3 because most games I played were released before 2016
- Plattform for all titles is PC
1. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Great cyberpunk thriller with a lot of freedom and classic emergent gameplay. It's also one of the best looking games out there.
2. Dead Rising ; Not a remaster because the game never released on PC and Playstation before. Reminded me of classic 80s horror comedies. The timer adds a lot of tension and the difficulty is unforgiving. I had a lot of fun dodging and killing the zombies in Williamette.
3. Quantum Break ; Another fantastic shooter from Remedy. Time powers are fun and the game looks fantastic. The live action cutscenes are pure trash and remind me of the early 90s.
And if anyone cares: My true GOTY of 2016 is Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines.
1. The Last Guardian ; a masterpiece. one of the best games I've played in years if not the best. Incredible art, AI, and animation really make the world feel alive, and Trico is probably the best companion in the history of video games.
2. The Witness ; jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and incredibly immersive, it's been a very long time since I've played a puzzle game that had so many moments where things just clicked. It'll make you feel like a genius and an idiot minutes apart.
3. INSIDE ; I loved Limbo when it first came out, and INSIDE is even better. Again, gorgeous art and animation helps the world come to life, and it tells an engrossing story despite never saying a word.
4. Overwatch ; Just an incredibly fun, satisfying multiplayer experience.
5. Titanfall 2 ; God damn this game is fun. A surprisingly great campaign really rounds out the package, but the multiplayer is the focus here. The movement feels so fluid and so good, and dominating the map in your trusty Titan is a feeling no other game rivaled all year.
6. Oxenfree ; this is how choice-based narratives should be done. A great central mystery, some really awesome music, and fantastic writing helps pull this game together. Had a blast with it, and I still need to go back through on NG+ to see what changes occur.
7. Dark Souls III ; Miyazaki came back and knocked it out of the park with this one. While not as good as the original or Bloodborne, it's still an extremely fun and content-filled romp through a ruined world, filled with awesome boss fights and great enemy and encounter designs.
8. Final Fantasy XV ; not quite done with it yet so it might move up higher (or lower) on my personal list but I feel comfortable putting it here. Story's been weak but the gameplay is fun and the music is excellent. The amount of effort Square put into making the main party feel alive is unrivaled in the industry I think, there's so much there. It's what really elevates the game.
9. DOOM ; I can't fucking believe this game turned out so good. Best single-player FPS of the last five years, easily. Visceral gunplay, satisfying melee, and a whole lot of demons. Great level design and tons of scattered goodies to make exploration feel fun and rewarding.
10. Uncharted 4 ; Even a weaker offering from Naughty Dog is still excellent. The game is a technical masterpiece, and what little gunplay is there is a blast to play. Unfortunately, the game is bogged down by hours and hours of climbing and slow walking, to the point where replays are a chore, but that first playthrough is still a roller coaster ride, and a great time.
2. The Witness ; jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and incredibly immersive, it's been a very long time since I've played a puzzle game that had so many moments where things just clicked. It'll make you feel like a genius and an idiot minutes apart.
3. INSIDE ; I loved Limbo when it first came out, and INSIDE is even better. Again, gorgeous art and animation helps the world come to life, and it tells an engrossing story despite never saying a word.
4. Overwatch ; Just an incredibly fun, satisfying multiplayer experience.
5. Titanfall 2 ; God damn this game is fun. A surprisingly great campaign really rounds out the package, but the multiplayer is the focus here. The movement feels so fluid and so good, and dominating the map in your trusty Titan is a feeling no other game rivaled all year.
6. Oxenfree ; this is how choice-based narratives should be done. A great central mystery, some really awesome music, and fantastic writing helps pull this game together. Had a blast with it, and I still need to go back through on NG+ to see what changes occur.
7. Dark Souls III ; Miyazaki came back and knocked it out of the park with this one. While not as good as the original or Bloodborne, it's still an extremely fun and content-filled romp through a ruined world, filled with awesome boss fights and great enemy and encounter designs.
8. Final Fantasy XV ; not quite done with it yet so it might move up higher (or lower) on my personal list but I feel comfortable putting it here. Story's been weak but the gameplay is fun and the music is excellent. The amount of effort Square put into making the main party feel alive is unrivaled in the industry I think, there's so much there. It's what really elevates the game.
9. DOOM ; I can't fucking believe this game turned out so good. Best single-player FPS of the last five years, easily. Visceral gunplay, satisfying melee, and a whole lot of demons. Great level design and tons of scattered goodies to make exploration feel fun and rewarding.
10. Uncharted 4 ; Even a weaker offering from Naughty Dog is still excellent. The game is a technical masterpiece, and what little gunplay is there is a blast to play. Unfortunately, the game is bogged down by hours and hours of climbing and slow walking, to the point where replays are a chore, but that first playthrough is still a roller coaster ride, and a great time.
backflip10019
Member
1. Overwatch ; A multiplayer shooter hasn't grabbed me like Overwatch did since Halo 3. To date, I've spent over 210 hours freezing enemies with Mei, speed boosting them with Lucio and, most importantly, STAYING ON THE PAYLOAD. The diversity in characters, classes and roles that can make or break a team composition is so fascinating to me. And as frustrating as matchmaking can be sometimes, I consistently have fun with Overwatch, and always find myself wanting to play more. It's no wonder it tops my list.
2. DOOM ; It's funny. I don't have much nostalgia for the original Doom. I was always a console player when I was younger, so the only time I played Doom and Doom 2 was at friends' houses. It wasn't until this year's entry in the series that I really gained an appreciation for the original games. But back to now. Doom came out of nowhere with a super fast, hectic shooter campaign with a roaring soundtrack that completely blew me away. I had so much fun jumping and shotgunning my way through Hell. It was an incredible experience.
3. Titanfall 2 ; 2016 is the year of the shooter, and that's only supported by what Respawn did with Titanfall 2. I was pretty worried about the game when I first played the beta. It felt like more of the same, and for some reason, I couldn't get a handle on the controls. But after spending some time with the MP, I found myself hooked. The campaign also did some incredible things, and wasn't afraid to throw away entire concepts just to keep things fresh.
4. Final Fantasy XV ; I didn't go into FF15 thinking it would end up on my list. When I look back on my time with it, I really loved two things about the game: The characters and comradery you feel with Gladio, Prompto and Ignis and the combat. The story is utter trash, and the pacing of the storytelling is equally as terrible. But the relationships between the main characters felt more authentic than most I've seen in a video game. The ending in particular really tugged on the heartstrings for some reason.
5. Inside ; Inside was the best 4 hour experience I had all year. I actually didn't expect much, especially because of how much I despised Limbo, which I thought was purposefully obtuse and overwrought. But Inside was completely different. The animations – however grandiose (the ending) or subtle (prying boards off a door) they may be –are unmatched, and the game masterfully introduced game mechanics without a single line of dialogue. I also loved the mystery shrouding the game, and exploring my own thoughts about the kind of world that surrounded the factory.
6. Gears of War 4 ; I enjoyed my time with Gears 4. The campaign was fairly strong, despite the fact that it leaned heavily on the series' past successes to tell a familiar tale. The ending (before the last boss fight) was super weird, and I loved it. I was a little disappointed by the additions to horde mode (I thought relying too heavily on building things pushed the game further away from its core fun thing – shooting bad guys), but enjoyed the competitive MP to an extent. There's no feeling in video games like gibbing an enemy rolling towards you with a shotgun, only to see them explode into a red mist.
7. Forza Horizon 3 ; Horizon 3 is my favorite racing game since the Burnout series. The driving felt so good that I don't know how else to describe it. The game looks beautiful, sounds beautiful and plays beautifully. The only thing I wanted more out of this game was interesting festival races, which I think fell flat by the end.
8. Overcooked ; Overcooked is couch co-op perfected. It was such a great feeling to figure out a system that worked for you and your co-op friends. It was so satisfying to see people clicking perfectly to cook and serve foods at blazing speeds.
9. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare ; This just barely makes my list because of its campaign. I actually really enjoyed it this time around – it was a huge step up from the disappointment that was Black Ops 3. The multiplayer can be fun, too. It's a bit too hectic and fast-paced for my rapidly aging twitch reflexes, but I can recognize quality when I see it.
10. Dead Rising 4 ; A dark horse pick! I was going to go with Watch Dogs 2, but the ending of the game (specifically the final mission) really put me off with how lazy it felt. Instead I'm going with Dead Rising 4, which despite the naysaying of reviewers, is a very fun game. I love Dead Rising and never cared for the timing mechanics that the game forced on you. I'm having a great time waltzing around the mall and surrounding towns, building crazy weapons and killing zombies.
Honorable Mentions
x. Quantum Break ; QB was a good time, save for the final boss battle, which was extremely frustrated and soured my overall positive experience with it. The TV portions were interesting in theory, but ultimately a poor use of such fantastic acting talent. Overall I liked the game and thought it was worth shouting out.
x. Battlefield 1 ; I enjoy a good match of Battlefield, but the game is just a little too samey for me to put on my list. It looks great and sounds great, and even plays great, but the single player felt super tacked on and wasn't my bag at all.
x. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 ; I liked this game a lot. I think it added some great and fun characters to the original, and I spent quite a few weeks playing it. Definitely had some fun with PvZ.
x. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; I just didn't have the chance to play enough Pokemon this year. While I've kind of fallen out of love with the series, I still appreciate it.
2. DOOM ; It's funny. I don't have much nostalgia for the original Doom. I was always a console player when I was younger, so the only time I played Doom and Doom 2 was at friends' houses. It wasn't until this year's entry in the series that I really gained an appreciation for the original games. But back to now. Doom came out of nowhere with a super fast, hectic shooter campaign with a roaring soundtrack that completely blew me away. I had so much fun jumping and shotgunning my way through Hell. It was an incredible experience.
3. Titanfall 2 ; 2016 is the year of the shooter, and that's only supported by what Respawn did with Titanfall 2. I was pretty worried about the game when I first played the beta. It felt like more of the same, and for some reason, I couldn't get a handle on the controls. But after spending some time with the MP, I found myself hooked. The campaign also did some incredible things, and wasn't afraid to throw away entire concepts just to keep things fresh.
4. Final Fantasy XV ; I didn't go into FF15 thinking it would end up on my list. When I look back on my time with it, I really loved two things about the game: The characters and comradery you feel with Gladio, Prompto and Ignis and the combat. The story is utter trash, and the pacing of the storytelling is equally as terrible. But the relationships between the main characters felt more authentic than most I've seen in a video game. The ending in particular really tugged on the heartstrings for some reason.
5. Inside ; Inside was the best 4 hour experience I had all year. I actually didn't expect much, especially because of how much I despised Limbo, which I thought was purposefully obtuse and overwrought. But Inside was completely different. The animations – however grandiose (the ending) or subtle (prying boards off a door) they may be –are unmatched, and the game masterfully introduced game mechanics without a single line of dialogue. I also loved the mystery shrouding the game, and exploring my own thoughts about the kind of world that surrounded the factory.
6. Gears of War 4 ; I enjoyed my time with Gears 4. The campaign was fairly strong, despite the fact that it leaned heavily on the series' past successes to tell a familiar tale. The ending (before the last boss fight) was super weird, and I loved it. I was a little disappointed by the additions to horde mode (I thought relying too heavily on building things pushed the game further away from its core fun thing – shooting bad guys), but enjoyed the competitive MP to an extent. There's no feeling in video games like gibbing an enemy rolling towards you with a shotgun, only to see them explode into a red mist.
7. Forza Horizon 3 ; Horizon 3 is my favorite racing game since the Burnout series. The driving felt so good that I don't know how else to describe it. The game looks beautiful, sounds beautiful and plays beautifully. The only thing I wanted more out of this game was interesting festival races, which I think fell flat by the end.
8. Overcooked ; Overcooked is couch co-op perfected. It was such a great feeling to figure out a system that worked for you and your co-op friends. It was so satisfying to see people clicking perfectly to cook and serve foods at blazing speeds.
9. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare ; This just barely makes my list because of its campaign. I actually really enjoyed it this time around – it was a huge step up from the disappointment that was Black Ops 3. The multiplayer can be fun, too. It's a bit too hectic and fast-paced for my rapidly aging twitch reflexes, but I can recognize quality when I see it.
10. Dead Rising 4 ; A dark horse pick! I was going to go with Watch Dogs 2, but the ending of the game (specifically the final mission) really put me off with how lazy it felt. Instead I'm going with Dead Rising 4, which despite the naysaying of reviewers, is a very fun game. I love Dead Rising and never cared for the timing mechanics that the game forced on you. I'm having a great time waltzing around the mall and surrounding towns, building crazy weapons and killing zombies.
Honorable Mentions
x. Quantum Break ; QB was a good time, save for the final boss battle, which was extremely frustrated and soured my overall positive experience with it. The TV portions were interesting in theory, but ultimately a poor use of such fantastic acting talent. Overall I liked the game and thought it was worth shouting out.
x. Battlefield 1 ; I enjoy a good match of Battlefield, but the game is just a little too samey for me to put on my list. It looks great and sounds great, and even plays great, but the single player felt super tacked on and wasn't my bag at all.
x. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 ; I liked this game a lot. I think it added some great and fun characters to the original, and I spent quite a few weeks playing it. Definitely had some fun with PvZ.
x. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; I just didn't have the chance to play enough Pokemon this year. While I've kind of fallen out of love with the series, I still appreciate it.
1. Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest ; When I heard that Conquest was going to be the more traditional Fire Emblem experience, my mind was set then: that was the version of Fates I was going to get. Conquest is now my favourite Fire Emblem game and my top game of 2016. I cannot stress enough how amazing the gameplay is. It's refined, polished, replayable, and just incredibly satisfying. I was quite disappointed when Birthright and Revelation, when compared to Conquest, both aren't anywhere near as good Fire Emblem games as Conquest.
2. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II ; Amazing sequel to a phenomenal game, ToCS2 ups the ante, refines the gameplay, delivers amazing music, and offers even more development to the characters you already love. Well, mostly, anyway.
3. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ; I love Fire Emblem. I love turn-based JRPGs. Add the two together, give it to Atlus, and you get an incredible game that may just be the secret GOTY on the Wii U. The game comes with the best turn-based combat mechanic Atlus have ever created, has some of the best vocal tracks I've heard, and it's just a blast to play. It's a great game if you just want to play a non-serious game and enjoy the gameplay it offers.
4. Xanadu Next ; The sleeper GOTY. An amazing stat-heavy action JRPG that brings responsive and satisfying combat. The story is a bit light, but what it offers is done pretty well. The score is pretty good, too, though the standouts are the dungeon themes.
5. Titanfall 2 ; The surprise on this list. I'm not into competitive shooters at all, but hearing the positive reception on GAF persuaded me to try this game out. And I'm glad it did. One of the more engaging short campaigns I've played in a while, and the game itself is just fun to play. The mechanics and controls are tight, responsive, and polished to a point where it's one of the best games I've controlled in a long time. It's a shame the sales aren't that good, in comparison to its competition.
2. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II ; Amazing sequel to a phenomenal game, ToCS2 ups the ante, refines the gameplay, delivers amazing music, and offers even more development to the characters you already love. Well, mostly, anyway.
3. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ; I love Fire Emblem. I love turn-based JRPGs. Add the two together, give it to Atlus, and you get an incredible game that may just be the secret GOTY on the Wii U. The game comes with the best turn-based combat mechanic Atlus have ever created, has some of the best vocal tracks I've heard, and it's just a blast to play. It's a great game if you just want to play a non-serious game and enjoy the gameplay it offers.
4. Xanadu Next ; The sleeper GOTY. An amazing stat-heavy action JRPG that brings responsive and satisfying combat. The story is a bit light, but what it offers is done pretty well. The score is pretty good, too, though the standouts are the dungeon themes.
5. Titanfall 2 ; The surprise on this list. I'm not into competitive shooters at all, but hearing the positive reception on GAF persuaded me to try this game out. And I'm glad it did. One of the more engaging short campaigns I've played in a while, and the game itself is just fun to play. The mechanics and controls are tight, responsive, and polished to a point where it's one of the best games I've controlled in a long time. It's a shame the sales aren't that good, in comparison to its competition.
Barry Burton
Member
Disregard. I ended up writing a lot more than intended...
1. Dark Souls III ; After having played so many "Souls" Titles in the last few years, the obvious question that popped up in my mind was whether there was a danger of me getting fatigued by it. After finishing Dark Souls III I can say with confidence that the formula still works perfectly for me and there was no other game this year that managed to engross me as much as DS3 did. DS3 feels like a culmination of all the other Souls games and while it doesn't match the greatness of Dark Souls or Bloodborne it once again featured great world, level and enemy design, exciting boss fights and was just a joy to play. I am totally fine with the series ending after this game, but if Dark Souls IV should come out, I would totally play it. That being said... I can't wait for what Miyazaki has in offer for his next endeavour!
2. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II ; Trails of Cold Steel II picked up right where Cold Steel I ended and almost improved the game experience in every way. The story is much more interesting from the beginning (thanks to this game being the second game in this arc) and the game's pacing feels less rigid since it's no longer alternating school and field trip chapters. Combat was already great in the first game, but the addition of Overdrive and a better balance between physical and magic attackers just made it even better. Mecha battles were also improved and were actually fun to do. In the end, I enjoyed the game less than the Trails in the Sky duology, but it was still a great game that made me love this series even more.
3. Final Fantasy XV ; Final Fantasy XV is a strange game with huge flaws, that nonetheless manages to be more than just the sum of its parts. At its best it is a brilliant game with surprisingly fun combat, atmospheric dungeons, a stunning world, great soundtrack and great interaction between the 4 main characters. At its worst it feels like a buggy game with an incomplete story told badly, side characters that don't get enough screentime and boring sidequests. This discrepancy is probably fitting for a game that has been in development hell for such a long time and it is to the development team's credit that the game nevertheless felt like a cohesive work. It is definitelay not the best FF ever made, but it managed to fill me with optimism fo the future development of the franchise.
4. SteinsGate 0 ; The original Steins Gate is one of my most favorite Visual Novels ever made and probably features one of the best time travel stories in any medium. When they announced a quasi-sequel to the game I was worried that it might tarnish the reputation of the first game. After having played 0 though, I can with confidence that my worries were baseless and although 0 doesn't reach the heights of the original game it manages to tell a engrossing tale on its own. It was great to see the character development of known characters in this world line and it added even more depth to all of them. Everyone who liked SteinsGate should not miss this one.
5. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth ; This game was probably the biggest surprise of the year for me. I knew that the game was well received in Japan, but I didn't imagine that I would enjoy it this much. Digimon CS is a great JRPG with a cool story that was reminiscent of the older Digimon animes and a lot of nostalgia bombs thanks to the inclusion of nearly every Digimon of the first anime series. Digivolutions were really well done and I became addicted to grinding in this game just to get all Digimons that were in this game. The combat was nothing revolutionary although the added Hard mode was appreciated since Normal was just too easy.
6. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Colorful Sound and Future Tone ; This game is probably the definitive Project Diva game featuring over 220 songs and over 350 modules and a flawless 1080p/60fps presentation. The amount of content that you get is incredible and the game play is as challenging and fun as ever. Thanks to multibutton presses this game is even harder than the console versions and should pose a decent challenge even for veteran players. This is a game that will probably stay on my hard drive forever since it just feels so good to play 3 or 4 songs in short sessions. The only negative for me was the lack of a physical release.
7. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Uncharted 4 is a technical masterpiece and Naughty Dog has once again knocked it out of the park in terms of visual fidelity. Without a doubt this game was one of the best looking ones in 2016 and being able to play through the whole game without encountering a single loading screen (except when loading into the game) is pretty impressive. It's actually hard to describe why this game isn't placed higher in my list, but I think it all boils down to the more serious atmosphere in this game compared to the first 3. I appreciate the fact that this game was more of a character study and focused more on Nathan Drake as a character, but at the same time it felt too much like The Last of Us at points where I would have preferred the usual more lighthearted take. In the end, Uncharted 4 is still a brilliant game and I enjoyed my time with it, but it just didn't click with me as much as 2 and 3 did.
8. Furi ; Thanks to PS+, I was able to enjoy this little indie gem that I might have missed otherwise. Furi is a brilliant action game that focuses on one element that I particularly like in videogames: boss battles. It's basically one long Boss Rush game with very interesting visuals and soundtrack and varied and enganging boss battles with several stages. It took me a while to get used to the controls, but once I got into the rhythm, the fights felt awesome and really satisfying!
9. The Last Guardian ; The second game on my list that underwent huge development issues and probably not less divisive. Shadow of the Colossus is one of my favorite PS2 games and I can still remember being awe-struck when playing that game. I was worried that in a time, in which indie developers provide countless game experiences that deviate from the standard AAA structure, The Last Guardian wouldn't feel special anymore, but I am glad that I was wrong. Ueda and his team have managed to create one of the most fascinating game creatures of all time and I will never forget the time that I spent with Trico. Never before has an AI creature felt as real to me as Trico and even though I was annoyed at times at his refusal to do the things I wanted, it just felt so right at the same time. It's definitely not a game for everyone and I can totally see why the game is hated by some and loved by others depending on what you expected from the game. I enjoyed my time with it although it fell short of SotC for me. Can't wait to see what Ueda will do next!
10. Ratchet & Clank ; The Ratchet & Clank series is dear to my heart since the series' debut on the PS2 and this Remake/alternative version of the first game did not disappoint. The game looks phenomenal and Insomniac is getting really close to make a game that looks like a Pixar Movie (especially on the Pro). The cast was as entertaining as ever and the gameplay was also more than just solid. I am glad that the game also seemed to have sold well since I want to play more Ratchet in the future!
Honorable Mention
x. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X ; If Future Tone would not have been released this year, this might have made it into my Top 10. Yes, the amount of songs is disappointingly low and the amount of grinding needed to get all the modules was really unnecessary, but it the gameplay stayed great nevertheless and the concert feature was a nice addition on which they could expand in the future. The quality of the songs was also great although there were too few as already mentioned.
2. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II ; Trails of Cold Steel II picked up right where Cold Steel I ended and almost improved the game experience in every way. The story is much more interesting from the beginning (thanks to this game being the second game in this arc) and the game's pacing feels less rigid since it's no longer alternating school and field trip chapters. Combat was already great in the first game, but the addition of Overdrive and a better balance between physical and magic attackers just made it even better. Mecha battles were also improved and were actually fun to do. In the end, I enjoyed the game less than the Trails in the Sky duology, but it was still a great game that made me love this series even more.
3. Final Fantasy XV ; Final Fantasy XV is a strange game with huge flaws, that nonetheless manages to be more than just the sum of its parts. At its best it is a brilliant game with surprisingly fun combat, atmospheric dungeons, a stunning world, great soundtrack and great interaction between the 4 main characters. At its worst it feels like a buggy game with an incomplete story told badly, side characters that don't get enough screentime and boring sidequests. This discrepancy is probably fitting for a game that has been in development hell for such a long time and it is to the development team's credit that the game nevertheless felt like a cohesive work. It is definitelay not the best FF ever made, but it managed to fill me with optimism fo the future development of the franchise.
4. SteinsGate 0 ; The original Steins Gate is one of my most favorite Visual Novels ever made and probably features one of the best time travel stories in any medium. When they announced a quasi-sequel to the game I was worried that it might tarnish the reputation of the first game. After having played 0 though, I can with confidence that my worries were baseless and although 0 doesn't reach the heights of the original game it manages to tell a engrossing tale on its own. It was great to see the character development of known characters in this world line and it added even more depth to all of them. Everyone who liked SteinsGate should not miss this one.
5. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth ; This game was probably the biggest surprise of the year for me. I knew that the game was well received in Japan, but I didn't imagine that I would enjoy it this much. Digimon CS is a great JRPG with a cool story that was reminiscent of the older Digimon animes and a lot of nostalgia bombs thanks to the inclusion of nearly every Digimon of the first anime series. Digivolutions were really well done and I became addicted to grinding in this game just to get all Digimons that were in this game. The combat was nothing revolutionary although the added Hard mode was appreciated since Normal was just too easy.
6. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Colorful Sound and Future Tone ; This game is probably the definitive Project Diva game featuring over 220 songs and over 350 modules and a flawless 1080p/60fps presentation. The amount of content that you get is incredible and the game play is as challenging and fun as ever. Thanks to multibutton presses this game is even harder than the console versions and should pose a decent challenge even for veteran players. This is a game that will probably stay on my hard drive forever since it just feels so good to play 3 or 4 songs in short sessions. The only negative for me was the lack of a physical release.
7. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Uncharted 4 is a technical masterpiece and Naughty Dog has once again knocked it out of the park in terms of visual fidelity. Without a doubt this game was one of the best looking ones in 2016 and being able to play through the whole game without encountering a single loading screen (except when loading into the game) is pretty impressive. It's actually hard to describe why this game isn't placed higher in my list, but I think it all boils down to the more serious atmosphere in this game compared to the first 3. I appreciate the fact that this game was more of a character study and focused more on Nathan Drake as a character, but at the same time it felt too much like The Last of Us at points where I would have preferred the usual more lighthearted take. In the end, Uncharted 4 is still a brilliant game and I enjoyed my time with it, but it just didn't click with me as much as 2 and 3 did.
8. Furi ; Thanks to PS+, I was able to enjoy this little indie gem that I might have missed otherwise. Furi is a brilliant action game that focuses on one element that I particularly like in videogames: boss battles. It's basically one long Boss Rush game with very interesting visuals and soundtrack and varied and enganging boss battles with several stages. It took me a while to get used to the controls, but once I got into the rhythm, the fights felt awesome and really satisfying!
9. The Last Guardian ; The second game on my list that underwent huge development issues and probably not less divisive. Shadow of the Colossus is one of my favorite PS2 games and I can still remember being awe-struck when playing that game. I was worried that in a time, in which indie developers provide countless game experiences that deviate from the standard AAA structure, The Last Guardian wouldn't feel special anymore, but I am glad that I was wrong. Ueda and his team have managed to create one of the most fascinating game creatures of all time and I will never forget the time that I spent with Trico. Never before has an AI creature felt as real to me as Trico and even though I was annoyed at times at his refusal to do the things I wanted, it just felt so right at the same time. It's definitely not a game for everyone and I can totally see why the game is hated by some and loved by others depending on what you expected from the game. I enjoyed my time with it although it fell short of SotC for me. Can't wait to see what Ueda will do next!
10. Ratchet & Clank ; The Ratchet & Clank series is dear to my heart since the series' debut on the PS2 and this Remake/alternative version of the first game did not disappoint. The game looks phenomenal and Insomniac is getting really close to make a game that looks like a Pixar Movie (especially on the Pro). The cast was as entertaining as ever and the gameplay was also more than just solid. I am glad that the game also seemed to have sold well since I want to play more Ratchet in the future!
Honorable Mention
x. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X ; If Future Tone would not have been released this year, this might have made it into my Top 10. Yes, the amount of songs is disappointingly low and the amount of grinding needed to get all the modules was really unnecessary, but it the gameplay stayed great nevertheless and the concert feature was a nice addition on which they could expand in the future. The quality of the songs was also great although there were too few as already mentioned.
It's incredible. The biggest and best surprise of the voting.
1. Final Fantasy XV ; I loved this game despite its flaws, which says a lot about the things this game gets right. The biggest for me was the sense of adventure and exploring a big, beautiful world, and how much it really felt like a Final Fantasy game, something I didn't feel with FFXIII which left me very disappointed. The combat is really fun and the bros are a great group of characters.
2. Dark Souls 3 ; This might be the best Dark Souls game for me now. The mechanics are just too good. It felt like a big, dangerous adventure into the unknown, which is what I love most about the Souls games, and the bosses are particularly incredible.
3. Last Guardian ; Even though I found the mechanics somewhat frustrating at times, I cannot deny the incredible beauty and poetry of this game. The connection I built with Trico felt real and special, something I haven't experienced to this degree in any game previous. A great example of storytelling that could only happen in an interactive medium.
4. Deus Ex Mankind Divided ; I loved Human Revolution and I would say this game is even better. Prague is one of the better hub worlds I've experienced in games and I really enjoy the choices of playstyles available. Amazing music and atmosphere as well as a solid story, and if not for an abrupt ending that feels cut short I would probably rank this game even higher.
5. Inside ; A beautiful game with some genius design. The ending segment left me bewildered and fascinated and I still think about it.
6. Uncharted 4 ; While I love previous Uncharteds, this one felt a bit too familiar for me, but it is certainly the pinnacle of the game's philosophy. Drake controls extremely well and everything really feels good to play, not to mention it is just gorgeous to look at.
7. Ratchet and Clank ; I love these games, every one of them is a joy to play and look at, but this one takes the cake. One of the most gorgeous games I've ever seen and plays extremely well. My only issue is that they used the story of the recent film, which is really not good at all.
8. Salt and Sanctuary ; It really is 2D Dark Souls, and it was a blast to play. The combat is a bit simple and the world is not as meticulously designed as the Souls games, but it's still a lot of fun with a very decent breadth of content.
9. The Witness ; At times I hated this game, but I can't deny that it didn't leave an impression on me. I loved the quiet beauty of the world and the sense of exploration. Solving puzzles really challenged me in ways games haven't for years and I appreciate all the hidden secrets throughout.
10. The Witcher 3 Blood and Wine ; I loved this game and this expansion is beautiful with an insane amount of content for the price. The final moment with Geralt was very touching and I applaud the developers for creating this incredible journey.
2. Dark Souls 3 ; This might be the best Dark Souls game for me now. The mechanics are just too good. It felt like a big, dangerous adventure into the unknown, which is what I love most about the Souls games, and the bosses are particularly incredible.
3. Last Guardian ; Even though I found the mechanics somewhat frustrating at times, I cannot deny the incredible beauty and poetry of this game. The connection I built with Trico felt real and special, something I haven't experienced to this degree in any game previous. A great example of storytelling that could only happen in an interactive medium.
4. Deus Ex Mankind Divided ; I loved Human Revolution and I would say this game is even better. Prague is one of the better hub worlds I've experienced in games and I really enjoy the choices of playstyles available. Amazing music and atmosphere as well as a solid story, and if not for an abrupt ending that feels cut short I would probably rank this game even higher.
5. Inside ; A beautiful game with some genius design. The ending segment left me bewildered and fascinated and I still think about it.
6. Uncharted 4 ; While I love previous Uncharteds, this one felt a bit too familiar for me, but it is certainly the pinnacle of the game's philosophy. Drake controls extremely well and everything really feels good to play, not to mention it is just gorgeous to look at.
7. Ratchet and Clank ; I love these games, every one of them is a joy to play and look at, but this one takes the cake. One of the most gorgeous games I've ever seen and plays extremely well. My only issue is that they used the story of the recent film, which is really not good at all.
8. Salt and Sanctuary ; It really is 2D Dark Souls, and it was a blast to play. The combat is a bit simple and the world is not as meticulously designed as the Souls games, but it's still a lot of fun with a very decent breadth of content.
9. The Witness ; At times I hated this game, but I can't deny that it didn't leave an impression on me. I loved the quiet beauty of the world and the sense of exploration. Solving puzzles really challenged me in ways games haven't for years and I appreciate all the hidden secrets throughout.
10. The Witcher 3 Blood and Wine ; I loved this game and this expansion is beautiful with an insane amount of content for the price. The final moment with Geralt was very touching and I applaud the developers for creating this incredible journey.
Alex_Mexico
Member
1. Final Fantasy XV ; It was everything I expected and more. In my book FFXV has the best gameplay, the best ending, the best main party members, and the absolute best protagonist in any FF ever (and also the most handsome!). Also not the best but right up there is the soundtrack and villain as well. The beautiful poem that's the ending to this game made me forget the bumpy road of a story we had to get there but the conclusion was one of the best I've seen ever in a videogame. Few games have moved me to tears and FFXV had me bawling my eyes out when the word "FIN" appeared. 75 hours in and I know I'll come back to Platinum it. Considering buying the DLC episodes when I see them.
2. Uncharted 4 ; The best game in the series draws to a perfect conclusion for everyone's story. It also boasts the best graphics I've ever seen for a videogame on any console to date.
3. The Last Guardian ; Fumito Ueda did it again. Not without its problems (that camera!) but I've never seen an animal as lifelike as Trico ever. It engrossed me in this world that captured my imagination. And the climax was only second best to FFXV's.
4. Overwatch ; Loved the characters, the gameplay, and the world building. It's also one fo the most balanced shooters I've ever played.
5. Overcooked ; No game on a non-Nintendo platform has given me this amount of fun and enjoyment out of local co-op ever before.
6. Stardew Valley ; The Harvest Moon game I always dreamed of since HM64 in 1999 knocked my socks off and Natsume continued to fail to surpass. I can say there's finally one that does.
7. Doom ; Quite possibly the best single player FPS campaign I've every played since Metroid Prime. There's no other game in the genre like this one and it's brimming with content.
Honorable Mentions
8. AM2R Another Metroid 2 Remake ; This one is ineligible but it deserves a shout-out. The best Metroid game in 9 years was not from Nintendo but from a small group of fans that made this free Metroid II remake for PC. It's also ironic that the fan game is the only Metroid game I've ever cleared with 100%. Its that good.
2. Uncharted 4 ; The best game in the series draws to a perfect conclusion for everyone's story. It also boasts the best graphics I've ever seen for a videogame on any console to date.
3. The Last Guardian ; Fumito Ueda did it again. Not without its problems (that camera!) but I've never seen an animal as lifelike as Trico ever. It engrossed me in this world that captured my imagination. And the climax was only second best to FFXV's.
4. Overwatch ; Loved the characters, the gameplay, and the world building. It's also one fo the most balanced shooters I've ever played.
5. Overcooked ; No game on a non-Nintendo platform has given me this amount of fun and enjoyment out of local co-op ever before.
6. Stardew Valley ; The Harvest Moon game I always dreamed of since HM64 in 1999 knocked my socks off and Natsume continued to fail to surpass. I can say there's finally one that does.
7. Doom ; Quite possibly the best single player FPS campaign I've every played since Metroid Prime. There's no other game in the genre like this one and it's brimming with content.
Honorable Mentions
8. AM2R Another Metroid 2 Remake ; This one is ineligible but it deserves a shout-out. The best Metroid game in 9 years was not from Nintendo but from a small group of fans that made this free Metroid II remake for PC. It's also ironic that the fan game is the only Metroid game I've ever cleared with 100%. Its that good.
1. Dark Souls III ; I really like action RPGs and this one's weighty combat, creative enemies amd dark fantasy worlds cater to my interests more than most games.
2. Hitman ; Its large, but not overly so, levels offer lots of character, exploration and humor. Design playfully encourages toying with the AI and really learning your surroundings. The dense, full of secrets and possibilities, hub-like level design is rewarding while minimizing the tedium often felt with large levels. I'd like to see it more often. The initial reveals of its episodic nature left me cold and with low expectations, so its quality is a pleasant surprise. The optional escalation missions could be more refined but their inclusion is welcome.
3. The Witness ; I like its fairly hands-off approach to game design and educating the player. Its puzzles are more than I expected after learning that they were solved by drawing lines.
4. Forza Horizon 3 ; Very polished racer with a varied open world whose races often feel more distinct and better designed than those of similar games. Progression's minimal reliance on high performance is a thoughtful way of welcoming players of all experience levels.
5. Dishonored 2 ; More wild sci-fi stealth action that rewards exploration and experimentation. The levels are generally pretty good and occasionally great but the beginning and conclusion are somewhat bland.
6. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Nicely dense, evolving hub world. I can barely remember the story though there are a few memorable side quests.
7. Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition ; Its platforming is more challenging and involving than that of many similar 2D action-adventures.
8. DOOM ; Faster and funner than most shooters. Levels have a decent sense of exploration with their secrets. Trials are addictive. Begins feeling a bit overly repetitive towards the end.
9. The Last Guardian ; Like a big, mysterious traversal puzzle that you can only complete with the help of a giant, weird, charming pet.
10. Titanfall 2 ; Decent level design features a couple of great, particularly creative ones, enabled by the novel, wall-hopping traversal mechanics.Piloting mechs and trying out their different abilities really appeals to me. The mech companion has an enjoyable personality.
Honorable mentions
x. Final Fantasy XV ; It's a mess, a fun mess with an unusual all-male main cast that works better than expected, an imperfect upgrade system and action-oriented combat that provide the player with interesting tactics, and an appreciated openness to exploration. The overall package is oddly disjointed, at times feeling cut and pasted together, and other games have better executed some of its ideas. It will be one of my most memorable games of 2016, more as an entertaining and sometimes confusing mishmash of promising ideas and plot developments with high production values rather than a great game.
x. Ratchet & Clank ; Great graphics, fun weapons. This and A Crack in Time may be my favorites in the series.
x. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; The mix of linear and hub-like levels provides some sense of exploration. The optional tombs are slightly more complex than the 2013 game's. Pacing is preferable to Uncharted 4's.
x. Superhot ; The bullet time-esque concept is really cool. It's like an action-puzzle game in which you find the best way to manipulate the enemies and environment.
x. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ; The story isn't great but I like that it and the characters don't take themselves very seriously. The dungeons have somewhat interesting designs and make you think a bit. Setting the game in a small urban neighborhood is a nice change of pace from the usual sprawling epic. The combat system and the ways it incorporates the entire cast are a nice twist on turn-based battles.
x. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Like Uncharted 2 and 3, I like how the environment and traversal are incorporated into the action, especially towards the end.
Action-light portions are too numerous and fairly boring. Characters and shooting sequences are preferable to Rise of the Tomb Raider's.
x. Watch Dogs 2 ; The mission and level design is a bit more varied than other Ubisoft open world games and can be approached in multiple ways. I like that they often feature light puzzles and exploration. The cast is nicely diverse and fairly likable.
2. Hitman ; Its large, but not overly so, levels offer lots of character, exploration and humor. Design playfully encourages toying with the AI and really learning your surroundings. The dense, full of secrets and possibilities, hub-like level design is rewarding while minimizing the tedium often felt with large levels. I'd like to see it more often. The initial reveals of its episodic nature left me cold and with low expectations, so its quality is a pleasant surprise. The optional escalation missions could be more refined but their inclusion is welcome.
3. The Witness ; I like its fairly hands-off approach to game design and educating the player. Its puzzles are more than I expected after learning that they were solved by drawing lines.
4. Forza Horizon 3 ; Very polished racer with a varied open world whose races often feel more distinct and better designed than those of similar games. Progression's minimal reliance on high performance is a thoughtful way of welcoming players of all experience levels.
5. Dishonored 2 ; More wild sci-fi stealth action that rewards exploration and experimentation. The levels are generally pretty good and occasionally great but the beginning and conclusion are somewhat bland.
6. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Nicely dense, evolving hub world. I can barely remember the story though there are a few memorable side quests.
7. Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition ; Its platforming is more challenging and involving than that of many similar 2D action-adventures.
8. DOOM ; Faster and funner than most shooters. Levels have a decent sense of exploration with their secrets. Trials are addictive. Begins feeling a bit overly repetitive towards the end.
9. The Last Guardian ; Like a big, mysterious traversal puzzle that you can only complete with the help of a giant, weird, charming pet.
10. Titanfall 2 ; Decent level design features a couple of great, particularly creative ones, enabled by the novel, wall-hopping traversal mechanics.Piloting mechs and trying out their different abilities really appeals to me. The mech companion has an enjoyable personality.
Honorable mentions
x. Final Fantasy XV ; It's a mess, a fun mess with an unusual all-male main cast that works better than expected, an imperfect upgrade system and action-oriented combat that provide the player with interesting tactics, and an appreciated openness to exploration. The overall package is oddly disjointed, at times feeling cut and pasted together, and other games have better executed some of its ideas. It will be one of my most memorable games of 2016, more as an entertaining and sometimes confusing mishmash of promising ideas and plot developments with high production values rather than a great game.
x. Ratchet & Clank ; Great graphics, fun weapons. This and A Crack in Time may be my favorites in the series.
x. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; The mix of linear and hub-like levels provides some sense of exploration. The optional tombs are slightly more complex than the 2013 game's. Pacing is preferable to Uncharted 4's.
x. Superhot ; The bullet time-esque concept is really cool. It's like an action-puzzle game in which you find the best way to manipulate the enemies and environment.
x. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ; The story isn't great but I like that it and the characters don't take themselves very seriously. The dungeons have somewhat interesting designs and make you think a bit. Setting the game in a small urban neighborhood is a nice change of pace from the usual sprawling epic. The combat system and the ways it incorporates the entire cast are a nice twist on turn-based battles.
x. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Like Uncharted 2 and 3, I like how the environment and traversal are incorporated into the action, especially towards the end.
Action-light portions are too numerous and fairly boring. Characters and shooting sequences are preferable to Rise of the Tomb Raider's.
x. Watch Dogs 2 ; The mission and level design is a bit more varied than other Ubisoft open world games and can be approached in multiple ways. I like that they often feature light puzzles and exploration. The cast is nicely diverse and fairly likable.
1. Final Fantasy XV ; Beautiful world and music. Wonderful friends made on the way. Super fun battle system and a really sweet and endearing ending.
2. Titanfall 2 ; Feels just like I remember TF1. Great single player campaign with really cool setpiece moments. Awesome multiplayer with a great progression system. Even if I lose, I'm still having fun.
3. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered ; Beautiful art style and English VO (rare for Japanese games). Really great story with a huge cast of likeable characters. I haven't played a tactical third-person game with as much character as this game. Bonus points for Rosie's song ಥ_ಥ
4. Uncharted 4 ; Easily the best looking game of this generation. It doesn't really do anything ground-breaking for an Uncharted game, but it's still loads of fun. A great script goes a long ways!
5. Ratchet and Clank PS4 ; Super fun platformer with gorgeous graphics. Bogged down by some lame puzzles but overall very fun! Nothing as satisfying as a RYNO blast to the face of your enemies.
6. Street Fighter V ; Despite having almost no content post-launch, this may be my favorite fighting game of all time. Digging deeper into it makes me realize just how much I suck at fighting games!
2. Titanfall 2 ; Feels just like I remember TF1. Great single player campaign with really cool setpiece moments. Awesome multiplayer with a great progression system. Even if I lose, I'm still having fun.
3. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered ; Beautiful art style and English VO (rare for Japanese games). Really great story with a huge cast of likeable characters. I haven't played a tactical third-person game with as much character as this game. Bonus points for Rosie's song ಥ_ಥ
4. Uncharted 4 ; Easily the best looking game of this generation. It doesn't really do anything ground-breaking for an Uncharted game, but it's still loads of fun. A great script goes a long ways!
5. Ratchet and Clank PS4 ; Super fun platformer with gorgeous graphics. Bogged down by some lame puzzles but overall very fun! Nothing as satisfying as a RYNO blast to the face of your enemies.
6. Street Fighter V ; Despite having almost no content post-launch, this may be my favorite fighting game of all time. Digging deeper into it makes me realize just how much I suck at fighting games!
TheVisualizer
Banned
As usual my list is missing a lot of great games because I get caught up playing a few mulitplayer or sports games for most of the year. The best of what I've played can be found below:
1. Overwatch ; Overwatch is the first Blizzard game I've played extensively and their reputation for making polished quality games is definitely apparent with Overwatch. I was drawn to the game due to it's vast number of interesting looking characters and the promise that I could contribute to a team focused effort despite my FPS skills being a shell of what they once were. I started with mostly Support characters and Reinhardt and found my niche pretty quickly and had a lot of fun doing it. The depth of strategy is really what puts this game over the top for me, I've spent countless hours watching videos with tips tricks and strategies to improve my game knowledge and skills and after 7 months or so and a good amount of post release support I still see new things that surprise me almost every time I play. I've gotten quite a few of my friends into the game as well and there aren't many better multiplayer experiences on console then a full group of 6 friends coordinating on their mics that leads to winning a match in the most clutch way.
2. Oxenfree ; This was the pleasant surprise of the year for me. I bought this simply because the art looked interesting and it had good word of mouth from it's PC release but had no idea what I was getting into. The Night School Studio crafted an absolute gem that I hope others give a playthrough. The cast of characters and their relationships are expertly written and developed over the course of the game. The story was really intriguing throughout with it's supernatural slant and the New Game+ and it's effect on the story and it's ending are one of the most well done that I can recall in recent memory. This game more than any other this year moved me emotionally.
3. The Witness ; Jonathan Blow has created a masterpiece with The Witness. This game engulfed my life for weeks with it's puzzles and philosophy. It's really brilliant how progression is handled with very little you could deem as "tutorials". As long as you have patience and an open mind the game teaches you how to play it through a natural progression of trial and error. There is really nothing like those "eureka" moments in puzzle games where you truly figure something out and feel great about yourself and this game does more to cultivate that than any I've ever played.
4. Street Fighter V ; SFV made my list despite the fact that I've only played it for probably a grand total of 3 hours. Capcom's many missteps with the game, its release and post launch support have been discussed to death, especially on this forum, but I love this game and it's one of the only games that has ever captivated me to want watch others play it. I watched and enjoyed all of the CPT events and many others and have enjoyed the growth of Street Fighter as an "eSport". Some of the most entertaining discussion on my twitter feed on a daily basis has come from following so many of the interesting personalities in the FGC. I look forward to trying to get into playing the game again this year now that I know so much more than I ever have.
5. Inside ; I was a big fan of Limbo and Playdead managed to smash my expectations to bits of what they are capable of. Inside is a significant evolution to the Limbo formula and a masterclass of game design. The unique atmosphere along with just a few sights/sounds of some of the early "fail states" shocked me into a sense of dread to fail like no other game has in recent memory. The pacing of the game was near perfect with a great variety in the puzzles that were always clever, but never too complicated or tedious that it stopped the rhythm of moving forward through the game. My initial thought of the story upon finishing it was "that's it?", but after reading some of the theories in the GAF threads i came to a new appreciation of it and how it was conveyed to the player.
6. Madden 17 ; This was my favorite sports game of the year. The EA Tiburon team lead by Clint Oldenburg has really made some large strides in the past few years to making a NFL video game that takes advantage of this generation's hardware. Gameplay has been further refined most notably in pass defense which has been a legacy issue for many years. The inclusion of new zone defenses, new plays/schemes and how the AI plays is apparent after just 1 game. They've done a great job tuning the pass catching mechanics from last year to ensure the Aggressive catch option can't be exploited as easily anymore. The presentation continues to improve with easily the best commentary duo ever in a Madden game (Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis) who react naturally to each other and have recorded new lines each week to keep up with notable events in the NFL season. This year's installment boasted some great improvements, and I am really looking forward to seeing what EA Tiburon have in store for us next year.
7. NHL 17 ; My most played sports game of the year. The core gameplay mechanics have not changed much in years. This year's addition of the net battles and extended stick lift have proved to be nice tools for defensemen and has added a new dimension to play in front of the nets for both offensive and defensive players. One of the true gamechangers in EA Canada's latest effort is an expanded set of sliders that the devs claim are the same they use to tune the game. These extensive options have allowed the slider gurus out there to create a gameplay experience that's closer to actual NHL hockey then the casual focused run and gun style that hockey fans have tolerated from EA for years. I've been able to play some amazing games against the CPU and friends with new sliders. The real reason I've dumped so much time into the game this year is the EASHL enhancements. They have smartly kept the game balanced around preset classes/roles but now they've expanded player and club customization far beyond anything that's been offered before and those hooks have been enough to keep me and several gaffer's playing pretty frequently.
8. Titanfall 2 ; Respawn crafted an exceptional single player FPS campaign for the game with a lot of memorable levels and encounters. I enjoyed the variety and creativity of the level design and the story kept me engaged enough to want to see it through. The core gameplay is just so damn good with lots of interesting and fun traversal options snd tight gunplay with interesting weapons. From the little Ive played of the multiplayer Ive enjoyed the organized chaos of how the pilots, titans and A.I. grunts all effect the flow of gameplay and the titan battery system adds a very cool layer of strategy to each battle. There seems to be an extraordinary amount of customization available with pilot, titan and weapon loadouts, a steady stream of worthwhile unlockables and the promise of continued free post launch support that adds quite a bit of replay value to the core multiplayer experience. The quality of most of the multiplayer map design is a bit of a letdown though. Titanfall 2 is a game I am excited to play more of in 2017.
9. Unravel ; Unravel is easily the most visually impressive game I've played in 2016 and possibly ever. It is just stunning throughout. Thankfully there is a really good game that compliments the visuals as well. There were some real standout puzzles and platforming sections sprinkled throughout the journey. The devs at Coldwood set out to create a personal experience and I felt they mostly succeeded. Unravel is most certainly a game with heart and while the culmination of the story didn't deeply move me, this was more of a situation where the highlights of the journey made up for a slightly disappointing final destination.
10. Hyper Light Drifter ; Heart Machine's quirky homage to classic games rounds out my top 10. I'm not the biggest fan of devs settling on the pixel art look for their games but it worked perfectly for this game. They really did a lot with a little to create a unique atmosphere, most notably the weather effects. The game has a really good soundtrack as well and the devs did some really cool things with music cues in the game to help tell their story thru only audio and visual methods. The combat is what elevates the game into greatness since there isn't much story to discuss. I really enjoyed the different combat scenarios and boss fights which made you need to identify patterns and prioritize targets. I went West first and that area's boss almost made me drop the game, but I persevered and am glad I did as it was a really fun and different game that I needed at the time. I think the game would have benefited from an actual narrative as they built an interesting world and the minmalist attempts at explaining things didn't really do it for me. I look forward to whatever Heart Machine decide to do next!
Honorable Mentions
x. FIFA 17 ; FIFA is usually a mainstay in my Top 10 each year, but Im just not having a lot of fun with this year's game after the gameplay changes. Objectively it seems like a better game with physical play being viable, set pieces being much improved and a few other key improvements but I feel like I can't be as creative anymore which bothers me. Kudos to EA Canada for the inclusion of the new Journey single player content. I haven't yet played it but some friends I trust said its worth a playthrough.
x. Abzû ; Giant Squad created a neat little game with some breathtaking visuals in Abzû. You can clearly see some of the Journey and Flower heritage in the design approach and it works out mostly. The story was a slow burn that went to some unexpectedly places that I thought ended really strongly. This is certainly worth a playthrough.
x. NBA 2K17 ; Probably the best overall sports game package for several years. The presentation and attention to details is still mind blowing after all these years. The gameplay is improved this year as Visual Concepts have made an valiant attempt to cut down on the amount of canned animations to tighten up the dribbling and shooting and it's paid off. I need to play this more in 2017.
x. Firewatch ; Campo Santo crafted an extremely interesting game that completely botched the ending which killed a lot of enthusiasm and goodwill I had for it. The first few hours were as intriguing as I played all year with a lot of mystery and uncertainty driving the game forward. I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge and visuals and sound design which are impressive. The writing and dialogue of the main characters was also exemplary, too bad the whole thing crashed and burned in the end...
x. Batman: The Telltale Series ; I'm a big supporter of Telltale Games and I have enjoyed most of their efforts to this point and this was no different. Their take on the Bruce Wayne/Batman story was shockingly different to me as someone who only knows Batman from TV and movies. I thought the first 4 episodes were really strong and the last one fell flat. Episode 5 was plagued with several unacceptable technical problems then the story concluded in a a very predictable manner. I didn't really care for the gameplay mechanic were you pin things together to help Batman figure what happened at a crime scene, they probably should have a gone in another direction for those. If you like Telltale games or are a Batman fan this one is worth a playthrough, its just not as good as Telltale's best like Walking Dead S1, Tales from the Borderlands and The Wolf Among Us.
1. Overwatch ; Overwatch is the first Blizzard game I've played extensively and their reputation for making polished quality games is definitely apparent with Overwatch. I was drawn to the game due to it's vast number of interesting looking characters and the promise that I could contribute to a team focused effort despite my FPS skills being a shell of what they once were. I started with mostly Support characters and Reinhardt and found my niche pretty quickly and had a lot of fun doing it. The depth of strategy is really what puts this game over the top for me, I've spent countless hours watching videos with tips tricks and strategies to improve my game knowledge and skills and after 7 months or so and a good amount of post release support I still see new things that surprise me almost every time I play. I've gotten quite a few of my friends into the game as well and there aren't many better multiplayer experiences on console then a full group of 6 friends coordinating on their mics that leads to winning a match in the most clutch way.
2. Oxenfree ; This was the pleasant surprise of the year for me. I bought this simply because the art looked interesting and it had good word of mouth from it's PC release but had no idea what I was getting into. The Night School Studio crafted an absolute gem that I hope others give a playthrough. The cast of characters and their relationships are expertly written and developed over the course of the game. The story was really intriguing throughout with it's supernatural slant and the New Game+ and it's effect on the story and it's ending are one of the most well done that I can recall in recent memory. This game more than any other this year moved me emotionally.
3. The Witness ; Jonathan Blow has created a masterpiece with The Witness. This game engulfed my life for weeks with it's puzzles and philosophy. It's really brilliant how progression is handled with very little you could deem as "tutorials". As long as you have patience and an open mind the game teaches you how to play it through a natural progression of trial and error. There is really nothing like those "eureka" moments in puzzle games where you truly figure something out and feel great about yourself and this game does more to cultivate that than any I've ever played.
4. Street Fighter V ; SFV made my list despite the fact that I've only played it for probably a grand total of 3 hours. Capcom's many missteps with the game, its release and post launch support have been discussed to death, especially on this forum, but I love this game and it's one of the only games that has ever captivated me to want watch others play it. I watched and enjoyed all of the CPT events and many others and have enjoyed the growth of Street Fighter as an "eSport". Some of the most entertaining discussion on my twitter feed on a daily basis has come from following so many of the interesting personalities in the FGC. I look forward to trying to get into playing the game again this year now that I know so much more than I ever have.
5. Inside ; I was a big fan of Limbo and Playdead managed to smash my expectations to bits of what they are capable of. Inside is a significant evolution to the Limbo formula and a masterclass of game design. The unique atmosphere along with just a few sights/sounds of some of the early "fail states" shocked me into a sense of dread to fail like no other game has in recent memory. The pacing of the game was near perfect with a great variety in the puzzles that were always clever, but never too complicated or tedious that it stopped the rhythm of moving forward through the game. My initial thought of the story upon finishing it was "that's it?", but after reading some of the theories in the GAF threads i came to a new appreciation of it and how it was conveyed to the player.
6. Madden 17 ; This was my favorite sports game of the year. The EA Tiburon team lead by Clint Oldenburg has really made some large strides in the past few years to making a NFL video game that takes advantage of this generation's hardware. Gameplay has been further refined most notably in pass defense which has been a legacy issue for many years. The inclusion of new zone defenses, new plays/schemes and how the AI plays is apparent after just 1 game. They've done a great job tuning the pass catching mechanics from last year to ensure the Aggressive catch option can't be exploited as easily anymore. The presentation continues to improve with easily the best commentary duo ever in a Madden game (Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis) who react naturally to each other and have recorded new lines each week to keep up with notable events in the NFL season. This year's installment boasted some great improvements, and I am really looking forward to seeing what EA Tiburon have in store for us next year.
7. NHL 17 ; My most played sports game of the year. The core gameplay mechanics have not changed much in years. This year's addition of the net battles and extended stick lift have proved to be nice tools for defensemen and has added a new dimension to play in front of the nets for both offensive and defensive players. One of the true gamechangers in EA Canada's latest effort is an expanded set of sliders that the devs claim are the same they use to tune the game. These extensive options have allowed the slider gurus out there to create a gameplay experience that's closer to actual NHL hockey then the casual focused run and gun style that hockey fans have tolerated from EA for years. I've been able to play some amazing games against the CPU and friends with new sliders. The real reason I've dumped so much time into the game this year is the EASHL enhancements. They have smartly kept the game balanced around preset classes/roles but now they've expanded player and club customization far beyond anything that's been offered before and those hooks have been enough to keep me and several gaffer's playing pretty frequently.
8. Titanfall 2 ; Respawn crafted an exceptional single player FPS campaign for the game with a lot of memorable levels and encounters. I enjoyed the variety and creativity of the level design and the story kept me engaged enough to want to see it through. The core gameplay is just so damn good with lots of interesting and fun traversal options snd tight gunplay with interesting weapons. From the little Ive played of the multiplayer Ive enjoyed the organized chaos of how the pilots, titans and A.I. grunts all effect the flow of gameplay and the titan battery system adds a very cool layer of strategy to each battle. There seems to be an extraordinary amount of customization available with pilot, titan and weapon loadouts, a steady stream of worthwhile unlockables and the promise of continued free post launch support that adds quite a bit of replay value to the core multiplayer experience. The quality of most of the multiplayer map design is a bit of a letdown though. Titanfall 2 is a game I am excited to play more of in 2017.
9. Unravel ; Unravel is easily the most visually impressive game I've played in 2016 and possibly ever. It is just stunning throughout. Thankfully there is a really good game that compliments the visuals as well. There were some real standout puzzles and platforming sections sprinkled throughout the journey. The devs at Coldwood set out to create a personal experience and I felt they mostly succeeded. Unravel is most certainly a game with heart and while the culmination of the story didn't deeply move me, this was more of a situation where the highlights of the journey made up for a slightly disappointing final destination.
10. Hyper Light Drifter ; Heart Machine's quirky homage to classic games rounds out my top 10. I'm not the biggest fan of devs settling on the pixel art look for their games but it worked perfectly for this game. They really did a lot with a little to create a unique atmosphere, most notably the weather effects. The game has a really good soundtrack as well and the devs did some really cool things with music cues in the game to help tell their story thru only audio and visual methods. The combat is what elevates the game into greatness since there isn't much story to discuss. I really enjoyed the different combat scenarios and boss fights which made you need to identify patterns and prioritize targets. I went West first and that area's boss almost made me drop the game, but I persevered and am glad I did as it was a really fun and different game that I needed at the time. I think the game would have benefited from an actual narrative as they built an interesting world and the minmalist attempts at explaining things didn't really do it for me. I look forward to whatever Heart Machine decide to do next!
Honorable Mentions
x. FIFA 17 ; FIFA is usually a mainstay in my Top 10 each year, but Im just not having a lot of fun with this year's game after the gameplay changes. Objectively it seems like a better game with physical play being viable, set pieces being much improved and a few other key improvements but I feel like I can't be as creative anymore which bothers me. Kudos to EA Canada for the inclusion of the new Journey single player content. I haven't yet played it but some friends I trust said its worth a playthrough.
x. Abzû ; Giant Squad created a neat little game with some breathtaking visuals in Abzû. You can clearly see some of the Journey and Flower heritage in the design approach and it works out mostly. The story was a slow burn that went to some unexpectedly places that I thought ended really strongly. This is certainly worth a playthrough.
x. NBA 2K17 ; Probably the best overall sports game package for several years. The presentation and attention to details is still mind blowing after all these years. The gameplay is improved this year as Visual Concepts have made an valiant attempt to cut down on the amount of canned animations to tighten up the dribbling and shooting and it's paid off. I need to play this more in 2017.
x. Firewatch ; Campo Santo crafted an extremely interesting game that completely botched the ending which killed a lot of enthusiasm and goodwill I had for it. The first few hours were as intriguing as I played all year with a lot of mystery and uncertainty driving the game forward. I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge and visuals and sound design which are impressive. The writing and dialogue of the main characters was also exemplary, too bad the whole thing crashed and burned in the end...
x. Batman: The Telltale Series ; I'm a big supporter of Telltale Games and I have enjoyed most of their efforts to this point and this was no different. Their take on the Bruce Wayne/Batman story was shockingly different to me as someone who only knows Batman from TV and movies. I thought the first 4 episodes were really strong and the last one fell flat. Episode 5 was plagued with several unacceptable technical problems then the story concluded in a a very predictable manner. I didn't really care for the gameplay mechanic were you pin things together to help Batman figure what happened at a crime scene, they probably should have a gone in another direction for those. If you like Telltale games or are a Batman fan this one is worth a playthrough, its just not as good as Telltale's best like Walking Dead S1, Tales from the Borderlands and The Wolf Among Us.
timetokill
Banned
Hey guys,
Just wanted to pop in and say I appreciate the quality of ballots. I think it's been getting better every year since I required comments, and this year we've got like a full coffee table book's worth of insights and opinions.
Thanks, and keep it up!
Just wanted to pop in and say I appreciate the quality of ballots. I think it's been getting better every year since I required comments, and this year we've got like a full coffee table book's worth of insights and opinions.
Thanks, and keep it up!
Magic Mushroom
Member
Yeah, some of the write-ups are fantastic. GAF doing some good work here.
1. Titanfall 2 ; This title took me back to 90's shooters in that the SP and MP were both top notch, but ultimately I love this game for the MP. This is one of those rare games where losing doesn't even mean that much to me if I played well or made decent progress in my own mechanical skill.
2. XCOM2 ; Just. One. More. Turn! Addictive, and coming in with a host of features that many people wanted (more varied maps, destructible terrain). Add in the fact that the game supports mods and you have a title that can be played for years with damn near limitless tweaks.
3. DOOM ; This game almost feels like an argument for myopic design. It hones in on very few and very straightforward pillars, it just executes them so damn well. Fast, lovely, very metal.
4. Dishonored 2 ; I love the world building, and odd little side stories that litter it. I quite enjoy pushing the gameplay systems and seeing how shit resolves in a bloody Rube Goldberg contraption I've concocted. And the title has among the best level design I've ever played. I just wish it didn't play like ass on PC.
5. Final Fantasy XV ; This game has so many problems I am surprised it's even on this list. The music ranges from www.stockjams.com to amazing pieces that stand among the franchise best. The story while fine is attached to a production that clearly doesn't allow it to tell itself properly, or is conveyed in other media. The combat gameplay is fun, but has a camera designed to make you break your controller. Chapter 13 is real chore, and Cindy feels like she's from the early aughts. Despite all that, the homosocial road quest managed to charm me. Mostly in the small details of banter or weird side quests (Gladios and his near zealot love of Cup Noodles) but also in some of it's sweeping moments... especially the ending. And since it gave me the feels it stands out to me.
2. XCOM2 ; Just. One. More. Turn! Addictive, and coming in with a host of features that many people wanted (more varied maps, destructible terrain). Add in the fact that the game supports mods and you have a title that can be played for years with damn near limitless tweaks.
3. DOOM ; This game almost feels like an argument for myopic design. It hones in on very few and very straightforward pillars, it just executes them so damn well. Fast, lovely, very metal.
4. Dishonored 2 ; I love the world building, and odd little side stories that litter it. I quite enjoy pushing the gameplay systems and seeing how shit resolves in a bloody Rube Goldberg contraption I've concocted. And the title has among the best level design I've ever played. I just wish it didn't play like ass on PC.
5. Final Fantasy XV ; This game has so many problems I am surprised it's even on this list. The music ranges from www.stockjams.com to amazing pieces that stand among the franchise best. The story while fine is attached to a production that clearly doesn't allow it to tell itself properly, or is conveyed in other media. The combat gameplay is fun, but has a camera designed to make you break your controller. Chapter 13 is real chore, and Cindy feels like she's from the early aughts. Despite all that, the homosocial road quest managed to charm me. Mostly in the small details of banter or weird side quests (Gladios and his near zealot love of Cup Noodles) but also in some of it's sweeping moments... especially the ending. And since it gave me the feels it stands out to me.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
One guy described Titanfall 2's single player mode being so good as, well...he actually described Titanfall 2's single player mode. But further than that, he described it being like Mario games in that they introduce a new fun thing, let you test it out, then test you on it at the end before repeating.
And I've been getting these here and there reading thru it and it's great (plus adding to my wishlists...)
1. The Witness ; Top 10 of all time. The ONLY game that had completely new mechanics the enitre 20 to 30 hrs I played. Every time I sat down I had to relearn a new skill, think about puzzles in a new way, or just spend my time exploring a vast beautiful island.
2. PSVR ; While no single experience I had with PSVR can stand up next to a "complete" game, by and large my best gaming memories this year all came from PSVR. REZ Area X, THUMPER, Arkham, Playroom, Star Wars VR.... really feels like the future and the future is bright.
3. Hitman Episode 2 ; While I want to put the whole Hitman game in here Hitman Ep. 2 is just head and shoulders above any game level Ive played before. Just master class in encouraging and rewarding exploration and one of the few games to just let the player go.
4. The Last Guardian ; Didnt hit me as hard as others, but absolutely deserving to stand alongside SotC and Ico
5. Titanfall 2 ; Just a well made game. Doesnt break too much ground, but it does what it does very very well.
6. Overcooked! ; Best couch co-op since Portal 2. Really one of the few cooperative games that requires cooperation
2. PSVR ; While no single experience I had with PSVR can stand up next to a "complete" game, by and large my best gaming memories this year all came from PSVR. REZ Area X, THUMPER, Arkham, Playroom, Star Wars VR.... really feels like the future and the future is bright.
3. Hitman Episode 2 ; While I want to put the whole Hitman game in here Hitman Ep. 2 is just head and shoulders above any game level Ive played before. Just master class in encouraging and rewarding exploration and one of the few games to just let the player go.
4. The Last Guardian ; Didnt hit me as hard as others, but absolutely deserving to stand alongside SotC and Ico
5. Titanfall 2 ; Just a well made game. Doesnt break too much ground, but it does what it does very very well.
6. Overcooked! ; Best couch co-op since Portal 2. Really one of the few cooperative games that requires cooperation
Battlechili
Banned
A few questions: Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster has weird symbols in its name; how should it be written here? It had a PC release earlier this year. Also are free games like Shadowverse allowed?
1. The Last Guardian: game of the generation, industry's most gifted artist's supreme achievement, masterpiece beyond description
2. Final Fantasy XV: a very emotional story about friendship and how it carries one through life, and an FF game which carries the series forward in terms of gameplay. Never expected to like it as much as I did, but here we are.
3. Furi: the most adrenaline pumping game I've played in a while. A perfect marriage of character action game and danmaku.
4. Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: I LOVE BOOBIES! It's admirable how in 2016 Tecmo has guts/bad taste to release a game like this. Momiji is love.
5. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse. Perfect old-school JRPG, long, hard, with a very cool story. And it's really great that Atlus are keeping this particular style of SMT alive and kickin'
6. Persona 5. It's an extremely impressive effort on Atlus' part, it's as good as mid-00's style of JRPGs can get. Amazing visuals, great difficulty, fantastic design of dungeons, bosses, etc.
7. Star Fox Zero. God it feels good to fly in space! Platinum made the best out of Star Fox.
8. Dark Souls 3. Probably the best set of bosses in any Soulsborne game, amazing memories fighting with those bastards.
2. Final Fantasy XV: a very emotional story about friendship and how it carries one through life, and an FF game which carries the series forward in terms of gameplay. Never expected to like it as much as I did, but here we are.
3. Furi: the most adrenaline pumping game I've played in a while. A perfect marriage of character action game and danmaku.
4. Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: I LOVE BOOBIES! It's admirable how in 2016 Tecmo has guts/bad taste to release a game like this. Momiji is love.
5. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse. Perfect old-school JRPG, long, hard, with a very cool story. And it's really great that Atlus are keeping this particular style of SMT alive and kickin'
6. Persona 5. It's an extremely impressive effort on Atlus' part, it's as good as mid-00's style of JRPGs can get. Amazing visuals, great difficulty, fantastic design of dungeons, bosses, etc.
7. Star Fox Zero. God it feels good to fly in space! Platinum made the best out of Star Fox.
8. Dark Souls 3. Probably the best set of bosses in any Soulsborne game, amazing memories fighting with those bastards.
1. Final Fantasy Brave Exvius ; I've never spent so much time playing a mobile game. ExviusGAF is an incredible community. Good vibes all around.
2. Dark Souls III ; My favorite game of the trilogy. The combat just felt right.
3. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Great finale. Great acting all around. Elena was the MVP.
4. Final Fantasy XV ; While not perfect, it still felt like we finally got another mainline FF game. The journey is finally over. Bring on FFXVI.
5. The Witness ; Beautiful game. The best puzzle game I've played since Portal 2. The feeling you get after beating that timed puzzle towards the end is something not many games can convey during play.
6. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Loved the first game of the rebooted series and this one was great as well. Very satisfying bow play.
7. World of Final Fantasy ; Cute throwback to the older games with neat mechanics. The fast forward button is great and reminded me of Bravely Default.
8. Lara Croft Go ; It's on the list and I actually played it for the first time this year, so why not? Played this during our flight to Hawaii and loved it. One of my all time favorite mobile games.
9. Dragon Quest Builders ; Another fun little game. Definitely captured a little bit of the Miecraft charm.
10. Paper Mario: Color Splash ; The first Paper Mario game I actually finished. Actually, that's not true. Got frustrated with the final boss fight and quit.... 100%ed the rest, though!
2. Dark Souls III ; My favorite game of the trilogy. The combat just felt right.
3. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Great finale. Great acting all around. Elena was the MVP.
4. Final Fantasy XV ; While not perfect, it still felt like we finally got another mainline FF game. The journey is finally over. Bring on FFXVI.
5. The Witness ; Beautiful game. The best puzzle game I've played since Portal 2. The feeling you get after beating that timed puzzle towards the end is something not many games can convey during play.
6. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Loved the first game of the rebooted series and this one was great as well. Very satisfying bow play.
7. World of Final Fantasy ; Cute throwback to the older games with neat mechanics. The fast forward button is great and reminded me of Bravely Default.
8. Lara Croft Go ; It's on the list and I actually played it for the first time this year, so why not? Played this during our flight to Hawaii and loved it. One of my all time favorite mobile games.
9. Dragon Quest Builders ; Another fun little game. Definitely captured a little bit of the Miecraft charm.
10. Paper Mario: Color Splash ; The first Paper Mario game I actually finished. Actually, that's not true. Got frustrated with the final boss fight and quit.... 100%ed the rest, though!
I put The Witness as number one too. Still, my first reaction to this sentence was "WHAT?!". But the more I think about it, the more my mind goes here as well. I think The Witness might actually be among the greatest of all time in our medium.
1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Naughty Dog seemed to have taken all their experience with developing the previous Uncharted games + The Last of Us and made a game that had a great story, a graphical and technical marvel, and gameplay that puts previous entries into the series to shame. There are just so many jaw dropping moments that had me on the edge of my seat with excitement. But there were also a lot of intimate moments that, while present in the Uncharted series, never made as much of an impact as they did in Uncharted 4. A truly fitting end to Naughty Dog's time with Nathan Drake.
2. The Last Guardian ; The surprise of the year for me not because I expected the game to be bad but because I was unprepared how well this game was going to resonate with me. The bond between the boy and Trico is so well realized and the journey they go through is so emotional...it's just not something I was expecting. Ueda is 3 for 3 on directing masterpieces and I'm very glad Sony decided let him finish this game. And while the game suffers from some technical issues with framerate or wonky camera, Trico is one of the most impressive things I've ever seen in a video game.
3. The Witness ; The Witness is a masterful puzzle game that somehow evoked a feeling of "Eureka!" throughout the entire time I played it. The game constantly teaching you and is constantly expecting you to remember what you've learned that you start just seeing line puzzles absolutely everywhere. It's just so, so good.
4. Doom ; This game is pure, fast, unadulterated fun. The game is just straight up ridiculous and it knows it is. It's everything I ever wanted from a modern Doom game; something I didn't really think a developer could actually make.
5. Oxenfree ; It's a supernatural teen drama with a great story and atmosphere with some pretty nice music to boot. I loved the way character interacted with each other in the game that it made me want to play multiple times to find out how my dialogue choices changed the outcome (and then finding out the devs did some pretty neat things for those that actually go through the game multiple times.) I'm definitely interesting in whatever game Night School Studio comes out with next.
6. Overwatch ; I'm not much one for multiplayer games, let alone multiplayer shooters but Overwatch somehow sunk it's claws into me. Even despite it's positive reception, I didn't really play the game until Blizzard held one of their free weekend events until I finally caved and tried it out. I then found myself playing it for hours that weekend and immediately bought the game. I love the game's style and characters but there is something about the gameplay that just feels fun in a way I can't really put into words.
7. Furi ; I really feel this game kinda came and went for a lot of people despite it being offered as a PS+ game it's opening month. The game is an absolute blast to play. The game is essentially just a boss rush mode but each boss is so unique in both design and gameplay variety that it makes up for there not being much else in the game. The game also just oozes in style and has some awesome music to accompany your fights.
8. Amplitude ; This always seemed like a sequel that I never thought would come and am glad that I backed it. The soundtrack is a bit more limited than what was in the original PS2 game but I still very much the soundtrack and felt right at home playing through the tracks. It was kind of amazing how much of my muscle memory from the original PS2 release was still in tact for the new entry. I desperately wish Harmonix would put out some DLC for the game but I've accepted that will probably never happen. Still had a lot of fun with it though and go back to it from time to time to play a track or two.
9. Firewatch ; The first thing I want to say about this game is that the voice acting is amazing. It's the most natural-sounding dialogue I've heard in a game that really sells that Henry and Delilah are having a conversation. The next thing I want to say is that the game looks absolutely gorgeous. The resolution isn't the greatest but the moments leading up to it and the interactions between Henry and Delilah made me really like the game.
10. Final Fantasy XV ; I'm just going to say this: This is a super, SUPER flawed game that was rushed to completion. Everything about the game takes a huge nosedive during the second "half" of the game. Despite that, what the game had to offer early on, while exploring the continent of Lucis, stirred something in me that reminded me so much of classic Final Fantasys. It made me think that Square maybe knows just how to make a modern Final Fantasy. So FFXV is such a conflicting game for me because there are parts of it I absolutely adore but there are other parts of it that really left a sour taste in my mouth. I ultimately enjoyed my time with it (so much so that made my top 10) but it left me wanting far more than what was offered. And it makes me cautiously optimistic that Square can use their experience with XV to make a phenomenal game in FFXVI.
Honorable Mentions
x. Inside ;
x. Abzu ;
x. Stellaris ;
x. Ratchet and Clank ;
x. Virginia ;
x. Bound ;
x. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ;
x. Let It Die ;
x. Mirror's Edge: Catalyst ;
x. Darkest Dungeon ;
My honorable mentions are essentially my 11-20 games because 2016 was just packed with great games. And I didn't even get to play all of the ones I wanted to and will definitely be playing Hitman, Stardew Valley, Titanfall 2, Superhot, and Thumper sometime this year.
d00d3n
Member
My NeoGAF GOTY picks for 2016:
1. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Builds on the strengths of the previous game in the series by greatly expanding the aspect where you are exploring an open world city hub. The game mostly takes place in a cyberpunk depiction of Prague, which is one of the most detailed and visually arresting open world environments I have ever seen. I can understand why so many people overlooked Mankind Divided this year considering that the gameplay systems are pretty much the same as in the previous game, but the focus on hub based exploration in a single city made the game feel different enough for me. There are some amazing locations to discover in the city, including the exceptional bank level that offers a density of level design that even the Dishonored 2 designers should be jealous of. Dishonored 2 may achieve a higher quality control of level design overall, but that game can't compete with the novelty of being the first immersive sim to be built around an open world mega city.
2. Dishonored 2 ; The character selection at the beginning of the game may have been a pointless addition and the gameplay systems stay eerily similar to the previous game in most other aspects, but Dishonored 2 has some of the best level design ever both in stealth games and immersive sims. It is stunning how close ”The Clockwork Mansion" came to realize the idea of a mad scientist lair with moving walls and robot enforcers that seemed like utter CGI bullshot territory in the game's first trailer. Meanwhile, ”Edge of the World" perfectly introduced the new setting in Karnaca while being an impressively open-ended level, and ”A Crack in the Slab" had a design centered around time travel that was expertly positioned at a point in the game where the usual game mechanics started to wear thin. The biggest issue with the game by far is its similarity to the previous game in the series, and this issue is probably exacerbated by my chosen playstyle of lingering on levels, exploring every inch, taking out every enemy with non-lethal means and staying undetected. It is an exceptional and remarkable game in many ways, but I really wish that they took larger steps to switch up the formula, like Mankind Divided did.
3. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight ; A remarkable metroidvania style game from an indie developer that I had no previous experience with. The feeling of traversal, animations, pixel art, the soundtrack and setting are of the highest quality from the very beginning of the game. I couldn't believe that I was playing a game from an indie studio that had done a couple of bare bones platformers and no metroidvanias, but still managed to compete at the very top of the field. The game has a difficulty curve and some gameplay systems that are reminiscent of Dark Souls, which provide a nice spin to the metroidvania formula. The most impressive aspect of the game for me was the exceptional restraint shown by the developer in delivering a short metroidvania experience where every area has a unique visual and auditory ambience and nothing feels like extraneous filler.
4. Dark Souls III ; I should hate this game for hustling me to buy three full price copies (PS4 JAP, XBONE JAP, and PC), but I probably got my money's worth to be honest. It is a formulaic soulsbourne game. The level design and the setting are probably weaker than last year's Bloodborne, but the combat and the RPG systems are more fun. I enjoyed the huge leap in graphical fidelity on PC compared with Dark Souls II. I don't think I have much more to say than this. Even a middling From software game is usually better than most other stuff released in any given year, which is also the case this year.
5. Mirror's Edge Catalyst ; One of the most unique open world experiences out there. The first open world parkour game, arguably built on the most solid parkour traversal system in the industry. Some people who found it inferior to the previous game may have missed that it included the very same meticulously designed obstacle courses as that game, only as main missions spaced out in a massive open world game. Progress in the game was rewarded in a very tangible way visually, as you jumped between Sci-Fi districts that were designed radically different. The combat system wasn't entirely successful, but an improvement over the weird static gun system from the previous game. It is a shame that the pretty sizable main mission ends on a dud last level that emphasizes trial and error, but it doesn't take away much from the unique experience of being able to free run creatively in open city blocks.
6.The Witness ; A puzzle game about connecting the spaces between dots that elaborates on this simple idea in elegant, surprising and sometimes beautiful ways. I love how the game encourages you to draw your own conclusions about the rules that govern the puzzles, including faulty assumptions that you will get ecstatic pleasure from clearing up later in the game. The actual story is unnecessary and extraneous, but the joy of learning the mechanics of and solving puzzles drive you through the experience without the need for any external reinforcement.
7. Inside ; A cinematic platformer made by the developer of Limbo and very similar to that game. The puzzles are on the easy side, but mostly fun. There are a couple of complex puzzles larger than anything you saw in Limbo, but while they added some variety, I am not sure that they are a good match with the cinematic platformer concept, and they did not appear to be a strength of the game. The aspects that make this game so memorable is the unique presentation of a side-scrolling dystopian world and its threatening citizens, machines and creatures, together with the beautifully animated little boy main character.
8. Shenzhen I/O ; I like that Zachtronics make super niche games for enthusiasts of programming and difficult logical puzzles, but the hardcore feature of including a large manual that you have to read to understand the game was ill-judged here, I think. A short blurb manual like in TIS-100 was fun, but I honestly got stuck studying the manual instead of playing the game. Two months later I forced myself to start the game again, and it was the same addictive experience like TIS-100, but I would guess that many people were held back from really getting into the game. The gameplay systems are expanded in some interesting ways compared with TIS-100, by limiting some of the features that were standard in that game, and providing plenty of new components to play around with. Some of the simplistic elegance of TIS-100 does get lost here, and I don't know if I like Shenzhen as much as that game, but Shenzhen is still an easy buy for Zachtronics fans.
9. The Lab ; The definitive starting experience for room scale VR. Some mini-games are better than others, but the overall experience of using the user interface, the graphics and the quality control are a notch above everything else I have played in VR this year. The archery mini-game looks deceptively simple, but it can be pretty challenging, and has never failed to put a smile on the face of people I have demonstrated VR to. The portal themed mini-game is the most graphically impressive game I have seen on my VR setup. You can't believe what you are seeing when you are dismantling the robot and it turns into hundreds of freely floating pieces that pop through the screen with good image quality. Most room scale VR titles will provide you with unique experiences that you have never seen before in other games, but what makes The Lab so great is that it makes some of these unique experiences accessible, easy to grasp and ... I guess ”shiny"? In a way that other titles simply can't compete with.
10. Titanfall 2 ; A really good first person shooter singleplayer campaign. Absolutely top notch when it comes to gameplay ideas and level design, but a setting and story that leave something to be desired.
x. Watch Dogs 2 ; A pretty good open world game. The wide range of hacking tools at your disposal and the open world exploration focused around light puzzle solving gives the game its own niche. The big issue with the game is that most of the level design in the missions is nullified by early upgrades to your hacking abilities. This feels awesome when you power game through the first couple of missions, but it gets old very fast. This game would probably have been a strong contender for the ordinary GOTY list if the upgrade systems had been designed with more care in relation to how the missions were designed.
x. Hitman ; A social stealth experience every bit as good as Hitman: Blood Money. The online challenges and the episodic structure didn't do much for me personally, but there were some really fun levels in the game, including the already legendary Sapienza. The game suffered somewhat from the lackluster overarching story structure, and I am not sure that it did that much new compared with Blood Money.
x. Tom Clancy's The Division ; Had a massive and graphically impressive open world environment. Joining up for coop matches was as easy as it has ever been in this type of game, and the instanced levels were mostly excellent. I don't have many negative things to say about the game. It ranks below numbered GOTY slots for me because loot games (and coop games) are not really my thing.
x. Picross 3d: Round 2 ; An excellent puzzle game that entertained me greatly during the downtime of the Christmas holiday. It surprised me how the small gameplay changes compared with the first Picross 3d were able to mix things up so effectively. Really a lovely fun game and one of the best puzzle games of the year, if a little lacking in originality compared with the previous game.
x. Battlefield 1 ; A good competitive multiplayer game. The singleplayer campaign started out really impressively, but it falters when it is split up into several mini campaigns that tackle different characters and themes
x. Dead Rising 4 ; I had a blast playing this, but I suspect that some of my reasons may have been irrational and associated with the unusually strong sense of Christmas cheer that the game has to offer. Mowing down zombies with an unbalanced offering of overpowered combo weapons is kind of fun, but ultimately shallow.
x. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; The game starts out good, but the empty semi open world environments should have been used more sensibly and in moderation. The story is good, but gets lost in the tedium of exploring the massive environments. A shame really, and I am saying that as a big fan of Uncharted 2 and The Last of Us.
x. Call of Duty: Infinity Warfare; Ups the ante in visual spectacle compared with the last few Call of Duty games. The framework of the story of being a commander of large battleship is executed really well. The best call of duty game since Modern Warfare 3 imo.
x. Firewatch ; Seems to be more interesting when it has some suspense in the early parts.
x. Far Cry Primal ; I really enjoyed this and mean to get back into it. The predators were fierce and scary enemies, and unlike in Far Cry 4 you had scarce resources to deal with them, which made the game suspenseful and interesting
x. Hyper Light Drifter ; The pixel art is really good, but the enemy encounters can be chaotically difficult and I don't know if the player is given a fair chance. Seemed a bit repetitive as far as I played as well.
x. Salt and Sanctuary ; An interesting take on 2d dark souls held back by mediocre graphics.
x. Mafia III ; Starts out really promising with good characters and story, but the open world area control missions that make up the lion share of the game are unforgivably grindy and boring
x. DOOM ; I am still looking forward to reading a good explanation of what makes the game relevant and interesting in 2016. Feels like a map pack from 1993 with double jump.
x. Final Fantasy XV ; I spent two hours learning a complicated battle system, pushing a car along a boring road, exploring the menu in a diner close to where my car broke down, and hunting vermin behind the diner. None of these activities seemed fun to me, so I stopped playing the game.
x. Gears of War 4 ; Is advertised as as a fresh post apocalyptic take on the gears world, but I never got past the two first levels that played it extremely safe in boring city corridors. Some people in the OT claim that the game gets better, which is entirely possible, but I have not returned to the game yet.
Played too little of:
Paper Mario: Color Splash
The Last Guardian
Quantum Break
Tyranny
Unravel
Recore
1. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Builds on the strengths of the previous game in the series by greatly expanding the aspect where you are exploring an open world city hub. The game mostly takes place in a cyberpunk depiction of Prague, which is one of the most detailed and visually arresting open world environments I have ever seen. I can understand why so many people overlooked Mankind Divided this year considering that the gameplay systems are pretty much the same as in the previous game, but the focus on hub based exploration in a single city made the game feel different enough for me. There are some amazing locations to discover in the city, including the exceptional bank level that offers a density of level design that even the Dishonored 2 designers should be jealous of. Dishonored 2 may achieve a higher quality control of level design overall, but that game can't compete with the novelty of being the first immersive sim to be built around an open world mega city.
2. Dishonored 2 ; The character selection at the beginning of the game may have been a pointless addition and the gameplay systems stay eerily similar to the previous game in most other aspects, but Dishonored 2 has some of the best level design ever both in stealth games and immersive sims. It is stunning how close ”The Clockwork Mansion" came to realize the idea of a mad scientist lair with moving walls and robot enforcers that seemed like utter CGI bullshot territory in the game's first trailer. Meanwhile, ”Edge of the World" perfectly introduced the new setting in Karnaca while being an impressively open-ended level, and ”A Crack in the Slab" had a design centered around time travel that was expertly positioned at a point in the game where the usual game mechanics started to wear thin. The biggest issue with the game by far is its similarity to the previous game in the series, and this issue is probably exacerbated by my chosen playstyle of lingering on levels, exploring every inch, taking out every enemy with non-lethal means and staying undetected. It is an exceptional and remarkable game in many ways, but I really wish that they took larger steps to switch up the formula, like Mankind Divided did.
3. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight ; A remarkable metroidvania style game from an indie developer that I had no previous experience with. The feeling of traversal, animations, pixel art, the soundtrack and setting are of the highest quality from the very beginning of the game. I couldn't believe that I was playing a game from an indie studio that had done a couple of bare bones platformers and no metroidvanias, but still managed to compete at the very top of the field. The game has a difficulty curve and some gameplay systems that are reminiscent of Dark Souls, which provide a nice spin to the metroidvania formula. The most impressive aspect of the game for me was the exceptional restraint shown by the developer in delivering a short metroidvania experience where every area has a unique visual and auditory ambience and nothing feels like extraneous filler.
4. Dark Souls III ; I should hate this game for hustling me to buy three full price copies (PS4 JAP, XBONE JAP, and PC), but I probably got my money's worth to be honest. It is a formulaic soulsbourne game. The level design and the setting are probably weaker than last year's Bloodborne, but the combat and the RPG systems are more fun. I enjoyed the huge leap in graphical fidelity on PC compared with Dark Souls II. I don't think I have much more to say than this. Even a middling From software game is usually better than most other stuff released in any given year, which is also the case this year.
5. Mirror's Edge Catalyst ; One of the most unique open world experiences out there. The first open world parkour game, arguably built on the most solid parkour traversal system in the industry. Some people who found it inferior to the previous game may have missed that it included the very same meticulously designed obstacle courses as that game, only as main missions spaced out in a massive open world game. Progress in the game was rewarded in a very tangible way visually, as you jumped between Sci-Fi districts that were designed radically different. The combat system wasn't entirely successful, but an improvement over the weird static gun system from the previous game. It is a shame that the pretty sizable main mission ends on a dud last level that emphasizes trial and error, but it doesn't take away much from the unique experience of being able to free run creatively in open city blocks.
6.The Witness ; A puzzle game about connecting the spaces between dots that elaborates on this simple idea in elegant, surprising and sometimes beautiful ways. I love how the game encourages you to draw your own conclusions about the rules that govern the puzzles, including faulty assumptions that you will get ecstatic pleasure from clearing up later in the game. The actual story is unnecessary and extraneous, but the joy of learning the mechanics of and solving puzzles drive you through the experience without the need for any external reinforcement.
7. Inside ; A cinematic platformer made by the developer of Limbo and very similar to that game. The puzzles are on the easy side, but mostly fun. There are a couple of complex puzzles larger than anything you saw in Limbo, but while they added some variety, I am not sure that they are a good match with the cinematic platformer concept, and they did not appear to be a strength of the game. The aspects that make this game so memorable is the unique presentation of a side-scrolling dystopian world and its threatening citizens, machines and creatures, together with the beautifully animated little boy main character.
8. Shenzhen I/O ; I like that Zachtronics make super niche games for enthusiasts of programming and difficult logical puzzles, but the hardcore feature of including a large manual that you have to read to understand the game was ill-judged here, I think. A short blurb manual like in TIS-100 was fun, but I honestly got stuck studying the manual instead of playing the game. Two months later I forced myself to start the game again, and it was the same addictive experience like TIS-100, but I would guess that many people were held back from really getting into the game. The gameplay systems are expanded in some interesting ways compared with TIS-100, by limiting some of the features that were standard in that game, and providing plenty of new components to play around with. Some of the simplistic elegance of TIS-100 does get lost here, and I don't know if I like Shenzhen as much as that game, but Shenzhen is still an easy buy for Zachtronics fans.
9. The Lab ; The definitive starting experience for room scale VR. Some mini-games are better than others, but the overall experience of using the user interface, the graphics and the quality control are a notch above everything else I have played in VR this year. The archery mini-game looks deceptively simple, but it can be pretty challenging, and has never failed to put a smile on the face of people I have demonstrated VR to. The portal themed mini-game is the most graphically impressive game I have seen on my VR setup. You can't believe what you are seeing when you are dismantling the robot and it turns into hundreds of freely floating pieces that pop through the screen with good image quality. Most room scale VR titles will provide you with unique experiences that you have never seen before in other games, but what makes The Lab so great is that it makes some of these unique experiences accessible, easy to grasp and ... I guess ”shiny"? In a way that other titles simply can't compete with.
10. Titanfall 2 ; A really good first person shooter singleplayer campaign. Absolutely top notch when it comes to gameplay ideas and level design, but a setting and story that leave something to be desired.
x. Watch Dogs 2 ; A pretty good open world game. The wide range of hacking tools at your disposal and the open world exploration focused around light puzzle solving gives the game its own niche. The big issue with the game is that most of the level design in the missions is nullified by early upgrades to your hacking abilities. This feels awesome when you power game through the first couple of missions, but it gets old very fast. This game would probably have been a strong contender for the ordinary GOTY list if the upgrade systems had been designed with more care in relation to how the missions were designed.
x. Hitman ; A social stealth experience every bit as good as Hitman: Blood Money. The online challenges and the episodic structure didn't do much for me personally, but there were some really fun levels in the game, including the already legendary Sapienza. The game suffered somewhat from the lackluster overarching story structure, and I am not sure that it did that much new compared with Blood Money.
x. Tom Clancy's The Division ; Had a massive and graphically impressive open world environment. Joining up for coop matches was as easy as it has ever been in this type of game, and the instanced levels were mostly excellent. I don't have many negative things to say about the game. It ranks below numbered GOTY slots for me because loot games (and coop games) are not really my thing.
x. Picross 3d: Round 2 ; An excellent puzzle game that entertained me greatly during the downtime of the Christmas holiday. It surprised me how the small gameplay changes compared with the first Picross 3d were able to mix things up so effectively. Really a lovely fun game and one of the best puzzle games of the year, if a little lacking in originality compared with the previous game.
x. Battlefield 1 ; A good competitive multiplayer game. The singleplayer campaign started out really impressively, but it falters when it is split up into several mini campaigns that tackle different characters and themes
x. Dead Rising 4 ; I had a blast playing this, but I suspect that some of my reasons may have been irrational and associated with the unusually strong sense of Christmas cheer that the game has to offer. Mowing down zombies with an unbalanced offering of overpowered combo weapons is kind of fun, but ultimately shallow.
x. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; The game starts out good, but the empty semi open world environments should have been used more sensibly and in moderation. The story is good, but gets lost in the tedium of exploring the massive environments. A shame really, and I am saying that as a big fan of Uncharted 2 and The Last of Us.
x. Call of Duty: Infinity Warfare; Ups the ante in visual spectacle compared with the last few Call of Duty games. The framework of the story of being a commander of large battleship is executed really well. The best call of duty game since Modern Warfare 3 imo.
x. Firewatch ; Seems to be more interesting when it has some suspense in the early parts.
x. Far Cry Primal ; I really enjoyed this and mean to get back into it. The predators were fierce and scary enemies, and unlike in Far Cry 4 you had scarce resources to deal with them, which made the game suspenseful and interesting
x. Hyper Light Drifter ; The pixel art is really good, but the enemy encounters can be chaotically difficult and I don't know if the player is given a fair chance. Seemed a bit repetitive as far as I played as well.
x. Salt and Sanctuary ; An interesting take on 2d dark souls held back by mediocre graphics.
x. Mafia III ; Starts out really promising with good characters and story, but the open world area control missions that make up the lion share of the game are unforgivably grindy and boring
x. DOOM ; I am still looking forward to reading a good explanation of what makes the game relevant and interesting in 2016. Feels like a map pack from 1993 with double jump.
x. Final Fantasy XV ; I spent two hours learning a complicated battle system, pushing a car along a boring road, exploring the menu in a diner close to where my car broke down, and hunting vermin behind the diner. None of these activities seemed fun to me, so I stopped playing the game.
x. Gears of War 4 ; Is advertised as as a fresh post apocalyptic take on the gears world, but I never got past the two first levels that played it extremely safe in boring city corridors. Some people in the OT claim that the game gets better, which is entirely possible, but I have not returned to the game yet.
Played too little of:
Paper Mario: Color Splash
The Last Guardian
Quantum Break
Tyranny
Unravel
Recore
Robot Pants
Member
It most certainly is
Not that I've ever made a Top 10 of all time, but if I did I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this was in there.
DenogginizerOS
BenjaminBirdie's Thomas Jefferson
1. Titanfall 2 - Not since Half-Life 2 have I felt this positive about a single player campaign. The multiplayer has the best online net code of this generation for any FPS. Hands down, my game of 2016.
2. Doom - A close second to Respawn's masterpiece, it was a frenetic gore fest that kept me intrigued and entertained throughout. The Arcade mode gives it life beyond this generation and should be copied by future games in the genre.
3. Forza Horizon 3 - A beautiful and joyous gaming experience that should be played by anyone remotely interested in fun and cars.
2. Doom - A close second to Respawn's masterpiece, it was a frenetic gore fest that kept me intrigued and entertained throughout. The Arcade mode gives it life beyond this generation and should be copied by future games in the genre.
3. Forza Horizon 3 - A beautiful and joyous gaming experience that should be played by anyone remotely interested in fun and cars.
foamdino
Member
1. Stellaris ; (PC) A really good mix of grand strategy and 4X gameplay. The strongest part is the early game for sure and I've yet to 'finish' a game in the traditional sense, but I think I've spent more time with this than any other game released in 2016.
2. Total War: Warhammer ; (PC) It does the warhammer fantasy universe really well. I've only played for about 20 hours so far, but I've really enjoyed this one - just waiting on Skaven faction ;-(
3. Darkest Dungeon ; (PC/Mac) Played this when I got my kickstarter key, then deliberately waited until full release. Love the atmosphere, art, narrator - eventually the grind wore me down and I haven't revisited it.
4. Overcooked ; (PS4) No other game has had myself and my kid shouting, screaming and laughing as we try to get the correct ingredients for a burger cooked and served in a ridiculously complicated kitchen.
5. No Man's Sky ; (PS4) It did what I wanted it to do - chill exploration game, beautiful scenery. I only got this at Christmas so I didn't pay launch price, which may have affected how I feel about it.
6. Stardew Valley ; (PS4) Really nice pixel art game which I'm enjoying playing with my son - having never played Harvest Moon I don't know how it actually compares, but the developer deserves all the praise they got.
(the rest of the games I've played this year were not released in 2016)
2. Total War: Warhammer ; (PC) It does the warhammer fantasy universe really well. I've only played for about 20 hours so far, but I've really enjoyed this one - just waiting on Skaven faction ;-(
3. Darkest Dungeon ; (PC/Mac) Played this when I got my kickstarter key, then deliberately waited until full release. Love the atmosphere, art, narrator - eventually the grind wore me down and I haven't revisited it.
4. Overcooked ; (PS4) No other game has had myself and my kid shouting, screaming and laughing as we try to get the correct ingredients for a burger cooked and served in a ridiculously complicated kitchen.
5. No Man's Sky ; (PS4) It did what I wanted it to do - chill exploration game, beautiful scenery. I only got this at Christmas so I didn't pay launch price, which may have affected how I feel about it.
6. Stardew Valley ; (PS4) Really nice pixel art game which I'm enjoying playing with my son - having never played Harvest Moon I don't know how it actually compares, but the developer deserves all the praise they got.
(the rest of the games I've played this year were not released in 2016)
1. Overwatch ; Best FPS game i played in years, a worthy sequel to TF2 Valve would never give us anymore. Simply best game in decade.
2. Uncharted4 ; Grand finale to series that went higher with each game, simply graphics and animation details wowed me so hard. If Overwatch wasnt this year , it would be instant goty for me.
3. Mortal Kombat XL ; What a fighting game . It has everything from Predator to Goro. So much fun to play , so much fun to watch. Also launch trailer was amazing and introduced me to SoAD.
4. Street Fighter V ; Well its street fighter and i am huge fan of FGs of course it was going to be on list , but even initial roster and content(also optimization) disappointed me , game is getting better with each update.
5. Pokemon Go ; Fun little game kept me busy during summer. Not much to talk about , it speaks itself.
happy new year !
2. Uncharted4 ; Grand finale to series that went higher with each game, simply graphics and animation details wowed me so hard. If Overwatch wasnt this year , it would be instant goty for me.
3. Mortal Kombat XL ; What a fighting game . It has everything from Predator to Goro. So much fun to play , so much fun to watch. Also launch trailer was amazing and introduced me to SoAD.
4. Street Fighter V ; Well its street fighter and i am huge fan of FGs of course it was going to be on list , but even initial roster and content(also optimization) disappointed me , game is getting better with each update.
5. Pokemon Go ; Fun little game kept me busy during summer. Not much to talk about , it speaks itself.
happy new year !
The Emperor
Member
1. Final Fantasy XV; Kept flip flopping between this and pokemon. So it finally came out. And it both delivered and it didn't. The story is truly the worst in the series in execution, but in terms of heart, one of the best. In terms of characterisations of the cast, definitely the best. But in terms of having deep characters with arcs, it is the worst since FF3. But the gameplay and world are just a joy. It is truly a world of wonders. The battle system is fast and fun, dunno how I'll play an action game without warp strike anymore (well NIER demo was fun so I guess I will). Ultimately the game felt like a great adventure, a great journey. The second half I enjoyed a lot too, including Chapter 13. And the ending was a tear jerker for the ages.
2. Pokemon Sun/Moon; Well this game crept up on me. I brought it because of hype, played an hour, then FFXV came out so didn't come back to it till last week. And boy has this game captured my enthusiasm! The setting gives me FFX vibes, it feels like a celebration of everything pokemon, it has the breadth of content of an old JRPG, it has charming characters, it evolves the pokemon formula so well. It has made me a pokemon fan again after the horrific atrocity that was Pokemon Go and the series in general post Ruby/saphire for me.
I didn't play any other brand new retail releases this year so can't really post any more games!
2. Pokemon Sun/Moon; Well this game crept up on me. I brought it because of hype, played an hour, then FFXV came out so didn't come back to it till last week. And boy has this game captured my enthusiasm! The setting gives me FFX vibes, it feels like a celebration of everything pokemon, it has the breadth of content of an old JRPG, it has charming characters, it evolves the pokemon formula so well. It has made me a pokemon fan again after the horrific atrocity that was Pokemon Go and the series in general post Ruby/saphire for me.
I didn't play any other brand new retail releases this year so can't really post any more games!
Fix your formatting and put ; after games names.
1. The Last Guardian ; A triumph in artistic, visual and level design with a magical touch that can only be delivered by Ueda-San. Well worth the 9 year wait as I feel a title like this really is a once in a generation game that will stick with me long in the memory for years to come. It perfectly follows and honours the legendary Ico and SoTC from Japan Studio and Team Ico (now Gen Design). What the team managed to accomplish with Trico's AI is to create the most believable companion in video games ever, with every little rustling feather, ear prick and animation wonderfully executed. The world is a beautiful painting in motion and the story is so full of charm, wit, a tale of companionship and adventure that is slightly more straight forward but just as mysterious as previous Team Ico games. The puzzles feel organic and in tune with the environment along with the delightful back and forth between Trico and the young boy in solving various puzzles. I was fortunate enough to play this on the PS4 Pro and experienced few technical hiccups and the camera was not a large hindrance to what proved to be one of the best gaming experiences of the gen for me. The Last Guardian in my eyes, is a masterpiece that should be played by every PS4 owner who yearns for an artistic, emotionally charged single player roller coaster type of a game, that fills a void left behind from a bygone PS2 era age that only a Team Ico game could ever fill.
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Naught Dog successfully sent one of my favourite video game series out with a bang and serious fan respect and a level of mature story telling that they've been honing since UC1. Beautifully and memorable rendered environments set the stage for Nate's final adventure with ND still king of the pile in pushing console hardware to its limits. The team have created some of the most believable characters and relationships between Nate, Elena, Sully and Sam, along with villains Nadine and Rafe with their exquisite execution in facial animation and performance capture. UC4 had all the adrenaline highs you would expect from a UC game, with the best gunplay of the series, but what stood out to me where the quieter moments the game serves up between characters. The added cherry on top to all this was a fantastic multiplayer suite with all the combat moves and rope swing brought from SP seamlessly. With a committed long term focus to balances and free maps and modes such as the newly released co-op Survival mode that just extend the games life further. Bravo to ND, one of if not the most talented dev team in this business.
3. Firewatch ; This game proved to be one of the most human stories I've ever experienced in the medium. Campo Santo created an organic and beautiful relationship between Henry and Delilah that unfolded over a walkie talkie across months of loneliness in the Wyoming forest. The traversal forest with just a simple map and compass was a genius move in accomplishing exploration metroidvania style. The art style is also one of the most gorgeous I've played in a long while reminiscent of a flowing Pixar film. While others may have found the ending underwhelming, I simply appreciated Campo Santo's efforts in creating an ultimately human story that still captured all the elements of adventure, horror, fear and self worth through playing Henry alone in this expansive forest.
4. DOOM ; id software crafted one of the more memorable shooter campaigns in recent years with their reboot effort of DOOM. Managing to capture in a bottle the fluid movement and traversal of gen 1 DOOM games, as well as all the heft and brutality of the DOOM marines insane arsenal of weaponry was a joy to experience every single time I fired up my PS4. With some fresh sprinkling of new/modern elements such as glory kills, double jumps etc, what we got was a fast paced in your-fucking-face shooter masterpiece that deserves all the accolades coming it's way. The surprising amount of depth to the story about the characters, demons and environments within the games codex was a further smart move by the team to provide those who want more story with just that, while giving room to other players who simply want to rip and tear until it's done. An incredible soundtrack delivered by Mick Gordon was just the perfect dressing required to put players in a hypnotic but hyper trance when taking down the legions of hell. DOOM is back baby.
5. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; Any excuse to return to the world of The Witcher 3, (which is now easily my game of the generation), is one I relish. Travelling to Touissant as a whole new map area that was distinctly full of colour, sights and sounds eeking out the TV you can almost taste it was simply wonderful. CD Projekt provided a masterful and satisfactory send off for Geralt with a weaving story of warring vampires and more side quests that delve into unique characters in the region and giving more gorgeous armour sets to pursue. CD Projekt are now officially kings of the open world genre with no one coming close to challenging them at this moment in time. Oh and the soundtrack once again was ace!
6. Battlefield 1 ; A magnificent multiplayer experience that is held together by one of the most astonishing technical accomplishments in the Frost Bite Engine that provided gorgeous visuals, with REAL environmental destruction all while 64 players shoot each other, fly planes and drive tanks. As a newcomer to the Battlefield series, this entire multiplayer suite felt like magic with the fresh dive into WW1 providing a welcome break from all the futuristic nonsense every shooter is chasing. The game is only let down by a largely disappointing SP campaign but truthfully, all that serves is to be an appetizer for the main MP course. DICE have crafted an MP game that I've sunk over 40+ hours into and are the only ones who've convinced me to buy a season pass because I'm eager to play this long term and enjoy new maps, modes and weaponry. Operations is also some of the most exhilarating action that can be had in a shooter today with tense long rounds of defend or attack usually ending in unbridled ecstasy or extreme exasperation. They key to all this...it's always fun. Side note: the kill confirmed ding in SP is up there with the Killzone chirp!
7. INSIDE ; A beautifully cinematic puzzle platformer that acts as a worthy successor to its predecessor Limbo. You can tell every single environment in this game is handcrafted with nothing put in place without serving a purpose to elucidate more of the cryptic story and it's universe, provide more to the oppressive atmosphere or serve as a puzzle solving mechanic (the little chicks!). With moments of genuine awe, confusion, fear and disgust, this is an indie title that deserves to be played by anyone with even a slight interest in 2D side-scrollers. The less explained about this title the better, delving deep into its gameplay or themes would only be a disservice for those who are yet to play one of the best indie games in years.
8. Titanfall 2 ; As a newcomer to the series on PS4, Titanfall 2 has been my personal COD killer that I've been waiting years for. I enjoy fast paced shooter games and the movement mechanics created by Respawn provide a real parkour playground that lets the player zip around SP or MP campaign maps in nearly any manner they like. The diverse range of Titans to choose from create a real and tense rock, paper, scissors sort of scenarios when facing off against other players. The arsenal of weapons all have a nice arcadey feel to them and are punchy when making contact with other pilots flesh. The real surprise in Titanfall 2 is the incredible SP campaign that is short but oh so sweet with some truly cool gameplay twists thrown in and incredible level design that literally flips around in every way possible at one certain point. I wish it was a tad longer and the boss fights weren't so hilariously easy and short, but that is a nitpick in what was an otherwise fabulous campaign. I also want to commend Respawn on their commitment to free maps and modes for the lifetime of their game, an industry practice that more devs and pubs should take note of.
9. Watch Dogs 2 ; Somehow, Ubisoft fucking did it! They actually crafted the hacker open world experience promised to us in the first game but with more charm and lovable characters. Expanding the hacking options for every object in the game was a stroke of genius providing a true sandbox for me to play in and allowed me to take a less murderous approach to mission and quests (stun gun all day every day). The addition of the RC and Drone were obvious in hind sight but clever additions and assisted in allowing me to play as a ghost entering gang hideouts, apartments, guarded buildings etc. The world of San Francisco was beautifully recreated with the usual Ubi bloat in side activities but most of these were engaging and fun bar kart racing and drone flying imo. Furthermore, I absolutely adored all the hacker cheese dialogue, Silicon Valley ridiculousness and memes as it just served to create a much more friendly and care free attitude that suits the world of Watch Dogs oh so much more. A wonderful breath of fresh air from the first game and I truly hope that Ubisoft push ahead with a sequel using Marcus and the crew once again. Well done to the team!
10. Overwatch ; A welcome change to the MP hero shooter formula that doesn't work on KD ratios but assembling a balanced team of characters to work together and accomplish specific targets in matches. What Blizzard crafted here is pure magic with a wide and colourful cast of characters that are just begging to be explored deeper through comics, animation shorts etc. For once, I enjoyed a game where I could play support (Mercy da best) and still feel like I made a huge contribution to my teams victory. I've only scratched the surface of the game having mained about 5-7 characters so there is a lot more for me to sink my teeth into. Once again I would like to applaud Blizzard's approach to free updates even though I have qualms with the predatory loot box system. In any case, this is a highly polished and fun multiplayer experience that I will no doubt be playing for many years to come.
Honorable mentions
x. No Man's Sky ; One of the most controversial games of the year was also one of my most memorable. The first 10-15 hours of the game were pure bliss from exploring my first largely desolate planet until finally gathering resources to escape the surface and realise how minuscule the play space I was in was. The thrill of flying off my first planet and looking around my first galaxy is one of the greatest experiences I've had in gaming in a long while. Exploring and cataloguing flaura and fauna while upgrading aspects of my spaceship, suit and inventory was fun before inevitably the mask fell and became a repetitive grind. I never got to the centre of my galaxy, but I truly appreciate what the small team at Hello Games managed to accomplish as the memories will live long in my mind.
x. Ratchet and Clank ; Thanks to Insomniac I was able to visit a game series I've largely ignored even though I've been on PlayStation since the PS1 days. The team crafted a beautfiul pixar-esque like quality in graphics and I finally was able to appreciate the hilarious relationship between Ratchet and Clank in their origin story. I always knew the series had a wacky range of weapons and getting to enjoy some such as the Pixelizor and Groovitron was a nice change of pace from the standard military guff I've grown accustomed to. I'm looking forward to more from the series in a few years, now that I've finally got my feet wet in it.
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Naught Dog successfully sent one of my favourite video game series out with a bang and serious fan respect and a level of mature story telling that they've been honing since UC1. Beautifully and memorable rendered environments set the stage for Nate's final adventure with ND still king of the pile in pushing console hardware to its limits. The team have created some of the most believable characters and relationships between Nate, Elena, Sully and Sam, along with villains Nadine and Rafe with their exquisite execution in facial animation and performance capture. UC4 had all the adrenaline highs you would expect from a UC game, with the best gunplay of the series, but what stood out to me where the quieter moments the game serves up between characters. The added cherry on top to all this was a fantastic multiplayer suite with all the combat moves and rope swing brought from SP seamlessly. With a committed long term focus to balances and free maps and modes such as the newly released co-op Survival mode that just extend the games life further. Bravo to ND, one of if not the most talented dev team in this business.
3. Firewatch ; This game proved to be one of the most human stories I've ever experienced in the medium. Campo Santo created an organic and beautiful relationship between Henry and Delilah that unfolded over a walkie talkie across months of loneliness in the Wyoming forest. The traversal forest with just a simple map and compass was a genius move in accomplishing exploration metroidvania style. The art style is also one of the most gorgeous I've played in a long while reminiscent of a flowing Pixar film. While others may have found the ending underwhelming, I simply appreciated Campo Santo's efforts in creating an ultimately human story that still captured all the elements of adventure, horror, fear and self worth through playing Henry alone in this expansive forest.
4. DOOM ; id software crafted one of the more memorable shooter campaigns in recent years with their reboot effort of DOOM. Managing to capture in a bottle the fluid movement and traversal of gen 1 DOOM games, as well as all the heft and brutality of the DOOM marines insane arsenal of weaponry was a joy to experience every single time I fired up my PS4. With some fresh sprinkling of new/modern elements such as glory kills, double jumps etc, what we got was a fast paced in your-fucking-face shooter masterpiece that deserves all the accolades coming it's way. The surprising amount of depth to the story about the characters, demons and environments within the games codex was a further smart move by the team to provide those who want more story with just that, while giving room to other players who simply want to rip and tear until it's done. An incredible soundtrack delivered by Mick Gordon was just the perfect dressing required to put players in a hypnotic but hyper trance when taking down the legions of hell. DOOM is back baby.
5. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; Any excuse to return to the world of The Witcher 3, (which is now easily my game of the generation), is one I relish. Travelling to Touissant as a whole new map area that was distinctly full of colour, sights and sounds eeking out the TV you can almost taste it was simply wonderful. CD Projekt provided a masterful and satisfactory send off for Geralt with a weaving story of warring vampires and more side quests that delve into unique characters in the region and giving more gorgeous armour sets to pursue. CD Projekt are now officially kings of the open world genre with no one coming close to challenging them at this moment in time. Oh and the soundtrack once again was ace!
6. Battlefield 1 ; A magnificent multiplayer experience that is held together by one of the most astonishing technical accomplishments in the Frost Bite Engine that provided gorgeous visuals, with REAL environmental destruction all while 64 players shoot each other, fly planes and drive tanks. As a newcomer to the Battlefield series, this entire multiplayer suite felt like magic with the fresh dive into WW1 providing a welcome break from all the futuristic nonsense every shooter is chasing. The game is only let down by a largely disappointing SP campaign but truthfully, all that serves is to be an appetizer for the main MP course. DICE have crafted an MP game that I've sunk over 40+ hours into and are the only ones who've convinced me to buy a season pass because I'm eager to play this long term and enjoy new maps, modes and weaponry. Operations is also some of the most exhilarating action that can be had in a shooter today with tense long rounds of defend or attack usually ending in unbridled ecstasy or extreme exasperation. They key to all this...it's always fun. Side note: the kill confirmed ding in SP is up there with the Killzone chirp!
7. INSIDE ; A beautifully cinematic puzzle platformer that acts as a worthy successor to its predecessor Limbo. You can tell every single environment in this game is handcrafted with nothing put in place without serving a purpose to elucidate more of the cryptic story and it's universe, provide more to the oppressive atmosphere or serve as a puzzle solving mechanic (the little chicks!). With moments of genuine awe, confusion, fear and disgust, this is an indie title that deserves to be played by anyone with even a slight interest in 2D side-scrollers. The less explained about this title the better, delving deep into its gameplay or themes would only be a disservice for those who are yet to play one of the best indie games in years.
8. Titanfall 2 ; As a newcomer to the series on PS4, Titanfall 2 has been my personal COD killer that I've been waiting years for. I enjoy fast paced shooter games and the movement mechanics created by Respawn provide a real parkour playground that lets the player zip around SP or MP campaign maps in nearly any manner they like. The diverse range of Titans to choose from create a real and tense rock, paper, scissors sort of scenarios when facing off against other players. The arsenal of weapons all have a nice arcadey feel to them and are punchy when making contact with other pilots flesh. The real surprise in Titanfall 2 is the incredible SP campaign that is short but oh so sweet with some truly cool gameplay twists thrown in and incredible level design that literally flips around in every way possible at one certain point. I wish it was a tad longer and the boss fights weren't so hilariously easy and short, but that is a nitpick in what was an otherwise fabulous campaign. I also want to commend Respawn on their commitment to free maps and modes for the lifetime of their game, an industry practice that more devs and pubs should take note of.
9. Watch Dogs 2 ; Somehow, Ubisoft fucking did it! They actually crafted the hacker open world experience promised to us in the first game but with more charm and lovable characters. Expanding the hacking options for every object in the game was a stroke of genius providing a true sandbox for me to play in and allowed me to take a less murderous approach to mission and quests (stun gun all day every day). The addition of the RC and Drone were obvious in hind sight but clever additions and assisted in allowing me to play as a ghost entering gang hideouts, apartments, guarded buildings etc. The world of San Francisco was beautifully recreated with the usual Ubi bloat in side activities but most of these were engaging and fun bar kart racing and drone flying imo. Furthermore, I absolutely adored all the hacker cheese dialogue, Silicon Valley ridiculousness and memes as it just served to create a much more friendly and care free attitude that suits the world of Watch Dogs oh so much more. A wonderful breath of fresh air from the first game and I truly hope that Ubisoft push ahead with a sequel using Marcus and the crew once again. Well done to the team!
10. Overwatch ; A welcome change to the MP hero shooter formula that doesn't work on KD ratios but assembling a balanced team of characters to work together and accomplish specific targets in matches. What Blizzard crafted here is pure magic with a wide and colourful cast of characters that are just begging to be explored deeper through comics, animation shorts etc. For once, I enjoyed a game where I could play support (Mercy da best) and still feel like I made a huge contribution to my teams victory. I've only scratched the surface of the game having mained about 5-7 characters so there is a lot more for me to sink my teeth into. Once again I would like to applaud Blizzard's approach to free updates even though I have qualms with the predatory loot box system. In any case, this is a highly polished and fun multiplayer experience that I will no doubt be playing for many years to come.
Honorable mentions
x. No Man's Sky ; One of the most controversial games of the year was also one of my most memorable. The first 10-15 hours of the game were pure bliss from exploring my first largely desolate planet until finally gathering resources to escape the surface and realise how minuscule the play space I was in was. The thrill of flying off my first planet and looking around my first galaxy is one of the greatest experiences I've had in gaming in a long while. Exploring and cataloguing flaura and fauna while upgrading aspects of my spaceship, suit and inventory was fun before inevitably the mask fell and became a repetitive grind. I never got to the centre of my galaxy, but I truly appreciate what the small team at Hello Games managed to accomplish as the memories will live long in my mind.
x. Ratchet and Clank ; Thanks to Insomniac I was able to visit a game series I've largely ignored even though I've been on PlayStation since the PS1 days. The team crafted a beautfiul pixar-esque like quality in graphics and I finally was able to appreciate the hilarious relationship between Ratchet and Clank in their origin story. I always knew the series had a wacky range of weapons and getting to enjoy some such as the Pixelizor and Groovitron was a nice change of pace from the standard military guff I've grown accustomed to. I'm looking forward to more from the series in a few years, now that I've finally got my feet wet in it.