Magic Mushroom
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GAF Games of the Year 2016 - Voting Thread [Voting closed]
- Thread starter Cheesemeister
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graffix13
Member
1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; ND does it again...Another great game. It was close between this and my #2 game, but the overall story put this as my top game of 2016.
2. Dark Souls III ; This one was my favorite in the Dark Souls series (I still put Demon's Souls and Bloodborne ahead of it though). Great atmosphere and gameplay. Just the right amount of difficulty too.
3. DOOM ; A surprise for me and it wasn't really on my radar of games I wanted to play this year. But good word of mouth got me to buy this and I am glad I did. The music was awesome and fit the theme.
4. Titanfall 2 ; Another game not on my radar but I am glad I bought it. The campaign was great, albeit a bit short. I tried online but just couldn't get into it due to other non-gaming commitments.
2. Dark Souls III ; This one was my favorite in the Dark Souls series (I still put Demon's Souls and Bloodborne ahead of it though). Great atmosphere and gameplay. Just the right amount of difficulty too.
3. DOOM ; A surprise for me and it wasn't really on my radar of games I wanted to play this year. But good word of mouth got me to buy this and I am glad I did. The music was awesome and fit the theme.
4. Titanfall 2 ; Another game not on my radar but I am glad I bought it. The campaign was great, albeit a bit short. I tried online but just couldn't get into it due to other non-gaming commitments.
grandwizard
Member
1. DOOM ; They actually made a new DOOM and made it faithful to how the original played while updating it with new stuff that all works. Amazing. I would also like to point out how DOOM doesn't fall into the trap of over so called 'old school shooters' that think they are DOOM throwbacks but have idea what made that game good. Seeing people prop up stuff like Hard Reset and new Serious Sam as 'a return to old school glory' was always a sad realization of how misunderstood the design of those old games actually were. DOOM didn't just load in hundreds of enemies into an empty arena and put on some metal and let you blast them while backpedaling and go 'sick bro!'. It understood why DOOM originally worked when it came out and still does today. It has a classic gameplay loop on the level of Pacman or Tetris and combined with amazing level design. New DOOM didn't run away from this and try to get by on just nostalgia and feels. id rose to the challenge of capturing what made DOOM great and I have immense respect for that.
2. Hitman ; The 2nd best 'return' story of the year. Huge turn around for a franchise that was on the precipice of irrelevence after the awful Absolution. Hitman trains people to play Hitman the way people who LOVE Hitman play Hitman.
3. XCOM 2 ; Amazing strategy game that turned the series on it's head by making you play the resistance and put you on the attack. Completely fixed the boring 'overwatch creep' playstyle that people had comfortably fallen into with the previous game. Now you have to constantly move and use hit and run tactics, you are never safe. Brilliant game. Also, they introduced a new class whose loadout is a god damn shotgun and a sword. So awesome. The fact Firaxis managed to release both this and Civ IV in the same year is really noteworthy.
4. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun ; Incredible stealth game built off the same principles that made the Commandos series so awesome. Being able to plant a remote mark that shows you when it's in vision of enemy patrols is an advancement to stealth games that should be adopted genre-wide.
5. Dark Souls 3 ; Souls fatigue? whatever. Amazing level design and boss fights. Undead Settlement is my favorite level of the year.
6: Dishonored 2 ; I think people are sleeping on this one due to it being very similar to the original. Well, it has been 3 years since that game and nothing has come close to it so I have no problem with that. DH2 gives you an entire new moveset to play with and the same top tier level design that you expect from Arkane Lyon. I could spend hours in each level discovering everything and never get bored. Massive props to the Clockwork mansion level.
7. Battlefield 1 ; Played every BF and this is my favorite since probably the original. The return to historical battle is not just a change of scenery, it effects the most basic and crucial thing to make this game fun: the weapon balance. It has basically brought back the great weapon balance of WW2 shooters: SMGs for short range, rifles for mid-long and snipers for long. It's also a technical masterpiece. Easily the best looking and sounding game I've ever experienced and runs like a dream.
8. Overwatch ; I fell off this game hard after a couple months but I can't deny the fun I had when it first launched and learning the ropes with friends. The sheer variety in characters and how they play makes this really a 'shooter for everyone'.
9. Titanfall 2 ; Just a great single player campaign that constantly changes things up.
10. Far Cry Primal ; Surprised myself by having this on the list but looking back I actually had a lot of fun with this. The change to prehistoric weapons instead of just guns with ACOG sights was a nice one and I really loved the environments. I still think it doesn't get enough credit for how well the environment is realized especially when it comes to foliage. The animal buddies just cemented the fact that Ubisoft just really made a game about the Beastmaster and called it Far Cry.
Honorable Mentions
x. The Last Guardian ; Would have been on my list if it weren't for the horrible performance ruining the experience. My new go-to example to people who say framerate doesn't matter. Hard to sink into the world and just enjoy it when you are dealing with this stuttery mess.
x. Dead Rising ; This remaster was one of the most fun games I played all year. I hadn't played it since it first came out and was excited to see how it held up. It totally did and really made me realize what a classic Dead Rising 1 is and how great it's design.
x. Shadow Warrior 2 ; An excellent shooter with great mobility and enemy variety. Sadly won't get it's due until the console releases.
2. Hitman ; The 2nd best 'return' story of the year. Huge turn around for a franchise that was on the precipice of irrelevence after the awful Absolution. Hitman trains people to play Hitman the way people who LOVE Hitman play Hitman.
3. XCOM 2 ; Amazing strategy game that turned the series on it's head by making you play the resistance and put you on the attack. Completely fixed the boring 'overwatch creep' playstyle that people had comfortably fallen into with the previous game. Now you have to constantly move and use hit and run tactics, you are never safe. Brilliant game. Also, they introduced a new class whose loadout is a god damn shotgun and a sword. So awesome. The fact Firaxis managed to release both this and Civ IV in the same year is really noteworthy.
4. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun ; Incredible stealth game built off the same principles that made the Commandos series so awesome. Being able to plant a remote mark that shows you when it's in vision of enemy patrols is an advancement to stealth games that should be adopted genre-wide.
5. Dark Souls 3 ; Souls fatigue? whatever. Amazing level design and boss fights. Undead Settlement is my favorite level of the year.
6: Dishonored 2 ; I think people are sleeping on this one due to it being very similar to the original. Well, it has been 3 years since that game and nothing has come close to it so I have no problem with that. DH2 gives you an entire new moveset to play with and the same top tier level design that you expect from Arkane Lyon. I could spend hours in each level discovering everything and never get bored. Massive props to the Clockwork mansion level.
7. Battlefield 1 ; Played every BF and this is my favorite since probably the original. The return to historical battle is not just a change of scenery, it effects the most basic and crucial thing to make this game fun: the weapon balance. It has basically brought back the great weapon balance of WW2 shooters: SMGs for short range, rifles for mid-long and snipers for long. It's also a technical masterpiece. Easily the best looking and sounding game I've ever experienced and runs like a dream.
8. Overwatch ; I fell off this game hard after a couple months but I can't deny the fun I had when it first launched and learning the ropes with friends. The sheer variety in characters and how they play makes this really a 'shooter for everyone'.
9. Titanfall 2 ; Just a great single player campaign that constantly changes things up.
10. Far Cry Primal ; Surprised myself by having this on the list but looking back I actually had a lot of fun with this. The change to prehistoric weapons instead of just guns with ACOG sights was a nice one and I really loved the environments. I still think it doesn't get enough credit for how well the environment is realized especially when it comes to foliage. The animal buddies just cemented the fact that Ubisoft just really made a game about the Beastmaster and called it Far Cry.
Honorable Mentions
x. The Last Guardian ; Would have been on my list if it weren't for the horrible performance ruining the experience. My new go-to example to people who say framerate doesn't matter. Hard to sink into the world and just enjoy it when you are dealing with this stuttery mess.
x. Dead Rising ; This remaster was one of the most fun games I played all year. I hadn't played it since it first came out and was excited to see how it held up. It totally did and really made me realize what a classic Dead Rising 1 is and how great it's design.
x. Shadow Warrior 2 ; An excellent shooter with great mobility and enemy variety. Sadly won't get it's due until the console releases.
I speel my dreenk
Member
10. Dragon Quest Builders; (PS4) Between the positive chatter and intriguing gameplay videos floating around before release, I found myself uncharacteristically optimistic about a Dragon Quest
spinoff. I played a whole lot of Minecraft way back during the super-early-alpha days, simply for the joy and novelty of having a virtual Lego set to make a cool castle or cave dwelling. That aspect of building
games, I've always loved - but they can get old, and it's nice to have a reason to push onward.
DQB dares to dream by marrying builder gameplay with a full-on story, likeable characters, and light RPG elements. Not only that, but it actually ties back into Dragon Quest lore in some neat ways, which
could've gone poorly. I loved taking my time and scouring each area for resources, gradually building up and customizing my town to a ridiculous(ly satisfying) degree. I found it to be super charming
and engaging.
spinoff. I played a whole lot of Minecraft way back during the super-early-alpha days, simply for the joy and novelty of having a virtual Lego set to make a cool castle or cave dwelling. That aspect of building
games, I've always loved - but they can get old, and it's nice to have a reason to push onward.
DQB dares to dream by marrying builder gameplay with a full-on story, likeable characters, and light RPG elements. Not only that, but it actually ties back into Dragon Quest lore in some neat ways, which
could've gone poorly. I loved taking my time and scouring each area for resources, gradually building up and customizing my town to a ridiculous(ly satisfying) degree. I found it to be super charming
and engaging.
9. Hitman; (PC) I ended up watching more of Hitman than I played, which is a bit of a shame, but only because I could've been playing that much more of it. IO finally put the exact right systemic
pieces together to allow the player to excel at not only planning and executing a coolly calculated hit, but then when that fails, improvising with whatever tools are at hand.
Simultaneously, they've done a great job with the tone, which hasn't always been completely serious, but is typically pitch perfect for hilarious situations to occur often. Level design is by-and-large very
good, too - Sapienza in particular is an amazing achievement, and is a map I've played even after maxing it out, just to find new and interesting ways to do everything. My time with Hitman, and the
announcement of a second season, cemented it as a game that I will keep going back to for a long time to come.
pieces together to allow the player to excel at not only planning and executing a coolly calculated hit, but then when that fails, improvising with whatever tools are at hand.
Simultaneously, they've done a great job with the tone, which hasn't always been completely serious, but is typically pitch perfect for hilarious situations to occur often. Level design is by-and-large very
good, too - Sapienza in particular is an amazing achievement, and is a map I've played even after maxing it out, just to find new and interesting ways to do everything. My time with Hitman, and the
announcement of a second season, cemented it as a game that I will keep going back to for a long time to come.
8. Dishonored 2; (PC) Dishonored 1 (the main game and DLC campaigns) is one of my favorite games of all time, to the point where I'm hard-pressed to find any fault with it. So I was fairly dismayed
when I found myself having to play through 10 or so rough beginning hours to finally get into a good groove with Dishonored 2. The movement and abilities all felt somehow off at first, as moving to a
new engine is liable to cause. Since I couldn't find anyone else complaining about that sort of thing, thought, I figure the issue was just with me - though I maintain that the feel of jumping and the general
movement mechanics are a step down from Dishonored 1. The performance problems on PC also contributed to me staying away from the game for a while at launch. Once I started to feel it, though, I
was all the way back in.
And then, I hit the Clockwork Mansion, which is straight-up one of the most awesome video game environments ever realized. I haven't been able to finish the game yet (if I had it'd likely be higher on my
list), but that's my next goal. This is coming off as overly negative I think, but it's a testament to how good these games have been at what they do. I pushed through those annoying early hours because
I knew that I'd be rewarded eventually by a game I'd love, and no other series quite does what Dishonored does.
when I found myself having to play through 10 or so rough beginning hours to finally get into a good groove with Dishonored 2. The movement and abilities all felt somehow off at first, as moving to a
new engine is liable to cause. Since I couldn't find anyone else complaining about that sort of thing, thought, I figure the issue was just with me - though I maintain that the feel of jumping and the general
movement mechanics are a step down from Dishonored 1. The performance problems on PC also contributed to me staying away from the game for a while at launch. Once I started to feel it, though, I
was all the way back in.
And then, I hit the Clockwork Mansion, which is straight-up one of the most awesome video game environments ever realized. I haven't been able to finish the game yet (if I had it'd likely be higher on my
list), but that's my next goal. This is coming off as overly negative I think, but it's a testament to how good these games have been at what they do. I pushed through those annoying early hours because
I knew that I'd be rewarded eventually by a game I'd love, and no other series quite does what Dishonored does.
7. Shenzhen I/O; (PC) If you're unfamiliar with Zachtronics' puzzle games like Spacechem, Infinifactory, or TIS-100, then any of those is probably a better place to start. In Shenzhen I/O, you'll be designing electronics
components - everything from a simple signal amplifier to a light up vape pen to an infrared carbine weapon targeting system - for a Chinese company and its quirky employees, all from the safety and security
of your fake desktop email client. It combines the assembly-style syntax of TIS-100, the spatial considerations of Infinifactory, a great premise and story, and tops it all off with a fairly excellent Solitaire variant. It's
difficult, and can easily eat away at time otherwise spent doing actual programming work, but is extremely fun and rewarding. It also brought us one of the most unique limited edition releases in a long time.
components - everything from a simple signal amplifier to a light up vape pen to an infrared carbine weapon targeting system - for a Chinese company and its quirky employees, all from the safety and security
of your fake desktop email client. It combines the assembly-style syntax of TIS-100, the spatial considerations of Infinifactory, a great premise and story, and tops it all off with a fairly excellent Solitaire variant. It's
difficult, and can easily eat away at time otherwise spent doing actual programming work, but is extremely fun and rewarding. It also brought us one of the most unique limited edition releases in a long time.
6. The Last Guardian; (PS4) Similar to the issues I had coming to grips with Dishonored 2, there were obvious hurdles to my enjoyment of The Last Guardian, but I trusted that it would pay off. Other
games would have been immediately discarded and forgotten with no regrets. But again, like Dishonored 2 (and to a greater extreme), Ueda's projects strive for things that no others do - and his perfect
track record remains intact. Complaints about the way the boy handles, input lag and general sluggish responsiveness, and sub-par engine performance have been well-documented here and
elsewhere, and I can attest to all of them.
But while it does contain the lowest lows of Ueda's trilogy, The Last Guardian also soars to incredible heights beyond anything found in the previous games. The achievement of the Trico itself cannot be
overstated, and after even a short time of interacting with it you start to appreciate how incredibly difficult it must have been getting this game up to the level they did, and likely part of why it had to stay
in the oven for so long. My initial reaction after finishing the game was a mix of being glad it was over, but also being relieved that it turned out as good as it did. Since then, though, letting it simmer
has only made me think back more fondly on the game and what it did so right. Instant rose-tinted glasses, perhaps, but these games have a way of worming their way inside you and warming you up in
ways that no others do. I'd say that The Last Guardian is on equal footing with Ico and Shadow of the Colossus as flawed, yet very unique, masterpieces.
games would have been immediately discarded and forgotten with no regrets. But again, like Dishonored 2 (and to a greater extreme), Ueda's projects strive for things that no others do - and his perfect
track record remains intact. Complaints about the way the boy handles, input lag and general sluggish responsiveness, and sub-par engine performance have been well-documented here and
elsewhere, and I can attest to all of them.
But while it does contain the lowest lows of Ueda's trilogy, The Last Guardian also soars to incredible heights beyond anything found in the previous games. The achievement of the Trico itself cannot be
overstated, and after even a short time of interacting with it you start to appreciate how incredibly difficult it must have been getting this game up to the level they did, and likely part of why it had to stay
in the oven for so long. My initial reaction after finishing the game was a mix of being glad it was over, but also being relieved that it turned out as good as it did. Since then, though, letting it simmer
has only made me think back more fondly on the game and what it did so right. Instant rose-tinted glasses, perhaps, but these games have a way of worming their way inside you and warming you up in
ways that no others do. I'd say that The Last Guardian is on equal footing with Ico and Shadow of the Colossus as flawed, yet very unique, masterpieces.
5. Obduction; (PC) I don't think this qualifies as a surprise (even though it was a Kickstarter game), since I got exactly what I was expecting - and more. I unapologetically love Myst. As time goes
on, I feel like we see more and more folks rag on how it was such a non-game, and undeserving of its enormous popularity. Bullshit, I say. Relative to a Mario or a Doom? Sure, it's very different. But
the 'game' in Myst, and other Cyan games, is all about thinking, learning, and exploration. Obduction not only gives you the same rewarding experiences that the earlier games did, but does it in such
a creative and interesting way, that it absolutely feels like a new and refreshing take on the formula. Obduction is one of those rare games where I (like many others) broke out the old pencil and paper to
jot down interesting looking details, copy a numerical sequence, and puzzle out an arcane counting system (turns out it wasn't all that difficult, or arcane) - and the game wants you to do this.
The attention to detail and the thought put into how things work not only grounds the puzzles in the world, but also offers insight to the world itself. Given the requisite amount of curiosity and patience,
you can learn about exactly how and why things are the way they are, which may seem like a fairly tall order after one look at the state of Hunrath upon your arrival. A recent interview with Rand Miller
goes into this a bit, and makes me all the more appreciative that a studio like Cyan still exists, and still does top-notch work like Obduction.
on, I feel like we see more and more folks rag on how it was such a non-game, and undeserving of its enormous popularity. Bullshit, I say. Relative to a Mario or a Doom? Sure, it's very different. But
the 'game' in Myst, and other Cyan games, is all about thinking, learning, and exploration. Obduction not only gives you the same rewarding experiences that the earlier games did, but does it in such
a creative and interesting way, that it absolutely feels like a new and refreshing take on the formula. Obduction is one of those rare games where I (like many others) broke out the old pencil and paper to
jot down interesting looking details, copy a numerical sequence, and puzzle out an arcane counting system (turns out it wasn't all that difficult, or arcane) - and the game wants you to do this.
The attention to detail and the thought put into how things work not only grounds the puzzles in the world, but also offers insight to the world itself. Given the requisite amount of curiosity and patience,
you can learn about exactly how and why things are the way they are, which may seem like a fairly tall order after one look at the state of Hunrath upon your arrival. A recent interview with Rand Miller
goes into this a bit, and makes me all the more appreciative that a studio like Cyan still exists, and still does top-notch work like Obduction.
4. DOOM; (PC) It's bloody.
It's fast.
It's loud.
It's demonic.
It's fucking DOOM - and it's back.
It's fast.
It's loud.
It's demonic.
It's fucking DOOM - and it's back.
3. Dark Souls III; (PC) I'm glad that the Souls series was able to go out with a bang rather than a whimper, and Dark Souls III is exactly how I want to remember it. It's the quintessential Souls game.
The combat and movement regain the weighty feel of Dark Souls 1. The quality of life improvements learned from Dark Souls 2 keep the user experience feeling updated. The combat also
has (some of) the speed of Bloodborne, but not too much as to make it feel like a non-Souls experience. It also features the best atmosphere since Demon's Souls, and some of my favorite areas
and bosses across the entire series. The scale and connectedness of the world is also the best it's been since Dark Souls 1: looking back up to Lothric Castle from the depths of Farron Keep,
and then realizing how much further you still have to go, is one of the best feelings you can have in this series.
Looking back, I was surprised to see that I'd beaten it three times in the span of a couple hundred hours over a couple of months, since it didn't feel like I'd played nearly that much of it. I've been
getting the itch to go back for more, soon... I just hope that the final DLC is able to hit the home run that Ariandel struck out on.
The combat and movement regain the weighty feel of Dark Souls 1. The quality of life improvements learned from Dark Souls 2 keep the user experience feeling updated. The combat also
has (some of) the speed of Bloodborne, but not too much as to make it feel like a non-Souls experience. It also features the best atmosphere since Demon's Souls, and some of my favorite areas
and bosses across the entire series. The scale and connectedness of the world is also the best it's been since Dark Souls 1: looking back up to Lothric Castle from the depths of Farron Keep,
and then realizing how much further you still have to go, is one of the best feelings you can have in this series.
Looking back, I was surprised to see that I'd beaten it three times in the span of a couple hundred hours over a couple of months, since it didn't feel like I'd played nearly that much of it. I've been
getting the itch to go back for more, soon... I just hope that the final DLC is able to hit the home run that Ariandel struck out on.
2. Titanfall 2; (PC & PS4) I only played Titanfall 2's campaign, and have not touched the multiplayer (but will at some point!). As someone who didn't play any Titanfall 1, I never imagined that
Respawn would've been able to pull something like this off - although maybe it's not so surprising, as Call of Duty 4 was fairly amazing in its own right. This game floored me with its consistent
level of quality, from start to finish. It felt like there was always something new around every corner to see, to hear, and to do, and it never stopped being fun and engaging. Movement feels incredible,
shooting with almost every type of gun feels powerful and effective, and the environments are some of my favorite sci-fi stylings in a long time; I prefer the look of Titanfall 2 to your Halos, your
Destinys, or your Masses Effect.
The characters made more of an impact than the actual story (which was still totally fine), and I'm hesitant to say that more should've been done in those departments, since the game is already walking
the line of being just the right amount of everything all at once. I'm fully in agreement with everyone else proclaiming it as the best FPS campaign since Half-Life 2, if not outright finding them comparable.
It's absolutely at a Valve level of quality. Titanfall 2 is good, damned good - so good, I bought it twice.
Respawn would've been able to pull something like this off - although maybe it's not so surprising, as Call of Duty 4 was fairly amazing in its own right. This game floored me with its consistent
level of quality, from start to finish. It felt like there was always something new around every corner to see, to hear, and to do, and it never stopped being fun and engaging. Movement feels incredible,
shooting with almost every type of gun feels powerful and effective, and the environments are some of my favorite sci-fi stylings in a long time; I prefer the look of Titanfall 2 to your Halos, your
Destinys, or your Masses Effect.
The characters made more of an impact than the actual story (which was still totally fine), and I'm hesitant to say that more should've been done in those departments, since the game is already walking
the line of being just the right amount of everything all at once. I'm fully in agreement with everyone else proclaiming it as the best FPS campaign since Half-Life 2, if not outright finding them comparable.
It's absolutely at a Valve level of quality. Titanfall 2 is good, damned good - so good, I bought it twice.
1. The Witness; (PC) From the moment it was announced up until my time with it was over, The Witness retained its air of mystery.
A Myst-inspired island riddled with line puzzles. Vibrant and colorful, yet subtle and intricate.
"...but isn't it just a bunch of line puzzles? What do you actually do in The Witness?"
You learn. The Witness teaches you, wordlessly yet logically, how to complete its myriad puzzles and thus navigate the wonderfully diverse island. With patience and attention paid, The Witness reveals
itself over time to be an absolute masterclass in puzzle design. The amount of thought and effort poured into the world design as well is astounding. The many small touches and easter eggs all over the
island, while ultimately inconsequential, go so far towards making almost every inch interesting.
Like Obduction, The Witness gives you the pieces you need to be able to solve every puzzle, but it's up to you to connect those pieces – sometimes literally, by cutting them out of paper and trying various
combinations. I did that on numerous occasions, not to mention the pages of notes and sketches (drew a lot of straight lines, I did). The 90+ hours I spent completing 100% of The Witness without looking
anything up is probably the most engaging and rewarding gaming experience I've ever had.
A Myst-inspired island riddled with line puzzles. Vibrant and colorful, yet subtle and intricate.
"...but isn't it just a bunch of line puzzles? What do you actually do in The Witness?"
You learn. The Witness teaches you, wordlessly yet logically, how to complete its myriad puzzles and thus navigate the wonderfully diverse island. With patience and attention paid, The Witness reveals
itself over time to be an absolute masterclass in puzzle design. The amount of thought and effort poured into the world design as well is astounding. The many small touches and easter eggs all over the
island, while ultimately inconsequential, go so far towards making almost every inch interesting.
Like Obduction, The Witness gives you the pieces you need to be able to solve every puzzle, but it's up to you to connect those pieces – sometimes literally, by cutting them out of paper and trying various
combinations. I did that on numerous occasions, not to mention the pages of notes and sketches (drew a lot of straight lines, I did). The 90+ hours I spent completing 100% of The Witness without looking
anything up is probably the most engaging and rewarding gaming experience I've ever had.
Possibly my favorite aspect of The Witness is also one that many people have condemned it for: an unapologetic adherence to its vision and execution. No game in recent memory has taken such a
'take it or leave it' approach to every aspect of its design as this one does. For some, this unfortunately means being unable to experience some parts of it, whether due to colorblindness, tone deafness, or
perhaps a lack of patience. But it is this unflinching nature that makes it all the more appealing, and unique as a work of art in the realm of video gaming. There is essentially an entire half of the experience
that a potentially large number of players will possibly never see, but the feeling of uncovering those sorts of secrets is exactly the thing that The Witness does so well.
'take it or leave it' approach to every aspect of its design as this one does. For some, this unfortunately means being unable to experience some parts of it, whether due to colorblindness, tone deafness, or
perhaps a lack of patience. But it is this unflinching nature that makes it all the more appealing, and unique as a work of art in the realm of video gaming. There is essentially an entire half of the experience
that a potentially large number of players will possibly never see, but the feeling of uncovering those sorts of secrets is exactly the thing that The Witness does so well.
Honourable Menchies – top ten material in a smaller, punier year
x. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight; (PC) I came thiiiiiis close to putting this in my top ten. I played it way earlier in the year and immediately sang its praises as a nice crossing of
Metroidvania, Dark Souls, and gorgeous pixel art and animation - which is definitely is. But then I played through it again to refresh my memory in preparation for making my list, and found myself annoyed
more often than having fun. I don't know how this game lost that special something in that time period, but I'll still say that it's worth a short, sweet playthrough and the soundtrack and artwork are still
wonderful.
x. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End; (PS4) I can't really put my finger on why I was never fully sucked in by Uncharted 4. One answer is that "it's just more Uncharted," with the caveat that it's probably the most
impressively constructed game I've ever seen or played. It's ridiculously gorgeous, easily outshining almost any higher-end PC game in terms of visual splendor. I also appreciated the improved traversal
system, and even the simple multi-pathed routes through many areas. However, the combat got annoying fairly quickly (like every other Uncharted game) and it took me going back to the game many
times over the year to finally sit and finish it out. The story was well-written and the ending was nice
, but it just didn't explode into
the stratosphere for me.
x. Final Fantasy XV; (PS4) I can't believe how much FFXV manages to retain the feeling of being a Final Fantasy game while simultaneously being so different in so many ways. I didn't expect to enjoy it as
much as I have, and it has many, many problems, but it's still really fun and has a lot of heart.
x. Let It Die; (PS4) This was a huge surprise, and will be a game that I'll go back to a lot over the next year or so. I've only unlocked Rank 2 fighters and gotten up to just past the first real boss, but it's a
hell of a good, weird time.
x. Ittle Dew 2; (PC) I like a lot of what Ittle Dew 2 puts down, but don't think it quite pulls it off even as good as the original did. Every single joke in the original got at least a smile out of me, if not outright
laughter, whereas these are kind of hit and miss. I don't like the move to polygonal models - the art for Ittle's animations in the first game was so good! The combat isn't quite up to snuff for a game that pushes
you to fight way more often than before. Even so, it's a great time with a fun attitude.
Metroidvania, Dark Souls, and gorgeous pixel art and animation - which is definitely is. But then I played through it again to refresh my memory in preparation for making my list, and found myself annoyed
more often than having fun. I don't know how this game lost that special something in that time period, but I'll still say that it's worth a short, sweet playthrough and the soundtrack and artwork are still
wonderful.
x. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End; (PS4) I can't really put my finger on why I was never fully sucked in by Uncharted 4. One answer is that "it's just more Uncharted," with the caveat that it's probably the most
impressively constructed game I've ever seen or played. It's ridiculously gorgeous, easily outshining almost any higher-end PC game in terms of visual splendor. I also appreciated the improved traversal
system, and even the simple multi-pathed routes through many areas. However, the combat got annoying fairly quickly (like every other Uncharted game) and it took me going back to the game many
times over the year to finally sit and finish it out. The story was well-written and the ending was nice
even though they just pulled that sequence out of The Last of Us
the stratosphere for me.
x. Final Fantasy XV; (PS4) I can't believe how much FFXV manages to retain the feeling of being a Final Fantasy game while simultaneously being so different in so many ways. I didn't expect to enjoy it as
much as I have, and it has many, many problems, but it's still really fun and has a lot of heart.
x. Let It Die; (PS4) This was a huge surprise, and will be a game that I'll go back to a lot over the next year or so. I've only unlocked Rank 2 fighters and gotten up to just past the first real boss, but it's a
hell of a good, weird time.
x. Ittle Dew 2; (PC) I like a lot of what Ittle Dew 2 puts down, but don't think it quite pulls it off even as good as the original did. Every single joke in the original got at least a smile out of me, if not outright
laughter, whereas these are kind of hit and miss. I don't like the move to polygonal models - the art for Ittle's animations in the first game was so good! The combat isn't quite up to snuff for a game that pushes
you to fight way more often than before. Even so, it's a great time with a fun attitude.
x. Overwatch; (PC) I played a lot of Overwatch in the month or so after release, mostly with friends, but a lot solo as well. Then I fell off really hard for some reason, and just haven't gone back.
Weird! It's great, though.
x. Quadrilateral Cowboy; (PC) Shorter and slightly less complex than I was hoping for from a (sort of) silent all-girl hacking adventure, but extremely unique and heartwarming.
x. Stephen's Sausage Roll; (PC) I'm kicking myself for not having put more time into SSR, but I vow to sometime soon. I only got up to somewhere in area 2, so I've not seen most of what I understand the
game has to offer, but it's been great so far.
x. Ratchet & Clank; (PS4) The very definition of the adjective 'solid' as it relates to a video game. Nothing mind-blowing, but no real deficiencies.
x. Firewatch; (PC) I enjoyed the story, but it didn't really cohere for me like I'd hoped it would. Beautiful world, though.
Weird! It's great, though.
x. Quadrilateral Cowboy; (PC) Shorter and slightly less complex than I was hoping for from a (sort of) silent all-girl hacking adventure, but extremely unique and heartwarming.
x. Stephen's Sausage Roll; (PC) I'm kicking myself for not having put more time into SSR, but I vow to sometime soon. I only got up to somewhere in area 2, so I've not seen most of what I understand the
game has to offer, but it's been great so far.
x. Ratchet & Clank; (PS4) The very definition of the adjective 'solid' as it relates to a video game. Nothing mind-blowing, but no real deficiencies.
x. Firewatch; (PC) I enjoyed the story, but it didn't really cohere for me like I'd hoped it would. Beautiful world, though.
And the others that got played, but just not quite enough
x. Devil Daggers;
x. Factorio;
x. Gravity Rush: Remastered;
x. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen;
x. Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel; (PS4) Best fighting game of the year!
x. Street Fighter V; (PC) Second best fighting game I played this year.
x. The Division;
x. No Man's Sky;
x. Lumines: Puzzle & Music;
x. Trackmania: Turbo;
x. Hyper Light Drifter;
x. Hidden My Game By Mom; (Android) Absurd hidden item room escape game. Mom is omnipresent. Part two just came out. Check it out.
x. Factorio;
x. Gravity Rush: Remastered;
x. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen;
x. Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel; (PS4) Best fighting game of the year!
x. Street Fighter V; (PC) Second best fighting game I played this year.
x. The Division;
x. No Man's Sky;
x. Lumines: Puzzle & Music;
x. Trackmania: Turbo;
x. Hyper Light Drifter;
x. Hidden My Game By Mom; (Android) Absurd hidden item room escape game. Mom is omnipresent. Part two just came out. Check it out.
Finally, the 'This Year's Memorial This Year's Game of Last Year's Last Year'
Endless Legend (with a bunch of DLC) (PC) I bought this a while ago, but didn't get around to it until late this year. When I did, I fell into such a hole for a week or so, that it inspired my roommate to trip over the
same obvious trap I had, and fall into the exact same hole I was yelling for help from. A beautiful turn-based strategy game with interesting factions and intricate mechanics. Check it out.
same obvious trap I had, and fall into the exact same hole I was yelling for help from. A beautiful turn-based strategy game with interesting factions and intricate mechanics. Check it out.
This past year disappointed in a variety of ways, for a great many people. Fortunately, one way it excelled was in the quality of games released.
As a wise man once said, ”There's never been a better time to be playing video games."
Great lists all, and thanks for reading! <3
SaintMadeOfPlaster
Member
Didn't have tons of time for games this year, and many of the ones I played weren't released in '16. Pretty short list for me this year.
1. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; I always enjoy Pokemon games, but this was the first one since probably Gold/Silver that had me excited for the future of the series. While it has a little bit of feature creep (I'm looking at you, Z moves), most new things are very welcome. Good job, Gamefreak.
2. Fire Emblem Fates
3. Super Meat Boy
4. Axiom Verge
5. Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut
1. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; I always enjoy Pokemon games, but this was the first one since probably Gold/Silver that had me excited for the future of the series. While it has a little bit of feature creep (I'm looking at you, Z moves), most new things are very welcome. Good job, Gamefreak.
2. Fire Emblem Fates
3. Super Meat Boy
4. Axiom Verge
5. Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut
1. Doom ; This game was praised to hell and back already. I can not contribute anything new really, except for my own experience with it.
The E3 showing was alright? I felt that it looked kinda slow, but maaaaybe just because they wanted to show of their visuals and do the typical slow camera pans.
Then, close to release, the Nvidia Geforce 1080 video came along. I was surprised and caught off guard. This game looked fast. Very fast actually. Could this be any good? All signs pointed to NO up to this point for me. Up to this point i did not even plan to buy it on release, let alone preorder something from f*cking Bethesda.
And then i thought maybe they are not lying when they claim that they will bring old-school back. Could it be? I pulled the trigger and preordered on PC, something that i usually avoid like the plague.
I kept my expectations in check, installed the game on release day and calmly started playing on Ultra Violence. The game starts slowly compared to what is to comes later. I liked what i played. Then i played the Foundry, and that level hit the spot for me. From that point onwards i binged Doom hard.
This game taught me that there are still designers out there who know something about proper FPS encounter design. This is the best pure-action FPS of the past 10 years.
2. Tyranny ; Loved Pillars of Eternity. This feels like PoE 1.5 with a different setting, which is not a bad thing.
3. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; I loved Human Revolution after restarting it for the third time. Buying this one was a no-brainer for me. A game full of rich content, some great writing and world building. It does feel like it could need more spaces to explore, but the amount of stuff you can do in the levels we got is great!
4. Hitman ; A game i only started playing a few days ago. Its actually like the Hitman games of old, with a modern coating and more helpers. Not bad after Absolution, which to this day remains a traumatizing experience.
5. Dark Souls III ; Its Dark Souls. Nuff said^^
6. Gears of War 4 ; They kept the spirit of Gears more than 343i did with the Halo franchise.
7. Stellaris ; Initially i could not warm up to it. After a long long time it clicked.
The E3 showing was alright? I felt that it looked kinda slow, but maaaaybe just because they wanted to show of their visuals and do the typical slow camera pans.
Then, close to release, the Nvidia Geforce 1080 video came along. I was surprised and caught off guard. This game looked fast. Very fast actually. Could this be any good? All signs pointed to NO up to this point for me. Up to this point i did not even plan to buy it on release, let alone preorder something from f*cking Bethesda.
And then i thought maybe they are not lying when they claim that they will bring old-school back. Could it be? I pulled the trigger and preordered on PC, something that i usually avoid like the plague.
I kept my expectations in check, installed the game on release day and calmly started playing on Ultra Violence. The game starts slowly compared to what is to comes later. I liked what i played. Then i played the Foundry, and that level hit the spot for me. From that point onwards i binged Doom hard.
This game taught me that there are still designers out there who know something about proper FPS encounter design. This is the best pure-action FPS of the past 10 years.
2. Tyranny ; Loved Pillars of Eternity. This feels like PoE 1.5 with a different setting, which is not a bad thing.
3. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; I loved Human Revolution after restarting it for the third time. Buying this one was a no-brainer for me. A game full of rich content, some great writing and world building. It does feel like it could need more spaces to explore, but the amount of stuff you can do in the levels we got is great!
4. Hitman ; A game i only started playing a few days ago. Its actually like the Hitman games of old, with a modern coating and more helpers. Not bad after Absolution, which to this day remains a traumatizing experience.
5. Dark Souls III ; Its Dark Souls. Nuff said^^
6. Gears of War 4 ; They kept the spirit of Gears more than 343i did with the Halo franchise.
7. Stellaris ; Initially i could not warm up to it. After a long long time it clicked.
You are missing your ; behind each name
I didn't had the time to play what I wanted. I'm sure The Witness would enter here somewhere, I'm currently playing Oxenfree but almost sure I wont finish it untill the vote end. But oh well, here it goes:
1. Dark Souls 3 ; It rides a bit too much on Dark Souls greatness and has issues in creating a distinct personality, but damn, it's great.
2. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; The Witcher 3 was my GOTY last year, and if i'm being honest this was the most fun I had this year, but I think it's unfair to give GOTY to the same game twice.
3. Motorsport Manager ; A deeply flawed game in a very embryonic state that shouldn't be here, but i'ts stupidly addictive and as a F1 fan this is the only qualty option to emulate a racing team manager.
4. Firewatch ; Great writing, awesome voice acting and atmosphere, loved to see the story unfold.
5. Inside ; The closest a game managed to emulate the orwelian nightmare of a distopian society like in 1984. Great style and an improvement coming from Limbo.
6. Superhot ; The most innovative first person shooter of the last decade.
7. Abzû ; It pales in comparison with Journey, but as a art game it was a nice experience.
1. Dark Souls 3 ; It rides a bit too much on Dark Souls greatness and has issues in creating a distinct personality, but damn, it's great.
2. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; The Witcher 3 was my GOTY last year, and if i'm being honest this was the most fun I had this year, but I think it's unfair to give GOTY to the same game twice.
3. Motorsport Manager ; A deeply flawed game in a very embryonic state that shouldn't be here, but i'ts stupidly addictive and as a F1 fan this is the only qualty option to emulate a racing team manager.
4. Firewatch ; Great writing, awesome voice acting and atmosphere, loved to see the story unfold.
5. Inside ; The closest a game managed to emulate the orwelian nightmare of a distopian society like in 1984. Great style and an improvement coming from Limbo.
6. Superhot ; The most innovative first person shooter of the last decade.
7. Abzû ; It pales in comparison with Journey, but as a art game it was a nice experience.
Ultimadrago
Member
By "Boring Filler Shit", do you mean it's paced more like Trails in the Sky? If so, hooray!
If you mean, like a power-up shonen that doesn't know what to do with itself. Oh boo.
I still haven't gotten to it yet since I'm waiting for the 3rd to release.
1. Overwatch ; Really like this game. Love the art style and the crazy matches.
2. Forza Horizon 3 ; Maybe my favorite racer ever.
3. Battlefield 1 ; Enjoy the WW1 setting. Good change of pace.
4. Stardew Valley ; Fantastic time waster. Going to playing through it again on PS4
5. Civilization 6 ; Haven't played it as much as past entries, but I enjoy it a lot.
6. Dark Souls 3 ; Liked it much more than 2, not as much as Bloodborne
7. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; Best mobile game for me this year.
8. Final Fantasy XV ; Enjoyed the game A LOT, still think the series is a shell of what it used to be, but this was a fun game.
That's all I got. Can't do 10. I was a little meh on Gears 4 and Uncharted 4, so I don't want to give them points, but they'd probably be 9 and 10 respectively.
2. Forza Horizon 3 ; Maybe my favorite racer ever.
3. Battlefield 1 ; Enjoy the WW1 setting. Good change of pace.
4. Stardew Valley ; Fantastic time waster. Going to playing through it again on PS4
5. Civilization 6 ; Haven't played it as much as past entries, but I enjoy it a lot.
6. Dark Souls 3 ; Liked it much more than 2, not as much as Bloodborne
7. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; Best mobile game for me this year.
8. Final Fantasy XV ; Enjoyed the game A LOT, still think the series is a shell of what it used to be, but this was a fun game.
That's all I got. Can't do 10. I was a little meh on Gears 4 and Uncharted 4, so I don't want to give them points, but they'd probably be 9 and 10 respectively.
Lostconfused
Member
You know I am just a bit surprised that you don't have Mankind Divided mentioned anywhere in your post after rattling of such a long list of games.
I speel my dreenk
Member
Yeah you'd think, despite the lineage of my username. That was one I just never got around to. I could've added a list of stuff I wanted to play but didn't, but that would've been another 20-30 games.
The_Darkest_Red
Member
1. Fire Emblem Fates ; What can I say? Nintendo delivered once again with a stunning entry in my favorite series, and this time we got three complete games. I played through all of Birthright and Conquest on Hard/Classic and fell in love with both for many similar but some different reasons. Fates represents the culmination of everything Intelligent Systems has learned about developing Fire Emblem games, and it notably improves all of the new concepts introduced in Awakening while also adding some fresh twists all its own. From the lovely medieval Japanese setting of Birthright to the crushing difficulty and varied objectives of Conquest, Intelligent Systems once again proved no one can touch them in the realm of systems heavy strategy RPGs.
2. Dark Souls 3 ; Ive been a Souls fan since the launch of Demons Souls back in 2009 and unlike some my interest in the series hasnt faded a bit. Dark Souls 3 is what I want in a sequel; a continuation of many brilliant concepts and designs infused with new and exciting content. The bosses are my favorite in any Souls game (Bloodborne excluded) and I greatly enjoyed the environmental variety and throwbacks to previous Souls games as well. Im fine with Fromsoft taking a break from Souls for a while but it certainly wouldnt have bothered me if they kept pumping out Souls games of this caliber.
3. Doom ; As a certified cheapskate I tend to avoid buying many games at launch these days, and I had no reason to think Doom would be any different. However, none of my good habits could stop me from being enveloped in the hype around Doom after release, and boy am I glad I caved in and picked it up. From a gameplay perspective Doom has the single best campaign Ive ever experienced in a first person shooter. Instead of emphasizing linear storytelling, regenerating health, and fighting from cover, Doom encourages the player to never stop moving. This is only one of the brilliant design decisions on display in this gem of a game, with others including the varied arsenal and stellar non-linear level design. Talk about a surprise.
4. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight ; Speaking of surprises Momodora, huh? A few weeks ago I had never heard of this game but thankfully that all changed when I saw it mentioned in a thread about Symphony of the Night (thanks, Durante). Thank goodness it caught my attention because this charming combination of Castlevania and Dark Souls was just what I needed to satiate my never subsiding desire for more Metroidvania. Momodora manages to incorporate many elements of the Souls series seamlessly into a 2D action game such as rolling (with i-frames!), finding shortcuts, and the estus healing system. Throw in excellent level design, pixel art done right, and addictive combat encounters and youve got a true gem on your hands. One of the standout moments for me was the breathtaking boss fight against Pardoner Fennel. I firmly expect this game to catch fire once its released on PS4 and it deserves all of the attention and praise it can get.
5. Ratchet & Clank ; It sure feels good to see Insomniac once again excelling at their bread and butter; making games that are simply fun with excellent weapon variety and combat. R&C is a more reserved variation of the series when compared with the high point A Crack in Time but this allows Insomniac to focus on what theyre best at. A surprisingly meaty game, R&C was nothing but pure fun from start to finish. I also appreciated the gorgeous graphics on my shiny new PS4 Pro.
6. Battlefield 1 ; BF has always been about the multiplayer for me and BF1 was no different. A true return to form after the disappointing and forgettable Hardline, BF1 brings us back to simpler times with a level of fidelity never seen before. Im not sure if it tops BF4 or BC2 for me but its certainly in the conversation, and I plan on going back for more as time goes on.
7. Uncharted 4 ; Uncharted 4 marks a substantial departure from the norm for the series thanks to the newfound focus on serious storytelling and character development. For the most part the game succeeds, all while delivering a varied and unique gameplay experience. My one gripe with the game is the way in which difficulty was handled, as I felt like playing on Hard greatly discouraged the use of many of the fun possibilities such as rope swinging and staying on the move.
8. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Its hard to sum up my feelings for Mankind Divided. I certainly enjoyed the game and can think back fondly on quite a few moments but for whatever reason the game just didnt pull me in the same way Human Revolution did. I spent a lot of time in the world of MD and appreciated most of what it had to offer but it wont stick with me as an all time favorite the way its predecessor did. Hopefully we get more Deus Ex in the future because I still feel there is a great deal of untapped potential with this series.
9. Titanfall 2 ; I missed out on the original Titanfall but decided to pick up the sequel due to the positive reception. I was not disappointed. TF2 is truly the complete package, featuring both an excellent campaign and a unique and engaging multiplayer component. I love the fast pace of matches and the contrast between being in a titan vs. on foot. My only regret is that I havent played more of it.
10. Overwatch ; I held off on picking up Overwatch for a long time because I didnt see it as my style of multiplayer FPS. Thanks to some peer pressure I finally caved and bought the game on PC. While I still dont see OW as the savior of the FPS many view it as I have had an enjoyable time with it nonetheless. My favorite characters so far are Soldier 76, McCree, D.Va, and Reinhardt.
Honorable mention:
x. Inside
2. Dark Souls 3 ; Ive been a Souls fan since the launch of Demons Souls back in 2009 and unlike some my interest in the series hasnt faded a bit. Dark Souls 3 is what I want in a sequel; a continuation of many brilliant concepts and designs infused with new and exciting content. The bosses are my favorite in any Souls game (Bloodborne excluded) and I greatly enjoyed the environmental variety and throwbacks to previous Souls games as well. Im fine with Fromsoft taking a break from Souls for a while but it certainly wouldnt have bothered me if they kept pumping out Souls games of this caliber.
3. Doom ; As a certified cheapskate I tend to avoid buying many games at launch these days, and I had no reason to think Doom would be any different. However, none of my good habits could stop me from being enveloped in the hype around Doom after release, and boy am I glad I caved in and picked it up. From a gameplay perspective Doom has the single best campaign Ive ever experienced in a first person shooter. Instead of emphasizing linear storytelling, regenerating health, and fighting from cover, Doom encourages the player to never stop moving. This is only one of the brilliant design decisions on display in this gem of a game, with others including the varied arsenal and stellar non-linear level design. Talk about a surprise.
4. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight ; Speaking of surprises Momodora, huh? A few weeks ago I had never heard of this game but thankfully that all changed when I saw it mentioned in a thread about Symphony of the Night (thanks, Durante). Thank goodness it caught my attention because this charming combination of Castlevania and Dark Souls was just what I needed to satiate my never subsiding desire for more Metroidvania. Momodora manages to incorporate many elements of the Souls series seamlessly into a 2D action game such as rolling (with i-frames!), finding shortcuts, and the estus healing system. Throw in excellent level design, pixel art done right, and addictive combat encounters and youve got a true gem on your hands. One of the standout moments for me was the breathtaking boss fight against Pardoner Fennel. I firmly expect this game to catch fire once its released on PS4 and it deserves all of the attention and praise it can get.
5. Ratchet & Clank ; It sure feels good to see Insomniac once again excelling at their bread and butter; making games that are simply fun with excellent weapon variety and combat. R&C is a more reserved variation of the series when compared with the high point A Crack in Time but this allows Insomniac to focus on what theyre best at. A surprisingly meaty game, R&C was nothing but pure fun from start to finish. I also appreciated the gorgeous graphics on my shiny new PS4 Pro.
6. Battlefield 1 ; BF has always been about the multiplayer for me and BF1 was no different. A true return to form after the disappointing and forgettable Hardline, BF1 brings us back to simpler times with a level of fidelity never seen before. Im not sure if it tops BF4 or BC2 for me but its certainly in the conversation, and I plan on going back for more as time goes on.
7. Uncharted 4 ; Uncharted 4 marks a substantial departure from the norm for the series thanks to the newfound focus on serious storytelling and character development. For the most part the game succeeds, all while delivering a varied and unique gameplay experience. My one gripe with the game is the way in which difficulty was handled, as I felt like playing on Hard greatly discouraged the use of many of the fun possibilities such as rope swinging and staying on the move.
8. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Its hard to sum up my feelings for Mankind Divided. I certainly enjoyed the game and can think back fondly on quite a few moments but for whatever reason the game just didnt pull me in the same way Human Revolution did. I spent a lot of time in the world of MD and appreciated most of what it had to offer but it wont stick with me as an all time favorite the way its predecessor did. Hopefully we get more Deus Ex in the future because I still feel there is a great deal of untapped potential with this series.
9. Titanfall 2 ; I missed out on the original Titanfall but decided to pick up the sequel due to the positive reception. I was not disappointed. TF2 is truly the complete package, featuring both an excellent campaign and a unique and engaging multiplayer component. I love the fast pace of matches and the contrast between being in a titan vs. on foot. My only regret is that I havent played more of it.
10. Overwatch ; I held off on picking up Overwatch for a long time because I didnt see it as my style of multiplayer FPS. Thanks to some peer pressure I finally caved and bought the game on PC. While I still dont see OW as the savior of the FPS many view it as I have had an enjoyable time with it nonetheless. My favorite characters so far are Soldier 76, McCree, D.Va, and Reinhardt.
Honorable mention:
x. Inside
In 2016 I played Rocket League more than any 2016 release.
Magic Mushroom
Member
Wrong formating. Use the ; between title and comment.
sparkygman
Neo Member
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; By far the best DLC/expansion I've ever played. This just added on to what was already my favorite game of all time.
2. Dark Souls III ; I always struggled to get into the Souls series until this game. I had beaten Bloodborne previously and given Dark Souls I and II a shot but they didn't grab me. After beating III, I went back and beat I and II. Amazing experience.
3. Tom Clancy's The Division ; Say what you will about this game, but I had some of the best times gaming in 2016 with this game. Playing with friends was great, and the initial leveling from 1 through 30 was a great experience. The end game is lacking, but they are improving things and the Survival DLC was a nice addition.
4. Civilization VI ; I got this game for Christmas this year, and on my week off of work for the holidays put in over 30 hours. Such an addictive game series, really is the pinnacle of the "just one more round" mentality.
5. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Great ending to Nathan's story. Naughty Dog continues to prove they are the developer to beat in terms of story-telling.
6. Destiny: Rise of Iron ; Not quite up to par with the Taken King expansion, but still put many hours into this expansion and enjoyed the new raid.
7. Doom ; I haven't finished this game yet, so it possibly could have been higher on my list. Just a fun game to play and is currently at the top of my list of games I need to finish.
8. Final Fantasy XV ; My first dive into the Final Fantasy series. Haven't completed the game yet, but have over 20+ hours into it and enjoying the experience.
9. Overwatch ; This game is just fun to play. Wish I put more hours into it, but what I played of it was great.
10. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens ; It's Legos and Star Wars. What's not to love?
Honorable Mentions
x. Titanfall 2 ; Played a decent amount of the multiplayer and had a great time. Still haven't tried the campaign, but it's on my list of games to play. May have made my top 10 had I played the campaign.
2. Dark Souls III ; I always struggled to get into the Souls series until this game. I had beaten Bloodborne previously and given Dark Souls I and II a shot but they didn't grab me. After beating III, I went back and beat I and II. Amazing experience.
3. Tom Clancy's The Division ; Say what you will about this game, but I had some of the best times gaming in 2016 with this game. Playing with friends was great, and the initial leveling from 1 through 30 was a great experience. The end game is lacking, but they are improving things and the Survival DLC was a nice addition.
4. Civilization VI ; I got this game for Christmas this year, and on my week off of work for the holidays put in over 30 hours. Such an addictive game series, really is the pinnacle of the "just one more round" mentality.
5. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Great ending to Nathan's story. Naughty Dog continues to prove they are the developer to beat in terms of story-telling.
6. Destiny: Rise of Iron ; Not quite up to par with the Taken King expansion, but still put many hours into this expansion and enjoyed the new raid.
7. Doom ; I haven't finished this game yet, so it possibly could have been higher on my list. Just a fun game to play and is currently at the top of my list of games I need to finish.
8. Final Fantasy XV ; My first dive into the Final Fantasy series. Haven't completed the game yet, but have over 20+ hours into it and enjoying the experience.
9. Overwatch ; This game is just fun to play. Wish I put more hours into it, but what I played of it was great.
10. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens ; It's Legos and Star Wars. What's not to love?
Honorable Mentions
x. Titanfall 2 ; Played a decent amount of the multiplayer and had a great time. Still haven't tried the campaign, but it's on my list of games to play. May have made my top 10 had I played the campaign.
I speel my dreenk
Member
I was going to say something... but... but... but, I forgot.
The_Darkest_Red
Member
Thanks, I'm an idiot.
1. The Witness ; A meticulously crafted masterpiece from Jonathan Blow and his team. Lose yourself in a gorgeous, incredibly well designed world as you explore and solve challenging puzzles that have you pulling your hair out one minute, and jumping for joy the next. My mind was blown more than once. Play this, you owe it to yourself.
2. Dark Souls III ; The first Soulsbourne game I have played to completion. For me this was a fresh, knuckle-clenching but incredibly satisfying game. Superb combat and amazing bosses combined with soul crushing difficulty made for an experience that left me beaten and bruised. But every time I came back more determined and a little wiser.
3. Inside; This game is a masterpiece. Beautiful visuals, stunning animations and haunting sound design combine with perfect pacing to create something truly special!
4. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
5. The Last Guardian
6. Dishonored 2
7. Doom
8. Titanfall 2
9. Overwatch
10. Superhot ; SUPERHOT is the most innovative shooter I've played in years.
X. Battlefield 1
X. Hyper Light Drifter
X. Abzu
X. Quantum Break
TheDanimal
Junior Member
1. Overwatch ; Just the perfect online multiplayer shooter in my opinion. A blast with your friends, and a blast by yourself.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD ; An incredible remaster of a classic Gamecube/Wii game. I actually finished it this time, very solid game.
3. Battlefield 1 ; World War I as you've never seen it before. Beautiful graphics combined with classic, solid Battlefield gameplay makes for a good game.
4. Bravely Second: End Layer ; I just enjoy the battle system and art style too much not to put this game here. Can't wait for Project Octo-whatsitsface
5. Final Fantasy XV ; Its a mess. It really is. But its a fun mess, so it definitely makes the list. Plus it is a good looking game, wow.
6. Tricky Towers ; I really shouldn't put this game on here. Its really not a good game. It makes me sad as a Tetris game, but its just too fun with friends. Without friends, it gets stale quickly. Special Puzzle mode is really the only good mode, and it is REALLY good.
7. Super Mario Run ; This is how you make a mobile game, imo. No obnoxious micro-transactions, endless replayability. Super fun.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD ; An incredible remaster of a classic Gamecube/Wii game. I actually finished it this time, very solid game.
3. Battlefield 1 ; World War I as you've never seen it before. Beautiful graphics combined with classic, solid Battlefield gameplay makes for a good game.
4. Bravely Second: End Layer ; I just enjoy the battle system and art style too much not to put this game here. Can't wait for Project Octo-whatsitsface
5. Final Fantasy XV ; Its a mess. It really is. But its a fun mess, so it definitely makes the list. Plus it is a good looking game, wow.
6. Tricky Towers ; I really shouldn't put this game on here. Its really not a good game. It makes me sad as a Tetris game, but its just too fun with friends. Without friends, it gets stale quickly. Special Puzzle mode is really the only good mode, and it is REALLY good.
7. Super Mario Run ; This is how you make a mobile game, imo. No obnoxious micro-transactions, endless replayability. Super fun.
My Top 5
1. The House in Fata Morgana ; I played two VN in 2016, and was blown away by both of them. I didn't realise just how gripping a good narrative could be even when you stripped all the gameplay out of them. If you're someone who LOVES a good story then there's no reason not to play SteinsGate and The House in Fata Morgana. Even if you have reservations about a game with no gameplay, I would say that these games succeed because they focus purely on the narrative.
The story is complex here, but it starts fairly simple. You wake up in a house and there's a maid. You've lost your memory of why you are there and the maid is there to help you remember. She leads you through different doors to show you stories from the mansion's past including people who lived in it hoping that you'll remember yourself. With each chapter, the story adds more and more layers and gets more complex but still relatively easy to follow. Its 30 hours of quality reading! Please try it everyone!
2. The Witness ; The Witness is strangely enough, the pure opposite of The House in Fata Morgana. There are no words here, and the player is isolated on his lonesome through out the game. It's a game built around a really simple concept, its a puzzle game that explores the enormous variation from line puzzles and also the ability to communicate concepts without words. It'll show you one puzzle, and the with each iteration, offer a variation. That ability to communicate without words is so intriguing. The game never tells you anything in words or gives hints how to solve it, but the design of the game is careful enough to make sure its solvable if the gamer is genuinely playing along.
3. Overwatch ; While some aspects like characters, maps and art design of Overwatch seem purely designed to hit a specific type of gamer and maximise sales which I didn't really like, I can't deny this game isn't fun and that its one of the if not THE most polished game of the year. That Blizzard detail to every aspect of the game is incredible and many games fall way below that. Sadly I didn't play it as much as I wanted to because I get motion sickness quite easily, but I enjoyed every minute I played.
4. Grand Kingdom ; This game is so close to being the complete package that its a little frustrating. The battle system, the items, the skills and the art work is OUTSTANDING. But the other aspects fail to tie this together. Namely the story is completely unconvincing and a waste of time (so far). I am also unsold on the whole board game/map thing that I move my character piece around before getting into a battle. I think the game would work way better as a traditional RPG where you move your character around in a 3D space like Final Fantasy and then the actual battle could remain as it is in 2D.
But as I said the battle system is really fun and although it is turn based, the battles have a real time element where each character needs to mash or time his presses to attack the enemy. For the characters that need to time their presses like the mage, its easy to miss the enemy and waste a turn so you have to be on your toes all the time. The game is also centred around an online war waged between 4 factions, although I haven't spent much time in that, I wonder how long that will last considering the small sales of the game.
5. The Division ; The Division is a curious game, its a very competent shooter, but its too repetitive for its own good. There are some terrible roadblocks where you have to do side missions to get up to the recommended level for the main story, which is very annoying, but obviously if you're enjoying the game its not a big issue.
However when this game out, the graphics were simply stunning and the art direction was also amazing. While I now think the whole apocalyptic look is a bit too overdone in this game (there's just too much trash), its still kinda incredible the amount of work the developers put into the game.
Other games I played in 2016 not necessarily honorable mentions or games released in 2016.
Stellaris - Wins the award for most disappointing game of the year. I was really looking forward to some 4X action, but what I got was micro management and mining resources for the first 10 hours. I'll go back one day and replay it, but im holding back on this and playing EUIV and CK2 instead.
Yakuza 5 - This game was on the GOTY eligible games spreadsheet but i'm pretty sure it released in 2015 not 2016 so I won't vote for it but I'll talk about it here. I'm a huge Yakuza fan, so this is what I played most of 2016. However I'm going to say the main story at least was somewhat disappointing. Part 2 was a complete waste of time, and Part 3 took forever to get going and outstayed its welcome. Otherwise I really loved every other aspect of the game. Yakuza 5 was a bloaty game but ignoring those two parts, there was still a tremendous game around it.
SteinsGate - This game was released on Steam on 2016, and I played it this year on Vita. I'm sad I can't vote for it, because it's easily in my Top 10 of games of all time. Maybe even Top 5. Here's my review on my blog. It's a VN. There's no gameplay. But a tremendous narrative that's fun the entire way through, with some great twists and turns in the story that gets deeper and more detailed as you go. It has a huge fan following because its just the best god damn VN and best story ever to grace a game. Try it!
1. The House in Fata Morgana ; I played two VN in 2016, and was blown away by both of them. I didn't realise just how gripping a good narrative could be even when you stripped all the gameplay out of them. If you're someone who LOVES a good story then there's no reason not to play SteinsGate and The House in Fata Morgana. Even if you have reservations about a game with no gameplay, I would say that these games succeed because they focus purely on the narrative.
The story is complex here, but it starts fairly simple. You wake up in a house and there's a maid. You've lost your memory of why you are there and the maid is there to help you remember. She leads you through different doors to show you stories from the mansion's past including people who lived in it hoping that you'll remember yourself. With each chapter, the story adds more and more layers and gets more complex but still relatively easy to follow. Its 30 hours of quality reading! Please try it everyone!
2. The Witness ; The Witness is strangely enough, the pure opposite of The House in Fata Morgana. There are no words here, and the player is isolated on his lonesome through out the game. It's a game built around a really simple concept, its a puzzle game that explores the enormous variation from line puzzles and also the ability to communicate concepts without words. It'll show you one puzzle, and the with each iteration, offer a variation. That ability to communicate without words is so intriguing. The game never tells you anything in words or gives hints how to solve it, but the design of the game is careful enough to make sure its solvable if the gamer is genuinely playing along.
3. Overwatch ; While some aspects like characters, maps and art design of Overwatch seem purely designed to hit a specific type of gamer and maximise sales which I didn't really like, I can't deny this game isn't fun and that its one of the if not THE most polished game of the year. That Blizzard detail to every aspect of the game is incredible and many games fall way below that. Sadly I didn't play it as much as I wanted to because I get motion sickness quite easily, but I enjoyed every minute I played.
4. Grand Kingdom ; This game is so close to being the complete package that its a little frustrating. The battle system, the items, the skills and the art work is OUTSTANDING. But the other aspects fail to tie this together. Namely the story is completely unconvincing and a waste of time (so far). I am also unsold on the whole board game/map thing that I move my character piece around before getting into a battle. I think the game would work way better as a traditional RPG where you move your character around in a 3D space like Final Fantasy and then the actual battle could remain as it is in 2D.
But as I said the battle system is really fun and although it is turn based, the battles have a real time element where each character needs to mash or time his presses to attack the enemy. For the characters that need to time their presses like the mage, its easy to miss the enemy and waste a turn so you have to be on your toes all the time. The game is also centred around an online war waged between 4 factions, although I haven't spent much time in that, I wonder how long that will last considering the small sales of the game.
5. The Division ; The Division is a curious game, its a very competent shooter, but its too repetitive for its own good. There are some terrible roadblocks where you have to do side missions to get up to the recommended level for the main story, which is very annoying, but obviously if you're enjoying the game its not a big issue.
However when this game out, the graphics were simply stunning and the art direction was also amazing. While I now think the whole apocalyptic look is a bit too overdone in this game (there's just too much trash), its still kinda incredible the amount of work the developers put into the game.
Other games I played in 2016 not necessarily honorable mentions or games released in 2016.
Stellaris - Wins the award for most disappointing game of the year. I was really looking forward to some 4X action, but what I got was micro management and mining resources for the first 10 hours. I'll go back one day and replay it, but im holding back on this and playing EUIV and CK2 instead.
Yakuza 5 - This game was on the GOTY eligible games spreadsheet but i'm pretty sure it released in 2015 not 2016 so I won't vote for it but I'll talk about it here. I'm a huge Yakuza fan, so this is what I played most of 2016. However I'm going to say the main story at least was somewhat disappointing. Part 2 was a complete waste of time, and Part 3 took forever to get going and outstayed its welcome. Otherwise I really loved every other aspect of the game. Yakuza 5 was a bloaty game but ignoring those two parts, there was still a tremendous game around it.
SteinsGate - This game was released on Steam on 2016, and I played it this year on Vita. I'm sad I can't vote for it, because it's easily in my Top 10 of games of all time. Maybe even Top 5. Here's my review on my blog. It's a VN. There's no gameplay. But a tremendous narrative that's fun the entire way through, with some great twists and turns in the story that gets deeper and more detailed as you go. It has a huge fan following because its just the best god damn VN and best story ever to grace a game. Try it!
NavyPharaoh
Member
X. Mafia 3 ; The story and presentation are some of the best I've ever witnessed in a game. Yet the repetitiveness of the game keeps it out of the top 10. There was a lot a loved about this game but the lazy design wasn't one of them
X. X-Com 2 ; improves on the original in every way BUT the timers and the increase RNG make it a bit too random for my liking. A shame cause I really loved a lot of the things they did with the sequel
X. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir ; Only have spent 3 hours with it or it would've ranked higher. This is everything I wanted the original to be. I remember playing the original confused by its clunkiness. Now it plays like Dragon's Crown yet retains all Its RPG goodness.
10. Titanfall 2 ; I think it would've ranked higher had not the hype on here been so high. I liked the campaign and it had a lot of great moments but calling it the best FPS since Half-Life 2? I didn't care for the story and the Titan vs Titan battles didn't come off as they were built up to. I didn't play the MP so excuse that fact as well.
9. Ratchet and Clank ; I enjoyed every minute of this game. Full of fun and the only reason I placed it this low is because it's basically a remake, the weapon were mostly rehashed but I loved the story improvements.
8. Inside ; loved its puzzles and world. Even though I'm not a fan of "open to interpretation" media, this message rung true to my heart with all that's going on in society.
7. Watchdogs 2 ; as equally if not more of an open world puzzle game as action game. The Ubisoft fluff isn't just go here, pick up that. More along the lines of here's the thing, now how do u get to it? Also I love Marcus and DeadSec, the game never takes itself too seriously. The lighthearted shenanigans really make DeadSec feel like a team of misfits.
6. Final Fantasy XV ; Haven't finished it so it could be higher or lower. The story isn't great, the JRPG tropes are still there. Prompto is the most annoying character in gaming history. "A new Recipe!" Heard for the 20th time made me turn the language to Japanese, but despite that I've enjoyed everything else about the game. Combat was the thing I was skeptical of the most and it's the thing I love the most. Camping and exploring are also well done in this extravaganza. Final Fantasy is back.
5. Uncharted 4 ; the most beautiful, detailed game I've ever played. However the long automated climbing segments are the reason this fell so low.
4. Witcher 3: Blood & Wine ; finest expansion I've ever played. Add that on to one of the greatest games I've ever played and the only reason it's not higher is because it's not a new game.
3. Hyper Light Drifter ; Was anticipating this game highly then upon release obtuse & hard were the words that filled the comments. Now I'm not a fan of using wikis or asking for help to complete a game so the hype died inside me. Then came a psn sale when I bit. I don't know why obtuse and souls-like is even mentioned with this game. This is the finest indie game I've prolly ever played. If not it's up there with Bastion & Transistor as my favorite. The world, the gameplay, the weapons, are all familiar yet unique. Zelda is one of my favorite franchises and I would call this a futuristic homage. Not to mention there are secrets galore and each one has a tell, the Way secrets should be! Can't recommend this high enough
2. Doom ; What can I say about Doom that hasn't already been said? Gameplay is king and The king is back. Playing the Orchestra of death has never felt better in an FPS. I did tire of it by the end but that doesn't take away from its greatness
1. Dishonored 2 ; One of my most anticipated games, but after the E3 demo I wasn't even excited anymore. How stupid of me? The design of this game is a masterwork, not just the level design but the complexity when u think of having 2 different move sets to a game with countless options on how to play. I can't lie, I sometimes get brain overload trying to figure out what I want to do to my enemies. An offspring to the great Bio-shock yet it is its own thing, it improves upon the original in every way. Arkane is rising quickly up my top devs list. A worthy King for 2016
X. X-Com 2 ; improves on the original in every way BUT the timers and the increase RNG make it a bit too random for my liking. A shame cause I really loved a lot of the things they did with the sequel
X. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir ; Only have spent 3 hours with it or it would've ranked higher. This is everything I wanted the original to be. I remember playing the original confused by its clunkiness. Now it plays like Dragon's Crown yet retains all Its RPG goodness.
10. Titanfall 2 ; I think it would've ranked higher had not the hype on here been so high. I liked the campaign and it had a lot of great moments but calling it the best FPS since Half-Life 2? I didn't care for the story and the Titan vs Titan battles didn't come off as they were built up to. I didn't play the MP so excuse that fact as well.
9. Ratchet and Clank ; I enjoyed every minute of this game. Full of fun and the only reason I placed it this low is because it's basically a remake, the weapon were mostly rehashed but I loved the story improvements.
8. Inside ; loved its puzzles and world. Even though I'm not a fan of "open to interpretation" media, this message rung true to my heart with all that's going on in society.
7. Watchdogs 2 ; as equally if not more of an open world puzzle game as action game. The Ubisoft fluff isn't just go here, pick up that. More along the lines of here's the thing, now how do u get to it? Also I love Marcus and DeadSec, the game never takes itself too seriously. The lighthearted shenanigans really make DeadSec feel like a team of misfits.
6. Final Fantasy XV ; Haven't finished it so it could be higher or lower. The story isn't great, the JRPG tropes are still there. Prompto is the most annoying character in gaming history. "A new Recipe!" Heard for the 20th time made me turn the language to Japanese, but despite that I've enjoyed everything else about the game. Combat was the thing I was skeptical of the most and it's the thing I love the most. Camping and exploring are also well done in this extravaganza. Final Fantasy is back.
5. Uncharted 4 ; the most beautiful, detailed game I've ever played. However the long automated climbing segments are the reason this fell so low.
4. Witcher 3: Blood & Wine ; finest expansion I've ever played. Add that on to one of the greatest games I've ever played and the only reason it's not higher is because it's not a new game.
3. Hyper Light Drifter ; Was anticipating this game highly then upon release obtuse & hard were the words that filled the comments. Now I'm not a fan of using wikis or asking for help to complete a game so the hype died inside me. Then came a psn sale when I bit. I don't know why obtuse and souls-like is even mentioned with this game. This is the finest indie game I've prolly ever played. If not it's up there with Bastion & Transistor as my favorite. The world, the gameplay, the weapons, are all familiar yet unique. Zelda is one of my favorite franchises and I would call this a futuristic homage. Not to mention there are secrets galore and each one has a tell, the Way secrets should be! Can't recommend this high enough
2. Doom ; What can I say about Doom that hasn't already been said? Gameplay is king and The king is back. Playing the Orchestra of death has never felt better in an FPS. I did tire of it by the end but that doesn't take away from its greatness
1. Dishonored 2 ; One of my most anticipated games, but after the E3 demo I wasn't even excited anymore. How stupid of me? The design of this game is a masterwork, not just the level design but the complexity when u think of having 2 different move sets to a game with countless options on how to play. I can't lie, I sometimes get brain overload trying to figure out what I want to do to my enemies. An offspring to the great Bio-shock yet it is its own thing, it improves upon the original in every way. Arkane is rising quickly up my top devs list. A worthy King for 2016
1. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; Pokémon Red was the first game I ever played, so I've always been a fan. I still remember the moment when me and my brother got our weird and stylish Game Boys and Red for me and Blue for him. This series means a lot for me and between all entries I'm sure I've played thousands of hours of it. Even so, it's really weird how much I enjoyed this one.
I feel confident in saying that Pokémon Sun/Moon is the best one in the series. It has everything that I hoped from it. The amazing soundtrack I've come to expect, great new Pokémon, the weird and quirky writing. The plot and it's characters came as a pleasant surprise too, deviating from it's usual blandness and hitting very emotional and real keys. Never expected to actually get emotional with the ending of a Pokémon game. I really wanted to spend more time in Alola with Hau and Lillie.
It's great to have a Pokémon game at the top of my list.
2. Overwatch ; Not much to say about Overwatch at this point. The game has been praised enough already.
It's fast-paced, tightly controlled, intuitive integration with sound design, incredibly polished, good community and above all, it's fun to play.
3. The Legend of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel 2 ; Discovered this series recently and had a lot of fun with this one.
The plan was to rush through the first one just before launch to play this one right away. Midway into it, I thought "JRPG fatigue" would get to me (especially since I went for the platinum trophy), but right after starting TGS2 I changed my mind. The game acknowledges that you played the first one and spices up the formula, giving you a drastically different and entertaining game flow. Combat is great, sound is great, writing is great and the world building is out of this world. I've never been this engrossed in a game series lore like this. Really looking forward to playing more games from it.
4. Dragon Quest Builders ; I was putting this game off for quite some time, avoiding it in fear of the "base building" or "housing" aspect of it. I'm glad I read more impressions that managed to change my mind and finally go for it.
The base building aspect is definitely here, but coupled with a real gameplay dynamic that guides you through it and keeps it always interesting. The Dragon Quest charm is also really strong, with some of the "best dialogues" I've seen. I recommend this to any fan of the series and anyone looking to get into it.
5. Doom ; Also took quite some time to start playing this. Never got to actually play this series, but I knew it's charm and was looking forward to this, especially after the high praise it got.
I don't expect much from first person shooters. I normally just dive in with not much thought and have fun with it. Doom is the perfect game for doing just that. It's not complex and doesn't have any special mechanics, you just get some pretty standard weapons and go to town. It's incredible how tight the gameplay flows and plays. With each encounter the game gets harsher and quicker, with a great cast of demons for you to have fun with.
6. The Last Guardian ; It's impossible not to mention how badly actually playing the game is. You're struggling with the controls the entire time. Nothing is easily feasible, be it throwing a barrel or jumping off a rope/chain. Trico has a hard time following orders and more often than not will take half a minute to start doing what you asked. Game has frame rate issues and looks absolutely dated. It's not an overreaction to say it is a PS3 game that had it's core finished a long time ago.
Thus, having this game here is a testament of how much it's narrative involved me. An enticing plot in a mysterious world with simplistic but sympathetic characters were par for the course, but the game is also riddled with amazing set pieces and has a great soundtrack.
It's a hard recommendation and I was sure, while playing it, that it wouldn't get into my list, but it is a great experience for those willing to look past it's (many) flaws.
7. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir ; Felt great to finally complete this game in this immensely improved version. Most of the flaws that this PS2 classic had were fixed, at least partially, and it shows. Gameplay feels just right it this one, albeit a bit unbalanced at times, no matter the difficulty. It's also of note how you can also play the original version.
I enjoyed my time with this so much that I even made a guide for it, despite being horrible at formatting and writing extensively. I'm happy with how it turned out and also looking forward to more Vanillaware.
8. Street Fighter V; A great fighting game inside a terrible product. Almost everything aside from the core gameplay of this are wrong and should've been better implemented. Messy and ugly UI, lack of modes, bad netcode, bad launch, bad online moderation and I could go on.
Despite all that, even I, that suck at fighting games, can see that It's very fun to actually play. I still hope that it can turn it all around.
9. Final Fantasy XV ; I was expecting much more, so this is definitely a disappointment for me, but still a good game in it's own merits. It's hard to get into few words how I feel about it, but I will say that I enjoyed most of my time with it, even if I can criticize almost every aspect of it.
10. Uncharted 4 ; My favorite Uncharted game. It has great set pieces, great visuals with insane attention to detail, good enough combat and a surprisingly neat ending. It suffers a lot from weird pacing though. Plus, it was too much more of the same for me to rank it high.
I feel confident in saying that Pokémon Sun/Moon is the best one in the series. It has everything that I hoped from it. The amazing soundtrack I've come to expect, great new Pokémon, the weird and quirky writing. The plot and it's characters came as a pleasant surprise too, deviating from it's usual blandness and hitting very emotional and real keys. Never expected to actually get emotional with the ending of a Pokémon game. I really wanted to spend more time in Alola with Hau and Lillie.
It's great to have a Pokémon game at the top of my list.
2. Overwatch ; Not much to say about Overwatch at this point. The game has been praised enough already.
It's fast-paced, tightly controlled, intuitive integration with sound design, incredibly polished, good community and above all, it's fun to play.
3. The Legend of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel 2 ; Discovered this series recently and had a lot of fun with this one.
The plan was to rush through the first one just before launch to play this one right away. Midway into it, I thought "JRPG fatigue" would get to me (especially since I went for the platinum trophy), but right after starting TGS2 I changed my mind. The game acknowledges that you played the first one and spices up the formula, giving you a drastically different and entertaining game flow. Combat is great, sound is great, writing is great and the world building is out of this world. I've never been this engrossed in a game series lore like this. Really looking forward to playing more games from it.
4. Dragon Quest Builders ; I was putting this game off for quite some time, avoiding it in fear of the "base building" or "housing" aspect of it. I'm glad I read more impressions that managed to change my mind and finally go for it.
The base building aspect is definitely here, but coupled with a real gameplay dynamic that guides you through it and keeps it always interesting. The Dragon Quest charm is also really strong, with some of the "best dialogues" I've seen. I recommend this to any fan of the series and anyone looking to get into it.
5. Doom ; Also took quite some time to start playing this. Never got to actually play this series, but I knew it's charm and was looking forward to this, especially after the high praise it got.
I don't expect much from first person shooters. I normally just dive in with not much thought and have fun with it. Doom is the perfect game for doing just that. It's not complex and doesn't have any special mechanics, you just get some pretty standard weapons and go to town. It's incredible how tight the gameplay flows and plays. With each encounter the game gets harsher and quicker, with a great cast of demons for you to have fun with.
6. The Last Guardian ; It's impossible not to mention how badly actually playing the game is. You're struggling with the controls the entire time. Nothing is easily feasible, be it throwing a barrel or jumping off a rope/chain. Trico has a hard time following orders and more often than not will take half a minute to start doing what you asked. Game has frame rate issues and looks absolutely dated. It's not an overreaction to say it is a PS3 game that had it's core finished a long time ago.
Thus, having this game here is a testament of how much it's narrative involved me. An enticing plot in a mysterious world with simplistic but sympathetic characters were par for the course, but the game is also riddled with amazing set pieces and has a great soundtrack.
It's a hard recommendation and I was sure, while playing it, that it wouldn't get into my list, but it is a great experience for those willing to look past it's (many) flaws.
7. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir ; Felt great to finally complete this game in this immensely improved version. Most of the flaws that this PS2 classic had were fixed, at least partially, and it shows. Gameplay feels just right it this one, albeit a bit unbalanced at times, no matter the difficulty. It's also of note how you can also play the original version.
I enjoyed my time with this so much that I even made a guide for it, despite being horrible at formatting and writing extensively. I'm happy with how it turned out and also looking forward to more Vanillaware.
8. Street Fighter V; A great fighting game inside a terrible product. Almost everything aside from the core gameplay of this are wrong and should've been better implemented. Messy and ugly UI, lack of modes, bad netcode, bad launch, bad online moderation and I could go on.
Despite all that, even I, that suck at fighting games, can see that It's very fun to actually play. I still hope that it can turn it all around.
9. Final Fantasy XV ; I was expecting much more, so this is definitely a disappointment for me, but still a good game in it's own merits. It's hard to get into few words how I feel about it, but I will say that I enjoyed most of my time with it, even if I can criticize almost every aspect of it.
10. Uncharted 4 ; My favorite Uncharted game. It has great set pieces, great visuals with insane attention to detail, good enough combat and a surprisingly neat ending. It suffers a lot from weird pacing though. Plus, it was too much more of the same for me to rank it high.
1. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse ; Probably the best Shin Megami Tensei out there. It improves the few shortcomings of the already fantastic SMTIV and delivers one of the best rpgs on a portable, or any console for that matter.
2. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; A spectacular conclusion to one of the best tales in gaming.
3. Dishonored 2 ; A blast to play from beginning to end. Amazing art direction and stealth / action gameplay that rewards creativity.
4. Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright ; One of the biggest adventures you'll see on a portable. Fantastic strategy gameplay that shines thanks to the vastly improved maps.
5. FIFA 17 ; The Journey was one of my favorite experiences of the year. I really hope EA keeps this feature on upcoming games.
6. Uncharted 4, ; A memorable finale to Nate's journey.
7. Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest ; Same as Birthright, but mind crushingly difficult.
8. Batman: The Telltale Series ; The usual telltale stuff, but it was very enjoyable nonetheless.
9. Doom ; Haven't had the time to play it as much as I'd like, but it is the type of game I love (pure arcadey fun).
10. Pokemon GO ; It deserves a spot, because when it came out, it was an experience unlike anything else. Still playing it and getting enjoyment out of it.
2. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; A spectacular conclusion to one of the best tales in gaming.
3. Dishonored 2 ; A blast to play from beginning to end. Amazing art direction and stealth / action gameplay that rewards creativity.
4. Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright ; One of the biggest adventures you'll see on a portable. Fantastic strategy gameplay that shines thanks to the vastly improved maps.
5. FIFA 17 ; The Journey was one of my favorite experiences of the year. I really hope EA keeps this feature on upcoming games.
6. Uncharted 4, ; A memorable finale to Nate's journey.
7. Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest ; Same as Birthright, but mind crushingly difficult.
8. Batman: The Telltale Series ; The usual telltale stuff, but it was very enjoyable nonetheless.
9. Doom ; Haven't had the time to play it as much as I'd like, but it is the type of game I love (pure arcadey fun).
10. Pokemon GO ; It deserves a spot, because when it came out, it was an experience unlike anything else. Still playing it and getting enjoyment out of it.
I enjoy the Game of the Year festivities, as it's a time to appreciate and reflect on the games from the past year. 2015 was the first time I put together one of these lists and was able to get a full 10 games on there, and 2016 is the first time I really struggled to get a list down to 10 games (as evidenced by the number of honorable mentions down below). And while I did not have any difficulties putting together a list, I do wish there were just a few more games I could have gotten around to playing. Witcher 3: Blood and Wine (my GOTY from last year!), Dishonored 2, The Last Guardian, and Hitman were sadly games I just didn't get around to playing a whole lot of, and all sound like fantastic experiences. But it's great to know that even in 2017, I still have some great 2016 games left to experience. But without further ado, I present my list for the best 2016 games that I played.
1. Uncharted 4 ; Uncharted 4 is not a game I thought I needed. I was thoroughly satisfied with PS3 trilogy and would have been than happy to see Naughty Dog work on a new series. When it was announced, I knew I would play it (I am a fan of the series after all) and probably enjoy it, but I didn't really expect to love it as much as I actually did.
One thing that affected how I view Uncharted 4 is that I also replayed Uncharted 2 just prior to Uncharted 4 (thanks to the Nathan Drake Collection). And if I hadn't, I'm not sure I would have fully appreciated all the improvements to gameplay this made over its predecessors. Uncharted 2's combat encounters in the final 30-40% of that game could be flat out exhausting. They just throw wave after wave of enemies at you seemingly every 5 minutes. It made me appreciate that Uncharted 4's combat scenarios are just so much better balanced. Even in more hectic fights, the areas tend to be big enough that even if enemies start going after you, you can maneuver around to a new vantage point or even have enemies lose track of you. UC4 to me does a much better job incentivizing you to get out of cover (beyond the old trick of enemies lobbing grenades to flush you out) by opening up the environment so you can better use it to your advantage to flank enemies and also to get out of harm's way. It may not be the best third person shooter I've ever played, but coming off the Nathan Drake Collection, I can definitely see how much they've improved it, and I definitely had a lot more fun with the combat in this game than I had with any prior Uncharted game. Exception being
.
But I can't wrap up my thoughts on Uncharted 4 without touching on the writing. I feel this series has always been at its best when it's made you care about it's characters, and how they play off one another. Uncharted 4 introduces quite a few new characters into the mix, and while introducing Drake's brother this late into the series may seem "forced", I do feel the game does a great job introducing him without feeling sudden or rushed. Every character (new or old) felt like they had a purpose that helped move the story forward. But perhaps my favorite moments of the story are between Drake and Elena. Without spoiling to much of it, I like there are consequences to Drake's action, and also how Elena ultimately responds to those actions through the course of the story. If I could put it very simply, the relations between Nate, Elena, and Sully felt genuine, in a way most games are not able to pull off with their protagonists.
2. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Hide in the shadows and don't kill anyone. That was my goal playing a game like Mankind Divided, and it was one of the most fun stealth games I've played in recent memory. As far as the main narrative, I definitely can see the complaints of it being underwhelming. Without delving too much into spoilers, it does feel like a game that ends with far more questions than meaningful answers. However, I was alright with that since it does make me curious to see where they go with all this in the next game. Writing wise, I do think the side missions were the bigger highlight of the game for me, and again trying to avoid spoilers, it does make me wish the main story leaned a bit harder into some of the stronger cyber punk themes presented in a certain side mission.
I did like Prague a lot, and it did feel very believable as a very-near-future city dealing with the 'aug' prejudices. The concept of it may not be as interesting as Hengsha from HR (I loved the idea of a city getting too big for itself so someone decided to build a '2-story city') but I still enjoyed exploring it. Like others have said in the OT, I do wish there was at least one more hub in the game of comparable size to Prague. I find their cyber punk world quite interesting and I'd love to see their interpretation of what other cities would look like in this Deus Ex world. In general, I just feel there's isn't enough sci-fi (particularly games set in futuristic cities and worlds) in modern AAA releases, and I'm glad to series like Deus Ex and Mass Effect carry the torch for now.
3. Forza Horizon 3 ; As someone who's always tried to get into racing games, and has always fallen off of them after a few hours (I appreciated what FH2 was doing but it was the same story for me), the fact I have nearly 30 hours in FH3 is just a pleasant surprise. In some regards, I look at it less as a racing game and more as an open world game with a ton of environment variety (and the DLC adds even more with snow) that's it's just such a pleasure to drive around their recreation of Australia. The Tony Hawk-esque scoring system to rack up points has also had me hold off putting down the controller on several occasions, just so I could earn enough to grab another skill point or level up. I also think the open world nature of the Horizon series with all the activities scattered around the world make it feel at home for someone who enjoys open world games.
After all these years, I'm really glad I found a racing game that really clicked for me.
4. Gears of War 4 ; If someone were to ask me what the best third person shooter is, I'd be hard pressed to look past the Gears of War series. With it's finely tuned shooting mechanics, active reloading, and immensely satisfying arsenal of weapons, it's not hard to see why the series defined the cover shooter last generation.
So it was no small task for a new studio to take up that mantle and continue the legacy of the franchise into a new generation. Truthfully, Gears of War 4 may not be the revolution that Gears of War 1 was in its day, but it still manages to keep what made the series great. The campaign was every bit as fun as its predecessors, and also introduced a cast of characters that was more interesting to me than the original Gears crew. I liked the refined banter between characters during missions, and appreciated how the conversations made me more interested in the characters and what happened to them (not unlike the Uncharted series). Outside of that, I am also enjoying the enhanced Horde mode, and adding classes and skills adds a new dynamic to the mode that has had me coming back to it along with some of my friends.
5. Watch Dogs 2 ; Watch Dogs 2 starts with a relatively simple premise- Hackers who take it upon themselves to use their abilities to "inform the public" on the evils of Big Data- and merges it with a fairly light-hearted tone. This allows for a lot of spontaneity in terms of mission premises. I like how it allows them to do a group of missions tackling their in-game Scientology equivalent while another takes on Big Data in a smart home company. The light-hearted nature of it also allows side missions like helping the underdog University win their go kart race tournament or
to fit in without feeling out of place in an otherwise super serious story. As a result, I don't necessarily mind if the story doesn't build up to something immediately. It feels like the Deadsec crew is figuring things out as they go, and I'm having fun being along for the ride. I like to think something like the Haum missions start because Wrench randomly stumbles upon the CEO interview and is both annoyed and amused at the dig at Deadsec, rather than some carefully thought out and multi-faceted long-term plan to take down Big Data. To me, it makes the story feel a bit more natural especially for the group of characters involved.
Watch Dogs 2 is a whirlwind tour of recent hot button tech news and issues. In my time playing the game, I've run into main and side missions dealing with Scientology, 'Ubers vs. cabs', Swatting, Smart Homes and Big Data, Crime Prediction algorithms. There are parts of the story that feel a bit strange (I haven't finished the game, but it feels a bit convenient that DeadSec is almost automatically trusted as the 'good guys' when they potentially have as much access to data as the evil big companies), but I feel it still works as the story and its characters are still self-aware. The cast of protagonists each have their own quirks and I felt the characters played off one another quite well. I wouldn't mind another Watch Dogs game with this crew. I also found the game opened up much more when I decided to play it less like a GTA with shooting guns and more with my drone and RC bot to infiltrate areas without Marcus being seen. It helped the game stand out from its open world contemporaries.
Whenever I sit down to play Watch Dogs 2, there's never a dearth of things to do. The main missions are fun and there's a surprisingly strong set of side missions as well. It's not perfect (the scarcity of mid-mission checkpoints make the penalty for failing missions oddly harsh), but overall there's just a lot for me to love.
Cue Doom music
6. Doom ; As someone who never really played Doom back in the day, I find myself comparing and contrasting this game to the regenerating health/cover-based shooter I am normally accustomed to playing (and also enjoy quite a bit). Doom 2016 is fast-paced, frantic, and encourages you to constantly be on the move. There's no sticking to cover, and staying in the same spot for more than a few seconds is a fantastic way to lose all your health. Enemies gang up on you and even on Normal, you can lose health very quickly. The game feels like a careful balance of using your power weapons to kill the big baddies as fast as possible while running around the level like a mad man to get health pick ups, boosts, ammo, glory kills, and essentially whatever it takes it to stay in the fight. And when everything's clicking, it's hard to deny the incredible badass feeling you get from making minced meat of the most vile creatures of hell. The story is also smartly presented and provides just enough context to make sense of what you're doing and where you need to go next.
Along with that, another thing I'd like to applaud in this game is the fantastic metal opera that plays as you slay demons. I normally don't consider myself a fan of Metal, but it's impossible for me to deny how perfectly suited the music is to the sheer brutality occurring on the screen.
7. Inside ; The atmosphere of Inside is a tad creepy, a bit unsettling, all the while being completely mysterious as to what exactly is going on. I can certainly understand why people don't like that level of ambiguity, and that's fine. But I also believe there's a place for a story to establish a theme, present a series of events, and have the player interpret what they think happened. Some will just say 'meh' and move on, but thinking in my mind of what exactly happened, reading what other people wrote in the spoiler thread and other articles is just something I really enjoy being a part of the conversation for. Some people may argue the game lacks enough substance and therefore so many theories can come out of what happened in it, but instead I'd say that the theories can go as deep as the symbolism you want to apply each moment. And personally, I find it really fascinating that it can be versatile enough to accommodate that.
In terms of the actual gameplay, I really like that the game doesn't have any on-screen prompts or instructions aimed specifically to the player. The controls are simple enough to figure out, and the challenge comes in figuring out the environment for clues in each puzzle.
Inside can be a polarizing game, but it also reminds me of what I love about video games. Not just as something to experience and react to, but also as something that provokes thought and discussion.
8. Pokemon Sun ; Pokemon is a series that holds a lot of nostalgia for me. In 1999 when I played Pokemon Blue, it was the first video game I played for longer than 5 hours. It was the first video game that engaged me and kept me entertained for months to come. It was the first game that made me feel like a "gamer" and helped to open my mind to try other RPG's.
As much as I've loved Pokemon over the years, it's hard to deny the series hadn't fallen to building off the template. Beat 8 Gym leaders, Beat the bad guys, and beat the Elite 4, and you've essentially hit the big plot points of a typical main entry Pokemon game. As someone who's played these game for what's now approaching 20 years, it becomes easy to go through the motions. And While Sun and Moon don't completely deviate off this formula, the changes it makes to this system are a welcome change of pace. Arriving at a new island in the game was exciting because I had no idea how many island challenges/trials I had left and how close I was to the end (to be fair, I am still playing through the game as of this writing). I also enjoy Alola, which feels like it's been designed to show a world that's been built by the help of strong companionship between humans and their Pokemon.
Yes, the game is still about Pokemon battles and building a strong team of Pokemon, but the changes made make the formula unpredictable and fresh, in a way I just haven't felt since playing Pokemon Blue so many years ago.
9. Quantum Break ; Similar to Alan Wake, I enjoyed the story a lot more than the gameplay. To Quantum Break's credit, I do think the gameplay has a lot more going for it than Wake's and I do like the variety in time powers. I felt I was mostly successful in being able to break out of the initial temptations of trying to play the game as a standard cover shooter, and rather to play to the strengths of the game's combat. At the same time, I never quite felt I was able to combo moves seamlessly from one to the next as much as I hoped I would. Playing through the game, I wondered whether I would enjoy the combat more if they had gotten rid of the guns and made it purely about power-based attacks. Then again, perhaps my brain just had a hard time balancing shooting and time powers to pull off super slick combat encounters.
As for the story, I really liked Quantum's Break's spin on the time travel tale with the notion of
, and that doesn't become 100% clear until the late stages of the game. Time travel stories obviously can get very messy and convoluted if the writers don't put much effort into filling in the plot holes, but to me at least, it felt Remedy did a very good job at not only making the whole thing come together, but also having it make sense.
The 4 live action episodes interspersed in the game felt pretty neat. Before playing the game I questioned how essential they'd actually feel to the story, but I really liked the idea of seeing what was going on in the world from the POV of other characters. I think one of the challenges in storytelling in video games is not every story beat necessarily lends itself to having good gameplay moments. And being able to tell parts of this story without that constraint was a neat concept (especially when small choices from the game could potentially add something minor to the live episode that made it feel ever so slightly personalized). I also liked how each Episode fit into a very specific part of the game, and each one was well integrated into what happened before in the game as well as helping to inform what came after. I think this format worked a lot better than say releasing all the episodes on Netflix and trying to piece out how it fit into the game on your own.
I have my doubts this format will catch on with other games, but I'm glad to see Remedy experiment with this.
10. Ratchet and Clank ; When I think of games like Ratchet and Clank, I can't help but think of the old "PS2 has Toy Story graphics" claims leading up to that console's release, and just how far graphics have come since then. R&C were beautiful games on the PS3, but it's spectacular just how good this new entry looks on a PS4 Pro. The presentation also works because the writing can be quite funny and entertaining as well.
But Ratchet 2016 is more than just a pretty game; it's also an incredibly fun one. While Sunset Overdrive remains my favorite game by Insomniac, I definitely appreciate the pedigree set forth by this series. Their games always have the best weapon variety, and most importantly, don't restrict you to a limited set of weapons at a given time. The game makes it incredibly satisfying to try out different weapons and find out which ones you like the best. I also like that there's a system to upgrade weapons with points on top of a system where they upgrade automatically the more they are used, so you always feel like your favorite weapons are getting better.
Honorable Mentions
x. Destiny ; if I was basing this list purely on number of hours played, Destiny would easily find a place on my Top 10. I played Destiny for the first time last year, and what it may lack in story, it does deliver on some of the most finely tuned FPS gameplay I've experienced on a console. But as most of my enjoyment of this game has come from content released prior to 2016 (such as the Taken King), I felt it was a reasonable compromise to have the game mentioned here instead.
x. The Division ; It's interesting to see the comparisons with this game and Destiny. While I don't think The Division is as strong of a third person shooter as Destiny is for FPS (though it is still quite good), I did find myself having a good time climbing the ranks to level 30. I actually enjoyed playing the game less for the main story (even though the main story missions are pretty solid for the most part) but rather as an explorer. I loved walking through the cold streets of a post-apoloytic NYC and finding various audio and text recordings of what happened in this world before, during, and after calamity struck. It's one of those things that makes the world feel 'lived in'. For whatever issues the post-game has, I did enjoy my time with it.
x. Call of Duty Infinite Warfare ; As I mentioned above with Deus Ex, I'm a sucker for stories that take place in the future. In Infinite Warfare, whether it's sneaking around in the middle of space and taking cover behind space rocks to infiltrate a spaceship, grappling straight onto enemies in space and planting a grenade on their dead corpse as it floats away, or space battles against gargantuan ships, I felt the game did a good job taking advantage of its setting. But besides that, I still think this campaign was more endearing than the last few CoD campaigns I played. Even if the game isn't quite long enough to fully flesh out the supporting cast, it did feel like there was just enough there throughout the game to make me
. And while I don't think side missions made this game that much longer than prior Call of Duty campaigns, it nonetheless helped to flesh out the world a bit by having some smaller missions that fit in parallel to the main narrative. In a sense, they made the game feel 'bigger' without it necessarily becoming a 'longer' game (if that makes any sense). As I eagerly await Mass Effect: Andromeda's release, it was nice to have another game set in space to play.
x. Overwatch ; I don't think I got into Overwatch as much as others, but I definitely appreciate the appeal. I do believe there's at least one character in this game for almost everyone, and that's no small accomplishment. It's a great game to pick and play for a few rounds after a long day of work.
x. Skyrim: Special Edition ; I already had 150 hours in 'original Skyrim', but the Special Edition got me to put in yet another 30 hours into Skyrim. It still amazes me how fast time can fly playing this game. I took the opportunity to try a new play style (stealthy archer mage) and take in the incredible world of Skyrim with as little fast traveling as possible to full appreciate the scope of the map. I look forward to coming back to it yet again once the mod support matures a bit further.
x. Firewatch ; I'm not sure this game hit as strongly for me as it did with others, but I will say the opening 5-10 minutes is among with the most effective storytelling I've seen in a game. Without the game starting in earnest, I felt I understood Henry and where he was coming from. It helped inform his personality, why he was in Wyoming, and empathize with what he was dealing with in his life. The story itself just didn't do a whole lot for me, but nonetheless I liked the moments between Henry and Delilah, and am glad to have experienced the game.
And that's a wrap. Here's to another fantastic year of gaming in 2017!
1. Uncharted 4 ; Uncharted 4 is not a game I thought I needed. I was thoroughly satisfied with PS3 trilogy and would have been than happy to see Naughty Dog work on a new series. When it was announced, I knew I would play it (I am a fan of the series after all) and probably enjoy it, but I didn't really expect to love it as much as I actually did.
One thing that affected how I view Uncharted 4 is that I also replayed Uncharted 2 just prior to Uncharted 4 (thanks to the Nathan Drake Collection). And if I hadn't, I'm not sure I would have fully appreciated all the improvements to gameplay this made over its predecessors. Uncharted 2's combat encounters in the final 30-40% of that game could be flat out exhausting. They just throw wave after wave of enemies at you seemingly every 5 minutes. It made me appreciate that Uncharted 4's combat scenarios are just so much better balanced. Even in more hectic fights, the areas tend to be big enough that even if enemies start going after you, you can maneuver around to a new vantage point or even have enemies lose track of you. UC4 to me does a much better job incentivizing you to get out of cover (beyond the old trick of enemies lobbing grenades to flush you out) by opening up the environment so you can better use it to your advantage to flank enemies and also to get out of harm's way. It may not be the best third person shooter I've ever played, but coming off the Nathan Drake Collection, I can definitely see how much they've improved it, and I definitely had a lot more fun with the combat in this game than I had with any prior Uncharted game. Exception being
the final boss battle, which IMO was just wonky. I failed a good 10 tries or so because I parried "wrong" and then randomly got it at the end even though I still missed a lot of parries. I'll just say Uncharted as a series never figured out boss battles, and it's kind of funny that the best one for me was Uncharted 3. Not because it was particularly exciting, but rather it was simply the least frustrating of the bunch.
But I can't wrap up my thoughts on Uncharted 4 without touching on the writing. I feel this series has always been at its best when it's made you care about it's characters, and how they play off one another. Uncharted 4 introduces quite a few new characters into the mix, and while introducing Drake's brother this late into the series may seem "forced", I do feel the game does a great job introducing him without feeling sudden or rushed. Every character (new or old) felt like they had a purpose that helped move the story forward. But perhaps my favorite moments of the story are between Drake and Elena. Without spoiling to much of it, I like there are consequences to Drake's action, and also how Elena ultimately responds to those actions through the course of the story. If I could put it very simply, the relations between Nate, Elena, and Sully felt genuine, in a way most games are not able to pull off with their protagonists.
2. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Hide in the shadows and don't kill anyone. That was my goal playing a game like Mankind Divided, and it was one of the most fun stealth games I've played in recent memory. As far as the main narrative, I definitely can see the complaints of it being underwhelming. Without delving too much into spoilers, it does feel like a game that ends with far more questions than meaningful answers. However, I was alright with that since it does make me curious to see where they go with all this in the next game. Writing wise, I do think the side missions were the bigger highlight of the game for me, and again trying to avoid spoilers, it does make me wish the main story leaned a bit harder into some of the stronger cyber punk themes presented in a certain side mission.
The Harvester/The Last Harvest
I did like Prague a lot, and it did feel very believable as a very-near-future city dealing with the 'aug' prejudices. The concept of it may not be as interesting as Hengsha from HR (I loved the idea of a city getting too big for itself so someone decided to build a '2-story city') but I still enjoyed exploring it. Like others have said in the OT, I do wish there was at least one more hub in the game of comparable size to Prague. I find their cyber punk world quite interesting and I'd love to see their interpretation of what other cities would look like in this Deus Ex world. In general, I just feel there's isn't enough sci-fi (particularly games set in futuristic cities and worlds) in modern AAA releases, and I'm glad to series like Deus Ex and Mass Effect carry the torch for now.
3. Forza Horizon 3 ; As someone who's always tried to get into racing games, and has always fallen off of them after a few hours (I appreciated what FH2 was doing but it was the same story for me), the fact I have nearly 30 hours in FH3 is just a pleasant surprise. In some regards, I look at it less as a racing game and more as an open world game with a ton of environment variety (and the DLC adds even more with snow) that's it's just such a pleasure to drive around their recreation of Australia. The Tony Hawk-esque scoring system to rack up points has also had me hold off putting down the controller on several occasions, just so I could earn enough to grab another skill point or level up. I also think the open world nature of the Horizon series with all the activities scattered around the world make it feel at home for someone who enjoys open world games.
After all these years, I'm really glad I found a racing game that really clicked for me.
4. Gears of War 4 ; If someone were to ask me what the best third person shooter is, I'd be hard pressed to look past the Gears of War series. With it's finely tuned shooting mechanics, active reloading, and immensely satisfying arsenal of weapons, it's not hard to see why the series defined the cover shooter last generation.
So it was no small task for a new studio to take up that mantle and continue the legacy of the franchise into a new generation. Truthfully, Gears of War 4 may not be the revolution that Gears of War 1 was in its day, but it still manages to keep what made the series great. The campaign was every bit as fun as its predecessors, and also introduced a cast of characters that was more interesting to me than the original Gears crew. I liked the refined banter between characters during missions, and appreciated how the conversations made me more interested in the characters and what happened to them (not unlike the Uncharted series). Outside of that, I am also enjoying the enhanced Horde mode, and adding classes and skills adds a new dynamic to the mode that has had me coming back to it along with some of my friends.
5. Watch Dogs 2 ; Watch Dogs 2 starts with a relatively simple premise- Hackers who take it upon themselves to use their abilities to "inform the public" on the evils of Big Data- and merges it with a fairly light-hearted tone. This allows for a lot of spontaneity in terms of mission premises. I like how it allows them to do a group of missions tackling their in-game Scientology equivalent while another takes on Big Data in a smart home company. The light-hearted nature of it also allows side missions like helping the underdog University win their go kart race tournament or
leaking an Ubisoft trailer
Watch Dogs 2 is a whirlwind tour of recent hot button tech news and issues. In my time playing the game, I've run into main and side missions dealing with Scientology, 'Ubers vs. cabs', Swatting, Smart Homes and Big Data, Crime Prediction algorithms. There are parts of the story that feel a bit strange (I haven't finished the game, but it feels a bit convenient that DeadSec is almost automatically trusted as the 'good guys' when they potentially have as much access to data as the evil big companies), but I feel it still works as the story and its characters are still self-aware. The cast of protagonists each have their own quirks and I felt the characters played off one another quite well. I wouldn't mind another Watch Dogs game with this crew. I also found the game opened up much more when I decided to play it less like a GTA with shooting guns and more with my drone and RC bot to infiltrate areas without Marcus being seen. It helped the game stand out from its open world contemporaries.
Whenever I sit down to play Watch Dogs 2, there's never a dearth of things to do. The main missions are fun and there's a surprisingly strong set of side missions as well. It's not perfect (the scarcity of mid-mission checkpoints make the penalty for failing missions oddly harsh), but overall there's just a lot for me to love.
Cue Doom music
6. Doom ; As someone who never really played Doom back in the day, I find myself comparing and contrasting this game to the regenerating health/cover-based shooter I am normally accustomed to playing (and also enjoy quite a bit). Doom 2016 is fast-paced, frantic, and encourages you to constantly be on the move. There's no sticking to cover, and staying in the same spot for more than a few seconds is a fantastic way to lose all your health. Enemies gang up on you and even on Normal, you can lose health very quickly. The game feels like a careful balance of using your power weapons to kill the big baddies as fast as possible while running around the level like a mad man to get health pick ups, boosts, ammo, glory kills, and essentially whatever it takes it to stay in the fight. And when everything's clicking, it's hard to deny the incredible badass feeling you get from making minced meat of the most vile creatures of hell. The story is also smartly presented and provides just enough context to make sense of what you're doing and where you need to go next.
Along with that, another thing I'd like to applaud in this game is the fantastic metal opera that plays as you slay demons. I normally don't consider myself a fan of Metal, but it's impossible for me to deny how perfectly suited the music is to the sheer brutality occurring on the screen.
7. Inside ; The atmosphere of Inside is a tad creepy, a bit unsettling, all the while being completely mysterious as to what exactly is going on. I can certainly understand why people don't like that level of ambiguity, and that's fine. But I also believe there's a place for a story to establish a theme, present a series of events, and have the player interpret what they think happened. Some will just say 'meh' and move on, but thinking in my mind of what exactly happened, reading what other people wrote in the spoiler thread and other articles is just something I really enjoy being a part of the conversation for. Some people may argue the game lacks enough substance and therefore so many theories can come out of what happened in it, but instead I'd say that the theories can go as deep as the symbolism you want to apply each moment. And personally, I find it really fascinating that it can be versatile enough to accommodate that.
In terms of the actual gameplay, I really like that the game doesn't have any on-screen prompts or instructions aimed specifically to the player. The controls are simple enough to figure out, and the challenge comes in figuring out the environment for clues in each puzzle.
Inside can be a polarizing game, but it also reminds me of what I love about video games. Not just as something to experience and react to, but also as something that provokes thought and discussion.
8. Pokemon Sun ; Pokemon is a series that holds a lot of nostalgia for me. In 1999 when I played Pokemon Blue, it was the first video game I played for longer than 5 hours. It was the first video game that engaged me and kept me entertained for months to come. It was the first game that made me feel like a "gamer" and helped to open my mind to try other RPG's.
As much as I've loved Pokemon over the years, it's hard to deny the series hadn't fallen to building off the template. Beat 8 Gym leaders, Beat the bad guys, and beat the Elite 4, and you've essentially hit the big plot points of a typical main entry Pokemon game. As someone who's played these game for what's now approaching 20 years, it becomes easy to go through the motions. And While Sun and Moon don't completely deviate off this formula, the changes it makes to this system are a welcome change of pace. Arriving at a new island in the game was exciting because I had no idea how many island challenges/trials I had left and how close I was to the end (to be fair, I am still playing through the game as of this writing). I also enjoy Alola, which feels like it's been designed to show a world that's been built by the help of strong companionship between humans and their Pokemon.
Yes, the game is still about Pokemon battles and building a strong team of Pokemon, but the changes made make the formula unpredictable and fresh, in a way I just haven't felt since playing Pokemon Blue so many years ago.
9. Quantum Break ; Similar to Alan Wake, I enjoyed the story a lot more than the gameplay. To Quantum Break's credit, I do think the gameplay has a lot more going for it than Wake's and I do like the variety in time powers. I felt I was mostly successful in being able to break out of the initial temptations of trying to play the game as a standard cover shooter, and rather to play to the strengths of the game's combat. At the same time, I never quite felt I was able to combo moves seamlessly from one to the next as much as I hoped I would. Playing through the game, I wondered whether I would enjoy the combat more if they had gotten rid of the guns and made it purely about power-based attacks. Then again, perhaps my brain just had a hard time balancing shooting and time powers to pull off super slick combat encounters.
As for the story, I really liked Quantum's Break's spin on the time travel tale with the notion of
we can go back in time but we're not actually able to change the past
The 4 live action episodes interspersed in the game felt pretty neat. Before playing the game I questioned how essential they'd actually feel to the story, but I really liked the idea of seeing what was going on in the world from the POV of other characters. I think one of the challenges in storytelling in video games is not every story beat necessarily lends itself to having good gameplay moments. And being able to tell parts of this story without that constraint was a neat concept (especially when small choices from the game could potentially add something minor to the live episode that made it feel ever so slightly personalized). I also liked how each Episode fit into a very specific part of the game, and each one was well integrated into what happened before in the game as well as helping to inform what came after. I think this format worked a lot better than say releasing all the episodes on Netflix and trying to piece out how it fit into the game on your own.
I have my doubts this format will catch on with other games, but I'm glad to see Remedy experiment with this.
10. Ratchet and Clank ; When I think of games like Ratchet and Clank, I can't help but think of the old "PS2 has Toy Story graphics" claims leading up to that console's release, and just how far graphics have come since then. R&C were beautiful games on the PS3, but it's spectacular just how good this new entry looks on a PS4 Pro. The presentation also works because the writing can be quite funny and entertaining as well.
But Ratchet 2016 is more than just a pretty game; it's also an incredibly fun one. While Sunset Overdrive remains my favorite game by Insomniac, I definitely appreciate the pedigree set forth by this series. Their games always have the best weapon variety, and most importantly, don't restrict you to a limited set of weapons at a given time. The game makes it incredibly satisfying to try out different weapons and find out which ones you like the best. I also like that there's a system to upgrade weapons with points on top of a system where they upgrade automatically the more they are used, so you always feel like your favorite weapons are getting better.
Honorable Mentions
x. Destiny ; if I was basing this list purely on number of hours played, Destiny would easily find a place on my Top 10. I played Destiny for the first time last year, and what it may lack in story, it does deliver on some of the most finely tuned FPS gameplay I've experienced on a console. But as most of my enjoyment of this game has come from content released prior to 2016 (such as the Taken King), I felt it was a reasonable compromise to have the game mentioned here instead.
x. The Division ; It's interesting to see the comparisons with this game and Destiny. While I don't think The Division is as strong of a third person shooter as Destiny is for FPS (though it is still quite good), I did find myself having a good time climbing the ranks to level 30. I actually enjoyed playing the game less for the main story (even though the main story missions are pretty solid for the most part) but rather as an explorer. I loved walking through the cold streets of a post-apoloytic NYC and finding various audio and text recordings of what happened in this world before, during, and after calamity struck. It's one of those things that makes the world feel 'lived in'. For whatever issues the post-game has, I did enjoy my time with it.
x. Call of Duty Infinite Warfare ; As I mentioned above with Deus Ex, I'm a sucker for stories that take place in the future. In Infinite Warfare, whether it's sneaking around in the middle of space and taking cover behind space rocks to infiltrate a spaceship, grappling straight onto enemies in space and planting a grenade on their dead corpse as it floats away, or space battles against gargantuan ships, I felt the game did a good job taking advantage of its setting. But besides that, I still think this campaign was more endearing than the last few CoD campaigns I played. Even if the game isn't quite long enough to fully flesh out the supporting cast, it did feel like there was just enough there throughout the game to make me
feel bad when they died one by one.
x. Overwatch ; I don't think I got into Overwatch as much as others, but I definitely appreciate the appeal. I do believe there's at least one character in this game for almost everyone, and that's no small accomplishment. It's a great game to pick and play for a few rounds after a long day of work.
x. Skyrim: Special Edition ; I already had 150 hours in 'original Skyrim', but the Special Edition got me to put in yet another 30 hours into Skyrim. It still amazes me how fast time can fly playing this game. I took the opportunity to try a new play style (stealthy archer mage) and take in the incredible world of Skyrim with as little fast traveling as possible to full appreciate the scope of the map. I look forward to coming back to it yet again once the mod support matures a bit further.
x. Firewatch ; I'm not sure this game hit as strongly for me as it did with others, but I will say the opening 5-10 minutes is among with the most effective storytelling I've seen in a game. Without the game starting in earnest, I felt I understood Henry and where he was coming from. It helped inform his personality, why he was in Wyoming, and empathize with what he was dealing with in his life. The story itself just didn't do a whole lot for me, but nonetheless I liked the moments between Henry and Delilah, and am glad to have experienced the game.
And that's a wrap. Here's to another fantastic year of gaming in 2017!
1. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past ; after 4 years of torture from Square-Enix, they finally decided to release this game. In a year when TLG and FFXV were both released and both good, I was looking forward to this long awaited (in America) game more than any other, and it delivered.
2. The Last Guardian ;
3. Dark Souls III ;
4. Dragon Quest Builders ;
5. Final Fantasy XV ;
6. Ratchet & Clank ;
7. Kirby: Planet Robobot ;
8. DOOM ;
9. Stardew Valley ;
10. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam ;
2. The Last Guardian ;
3. Dark Souls III ;
4. Dragon Quest Builders ;
5. Final Fantasy XV ;
6. Ratchet & Clank ;
7. Kirby: Planet Robobot ;
8. DOOM ;
9. Stardew Valley ;
10. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam ;
Cheesemeister
Member
You are missing your ; behind each name
It's not required after titles that don't have comments.
1. The Last Guardian ; So much emotions. Trico is technically and literally the best video game character ever.
2. The Witness ; It's refreshing to have an open world game not bragging a huge map. By the end of my playthrough, I know the island as the back of my hand. It felt like I've lived there.
3. Paper Mario: Color Splash ; It's so well written.
4. Overcooked ; Cooking becomes so intense.
5. Fire Emblem Fates ; I started a level at 9pm hoping to work through the map before sleep, I finished that level and went to bed at 5am feeling fulfilled.
6. INSIDE ; Very well packaged.
7. Dark Souls III ; Cheesing is fun in this game.
8. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; Changes in a mainline Pokemon game!
9. Overwatch ; I played this game too much.
10. SUPERHOT ; Very cool concept. gameplay can be a bit shallow.
2. The Witness ; It's refreshing to have an open world game not bragging a huge map. By the end of my playthrough, I know the island as the back of my hand. It felt like I've lived there.
3. Paper Mario: Color Splash ; It's so well written.
4. Overcooked ; Cooking becomes so intense.
5. Fire Emblem Fates ; I started a level at 9pm hoping to work through the map before sleep, I finished that level and went to bed at 5am feeling fulfilled.
6. INSIDE ; Very well packaged.
7. Dark Souls III ; Cheesing is fun in this game.
8. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; Changes in a mainline Pokemon game!
9. Overwatch ; I played this game too much.
10. SUPERHOT ; Very cool concept. gameplay can be a bit shallow.
Dangansona
Member
1. Final Fantasy XV ; It was tough between this and TLG, but ultimately I felt like I enjoyed playing XV more and felt more compelled to return to it after finishing the game. I loved the world, combat, score, bros car, basically everything but Chapter 13.
2. The Last Guardian ; Like XV, I had an emotional reaction to the games ending and I have to say that it turned out better than I could have hoped. My favorite by Ueda all said and done.
3. Uncharted 4 ; The best Uncharted. Isn't that enough? Didn't have a problem with the games pacing as I really enjoyed the climbing sections. Final boss was cool.
4. Overwatch ; Rocket League of 2016 award. Would have been higher if they didn't handle leavers so poorly in ranked.
5. Ratchet and Clank ; Pure gameplay bliss. Looks purty too.
6. XCOM 2 ; Haven't finished yet, but after a slow start I'm hooked again.
7. Jackbox Party Pack 3 ; Best package by them yet. If only I had more people to play it with.
8. Abzu ; It isn't just another Journey, you reductive assholes.
9. Steep ; Pretty chill experience, snowboarding feels better than I thought at first.
10. The Witness ; Also haven't finished this one, but very pretty and clearly a heavyweight in its genre. The puzzles are satisfying.
Notes:
Missed a lot of JRPGs for now. Haven't played Steins Gate Zero because I played the first this year for the first time and if it was eligible it would probably be number 3 on this list.
2. The Last Guardian ; Like XV, I had an emotional reaction to the games ending and I have to say that it turned out better than I could have hoped. My favorite by Ueda all said and done.
3. Uncharted 4 ; The best Uncharted. Isn't that enough? Didn't have a problem with the games pacing as I really enjoyed the climbing sections. Final boss was cool.
4. Overwatch ; Rocket League of 2016 award. Would have been higher if they didn't handle leavers so poorly in ranked.
5. Ratchet and Clank ; Pure gameplay bliss. Looks purty too.
6. XCOM 2 ; Haven't finished yet, but after a slow start I'm hooked again.
7. Jackbox Party Pack 3 ; Best package by them yet. If only I had more people to play it with.
8. Abzu ; It isn't just another Journey, you reductive assholes.
9. Steep ; Pretty chill experience, snowboarding feels better than I thought at first.
10. The Witness ; Also haven't finished this one, but very pretty and clearly a heavyweight in its genre. The puzzles are satisfying.
Notes:
Missed a lot of JRPGs for now. Haven't played Steins Gate Zero because I played the first this year for the first time and if it was eligible it would probably be number 3 on this list.
1. Uncharted 4 ; With its epilogue, Naughty Dog not only gives Nate a proper sendoff but reframes our many adventures together as the larger-than-life stories Nate and Sully have probably spent years telling and retelling in bars all around the world. Few games get to end on such a high note, let alone a victory lap that celebrates the cast, the series, the player and even how far Naughty Dog has come since Crash Bandicoot.
Uncharted 4 is a masterpiece, not in the hyperbolic way that gets tossed around, nor the "perfect, 10/10, GOAT" gaming forum kind of way, but in the mark of true mastery of a craft. From start to finish, from the art to the design to the script to the voice acting to the tech that makes it all come together, Naughty Dog is top of their craft. Kudos, guys.
2. Titanfall 2 ; After all of the "But have you seen Titanfall?" on Gaf the first time around, I was generally lukewarm to Titanfall 2. Mechs are cool, Call of Duty is meh, and shootbangs are a dime a dozen. What exactly was I missing?
On one hand Titanfall 2 is an excellent singleplayer campaign about a bromance between a man and his mech, full of clever set pieces, great boss fights, and tight pacing that never overstays its welcome. On the other hand Titanfall 2 is an immediately satisfying multiplayer game with great movement, netcode, and a number of brilliant refinements I never knew I needed. Either side of the game has great mechs, if you're into that. You can feel the love of the genre and caliber of work through just about every aspect of its smart designs and polish, and I'm glad I took a chance on it.
3. XCOM 2 ; Man, I love my XCOM squad. My rag tag guerilla team traveled the world fighting back alien oppression, earning nicknames, scars and tattoos while surviving by the skin of their teeth. Recruits would rise up through the ranks and the ones who made it to the top became madmen who no longer feared death. Each one of them had a good story of the fight that made their career. Many others died along the way.
Though the game had some serious technical hiccups at launch, including the graphics of the last map glitching into an almost completely unintelligible mess, there are few pleasures that compare to a perfectly laid ambush panning out just as expected, or the dread of an "oh shit" moment when you realize everything is about to go wrong.
4. Let it Die ; Let It Die is an insane F2P dungeon-crawler where you take escalators up an enormous tower made out of a dystopian metro system while you pick (and grill) mushrooms and a skateboard riding Grim Reaper calls you "senpai." Along the way you'll use steam irons and construction equipment to brutalize the avatars of other players that have been sent to kill you.
Take Dead Rising, mix it with Diablo, and add the "git good" design ethos of Dark Souls. While you're at it, add some Puzzles & Dragons and an asynchronous multiplayer mode where the entire world fights against the state of California. Set it all to a sprawling soundtrack of metal, jpop and acid rock, curated by none other than Akira Yamaoka. Let It Die is far from perfect, but it's bold, experimental and wholly unafraid to do its own, weird-ass thing. I love it.
5. Dark Souls III ; Dark Souls III is another Dark Souls game.
6. Inside ; Inside is like a black comedy Pixar short that feels a lot like trespassing in someone else's nightmare. The art and animation is beautiful but its mostly of this one boy dying over and over again so you're not sure if you're supposed to like it, and there are loads of colors but they're all different shades of grey so you're caught somewhere between admiration and depression. It asks a lot of questions I'm grateful it never answers.
As a game, the puzzles are clever, and it treats the player with respect without giving you anything you can't solve through simple observation and a little trial and error.
7. Overwatch ; So I love Overwatch and played a whole lot of it. A lot of people have and will gush about Overwatch, so I want to instead point out the two reasons it's not higher on my list: I hate the way the game is played at higher levels, and its actually fairly barebones as a game when you get sick of core Overwatch, which sucks because I love everything about the cast and mechanics.
8. Destiny: Rise of Iron ; I'm a huge Destiny fanboy, and I thought the expansion further proves that Bungie gets what they're doing with the game and universe they've built. It feels unfair to put it any higher because its so light on content, but whats there is the best its ever been, and clearing the raid on launch was my favorite experience of the year.
9. Pony Island ; A little self-aware gem that risks losing some of its magic if I talk about it at any great length. Pony Island is a game about making a game, and also playing a game, while also deconstructing the underlying design of the game itself. It's smart and hilarious and pulls a couple of tricks I'd never seen before.
10. Dishonored 2 ;
x. Doom ; Really excellent game, I just got tired of the limited color palatte and (brilliant, yet overbearing) all metal soundtrack.
x. Drawful 2 ; My go to party game when entertaining guests.
x. Paper Mario Color Splash ; I haven't touched it, but my girlfriend has been obsessed and I've burst out laughing several times while watching. A lot of fun.
x. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; Its way too easy, but I respect the changes made to the classic Pokemon formula and think its the best the series has been in a long time.
x. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #fe ; Solid JRPG mechanics and some great dungeons, but the cast and plot completely alienated me.
x. World of Warcraft: Legion ; It's still WoW, but by bringing class fantasy back into the spotlight and killing off a bunch of characters I think they've made it the most interesting its been since Vanilla.
Uncharted 4 is a masterpiece, not in the hyperbolic way that gets tossed around, nor the "perfect, 10/10, GOAT" gaming forum kind of way, but in the mark of true mastery of a craft. From start to finish, from the art to the design to the script to the voice acting to the tech that makes it all come together, Naughty Dog is top of their craft. Kudos, guys.
2. Titanfall 2 ; After all of the "But have you seen Titanfall?" on Gaf the first time around, I was generally lukewarm to Titanfall 2. Mechs are cool, Call of Duty is meh, and shootbangs are a dime a dozen. What exactly was I missing?
On one hand Titanfall 2 is an excellent singleplayer campaign about a bromance between a man and his mech, full of clever set pieces, great boss fights, and tight pacing that never overstays its welcome. On the other hand Titanfall 2 is an immediately satisfying multiplayer game with great movement, netcode, and a number of brilliant refinements I never knew I needed. Either side of the game has great mechs, if you're into that. You can feel the love of the genre and caliber of work through just about every aspect of its smart designs and polish, and I'm glad I took a chance on it.
3. XCOM 2 ; Man, I love my XCOM squad. My rag tag guerilla team traveled the world fighting back alien oppression, earning nicknames, scars and tattoos while surviving by the skin of their teeth. Recruits would rise up through the ranks and the ones who made it to the top became madmen who no longer feared death. Each one of them had a good story of the fight that made their career. Many others died along the way.
Though the game had some serious technical hiccups at launch, including the graphics of the last map glitching into an almost completely unintelligible mess, there are few pleasures that compare to a perfectly laid ambush panning out just as expected, or the dread of an "oh shit" moment when you realize everything is about to go wrong.
4. Let it Die ; Let It Die is an insane F2P dungeon-crawler where you take escalators up an enormous tower made out of a dystopian metro system while you pick (and grill) mushrooms and a skateboard riding Grim Reaper calls you "senpai." Along the way you'll use steam irons and construction equipment to brutalize the avatars of other players that have been sent to kill you.
Take Dead Rising, mix it with Diablo, and add the "git good" design ethos of Dark Souls. While you're at it, add some Puzzles & Dragons and an asynchronous multiplayer mode where the entire world fights against the state of California. Set it all to a sprawling soundtrack of metal, jpop and acid rock, curated by none other than Akira Yamaoka. Let It Die is far from perfect, but it's bold, experimental and wholly unafraid to do its own, weird-ass thing. I love it.
5. Dark Souls III ; Dark Souls III is another Dark Souls game.
6. Inside ; Inside is like a black comedy Pixar short that feels a lot like trespassing in someone else's nightmare. The art and animation is beautiful but its mostly of this one boy dying over and over again so you're not sure if you're supposed to like it, and there are loads of colors but they're all different shades of grey so you're caught somewhere between admiration and depression. It asks a lot of questions I'm grateful it never answers.
As a game, the puzzles are clever, and it treats the player with respect without giving you anything you can't solve through simple observation and a little trial and error.
7. Overwatch ; So I love Overwatch and played a whole lot of it. A lot of people have and will gush about Overwatch, so I want to instead point out the two reasons it's not higher on my list: I hate the way the game is played at higher levels, and its actually fairly barebones as a game when you get sick of core Overwatch, which sucks because I love everything about the cast and mechanics.
8. Destiny: Rise of Iron ; I'm a huge Destiny fanboy, and I thought the expansion further proves that Bungie gets what they're doing with the game and universe they've built. It feels unfair to put it any higher because its so light on content, but whats there is the best its ever been, and clearing the raid on launch was my favorite experience of the year.
9. Pony Island ; A little self-aware gem that risks losing some of its magic if I talk about it at any great length. Pony Island is a game about making a game, and also playing a game, while also deconstructing the underlying design of the game itself. It's smart and hilarious and pulls a couple of tricks I'd never seen before.
10. Dishonored 2 ;
x. Doom ; Really excellent game, I just got tired of the limited color palatte and (brilliant, yet overbearing) all metal soundtrack.
x. Drawful 2 ; My go to party game when entertaining guests.
x. Paper Mario Color Splash ; I haven't touched it, but my girlfriend has been obsessed and I've burst out laughing several times while watching. A lot of fun.
x. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; Its way too easy, but I respect the changes made to the classic Pokemon formula and think its the best the series has been in a long time.
x. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #fe ; Solid JRPG mechanics and some great dungeons, but the cast and plot completely alienated me.
x. World of Warcraft: Legion ; It's still WoW, but by bringing class fantasy back into the spotlight and killing off a bunch of characters I think they've made it the most interesting its been since Vanilla.
ShockingAlberto
Member
1. Overwatch ; I measure Game of the Year by how much I expect the game to stick with me. Considering this list is late because I was playing Overwatch, Overwatch is Game of the Year.
2. Hitman ; One time in Paris, I dressed up as Helmut Kreuger, male model, to pretend to be him and take a meeting with a spy agency head. During the meeting, I poisoned her drink and noticed that, outside the window, her partner was on stage on the catwalk. While she was dying from the poison, she watched as I aimed a silenced pistol out the window to kill her partner, then casually walked into the kitchen to my escape.
3. Titanfall 2 ; Press L1 to time travel.
4. Superhot ; I cannot remember if I have liked a puzzle game as much as I like Superhot. The style dripping from every pore is just icing on the cake for a strong idea. As someone who has never had much issue with trial-and-error solutions, Superhot scratches that itch by framing it in the midst of over-the-top action scenes in ridiculous new ways.
5. Dark Souls III ; I struggle with how much I like Dark Souls III, as I fear that much of my affection for it might just be things inherent to the series' DNA. In a vacuum, if you remove all the overlap from previous games, parts of Dark Souls III actually kind of grate on me. But you can't really separate its fundamentals from its final product, either. Vacuum or not, DSIII was still fantastic, and still one of the best games of the year.
6. Kirby: Planet Robobot ; I was genuinely surprised by how much I liked this game, as I was expecting a standard Kirby title — which it is, to be clear. It does not deviate from your expectations until or unless it wants to, at which point you're suddenly in some sort of bizarre spin-off of Gurren Lagann in a Kirby mech. Robobot is just so well-done that it's hard to put down, even if it is terribly easy.
7. Fire Emblem Fates ; I didn't skip every cutscene, but I wanted to. That said, I loved the actual gameplay of both titles and found in this whatever I was missing in Awakening. I wish they could achieve a better balance between story and gameplay, though. And by balance, I mean make the story good again.
8. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; I don't really have much to say about this game — I think there was some part of me that was begging for Pokemon to re-establish itself as a competent game after the disappointing X/Y. This game does that, perhaps not as completely as I like, but it is a coherent adventure that nips and tucks where it needs to do so. I feel like we're never going to get another Black/White game, in terms of content and breadth, but at least Sun/Moon is trying to improve in other ways.
9. Street Fighter V ; For as light as it is, for as much of a Mr. Magoo-style path this game took to come out to release, I still had a ton of fun with it. I wish it were better, and Capcom's mishandling of the series makes me wonder what ”better" even means anymore, but it's not ”better." Street Fighter V will forever be tainted with the sins of bad decisions that occurred before it released.
10. The Last Guardian ; I do not understand why I like The Last Guardian so much. But I felt such an attachment to Trico that I would have been filled with blind rage if anything happened to him.
Edit: For added fun, here's my most disappointing games of the year (as in games that personally disappointed me, don't take it as an attack on a thing you love; I actually liked a lot of these games on the list except Uncharted):
- Uncharted 4
- Deus Ex: Manking Divided
- Mafia III
- Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero
- Gears of War 4
2. Hitman ; One time in Paris, I dressed up as Helmut Kreuger, male model, to pretend to be him and take a meeting with a spy agency head. During the meeting, I poisoned her drink and noticed that, outside the window, her partner was on stage on the catwalk. While she was dying from the poison, she watched as I aimed a silenced pistol out the window to kill her partner, then casually walked into the kitchen to my escape.
3. Titanfall 2 ; Press L1 to time travel.
4. Superhot ; I cannot remember if I have liked a puzzle game as much as I like Superhot. The style dripping from every pore is just icing on the cake for a strong idea. As someone who has never had much issue with trial-and-error solutions, Superhot scratches that itch by framing it in the midst of over-the-top action scenes in ridiculous new ways.
5. Dark Souls III ; I struggle with how much I like Dark Souls III, as I fear that much of my affection for it might just be things inherent to the series' DNA. In a vacuum, if you remove all the overlap from previous games, parts of Dark Souls III actually kind of grate on me. But you can't really separate its fundamentals from its final product, either. Vacuum or not, DSIII was still fantastic, and still one of the best games of the year.
6. Kirby: Planet Robobot ; I was genuinely surprised by how much I liked this game, as I was expecting a standard Kirby title — which it is, to be clear. It does not deviate from your expectations until or unless it wants to, at which point you're suddenly in some sort of bizarre spin-off of Gurren Lagann in a Kirby mech. Robobot is just so well-done that it's hard to put down, even if it is terribly easy.
7. Fire Emblem Fates ; I didn't skip every cutscene, but I wanted to. That said, I loved the actual gameplay of both titles and found in this whatever I was missing in Awakening. I wish they could achieve a better balance between story and gameplay, though. And by balance, I mean make the story good again.
8. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; I don't really have much to say about this game — I think there was some part of me that was begging for Pokemon to re-establish itself as a competent game after the disappointing X/Y. This game does that, perhaps not as completely as I like, but it is a coherent adventure that nips and tucks where it needs to do so. I feel like we're never going to get another Black/White game, in terms of content and breadth, but at least Sun/Moon is trying to improve in other ways.
9. Street Fighter V ; For as light as it is, for as much of a Mr. Magoo-style path this game took to come out to release, I still had a ton of fun with it. I wish it were better, and Capcom's mishandling of the series makes me wonder what ”better" even means anymore, but it's not ”better." Street Fighter V will forever be tainted with the sins of bad decisions that occurred before it released.
10. The Last Guardian ; I do not understand why I like The Last Guardian so much. But I felt such an attachment to Trico that I would have been filled with blind rage if anything happened to him.
Edit: For added fun, here's my most disappointing games of the year (as in games that personally disappointed me, don't take it as an attack on a thing you love; I actually liked a lot of these games on the list except Uncharted):
- Uncharted 4
- Deus Ex: Manking Divided
- Mafia III
- Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero
- Gears of War 4
charlequin
Banned
This year continued a lot of the trends of 2015 for me: less time for massive RPGs, a more diverse ballot, and a deep bench of honorable mentions. (I'll try not to dwell on the way it continues the trends of 2014, like being a goddamn garbage fire.)
What Got Missed: I try to get to stuff the year it comes out when I can now so I can give it a serious consideration for my ballot, but even so there's a lot of stuff that just didn't come together or get the level of attention I'd need to vote for it. This year's misses cover a lot of the bases: the giant JRPGs I didn't get to (Trails of Cold Steel, Tales of Zestiria, Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse) or let my wife play while I watched with a skeptical eye (Final Fantasy XV); the indie titles that I just didn't squeeze in by happenstance (Darkest Dungeon, The Turing Test); the older game that I was interested in just didn't seem pressing (Xanadu Next); the AAA titles I didn't get to yet because I waited out for the end-of-the-year sales to get them (HITMAN, Titanfall 2) or wasn't thrilled enough about how they followed their predecessor (Deus Ex: Mankind Divided). There's at least three really big absences that I think this list probably suffers from the absence of: Planet Coaster (I'm a huge huge RCT fan, but by the time I was considering this everyone was saying there was a game-ruining patch released); XCOM 2 (I was a huge fan of the previous game and poured an immense amount of time in; the time commitment just didn't line up on this one); and SHENZEN I/O (both SpaceChem and TIS-100 made my top 2 in their respective years; without recapturing the giant pool of real-time competitors I had on the latter this one just wasn't quite as urgent to start, I guess.)
What did soak up time: Hearthstone. I got the bug bad this year and there's certainly quite a bit of time that could've gone to one of those titles that got wrapped up in the cards instead. I didn't feel like either adventure from this year was such a great experience to qualify itself, but certainly this game would be one of my top experiences this year.
Now, onto the real votes!
10. SteinsGate 0 ; The premise of this title at first seemed deeply concerning: a sequel to an intricate story that wraps up in a perfectly satisfactory way has a tendency to ruin exactly what made its predecessor successful, while tales that try to expand on already complex time-travel narratives often devolve into confusing nonsense. Nobody's sitting on seat's edge waiting for Primer 2 here. But this title (both a sequel and an interquel, sort of, to the original -- more would be spoiling), manages to pull it off, crafting a narrative that expands and deepens the first game, while deeply respecting the original ending. Ultimately it's a sequel that didn't seem necessary before but feels like a vital part of the whole afterward, which is about the best you could hope for in a sequel.
9. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past ; This one's been a long time in coming, and it's proven very much worth the wait. The pitch is pretty simple: one of the best-received titles in a classic series, rebuilt with improved visuals and streamlined game design, all in the portable format that's perfect for a long, vignette-based game like this. DQ7 is a classic, this is a great version of it, and as long as it took it's great that it finally came out over here.
8. Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice ; I was a little slow to pick this up, maybe just from a sense of mild franchise fatigue -- the marketing lead-up wasn't really exciting me and I was starting to get tired of Capcom's shitty treatment of the series. When I finally got to it I felt silly for waiting. The biggest problem with the AA games since the big finale of AA3 has been that sense of treading water. This game finally feels like they've let the cast age and develop, and Phoenix age into a distinguished mentor role; it opens up the plot options significantly and lets them build a complex, interwoven story that finally feels more like the earlier games.
7. Pokemon Go ; I think everyone knows at this point that Niantic is a shockingly poor game developer (though those of us with Ingress scars have known for some time.) And sure, we've all seen how badly their management has hurt the game, how many previously enthusiastic people have sworn off forever -- and how shallow and lacking the gameplay was to begin with. But none of that actually matters much here. When this game was new, people were playing it everywhere, and parks were filled with massive crowds all coming together to catch 'em all. In 30 years of playing videogames I've never experienced anything like it, and that communal experience with strangers and with my family is enough to make this one of my happiest gaming memories this year.
6. Overwatch ; I'm not sure there's a better way to explain the appeal here than to mention the two previous experiences it melds together: the years of endless hours poured into Counter-Strike matches all through college, and the slightly later years where those endless hours went into running World of Warcraft dungeons instead. This game's perfectly poised for quick-burst enjoyment of a kind I hadn't really had in a long time, and it lets me play a healer with all the attendant benefits. It's really impressive that Blizzard's first genre entry turned out this well, and this'll be a game people will be playing for years to come.
5. The Room 3 ; Fireproof Games are a wonderful example of how mobile development can be: a team that knows how to tailor a gameplay experience to the platform and controls available, how to leverage artistic skill to wring the most visual pizzazz out of even a lower-powered system, and how to make puzzles that feel natural and seamless with an innate physicality. Each game in the series has improved on its predecessor, and this one's expanded scope and multiple endings make the whole thing feel well-realized to a whole new level.
4. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight ; This past year was quite a bit lighter on exploration platformers than 2015 was, but it still managed to produce at least one great entry. Momodora RUTM is actually the fourth game in the series. The previous entries have all had that unmistakable doujin quality, with the rough edges, awkward storytelling, and occasional fanservice nonsense that entails, but have also polished the gameplay further each time; Reverie takes all that effort and uses it to finally deliver a full, well-realized experience. This isn't trying to be big like many of the classic "Metroidvanias," or closely mirror the feel of bigger-name action titles -- there's a low-offense, low-defense feel to this game that feels more like other independent Japanese games than anything from the Western scene -- but rather just to be a brief, elegant, enjoyable title with responsive controls and entertaining boss battles.
3. Overcooked ; This game came completely out of nowhere for me; a buddy from work bought it and sprung it on us at a party, where we wound up spending an evening screaming at each other to move the meat and chop the tomatoes, mostly to no avail. If it was just hilarious as a four-player party game that'd already be decent, but what really sold me was the next part: my wife bought it the next day and we spent a long weekend glued to the screen, moving through ever level with the careful coordination demanded by the two-player mode. This is one of the best-realized entries in the "talk to each other IRL" field of local-multi games and if you've got one other person -- who you can trust, importantly -- to go through it with it's a must-play.
2. DOOM ; This game was probably my biggest surprise of the year. The leaked details of the canceled "Doom 4" were laughable, and the early info we got about this rebooted version wasn't necessarily thrilling either: the questionable inspiration from "Brutal Doom," the prominent piss-filter in the early screenshots, and the general lack of faith that anyone would recapture what made these old-school games so good. What we actually got, though, is a masterful demonstration of how to take what worked back in the day (blisteringly fast gameplay, big emphasis on verticality and evasion, powerful and distinct guns, no reloading, mazy level design full of secrets) and complement it with great new stuff (like the embedded storytelling, collectibles, and upgrade system) to produce something really joyous and very different from so many of its peers.
1. Oxenfree ; This game has a lot of things going for it -- a gorgeous art style, an intriguing setting, and a fascinating sci-fi/horror mystery underlying the whole thing -- but the thing that ultimately stands out the most about Oxenfree, and what ultimately made it such a unique experience, is the dialogue. Adventure games have struggled with conversation for as long as they've been around, and in most cases people have just come to accept that they don't try for anything greater than a vending machine to pick canned dialogue out of. Oxenfree is different: the naturalistic conversation fits perfectly into the natural flow of gameplay, and the fantastic voice acting and elegant writing make it a pleasure to experience. I've never played another game where making dialogue choices felt so natural, or where it felt like the choices I made affected what happened and my relationships with other characters so seamlessly. That, more than anything else, made this game something worth playing.
Honorable Mentions:
x. RYB ; As a deeply avowed fan of the Hexcells games, anything else that can scratch the same itch is welcome. This game builds off of the same core structure, but does something difficult and actually creates a new puzzle mechanism that's deep and complex but still quite intuitive, all by leveraging color. It mostly missed the top list because it's too short; just as I was starting to feel ready for all the disparate mechanics it ended instead of unfurling the difficult puzzles I expected.
x. Hyper Light Drifter ; A real triumph of minimal storytelling and gorgeous aesthetics, this game is a joy for fans of insane pixel art and smooth 2D combat alike. Some rough issues at launch kept me from finishing it at the time, but there have been a lot of improvements so I'll be going back.
x. Day of the Tentacle Remastered ; This game is a classic for a reason. A style that's the best-realized Chuck Jones pastiche ever seen in gaming and a deeply hilarious script make it a joy to move through the story. The puzzle design is actually far better than people credit it; far more than many games of the era, (almost) every puzzle solution proceeds naturally from the tools at your disposal and the useful clues helpfully layered into the game.
x. INSIDE ; Finishing up this game it was abundantly clear that this is the game Playdead wanted to make when they made LIMBO; whether that's a good thing is going to depend a lot on the subject. One of those games that's worth playing if only to be able to discuss it afterwards.
x. The Witness ; Diving into this I really started to see what people meant when they said there was another level to the puzzles beyond the most obvious, and the design is clever in a way that's pretty rare to see. Also, I'm pretty sure it made me physically ill?
x. Firewatch ; This game definitely excelled in one thing above all else: the sense of place it produces, and how much exploring the distant mountain park makes you feel grounded in its location, is pretty close to unmatched. I had some significant issues with the way the narrative played out (though not the ones most people seem to bring up), but still very much worth a play.
x. Ratchet and Clank ; Insomniac wandered pretty far off the map on this series, which was always a fave of mine in the PS2 era; this was (mostly) a pretty welcome return to form.
x. SUPERHOT ; The structure of this game was alienating in a way that didn't entirely work for me, and I ultimately didn't feel like the campaign structure did what it needed to with the concept -- but the core puzzle-shooter concept is fantastic and the moments where it comes together just perfectly are sublime.
x. Pony Island ; There isn't quite enough here to really gel completely, and the limited gameplay makes it a bit of a chore in spots, but this is still a clever and interesting meta-narrative game. There's one bit that totally, completely got me for a minute -- if you've played it, you probably know which.
What Got Missed: I try to get to stuff the year it comes out when I can now so I can give it a serious consideration for my ballot, but even so there's a lot of stuff that just didn't come together or get the level of attention I'd need to vote for it. This year's misses cover a lot of the bases: the giant JRPGs I didn't get to (Trails of Cold Steel, Tales of Zestiria, Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse) or let my wife play while I watched with a skeptical eye (Final Fantasy XV); the indie titles that I just didn't squeeze in by happenstance (Darkest Dungeon, The Turing Test); the older game that I was interested in just didn't seem pressing (Xanadu Next); the AAA titles I didn't get to yet because I waited out for the end-of-the-year sales to get them (HITMAN, Titanfall 2) or wasn't thrilled enough about how they followed their predecessor (Deus Ex: Mankind Divided). There's at least three really big absences that I think this list probably suffers from the absence of: Planet Coaster (I'm a huge huge RCT fan, but by the time I was considering this everyone was saying there was a game-ruining patch released); XCOM 2 (I was a huge fan of the previous game and poured an immense amount of time in; the time commitment just didn't line up on this one); and SHENZEN I/O (both SpaceChem and TIS-100 made my top 2 in their respective years; without recapturing the giant pool of real-time competitors I had on the latter this one just wasn't quite as urgent to start, I guess.)
What did soak up time: Hearthstone. I got the bug bad this year and there's certainly quite a bit of time that could've gone to one of those titles that got wrapped up in the cards instead. I didn't feel like either adventure from this year was such a great experience to qualify itself, but certainly this game would be one of my top experiences this year.
Now, onto the real votes!
10. SteinsGate 0 ; The premise of this title at first seemed deeply concerning: a sequel to an intricate story that wraps up in a perfectly satisfactory way has a tendency to ruin exactly what made its predecessor successful, while tales that try to expand on already complex time-travel narratives often devolve into confusing nonsense. Nobody's sitting on seat's edge waiting for Primer 2 here. But this title (both a sequel and an interquel, sort of, to the original -- more would be spoiling), manages to pull it off, crafting a narrative that expands and deepens the first game, while deeply respecting the original ending. Ultimately it's a sequel that didn't seem necessary before but feels like a vital part of the whole afterward, which is about the best you could hope for in a sequel.
9. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past ; This one's been a long time in coming, and it's proven very much worth the wait. The pitch is pretty simple: one of the best-received titles in a classic series, rebuilt with improved visuals and streamlined game design, all in the portable format that's perfect for a long, vignette-based game like this. DQ7 is a classic, this is a great version of it, and as long as it took it's great that it finally came out over here.
8. Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice ; I was a little slow to pick this up, maybe just from a sense of mild franchise fatigue -- the marketing lead-up wasn't really exciting me and I was starting to get tired of Capcom's shitty treatment of the series. When I finally got to it I felt silly for waiting. The biggest problem with the AA games since the big finale of AA3 has been that sense of treading water. This game finally feels like they've let the cast age and develop, and Phoenix age into a distinguished mentor role; it opens up the plot options significantly and lets them build a complex, interwoven story that finally feels more like the earlier games.
7. Pokemon Go ; I think everyone knows at this point that Niantic is a shockingly poor game developer (though those of us with Ingress scars have known for some time.) And sure, we've all seen how badly their management has hurt the game, how many previously enthusiastic people have sworn off forever -- and how shallow and lacking the gameplay was to begin with. But none of that actually matters much here. When this game was new, people were playing it everywhere, and parks were filled with massive crowds all coming together to catch 'em all. In 30 years of playing videogames I've never experienced anything like it, and that communal experience with strangers and with my family is enough to make this one of my happiest gaming memories this year.
6. Overwatch ; I'm not sure there's a better way to explain the appeal here than to mention the two previous experiences it melds together: the years of endless hours poured into Counter-Strike matches all through college, and the slightly later years where those endless hours went into running World of Warcraft dungeons instead. This game's perfectly poised for quick-burst enjoyment of a kind I hadn't really had in a long time, and it lets me play a healer with all the attendant benefits. It's really impressive that Blizzard's first genre entry turned out this well, and this'll be a game people will be playing for years to come.
5. The Room 3 ; Fireproof Games are a wonderful example of how mobile development can be: a team that knows how to tailor a gameplay experience to the platform and controls available, how to leverage artistic skill to wring the most visual pizzazz out of even a lower-powered system, and how to make puzzles that feel natural and seamless with an innate physicality. Each game in the series has improved on its predecessor, and this one's expanded scope and multiple endings make the whole thing feel well-realized to a whole new level.
4. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight ; This past year was quite a bit lighter on exploration platformers than 2015 was, but it still managed to produce at least one great entry. Momodora RUTM is actually the fourth game in the series. The previous entries have all had that unmistakable doujin quality, with the rough edges, awkward storytelling, and occasional fanservice nonsense that entails, but have also polished the gameplay further each time; Reverie takes all that effort and uses it to finally deliver a full, well-realized experience. This isn't trying to be big like many of the classic "Metroidvanias," or closely mirror the feel of bigger-name action titles -- there's a low-offense, low-defense feel to this game that feels more like other independent Japanese games than anything from the Western scene -- but rather just to be a brief, elegant, enjoyable title with responsive controls and entertaining boss battles.
3. Overcooked ; This game came completely out of nowhere for me; a buddy from work bought it and sprung it on us at a party, where we wound up spending an evening screaming at each other to move the meat and chop the tomatoes, mostly to no avail. If it was just hilarious as a four-player party game that'd already be decent, but what really sold me was the next part: my wife bought it the next day and we spent a long weekend glued to the screen, moving through ever level with the careful coordination demanded by the two-player mode. This is one of the best-realized entries in the "talk to each other IRL" field of local-multi games and if you've got one other person -- who you can trust, importantly -- to go through it with it's a must-play.
2. DOOM ; This game was probably my biggest surprise of the year. The leaked details of the canceled "Doom 4" were laughable, and the early info we got about this rebooted version wasn't necessarily thrilling either: the questionable inspiration from "Brutal Doom," the prominent piss-filter in the early screenshots, and the general lack of faith that anyone would recapture what made these old-school games so good. What we actually got, though, is a masterful demonstration of how to take what worked back in the day (blisteringly fast gameplay, big emphasis on verticality and evasion, powerful and distinct guns, no reloading, mazy level design full of secrets) and complement it with great new stuff (like the embedded storytelling, collectibles, and upgrade system) to produce something really joyous and very different from so many of its peers.
1. Oxenfree ; This game has a lot of things going for it -- a gorgeous art style, an intriguing setting, and a fascinating sci-fi/horror mystery underlying the whole thing -- but the thing that ultimately stands out the most about Oxenfree, and what ultimately made it such a unique experience, is the dialogue. Adventure games have struggled with conversation for as long as they've been around, and in most cases people have just come to accept that they don't try for anything greater than a vending machine to pick canned dialogue out of. Oxenfree is different: the naturalistic conversation fits perfectly into the natural flow of gameplay, and the fantastic voice acting and elegant writing make it a pleasure to experience. I've never played another game where making dialogue choices felt so natural, or where it felt like the choices I made affected what happened and my relationships with other characters so seamlessly. That, more than anything else, made this game something worth playing.
Honorable Mentions:
x. RYB ; As a deeply avowed fan of the Hexcells games, anything else that can scratch the same itch is welcome. This game builds off of the same core structure, but does something difficult and actually creates a new puzzle mechanism that's deep and complex but still quite intuitive, all by leveraging color. It mostly missed the top list because it's too short; just as I was starting to feel ready for all the disparate mechanics it ended instead of unfurling the difficult puzzles I expected.
x. Hyper Light Drifter ; A real triumph of minimal storytelling and gorgeous aesthetics, this game is a joy for fans of insane pixel art and smooth 2D combat alike. Some rough issues at launch kept me from finishing it at the time, but there have been a lot of improvements so I'll be going back.
x. Day of the Tentacle Remastered ; This game is a classic for a reason. A style that's the best-realized Chuck Jones pastiche ever seen in gaming and a deeply hilarious script make it a joy to move through the story. The puzzle design is actually far better than people credit it; far more than many games of the era, (almost) every puzzle solution proceeds naturally from the tools at your disposal and the useful clues helpfully layered into the game.
x. INSIDE ; Finishing up this game it was abundantly clear that this is the game Playdead wanted to make when they made LIMBO; whether that's a good thing is going to depend a lot on the subject. One of those games that's worth playing if only to be able to discuss it afterwards.
x. The Witness ; Diving into this I really started to see what people meant when they said there was another level to the puzzles beyond the most obvious, and the design is clever in a way that's pretty rare to see. Also, I'm pretty sure it made me physically ill?
x. Firewatch ; This game definitely excelled in one thing above all else: the sense of place it produces, and how much exploring the distant mountain park makes you feel grounded in its location, is pretty close to unmatched. I had some significant issues with the way the narrative played out (though not the ones most people seem to bring up), but still very much worth a play.
x. Ratchet and Clank ; Insomniac wandered pretty far off the map on this series, which was always a fave of mine in the PS2 era; this was (mostly) a pretty welcome return to form.
x. SUPERHOT ; The structure of this game was alienating in a way that didn't entirely work for me, and I ultimately didn't feel like the campaign structure did what it needed to with the concept -- but the core puzzle-shooter concept is fantastic and the moments where it comes together just perfectly are sublime.
x. Pony Island ; There isn't quite enough here to really gel completely, and the limited gameplay makes it a bit of a chore in spots, but this is still a clever and interesting meta-narrative game. There's one bit that totally, completely got me for a minute -- if you've played it, you probably know which.
Is Overcooked really that good? I might have overlooked it!
It's different. It's hard to explain why the pace annoyed me without going into details about structures of CS1 and CS2, and how Erebonia differs from Liberl. If the pace is like TitS I would have zero complaints honestly.
It's different. It's hard to explain why the pace annoyed me without going into details about structures of CS1 and CS2, and how Erebonia differs from Liberl. If the pace is like TitS I would have zero complaints honestly.
Magic Mushroom
Member
Invalid formating. Read the OP.
1. Overwatch ; Am I Blizzard fan? Sure. Diablo 3 was excellent. World of Warcraft mildly entertaining sometime in 2007 or so and Hearthstone was fun for a Day or two. But beyond my personal enjoyment of any of these titles, they are known for their incredible polish and their ability to highlight the fun-factor in a way few others, if any, developers manage to do. Overwatch is in no way different. The first few weeks I mained May and maybe Roadhog or Soldier and my motivation to continue playing was vaining. But then I tried another hero. And another. And eventually every single on of the initial badge. And uhm... those hundred hours were just pure video game entertainment. This won't be the most praise I will give during this list – which might seem weird, sure – but at the end of the day, Overwatch is one of those evergreen titles that will stuck with you, thinking about the great MP games of alltime... and that has to count for something.
2. Pokemon Sun ; Blue. Red. Yellow. Crystal. Ruby. Emerald. Y. And now Sun.
The time at the end of the 90s was something truly special, for sure. Why I bought all three entries of the first generation and vividly remember anticipating each one of them (Dude, it's all the same!), I have not a clue. With each following Generation, my interest vained, my opinion on single entries got harsher, ending with the abysmal Y earlier this year. Pokemon Sun brought back the magic, at least a little, tiny bit. No, I won't trade with friends at home, no I won't engage with multiplayer in any meaningful way and as soon as I beat the Elite Four I will be mentally checked out. But to go through a Pokemon campaign again and have that unadultered feeling of adventure, in addition to the changes to the formular and presentation, is something special. It is part nostalgia, or maybe it isn't, but Pokemon Sun was a meaningful step forward for me personal, in a franchise that slowly faded from existence. And when I will eventually buy Stars for the Switch, maybe I will look back in another ten years and ask again – Why did I bought another one – it's all the same, dude? Except it isn't.
3. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; I did not particularly like Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. Naughty Dog wasn't able to mash their cinematic storytelling with appropriate pacing and gameplay segments. I am well aware that many thought Uncharted 4 had similar problems – I am at the end of the spectrum, I thought they did a surprisingly brilliant job. Technically, it was top of the crop, no matter what way you slice it – the facial and character animation was incredible; add to that beautiful environments, fun self-contained shooting boxes that take full advantage of their movement system and a story – while sometimes contrived – that was always fun, emotional and competent like no other Uncharted game before. They learned very important lessons from The Last of Us and I was glad they were able to carry those elements over without sacrificing what makes Uncharted great.
4. The Witness ; I did not beat the challenge, technically I never even finished the game, because I couldn't bother with the puzzles inside the last tower, but The Witness was one of the few games of 2016 that gave me that special moment were I didn't feel like just playing one of many games – just another story, just another sandbox, just another loot-grind. With its often praised ability to teach you a language and turning everything upside down with intelligent and deliberate environmental design, it was one of the truly outstanding works in the videogame industry. I couldn't give less shit about Blow's message, the philosophical debattes and quotes laying around the island – but the design of the island, fused with its general presentation and puzzle design is one of the most incredible videogame experiences of this year.
5. Battlefield 1 ; This is only in reference to the Multiplayer, but Battlefield wowed me. I am a console gamer and on top of that one, who never seriously touched a BF game before. In addition the thought of returning to the past excited me. The scale, be it in regards to the player count, the maps, the amazing Operation mode and the action itself, it is just breathtaking. At the end of the day, though, he methodical approach to pure Chaos you have to consider while playing any given match, is, what makes BF1 another – and I don't get tired repeating this throughout the list – outstanding experience of this year.
6. DOOM ; DOOM!
7. The Division ; The Division might just be on this list for the few hours I spent in the Dark Zone in march, but man – it was worth it. The exhilaration while waiting for the chopper to arrive hastingly looking around for potential friends or foes after roaming the city for a considerable amount of time to scrap every – no, any – worthwhile loot item – was one of the unique moments of this year for me. While not as outstanding, the atmosphere of New York was great, the leveling throughout entertaining and the social aspect nicely implemented. But laying dead in front of a soon-to-depart chooper while ShadowShooterAzz667 steals your epixs? Yeah, that was alright!
8. Gravity Rush Remastered ; Somewhat of a surprise, bought it at a discount, GR:R was just a fun ride from beginning to end. A control scheme and movement system that were – in my humble opinion as I know many disagree – really entertaining to explore throughtout – either while following a rather lovely story – or while attempting to master the many different challenges throughout the city. GR2 will release in just a few more days, and because of this Remastered I will be there Day One. They must have done something right.
9. Inside ; I hate LIMBO. Not entirely justified and when you press me on the issue, I would have to admit never advancing past the first hour, but man... that game controls like garbage and the feel of it is just so much off, that the only thing for me left to say is: Screw this! So... I wasn't surprised when the hype around Inside left me pretty much cold the entire year. Well, as it happens, though, I had a little bit too much money and Inside was on sale, so I gave it a shot.
Inside is a remarkable game in terms of its atmosphere and presentation. And it doesn't control like garbage.
That sounds more like a backhanded compliment than it probably should, but neither the story particularly enticed me to do anything with it, nor did the whole experience me any food for thought in regards to its gameplay. And still, and that is important to mention – Inside is great and if possible, should be played. The few things it excells at, it truly does.
10. Dark Souls III ; At this point I have to include some so-so Games, that I either haven't experienced to the end or just fell short in some – to me – incredibly important categories. But still.
Bloodborne was my Game of the Year 2015 and also eclipsed my personal GOAT list. DSIII is my second substantial Souls experience (dabbled a bit with DeS and DS) and I already feel fatigued. I am ten hours in and it feels like more of the same. That's not bad – and I have the feeling this is a oft repeat sentiment, still surprised it already hit me – but also not more than ”Great". I like to highlight games that stand out, beyond their general quality, because they gave me something new as I said at the beginning. DSIII didn't, sadly, so far.
x: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - Currently playing and not really touched the campaign, BUT... looting apartments, making bank, hacking robots!
x: The Banner Saga - Great game with a garbage ending. The final battle sucks in a major way.
x: Watch_Dogs - The Old-Game-of-the-Year. One of the most entertaining games I played in recent times. Aiden Pearce and the super serious story are not a flaw, but a feature. It is one cohesive experience.
x: Clash Royale - My mobile game of the year. Really great, fun gameplay. Worth it for a few weeks, at least.
x. Twilight Princess Picross - My first Picross game, was really fun. Liked it a lot.
2. Pokemon Sun ; Blue. Red. Yellow. Crystal. Ruby. Emerald. Y. And now Sun.
The time at the end of the 90s was something truly special, for sure. Why I bought all three entries of the first generation and vividly remember anticipating each one of them (Dude, it's all the same!), I have not a clue. With each following Generation, my interest vained, my opinion on single entries got harsher, ending with the abysmal Y earlier this year. Pokemon Sun brought back the magic, at least a little, tiny bit. No, I won't trade with friends at home, no I won't engage with multiplayer in any meaningful way and as soon as I beat the Elite Four I will be mentally checked out. But to go through a Pokemon campaign again and have that unadultered feeling of adventure, in addition to the changes to the formular and presentation, is something special. It is part nostalgia, or maybe it isn't, but Pokemon Sun was a meaningful step forward for me personal, in a franchise that slowly faded from existence. And when I will eventually buy Stars for the Switch, maybe I will look back in another ten years and ask again – Why did I bought another one – it's all the same, dude? Except it isn't.
3. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; I did not particularly like Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. Naughty Dog wasn't able to mash their cinematic storytelling with appropriate pacing and gameplay segments. I am well aware that many thought Uncharted 4 had similar problems – I am at the end of the spectrum, I thought they did a surprisingly brilliant job. Technically, it was top of the crop, no matter what way you slice it – the facial and character animation was incredible; add to that beautiful environments, fun self-contained shooting boxes that take full advantage of their movement system and a story – while sometimes contrived – that was always fun, emotional and competent like no other Uncharted game before. They learned very important lessons from The Last of Us and I was glad they were able to carry those elements over without sacrificing what makes Uncharted great.
4. The Witness ; I did not beat the challenge, technically I never even finished the game, because I couldn't bother with the puzzles inside the last tower, but The Witness was one of the few games of 2016 that gave me that special moment were I didn't feel like just playing one of many games – just another story, just another sandbox, just another loot-grind. With its often praised ability to teach you a language and turning everything upside down with intelligent and deliberate environmental design, it was one of the truly outstanding works in the videogame industry. I couldn't give less shit about Blow's message, the philosophical debattes and quotes laying around the island – but the design of the island, fused with its general presentation and puzzle design is one of the most incredible videogame experiences of this year.
5. Battlefield 1 ; This is only in reference to the Multiplayer, but Battlefield wowed me. I am a console gamer and on top of that one, who never seriously touched a BF game before. In addition the thought of returning to the past excited me. The scale, be it in regards to the player count, the maps, the amazing Operation mode and the action itself, it is just breathtaking. At the end of the day, though, he methodical approach to pure Chaos you have to consider while playing any given match, is, what makes BF1 another – and I don't get tired repeating this throughout the list – outstanding experience of this year.
6. DOOM ; DOOM!
7. The Division ; The Division might just be on this list for the few hours I spent in the Dark Zone in march, but man – it was worth it. The exhilaration while waiting for the chopper to arrive hastingly looking around for potential friends or foes after roaming the city for a considerable amount of time to scrap every – no, any – worthwhile loot item – was one of the unique moments of this year for me. While not as outstanding, the atmosphere of New York was great, the leveling throughout entertaining and the social aspect nicely implemented. But laying dead in front of a soon-to-depart chooper while ShadowShooterAzz667 steals your epixs? Yeah, that was alright!
8. Gravity Rush Remastered ; Somewhat of a surprise, bought it at a discount, GR:R was just a fun ride from beginning to end. A control scheme and movement system that were – in my humble opinion as I know many disagree – really entertaining to explore throughtout – either while following a rather lovely story – or while attempting to master the many different challenges throughout the city. GR2 will release in just a few more days, and because of this Remastered I will be there Day One. They must have done something right.
9. Inside ; I hate LIMBO. Not entirely justified and when you press me on the issue, I would have to admit never advancing past the first hour, but man... that game controls like garbage and the feel of it is just so much off, that the only thing for me left to say is: Screw this! So... I wasn't surprised when the hype around Inside left me pretty much cold the entire year. Well, as it happens, though, I had a little bit too much money and Inside was on sale, so I gave it a shot.
Inside is a remarkable game in terms of its atmosphere and presentation. And it doesn't control like garbage.
That sounds more like a backhanded compliment than it probably should, but neither the story particularly enticed me to do anything with it, nor did the whole experience me any food for thought in regards to its gameplay. And still, and that is important to mention – Inside is great and if possible, should be played. The few things it excells at, it truly does.
10. Dark Souls III ; At this point I have to include some so-so Games, that I either haven't experienced to the end or just fell short in some – to me – incredibly important categories. But still.
Bloodborne was my Game of the Year 2015 and also eclipsed my personal GOAT list. DSIII is my second substantial Souls experience (dabbled a bit with DeS and DS) and I already feel fatigued. I am ten hours in and it feels like more of the same. That's not bad – and I have the feeling this is a oft repeat sentiment, still surprised it already hit me – but also not more than ”Great". I like to highlight games that stand out, beyond their general quality, because they gave me something new as I said at the beginning. DSIII didn't, sadly, so far.
x: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - Currently playing and not really touched the campaign, BUT... looting apartments, making bank, hacking robots!
x: The Banner Saga - Great game with a garbage ending. The final battle sucks in a major way.
x: Watch_Dogs - The Old-Game-of-the-Year. One of the most entertaining games I played in recent times. Aiden Pearce and the super serious story are not a flaw, but a feature. It is one cohesive experience.
x: Clash Royale - My mobile game of the year. Really great, fun gameplay. Worth it for a few weeks, at least.
x. Twilight Princess Picross - My first Picross game, was really fun. Liked it a lot.
Didnt play all that many different new games this year, and as such, not a full top 10 list with lots of awards.
Ubisoft award for Bar-fillingest Game of the Year
The Division - After an absence of a year, this award is back, and once again confidently claimed by Ubisoft itself. A game that truly demonstrates the heights of artistry Ubisoft has achieved in bar-filling. Between tons of different resources to collect (regular money, dark zone money, phoenix credits, different crafting materials etc.) and different experience bars to fill (regular, dark zone, underground), this game is truly stellar in the bar-filling department. Its still quite a lot of fun though, shows you how much of a sucker I am for just such types of games.
Electronic Arts award for the Most Phoned-in Sequel
Farming Simulator 17 While still fun for a few hours, FS17 again improves very little on its predecessors. Its time for some real changes to this franchise. Add some proper management features, improve on the controls, improve on the physics, let me build my farm rather than giving me a fully featured one from the start and letting me add a handful of buildings. Theres so much potential in this franchise, and theyre using so very little of it.
1. Planet Coaster ; While certainly not perfect (yet), Planet Coaster is an amazing game already. As a management game, its fine, but unremarkable, but as a creative tool, and as a general experience, it is truly stellar. The system you use to create scenery allows you tons of flexibility, yet is very easy to use. This allows you to create beautiful parks that truly feel like your own. Even someone with limited skills like myself can create what is, in my eyes at least, a good-looking park. Of course, you can also browse the Steam workshop for other peoples creations to add to your own park. Beyond that, the games graphics are stunning and the presentation (art style, music, ambient sound) is perfect for a theme park game. With more content in the future and improvements to the management side of things, I think this is set to become a true modern classic.
2. Europa Universalis IV: Rights of Man ; The ninth and most recent expansion for EU4 is probably its second best (after Art of War). It along with the accompanying patch adds a wholly new and more flexibile technology system based around the adoption of institutions that I much prefer to the old rigid technology group system, it adds a new great power mechanic that really changes the game for the better I feel and on top of that more flavour for countries like Prussia and the Ottoman Empire and lots of small improvements. It really got me back into EU4, which I wasnt sure would happen after the disappointment that was Mare Nostrum.
3. Stellaris ; Im honestly not sure why it is that I like Stellaris as much as I do. The game in its current state is certainly a great foundation that Im confident Paradox will build on, but its obviously light on depth and content right now, even after a few patches. That said, I keep coming back to it again and again. Theres just something about this game that pulls me in more than other 4X games do. If I had to guess Id say its the games general atmosphere and personality, its the sort of thing lacking from many sci-fi games. It could still improve on this aspect mind you, but compared to so many 4X games, Stellaris is already way ahead. I also appreciate the many mods available for this game on the workshop, some of the stuff out there is pretty damn great.
*Picture not in any way chosen to troll stump
4. Sid Meiers Civilization VI ; I was pretty surprised by Civ VI being as good as it is at launch. Usually, Civ games need one or two expansions to surpass their predecessor (if they do at all), but Civ VI is good enough that I already dont feel like going back to Civ V. I really love some of the design choices they made here, like the district system for cities and the fact that workers now have charges rather than being a regular unit. On top of that, as usual Civ VI is not lacking for personality and charm and theres more than enough content to keep me entertained for a while. Much like with games like Planet Coaster and Stellaris, I see myself coming back to this for years.
5. Stardew Valley ; In some ways quite far outside the sort of thing I usually tend to play, but at the same time pretty close. I really loved managing my farm, looking for the best ways to make more money, and building the farm up over time. I probably enjoyed the actual character stuff less than most, but I didnt mind it at all. I thought it was overall a very charming and entertaining game.
6. Hearts of Iron IV ; A lot less jank than its predecessors, and still pretty fun, especially in multiplayer. I think it could do with more fleshing out though, some extra features, some more depth, and some more flavour for smaller nations in the game. Over time, this will probably also be a great experience, although Im not sure it will be as good as some of the best Paradox games.
7. Tom Clancys the Division ; While addictive, and though I found the basic gameplay enjoyable, I think at launch this was a deeply flawed game. Once you hit the level cap, there was just very little to do, and the grind for gear was atrocious. Having played it again recently however, a lot of progress has been made. Theres more to do at level 30, gear drops are good enough that the game doesnt revolve around finding the best exploits anymore and its just an enjoyable experience. Probably best of all however has been the addition of the Survival game mode. Granted I havent played as much of it as I would have liked, but what I have played has been a ton of fun. A lot of the other multiplayer survival games are a bit too janky for my tastes, but the Divisions Survival mode gets it just right. Its quite ironic though that the best part of the game now is something that is so detached from the normal progression of the game. Oh, and I think what also helps the game for me a lot is that I just absolutely adore the games setting. I love games
8. XCOM 2 ; Its more XCOM, but with better modding support, the addition of a concealment system that I liked a lot, and procedurally generated maps. I also enjoyed how much of a challenge it was, even at the fairly low difficulty setting I played it at.
Ubisoft award for Bar-fillingest Game of the Year
The Division - After an absence of a year, this award is back, and once again confidently claimed by Ubisoft itself. A game that truly demonstrates the heights of artistry Ubisoft has achieved in bar-filling. Between tons of different resources to collect (regular money, dark zone money, phoenix credits, different crafting materials etc.) and different experience bars to fill (regular, dark zone, underground), this game is truly stellar in the bar-filling department. Its still quite a lot of fun though, shows you how much of a sucker I am for just such types of games.
Electronic Arts award for the Most Phoned-in Sequel
Farming Simulator 17 While still fun for a few hours, FS17 again improves very little on its predecessors. Its time for some real changes to this franchise. Add some proper management features, improve on the controls, improve on the physics, let me build my farm rather than giving me a fully featured one from the start and letting me add a handful of buildings. Theres so much potential in this franchise, and theyre using so very little of it.
1. Planet Coaster ; While certainly not perfect (yet), Planet Coaster is an amazing game already. As a management game, its fine, but unremarkable, but as a creative tool, and as a general experience, it is truly stellar. The system you use to create scenery allows you tons of flexibility, yet is very easy to use. This allows you to create beautiful parks that truly feel like your own. Even someone with limited skills like myself can create what is, in my eyes at least, a good-looking park. Of course, you can also browse the Steam workshop for other peoples creations to add to your own park. Beyond that, the games graphics are stunning and the presentation (art style, music, ambient sound) is perfect for a theme park game. With more content in the future and improvements to the management side of things, I think this is set to become a true modern classic.
2. Europa Universalis IV: Rights of Man ; The ninth and most recent expansion for EU4 is probably its second best (after Art of War). It along with the accompanying patch adds a wholly new and more flexibile technology system based around the adoption of institutions that I much prefer to the old rigid technology group system, it adds a new great power mechanic that really changes the game for the better I feel and on top of that more flavour for countries like Prussia and the Ottoman Empire and lots of small improvements. It really got me back into EU4, which I wasnt sure would happen after the disappointment that was Mare Nostrum.
3. Stellaris ; Im honestly not sure why it is that I like Stellaris as much as I do. The game in its current state is certainly a great foundation that Im confident Paradox will build on, but its obviously light on depth and content right now, even after a few patches. That said, I keep coming back to it again and again. Theres just something about this game that pulls me in more than other 4X games do. If I had to guess Id say its the games general atmosphere and personality, its the sort of thing lacking from many sci-fi games. It could still improve on this aspect mind you, but compared to so many 4X games, Stellaris is already way ahead. I also appreciate the many mods available for this game on the workshop, some of the stuff out there is pretty damn great.
*Picture not in any way chosen to troll stump
4. Sid Meiers Civilization VI ; I was pretty surprised by Civ VI being as good as it is at launch. Usually, Civ games need one or two expansions to surpass their predecessor (if they do at all), but Civ VI is good enough that I already dont feel like going back to Civ V. I really love some of the design choices they made here, like the district system for cities and the fact that workers now have charges rather than being a regular unit. On top of that, as usual Civ VI is not lacking for personality and charm and theres more than enough content to keep me entertained for a while. Much like with games like Planet Coaster and Stellaris, I see myself coming back to this for years.
5. Stardew Valley ; In some ways quite far outside the sort of thing I usually tend to play, but at the same time pretty close. I really loved managing my farm, looking for the best ways to make more money, and building the farm up over time. I probably enjoyed the actual character stuff less than most, but I didnt mind it at all. I thought it was overall a very charming and entertaining game.
6. Hearts of Iron IV ; A lot less jank than its predecessors, and still pretty fun, especially in multiplayer. I think it could do with more fleshing out though, some extra features, some more depth, and some more flavour for smaller nations in the game. Over time, this will probably also be a great experience, although Im not sure it will be as good as some of the best Paradox games.
7. Tom Clancys the Division ; While addictive, and though I found the basic gameplay enjoyable, I think at launch this was a deeply flawed game. Once you hit the level cap, there was just very little to do, and the grind for gear was atrocious. Having played it again recently however, a lot of progress has been made. Theres more to do at level 30, gear drops are good enough that the game doesnt revolve around finding the best exploits anymore and its just an enjoyable experience. Probably best of all however has been the addition of the Survival game mode. Granted I havent played as much of it as I would have liked, but what I have played has been a ton of fun. A lot of the other multiplayer survival games are a bit too janky for my tastes, but the Divisions Survival mode gets it just right. Its quite ironic though that the best part of the game now is something that is so detached from the normal progression of the game. Oh, and I think what also helps the game for me a lot is that I just absolutely adore the games setting. I love games
8. XCOM 2 ; Its more XCOM, but with better modding support, the addition of a concealment system that I liked a lot, and procedurally generated maps. I also enjoyed how much of a challenge it was, even at the fairly low difficulty setting I played it at.
nelsonroyale
Member
1. Uncharted 4 ; Masterfully crafted end to the series, with a fully satisfying ending. Best graphics of anything out there as well.
2. Witcher 3 - Blood and Wine ; This was better than Heart of Stone to me...a new setting and a more interesting storyline. This is just a great send off to quite possibly the best WRPG series I have played. Roll on Cyberpunk, because these devs. get it.
3. Final Fantasy XV ; This, overall, is a bit of a disappointment. I feel the skeleton is there to be an absolute epic, but so many design decisions make this game miss the mark. Highs include: the visuals, the epic and awesome soundtrack, the interaction of the main characters, the open world layout and sense of scale, some of the attention to detail in the visuals. Lows include: the small size of the main story, the amateur implimentation of the plot, the shoddy character development and exposition of anybody outside the main cast, the lack of decent cutscenes, generally basic and uninteresting side quests, the second half feeling like a modern counterpart to Xenogears infamous second disk, lack of fantastic settings, lack of developed and populated cities (despite appearances), etc, etc, etc. Long story short, they need to study Witcher 3 and understand and be inspired by all that game did right in terms of being an open world, cinematic rpg.
4. The Last Guardian ; I only played a little of this so far, but it has a beautiful setting and original gameplay crux.
5. Ratchet and Clank ; Beautiful game with usually solid gameplay. Hoping the follow up will add some more depth the adventure. This series has always had an amazing world. I wish they would produce an action rpg in it.
This is all I can remember playing last year...although I am sure there was other stuff.
2. Witcher 3 - Blood and Wine ; This was better than Heart of Stone to me...a new setting and a more interesting storyline. This is just a great send off to quite possibly the best WRPG series I have played. Roll on Cyberpunk, because these devs. get it.
3. Final Fantasy XV ; This, overall, is a bit of a disappointment. I feel the skeleton is there to be an absolute epic, but so many design decisions make this game miss the mark. Highs include: the visuals, the epic and awesome soundtrack, the interaction of the main characters, the open world layout and sense of scale, some of the attention to detail in the visuals. Lows include: the small size of the main story, the amateur implimentation of the plot, the shoddy character development and exposition of anybody outside the main cast, the lack of decent cutscenes, generally basic and uninteresting side quests, the second half feeling like a modern counterpart to Xenogears infamous second disk, lack of fantastic settings, lack of developed and populated cities (despite appearances), etc, etc, etc. Long story short, they need to study Witcher 3 and understand and be inspired by all that game did right in terms of being an open world, cinematic rpg.
4. The Last Guardian ; I only played a little of this so far, but it has a beautiful setting and original gameplay crux.
5. Ratchet and Clank ; Beautiful game with usually solid gameplay. Hoping the follow up will add some more depth the adventure. This series has always had an amazing world. I wish they would produce an action rpg in it.
This is all I can remember playing last year...although I am sure there was other stuff.
1. the last guardian ; this year was unusual. i don't think i have a favorite game. i have a list of games that i enjoyed and one that i didn't. i thought that for a while, the last guardian wouldn't make the list. i also thought it should top the list instead. looking back, i'm not sure what else really hits all the marks of a really great game that years from now i can look back and remember fondly as having done something different or truly special.
there's plenty to dislike. the boy is difficult to control, and trico is even worse. sometimes i would be pointing clearly upwards and trico would about-face and descend over a pathway of pillars back to the starting point, which would mean another minute or two to correct the mistake and ascend once more. sometimes directions aren't exactly clear or jumps were hard to judge, resulting in the boy ragdoling from the rafters in a temple, only for his fall to be broken by the tile floor. a lot of the puzzles are fairly simple too. they involve pulling a lever of some sort just a few feet away from the trico, and very little extra thought. worst of all, the camera is essentially unforgivable. there's no reason why it malfunctions and with relative frequency.
there's also a lot the last guardian gets right. it's a very subtle game at times, using gameplay to tell its story as much as possible. the example that sticks in my mind is a wonderful moment where it seems the boy has reuinted with trico after a short period of separation. at first there's just a small glimpse of trico, and a piece of uplifting music plays to accompany the discovery. moving just around the corner, the music turns sinister upon the full reveal of the creature, initiating one of the game's tensest moments.
the narrative framing of the last guardian as a flashback allows for the only major voice work to come through naturally. it helps guide the player by providing hints in a more organic way than pushing a button on a controller, and it further removes the need for cutscenes that would otherwise impact the flow of gameplay.
ultimately, the last guardian is a great action-adventure game. its presentation succeeds off of strong and consistent visual design, an intriguing minimalist story, and a realistic, understandable bond between its two main characters. the design succeeds off its ability to move the player forward with little direction and logical decisions, making the world function as a massive series of puzzles, all in the context of a boy and a beast trying to escape ancient ruins. there's nothing else like it this year.
2. mirror's edge catalyst ; almost as memorable was mirror's edge catalyst: a first-person, open-world parkour platformer. nine years ago, mirror's edge looked like it would be a first-person, open-world parkour platformer. at first there was disappointment when it wasn't, but that gave way to a strong appreciation of the game's design in its level design and controls. having the initial wish come true was mostly welcome. there are repetitive moments that can't be solved by waypoint jumping, but the platforming is so enjoyable that it doesn't come across too problematic, and the meat of the campaign sticks to the formula that made the first mirror's edge so appealing.
3. dishonored 2 ; a lot of games tout the ability to approach a problem from multiple angles, or the choices that they give players, as though ‘choice' itself deserves a big pat on the back. dishonored 2 takes that and allows the player to experience the game how they see fit. want to stealth, and not kill anyone? go on ahead. or maybe instead you can be a one-person army. or hell, it's fine enough to simply try and speedrun to the end of the level, consequences be damned. no matter which option, the player is well-supported in doing so. while key story moments require stricter adherence to the rules, there's a lot of freedom in how levels can be tackled in other ways, with a surprising amount objectives and secrets hidden away from the main goal, allowing for levels to be played again and again.
4. phoenix wright ace attorney: spirit of justice ; after several games that meandered around, spirit of justice recaptures what worked so well about the first games in the series. with a central plot to keep the cases focused, the odds ever-so-stacked against phoenix wright and his firm, and a seemingly unstoppable villain, it almost feels like a remake of the very first game at times, in all the right ways.
5. dragon quest builders ; dragon quest builders is a simple action rpg with a really addictive town building mode. there isn't much more to it than that, but it really works. and sometimes, even though no one would ever see it, there's something that's compelling about building your town in an aesthetically pleasing way - going so far as to tear down rooms and rip up flooring only to rebuild it and make it look just right.
6. the legend of zelda: twilight princess hd ; a decade after the original release, and twilight princess hd feels like one of the least necessary updates out there. the core game is still strong, barring pacing issues at the start that are more glaring ten years later. the small additions and changes are welcome, and of course the game looks better than before. it's just disappointing that the control methods aren't comprehensive. what would have made this title work better would have been the inclusion of the wii remote and nunchuck, and we knew that in 2006. still, twilight princess is the ultimate culmination of the ocarina of time formula, and one of the best in the series. as minimal as an upgrade this is, it was still nice to visit once more.
7. grand kingdom ; a different kind of strategy rpg that, while at first might make more sense as a mobile title, comes across with strong design decisions. characters can be customized by their class, abilities, appearance, and equipment. the battlefield can be customized as well. multiple squads can be created and cultivated, characters fired and hired for better ones with higher base stats, or existing characters can begin again from scratch with even higher base stats. the battle system is the real star here - at the end of all that preparation is a battle system that acts almost like a mix between a 2d tales game and valkyria chronicles. it's a lot of fun.
8. kirby: planet robobot ; there's nothing in particular that makes planet robobot amazing versus previous entries in the kirby series, but planet robobot just might be a personal favorite. it's an easy game, with fun puzzles, and the robot twist just feels right. maybe it's just fun seeing big robots transform and destroy things.
9. pokemon go ; pokemon go engaged with the imaginations of millions of people. it convinced players to pretend they were actually capturing pokemon, training pokemon, and taking over gyms. it was a brief moment in time, but its status as a cultural phenomenon was unforgettable. walking around town, going to the park, or heading to a popular landmark, seeing the amount and variety of people finding pokemon, sharing with friends, and some really committing to the role of a pokemon trainer, felt closer to being in an actual game than any vr experience so far.
10. jackbox party pack 3 ; while not all winners, the majority of the party games inside jackbox party pack 3 are a lot of fun, from the cards against humanitylike ‘quiplash 2', to the horror-comedy ‘trivia murder party', and social life ruiner ‘fakin it.' even better is the accessibility. since anyone with a smartphone can join in, players can join in across streaming channels without having to worry about paywalls or even owning the platform or game themselves.
x. uncharted 4: a thief's end ; what might make the uncharted series 1000% better would be if this was the only uncharted game. it properly outlines the main character's backstory and motivation, and works as an action-adventure game instead of a third-person shooter. unlike uncharted 2, uncharted 4 focuses on swashbuckling action and adventure. it's a simple addition, but the grappling hook goes a long way towards that, bringing verticality and speed to enemy encounters, and new dynamics to the level design. the drama and comedy that comes from nathan drake mostly doesn't work, but that should be expected at this point.
x. pokemon sun ; this actually feels like ‘pokemon 2'. it's refreshing to see how different this game is when it starts adopting more of a standard rpg vibe, complete with non-trainer scary monsters (and super creeps).
x. fire emblem fates ; it's possible that fire emblem fates is fire emblem overkill. between the three versions of the game, there's anywhere between 80 and 100 hours of strategy game. while the end of three similar campaigns was enough fire emblem for a while, it probably says something about the strength of those campaigns that they were compelling enough to play through all of them.
x. ratchet & clank ; the original ratchet & clank is pretty rough these days, especially as it lacks the additions subsequent titles made to the series. it's nice to see it updated in a pretty major way, but the game does lose a lot of its luster towards the end, with loads of hallways filled with bullet sponges instead of clever platforming challenges or puzzles.
x. oxenfree ; oxenfree is a really wonderful and sometimes scary adventure game where choices matter™. it doesn't always hit its mark when it comes to making characters relatable, or the drama seem real - sometimes the major threat to the protagonists only feels like a nuisance, and sometimes the allies can be unintentionally annoying (ren) - however, the conversation system goes a long way towards making the backtracking feel more enjoyable, and helps personalize each playthrough.
x. shantae: half-genie hero ; this is a game where music and presentation really help with the overall product, because there's a lot of repetition and backtracking. it still is a lot of fun to go back to previous levels and unlock new sections, but the amount of upgrades feels unnecessary, making the loading screen a common sight.
x. #fe: tokyo mirage sessions ; this is one of those rpgs where enjoyment is mostly within the battle system and dungeon design. the story is forgettable, and the characters are fine enough. it's probably the wacky combination and strange setting of the game that makes it memorable and worth checking out.
x. paper mario: color splash ; color splash winds up being a sort of dull game that has just enough going for it that 100% completion doesn't feel like a chore. it's a weird product in that it didn't feel like a waste of time, but there isn't really anything that makes it stand out either.
and now for a brand new category, 'i award you no points, and may god have mercy on your soul'
zero time dilemma. this was the other game i played to completion in 2016. it is so bad from basically any perspective, from the character models, to the voice acting, script, story, pacing, direction, and music that i would never recommend it to anyone as its own thing. worse, it's the supposed end to a trilogy that didn't need to be one, with one of the least satisfying endings this side of mass effect 3.
Lostconfused
Member
Really wish I had more time to play some games. Rather than writing 900 words on why I dislike a game which is kind of an odd fit for a GOTY list.
1. Steins Gate 0 ; The previous was my favourite VN, this didn't disappoint
2. Uncharted 4 ; Best ending for a series
3. Witcher 3 Blood&Wine ; Incredible game, awesome last expansion
4. Final Fantasy XV ; Besides its flaws, I really loved it
5. Doom ; What a return to glory! Got it cheap, didn't expected to be this good!
6. Dark Souls 3 ; Another great return, thx myia
7. Abzu ; Incredible visual, nice music, art at his finest
8. Batman VR
9. Zero Time Dilemma 3 ; End of a nice saga, not my best but liked it
10. Wayvard Sky ; Special mention for this nice VR experience!
Damn I didn't played so many 2016 games, it was hard :\
2. Uncharted 4 ; Best ending for a series
3. Witcher 3 Blood&Wine ; Incredible game, awesome last expansion
4. Final Fantasy XV ; Besides its flaws, I really loved it
5. Doom ; What a return to glory! Got it cheap, didn't expected to be this good!
6. Dark Souls 3 ; Another great return, thx myia
7. Abzu ; Incredible visual, nice music, art at his finest
8. Batman VR
9. Zero Time Dilemma 3 ; End of a nice saga, not my best but liked it
10. Wayvard Sky ; Special mention for this nice VR experience!
Damn I didn't played so many 2016 games, it was hard :\
1. Dragon Quest Builders ; yes, first place. It's that good! The game I had the most fun this year. Builders 2 is already my most wanted unannounced game.
2. Dark Souls III ; not my favourite souls game, but it's another great work from FS. Irithyll of the Boreal Valley may be my favourite area from the entire series, such a magnificent place.
3. Furi ; intense battles, great soundtrack and an interesting story/bosses. Also the best PS Plus offer in 2016 for me.
4. Overwatch ; Loved the beta and I'm still playing it today.
5. Inside ; unique narrative and intelligent game mechanics. Took me some time to process that ending. Amazing experience!
Unfortunately I missed many games in 2016. Wish I had the time (and money) to play Uncharted 4, The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy XV, Doom, Rise of the Tomb Raider, etc.
2. Dark Souls III ; not my favourite souls game, but it's another great work from FS. Irithyll of the Boreal Valley may be my favourite area from the entire series, such a magnificent place.
3. Furi ; intense battles, great soundtrack and an interesting story/bosses. Also the best PS Plus offer in 2016 for me.
4. Overwatch ; Loved the beta and I'm still playing it today.
5. Inside ; unique narrative and intelligent game mechanics. Took me some time to process that ending. Amazing experience!
Unfortunately I missed many games in 2016. Wish I had the time (and money) to play Uncharted 4, The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy XV, Doom, Rise of the Tomb Raider, etc.
I couldnt play many games this year, so here is a top 5:
1. Doom ; When I first heard of a new Doom, two thoughts crossed my mind: It's going to be nothing like the original games, and it's going to be terrible. I was wrong about both of them. While the game is obviously different from the original games, it actually feels like the natural evolution of the original gameplay. The soundtrack also deserves a mention.
2. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; Even as a huge Pokémon fan, I didnt expect much from this one. I wasn't sure about what was being shown prerelease, but when I finally got to play it I was pleasantly surprised. The overworld feels more alive, and while I never had a problem with the Gyms, the new Trials are a nice change to the formula. The new Pokémon designs are perhaps the weakest point for me, but there are a few that have already become favorites.
3. Civilization VI ; Gameplay-wise, this is probably the most complete base game of the latest entries in the series, with many new great additions, like the district system. Still, it is not a perfect game. The AI can be a bit wacky, and the UI and information display in general feels a bit unpolished. These can be fixed in patches or expansions, so I think this entry has a great future ahead.
4. Rhythm Heaven Megamix ; Fun game packed with a lot of content. The story gets in the way sometimes, and the first minigames are easier and shorter versions of old ones. Still, it is a solid entry in the series, especially for those who missed the original GBA game.
5. Pokémon Go ; Even if the gameplay is not really good, the experience of playing the game and sharing it with others is something special.
There are many games of 2016 I would have liked to play, among them Stardew Valley, Paper Mario: Color Splash, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen and The Last Guardian.
1. Doom ; When I first heard of a new Doom, two thoughts crossed my mind: It's going to be nothing like the original games, and it's going to be terrible. I was wrong about both of them. While the game is obviously different from the original games, it actually feels like the natural evolution of the original gameplay. The soundtrack also deserves a mention.
2. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; Even as a huge Pokémon fan, I didnt expect much from this one. I wasn't sure about what was being shown prerelease, but when I finally got to play it I was pleasantly surprised. The overworld feels more alive, and while I never had a problem with the Gyms, the new Trials are a nice change to the formula. The new Pokémon designs are perhaps the weakest point for me, but there are a few that have already become favorites.
3. Civilization VI ; Gameplay-wise, this is probably the most complete base game of the latest entries in the series, with many new great additions, like the district system. Still, it is not a perfect game. The AI can be a bit wacky, and the UI and information display in general feels a bit unpolished. These can be fixed in patches or expansions, so I think this entry has a great future ahead.
4. Rhythm Heaven Megamix ; Fun game packed with a lot of content. The story gets in the way sometimes, and the first minigames are easier and shorter versions of old ones. Still, it is a solid entry in the series, especially for those who missed the original GBA game.
5. Pokémon Go ; Even if the gameplay is not really good, the experience of playing the game and sharing it with others is something special.
There are many games of 2016 I would have liked to play, among them Stardew Valley, Paper Mario: Color Splash, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen and The Last Guardian.
Ultimadrago
Member
Is Overcooked really that good? I might have overlooked it!
It's different. It's hard to explain why the pace annoyed me without going into details about structures of CS1 and CS2, and how Erebonia differs from Liberl. If the pace is like TitS I would have zero complaints honestly.
Yes, Overcooked is a really fun co-op game! I emphasize co-op as it's best best played with at least one other person. Mastering a stage is a good feeling~
Ah, that'd make sense. I suppose I'll see then.
Like:
2. Uncharted 4 ; [Insert Comment]
Edit: I have made a huge mistake.
even as i was done writing it up and making the images, i started to mess around with the order. at one point i had uncharted 4 in the top ten and fire emblem fates there too, but ultimately i had to go off of what i really enjoyed, and stuff like jackbox party pack 3 and twilight princess hd just hit those marks more.
I played much less this year than previous, but enough to make a top 10:
1. Dark Souls III ; Fantastic entry to the series that gets the best from Bloodborne and Dark Souls. The PVP doesn't reach the heights of Dark Souls 2, but everything else is top notch.
2. DOOM ; This game is just insanely good, best single player FPS in over a decade.
3. Hitman ; Pure fun and creativity.
4. Monster Hunter Generations ; This grabbed me less than previous entries, but that's on me for playing too much of MH.
5. Inside ; Beautiful game, the end sequence will stay on my mind for years to come.
6. Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice ; Just a good Ace Attorney game, I will never not love an good Ace Attorney game.
7. The Witness ; A masterpiece, it's not higher because I haven't had the chance to finish it yet..
8. Uncharted 4: A Thiefs End ; The pacing was terrible, and the story bordering on intrusive, but the gameplay and graphics make up for it.
9. Salt and Sanctuary ; Very good effort on transitioning the Souls formula into the 2D space, their next game should ace it.
10. Gravity Rush: Remastered ; Never owned a VITA, so the game was totally new to me. Kat is adorable and the gameplay is cool.
1. Dark Souls III ; Fantastic entry to the series that gets the best from Bloodborne and Dark Souls. The PVP doesn't reach the heights of Dark Souls 2, but everything else is top notch.
2. DOOM ; This game is just insanely good, best single player FPS in over a decade.
3. Hitman ; Pure fun and creativity.
4. Monster Hunter Generations ; This grabbed me less than previous entries, but that's on me for playing too much of MH.
5. Inside ; Beautiful game, the end sequence will stay on my mind for years to come.
6. Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice ; Just a good Ace Attorney game, I will never not love an good Ace Attorney game.
7. The Witness ; A masterpiece, it's not higher because I haven't had the chance to finish it yet..
8. Uncharted 4: A Thiefs End ; The pacing was terrible, and the story bordering on intrusive, but the gameplay and graphics make up for it.
9. Salt and Sanctuary ; Very good effort on transitioning the Souls formula into the 2D space, their next game should ace it.
10. Gravity Rush: Remastered ; Never owned a VITA, so the game was totally new to me. Kat is adorable and the gameplay is cool.
Screaming_Gremlin
My QB is a Dick and my coach is a Nutt
1. Overwatch ; This is the most enjoyment I have had with a multiplayer shooter since Team Fortress 2. I guess that it is sort of fitting it is with a game that its detractors try and dismiss by calling TF3. They took a lot of what was enjoyable from that type of multi-class shooter and really expanded on it, adding the Blizzard polish. A cast of extremely enjoyable characters with fun worlds to play in. The gameplay is top notch and there is enough variety in abilities that you should be able to find at least one character you enjoy playing for any given role. I also like that Blizzard focused on making it as positive an experience is possible for players. No K ratios or even leaderboards showing someone else wrecking you in kills.
2. Hitman ; After Hitman Absolution, I was ready to write this series off. The mess with the launch (switching to an episodic model and the refunds) just reaffirmed by decision. Who would have guessed that everything would come together and quite honestly end up with a package that was better than even Blood Money. Most of the levels were just fantastically designed, with so many different ways to approach things. It also helped that they sort of leaned into the goofiness of the whole concept.
3. Tyranny ; I think it is a shame that this game had so little fanfare. The combat isn't as interesting or involved as Pillars last year, nor is there as much variety in enemies. I loved the idea of a classless game, I just don't think they quite hit the mark. On the other hand, the world and characters were so much more interesting. I loved the Conquest system to let you help shape the world and the background for your character. And if you went down an evil path, the game would let you be just a straight bastard that no one would want to interact with. I would love if Obsidian would visit this world again.
4. XCOM 2 ; This game seemed to pass by for a lot of people, even those who loved the first. Personally, I thought it was a fantastic follow up. The turn limits on most missions really pushed you out of your comfort zone, forcing you to always be making progress. Balancing that pressure against the need to make sound tactical decisions led to a lot of fun for me. My only real wish is that it wasn't such a technical mess when it launched, especially when they didn't have to focus on console versions at the same time.
5. Stardew Valley ; This game was just a gem. I have played many a Harvest Moons trying to recapture my love of HM64. None of them quite lived up to, with the most recent games having a glacial pace and rollout of NPCs and buildings. Stardew was apparently what I was looking for. Almost from the very start there were a thousand things you could be doing on a given day. From farming, fighting, developing relationships, or just trying to save the local community center from big grocery. This game was just extremely charming, from graphics to music to gameplay.
6. Firewatch ; I think Firewatch would make my top ten list on the strength of Olly Moss's artwork alone. Thankfully, I found the rest of the game really enjoyable as well. The atmosphere and music were fantastic. Thanks to a single jump scare they were able to add a tension to the rest of the game without it becoming a horror game. I understand why people would be disappointed in the ending, but the way I interpretted it was very satisfying. I can't wait to see what Campo Santo does next.
7. Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak ; I have no great love for RTS games. I am not particularly good at them. That being said, I really enjoyed the new Homeworld. It was complete different from the past games, but still captured that same atmosphere. I didn't touch the multiplayer (again, I suck at RTS games), but the campaign was very challenging and enjoyable. The art was fantastic, making the cut scenes a joy to look at even though they didn't have piles of money to render them compared to larger AAA games.
8. Batman: The Telltale Series ; I really didn't think Telltale would be able to put out a Batman game that I would find enjoyable, but here we are. I guess I should be surprised, since they did the same thing with Borderlands the year before. It is still filled with the TT jank and garbage engine, but everything else was so good. You get to focus more on being a detective Batman instead of some guy terrorizing hobos. Where there were "fight" sequences it was with the best version of QTE that TellTale has implemented. I like the twist they put on several of the characters, changing the mythos from what we usually see with videogame Batman. The Bruce Wayne / Selina Kyle relationship was also handled surprisingly well. Overall, it is another franchise I hope they are able to revisit in the future.
9. Sid Meier's Civilization VI ; I have some mixed feelings about this game, like I do for the launch of any new Civ. The vanilla games almost always are missing systems introduced in the previous game's expansions, making it seem like something was missing. This time, they largely seemed to be able to bring those over, setting up a great base to expand off of. I also liked some of the changes, especially to city building and hubs. What held this game back unfortunately was just the complete dumpster fire of an AI. If they can get that worked out in patches and expansions, I think Civ VI will be a real jewel in the franchise.
10. Oxenfree ; What a great little adventure game. I went into it knowing nothing and when the twist happens to setup the game, I knew I was in for something special. There is some great dialog between the characters, really helping you understand their relationships. The game also builds some fantastic tension, never becoming a straight up horror game, but keeping you at unease the entire time.
Honorable Mentions
X. Planet Coaster ; This was a great follow up to the old Roller Coaster Tycoon games. The only thing that held it back in my mind is that there wasn't quite enough focus on the management aspect, since so much time was spent on the ride and park design aspects. I just don't quite have enough patience or artistic ability to get the max out of that.
X. Glittermitten Grove ; While this didn't quite have the same impact on me as the first Frog Fractions, I still found it to be an enjoyable game with a lot insanity.
X. House of the Dying Sun ; I probably would have missed this, but I saw a few people mention it on the first few days of this thread. I picked it up during the Steam sale and I am glad I did. This is space combat distilled into as tight of a package that you can get. Very satisfying.
This might have been the toughest year I have had in a long time putting together a top ten list. By the time I was done highlighting the games I knew I wanted to include in my top ten list, I was already at 13 games. And there were about 4 more that I really enjoyed as well that I wouldn't feel bad about including in a top ten list either.
Besides what I mentioned above, I have to give props to Doom, Superhot, Stellaris, and WOW: Legion. They were all wonderful games.
The scary things is there are several other games that are probably fantastic that I haven't even had time to touch. Deus Ex, Dishonored 2, Last Guardian, The Witness, Overcooked, and Tokyo Mirage Sessions (only about half way through those final two).
ratios or even leaderboards showing someone else wrecking you in kills.2. Hitman ; After Hitman Absolution, I was ready to write this series off. The mess with the launch (switching to an episodic model and the refunds) just reaffirmed by decision. Who would have guessed that everything would come together and quite honestly end up with a package that was better than even Blood Money. Most of the levels were just fantastically designed, with so many different ways to approach things. It also helped that they sort of leaned into the goofiness of the whole concept.
3. Tyranny ; I think it is a shame that this game had so little fanfare. The combat isn't as interesting or involved as Pillars last year, nor is there as much variety in enemies. I loved the idea of a classless game, I just don't think they quite hit the mark. On the other hand, the world and characters were so much more interesting. I loved the Conquest system to let you help shape the world and the background for your character. And if you went down an evil path, the game would let you be just a straight bastard that no one would want to interact with. I would love if Obsidian would visit this world again.
4. XCOM 2 ; This game seemed to pass by for a lot of people, even those who loved the first. Personally, I thought it was a fantastic follow up. The turn limits on most missions really pushed you out of your comfort zone, forcing you to always be making progress. Balancing that pressure against the need to make sound tactical decisions led to a lot of fun for me. My only real wish is that it wasn't such a technical mess when it launched, especially when they didn't have to focus on console versions at the same time.
5. Stardew Valley ; This game was just a gem. I have played many a Harvest Moons trying to recapture my love of HM64. None of them quite lived up to, with the most recent games having a glacial pace and rollout of NPCs and buildings. Stardew was apparently what I was looking for. Almost from the very start there were a thousand things you could be doing on a given day. From farming, fighting, developing relationships, or just trying to save the local community center from big grocery. This game was just extremely charming, from graphics to music to gameplay.
6. Firewatch ; I think Firewatch would make my top ten list on the strength of Olly Moss's artwork alone. Thankfully, I found the rest of the game really enjoyable as well. The atmosphere and music were fantastic. Thanks to a single jump scare they were able to add a tension to the rest of the game without it becoming a horror game. I understand why people would be disappointed in the ending, but the way I interpretted it was very satisfying. I can't wait to see what Campo Santo does next.
7. Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak ; I have no great love for RTS games. I am not particularly good at them. That being said, I really enjoyed the new Homeworld. It was complete different from the past games, but still captured that same atmosphere. I didn't touch the multiplayer (again, I suck at RTS games), but the campaign was very challenging and enjoyable. The art was fantastic, making the cut scenes a joy to look at even though they didn't have piles of money to render them compared to larger AAA games.
8. Batman: The Telltale Series ; I really didn't think Telltale would be able to put out a Batman game that I would find enjoyable, but here we are. I guess I should be surprised, since they did the same thing with Borderlands the year before. It is still filled with the TT jank and garbage engine, but everything else was so good. You get to focus more on being a detective Batman instead of some guy terrorizing hobos. Where there were "fight" sequences it was with the best version of QTE that TellTale has implemented. I like the twist they put on several of the characters, changing the mythos from what we usually see with videogame Batman. The Bruce Wayne / Selina Kyle relationship was also handled surprisingly well. Overall, it is another franchise I hope they are able to revisit in the future.
9. Sid Meier's Civilization VI ; I have some mixed feelings about this game, like I do for the launch of any new Civ. The vanilla games almost always are missing systems introduced in the previous game's expansions, making it seem like something was missing. This time, they largely seemed to be able to bring those over, setting up a great base to expand off of. I also liked some of the changes, especially to city building and hubs. What held this game back unfortunately was just the complete dumpster fire of an AI. If they can get that worked out in patches and expansions, I think Civ VI will be a real jewel in the franchise.
10. Oxenfree ; What a great little adventure game. I went into it knowing nothing and when the twist happens to setup the game, I knew I was in for something special. There is some great dialog between the characters, really helping you understand their relationships. The game also builds some fantastic tension, never becoming a straight up horror game, but keeping you at unease the entire time.
Honorable Mentions
X. Planet Coaster ; This was a great follow up to the old Roller Coaster Tycoon games. The only thing that held it back in my mind is that there wasn't quite enough focus on the management aspect, since so much time was spent on the ride and park design aspects. I just don't quite have enough patience or artistic ability to get the max out of that.
X. Glittermitten Grove ; While this didn't quite have the same impact on me as the first Frog Fractions, I still found it to be an enjoyable game with a lot insanity.
X. House of the Dying Sun ; I probably would have missed this, but I saw a few people mention it on the first few days of this thread. I picked it up during the Steam sale and I am glad I did. This is space combat distilled into as tight of a package that you can get. Very satisfying.
This might have been the toughest year I have had in a long time putting together a top ten list. By the time I was done highlighting the games I knew I wanted to include in my top ten list, I was already at 13 games. And there were about 4 more that I really enjoyed as well that I wouldn't feel bad about including in a top ten list either.
Besides what I mentioned above, I have to give props to Doom, Superhot, Stellaris, and WOW: Legion. They were all wonderful games.
The scary things is there are several other games that are probably fantastic that I haven't even had time to touch. Deus Ex, Dishonored 2, Last Guardian, The Witness, Overcooked, and Tokyo Mirage Sessions (only about half way through those final two).