Admiral Woofington
Member
Im surprised tales from the borderlands is eligible
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GAF Games of the Year 2016 - Voting Thread [Voting closed]
- Thread starter Cheesemeister
- Start date
1. Paper Mario Color Splash ; It's not the best game of the year, but the most fun I had with a game this year was with Paper Mario. The game is not perfect, but a lot of people dismissed it for not being a great rpg instead of enjoying it being a great adventure in the style of classic point-and-click games.
2. Fire Emblem Fates ; I can never say no to Fire Emblem.
3. The Witness ; Amazingly crafted puzzle game.
4. Inside ; Great atmosphere with minimalistic presentation.
5. Rhythm Heaven Megamix ; The story was unnecessary, but the game itself is as pure and weird as expected.
6. Overwatch ; The third online shooter I've managed to enjoy besides TF2 and Splatoon.
7. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ; The strongest AA game of the latter trilogy.
8. Oxenfree ; An interesting ghost mystery solved by talking instead of fighting.
9. Hyper Light Drifter ; A good Zelda-like.
10. Civilization VI ; Civ games tend to be incomplete at release and Civ VI is too, but it's fun and will surely grow to become a worthy Civ game.
2. Fire Emblem Fates ; I can never say no to Fire Emblem.
3. The Witness ; Amazingly crafted puzzle game.
4. Inside ; Great atmosphere with minimalistic presentation.
5. Rhythm Heaven Megamix ; The story was unnecessary, but the game itself is as pure and weird as expected.
6. Overwatch ; The third online shooter I've managed to enjoy besides TF2 and Splatoon.
7. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ; The strongest AA game of the latter trilogy.
8. Oxenfree ; An interesting ghost mystery solved by talking instead of fighting.
9. Hyper Light Drifter ; A good Zelda-like.
10. Civilization VI ; Civ games tend to be incomplete at release and Civ VI is too, but it's fun and will surely grow to become a worthy Civ game.
Right, so this year couldn't match the highs of 2015 for me, nowhere near, so I'm going to have to order my 2016 list in a pretty arbitrary way.
The following order isn't necessarily a total 'best to worst' type of gig. Almost any of these games could be shifted into #1 or shifted down to #10. There was so much variety this year, it was crazy - but yeah, no Witcher 3 or MGSV or Dying Light for me this year.
Anyway, without further ado:
--------------------------------------------
Edit: Drastic rewrite!
1. Dishonored 2 ; I had this game mid-flow but totally forgot about it. Booted it up last night and realised this is the best-designed game I've played all year.
- some of the best level design in gaming history. The levels are huge, fun to explore, labyrinthine, beautiful and dangerous sandboxes
- a clever streamlining/rebalancing/set of tweaks to the existing abilities
- the addition of a host of fantastic new abilities, making the game absurdly replayable
- the addition of 'bonecharm crafting' giving the core experience a huge level of customisability
- an evidently great showing of game-changing updates, from custom difficulties to New Game +
- a host of improvements to the game's already-fantastic AI
Possibly the most important for me: Arkane designed it so that non-lethal is now a valid 'assault' gameplay option. If you are spotted, you can choose to fight all enemies but knock them out instead of killing them. You can choke enemies from a parry, throw them, kick them while they're down (Batman style), punt them from a teleport, etc. I like playing non-lethal and now I can have infinitely more fun doing so.
The story isn't great, but it's not bad either. Overall, an unbelievable and rich package.
2. Watch_Dogs 2 ; If Watch Dogs 2 had tighter movement controls and gunplay, it would be a potential Game of the Generation for me. As-is, those elements are still OK, but the surrounding mechanics and design are fucking god-tier.
You know how in some games you collect upgrade points or experience by doing little side puzzles? Like Batman: Arkham? Watch Dogs 2 fucking nails this more than any game I've played. For instance, to collect a certain upgrade point in this game, you have to:
- use a forklift truck to give your RC car elevation to reach an air vent
- roll through a labyrinth of tight air vents to reach a small server room - mostly blocked with boxes
- commandeer your remote-control quadcopter into the same air vent/room and knock over said boxes
- thus enabling your remote-control car to leap the boxes and hack a server box
- then use the original fork-lift to lift your actual human body up to the rooftop
- and hack a server to get the point.
All of this comes as part of an emergent, satisfying gameplay loop where you're messing with the world's own rules/systems and using your gadgets to play enemy factions against each other, create little sandboxes, solve problems. Doesn't hurt that the writing is pretty damn solid, either. Great game.
3. Rec Room ; If Valve harnessed the capabilities of the HTC Vive to create a great introductory experience, Australian studio Against Gravity have created the thus-far ultimate VR multiplayer experience: A social virtual-reality gym.
You boot the game up. You choose your character's attire. Then you are match-made with 5-10 random people and dropped in a community centre/gym hall with a bunch of fun toys and sports gear lying around. Have fun! Party up! Chat to people! Play 3D charades with a 3D painting device! Play paintball! Play ping pong! Screw around with other people:
One time me and a few Americans played flip-cup, just making the rules up ourselves and emergently working out we could actually do it.
One of the best things to let people first-try on VR. It's just incredible. A game all about playing. Which is what games are, right?
4. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; This is a weird nomination for me.
I prefer Uncharted 2, and in some ways prefer Uncharted 3. This one has a few of the series' highest highs but a lot of it is just... Middling slowness. It's a bit hard to replay because hours of the game are slow-paced fairly-linear exploration. Thankfully the gunplay is so fantastic that 'Encounter select' on the main menu becomes a staple, and the multiplayer is very good - but the weird pacing holds the singleplayer campaign back from true greatness.
That said, I was tempted to put this game at #1 because it is a revolutionary game. A quiet revolution, not a loud and action-packed one. This is a game where:
- the protagonist's last entry wasn't forced to be a 'bang'. Relatively nice things happen and relationships are wrapped up. It's closer to Buffy or something
- real, dramatic situations between characters were explored and followed-through on, never rushed or dodged or swept away by gameplay
- and most importantly: gunfights and combat (i.e. 'real gameplay') only happened where it made sense in the story
I can't emphasise that last point enough. Sure, maybe it makes the game way less fun to play. But this is a fucking important thing. There are only maybe 15 proper gunfights in all of Uncharted 4. The game has more CHAPTERS than that. In situ: what the fuck? But on paper, if you think about it: there couldn't be hundreds of enemies everywhere IRL. That doesn't make sense. Technically, this game is a big leap up uncanny valley's facing slope: so the pacing/design had to match that. Indeed, IRL, the 'mercenaries' would only appear where it made sense for them to appear.
Uncharted 4 has several entire levels where enemies don't appear, because why would the mercs be there? That is realistic as fuck. And when they are there, it's straight up like playing a movie. Things like this happen dynamically all the effing time:
This is a maturation of Naughty Dogs' work. A huge one. They listened to all the people who said it's ridiculous how much fighting there is in The Last of Us, and tuned down the combat to match how realistic their characters and worlds are. A real step forward for the medium.
5. The Witness ; Possibly the greatest puzzle game ever created. I haven't even finished it. I can't quite fathom how ingenious it is. Blow weaved a deep, intricate language of puzzles and problems into the simplest of mechanics: drawing a single line.
6. Doom ; They brought back the spark that the FPS genre needed. I love Wolfenstein: TNO, but DOOM really pulled it out the bag in a bigger way.
7. Inside ; (Non-spoilery image above.) A masterwork. Thought-provoking. Deep. Great puzzles.
But the most important thing about Inside is that it is truly a gameplay-driven work of art. There isn't a single button prompt in the game. There isn't a single line of dialogue or script. There isn't a single tutorial, 'audio log' or in-game text. This game borrows nothing from literature or film to tell its story. It literally just uses the gameplay mechanics and situations and the visuals propping up the gameplay mechanics and situations.
A masterwork.
8. The Lab ; Valve developed the best VR suite on the market and then developed the ultimate 'introductory' game for it. A humorous, Portal-esque, addictive set of minigames wrapped up in the industrial packaging of Aperture Science. The first thing I let anyone of my friends try in VR.
9. The Last Guardian ; Never thought I'd place an Ueda game this low on my GotY list. I played it with my girlfriend and our playthrough had a one-week break in the middle while we were both busy. I think that knocked our sense of momentum. An incredible game/experience, and one with a lot more actual "gameplay" than either of Ueda's previous works. But somehow, the emotional notes didn't hit home in the same way as Ico or SotC. Still brilliant.
10. Hitman ; IO Interactive nailed it. They went back to the series roots in terms of structure and level design, but they kept the streamlined and focused gameplay of Absolution. And the episode format fucking works. These levels are self-contained but inter-link. They are sandboxed. They are dynamic. They are all fantastic. There isn't a single level I didn't like in this game.
Honorables:
x. No Man's Sky ; a weird, wonky, unwieldy disappointment game. I can't wait to hear the true story behind it's development and why exactly much grander things were being promised mere months before release. All that said, I still enjoy it and it's still totally unique - and I trust them to deliver on their ambitious free update model. Minecraft did things just as big. Hello can pull it off.
x. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt - Blood & Wine ; Unfortunately haven't got to finish this. Wish I had. It might have placed in my top 10. Fantastic so far - but a couple of badly designed enemies are already really fucking it up for me. This started with Hearts of Stone with the Spider and the Mage's one-shot kills. Bullshit, and now in B&W I'm in the rock-rolling enemy who can stun-lock me to death. Bullshit. That aside, seems amazing.
x. Overcooked ; We're only just getting into this local-co-op gem, but by god it is fantastic.
x. Quantum Break ; Fantastic gameplay and a fantastic story but wrapped up in 'eh' pacing with a bunch of 'eh' TV-style episodes in the middle. If they had cut the episodes and instead turned some of the phenomenal backstory into playable segments we could have had a contender. Still, a better effort from Remedy than Alan Wake, imo.
It will be counted but it can't win the award.
-----------------
Are multi-paragraph 'comments' OK or do they have to be in one block?
The following order isn't necessarily a total 'best to worst' type of gig. Almost any of these games could be shifted into #1 or shifted down to #10. There was so much variety this year, it was crazy - but yeah, no Witcher 3 or MGSV or Dying Light for me this year.
Anyway, without further ado:
--------------------------------------------
Edit: Drastic rewrite!
1. Dishonored 2 ; I had this game mid-flow but totally forgot about it. Booted it up last night and realised this is the best-designed game I've played all year.
- some of the best level design in gaming history. The levels are huge, fun to explore, labyrinthine, beautiful and dangerous sandboxes
- a clever streamlining/rebalancing/set of tweaks to the existing abilities
- the addition of a host of fantastic new abilities, making the game absurdly replayable
- the addition of 'bonecharm crafting' giving the core experience a huge level of customisability
- an evidently great showing of game-changing updates, from custom difficulties to New Game +
- a host of improvements to the game's already-fantastic AI
Possibly the most important for me: Arkane designed it so that non-lethal is now a valid 'assault' gameplay option. If you are spotted, you can choose to fight all enemies but knock them out instead of killing them. You can choke enemies from a parry, throw them, kick them while they're down (Batman style), punt them from a teleport, etc. I like playing non-lethal and now I can have infinitely more fun doing so.
The story isn't great, but it's not bad either. Overall, an unbelievable and rich package.
2. Watch_Dogs 2 ; If Watch Dogs 2 had tighter movement controls and gunplay, it would be a potential Game of the Generation for me. As-is, those elements are still OK, but the surrounding mechanics and design are fucking god-tier.
You know how in some games you collect upgrade points or experience by doing little side puzzles? Like Batman: Arkham? Watch Dogs 2 fucking nails this more than any game I've played. For instance, to collect a certain upgrade point in this game, you have to:
- use a forklift truck to give your RC car elevation to reach an air vent
- roll through a labyrinth of tight air vents to reach a small server room - mostly blocked with boxes
- commandeer your remote-control quadcopter into the same air vent/room and knock over said boxes
- thus enabling your remote-control car to leap the boxes and hack a server box
- then use the original fork-lift to lift your actual human body up to the rooftop
- and hack a server to get the point.
All of this comes as part of an emergent, satisfying gameplay loop where you're messing with the world's own rules/systems and using your gadgets to play enemy factions against each other, create little sandboxes, solve problems. Doesn't hurt that the writing is pretty damn solid, either. Great game.
3. Rec Room ; If Valve harnessed the capabilities of the HTC Vive to create a great introductory experience, Australian studio Against Gravity have created the thus-far ultimate VR multiplayer experience: A social virtual-reality gym.
You boot the game up. You choose your character's attire. Then you are match-made with 5-10 random people and dropped in a community centre/gym hall with a bunch of fun toys and sports gear lying around. Have fun! Party up! Chat to people! Play 3D charades with a 3D painting device! Play paintball! Play ping pong! Screw around with other people:
One time me and a few Americans played flip-cup, just making the rules up ourselves and emergently working out we could actually do it.
One of the best things to let people first-try on VR. It's just incredible. A game all about playing. Which is what games are, right?
4. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; This is a weird nomination for me.
I prefer Uncharted 2, and in some ways prefer Uncharted 3. This one has a few of the series' highest highs but a lot of it is just... Middling slowness. It's a bit hard to replay because hours of the game are slow-paced fairly-linear exploration. Thankfully the gunplay is so fantastic that 'Encounter select' on the main menu becomes a staple, and the multiplayer is very good - but the weird pacing holds the singleplayer campaign back from true greatness.
That said, I was tempted to put this game at #1 because it is a revolutionary game. A quiet revolution, not a loud and action-packed one. This is a game where:
- the protagonist's last entry wasn't forced to be a 'bang'. Relatively nice things happen and relationships are wrapped up. It's closer to Buffy or something
- real, dramatic situations between characters were explored and followed-through on, never rushed or dodged or swept away by gameplay
- and most importantly: gunfights and combat (i.e. 'real gameplay') only happened where it made sense in the story
I can't emphasise that last point enough. Sure, maybe it makes the game way less fun to play. But this is a fucking important thing. There are only maybe 15 proper gunfights in all of Uncharted 4. The game has more CHAPTERS than that. In situ: what the fuck? But on paper, if you think about it: there couldn't be hundreds of enemies everywhere IRL. That doesn't make sense. Technically, this game is a big leap up uncanny valley's facing slope: so the pacing/design had to match that. Indeed, IRL, the 'mercenaries' would only appear where it made sense for them to appear.
Uncharted 4 has several entire levels where enemies don't appear, because why would the mercs be there? That is realistic as fuck. And when they are there, it's straight up like playing a movie. Things like this happen dynamically all the effing time:
This is a maturation of Naughty Dogs' work. A huge one. They listened to all the people who said it's ridiculous how much fighting there is in The Last of Us, and tuned down the combat to match how realistic their characters and worlds are. A real step forward for the medium.
5. The Witness ; Possibly the greatest puzzle game ever created. I haven't even finished it. I can't quite fathom how ingenious it is. Blow weaved a deep, intricate language of puzzles and problems into the simplest of mechanics: drawing a single line.
6. Doom ; They brought back the spark that the FPS genre needed. I love Wolfenstein: TNO, but DOOM really pulled it out the bag in a bigger way.
7. Inside ; (Non-spoilery image above.) A masterwork. Thought-provoking. Deep. Great puzzles.
But the most important thing about Inside is that it is truly a gameplay-driven work of art. There isn't a single button prompt in the game. There isn't a single line of dialogue or script. There isn't a single tutorial, 'audio log' or in-game text. This game borrows nothing from literature or film to tell its story. It literally just uses the gameplay mechanics and situations and the visuals propping up the gameplay mechanics and situations.
A masterwork.
8. The Lab ; Valve developed the best VR suite on the market and then developed the ultimate 'introductory' game for it. A humorous, Portal-esque, addictive set of minigames wrapped up in the industrial packaging of Aperture Science. The first thing I let anyone of my friends try in VR.
9. The Last Guardian ; Never thought I'd place an Ueda game this low on my GotY list. I played it with my girlfriend and our playthrough had a one-week break in the middle while we were both busy. I think that knocked our sense of momentum. An incredible game/experience, and one with a lot more actual "gameplay" than either of Ueda's previous works. But somehow, the emotional notes didn't hit home in the same way as Ico or SotC. Still brilliant.
10. Hitman ; IO Interactive nailed it. They went back to the series roots in terms of structure and level design, but they kept the streamlined and focused gameplay of Absolution. And the episode format fucking works. These levels are self-contained but inter-link. They are sandboxed. They are dynamic. They are all fantastic. There isn't a single level I didn't like in this game.
Honorables:
x. No Man's Sky ; a weird, wonky, unwieldy disappointment game. I can't wait to hear the true story behind it's development and why exactly much grander things were being promised mere months before release. All that said, I still enjoy it and it's still totally unique - and I trust them to deliver on their ambitious free update model. Minecraft did things just as big. Hello can pull it off.
x. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt - Blood & Wine ; Unfortunately haven't got to finish this. Wish I had. It might have placed in my top 10. Fantastic so far - but a couple of badly designed enemies are already really fucking it up for me. This started with Hearts of Stone with the Spider and the Mage's one-shot kills. Bullshit, and now in B&W I'm in the rock-rolling enemy who can stun-lock me to death. Bullshit. That aside, seems amazing.
x. Overcooked ; We're only just getting into this local-co-op gem, but by god it is fantastic.
x. Quantum Break ; Fantastic gameplay and a fantastic story but wrapped up in 'eh' pacing with a bunch of 'eh' TV-style episodes in the middle. If they had cut the episodes and instead turned some of the phenomenal backstory into playable segments we could have had a contender. Still, a better effort from Remedy than Alan Wake, imo.
It will be counted but it can't win the award.
-----------------
Are multi-paragraph 'comments' OK or do they have to be in one block?
NathanDiego
Member
I am Junior Member,this is my first GOTY thread,I played the downloaded version in 2015,but I buyed the retail version in 2016,But I will not put it,I would put it if I had participated in 2015, thank you
Cheesemeister
Member
You can have multiple paragraphs, but your comments must start on the same line as the title as you have them now.
If you downloaded and played Life Is Strange in 2015, don't vote for it now even if you didn't cast a ballot last year.
Theslammer
Member
1. The Last Guardian ; An forgettable experience with phenomenal set-pieces and one of the best ending sequences/scenes in recent memory
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Incredible action-adventure with incredible set pieces and terrific arenas for battle
3. Ratchet & Clank ; Wonderful and beautiful platformer that's I've replayed many times on fun factor alone
4. The Witness ; Great puzzles (and super hard puzzles, omg, the ending area) and a beautiful world make for a game that I'm sure to replay again and hopefully with others (multiple heads are better than one)
5. Alienation ; Fantastic game in both multi-player and single-player. Crazy addictive, and fantastic post-campaign content that provides hours and hours of replayability
6. Life is Strange Retail ; Amazing cliffhangers and a great use of time travel. Fantastic ending choices.
7. Gravity Rush Remastered ; Very fun game with a lot of heart.
8. Street Fighter V ; Great fighter that provided me with plenty of asskickings.
9. Doom ; Great remake with old-school sensibilities.
10. Day of the Tentacle Remastered ; Weird point-and-click adventure with a hilarious sense of humor. Never played these in the 90s, but glad I can now.
x. Titanfall ; Gameplay and platforming that feel so good.
x. Firewatch
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Incredible action-adventure with incredible set pieces and terrific arenas for battle
3. Ratchet & Clank ; Wonderful and beautiful platformer that's I've replayed many times on fun factor alone
4. The Witness ; Great puzzles (and super hard puzzles, omg, the ending area) and a beautiful world make for a game that I'm sure to replay again and hopefully with others (multiple heads are better than one)
5. Alienation ; Fantastic game in both multi-player and single-player. Crazy addictive, and fantastic post-campaign content that provides hours and hours of replayability
6. Life is Strange Retail ; Amazing cliffhangers and a great use of time travel. Fantastic ending choices.
7. Gravity Rush Remastered ; Very fun game with a lot of heart.
8. Street Fighter V ; Great fighter that provided me with plenty of asskickings.
9. Doom ; Great remake with old-school sensibilities.
10. Day of the Tentacle Remastered ; Weird point-and-click adventure with a hilarious sense of humor. Never played these in the 90s, but glad I can now.
x. Titanfall ; Gameplay and platforming that feel so good.
x. Firewatch
Theslammer
Member
You know, looking at my Top 10... it's gonna change a lot, I know, over the next couple years. Overwatch? Haven't played. Dark Souls III? Haven't played. Final Fantasy XV? Haven't played. Inside? Haven't played. And as someone without a 3DS, no Pokemon Sun or Moon or Phoenix Wright: Spirit of Justice.
Change : to ;
1. Dark Souls 3 ; Takes a lot of the best parts of DS1 and DS2 to create an entry that rivals the original, IMO. Hidetaka Miyazaki can do no wrong for me, really – though I feel like I've gotten less mileage out of this than the previous two entries. Still, I spent more time with this than anything else this year; it's the most refined ”Souls" game yet.
2. Final Fantasy 15 ; Getting it out of the way: the plot is a mess. This is a game that spent ten years in development hell and it shows: several parts of the final product feel like a blend between too many cooks in the kitchen and not enough time/money to finish what they started. And it's a shame, but what *does* work is awesome. The best dungeon crawling in the series in years, and for all of the plot problems the writing and banter between the characters gives it more than enough life to make up for it. I never lost faith in FF, but this entry makes me excited for the future of the series.
3. The Last Guardian ; TLG is a very simple story of a boy and his dog, in a manner of speaking; but like all of Fumito Ueda's games, that barely scratches the surface of what playing it is like. Ueda seems to have a preternatural ability to use games as emotional manipulation, and there's nothing else like it out there. I spent a lot of time playing this while brooding over the election and worries about the future of the natural environment, so the relationship between men and creatures was forefront on my mind. It ended up making things much more impactful for me.
4. Uncharted 4 ; I've been a true believer in this series from the start, and it was bittersweet to see the series reach its conclusion. I loved every minute of it, even though it might be hard to return to sporadically – its devotion to plot and narrative means game pacing takes a bit of a backseat. It's also a technical marvel: every square inch of the game is jaw-dropping. I don't think anything will dethrone it as the most accomplished blend of technical wizardry and art design for a while to come.
5. Overwatch ; I was skeptical of this until people convinced me to try it out. I've never been a massive fan of Blizzard and the premise – an arena hero shooter – didn't really jump out at me as something I'd enjoy. Oh, but I did – as someone who cut his teeth on Quake 3/Unreal Tournament 99/Team Fortress Classic, this ended up being the most fun I've had with a multiplayer shooter in something like a decade.
6. Titanfall 2 ; Like Overwatch, this was another situation where word of mouth and benefit of the doubt ended up rewarding. I don't care much for the dude-bro, annual Call of Duty shootmans world, and I had written off Titanfall 2 as just the next iteration – until people started raving about the campaign mode. This is a campaign that feels like Nintendo decided to make Call of Duty: it's endlessly inventive, smartly designed, and plays like a dream. Moment by moment it's a blast, and the bond between your character and his robot buddy is genuinely touching: this is the Last Guardian with machine guns.
7. Street Fighter 5 ; Despite all of the bad press and the completely, unacceptably rocky launch, I loved everything about Street Fighter V. Every fight feels great, the cast is fantastic, and it feels so much more accessible than Street Fighter IV with just as much depth. It's every bit the successor to Third Strike, and I'm looking forward to next season.
8. No Man's Sky ; I'm gonna go to bat for this, too. Sean Murray and Hello Games got grilled into oblivion for their extraordinarily deceptive pre-release messaging and hype. For my part, I never followed it super closely – the game looked novel but I never ate up the world-changing, biggest-thing-ever some folks were passing it off as. What's there though is genuinely engrossing: there's no pressure to move forward, paper-thin motivation to keep exploring, and a pretty shallow world for being a literal universe in size. But that's not what it's about: it's about wandering, getting immersed and making your own journey. It's about the feeling of being a genuine space explorer with an infinite galaxy at your fingertips. It felt totally unlike anything else I'd ever played and I found myself sinking hours into it despite the admittedly shallow gameplay. I didn't really care.
9. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; this and Dishonored 2 got a lot of comparison this year since they came out pretty close to each other and attempt similar things, but while I think D2 is a much more accomplished stealth/combat game, Deus Ex is so much more accomplished as an RPG and product, I think. Its technological apartheid plot, and near-future Prague setting was extremely believable for me, and I think it also has had the benefit, for me, of being unexpectedly prescient with the way politics turned out this year.
10. Gravity Rush Remastered ; a lot of really good remasters came out this year and I didn't really want to talk about any of them, unless they made significant changes of improvements to the original game. Gravity Rush originally came out on the Vita but this remake makes it clear it was a game more ambitious than its hardware permitted. Plus I really wanted to include it on this list, because I was totally taken aback by how charming and original the game is. The game floats a ton of mysteries about the world of Hekseville and Kat's origins and doesn't answer any of them, but it did leave me dying to find out more. Very excited for the sequel this month.
Honorable Mentions (Either I didn't spend enough time with these to comfortably rank, even though I enjoyed them, or I just enjoyed other things more)
x. Stardew Valley
x. Enter the Gungeon
x. Dragon Quest VII
x. World of Final Fantasy
x. Darkest Dungeon
x. Dragon Quest Builders
x. VA11 HALL-A Cyberpunk Bartender Action
x. DOOM
x. Hyper Light Drifter
x. Ratchet and Clank
x. Dishonored 2
x. Battlefield 1
x. Pokemon Sun/Moon
x. Firewatch
x. Let it Die
2. Final Fantasy 15 ; Getting it out of the way: the plot is a mess. This is a game that spent ten years in development hell and it shows: several parts of the final product feel like a blend between too many cooks in the kitchen and not enough time/money to finish what they started. And it's a shame, but what *does* work is awesome. The best dungeon crawling in the series in years, and for all of the plot problems the writing and banter between the characters gives it more than enough life to make up for it. I never lost faith in FF, but this entry makes me excited for the future of the series.
3. The Last Guardian ; TLG is a very simple story of a boy and his dog, in a manner of speaking; but like all of Fumito Ueda's games, that barely scratches the surface of what playing it is like. Ueda seems to have a preternatural ability to use games as emotional manipulation, and there's nothing else like it out there. I spent a lot of time playing this while brooding over the election and worries about the future of the natural environment, so the relationship between men and creatures was forefront on my mind. It ended up making things much more impactful for me.
4. Uncharted 4 ; I've been a true believer in this series from the start, and it was bittersweet to see the series reach its conclusion. I loved every minute of it, even though it might be hard to return to sporadically – its devotion to plot and narrative means game pacing takes a bit of a backseat. It's also a technical marvel: every square inch of the game is jaw-dropping. I don't think anything will dethrone it as the most accomplished blend of technical wizardry and art design for a while to come.
5. Overwatch ; I was skeptical of this until people convinced me to try it out. I've never been a massive fan of Blizzard and the premise – an arena hero shooter – didn't really jump out at me as something I'd enjoy. Oh, but I did – as someone who cut his teeth on Quake 3/Unreal Tournament 99/Team Fortress Classic, this ended up being the most fun I've had with a multiplayer shooter in something like a decade.
6. Titanfall 2 ; Like Overwatch, this was another situation where word of mouth and benefit of the doubt ended up rewarding. I don't care much for the dude-bro, annual Call of Duty shootmans world, and I had written off Titanfall 2 as just the next iteration – until people started raving about the campaign mode. This is a campaign that feels like Nintendo decided to make Call of Duty: it's endlessly inventive, smartly designed, and plays like a dream. Moment by moment it's a blast, and the bond between your character and his robot buddy is genuinely touching: this is the Last Guardian with machine guns.
7. Street Fighter 5 ; Despite all of the bad press and the completely, unacceptably rocky launch, I loved everything about Street Fighter V. Every fight feels great, the cast is fantastic, and it feels so much more accessible than Street Fighter IV with just as much depth. It's every bit the successor to Third Strike, and I'm looking forward to next season.
8. No Man's Sky ; I'm gonna go to bat for this, too. Sean Murray and Hello Games got grilled into oblivion for their extraordinarily deceptive pre-release messaging and hype. For my part, I never followed it super closely – the game looked novel but I never ate up the world-changing, biggest-thing-ever some folks were passing it off as. What's there though is genuinely engrossing: there's no pressure to move forward, paper-thin motivation to keep exploring, and a pretty shallow world for being a literal universe in size. But that's not what it's about: it's about wandering, getting immersed and making your own journey. It's about the feeling of being a genuine space explorer with an infinite galaxy at your fingertips. It felt totally unlike anything else I'd ever played and I found myself sinking hours into it despite the admittedly shallow gameplay. I didn't really care.
9. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; this and Dishonored 2 got a lot of comparison this year since they came out pretty close to each other and attempt similar things, but while I think D2 is a much more accomplished stealth/combat game, Deus Ex is so much more accomplished as an RPG and product, I think. Its technological apartheid plot, and near-future Prague setting was extremely believable for me, and I think it also has had the benefit, for me, of being unexpectedly prescient with the way politics turned out this year.
10. Gravity Rush Remastered ; a lot of really good remasters came out this year and I didn't really want to talk about any of them, unless they made significant changes of improvements to the original game. Gravity Rush originally came out on the Vita but this remake makes it clear it was a game more ambitious than its hardware permitted. Plus I really wanted to include it on this list, because I was totally taken aback by how charming and original the game is. The game floats a ton of mysteries about the world of Hekseville and Kat's origins and doesn't answer any of them, but it did leave me dying to find out more. Very excited for the sequel this month.
Honorable Mentions (Either I didn't spend enough time with these to comfortably rank, even though I enjoyed them, or I just enjoyed other things more)
x. Stardew Valley
x. Enter the Gungeon
x. Dragon Quest VII
x. World of Final Fantasy
x. Darkest Dungeon
x. Dragon Quest Builders
x. VA11 HALL-A Cyberpunk Bartender Action
x. DOOM
x. Hyper Light Drifter
x. Ratchet and Clank
x. Dishonored 2
x. Battlefield 1
x. Pokemon Sun/Moon
x. Firewatch
x. Let it Die
Theslammer
Member
Yup, just edited after a user messaged me about it. Thought I did everything correctly, but nope, I did not. =P
Thanks!
1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Great end to a great series. Too many games these days try to be dark or edgy. Games that are upbeat adventures are too few. Uncharted knows it wants to be a grand summer blockbuster and accomplishes that masterfully.
2. The Witness ; The core design of layering knowledge upon previous knowledge as you worked out the rules of the puzzles is genius. I consider it an achievement I lit all 11 lasers and beat the game without any help (though I did look up a few secrets after that...).
3. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; More Human Revolution is all I needed and I got that. While the core story is a bit weak, the game itself is still great to play thanks in large part to the amazing scope of Prague. The side missions add depth to the world and is where Deus Ex has always shined.
4. Hitman ; This feels like a stealth puzzle game in the best possible way. I always loved the major side quest in Majora's Mask (you know the one), and this feels like that on a grander scale. If previous Hitman games are like this I might need to try them too.
5. VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action ; The mention of waifus in the game description almost scared me off, but my love of cyberpunk and alcohol gave this game a chance. Turned out to be the best crafted story I played this year.
6. Titanfall 2 ; Amazing FPS campaign that's a complete 180 after the throwaway campaign in the first game.
7. Oxenfree ; Great timing with Stranger Things. This was my favorite choose-your-own-adventure game this year.
8. Shadow Complex Remastered ; I missed this the first time around, but this is now one of my favorite non-Metroid Metroid games.
9. Severed ; My favorite mobile game of the year as it's a great game and uses the platform to its advantage.
10. Steamworld Heist ; A lighter TBS, but aiming shots trying to get the perfect richocet makes this game a lot of fun.
x. Pony Island ; The hacker theme with some unique "gameplay" twists saw me play this auto-runner straight through in one sitting.
I'm generally a year behind in my game playing so I spent most of my time in 2016 playing games from previous years (I loved Invisible Inc.), and have yet to play a few games that stand a good chance to make this list (Inside, Firewatch, and Superhot).
Edit: I updated my list affer playing Titanfall 2...
2. The Witness ; The core design of layering knowledge upon previous knowledge as you worked out the rules of the puzzles is genius. I consider it an achievement I lit all 11 lasers and beat the game without any help (though I did look up a few secrets after that...).
3. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; More Human Revolution is all I needed and I got that. While the core story is a bit weak, the game itself is still great to play thanks in large part to the amazing scope of Prague. The side missions add depth to the world and is where Deus Ex has always shined.
4. Hitman ; This feels like a stealth puzzle game in the best possible way. I always loved the major side quest in Majora's Mask (you know the one), and this feels like that on a grander scale. If previous Hitman games are like this I might need to try them too.
5. VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action ; The mention of waifus in the game description almost scared me off, but my love of cyberpunk and alcohol gave this game a chance. Turned out to be the best crafted story I played this year.
6. Titanfall 2 ; Amazing FPS campaign that's a complete 180 after the throwaway campaign in the first game.
7. Oxenfree ; Great timing with Stranger Things. This was my favorite choose-your-own-adventure game this year.
8. Shadow Complex Remastered ; I missed this the first time around, but this is now one of my favorite non-Metroid Metroid games.
9. Severed ; My favorite mobile game of the year as it's a great game and uses the platform to its advantage.
10. Steamworld Heist ; A lighter TBS, but aiming shots trying to get the perfect richocet makes this game a lot of fun.
x. Pony Island ; The hacker theme with some unique "gameplay" twists saw me play this auto-runner straight through in one sitting.
I'm generally a year behind in my game playing so I spent most of my time in 2016 playing games from previous years (I loved Invisible Inc.), and have yet to play a few games that stand a good chance to make this list (Inside, Firewatch, and Superhot).
Edit: I updated my list affer playing Titanfall 2...
1. Nights of Azure ; A classic JRPG love story, just between two girls. The art style and direction are fantastic even if the graphics arent the best and the constant contrast between red and blue is carried throughout the game in meaningful ways.There arent many characters in the game but the main heroine Arnice is really well done, I could identify with her a lot and she really made me care about the story. The lonely world at night really makes you feel that you're alone against the world, not just in a combat sense like other games, but in an emotional sense, you're the only one who can fight for your dreams and you have to have absolute belief in yourself. All these feelings are conveyed in the soundtrack which really manages to capture things like a lonely one sided romance and personal strength standing up to everything.
2. Super Robot Wars OG: The Moon Dwellers ; Finally, Super Robot Wars is back in english! While there's a fair few flaws with the translation it's a miracle it exists to begin with and that alone made me really happy. Some fantastic new characters and mechs and a truly hateable villain made it enjoyable, Granteed's upgraded form stands out as a ridiculoously awesome mecha design in a game full of ridiculously awesome mecha designs. Calvina is a lovely little ball of constant rage creating lots of drama and even some funny moments. There's tons of wonderful little moments in the plot where characters you hoped would join you finally do, or dont or die, sometimes entirely depending on your own actions in the story.
3. Final Fantasy XV ; This game delivered on so little of what was promised, so few of the hopes and dreams of a decade of development were realized. The story is poorly told and there are huge vast swathes of the game clearly and blatantly missing, cut from the game to make a release date. So why is it here? The characters. FFXV succeeded at one thing and that was making me care about the characters. The big epic moments of the game fell completely flat for me but the little touches like the animations when you stay at a hotel and how they change depending on NPCs at the location or guest party members secured the game a place in my heart forever.
4. Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth ; I've always loved games that have the idea of the online world starting to affect the real world, I was always hoping .hack would go more towards that but it never did. This game goes pretty far down this path and has some very cool surprisngly dark Persona/SMT style story
5. Gravity Rush Remastered ; One of many games that I found infinitely more fun by immediately running to the options screen and turning motion controls off. Its unique gameplay really captures the feeling well, you really get the sense that you're "falling" up or across rather than simply flying that way.
6. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered ; The best game of last gen imo, finally WITH TROPHIES WOO. If you havent played it before then please give it a shot now, it's pretty much everything I love about SRPGs, huge unique maps with massive set pieces that make every battle a different struggle, a vast cast of characters of all ages from all walks of life and you can pick all your favourites to make a team.
7. Megadimension Neptunia VII ; I generally enjoy these games in a dumb fluffy light entertainment way. Stupid jokes and references to old sega games yknow? I wasnt expecting this surprisingly emotional allegory about how Dreamcast had to die so SEGA could live on and how it would be remembered more fondly in death than it was in life.
8. Atelier Sophie ; Honestly this is probably the least good Atelier game I've played but it turns out a bad Atelier game is still pretty enjoyable.
9. Darkest Dungeon ; Enjoyably challenging but a little too random and unbalanced at times
10. Rebel Galaxy ; After learning how disappointing No Man's Sky was, this game nicely scratched that itch well enough for me to move on and forget about it
Honorable Mentions: Attack on Titan, The Last Guardian, Trails of Cold Steel 1 & 2, all games I'm pretty sure I'll absolutely love and would likely have rated very highly but I havent played them yet either because of time, or in the case of Cold Steel, simply because I'm waiting for Trails in the Sky 3rd so I can enjoy them to their maximum.
1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; This game is an absolute masterpiece. It does so many things right, I don't know where to start. So, I'll share my only critique of the game. A large amount of climbing could have been cut completely. There was too much of it and it would have improved the pacing.
2. Destiny: The Rise of Iron ; I love this game so much. I'm totally addicted to the gameplay. This is a great expansion.
3. Titanfall 2 ; I'm not going to praise the single-player. It was a nice bonus, I suppose. However, I bought the game for the multiplayer and I was not disappointed. This game is fast-paced and an absolute blast to play. There may not be a lot of content there, but that's okay. This gameplay is polished and weapons feel balanced.
4. Ratchet & Clank ; I knew exactly what I was getting with this game. And this game delivered what I expected. No more, no less.
There were a few other games I played from 2016 that I don't feel deserve to be on my list. I will play a lot of games from 2016 the next couple years, so I know my list is missing a few gems and items I would add retroactively.
2. Destiny: The Rise of Iron ; I love this game so much. I'm totally addicted to the gameplay. This is a great expansion.
3. Titanfall 2 ; I'm not going to praise the single-player. It was a nice bonus, I suppose. However, I bought the game for the multiplayer and I was not disappointed. This game is fast-paced and an absolute blast to play. There may not be a lot of content there, but that's okay. This gameplay is polished and weapons feel balanced.
4. Ratchet & Clank ; I knew exactly what I was getting with this game. And this game delivered what I expected. No more, no less.
There were a few other games I played from 2016 that I don't feel deserve to be on my list. I will play a lot of games from 2016 the next couple years, so I know my list is missing a few gems and items I would add retroactively.
1. Doom ; For someone who isn't a huge fps fan, Doom being my GOTY is telling on how good the game is. It's a masterclass in fps design. Huge open levels full of enemies, platforming, upgrades, secrets, powerups, etc. The combat is fast and frantic and the gameplay loop is rewarding and refreshing. All the tropes of modern fps's make no appearance in this game. No reload button. You can have as many guns equipped onto you as possible. No regenerating health, you either find health packs or glory kill enemies (melee finisher) to refill some health and armor. If you want to refill your ammo, you need to find it or use your chainsaw to kill an enemy and make them drop ammo. The story is mostly told through a detailed Codex, the ambience, and little interaction with some onboard AI, a lead scientist and another rogue scientist. This game is just pure fun and the fact that it was in development hell and rebooted over 8 years and still turned out this good is rarity not commonly seen in the gaming industry.
2. Titanfall 2 ;
3. Ratchet & Clank ;
4. Axiom Verge ;
5. Uncharted 4 ;
6. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth ;
7. Hitman ;
8. Inside ;
9. ReCore ;
10. Quantum Break ;
2. Titanfall 2 ;
3. Ratchet & Clank ;
4. Axiom Verge ;
5. Uncharted 4 ;
6. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth ;
7. Hitman ;
8. Inside ;
9. ReCore ;
10. Quantum Break ;
Cheesemeister
Member
We have to add titles manually, so it might take some time for us to catch up. Don't worry, everything eligible will count.
Coolio, sounds good.
BaraSailey
Member
1. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; A great sequel to Human Revolution filled with amazing level design, a great amount of small details scattered throughout its world, and a solid story. Overall it was a very immersive game that I didn't want to end. I eagerly await the next installment in the series. The soundtrack is also noteworthy, and one of my favorites of the year.
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; A beautiful send off to one of my favorite franchises of all time. The game was very well paced and filled with memorable moments and set pieces, as well as gorgeous graphics and a great script.
3. Overwatch ; Crazy addictive fun that I can't get myself to stop playing. I usually drop multiplayer games pretty quick, but I always find myself coming back to Overwatch almost on a weekly basis.
4. Final Fantasy XV ; A true return to form for the series, though flawed in many ways as well. I enjoyed this game for almost every second I played it (Chapter 13 though...) and was truly sad to see it end. The four main characters felt very well defined, which made the ending even more powerful even though the story itself was told in a very odd way.
5. The Last Guardian ; A beautiful and unique experience, just like its predecessors. The bond that grew between Trico and the boy was very simple and sweet to watch unfold. A game that was truly worth the wait, and a memorable and emotional experience that will undoubtedly have a special place in my heart just as Ico and Shadow of the Colossus do.
6. Dishonored 2 ; An excellent sequel that delivered some of the best levels I've played in a stealth game in years. The addition of Emily as a playable character with her own unique set of powers was an excellent idea, and I enjoyed playing through the story with both her and Corvo. The art design was again spectacular, and the lore of Dishonored has always drawn me in, and this game managed to do the same again.
7. Dark Souls 3 ; A fun and challenging game with some very memorable bosses and great lore. Though I found it easier than some of other Soulsborne games, it was a still a great experience.
8. Furi ; An addictive and challenging boss rush game with an amazing soundtrack and a great aesthetic.
9. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; A great adventure game that struggled slightly in the story department. A blast to play and filled with a great variety of environments.
10. Watch Dogs 2; I'm honestly surprised I'm listing this on here, but Watch Dogs 2 is a great improvement over the first game in many ways. The characters are actually enjoyable to a degree, and Marcus is a far more likable protagonist than Aiden. I feel it deserves more love than it got. The more lighthearted approach was the right way to take things story wise, and though I find some of it cringey at times, I find myself having fun with it regardless.
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; A beautiful send off to one of my favorite franchises of all time. The game was very well paced and filled with memorable moments and set pieces, as well as gorgeous graphics and a great script.
3. Overwatch ; Crazy addictive fun that I can't get myself to stop playing. I usually drop multiplayer games pretty quick, but I always find myself coming back to Overwatch almost on a weekly basis.
4. Final Fantasy XV ; A true return to form for the series, though flawed in many ways as well. I enjoyed this game for almost every second I played it (Chapter 13 though...) and was truly sad to see it end. The four main characters felt very well defined, which made the ending even more powerful even though the story itself was told in a very odd way.
5. The Last Guardian ; A beautiful and unique experience, just like its predecessors. The bond that grew between Trico and the boy was very simple and sweet to watch unfold. A game that was truly worth the wait, and a memorable and emotional experience that will undoubtedly have a special place in my heart just as Ico and Shadow of the Colossus do.
6. Dishonored 2 ; An excellent sequel that delivered some of the best levels I've played in a stealth game in years. The addition of Emily as a playable character with her own unique set of powers was an excellent idea, and I enjoyed playing through the story with both her and Corvo. The art design was again spectacular, and the lore of Dishonored has always drawn me in, and this game managed to do the same again.
7. Dark Souls 3 ; A fun and challenging game with some very memorable bosses and great lore. Though I found it easier than some of other Soulsborne games, it was a still a great experience.
8. Furi ; An addictive and challenging boss rush game with an amazing soundtrack and a great aesthetic.
9. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; A great adventure game that struggled slightly in the story department. A blast to play and filled with a great variety of environments.
10. Watch Dogs 2; I'm honestly surprised I'm listing this on here, but Watch Dogs 2 is a great improvement over the first game in many ways. The characters are actually enjoyable to a degree, and Marcus is a far more likable protagonist than Aiden. I feel it deserves more love than it got. The more lighthearted approach was the right way to take things story wise, and though I find some of it cringey at times, I find myself having fun with it regardless.
IIRC last year's tally was mostly indie games for me. Big studios definitely brought their A game this year though and thank god for that. Games like Dishonored 2 or Mafia 3 just can't be done without huge budgets. That's not a slight towards low budget games either, not every idea requires those values: The Witness and Tyranny are both results of relatively small teams who bring out fantastic design that a large production might not reproduce without compromises. I'm happy to see a mix of budgets being represented in good games.
Top games of 2016
1. The Witness ; The way it looks, the way it moves, the way it teaches. The Witness is one of the best games I have ever played, constantly challenging you to think and look differently at your environment. It's remarkable how much Jonathan Blow manages to do with such a simple input system and such a simple shape.
2. Xcom 2 ; This game pulls dirty tricks on you as a returning player from the previous game! But really, it's an almost perfectly done sequel to an already fantastic game. It's still as challenging to play and heartbreaking when things go wrong. Add to that how most missions have controversial timers, which I feel do a great job at pushing you towards uncomfortable positions and towards taking risks over advancing a few squares per turn. In return, with high risk the reward is all the sweeter as you pull off a series of dangerous moves to end a combat sooner than you would like in order to not lose the mission. It's also very thematically fitting as you are on the offensive against a set-up enemy in this game.
The game overall is just great, the exception as for the previous game being the strategy layer. It doesn't really feel like a guerilla campaign in this layer. The difficulty curve also staggers a bit to the end and becomes somewhat too easy. Still, I've loved the hours I put into the game. Should get back into it and the DLC which I haven't really touched yet.
3. Dishonored 2 ; The second game in this list that is just titled Game 2, which seems to be a pretty common theme this year. I really like the confidence in not adding a bland subtitle but letting the series' pedigree speak for itself.
This is as amazing of a sequel as Xcom 2 and maybe even better. The city of Karnaca is a particular standout to me. It more than one-ups Dunwall and is one of the best realized settings I've seen in a game. From the dirty streets and flaked teal or coral buildings, to the bloodfly infestation which is more interesting and creepy than the rat plague, and the windmills littering the skyline along with the giant pipes of the silver mine. Valve is great at creating evocative images of structures but with Karnaca Arkane has them equalled or beaten, not that it's a contest.
The city also hosts some absolutely stellar levels, including some really cool concepts. There is a lot to explore in these and they can all be fully solved using your two varied skill sets. You can even solve them without any powers, as I found out that you can select: fully in tune with the game giving you an almost of crazy amount of options everywhere.
The technical issues distract more than a bit but as a game Dishonored 2 is one of the best big budget releases in years. It's super fun.
4. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ; Even after reports came in that this game actually was good I didn't expect it to be one of the best in the series. Finally after several middling games this delivers mostly good cases, a good cast and a new trial mechanic which isn't crap. What has also been missing from the last games has been a good central story: this one manages to discuss popularism and the long term effects of a country turning its back on humanitarian rights, which is refreshing to see from a comedic series like this one. Although I hear that AA has always been political in how it criticizes the Japanese court system that has always been more abstract to me, while looking at how popularism and harsh solutions are gaining ground in mine and neighbouring countries right now makes AA6 perfectly timed.
Thank you, Capcom, for making me both think and laugh.
5. Overwatch ; It's the game I've put most hours into since Quake 3. I still boot it up every other week for a few hours of quick play fun.
6. Doom ; Who could have known from the promotional material Bethesda had put out that this would be good? I was skeptical from the start of how the game seemed to focus on gorey kills over level design but from the moment I found a secret area with a weapon otherwise found a few levels later I was happy to eat crow. When I faced an actually good FPS level boss I was ecstatic.
As fun as the combat and fittingly light story (I appreciate that the story actually is there and not dismissed with an ironic nod) are though, the game has some downsides which prohibit it from going higher to me. One is that while some of the first levels are really good at creating open spaces for you to explore, many of the later ones are more boring and shove you into locked room arena encounters over and over again. Another is that the secret areas only a few times contain something cool like a new weapon, more often just giving you an upgrade point. Third as that god damn it, why does Doom of all games have so many upgrade systems? There's like four or five types of points to collect and pop into your different systems. It kills the pacing as you scour the maps or are forced into a very specific challenge for these bland points, and ignoring them makes the game not just harder but less fun. I wish all of these map secrets straight up gave you upgrades instead.
Regardless Doom is a great game and a fantastic foundation to build on.
7. Mafia 3 ; What could have been! As seen above my word of the year has been pacing and the first few hours of Mafia 3 has some of the best I've seen in a game. It spares no time in introducing a main cast that is funny, emphatic and really bonds together. This is done through a wealth of cutscenes which are the absolute best I've seen in games: characters act naturally when moving about, the dialogue feels real and the voice acting is great. The gameplay is solid enough for my (admittedly small) experience with open world games, and the missions are fun, varied in settings and context, and never drag.
Then as anyone who played the game can account to the mid game hits and the pacing falls off. Instead of tightly paced story missions with unique content you are tasked to blow up crates or interrogate dudes which are all mostly the same and quickly tires you out. Instead of these missions being delivered in proper cutscenes the game falls back to dudes standing in one place and flapping their arms.
A lot is lost in these boring, repetitive missions. They bring down the excitement for the story missions, which are still mostly very good and varied. The delightful cast and simple but solid story about the corruptive influence of power, escaping your past, and fighting against oppression – a theme also running through most of the game's side stories – kept me powering through slow stretches and crashes to desktop to reach the end and I left very satisfied.
If this game had been 15 instead of 35 hours long I would recommend this to anyone. As it is though, it has some fantastic and in gaming pretty much unique peaks (for which I keep my recommendation) but the downs are too long. Hopefully Hangar 13 can carry the right lessons with them moving on, because they are so close to being there.
8. Firewatch ; A short and sweet story, presented in a beautiful location that I never got tired of hiking through. How the game allows you to define so much of your relationships to other characters and yourself is great and there's a lot of funny moments thrown into the dialogues between you and Delilah. Two stellar voice performances from the main cast help, too.
9. Offworld Trading Company ; This year's biggest surprise is that the new Civilization isn't the best game with Cristopher Tin music. I haven't gotten as much time into this as I want but it's a delightful take on real time 4x, with a fast game pace and factions with interesting unique abilities.
10. Tyranny ; Obsidian's smaller project based on the PoE engine works pretty well. It's also nice to play an RPG with as much focus on intrigue and navigating choices as on slaying enemies. They do a great job building a world with powerful magic, ruled by a mysterious tyrant with powers way beyond ordinary men. But what's best about it is how the game gently edges you towards doing pretty terrifying deeds to others, making a cruel punishment feel just, or fitting in as a regular cog in an evil machinery.
Honourable mentions
x. Oxenfree ; Making the player an active participant in dialogue seems to be getting popular and this game has a great shot at it. The surrounding game is just slightly too small for me to love it and it doesn't inspire the same awe as Firewatch's beautiful woodlands or dialogue does, but it is very close. Highly recommended if you like character interactions in games.
x. Orwell ; This is a very fun investigative game, where you play as the operator of a system where you access and cross reference other people's personal information as you hunt a terrorist organization. It's not really as good as Papers, Please was at putting you into the system and understanding how it hurts people, outside of a couple of good moments. But it's still very fun to move about profiles and pick up leads to follow on.
x. VA-11 HALL-A ; Another dialogue game, where you are a bartender serving drinks in a cyberpunk future. Haven't played far of it but feel like giving it a shout out for being cool and funny so far, plus the amazing soundtrack. A bit too heavy on the anime meta humour for my taste but eh.
x. Mirror's Edge Catalyst ; It's very good when you get up to speed and run through a good route. But between the bland overworld which has you running the same routes over and over again, the still absolutely crap combat, unnecessary upgrade system and just a few too many rough edges there is too much getting in the way of the flow. I'm happy that Dice got to make the game but it's not exactly what I was hoping for.
Best Late to the Party
Portal 2 ; While I certainly enjoyed the first Portal as a well crafted experience I wasn't blown away. I did wonder how a sequel would flesh out the universe. When games or movies try to flesh out a concentrated, evocative experience it usually becomes either stupid or boring. Valve rode a tight rope with this game but oh did they pull it off. In part because they aren't trying to replicate the same mood as the original, which wouldn't work in a longer game.
I understand if someone doesn't like how it's more of a comedy game than the first (which is mostly cute-funny than comedic) but I think it serves the game well, because they aren't being lazy about it. The Aperture Science Lab is so ridiculous that you can't treat it seriously but you can treat it with respect as done here. Valve is so good at creating structures that it's as impressive as funny to enter the underground, older lab areas and see how they evolve over the decades. It's supported by three great voice performances, from silly to sardonic and outrageous. And there are few games which have the strength to include cooky things like finding a secret turret choir or end on a turret orchestra.
This game made me a bit sad that we haven't seen a full length single player campaign from Valve since, because they are one of few studious who can pull off something as well made as this.
Top games of 2016
1. The Witness ; The way it looks, the way it moves, the way it teaches. The Witness is one of the best games I have ever played, constantly challenging you to think and look differently at your environment. It's remarkable how much Jonathan Blow manages to do with such a simple input system and such a simple shape.
2. Xcom 2 ; This game pulls dirty tricks on you as a returning player from the previous game! But really, it's an almost perfectly done sequel to an already fantastic game. It's still as challenging to play and heartbreaking when things go wrong. Add to that how most missions have controversial timers, which I feel do a great job at pushing you towards uncomfortable positions and towards taking risks over advancing a few squares per turn. In return, with high risk the reward is all the sweeter as you pull off a series of dangerous moves to end a combat sooner than you would like in order to not lose the mission. It's also very thematically fitting as you are on the offensive against a set-up enemy in this game.
The game overall is just great, the exception as for the previous game being the strategy layer. It doesn't really feel like a guerilla campaign in this layer. The difficulty curve also staggers a bit to the end and becomes somewhat too easy. Still, I've loved the hours I put into the game. Should get back into it and the DLC which I haven't really touched yet.
3. Dishonored 2 ; The second game in this list that is just titled Game 2, which seems to be a pretty common theme this year. I really like the confidence in not adding a bland subtitle but letting the series' pedigree speak for itself.
This is as amazing of a sequel as Xcom 2 and maybe even better. The city of Karnaca is a particular standout to me. It more than one-ups Dunwall and is one of the best realized settings I've seen in a game. From the dirty streets and flaked teal or coral buildings, to the bloodfly infestation which is more interesting and creepy than the rat plague, and the windmills littering the skyline along with the giant pipes of the silver mine. Valve is great at creating evocative images of structures but with Karnaca Arkane has them equalled or beaten, not that it's a contest.
The city also hosts some absolutely stellar levels, including some really cool concepts. There is a lot to explore in these and they can all be fully solved using your two varied skill sets. You can even solve them without any powers, as I found out that you can select: fully in tune with the game giving you an almost of crazy amount of options everywhere.
The technical issues distract more than a bit but as a game Dishonored 2 is one of the best big budget releases in years. It's super fun.
4. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ; Even after reports came in that this game actually was good I didn't expect it to be one of the best in the series. Finally after several middling games this delivers mostly good cases, a good cast and a new trial mechanic which isn't crap. What has also been missing from the last games has been a good central story: this one manages to discuss popularism and the long term effects of a country turning its back on humanitarian rights, which is refreshing to see from a comedic series like this one. Although I hear that AA has always been political in how it criticizes the Japanese court system that has always been more abstract to me, while looking at how popularism and harsh solutions are gaining ground in mine and neighbouring countries right now makes AA6 perfectly timed.
Thank you, Capcom, for making me both think and laugh.
5. Overwatch ; It's the game I've put most hours into since Quake 3. I still boot it up every other week for a few hours of quick play fun.
6. Doom ; Who could have known from the promotional material Bethesda had put out that this would be good? I was skeptical from the start of how the game seemed to focus on gorey kills over level design but from the moment I found a secret area with a weapon otherwise found a few levels later I was happy to eat crow. When I faced an actually good FPS level boss I was ecstatic.
As fun as the combat and fittingly light story (I appreciate that the story actually is there and not dismissed with an ironic nod) are though, the game has some downsides which prohibit it from going higher to me. One is that while some of the first levels are really good at creating open spaces for you to explore, many of the later ones are more boring and shove you into locked room arena encounters over and over again. Another is that the secret areas only a few times contain something cool like a new weapon, more often just giving you an upgrade point. Third as that god damn it, why does Doom of all games have so many upgrade systems? There's like four or five types of points to collect and pop into your different systems. It kills the pacing as you scour the maps or are forced into a very specific challenge for these bland points, and ignoring them makes the game not just harder but less fun. I wish all of these map secrets straight up gave you upgrades instead.
Regardless Doom is a great game and a fantastic foundation to build on.
7. Mafia 3 ; What could have been! As seen above my word of the year has been pacing and the first few hours of Mafia 3 has some of the best I've seen in a game. It spares no time in introducing a main cast that is funny, emphatic and really bonds together. This is done through a wealth of cutscenes which are the absolute best I've seen in games: characters act naturally when moving about, the dialogue feels real and the voice acting is great. The gameplay is solid enough for my (admittedly small) experience with open world games, and the missions are fun, varied in settings and context, and never drag.
Then as anyone who played the game can account to the mid game hits and the pacing falls off. Instead of tightly paced story missions with unique content you are tasked to blow up crates or interrogate dudes which are all mostly the same and quickly tires you out. Instead of these missions being delivered in proper cutscenes the game falls back to dudes standing in one place and flapping their arms.
A lot is lost in these boring, repetitive missions. They bring down the excitement for the story missions, which are still mostly very good and varied. The delightful cast and simple but solid story about the corruptive influence of power, escaping your past, and fighting against oppression – a theme also running through most of the game's side stories – kept me powering through slow stretches and crashes to desktop to reach the end and I left very satisfied.
If this game had been 15 instead of 35 hours long I would recommend this to anyone. As it is though, it has some fantastic and in gaming pretty much unique peaks (for which I keep my recommendation) but the downs are too long. Hopefully Hangar 13 can carry the right lessons with them moving on, because they are so close to being there.
8. Firewatch ; A short and sweet story, presented in a beautiful location that I never got tired of hiking through. How the game allows you to define so much of your relationships to other characters and yourself is great and there's a lot of funny moments thrown into the dialogues between you and Delilah. Two stellar voice performances from the main cast help, too.
9. Offworld Trading Company ; This year's biggest surprise is that the new Civilization isn't the best game with Cristopher Tin music. I haven't gotten as much time into this as I want but it's a delightful take on real time 4x, with a fast game pace and factions with interesting unique abilities.
10. Tyranny ; Obsidian's smaller project based on the PoE engine works pretty well. It's also nice to play an RPG with as much focus on intrigue and navigating choices as on slaying enemies. They do a great job building a world with powerful magic, ruled by a mysterious tyrant with powers way beyond ordinary men. But what's best about it is how the game gently edges you towards doing pretty terrifying deeds to others, making a cruel punishment feel just, or fitting in as a regular cog in an evil machinery.
Honourable mentions
x. Oxenfree ; Making the player an active participant in dialogue seems to be getting popular and this game has a great shot at it. The surrounding game is just slightly too small for me to love it and it doesn't inspire the same awe as Firewatch's beautiful woodlands or dialogue does, but it is very close. Highly recommended if you like character interactions in games.
x. Orwell ; This is a very fun investigative game, where you play as the operator of a system where you access and cross reference other people's personal information as you hunt a terrorist organization. It's not really as good as Papers, Please was at putting you into the system and understanding how it hurts people, outside of a couple of good moments. But it's still very fun to move about profiles and pick up leads to follow on.
x. VA-11 HALL-A ; Another dialogue game, where you are a bartender serving drinks in a cyberpunk future. Haven't played far of it but feel like giving it a shout out for being cool and funny so far, plus the amazing soundtrack. A bit too heavy on the anime meta humour for my taste but eh.
x. Mirror's Edge Catalyst ; It's very good when you get up to speed and run through a good route. But between the bland overworld which has you running the same routes over and over again, the still absolutely crap combat, unnecessary upgrade system and just a few too many rough edges there is too much getting in the way of the flow. I'm happy that Dice got to make the game but it's not exactly what I was hoping for.
Best Late to the Party
Portal 2 ; While I certainly enjoyed the first Portal as a well crafted experience I wasn't blown away. I did wonder how a sequel would flesh out the universe. When games or movies try to flesh out a concentrated, evocative experience it usually becomes either stupid or boring. Valve rode a tight rope with this game but oh did they pull it off. In part because they aren't trying to replicate the same mood as the original, which wouldn't work in a longer game.
I understand if someone doesn't like how it's more of a comedy game than the first (which is mostly cute-funny than comedic) but I think it serves the game well, because they aren't being lazy about it. The Aperture Science Lab is so ridiculous that you can't treat it seriously but you can treat it with respect as done here. Valve is so good at creating structures that it's as impressive as funny to enter the underground, older lab areas and see how they evolve over the decades. It's supported by three great voice performances, from silly to sardonic and outrageous. And there are few games which have the strength to include cooky things like finding a secret turret choir or end on a turret orchestra.
This game made me a bit sad that we haven't seen a full length single player campaign from Valve since, because they are one of few studious who can pull off something as well made as this.
1. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight ; Unlike deciding the rest of my list, this game was not actually a difficult pick for number one. When I finished it rather early in 2016, I actually did something I have never done before: because it was rather early in the year, I wrote it down as a potential GotY pick, so that there is no chance for me to forget about it.
To me, it was that rare game which is almost entirely perfect: perfect pacing, perfect gameplay, perfect atmosphere, perfect music, perfect controls, perfect level design, perfect difficulty, perfect length, perfect art. I honestly can not think of anything I would change about it to improve it. And that's why it is my Game of the Year.
2. The Witness ; Just how much I enjoyed the Witness came as a surprise to me, but doing 100% of it without any assistance made me really appreciate the design of many of its puzzles, particularly the environmental ones. It probably also helped that I played it basically in "co-op".
3. SHENZHEN I/O ; A well-designed sequel to one of my favourite games of all time (TIS-100). Extends its possibilities and offers some more story, while not quite reaching its level of addictiveness, at least for me -- and honestly, that's a good thing for my health.
Not even in the eligible table - GAF sucks.
4. Dark Souls III ; Another sequel to another personal favourite. Some inexplicable steps back from Dark Souls 2, but still one of my gaming highlights of the year. Again, co-op surely helps cement it as that.
5. N++ ; The best version of the best minimalistic platformer. A massive amount of content, tight controls, great co-op.
6. Xanadu Next ; Living up to the hype I heard prior to its release. Combines Ys-like gameplay with more pronounced RPG elements, a great combination as it turns out.
7. The Lab ; Most of my favourite VR experiences this year are still in early access, but Valve's "The Lab" deserves credit for providing a polished first taste of what 360° VR gameplay with tracked controllers can mean, and for defining much of the interaction language used in this earliest wave of VR games.
8. Salt and Sanctuary ; A very solid attempt at transferring Dark Souls to 2D, and another game which benefits from the availability of campaign co-op.
9. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; While I didn't enjoy it quite as much as its predecessor, it still deserves recognition for being a "AAA" game that appeals to me a lot, which is seemingly getting increasingly rare.
10. Root Double -Before Crime * After Days- Xtend Edition ; I played a lot of VNs this year, and they all have different advantages and drawbacks. Root Double has awful pacing in some of its routes, but the payoff makes up for it.
Honorable Mentions
x. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen ; Probably the best implementation of magic in any ARPG ever.
x. Arizona Sunshine ; Stands out as a complete VR FPS with a full story campaign and coop.
Note that I haven't played a lot of games released in 2016 which might make it on this list yet, e.g. two of the most obvious would be Tyranny and Civilization 6.
1. Uncharted 4 ; Really great way to finish Drake's story. Must have.
2. The Last Guardian ; Everything about this game is lovely. Never thought it would come out this great.
3. Inside ; Really awesome game on all fronts. A bit too easy compared to Limbo, but everyhing else is supperb.
4. The Wittness; Trail puzzles in its final form. Environmental puzzles are one of the best I've ever played.
5. Ratchet & Clank ; Worthy remake for one of the best action platformer franchise.
6. Gravity Rush Remastered ; Flawed but highly recommended for fans of quirky 3rd P Adventures
7. Severed ; Touchscreen gaming at its best.
8. N++ ; Perfect platformer for me.
2. The Last Guardian ; Everything about this game is lovely. Never thought it would come out this great.
3. Inside ; Really awesome game on all fronts. A bit too easy compared to Limbo, but everyhing else is supperb.
4. The Wittness; Trail puzzles in its final form. Environmental puzzles are one of the best I've ever played.
5. Ratchet & Clank ; Worthy remake for one of the best action platformer franchise.
6. Gravity Rush Remastered ; Flawed but highly recommended for fans of quirky 3rd P Adventures
7. Severed ; Touchscreen gaming at its best.
8. N++ ; Perfect platformer for me.
astroturfing
Member
1. The Last Guardian ; had issues with the controls and camera but none of that mattered when the experience itself was so utterly amazing.. also the best animation work i've ever seen in a game.
2. Dark Souls III ; more of the same but it's pure gameplay bliss with a creepy atmosphere so whats not to love?
3. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; basically The Witcher 4, so much content and a huge map. ridiculously pretty to look at as well. currently playing it and just loving it.
4. Inside ; yeah, that ending. holy shit.
5. ABZÛ ; better than Journey to me, found it much more relaxing and beautiful. helps that i'm fascinated with sea life
still haven't played FFXV or The Witness.. will probably enjoy both quite a lot.
2. Dark Souls III ; more of the same but it's pure gameplay bliss with a creepy atmosphere so whats not to love?
3. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; basically The Witcher 4, so much content and a huge map. ridiculously pretty to look at as well. currently playing it and just loving it.
4. Inside ; yeah, that ending. holy shit.
5. ABZÛ ; better than Journey to me, found it much more relaxing and beautiful. helps that i'm fascinated with sea life
still haven't played FFXV or The Witness.. will probably enjoy both quite a lot.
1. Stardew Valley ; The best Harvest Moon game ever and it was made by one person.
2. Rocket League ; This one's the best competitive sports game on the market right now.
3. Quantum Break ; Perfectly crafted time travel story by Remedy Entertainment.
4. Hitman ; There is no better game to play as Agent 47.
5. Forza Horizon 3 ; This is my favorite racing game ever.
6. Watch Dogs 2 ; Great cast of characters and it let me play through without killing anyone.
7. Inside ; This one's simply a piece of art. I'll never forget that ending.
8. Gears of War 4 ; Great job by The Coalition creating a good Gears of War game.
9. Recore ; A good platformer that I had a lot of fun with.
10. Mafia 3 ; Superb story-telling on top of weak and repetitive mission structures.
2. Rocket League ; This one's the best competitive sports game on the market right now.
3. Quantum Break ; Perfectly crafted time travel story by Remedy Entertainment.
4. Hitman ; There is no better game to play as Agent 47.
5. Forza Horizon 3 ; This is my favorite racing game ever.
6. Watch Dogs 2 ; Great cast of characters and it let me play through without killing anyone.
7. Inside ; This one's simply a piece of art. I'll never forget that ending.
8. Gears of War 4 ; Great job by The Coalition creating a good Gears of War game.
9. Recore ; A good platformer that I had a lot of fun with.
10. Mafia 3 ; Superb story-telling on top of weak and repetitive mission structures.
1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; What an awesome game. Drake's adventures end in the highest note possible and with a fantastic multiplayer included!
2. This War of Mine: The Little Ones ; This game got me good. Didn't notice it was 3am until I had to stop to get a bite. Extremely engaging game.
3. No Man's Sky ; The feeling of exploration is huge and the satisfaction of travelling through the stars perfect. Screw the haters, this is a gem of a game.
4. Super Time Force Ultra ; Great pixel art design with an awesome rewind mechanic. Lot's of fun, cool characters and what a crazy story! Double eyepatch ftw!
5. The Last Guardian ; Great story and graphics with a superb character interaction between trico and the boy. A shame the puzzles aren't as good as in ICO's.
6. Ratchet & Clank ; Insomniac is back in form to it's Ratchet and Clank with an excellent reboot of the series. Even if the movie is not that good.
7. Alienation ; Housemarque at it's best with a fantastic online twin stick shooter.
8. Street Fighter V ; Capcom manages to improve upon the formula by continuing to create the best vs fighter around.
9. Bro Force ; Crazy fun co-op. You can't get enough of the goofy famous characters and their crazy weapons.
10. Thumper ; Am I getting too old or is this one too fast for me? Never mind, let's go one more time and try to beat one more level.
x. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered ; A fantastic remaster that brings the original and extras all in one package. A shame the war scenarios in the story aren't as good as the extras.
x. The Witness ; The best puzzle game of 2016 is an FPS. Wish it had more than just the puzzles.
2. This War of Mine: The Little Ones ; This game got me good. Didn't notice it was 3am until I had to stop to get a bite. Extremely engaging game.
3. No Man's Sky ; The feeling of exploration is huge and the satisfaction of travelling through the stars perfect. Screw the haters, this is a gem of a game.
4. Super Time Force Ultra ; Great pixel art design with an awesome rewind mechanic. Lot's of fun, cool characters and what a crazy story! Double eyepatch ftw!
5. The Last Guardian ; Great story and graphics with a superb character interaction between trico and the boy. A shame the puzzles aren't as good as in ICO's.
6. Ratchet & Clank ; Insomniac is back in form to it's Ratchet and Clank with an excellent reboot of the series. Even if the movie is not that good.
7. Alienation ; Housemarque at it's best with a fantastic online twin stick shooter.
8. Street Fighter V ; Capcom manages to improve upon the formula by continuing to create the best vs fighter around.
9. Bro Force ; Crazy fun co-op. You can't get enough of the goofy famous characters and their crazy weapons.
10. Thumper ; Am I getting too old or is this one too fast for me? Never mind, let's go one more time and try to beat one more level.
x. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered ; A fantastic remaster that brings the original and extras all in one package. A shame the war scenarios in the story aren't as good as the extras.
x. The Witness ; The best puzzle game of 2016 is an FPS. Wish it had more than just the puzzles.
Gift of Fury
Neo Member
1. Street Fighter V ; The package is rough around the edges, but it has the best Street Fighter gameplay since 3rd Strike. By far my most played game in 2016.
2. Inside ; Great atmosphere and puzzles. Very polished gameplay experience.
3. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; It has the best Uncharted story and the stealth elements were a welcome addition to the combat. When the stealth breaks down the shooting is only ok and the traversal sections can get tiresome.
4. The Witness ; I have only cracked the surface of this game, but it has already begun sucking me in.
5. Overwatch ; I haven't bought this yet, but from the beta and free weekends this game is a blast and deserving of the praise it gets. I will pick it up after I clear up some of my backlog.
2. Inside ; Great atmosphere and puzzles. Very polished gameplay experience.
3. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; It has the best Uncharted story and the stealth elements were a welcome addition to the combat. When the stealth breaks down the shooting is only ok and the traversal sections can get tiresome.
4. The Witness ; I have only cracked the surface of this game, but it has already begun sucking me in.
5. Overwatch ; I haven't bought this yet, but from the beta and free weekends this game is a blast and deserving of the praise it gets. I will pick it up after I clear up some of my backlog.
ReubyJuice
Member
1. Farming Simulator 17 ; Significantly improved over 15, an excellent simulator with fantastic models of real-life equipment.
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; A great story acted wonderfully, beautiful environments, and solid gameplay spearheaded by epic set pieces.
3. Titanfall 2 ; A good campaign with some nice relationship development, but the crowning glory is the multiplayer - fast, fun, and addicting.
2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; A great story acted wonderfully, beautiful environments, and solid gameplay spearheaded by epic set pieces.
3. Titanfall 2 ; A good campaign with some nice relationship development, but the crowning glory is the multiplayer - fast, fun, and addicting.
1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; A masterclass in storytelling, a true experience. Its a shame that Naughty Dog was limited by the constraints of the Uncharted series. Its still the most polished and beautiful campaign I played in 2016.
2. Inside ; The atmosphere of Inside is dripping with detail. Oh, and that moment......just....wow.
3. Batman:The Telltale Series ; I love how Telltale threw a wrench into Batman lore and made it their own. Top notch voice acting. Excited to see the followup to this.
4. Watch_Dogs 2 ; This was exactly the game I wanted exactly when I wanted it. Open world with lots to do and characters worth caring about. With the improvements over WD1 this is a series I will definitely keep my eye on.
5. Final Fantasy XV ; This game is not without faults but man did I have fun playing it. It was great to have fun with Final Fantasy again.
6. Overwatch ; This game is completely not in my wheelhouse of interests but I went ahead and tried it because of the buzz it was getting. Blizzard's polish and attention to detail shines through to create a game with that indescribable magic that keeps players coming back.
7. Tom Clancy's The Division ; The core game that Ubisoft created is a strong pillar in which to expand this new IP. Ubisoft has done a great job of learning and adapting to create strong follow up games to their new franchises.
8. Deux Ex: Mankind Divided ; One of my favorite things about this series is the amazing world building. I wanted more story and more to do.
9. Doom ; Fast. Violent. Fun. Buttery smooth game play, it just feels so good playing this game.
10. Battlefield 1 ; The variety in the single player campaign was refreshing. The stories were very well crafted and delivered in a way that felt very personal.
x. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare ; What a great campaign, although the side missions were not very fleshed out I enjoyed taking them on at my own pace. Amazing vistas on some locations as well.
x. Mafia III ; Some of the best story presentation I've seen in a game. The game play was repetitive as hell. I cant help but to think this game could have been so special had they taken a little more time.
2. Inside ; The atmosphere of Inside is dripping with detail. Oh, and that moment......just....wow.
3. Batman:The Telltale Series ; I love how Telltale threw a wrench into Batman lore and made it their own. Top notch voice acting. Excited to see the followup to this.
4. Watch_Dogs 2 ; This was exactly the game I wanted exactly when I wanted it. Open world with lots to do and characters worth caring about. With the improvements over WD1 this is a series I will definitely keep my eye on.
5. Final Fantasy XV ; This game is not without faults but man did I have fun playing it. It was great to have fun with Final Fantasy again.
6. Overwatch ; This game is completely not in my wheelhouse of interests but I went ahead and tried it because of the buzz it was getting. Blizzard's polish and attention to detail shines through to create a game with that indescribable magic that keeps players coming back.
7. Tom Clancy's The Division ; The core game that Ubisoft created is a strong pillar in which to expand this new IP. Ubisoft has done a great job of learning and adapting to create strong follow up games to their new franchises.
8. Deux Ex: Mankind Divided ; One of my favorite things about this series is the amazing world building. I wanted more story and more to do.
9. Doom ; Fast. Violent. Fun. Buttery smooth game play, it just feels so good playing this game.
10. Battlefield 1 ; The variety in the single player campaign was refreshing. The stories were very well crafted and delivered in a way that felt very personal.
x. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare ; What a great campaign, although the side missions were not very fleshed out I enjoyed taking them on at my own pace. Amazing vistas on some locations as well.
x. Mafia III ; Some of the best story presentation I've seen in a game. The game play was repetitive as hell. I cant help but to think this game could have been so special had they taken a little more time.
CorporateClown
Member
1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; I wanted more exploration and Naughty Dog delivered. I wanted more varied and open fun fights and they delivered. Most of all, I wanted a happy ending for Nate. Damn it, they delivered!
2. The Last Guardian ; I'm not sure if another game could ever capture the intangible bond I feel with my pet. A beautiful game from start to finish!
3. Batman: Arkham VR ; As a kid all I ever wanted was to be Batman. This year I came pretty damn close!
4. Final Fantasy XV ; This game made me want to call up my friends and go on a road trip. Mostly to do random fetch quests, of course!
5. Doom ; Just pure, stupid fun!
6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; A great end to my journey with this fantastic game..
7. Hitman ; I never thought I'd have so much fun playing the same content over and over, but there's always something to make your next run fresh and exciting..
8. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood ; Between the shrieks, "whoas", and laughter, I'm pretty sure my cat thought I was insane while I played this. .
9. Yomawari: Night Alone ; Fantastic atmosphere packed into a charming game more disturbing than it looks.
10. Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 ; Yeah, that's right. And I enjoyed it too!
2. The Last Guardian ; I'm not sure if another game could ever capture the intangible bond I feel with my pet. A beautiful game from start to finish!
3. Batman: Arkham VR ; As a kid all I ever wanted was to be Batman. This year I came pretty damn close!
4. Final Fantasy XV ; This game made me want to call up my friends and go on a road trip. Mostly to do random fetch quests, of course!
5. Doom ; Just pure, stupid fun!
6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; A great end to my journey with this fantastic game..
7. Hitman ; I never thought I'd have so much fun playing the same content over and over, but there's always something to make your next run fresh and exciting..
8. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood ; Between the shrieks, "whoas", and laughter, I'm pretty sure my cat thought I was insane while I played this. .
9. Yomawari: Night Alone ; Fantastic atmosphere packed into a charming game more disturbing than it looks.
10. Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 ; Yeah, that's right. And I enjoyed it too!
SolidusDave
Member
This year is tough compared to last year. I could easily make a top20. Although I haven't even played/finished everything yet thanks to too many sales and too little time.
1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; The best Uncharted game, which surprised me as I had no hype at all - Series that are very similar burn me out quickly but the perfect execution and best Uncharted gameplay ended the series on such a high note.
2. The Witness ; .
3. The Last Guardian ; .
4. Doom ; .
5. No Man's Sky ; .
6. Abzû ; .
7. Unravel ; .
8. Day of the Tentacle: Remastered Edition ; .
9. Final Fantasy XV ; I haven't played much yet and I should rate it lower just for the upcoming patches but I know this game will be very memorable for me.
10. Stardew Valley ; Finally a fucking worthy Harvest Moon game on PSN.
Honorable Mentions
x. Firewatch ; I punish this game to this list due to the technical mess at launch.
x. Gravity Rush Remastered ; Great, but made me wish I had played the sequel instead.
x. Mirror's Edge Catalyst ; .
x. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Was as lame compared to HR as I feared.
x. Inside ; Great little game, but not enough for my top 10.
x. Ratchet & Clank ; .
x. Hitman ; Just started playing this, would have gotten much higher but I didn't like the episodic format so I waited.
x. Battlefield 1 ; .
x. Broforce ; Probably my favorite MP/coop game last year but a technical mess so out it goes.
x. Life Is Strange ; Happened to play it only last year.
x. Titanfall 2 ; Haven't started the game yet, people have with hyped for the sp.
x. Bound ; .
x. Kholat ; .
x. Adrift ; Haven't played enough yet.
x. The Tomorrow Children ; .
x. Beyond: Two Souls ; .
x. Alienation ; .
x. Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness ; Not sure if should even put it here as this might the worst game I bought last year - I like the anime and wanted to try a visual novel game but boy does that whole genre suck ass, I wish this was just in anime form or even a book as here you only get a shitty powerpoint presentation with 4 emotions per character and a menu choice every now and then.
x. Amplitude ; .
Those are all the games I played minus all the PS+ games that I started up but found them no even worth mentioning here.
1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; The best Uncharted game, which surprised me as I had no hype at all - Series that are very similar burn me out quickly but the perfect execution and best Uncharted gameplay ended the series on such a high note.
2. The Witness ; .
3. The Last Guardian ; .
4. Doom ; .
5. No Man's Sky ; .
6. Abzû ; .
7. Unravel ; .
8. Day of the Tentacle: Remastered Edition ; .
9. Final Fantasy XV ; I haven't played much yet and I should rate it lower just for the upcoming patches but I know this game will be very memorable for me.
10. Stardew Valley ; Finally a fucking worthy Harvest Moon game on PSN.
Honorable Mentions
x. Firewatch ; I punish this game to this list due to the technical mess at launch.
x. Gravity Rush Remastered ; Great, but made me wish I had played the sequel instead.
x. Mirror's Edge Catalyst ; .
x. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Was as lame compared to HR as I feared.
x. Inside ; Great little game, but not enough for my top 10.
x. Ratchet & Clank ; .
x. Hitman ; Just started playing this, would have gotten much higher but I didn't like the episodic format so I waited.
x. Battlefield 1 ; .
x. Broforce ; Probably my favorite MP/coop game last year but a technical mess so out it goes.
x. Life Is Strange ; Happened to play it only last year.
x. Titanfall 2 ; Haven't started the game yet, people have with hyped for the sp.
x. Bound ; .
x. Kholat ; .
x. Adrift ; Haven't played enough yet.
x. The Tomorrow Children ; .
x. Beyond: Two Souls ; .
x. Alienation ; .
x. Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness ; Not sure if should even put it here as this might the worst game I bought last year - I like the anime and wanted to try a visual novel game but boy does that whole genre suck ass, I wish this was just in anime form or even a book as here you only get a shitty powerpoint presentation with 4 emotions per character and a menu choice every now and then.
x. Amplitude ; .
Those are all the games I played minus all the PS+ games that I started up but found them no even worth mentioning here.
1. Dark Souls III ; My favorite game in the series
2. Final Fantasy XV ; Excellent soundtrack, fun combat, great post-game
3. Overwatch ; Never put this much time into an online FPS before
4. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ;
5. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ;
6. Monster Hunter Generations ;
7. Salt and Sanctuary ; Great 2D Souls
8. World of Final Fantasy ;
9. SteinsGate 0 ;
10. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Colorful Sound and Future Tone ; Best Miku game, so much content
x. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir ;
x. World of Warcraft: Legion ; First time since WotLK I've enjoyed WoW so much
x. Grim Dawn ;
x. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II ;
x. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ;
x. TitanFall 2 ;
x. Ratchet & Clank ;
x. Fire Emblem Fates ;
x. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book ;
x. Rise of the Tomb Raider ;
x. Hyper Light Drifter ;
x. Stardrew Valley ;
2. Final Fantasy XV ; Excellent soundtrack, fun combat, great post-game
3. Overwatch ; Never put this much time into an online FPS before
4. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ;
5. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ;
6. Monster Hunter Generations ;
7. Salt and Sanctuary ; Great 2D Souls
8. World of Final Fantasy ;
9. SteinsGate 0 ;
10. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Colorful Sound and Future Tone ; Best Miku game, so much content
x. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir ;
x. World of Warcraft: Legion ; First time since WotLK I've enjoyed WoW so much
x. Grim Dawn ;
x. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II ;
x. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ;
x. TitanFall 2 ;
x. Ratchet & Clank ;
x. Fire Emblem Fates ;
x. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book ;
x. Rise of the Tomb Raider ;
x. Hyper Light Drifter ;
x. Stardrew Valley ;
Labrynian Rebel
Member
1. OneShot ; I was so invested in this game, I actually talked to the main character and explaining my choice as if said character was a real person, this does not happen often.
2. Owlboy ; The sheer atmosphere of this game and it's charm had me emotionally invested throughout, I was sure this would be my GOTY but then OneShot came out of nowhere and I played it blind on a whim, sorry Owlboy.
3. Stardew Valley ; As someone who thinks Harvest Moon has lacked soul since HM64 this was a dream come true, plus the only farming game where you can join a secret club in a secret desert which you get to by having forest spirits fixing a bus that you talk to by a mysterious wizard giving you drugs.
4. Obduction ; Exploring Hunrath and Kaptar are now treasured in my favorite gaming memories of all time, I'm a sucker for environmental story-telling, would be higher but the second half of the game is really lacking.
5. Sid Meier's Civilization VI ; I'm an avid Civ Fanatic, would have been higher but there is still no world builder
6. Firewatch ; I'm one of the few that thought the story's twist was amazing
7. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; They finally broke the formula,
8. Stellaris ; Really, really fun... for the first week.
9. Tadpole Treble ; Fun little game... in all honesty I didn't play that many 2016 games, been playing a lot of SNES and N64 games this year
10. Pokémon Go ; Never played, but I got more joy about hearing about Go stories then lots of games I actually played
2. Owlboy ; The sheer atmosphere of this game and it's charm had me emotionally invested throughout, I was sure this would be my GOTY but then OneShot came out of nowhere and I played it blind on a whim, sorry Owlboy.
3. Stardew Valley ; As someone who thinks Harvest Moon has lacked soul since HM64 this was a dream come true, plus the only farming game where you can join a secret club in a secret desert which you get to by having forest spirits fixing a bus that you talk to by a mysterious wizard giving you drugs.
4. Obduction ; Exploring Hunrath and Kaptar are now treasured in my favorite gaming memories of all time, I'm a sucker for environmental story-telling, would be higher but the second half of the game is really lacking.
5. Sid Meier's Civilization VI ; I'm an avid Civ Fanatic, would have been higher but there is still no world builder
and still no Khazars or Gran Columbia
7. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; They finally broke the formula,
and added a Trump ferret perfect for memes
9. Tadpole Treble ; Fun little game... in all honesty I didn't play that many 2016 games, been playing a lot of SNES and N64 games this year
10. Pokémon Go ; Never played, but I got more joy about hearing about Go stories then lots of games I actually played
1. Overwatch; It's my most played game the year but that alone doesn't warrant the number one spot. It's also incredibly well designed from top to bottom with the unbelievable ability to get me to try new things. Blizzard managed to entice me to play a ranked Competitive mode. They even convinced me to use online voice chat with strangers on the internet which in itself is a small miracle.
2. Doom; It invokes the Doom games of the past but doesn't use it as a crutch. The campaign was so tightly designed with systems feeding off other systems, music, story and gorgeous fluid visuals designed for the sole purpose of making me feel like a total badass.
3. TitanFall 2; Likely the most complete package of 2016 with both a surprisingly great campaign that invokes Super Mario Galaxy and a multiplayer mode that I thought was a write off after the less than stellar Tech Test.
4. The Last Guardian; I love Trico. I wish I could have one as a pet. I don't own a pet but my patience with Trico is highlighting the fact that I do have the mentality to be a decent owner. All I need is to pet them regularly right?
5. Uncharted 4; The perfect ending to the adventures of Nathan Drake. If there was a single game that made me feel old and reflect on what I was doing with my life, it was this.
6. Dragon Quest VII; Some of the most depressing stories ever told in an JRPG were found in this epic. You can say it was needlessly long at times and they could have trimmed the fat but the long winding journey was essential to create attachment to characters.
7. Inside; It may not have been as impactful as Limbo but Playdead still knows how to unsettle people with the simple gestures and actions.
8. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided; Iffy performance in the hub world didn't prevent me from rummaging through other people's personal belongings and information. It's more of Human Revolution than I expected but more of a good thing isn't bad.
9. The Division; End game issues stopped my brother and I from returning to The Division but for a very brief couple of months, The Division's loot driven brand of third person shooting kept my brother and I coming back everyday to do our "dailies".
10. Gears of War 4; It's been years since Gears of War 3 both in-game and out of it. Creating a likeable cast of new comers isn't easy but The Coalition managed to package them and the classic Gears of War formula into a game that still plays in 2016. I look forward to the "dark middle" chapter and hope they've learned to run around like normal people by then.
2. Doom; It invokes the Doom games of the past but doesn't use it as a crutch. The campaign was so tightly designed with systems feeding off other systems, music, story and gorgeous fluid visuals designed for the sole purpose of making me feel like a total badass.
3. TitanFall 2; Likely the most complete package of 2016 with both a surprisingly great campaign that invokes Super Mario Galaxy and a multiplayer mode that I thought was a write off after the less than stellar Tech Test.
4. The Last Guardian; I love Trico. I wish I could have one as a pet. I don't own a pet but my patience with Trico is highlighting the fact that I do have the mentality to be a decent owner. All I need is to pet them regularly right?
5. Uncharted 4; The perfect ending to the adventures of Nathan Drake. If there was a single game that made me feel old and reflect on what I was doing with my life, it was this.
6. Dragon Quest VII; Some of the most depressing stories ever told in an JRPG were found in this epic. You can say it was needlessly long at times and they could have trimmed the fat but the long winding journey was essential to create attachment to characters.
7. Inside; It may not have been as impactful as Limbo but Playdead still knows how to unsettle people with the simple gestures and actions.
8. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided; Iffy performance in the hub world didn't prevent me from rummaging through other people's personal belongings and information. It's more of Human Revolution than I expected but more of a good thing isn't bad.
9. The Division; End game issues stopped my brother and I from returning to The Division but for a very brief couple of months, The Division's loot driven brand of third person shooting kept my brother and I coming back everyday to do our "dailies".
10. Gears of War 4; It's been years since Gears of War 3 both in-game and out of it. Creating a likeable cast of new comers isn't easy but The Coalition managed to package them and the classic Gears of War formula into a game that still plays in 2016. I look forward to the "dark middle" chapter and hope they've learned to run around like normal people by then.
S.Empiricus
Member
1. The Last Guardian; Worth buying a PS3 for. Worth buying a PS4 for. Trico may be the star of the show but the subtle animations of the boy are what impressed me most.
2. Dark Souls III; Not the second coming of Dark Souls I had hoped for. Still one of the few franchises that makes gaming worthwhile.
3. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight; A game I didn't hear of until after it was released. The surprise hit of the year. Its only flaw: too short. Thanks to Durante for reminding me this game released this year.
4. The Witness; Lovely and stimulating. Might have gone higher but the audio tapes really do come off as pretentious twaddle.
5. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine; After an indifferent experience with the base game, and Hearts of Stone, I began Blood and Wine by turning off the minimap, quest markers, and every other artificial navigation tool I could. I refused to look at the map. And for a few wonderful hours I lost myself in the warm atmosphere of Toussaint, riding through the countryside, peaking into odd corners, and getting half entangled in a dozen questlines I had not means of following up - nor any wish to. It was one of the highlights of the year. Eventually, however, I'd been all around the map and decided to actually experience the quests and story. Story was awful - good voice acting but the plot was disjointed and full of holes (just like the main game towards the end). My experience traveling unguided only highlighted how wonderful the Witcher III could have been. But Toussant was lovely.
Honorable Mentions
x. Uncharted 4; The game obviously thought more of itself than I did. Not without some considerable merits but Uncharted 2 remains the only entry in the franchise approaching greatness, in large part due to its excellent pacing and popcorn theatrics. The focus on platforming sapped momentum from the proceedings and constantly reminded me how thin the game mechanics are.
2. Dark Souls III; Not the second coming of Dark Souls I had hoped for. Still one of the few franchises that makes gaming worthwhile.
3. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight; A game I didn't hear of until after it was released. The surprise hit of the year. Its only flaw: too short. Thanks to Durante for reminding me this game released this year.
4. The Witness; Lovely and stimulating. Might have gone higher but the audio tapes really do come off as pretentious twaddle.
5. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine; After an indifferent experience with the base game, and Hearts of Stone, I began Blood and Wine by turning off the minimap, quest markers, and every other artificial navigation tool I could. I refused to look at the map. And for a few wonderful hours I lost myself in the warm atmosphere of Toussaint, riding through the countryside, peaking into odd corners, and getting half entangled in a dozen questlines I had not means of following up - nor any wish to. It was one of the highlights of the year. Eventually, however, I'd been all around the map and decided to actually experience the quests and story. Story was awful - good voice acting but the plot was disjointed and full of holes (just like the main game towards the end). My experience traveling unguided only highlighted how wonderful the Witcher III could have been. But Toussant was lovely.
Honorable Mentions
x. Uncharted 4; The game obviously thought more of itself than I did. Not without some considerable merits but Uncharted 2 remains the only entry in the franchise approaching greatness, in large part due to its excellent pacing and popcorn theatrics. The focus on platforming sapped momentum from the proceedings and constantly reminded me how thin the game mechanics are.
It shouldn't be... Last episode came out in 2015
1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; The best send off for a series.... ever. Uncharted 4 is the definition of a blockbuster game. And I loved every minute of it.
2. The Last Guardian ; Trico for me is the most fascinating 'creature' in video game history.
3. Ratchet & Clank ; Ratchet and Clank is a prime example of a genre of game we don't get too often anymore. It's a must play for the fans and a great entry point for newcomers as well.
4. Bound ; Unlike any other game on consoles. It's an unique and incredible experience!
5. Gravity Rush: Remastered ; A remaster done right. It's addictive, well-paced, pure fun, and has a nice steampunk world with a great soundtrack.
6. Alienation ; A fantastic twin-stick shooter. Clearly one of the best shooter games released this year.
7. ABZU ; It's an abstract and mesmerizing experience. You have to play it to understand it.
8. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood ; One of the best VR games right now. An extremely terrifying and interesting ride. As a big Until Dawn fan, I loved every minute of it.
9. Hyper Light Drifter ; A charming and compelling Action RPG, not only for old-school gamers.
10. Bravely Second ; Simply beautiful and one of the best RPGs on the 3DS.
2. The Last Guardian ; Trico for me is the most fascinating 'creature' in video game history.
3. Ratchet & Clank ; Ratchet and Clank is a prime example of a genre of game we don't get too often anymore. It's a must play for the fans and a great entry point for newcomers as well.
4. Bound ; Unlike any other game on consoles. It's an unique and incredible experience!
5. Gravity Rush: Remastered ; A remaster done right. It's addictive, well-paced, pure fun, and has a nice steampunk world with a great soundtrack.
6. Alienation ; A fantastic twin-stick shooter. Clearly one of the best shooter games released this year.
7. ABZU ; It's an abstract and mesmerizing experience. You have to play it to understand it.
8. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood ; One of the best VR games right now. An extremely terrifying and interesting ride. As a big Until Dawn fan, I loved every minute of it.
9. Hyper Light Drifter ; A charming and compelling Action RPG, not only for old-school gamers.
10. Bravely Second ; Simply beautiful and one of the best RPGs on the 3DS.
1. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past ; One of the few games I have played where I thought "I wish this was even longer". Which is something since the game is like 70 hours long. The vignette style kept the game feeling fresh and the music is delightful to hear, as expected. The only complaints I really have are the US version not having orchestrated music and the fact that the post game content is locked behind medal finding. This is also probably the only DQ game to have made me tear up a little at the end credits. I think this belongs with the other top rated DQ games (3-4-5).
2. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; I haven't finished a Pokemon game since I was a kid. I played a bit of Black a while ago, but never even got to the Elite 4. Moon felt refreshing though, and I decided to pick it up. I was delighted with how they changed the format of the games. And the theme around Lillie and her mother was pretty good. The SOS system is really annoying though and it kills performance.
3. Atelier Escha & Logy Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky ; I'll be honest, I completely forgot this game came out this year. This is probably my second favorite Atelier game to date. The revamped Ayesha alchemy system is pretty good (although, not as good as something later in this list.) The music is top notch as always. Making Escha into a powerhouse is awesome. Also, I love the name of this game and I will never stop loving it.
4. Hearts of Iron IV ; Paradox finally did it. They made a HOI game that even an idiot like myself can play and understand (50%). There are still some things that are a bit difficult to understand (I still don't think I understand how naval invasions work,) but for the most part it hits the nail on the head. It is difficult and challenging without being unfair. I still have yet to win a game, though.
5. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth ; This game is quirky and I love it. I haven't played a Digimon game since I was a middle schooler. The story is fun. The characters are weird and also fun. Some of the music is pretty good (Yggdrasil). The only bad thing is that the battles are really really slow.
6. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book ; This game has pretty much the same positives as Eschatology. The alchemy system has turned into more of a puzzle game and is actually pretty engaging. Probably the best system in the series to date. However, the game loses the time management feature of earlier games and I think it loses something with that. This probably has the best town music in any Atelier game. Four different versions to choose from!
7. Tyranny ; I loved Pillars of Eternity. For some reason, I don't love Tyranny as much, even though it is all-around a better game. The concept is pretty amazing though. Few games allow you to play as a "bad guy" that doesn't seem completely hamfisted. Bad choices in games are almost universally dumb and silly. I think Tyranny mostly avoids that, probably due to the fact that you are serving a lawful evil.
8. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ; I don't know what I should say about this. I expected the game to follow around the title character more and was disappointed to find out that it was more about Apollo Justice. The surprising thing is that by the end of the game, I didn't even mind anymore. The twists in this game were pretty good, although a bit too telegraphed. And it would be nice if these games didn't make the final culprit so obvious from the beginning of the last trial (whaaa, image change into something wicked looking? Looks totally innocent.)
9. Street Fighter V ; So, unlike most people on this board who have played this game, I didn't actually get this at launch. I got this fairly late. October -November timeframe. Given that, I missed most of Capcom's shit with the poor launch and rootkit. So, I am just left with a solid fighting game with no controversy. I'm not a good fighting game player by any stretch. I don't think I ever won a single match online with SSF4 or Tekken 6. I am bad. SFV makes me feel not bad. I'm not sure if it's better matchmaking or if I have better sense now, but I feel like I know what I'm doing in this game and I win a decent amount of matches when I do play. The game runs great (on PC at least.) So, I guess this makes it my favorite Street Fighter. The promised Linux port never came, though.
10. Rocket League ; This is actually for the Linux version, which released in 2016. This was a long time coming. Everyone by now already knows how good this game is. The port quality is top notch. Took waaay too long to come out, though. It's like another Skullgirls situation.
Honorable Mentions:
x. Battlefield 1 ; I couldn't really think of whether this spot should by taken by Battlefield 1 or Overwatch. I actually got both games around the same time and have played them about the same time. I give an edge to Battlefield just because it's waaay less likely to be harassed in that kind of game. Although I say that, the Overwatch community doesn't seem too bad. (this makes a lot more sense when this was actually on the top 10 list.)
x. Overwatch ; A pretty good game. I kind of agree with Tom Chick and that it feels a bit like TF2 with hero powers, but TF2 was a pretty good game back in the day. Also, Overwatch has the plus of having a healers that are actually fun to play (minus Mercy.)
x. Romance of Three Kingdoms XIII ; My feelings on this game are complicated. I have probably played this game more than half of the games on my GOTY list. But this game also gives me a feeling of emptiness. The AI doesn't seem too smart. And sometimes feels like there isn't a lot to do. I recently started playing EU4 again and besides location, I'm not sure why anyone would choose ROTK13 over it. I don't think ROTK is a bad game, it just needs more stuff. Maybe a 'wait for PUK' thing. Or maybe I'm just asking Paradox to make a ROTK game.
EDIT: Oh man, I forgot about Street Fighter. I also wonder if I'm the only one who put two Atelier games on their list.
2. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; I haven't finished a Pokemon game since I was a kid. I played a bit of Black a while ago, but never even got to the Elite 4. Moon felt refreshing though, and I decided to pick it up. I was delighted with how they changed the format of the games. And the theme around Lillie and her mother was pretty good. The SOS system is really annoying though and it kills performance.
3. Atelier Escha & Logy Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky ; I'll be honest, I completely forgot this game came out this year. This is probably my second favorite Atelier game to date. The revamped Ayesha alchemy system is pretty good (although, not as good as something later in this list.) The music is top notch as always. Making Escha into a powerhouse is awesome. Also, I love the name of this game and I will never stop loving it.
4. Hearts of Iron IV ; Paradox finally did it. They made a HOI game that even an idiot like myself can play and understand (50%). There are still some things that are a bit difficult to understand (I still don't think I understand how naval invasions work,) but for the most part it hits the nail on the head. It is difficult and challenging without being unfair. I still have yet to win a game, though.
5. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth ; This game is quirky and I love it. I haven't played a Digimon game since I was a middle schooler. The story is fun. The characters are weird and also fun. Some of the music is pretty good (Yggdrasil). The only bad thing is that the battles are really really slow.
6. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book ; This game has pretty much the same positives as Eschatology. The alchemy system has turned into more of a puzzle game and is actually pretty engaging. Probably the best system in the series to date. However, the game loses the time management feature of earlier games and I think it loses something with that. This probably has the best town music in any Atelier game. Four different versions to choose from!
7. Tyranny ; I loved Pillars of Eternity. For some reason, I don't love Tyranny as much, even though it is all-around a better game. The concept is pretty amazing though. Few games allow you to play as a "bad guy" that doesn't seem completely hamfisted. Bad choices in games are almost universally dumb and silly. I think Tyranny mostly avoids that, probably due to the fact that you are serving a lawful evil.
8. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ; I don't know what I should say about this. I expected the game to follow around the title character more and was disappointed to find out that it was more about Apollo Justice. The surprising thing is that by the end of the game, I didn't even mind anymore. The twists in this game were pretty good, although a bit too telegraphed. And it would be nice if these games didn't make the final culprit so obvious from the beginning of the last trial (whaaa, image change into something wicked looking? Looks totally innocent.)
9. Street Fighter V ; So, unlike most people on this board who have played this game, I didn't actually get this at launch. I got this fairly late. October -November timeframe. Given that, I missed most of Capcom's shit with the poor launch and rootkit. So, I am just left with a solid fighting game with no controversy. I'm not a good fighting game player by any stretch. I don't think I ever won a single match online with SSF4 or Tekken 6. I am bad. SFV makes me feel not bad. I'm not sure if it's better matchmaking or if I have better sense now, but I feel like I know what I'm doing in this game and I win a decent amount of matches when I do play. The game runs great (on PC at least.) So, I guess this makes it my favorite Street Fighter. The promised Linux port never came, though.
10. Rocket League ; This is actually for the Linux version, which released in 2016. This was a long time coming. Everyone by now already knows how good this game is. The port quality is top notch. Took waaay too long to come out, though. It's like another Skullgirls situation.
Honorable Mentions:
x. Battlefield 1 ; I couldn't really think of whether this spot should by taken by Battlefield 1 or Overwatch. I actually got both games around the same time and have played them about the same time. I give an edge to Battlefield just because it's waaay less likely to be harassed in that kind of game. Although I say that, the Overwatch community doesn't seem too bad. (this makes a lot more sense when this was actually on the top 10 list.)
x. Overwatch ; A pretty good game. I kind of agree with Tom Chick and that it feels a bit like TF2 with hero powers, but TF2 was a pretty good game back in the day. Also, Overwatch has the plus of having a healers that are actually fun to play (minus Mercy.)
x. Romance of Three Kingdoms XIII ; My feelings on this game are complicated. I have probably played this game more than half of the games on my GOTY list. But this game also gives me a feeling of emptiness. The AI doesn't seem too smart. And sometimes feels like there isn't a lot to do. I recently started playing EU4 again and besides location, I'm not sure why anyone would choose ROTK13 over it. I don't think ROTK is a bad game, it just needs more stuff. Maybe a 'wait for PUK' thing. Or maybe I'm just asking Paradox to make a ROTK game.
EDIT: Oh man, I forgot about Street Fighter. I also wonder if I'm the only one who put two Atelier games on their list.
1. Overwatch ; I don't really care for competitive online shooters, but 6 months later I'm still playing Overwatch. I'm totally in love enough that I've even bought loot boxes --which completely goes against my distain for micro transactions. Also worth mentioning that it beat out uncharted, last guardian and dark souls 3 for me ... I wouldn't have guessed that if I was asked back in January.
2. The Last Guardian ; The long awaited followup to two of my favourite games ever and it doesn't disappoint. I completely understand people having issues with the game but I was completely in love from the start.
3. Uncharted 4 ; The finale to the Uncharted series and though it gets too combat heavy towards the end it's still a stellar game. Best visuals, full stop, and a fitting end to one of my favourite series.
4. Dark Souls 3 ; I've been playing this series since I imported Demon's Souls and continue to adore it. Maybe a little big of fatigue as a long time player but this sequel was a great return to form for me.
5. Final Fantasy XV ; Big surprise for me. It's like the inverse of FFXIII. Beautiful world and graphics with characters I actually like. Nice modernization of the Final Fantasy series.
6. Doom ; Doom is back! Love it.
7. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; I was actually a bit disapointed with the sequel. While it was a well designed, fun title I was expecting there to be substantial tombs to raid. The reboot got a pass because it was fun, but I feel like the series is going in the wrong direction. Still a fun game though ... just wish it wasn't tomb raider.
8. Dragon Quest Builders ; The game for people that like the idea of Minecraft but need more direction. Thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish and it has that DQ charm.
9. Ratch and Clank ; A lot of strong titles this year and this is no exception. The perfect distillation of everything I love about Ratchet and Clank. I really hope we get more.
10. Odin Sphere ; I loved the original and the sequel radically redesigns and modernizes what was already a great game. Gorgeous 2d art makes me happy.
X Near misses --- Titan Fall 2, Salt and Sanctuary, Inside, Dragon Quest:Heroes.
X Didn't have a chance to play yet --- Hitman , The Witness
2. The Last Guardian ; The long awaited followup to two of my favourite games ever and it doesn't disappoint. I completely understand people having issues with the game but I was completely in love from the start.
3. Uncharted 4 ; The finale to the Uncharted series and though it gets too combat heavy towards the end it's still a stellar game. Best visuals, full stop, and a fitting end to one of my favourite series.
4. Dark Souls 3 ; I've been playing this series since I imported Demon's Souls and continue to adore it. Maybe a little big of fatigue as a long time player but this sequel was a great return to form for me.
5. Final Fantasy XV ; Big surprise for me. It's like the inverse of FFXIII. Beautiful world and graphics with characters I actually like. Nice modernization of the Final Fantasy series.
6. Doom ; Doom is back! Love it.
7. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; I was actually a bit disapointed with the sequel. While it was a well designed, fun title I was expecting there to be substantial tombs to raid. The reboot got a pass because it was fun, but I feel like the series is going in the wrong direction. Still a fun game though ... just wish it wasn't tomb raider.
8. Dragon Quest Builders ; The game for people that like the idea of Minecraft but need more direction. Thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish and it has that DQ charm.
9. Ratch and Clank ; A lot of strong titles this year and this is no exception. The perfect distillation of everything I love about Ratchet and Clank. I really hope we get more.
10. Odin Sphere ; I loved the original and the sequel radically redesigns and modernizes what was already a great game. Gorgeous 2d art makes me happy.
X Near misses --- Titan Fall 2, Salt and Sanctuary, Inside, Dragon Quest:Heroes.
X Didn't have a chance to play yet --- Hitman , The Witness
NathanDiego
Member
One mistake here,this Uncharted 4: switch to Uncharted 4 ;
1. Shadow Warrior 2 ; this game deserves the most points since I barely see it mentioned.. It's like Bulletstorm meets Doom meets Borderlands. Insanely good and it's baffling to me as to why this game is being slept on..
2. Doom ; high quality every thing
3. Dark Souls 3 ; probably the worse of all souls games but high quality all around
4. Last Guardian ; I've never played this as I don't own a PS4 but if I played it i'm sure this would be #1 on my list
5. Mother Russia Bleeds ; excellent game all around
only games I will remember 10 years from now. RIP SF5
2. Doom ; high quality every thing
3. Dark Souls 3 ; probably the worse of all souls games but high quality all around
4. Last Guardian ; I've never played this as I don't own a PS4 but if I played it i'm sure this would be #1 on my list
5. Mother Russia Bleeds ; excellent game all around
only games I will remember 10 years from now. RIP SF5
1. Uncharted 4 ; Naughty Dog at the top of their game and yet again showing why they're among the very best in the business. Polished to perfection, this was a different Uncharted but, for me, still managed to reach the incredible heights of Among Thieves. It delivered amazing, memorable moments, be it being dragged through Madagascar mud or simply sat at home on the sofa with Elena. Being my favourite franchise, it was a final adventure that I just didn't want to end. And how was this story to end? Brilliantly. It might not only be Chloe & Nadine that give us more Uncharted in the future. Then, of course, there's also the supremely fun multiplayer I've put hundreds of hours into that I can always get my Uncharted kicks from.
2. No Man's Sky ; The game I dreamed of as a kid in the 80s - a whole universe to explore at absolutely my own pace. Thanks to Hello Games, it exists and still always boggles my mind how the whole thing is even possible. Now I dream of playing in VR. The feeling of isolation is beautiful, the landscapes can often be stunning and 65daysofstatic's dynamic soundtrack is sublime. Hundreds of Photo Mode pictures later, the sheer sense of freedom and discovery hasn't diminished at all. It's like no other experience on my PS4 and I know I'll continue to escape into its vast world for years to come.
3. Doom ; A huge chunk of 90s meat injected with a strong dose of modern mechanics. As fast and smooth as it is brutal and loud, this onslaught of gruesome ultra-violence is compulsive and supremely satisfying as the game continually encourages you to mix up your combat style with its Challenges, Rune and Weapon Mastery systems. Thoroughly enjoyed every glorious moment of platinuming it.
4. Street Fighter V ; Strong core fight mechanics, familiar faces and new, this edition of Street Fighter has routinely kept me coming back for more. Earning Fight Money to unlock characters, stages and outfits is really enjoyable and I'm eagerly anticipating what Season 2 will bring. But it's not only playing the game that's so good, I've been watching more Street Fighter than ever on twitch with the Pro Tour.
5. Assault Android Cactus ; This twin stick shooter featuring nine different synthetic characters, each with their own distinctive weaponry, is pure, unadulterated frenetic fun. Highly evocative of the Dreamcast era, its personality and colourful style paired with simple yet satisfying mechanics is addictive and extremely replayable. The quest to S+ rank every level continues! A little gem.
Honourable mentions
A couple of games I really wanted to play in 2016 but I'm holding back on until I have my Pro.
x. Ratchet & Clank
x. The Last Guardian
no time to do tons of writeups, so copy pasta'ing my thing from steam goty. i hope dragon's dogma is elligible
1. The Witness ; if there's one game that defined my year it's easily the witness. it's a game that went from causing me motion sickness and frustrating me with its metaphysical nonsense to completely taking over my life to the point of obsession. i spent half my playthrough thinking "there must be more to this" and that's when i saw one of those puzzles and it was just the most amazing of revelations, this whole other dimension existed right in front of my eyes and was now wide open and within my reach. the game dug deep and deep and kept mutanting and combining and inventing right until the last panel. then there's the challenge, which, in contrast with the rest of the game, is a loud and bombastic conclusion, a demonstration of your mastery and the moment where you're just ascended into jonathan blow status. it's a fascinating game and even months after putting it down i can't stop thinking about how creative and clever and magical it is.
2. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen ;
3. Stardew Valley ;
4. Darkest Dungeon ;
5. INSIDE ;
6. Dark Souls 3 ;
7. Hitman ;
8. Abzu ;
9. VA-11 Hall-A ;
10. XCOM 2 ;
1. The Witness ; if there's one game that defined my year it's easily the witness. it's a game that went from causing me motion sickness and frustrating me with its metaphysical nonsense to completely taking over my life to the point of obsession. i spent half my playthrough thinking "there must be more to this" and that's when i saw one of those puzzles and it was just the most amazing of revelations, this whole other dimension existed right in front of my eyes and was now wide open and within my reach. the game dug deep and deep and kept mutanting and combining and inventing right until the last panel. then there's the challenge, which, in contrast with the rest of the game, is a loud and bombastic conclusion, a demonstration of your mastery and the moment where you're just ascended into jonathan blow status. it's a fascinating game and even months after putting it down i can't stop thinking about how creative and clever and magical it is.
2. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen ;
3. Stardew Valley ;
4. Darkest Dungeon ;
5. INSIDE ;
6. Dark Souls 3 ;
7. Hitman ;
8. Abzu ;
9. VA-11 Hall-A ;
10. XCOM 2 ;
1. Tyranny ; First of all, the game is not without its flaws, and when compared to 2015's The Age of Decadence, its level of reactivity is significantly constrained. That said, I found myself very much enjoying the writing and setting. It does a great job of integrating characteristics of the setting into the mechanics and systems. Exploring the evil side in a lot of RPGs usually amounts to cartoon villains and branches that are a very distant concern to the designers. It's nice to see a game explore it with more care and focus. And the relatively short duration, in comparison to Pillars of Eternity, I found to be a boon, as it kept it more focused. It would be fantastic if more RPG developers allowed for smaller-scale experiments in-between their usual releases.
2. Hearts of Iron IV ; While 2016 was a little lacking in RPGs, it had strategy games in spades. The one I found myself playing the most was Hearts of Iron IV. After a hundred or so hours, I do have issues with the AI, but a lot of what I've come to love about Paradox's grand strategy games kept me playing for that long, and likely more to come as they continue to update the game. While not really part of the GOTY discussion, I do think that a lot of the strategy games released this year have potential to go from good or great to truly fantastic games based on future-support.
3. SHENZHEN I/O ; I started SHENZHEN I/O during the holiday break and continue to be amazed at the work Zachtronics continues to do. I printed out my Technical Document Organizer and spent hours upon hours enamored in creating problem solutions, and more importantly, optimizing my solutions. It's a great sequel to TIS-100. Oh, and it continues to be one of the best modern uses of leader-boards.
4. DOOM ; I don't play a lot of FPS anymore due to a lot of the mainstream-targeted nonsense of the past decade, but was pleasantly surprised with DOOM. While I still think there is a lot of room for improvement, it was refreshing to play a FPS with fast-paced combat, where you're expected to avoid damage based on player-skill, and in which you can tell level design was a high priority for the developers.
5. Dungeon Rats ; Dungeon Rats is a relatively small game in both length and scope, but it takes The Age of Decadence's combat system and creates a set of well-designed encounters that I found very enjoyable to play. Most people may recognize The Age of Decadence by its fantastic reactivity and no-combat play-throughs, which may make Dungeon Rats seem like an odd choice, but Iron Tower Studios' understanding of turn-based combat systems and relevant character systems made for a very enjoyable short dungeon-crawl of sorts.
6. The Lab ; Virtual Reality's commercial debut was phenomenal. While many of the best VR experiences continue to improve in Early Access, The Lab was a well-designed and polished example to follow at its launch, from the excellent examples on interaction and room-scale design, to subtleties in locomotion feedback.
7. Overwatch ; For many of the same reasons I mentioned with DOOM, I don't play a lot of FPS multi-player games anymore, but Overwatch surprised me yet again in that it was simply a well-designed team FPS, with interesting character variety, and enjoyable map design. Funny how something so essential to the great multiplayer FPS of the past is a rarity today.
8. Sid Meier's Civilization VI ; After playing a lot of Paradox grand strategy games as of late, I wasn't sure I was going to play this game on release. I'm glad I did. It's a very solid game at launch, which isn't always the case for new entries to the series, and it makes a lot of interesting design changes that I've enjoyed thus far. The music design, and how it slowly evolves through the ages per civilization is fantastic.
9. Stellaris ; Stellaris is an interesting attempt at blending some of the 4X and grand strategy design staples into a game which thematically is very intriguing. I enjoyed my time with it, but I ultimately didn't play as much as I'd like to. It's also one of those games that I believe could be truly fantastic once Paradox releases a few more patches and/or DLC.
I should note that I haven't played VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, Stardew Valley, The Witness, Dark Souls 3, and likely a few others which could have possibly made it.
What a season WHAT A SEASON! Seriously, it's been a great year for games and with the sheer amount of stuff that came out that I haven't gotten around to yet, in a years time I'd probably end up making a completely different list to the one here. As it is I think I could have listed 15 games that belong here. So while the internet was obsessively crying "boo 2016" over dumb stuff like death and poltics, I was engaging in the series business of videogames and having a great time. Here are my favorites, from 10 to 1, with an honorable mention to boot.
10. Furi ; Furi was a nice surprise earlier in the year as it came out of nowhere on PS Plus and delivered an exhilarating boss rush that mixed melee counter based combat with bullet hell shooting sections. The gameplay is tight and fun but it is in the visual aesthetic, the killer soundtrack and the neat story that the heart of Furi lies. The enemy design is so unique and interesting and the things they do with visuals in the game's final sequence is incredible.
9. DOOM ; DOOM's campaign sometimes feels like someone went about making an ordinary shooter campaign – generic dumb story with bad exposition filled cut-scenes taking you from area to area killing bad guys until you save the world – and then they released the Doomslayer upon it, and he went about dismantling every boring part of what they created in order to accomplish his goal as ruthlessly and efficiently as possible: killing demons. DOOM's campaign offered up fast frantic combat that felt refreshingly old school. It got a little repetitive and multiplayer modes were garbage, but man it was fun to rip and tear for a few hours
8. Tricky Towers ; Through a few small changes, Tricky Towers manages to make Tetris feel fresh and new again. They looked at Tetris and decided to take away all those silly rules about where blocks can be placed, and they added a balancing mechanic and power ups to create an anarchic, addictive multiplayer game. There's a simple satisfaction in when you're playing well and beating your opponents but the real fun comes from when things go wrong and you have to franticly try and course correct while the other players continue to pile on the pressure. Tricky Towers has been my go to game for when I want a short burst of fun and I can't see that stopping in 2017.
7. Dark Souls 3 ; Dark Souls 3 is one of the most ”more of the same" games to come out this year, but from all the shared pieces of old Souls games From Software have managed to craft the most consistently good game in the series. It doesn't hit the highs of Anar Londo from the original or Tower of Latria from Demon Souls, but what it does deliver is a long series of good to great areas of Dark Souls that functions as a greatest hits patchwork of all the best bits from the series. Every boss is a good fight and every area interesting to explore, which is something of a wonder for a series usually so inconsistent. The game suffers from diminishing returns but what From does is still so good that even as I get tired of these games, I can't stop myself from playing and enjoying each one.
6. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare ; How in the world, in a year in which both Titanfall 2 and DOOM surprised us by being fantastic singleplayer shooters, did a Call of Duty game manage to go toe-to-toe and maybe even top both of those games with its incredible campaign? A weird mix of Mass Effect and military shooters, the Infinite Warfare campaign is a joy. It goes beyond simply being a good Call of Duty campaign, it is truly special. Its level design and pacing is top notch, with a great amount of variety as the game switches between being stealth orientated, to zero gravity combat to the all-out bombast of the usual Call of Duty campaign, albeit with level design that encourages flanking and trying out the vast new array of abilities they give you. This is combined together with the simplistic but fun ship combat that takes the tight shooter controls of a COD game and adapts them into flying. This is attached to a story that, while still a silly Hollwood blockbuster, is executed extremely well, with a very good understanding and execution of its theme, and the creation of a bunch of likeable characters. Unfortunately the multiplayer is maybe the worst ever in the series. It's a testament to just how good the campaign is that it can hang so high up on this list.
5. The Witness ; The Witness feels like the perfect execution of the author's intent, with every single design decision having reason and merit behind it. Every object placed in that world feels like it was done so purposefully, from the hundreds of puzzle screens dotted around the beautiful island's landscape, to the tree branches and rock formations that hint at deeper meanings held within the island. There's a sense of achievement to what they accomplished here, with there just being so much in this game and every bit of it being filled with meaning and relevance. It's difficult to criticise any part of this game then, even as aspects of it didn't gel with me. The profound sense of revelation at solving certain puzzles, and the joy of discovery were some of my favourite gaming moments this year, but this was always underlined by a sense of frustration. I am fascinated by The Witness, I love so much of it, even if it was one of the most infuriating games I think I have ever spent time with.
4. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Uncharted 4 has a lot in common with one of my other favourite games this year, Firewatch. Both games are at their best when you're exploring stunning vistas while experiencing a well told story. Whereas Firewatch relies on Olly Moss stylish artwork, Uncharted 4 is a technical powerhouse boasting what may be one of the greatest looking videogames ever made, with beautiful vistas, realistic animations and an attention to detail that can only be achieved when a studio has millions of dollars to spend and a lot of time to work. Both stories are about relationships, with the heart of Uncharted 4's swashbuckling adventure being the dynamic between Nathan and Elena and Firewatch dealing with Henry and Delilah's slowly burgeoning romantic involvement. The main difference between the two is that Uncharted 4 still has to be a third person shooter, and most of its problems come from this push and pull between whether it wants to fully embrace the light adventure storytelling of games like Firewatch or Gone Home, or whether it wants to continue the franchise's bombastic third person shooter with ridiculous set pieces. The game can never quite make up its mind, with long stretches of time without any gameplay followed by multiple successive combat encounters to make for slightly uneven pacing.
But while these two elements clash, both are executed so well in their own right that it ends up kind of working anyway. The combat has bigger and more versatile encounters then the series previously had, allowing much more player choice and removing the oppressive linearity of the previous games encounters. These end up proving a treat, with some really strong combat sections that, at their best, provide a welcome change of pace from the story telling. The story itself is the best in the series by far, and one of the best told stories told in AAA videogames. The writers manage to weave a story around the theme of obsession that encompasses both the treasure hunting adventure narrative as well as the deeper, more personal story of Nate and Elena's marriage. It's a simple story but it's very well told, both on a functional level as well as execution. Videogames often fall down on the simple aspects of storytelling like character motivations or arks, plotting etc. so it's a thrill to see Naughty Dog execute the fundamentals so nimbly while also having it be a witty, exiting tale. The story is mostly told through cut-scenes and conversations had while exploring, but both are of such top-notch quality that any notion of cut scenes as a bad storytelling device or a lack of real ”gameplay" goes out the window. It's a fitting end to a great series.
3. Stardew Valley ; Every day for two and a half years I do the same thing. I wake up at 8 am, I work on my farm. I go into town and talk to the locals, trying to make friends. I go the mines and try to dig up something interesting that might let me build something cool or make a gift for someone special. I do some fishing. I talk to some more people, getting to know them better and seeing little insights into their lives. I go to bed. And every day going about my routine, living this simple life, I am so content. The biggest surprise of 2016, Stardew Valley came out of nowhere and won my heart. I adore this little town that I get to visit. It hit me at a time that I really needed it earlier in the year, when I wanted to escape into somewhere safe and Stardew was there to call home. I love the interlocking gameplay systems of farming, mining, fishing and socialising that make up most of your time playing the game, but even more of what I enjoy about Stardew is the atmosphere and world they create, both through the soundtrack and through the writing. Getting to befriend the sad homeless man that lives at the edge of town and gets bullied mercilessly was a really beautiful thing. As was getting to have beers on the dock with the normally cranky and rude Shane, where he opened up about his anxieties at feeling like he's never good enough. I think the endgame is a little weak and Winter can be a bit of a slog, but ultimately the game always wins me back over with its incessant charm. The game is a warm blanket that I get to escape under whenever I need it.
1. Firewatch ; Firewatch is a game about escapism, and in a year in which all of our favourite celebrities died and our least favourite became a world ruler, it seems fitting that it would be my favourite game this year. Firewatch creates a world and atmosphere that you just want to get lost in. For such a short game and one lacking in traditional gameplay, there's a surprising amount of things to love. At the centre is the natural dialogue between two fully realised, well written and performed characters and the elegant systems that propel that dialogue forward, including the smart use of the radio and the long punctuating silences it causes between talks. There's the feeling of exploration as you embark out into the woods, map and compass in hand, eagerly awaiting some new cache of stuff to find or some new thing that you can talk to Delilah about or even just another beautiful view in a game full of them, because my god, that artstyle is incredible. Adding to that atmosphere is the soundtrack, one that manages to be both minimalistic and memorable. There's the opening sequence, one that I've played through 4 or 5 times but that still causes me to tear up. And then there's also the ending, as the game builds to a stunning anti-climax that leaves you and the protagonist feeling resigned and empty as you finish a long journey that hasn't ended quite as you expected, and now have to return to a reality full of sad truths. It's a game that, bar some narrative trickery in the conclusion, worked on every level for me, and it's the game I've most often thought about since I finished it, and a second playthrough only made those feelings stronger. I can't wait to see what Campo Santo cooks up next.
Please let me know if there's anything wrong with my formatting so I can fix it!
X. Hitman ; I didn't get to put enough time into Hitman to justify its placement on this list, but I really liked both what I have watched and played of it. After Absolution I was ready to completely write off the series as it dropped the ball on so many of the fundamental aspects of Hitman that make the games fun. Then when they announced the new game would be episodic I shook my head at what they were doing, assuming it would fail. I was completely wrong, and I am very, very happy I was. They managed to evolve Hitman in some interesting ways while also delivering the things that the series does best. I'm looking forward to putting more time into it!
10. Furi ; Furi was a nice surprise earlier in the year as it came out of nowhere on PS Plus and delivered an exhilarating boss rush that mixed melee counter based combat with bullet hell shooting sections. The gameplay is tight and fun but it is in the visual aesthetic, the killer soundtrack and the neat story that the heart of Furi lies. The enemy design is so unique and interesting and the things they do with visuals in the game's final sequence is incredible.
9. DOOM ; DOOM's campaign sometimes feels like someone went about making an ordinary shooter campaign – generic dumb story with bad exposition filled cut-scenes taking you from area to area killing bad guys until you save the world – and then they released the Doomslayer upon it, and he went about dismantling every boring part of what they created in order to accomplish his goal as ruthlessly and efficiently as possible: killing demons. DOOM's campaign offered up fast frantic combat that felt refreshingly old school. It got a little repetitive and multiplayer modes were garbage, but man it was fun to rip and tear for a few hours
8. Tricky Towers ; Through a few small changes, Tricky Towers manages to make Tetris feel fresh and new again. They looked at Tetris and decided to take away all those silly rules about where blocks can be placed, and they added a balancing mechanic and power ups to create an anarchic, addictive multiplayer game. There's a simple satisfaction in when you're playing well and beating your opponents but the real fun comes from when things go wrong and you have to franticly try and course correct while the other players continue to pile on the pressure. Tricky Towers has been my go to game for when I want a short burst of fun and I can't see that stopping in 2017.
7. Dark Souls 3 ; Dark Souls 3 is one of the most ”more of the same" games to come out this year, but from all the shared pieces of old Souls games From Software have managed to craft the most consistently good game in the series. It doesn't hit the highs of Anar Londo from the original or Tower of Latria from Demon Souls, but what it does deliver is a long series of good to great areas of Dark Souls that functions as a greatest hits patchwork of all the best bits from the series. Every boss is a good fight and every area interesting to explore, which is something of a wonder for a series usually so inconsistent. The game suffers from diminishing returns but what From does is still so good that even as I get tired of these games, I can't stop myself from playing and enjoying each one.
6. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare ; How in the world, in a year in which both Titanfall 2 and DOOM surprised us by being fantastic singleplayer shooters, did a Call of Duty game manage to go toe-to-toe and maybe even top both of those games with its incredible campaign? A weird mix of Mass Effect and military shooters, the Infinite Warfare campaign is a joy. It goes beyond simply being a good Call of Duty campaign, it is truly special. Its level design and pacing is top notch, with a great amount of variety as the game switches between being stealth orientated, to zero gravity combat to the all-out bombast of the usual Call of Duty campaign, albeit with level design that encourages flanking and trying out the vast new array of abilities they give you. This is combined together with the simplistic but fun ship combat that takes the tight shooter controls of a COD game and adapts them into flying. This is attached to a story that, while still a silly Hollwood blockbuster, is executed extremely well, with a very good understanding and execution of its theme, and the creation of a bunch of likeable characters. Unfortunately the multiplayer is maybe the worst ever in the series. It's a testament to just how good the campaign is that it can hang so high up on this list.
5. The Witness ; The Witness feels like the perfect execution of the author's intent, with every single design decision having reason and merit behind it. Every object placed in that world feels like it was done so purposefully, from the hundreds of puzzle screens dotted around the beautiful island's landscape, to the tree branches and rock formations that hint at deeper meanings held within the island. There's a sense of achievement to what they accomplished here, with there just being so much in this game and every bit of it being filled with meaning and relevance. It's difficult to criticise any part of this game then, even as aspects of it didn't gel with me. The profound sense of revelation at solving certain puzzles, and the joy of discovery were some of my favourite gaming moments this year, but this was always underlined by a sense of frustration. I am fascinated by The Witness, I love so much of it, even if it was one of the most infuriating games I think I have ever spent time with.
4. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Uncharted 4 has a lot in common with one of my other favourite games this year, Firewatch. Both games are at their best when you're exploring stunning vistas while experiencing a well told story. Whereas Firewatch relies on Olly Moss stylish artwork, Uncharted 4 is a technical powerhouse boasting what may be one of the greatest looking videogames ever made, with beautiful vistas, realistic animations and an attention to detail that can only be achieved when a studio has millions of dollars to spend and a lot of time to work. Both stories are about relationships, with the heart of Uncharted 4's swashbuckling adventure being the dynamic between Nathan and Elena and Firewatch dealing with Henry and Delilah's slowly burgeoning romantic involvement. The main difference between the two is that Uncharted 4 still has to be a third person shooter, and most of its problems come from this push and pull between whether it wants to fully embrace the light adventure storytelling of games like Firewatch or Gone Home, or whether it wants to continue the franchise's bombastic third person shooter with ridiculous set pieces. The game can never quite make up its mind, with long stretches of time without any gameplay followed by multiple successive combat encounters to make for slightly uneven pacing.
But while these two elements clash, both are executed so well in their own right that it ends up kind of working anyway. The combat has bigger and more versatile encounters then the series previously had, allowing much more player choice and removing the oppressive linearity of the previous games encounters. These end up proving a treat, with some really strong combat sections that, at their best, provide a welcome change of pace from the story telling. The story itself is the best in the series by far, and one of the best told stories told in AAA videogames. The writers manage to weave a story around the theme of obsession that encompasses both the treasure hunting adventure narrative as well as the deeper, more personal story of Nate and Elena's marriage. It's a simple story but it's very well told, both on a functional level as well as execution. Videogames often fall down on the simple aspects of storytelling like character motivations or arks, plotting etc. so it's a thrill to see Naughty Dog execute the fundamentals so nimbly while also having it be a witty, exiting tale. The story is mostly told through cut-scenes and conversations had while exploring, but both are of such top-notch quality that any notion of cut scenes as a bad storytelling device or a lack of real ”gameplay" goes out the window. It's a fitting end to a great series.
3. Stardew Valley ; Every day for two and a half years I do the same thing. I wake up at 8 am, I work on my farm. I go into town and talk to the locals, trying to make friends. I go the mines and try to dig up something interesting that might let me build something cool or make a gift for someone special. I do some fishing. I talk to some more people, getting to know them better and seeing little insights into their lives. I go to bed. And every day going about my routine, living this simple life, I am so content. The biggest surprise of 2016, Stardew Valley came out of nowhere and won my heart. I adore this little town that I get to visit. It hit me at a time that I really needed it earlier in the year, when I wanted to escape into somewhere safe and Stardew was there to call home. I love the interlocking gameplay systems of farming, mining, fishing and socialising that make up most of your time playing the game, but even more of what I enjoy about Stardew is the atmosphere and world they create, both through the soundtrack and through the writing. Getting to befriend the sad homeless man that lives at the edge of town and gets bullied mercilessly was a really beautiful thing. As was getting to have beers on the dock with the normally cranky and rude Shane, where he opened up about his anxieties at feeling like he's never good enough. I think the endgame is a little weak and Winter can be a bit of a slog, but ultimately the game always wins me back over with its incessant charm. The game is a warm blanket that I get to escape under whenever I need it.
2. Titanfall 2 ; Titanfall 2 can be summed up in one, amazing button prompt: Press X to time travel. It's a game that on its surface looks like it might just be a Call of Duty style shooter with cardboard cut-out enemies except this one has big robots, ends up subverting every expectation with one button prompt. It's self-aware and experimental and endlessly creative as each level in the campaign becomes more and more interesting until the point where they fully show their hand and finally say ”yeah, this thing is rad and we're going to take you on a fucking ride". The campaign is more of a collection of great moments than anything cohesive but boy are those moments astoundingly good. The time travel. The wind turbine platforming. The topsy-turvy factory. The smart pistol run. The campaign is a conveyor belt of ideas that shows you something for just long enough to go ”hell yeah this is cool" before ripping it away from you for something new. It could be longer and the story is weak, but while it lasts the game keeps delivering. If that wasn't enough there's the multiplayer, which is one of my favourite shooters in years. I felt like maybe I was done with multiplayer shooters before this game. I thought the past few Call of Dutys and Battlefields were fine but I wasn't sticking with any of them until Titanfall 2 came around. The game offers up such a diverse type of gameplay, with you constantly switching between fighting AI, Pilots and Titans both on foot and in your own giant robot that every match feels like proper warzone. Everything feels incredible to control, from the fast and frantic wall running as a pilot to the slower and more tense Titan on Titan battles. Titanfall 2 is a complete package, one that I am sure to spend even more time with next year.
1. Firewatch ; Firewatch is a game about escapism, and in a year in which all of our favourite celebrities died and our least favourite became a world ruler, it seems fitting that it would be my favourite game this year. Firewatch creates a world and atmosphere that you just want to get lost in. For such a short game and one lacking in traditional gameplay, there's a surprising amount of things to love. At the centre is the natural dialogue between two fully realised, well written and performed characters and the elegant systems that propel that dialogue forward, including the smart use of the radio and the long punctuating silences it causes between talks. There's the feeling of exploration as you embark out into the woods, map and compass in hand, eagerly awaiting some new cache of stuff to find or some new thing that you can talk to Delilah about or even just another beautiful view in a game full of them, because my god, that artstyle is incredible. Adding to that atmosphere is the soundtrack, one that manages to be both minimalistic and memorable. There's the opening sequence, one that I've played through 4 or 5 times but that still causes me to tear up. And then there's also the ending, as the game builds to a stunning anti-climax that leaves you and the protagonist feeling resigned and empty as you finish a long journey that hasn't ended quite as you expected, and now have to return to a reality full of sad truths. It's a game that, bar some narrative trickery in the conclusion, worked on every level for me, and it's the game I've most often thought about since I finished it, and a second playthrough only made those feelings stronger. I can't wait to see what Campo Santo cooks up next.
Please let me know if there's anything wrong with my formatting so I can fix it!
Primethius
Banned
The formatting looks fine to me. Nice writeups as well.
1. DOOM ; Didn't expect to like this game so much after watching the trailers, but the NVidia video and the impressions on the first day made me bit. I'm happy that I did, because DOOM is more than I expected. Full of fun encounters and smartly designed enemies it's one of the games that more make you feel like a badass, especially when you learn the dance of the game and start evading every attack they throw at you, only using your Glory Kill for style and not survival.
2. HITMAN ; Great open level design that shows how much detail you can have in just one map. Fun characters, fun ways to kill your objectives (and people that aren't your objectives).
3. Dragon's Dogma ; While the mission structure would be much better it has the best combat system I've seen in a action RPG, and the actual story is fun to play.
4. Shadow Warrior 2 ; Like DOOM, SW2 is fast, even faster than DOOM actually, and like its predecessor it's one of the few FPS that has done melee combat right. The missions tho, can be a little repetitive and the banter between the protagonist isn't as good as in the last game.
5. XCOM 2 ; Better than its predecessor in every way except performance. The addition of mod support was a great idea that will give this game life for years to come. Some people dislike the major enfasis on being aggresive compared to the last game, but for me it's a positive.
6. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; More of the same, but the same is good. I find this game biggest problem the fact that the main campaign isn't that memorable, I don't exactly remember what the bad guy plan was, but the moment to moment to get to that was great.
7. Watch_Dogs 2 ; If it wasn't for DOOM, this would be my surprise of the year. I was cynical of the characters in the trailer, but when I played I found out they're actually a fun, charismatic group of characters that I just liked.
8. Mafia 3 ; Although the game is repetitive, the gunplay and especially the writing is one of the best for an open world game. John Donovan is the funniest character I've seen in the entire year.
2. HITMAN ; Great open level design that shows how much detail you can have in just one map. Fun characters, fun ways to kill your objectives (and people that aren't your objectives).
3. Dragon's Dogma ; While the mission structure would be much better it has the best combat system I've seen in a action RPG, and the actual story is fun to play.
4. Shadow Warrior 2 ; Like DOOM, SW2 is fast, even faster than DOOM actually, and like its predecessor it's one of the few FPS that has done melee combat right. The missions tho, can be a little repetitive and the banter between the protagonist isn't as good as in the last game.
5. XCOM 2 ; Better than its predecessor in every way except performance. The addition of mod support was a great idea that will give this game life for years to come. Some people dislike the major enfasis on being aggresive compared to the last game, but for me it's a positive.
6. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; More of the same, but the same is good. I find this game biggest problem the fact that the main campaign isn't that memorable, I don't exactly remember what the bad guy plan was, but the moment to moment to get to that was great.
7. Watch_Dogs 2 ; If it wasn't for DOOM, this would be my surprise of the year. I was cynical of the characters in the trailer, but when I played I found out they're actually a fun, charismatic group of characters that I just liked.
8. Mafia 3 ; Although the game is repetitive, the gunplay and especially the writing is one of the best for an open world game. John Donovan is the funniest character I've seen in the entire year.
1. Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma ; I've been following this series since before it was called Zero Escape. 999 became an obsession very quick, and VLR did the same thing. I can't talk much about it; much like Danganronpa, spoilers. Spoilers everywhere. I will say ZTD brought the crazy, time-loopy, spoileriffic ride to an amazing, mind-blowing conclusion. It was wonderful. It was insane. It was everything I wanted in an ending for Zero Escape. There is no better game for the top of my list.
2. VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action ; A visual novel with a bartending twist, I was interested in this game since the moment I first heard about it. Then I played the demo and served a bunch of corgis, and I was hooked. I pre-ordered the game, and played from day one. The story runs deep, and the characters all have very unique, vivid personalities. I was never bored.Your choices are made not through dialogue, but the drinks you make. Instead of a customer being pissed you made the wrong drink, they may instead make a decision that leads to a different ending. It's a wonderful twist on a classic formula, and I hope that we get a sequel - and an endless mode for the drink-mixing bits.
3. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; I've been playing Pokémon since Red and Blue, and though Moon failed to beat Gold and Silver for my favorite generation, it is definitely a close second. The visuals, music, and new Pokémon were all amazing, and some of those little critters made it to my all-time favorites list. Veteran or beginner, this generation is near-perfect, due to taking all the things that make the franchise great, and elevating them. Also, Rowlet is the best starter of all time.
4. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir ; In a time full of reboots and remasters, this game is one of the few that really shines. It looks great, but it also adds more of what I loved from the original, which I was never able to complete due to the horrible framerate. ATLUS knows how to make a grand adventure that feels as epic as it sounds: five diverse characters, all with different fighting styles, telling a story of Ragnarok. The graphics, music, and fluid combat combine to make one of the best games of the year, hands down.
5. Rhythm Heaven Megamix ; Rhythm Heaven was one of my favorite DS games, and when this game came out, I was so happy I nearly squealed with joy. It is the ultimate Rhythm Heaven collection, having a mix of stages from the unreleased (in the US) GBA Rhythm Heaven, the DS game, and Fever. There is a story mode; it's silly as hell, but also adorable, and I didn't mind it much. Really though, the goat is the one running the show. If you think about that, suddenly Rhythm Heaven Megamix makes a lot more sense. While the premise of the rhythm stages themselves are simple, they can be really challenging (looking at YOU, Air Rally). It's a great game, and if you can only buy one Rhythm Heaven game, make it this one.
6. Fire Emblem Fates ; Despite the myriad of negativity that surrounded these games, I loved all three of them. I found it as a whole to have all the ingredients that put Awakening on my 2014 list: memorable characters, intricate plotlines, and classic gameplay. I'm STILL playing it. It's that good.
7. World of Final Fantasy ; I was not as hard-sold on this game as I was for other games on this list, but once I bought it and played it, I was hooked. This game is basically Squenix's take on Pokemon: collect monsters to help you battle. It's a unique take on a classic formula, filled with familiar and new faces alike. The chibi-style takes a bit of getting used to, but once you learn to embrace the cuteness and not take it too seriously, this game becomes an absolute joy from start to finish.
8. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X ; I've always been a fan of Project Diva, and this game is no exception. Despite the smaller amount of music, the gameplay and graphics are still spot on, further solidifying it as my favorite rhythm franchise. I just hope it's not the last game, or that we at least get more DLC.
9. Crypt of the Necrodancer ; What is this game? It's a roguelike. It's a dungeon crawler. It's a rhythm game. It's all of these, and I have no idea why it works so well, but it does. It's a perfect blend of genres that, by all rights, should not work as well as it does. I found myself picking this up and playing it in short bursts, which in my mind, is the perfet way to play it. The music can get repetitive, but at least said music is damn good.
10. BOXBOXBOY! ; The sequel to BOXBOY! takes everything I loved about the first game and gives me more of it, along wth some new mechanics to make things even tricker. I am more than okay with this. It still has charm in spades, and is a fine puzzle game that I can sink a good few hours into.
Honorable Mentions
x. Style Savvy: Fashion Forward ; It took way too long to this game to come to the US, but I was so happy when it did. The graphics are great, the colors vivid. And the gameplay is more of the same that I came to love in the first two games. The one downside is that the hairstyling, a newly added feature, dragged me away from the fashion consulting more often than not.
x. Disney Magical World 2 ; This is Animal Crossing with a Disney bent. I was addicted to the first game, and this game is even better. I found myself sinking hours into it, obsessed with holding parties at the cafe, collecting costumes, and fighting ghosts. It also looks great, with improved quality of life and new Disney worlds to explore.
1. Dark Souls III; It was a great mix of level design and lore inspired by DS1, the customization of DS II and the faster combat of Bloodborne. If DSIII is the final word on the series, its a great one.
2. Digimonstory Cybersleuth; After much insistence by the true believers, I purchased this one for download during the Golden Week sale. I never thought I'd spend 70+ hours on the thing. Its a very good mix of Pokemon style monster raising and quirky modern Japan setting you'd find in Persona.
3. Final Fantasy XV; I didn't think this would make the list initially since I got it on Christmas, but I motored through 45+ hours in just over a week. While the story is missing a lot of...well...a lot of things, the world itself is compelling and the characters for the most part are likable and easier empathize with. The battle system is also a lot of fun, surprising since I did not like the demo very much.
4. Tokyo Mirage Sessions; Its a great take on the press turn system and the modern J pop atmosphere that Persona has established. I haven't finished it yet but have put in about 50 hours, I think I'm close to done. I like the characters, the over the top attacks and combos. Its definitely a franchise Nintendo and Atlus should continue.
5. Abzu; While I really liked Abzu, I wasn't sure where it would finish in my top 10 or if it would. I was a bit over concerned with the length, but as with most good games, I didn;t feel the need for it to be longer once I was done. Great soundtrack, art style. I also think it thematically has more in common with Flower than Journey but thats just me.
6. Oxenfree; The game's cast is the strength here, with everyone having enough real problems to make the more bizarre phantasmic incidents more believable. Having your choices echo'd back on subsequent playthroughs was pretty creepy too.
7. Uncharted A Thief's End; Its the best Uncharted style game ND has ever made. We know about the the characters, their interactions, etc. What really surprised me is how well the legend they were chasing was fleshed out. No supernatural stuff, no simple point a to b plot device driver, there is real substance here to where I was just as interested as the Drake brothers to find out what happened to the pirate utopia.
8. Legend of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel 2; Its a well done sequel that direct follows the plot of the preceding game, but for as much as it was pushed as the better game, it didn't really meet those expectations for me. Honestly the first game seemed more believable in the context of the world they presented, whereas I think the plot goes a bit off the rails in the second one.
9. Deus Ex Mankind Divided; I just finished this one recently despite having it since release day but like a lot of people I bounced off my first attempt pretty hard. This time I stuck with it and found the game a lot more enjoyable. I feel kind of bad for the game as it went from one of the most hyped releases to one of the most forgotten, and the cloud thats hung over the game until its release in August had a lot to do with it. Despite that, I found it did a good job of pushing the overall Deus Ex universe forward, more options in terms of dealing with scenarios and more organic level design. But where Deus Ex was perfectly competent and lengthy when it came to gameplay content, its story had some problems, particularly during the endgame. There are a lot of questions brought up during the course of the gameplay that were just flat out dropped by the time I got to the end. There were some rumors suggesting that Eidos Montreal cut this game in half, and I'm inclined to believe them.
10.Virginia; I like what Virginia does with the "walking simulator" genre, its very much an interactive story and one thats dictated by the musical score than player action, but to me it works. I've seen some comparisons to Twin Peaks, and the imagery certainly fits, but the soundtrack reminds me a lot of Thomas Newman's Road to Perdition soundtrack (without the Irish accents). The final day is a probably the most bizarre game moment of this year for me. Virginia doesn't quite hit all the marks it intends, but I never felt like I got shortchanged like I did with Firewatch.
2. Digimonstory Cybersleuth; After much insistence by the true believers, I purchased this one for download during the Golden Week sale. I never thought I'd spend 70+ hours on the thing. Its a very good mix of Pokemon style monster raising and quirky modern Japan setting you'd find in Persona.
3. Final Fantasy XV; I didn't think this would make the list initially since I got it on Christmas, but I motored through 45+ hours in just over a week. While the story is missing a lot of...well...a lot of things, the world itself is compelling and the characters for the most part are likable and easier empathize with. The battle system is also a lot of fun, surprising since I did not like the demo very much.
4. Tokyo Mirage Sessions; Its a great take on the press turn system and the modern J pop atmosphere that Persona has established. I haven't finished it yet but have put in about 50 hours, I think I'm close to done. I like the characters, the over the top attacks and combos. Its definitely a franchise Nintendo and Atlus should continue.
5. Abzu; While I really liked Abzu, I wasn't sure where it would finish in my top 10 or if it would. I was a bit over concerned with the length, but as with most good games, I didn;t feel the need for it to be longer once I was done. Great soundtrack, art style. I also think it thematically has more in common with Flower than Journey but thats just me.
6. Oxenfree; The game's cast is the strength here, with everyone having enough real problems to make the more bizarre phantasmic incidents more believable. Having your choices echo'd back on subsequent playthroughs was pretty creepy too.
7. Uncharted A Thief's End; Its the best Uncharted style game ND has ever made. We know about the the characters, their interactions, etc. What really surprised me is how well the legend they were chasing was fleshed out. No supernatural stuff, no simple point a to b plot device driver, there is real substance here to where I was just as interested as the Drake brothers to find out what happened to the pirate utopia.
8. Legend of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel 2; Its a well done sequel that direct follows the plot of the preceding game, but for as much as it was pushed as the better game, it didn't really meet those expectations for me. Honestly the first game seemed more believable in the context of the world they presented, whereas I think the plot goes a bit off the rails in the second one.
9. Deus Ex Mankind Divided; I just finished this one recently despite having it since release day but like a lot of people I bounced off my first attempt pretty hard. This time I stuck with it and found the game a lot more enjoyable. I feel kind of bad for the game as it went from one of the most hyped releases to one of the most forgotten, and the cloud thats hung over the game until its release in August had a lot to do with it. Despite that, I found it did a good job of pushing the overall Deus Ex universe forward, more options in terms of dealing with scenarios and more organic level design. But where Deus Ex was perfectly competent and lengthy when it came to gameplay content, its story had some problems, particularly during the endgame. There are a lot of questions brought up during the course of the gameplay that were just flat out dropped by the time I got to the end. There were some rumors suggesting that Eidos Montreal cut this game in half, and I'm inclined to believe them.
10.Virginia; I like what Virginia does with the "walking simulator" genre, its very much an interactive story and one thats dictated by the musical score than player action, but to me it works. I've seen some comparisons to Twin Peaks, and the imagery certainly fits, but the soundtrack reminds me a lot of Thomas Newman's Road to Perdition soundtrack (without the Irish accents). The final day is a probably the most bizarre game moment of this year for me. Virginia doesn't quite hit all the marks it intends, but I never felt like I got shortchanged like I did with Firewatch.
Arkam
Member
1. SQUAD ; Technically came out 12/15/2015... but the game was not what it is today until the v8 content patch that added vehicles (OCT 2016). This game is GOD LIKE! The best firefights I have ever experienced in a game. EVERY SINGLE match is a unique experience. If anyone likes tactical FPS games you MUST check out Squad. Until you experience these combat engagements yourself you will never understand how immersive this game can be.
2. Grow Up ; Took the surprise hit Grow Home and made it a more worthwhile experience. It takes many of the great elements of the first and expands.
3. LOZ: TP HD ; Was a great HD port of a fantastic game. It was so nice to play this game w/o the waggle (I played Wii 1st time). Really displayed how good the games original art style was and how phenomenal it 'would have' looked like had the Wii been more in line with the 360/PS3.
4. Uncharted 4 ; Just a tour de force on what AAA production can be on the PS4. The who game is just impressive in every facet. Just wreaks of quality throughout. Great story, fun game play and brilliant visuals.
5. TBD... looking back I think I played mostly 2015 releases in 2016.... not sure what that says....
2. Grow Up ; Took the surprise hit Grow Home and made it a more worthwhile experience. It takes many of the great elements of the first and expands.
3. LOZ: TP HD ; Was a great HD port of a fantastic game. It was so nice to play this game w/o the waggle (I played Wii 1st time). Really displayed how good the games original art style was and how phenomenal it 'would have' looked like had the Wii been more in line with the 360/PS3.
4. Uncharted 4 ; Just a tour de force on what AAA production can be on the PS4. The who game is just impressive in every facet. Just wreaks of quality throughout. Great story, fun game play and brilliant visuals.
5. TBD... looking back I think I played mostly 2015 releases in 2016.... not sure what that says....
KZXcellent
Member
1. Overwatch ; I've never been a big multiplayer FPS guy. Overwatch is such a fantastic game with some much variety, style and fun. I can't stop playing since it's initial launch. Incredible.
2. Tokyo Mirage Sessions ; A stellar Atlus JRPG with a Fire Emblem coat of paint. Flashy combat, awesome dungeons and a very lovable cast.
3. Dragon Quest Builders ; I didn't expect to enjoy this so much. I had mostly moved on from Minecraft years ago but it turns out that style of game can be really engaging with a main story quest and the timeless Dragon Quest aesthetic and music. Magical.
4. DOOM ; It has the greatest FPS campaign I've ever played. It is the new standard by which all future shooter campaigns shall be judged. RIP AND TEAR.
5. Final Fantasy XV ; While it wasn't the game I wanted or was promised all those years ago FFXV is still a good game that while had a couple of missteps delivered a story worth completing. Some fun combat and a 10/10 soundtrack sweetened the deal.
6. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse ; A gargantuan step over the previous game and offers some of the most thrilling battles in the series. It's over-reliance of cookie cutter anime characters keeps it from fulfilling it's full potential.
7. World of Final Fantasy ; An enjoyable journey through what is basically a Final Fantasy theme park. Familiar characters, enemies and a story that is just interesting enough to see through to the end. Cactuars are the best.
There you have it. Let me know if I need to fix the formatting~
2. Tokyo Mirage Sessions ; A stellar Atlus JRPG with a Fire Emblem coat of paint. Flashy combat, awesome dungeons and a very lovable cast.
3. Dragon Quest Builders ; I didn't expect to enjoy this so much. I had mostly moved on from Minecraft years ago but it turns out that style of game can be really engaging with a main story quest and the timeless Dragon Quest aesthetic and music. Magical.
4. DOOM ; It has the greatest FPS campaign I've ever played. It is the new standard by which all future shooter campaigns shall be judged. RIP AND TEAR.
5. Final Fantasy XV ; While it wasn't the game I wanted or was promised all those years ago FFXV is still a good game that while had a couple of missteps delivered a story worth completing. Some fun combat and a 10/10 soundtrack sweetened the deal.
6. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse ; A gargantuan step over the previous game and offers some of the most thrilling battles in the series. It's over-reliance of cookie cutter anime characters keeps it from fulfilling it's full potential.
7. World of Final Fantasy ; An enjoyable journey through what is basically a Final Fantasy theme park. Familiar characters, enemies and a story that is just interesting enough to see through to the end. Cactuars are the best.
There you have it. Let me know if I need to fix the formatting~
1. Dark Souls 3 ; Greatest hits of the greatest video game franchise in the past decade? Yes. Everything I loved from Dark Souls and Bloodborne is all here.
2. Uncharted 4 ; Great send off for a great series and one of my favorite characters in gaming.
3. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; Hands down the best expansion I've ever played. Right up there with Old Hunters and Artorias of the Abyss. I am actually depressed we aren't getting anymore Witcher games. Time to reread the books!
4. The Witness ; So much fun figuring out and solving the line, and maybe more importantly, meta puzzles in this game. Just an all around fantastic puzzler.
5. Inside ; Another great puzzle solver. Not much of a head scratcher when it came to the puzzles but the character animations and atmosphere more than made up for it.
6. Final Fantasy XV ; What a journey these last 10 years have been. Bonding with your bros on this epic journey is one I won't soon forget.
7. The Last Guardian ; I couldn't stop petting Trico. What an emotional roller coaster ride. I love Ueda's games and their clunky charm.
8. Hyper Light Drifter ; Tight gameplay with secrets galore. Visuals were fantastic to boot with an interesting no-dialog storytelling that kept me invested unit the end and beyond. Retro pixel game done right.
9. Titanfall 2 ; Best FPS gameplay since Modern Warfare. The wall running feels so right add that grapple hookshot is honestly a game changer. Feels good man.
10. Doom ; Action, action, action. It just doesn't stop... Unless of course you're looking for secrets. One of my favorite aspects in gaming.
x. Gravity Rush Remastered ; Wish I could fit this on the list somewhere. Bit of a RTTP for me since I had it originally on Vita but couldn't get into the handheld controls. Glad I was able to finish on the big screen before 2 comes out.
x. Nioh Alpha and Beta ; I know, I know. That's why it's down here in the x's! Couldn't be more excited for a Dark Souls clone that's different enough and actually gets it right.
2. Uncharted 4 ; Great send off for a great series and one of my favorite characters in gaming.
3. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; Hands down the best expansion I've ever played. Right up there with Old Hunters and Artorias of the Abyss. I am actually depressed we aren't getting anymore Witcher games. Time to reread the books!
4. The Witness ; So much fun figuring out and solving the line, and maybe more importantly, meta puzzles in this game. Just an all around fantastic puzzler.
5. Inside ; Another great puzzle solver. Not much of a head scratcher when it came to the puzzles but the character animations and atmosphere more than made up for it.
6. Final Fantasy XV ; What a journey these last 10 years have been. Bonding with your bros on this epic journey is one I won't soon forget.
7. The Last Guardian ; I couldn't stop petting Trico. What an emotional roller coaster ride. I love Ueda's games and their clunky charm.
8. Hyper Light Drifter ; Tight gameplay with secrets galore. Visuals were fantastic to boot with an interesting no-dialog storytelling that kept me invested unit the end and beyond. Retro pixel game done right.
9. Titanfall 2 ; Best FPS gameplay since Modern Warfare. The wall running feels so right add that grapple hookshot is honestly a game changer. Feels good man.
10. Doom ; Action, action, action. It just doesn't stop... Unless of course you're looking for secrets. One of my favorite aspects in gaming.
x. Gravity Rush Remastered ; Wish I could fit this on the list somewhere. Bit of a RTTP for me since I had it originally on Vita but couldn't get into the handheld controls. Glad I was able to finish on the big screen before 2 comes out.
x. Nioh Alpha and Beta ; I know, I know. That's why it's down here in the x's! Couldn't be more excited for a Dark Souls clone that's different enough and actually gets it right.