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[SxP]

1. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; Last year the main game lost out to Bloodborne and, admittedly, this DLC would lose out to The Old Hunters as well. But what those DLC share is that they’re both better than the main game, though by small margins and both for different reasons. Blood and Wine is simply better paced, has more inventive quests and a more consistently high quality story. Most of this is simply due to the length of the game, as sometimes the vast amount of content in the main game made the quality dip a little. In Blood and Wine the quality never dips and it truly shows that less can certainly be more. The settings is so very different, but equally convincing and far more beautiful. That first horse ride in the oversaturated fields of Toussaint is truly wonderful, and that feeling lasts all the way until the very end of the DLC. Given this vibrant and cheerful atmosphere, it’s admirable how, when my story ended with the bad ending, they made that bleak ending feel real and poignant. One cannot wish for a better send-off to one of the best games ever.

2. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End ; I came in with high expectations, and Uncharted 4 did not disappoint. On the gameplay front, the lessons learned from TLOU made a huge difference and made the moment to moment gameplay more fun than ever. The vista’s and locations were breathtaking, as ever, and so were the set pieces. Though, sadly, there were less of those than in previous games. Uncharted’s strongest aspect was, again, the story and characters. With the highlight of this game being the relationship between Nate and Elena, which felt real, alive, and ever-shifting throughout the game.

3. Ratchet and Clank ; I played some of the previous games on the PS3 and actually did not like them. So I picked this up for 20 this fall and went in with tempered expectations, in spite of all the praise for this title. But this time, I was truly blown away. The game looks amazing, but most importantly, this game just oozes fun, in every level, every encounter, and every interaction. I immediately started another playthrough and then again, to get the Platinum. Never did it feel like a grind, I was still having a ton of fun with all the wacky weapons and enemies, and their combined effects.

4. Overwatch ; Kept me hooked since release. I had some moments where I stopped playing for a while, but I always came back. The whole game just oozes style and character, from the maps to the heroes, which all have the trademark Blizzard attention to detail. Most importantly, Blizzard did a fantastic job at making every match feel like unique which means I can play for hours on end without getting bored.

5. Dragon Quest: Builders ; I liked Minecraft when I first played it two years ago on PS4, but I’m admittedly not a very creative person. The trophy just provided a good sort of checklist of things to do and I had fun doing it. But the moment I could decide for myself what to build… I quit. So, naturally, this game was right up my alley and I had much more fun with this than with Minecraft, even though it’s far more limited in what you can build. Although it’s slightly disappointed you have to start over in every chapter of the story mode, they all have their own feel and quirky characters which keeps the game engaging throughout the entire story mode. And every time I had to leave my friends behind to travel to a new world I felt a tinge of sadness, because they’re all so well written, lively, and make every place feel like a real home.

6. The Last Guardian ; I admit it, I had trouble having Trico to do what I wanted him to do. Which made the game slide down a couple of places on my list. But when it works, it is truly something special. Having to rely on Trico at some points and to help Trico at other points really creates a bond with this fantastically animated AI character. And the set-pieces perfectly uses this created bond to boost their effectiveness and create some truly fantastically tense scenes. In the end, I feel the game succeeded in what it set out to do, because I wish I could drag Trico out of my screen and have him with me all the time, however impractical that might be. Just a shame about the controls, camera, and the bugs with the AI I encountered.

7. Dishonored 2 ; It was difficult to choose between Dishonored 2 and Deus Ex Mankind Divided, because they’re very close in terms of quality. They just have different strengths and weaknesses. Dishonored 2 has a beautiful world and fantastically designed levels. The powers are fun, and so is replaying the game with the other character to experience some new dialogue and to experiment with new combinations of powers (which can be truly gamebreaking). Not to mention the fantastic mission with the Timepiece, which is an instant classic.

8. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; On the other hand, Deus Ex Mankind Divided has the best hub world I’ve ever experienced. Every part of the city is just so full of detail. And even when you think some details are just insignificant world building, suddenly it comes back later in the game through a side quest. In that sense, everything feels connected and the whole city feels like it has a million different stories, each more interesting than the other. But the game is not without it’s shortcoming and that’s what keeps this game below Dishonored 2. The new powers feel unnecessary. Not so much useless, just unnecessary. It lacks any sense of globe trotting that the original Deus Ex and Human Revolution had. Similarly, it has a lack of separated levels that make the previously mentioned three games so good. The vast majority of the game is played out on the streets of Prague, for better or worse. But most egregiously is the story, or lack thereof. It goes absolutely nowhere, answers no important questions and just fizzles out. In that sense, it’s not weird to see why some people feel like this is half of a game.

9. DOOM ; Bethesda really knows how to make good FPS campaigns. I like the Wolfenstein and Half-Life style of campaign (more focused on the story, characters, and world) better, but I still had a lot of fun ravaging through demons on Mars and Hell.

10. Trails of Cold Steel II ; Still in my top 10, although barely. I say still, because compared to Trails in the Sky FC and SC it’s a major step down. The strongest part of these games are the characters and the little story lines that unfold throughout the game. With the minor characters in the streets and cities, they’re as strong as ever and that’s primarily the reason the game is in my top 10. But the quality takes a major dip with the main cast. Some characters go absolutely nowhere throughout the game, while others are still as trope heavy as ever. And the main story is terrible. It’s so predictable, it’s filled with tropes, and it contradicts itself constantly (most obviously with

Spoiler

the oft heard “We’re a neutral party” vs what happens in actuality, which is that Class VII sides with the Imperial Army every time, helps conquer territory for the Imperial Army, all the while painting the Noble Alliance as the bad guys in every single way.

). And compared to its immediate predecessor, this game is equal parts better and worse. Better because the structure is less rigid and the combat is more varied and refined. Worse because, again, the main story is just awful and it recycles most of the areas of the first game. Which was more acceptable in Trails in the Sky SC because we already saw the whole of Liberl in the first game. But Erebonia is massive, and yet we got to see so almost no new places. I still liked the game, but I’m hoping for a big improvement with the third game.

 

[Toma]

1. The Last Guardian ; Tremendous Journey that we waited long for, but the wait definitely was worth it with many unique memories that I doubt other games will get close to in the future
2. Let it Die ; Stupidly fun game, the setting and art style elevate it above the rest already, but its the first "big" game to do F2P right, challenging the player instead of nickel and diming him to even continue playing. Easily my biggest surprise of the year.
3. The Witness ; Great puzzle game, great art style, magnificient overarching structure.
4. Dark Souls 3 ; Its ... Dark Souls.
5. Harmonix VR ; VR was another huge surprise in 2016 and Harmonix VR stands at the epitome of PSVR for me, with the most immersive VR experience I had.
6. No Man's Sky ; Still the game that best encapsulates exploring weird alien planets and I will never forget the amount of joy I had travelling and stumbling through this vast universe, despite all the negativity surrounding it.
7. Doom ; Thought this wasnt possible anymore - being a good FPS.
8. Shenzhen I/O ; Zachtronics programming style puzzle games always deserve a nod, such a great concept.
9. Grim Dawn ; The game that came closest to Diablo 2 for me. Enjoyed it immensely.
10. Pokémon Go ; Honor 10th spot for the social experience of the first 2 weeks, which I am super glad I was able to participate in. Doubt any other game will replicate this in the near future.

 

[Mifune]

1. The Last Guardian ; Has a sense of scale like no other game. A tremendous journey I will never forget. Beautiful, bold, powerful. Sublime storytelling, too. A triumph.

2. The Witness ; Few games have confounded me (and continue to confound me) like The Witness does. I haven't beaten it yet because I refuse to use a guide. This was a dark year with impossible problems to solve so it was nice to dip into this every now and then and solve some problems that only SEEMED impossible.

3. Uncharted 4 ; Sometimes it's just great to play a game made by developers at the peak of their craft. No, it's not as affecting as The Last of Us. But it's more fun and joyous. I've finished it twice and still want to go back for more.

4. Gears of War 4 ; Because sometimes you need to just shoot some shit. And this game does the shooting shit better than anyone else. Plus the characters are pretty charming and the narrative strips everything away but forward momentum. This game is a freight train.

5. Abzu ; The most gorgeous game of the year with the best soundtrack of the year. Austin Wintory is gaming's secret weapon right now.

6. Ratchet and Clank ; Insomniac knows how to make fun games. This one just keeps building and building on its systems and mechanics until, at the end, you just just want to steamroll through the entire campaign again. Beautiful graphics, too.

7. Gravity Rush Remastered ; The Vita version was hand cramp city. But playing it with a proper controller reveals how exhilarating it is. Short and sweet and wild.

What a wonderful year for video games.

 

[silva1991]

1. Last Guardian
2. Let it Die
3. Witness
4. Dark Souls 3
5. Harmonix VR
6. No Mans Sky
7. Doom
8. Shenzhen
9. Grim Dawn
10. Pokemon Go

You should add ; to one at least and talk about it.

 

[Toma]

You should add ; to one at least and talk about it.

Sorry, someone nudged me to post and I didnt check the OP, since I was being lazy.
Added some descriptions.

 

[usp84]

1. Dark Souls III ; The best of the year unsurprisingly.FROM software is phenomenal making yet again an incredible game that combines gameplay,atmosphere,music and lore to be the perfect last game for one of the best series of all time.


2. Dishonored 2 ; Mind blowing level design and top gameplay for a game that i did not expect to be THIS good.Only problem was the story parts but it didnt even matter.Latest patches have also improved the replayability of the game.

3. The Last Guardian ; Seeing the little gameplay section at E3 2016 did absolutely nothing for me and i thought that i would not like the game as much as the other TEAM ICO games.However within 15 minutes of actually playing the game i felt totally different.I loved Trico and the connection with boy and i was never frustrated with him that much that it became a problem.Amazing ending as well


4. Deus Ex Mankind Divided ; Much like Dishonored 2 this game has top level design and gameplay.However i was expecting more from the story but someone decided to cut it in half.

5. Uncharted 4 A Thief's End ; A pefect ending for the series.What a beautiful game.I never thought i would care so much for these characters but ND did it again.

6. Inside ; I only played this game yesterday and i loved it.Great atmosphere and completely WTF last 15 minutes!

7. The Witcher 3 Blood and Wine ; A DLC in the GOTY list?Yes of course if we are talking about Blood and Wine.Worse than Hearts of Stone but better for a final ending to Geralt(for now at least)



Well that's it from me.I really wanted to play a bunch of 2016 games but no time yet.DOOM, Titanfall 2, FF XV, Ratchet and Clank,Quantum Break,Firewatch, ROTTR and probably a few more!Damn so many games and more are on the way.

Overall a great year but a bit worse than 2015 which had Bloodborne AND the Witcher 3 so almost impossible to beat

 

[Yabberwocky]

This ended up being mortifyingly long, and would you believe it's already been considerably cut down? There were a lot of great games this year doing interesting things, it was hard to not wax on a bit poetic about the ones that really resonated with me. There were so many polished games in a variety of genres, I wish I'd gotten to play more.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

FINAL FANTASY XV. Oh, Final Fantasy XV, what do I do with you? On the one hand, FFXV offers a game experience like few others. It's a genuine, immersive roadtrip taken with your friends, with gorgeous scenic backdrops and an impressive attention to detail in regard to the mannerisms of the main cast. FFXV is extremely unique in many regards. It's the little things, like pulling into roadstops, camping at night, picking the best photo your gangly BFF took... it's an experience unlike very few games out there. On the other hand, along with a lot of other problems, FFXV also has very basic storytelling and character issues in a way that none of the games I have played from the franchise have had before. I really enjoy the concepts behind FFXV in theory, and ideally it is everything I look for in a story: a relatively down to earth narrative, accompanied by a plot that is more personal and character driven with a strong focus on relationships. FFXV could have doubled-down on its smaller, more personal narrative, which could have made for some satisfying pay-offs and development throughout. Unfortunately, FFXV continually luxuriated in the story pay-offs without bothering to do any of the set-up.

In many ways, XV is about immersion and interaction like few games in the series have been before. It's again the little things, like customizing the Regalia, choosing your music on the radio, jogging along and listening to your friends chatting around you. Checking out Prompto's photos at the end of the day was always an absolute delight, and like everyone else, I ended up with a lot of pictures of Gladio's backside...? Camping/caravan-ing/hotel-ing was a comforting bit of solace after a day's travel, and there were many charming little interactions, especially if there was a guest party member with you at the time. Party banter, though sadly mostly fluff, was a great way to break up the monotony. It is then frustrating, when FFXV succeeds on many levels with immersion, that it has issues at a basic level that often left me feeling quite detached from the experience. There were so many story beats that tried to have pay-off without build up, and a surprising amount of story beats happened off-screen. Reading about them in a loading screen was a bit galling, and all of the above does a disservice and unravels what FFXV does well. Noctis is a believable, flawed, and likeable protagonist, and is the absolute triumph of FFXV. Noctis as a character keeps the story going into complete disarray. It is his arc that pushes FFXV to the finish line, and gives the player an emotional lifeline throughout. Everyone outside of Noctis is depressingly stagnant, with Prompto only slightly moving the character development barometer. Luna and Regis were ludicrously underutilized, especially in the case of Regis. Regis' impact in the main game is almost nonexistent, and Luna ultimately is a plot device for Nocti's character arc with very minimal screentime. The supporting villains have about five minutes screen time if I'm being generous, and the primary villain is an absolutely fantastic idea in concept, but again, barely explored in game.

FFXV's combat is mellow fun, with a good flow, and feels at its best on more small to medium enemies. A few boss battles seem like they were inspired by a Platinum game, without utilizing the basics that make Platinum boss battles so satisfying. Noctis' movements have an animation priority over responsiveness for the player, and the enemies, having only minimal telegraphing in combat, took away from what the game did right with gameplay. The hunts were one of my favorite parts of FFXII, and it's wonderful to see them return. Frustratingly, FFXV's side-quests are filler wastes, and are just an excuse to get you moving around the map. Thankfully, the dungeons are fantastic. They're claustrophobic, with interesting level design and some suitably horrifying creatures. Sadly, your biggest enemy in the dungeons will no doubt be the camera itself, but regardless, the dungeons were a huge highlight for me. FFXV's art direction - outside of a few choice character designs - is impeccable, and FFXV has some of the most impressive bestiary out of any game in the franchise. Many of the creatures are redesigned old FF creature staples, and it's incredible how they've made simple stylized sprites believable and realistic. The summon/Astral design is some of my favorite in the series, with Ifrit being particularly memorable. There is so much beautiful concept art for the game, especially for the villain's backstory, I wish we'd gotten more hints of it in-game.

Ultimately, I think FFXV's gorgeous Japanese boxart perfectly encapsulates the strengths of the game for me. FFXV offers a one of a kind roadtrip experience, in a beautiful world accompanied by a likeable cast. There is a unique player engagement in a way that is new for the franchise as a whole. It's just unbelievably frustrating that XV has so many issues in basic areas where there didn't need to be, and undermines its strengths. It's like they started building pretty open world extensions on a house while the basic story foundation was still being designed. I'm still baffled.

LIFE IS STRANGE. The weirdest compliment I can give to Life is Strange is that I genuinely still feel nostalgic for Arcadia Bay. The atmosphere, art direction, impeccable attention to detail - the world drew me in from the very beginning, and nearly a year later, still feels like a place I need to visit again. LiS's pacing was really engaging. The drama and intrigue is built beautifully over the episodes, whilst still not sacrificing quieter character moments alongside player exploration. The tension, horror, and surreal nature of LiS was always palpable, and heightened due to the constant interaction from the player. Some of the later episodes turn familiarity against you in deeply unnerving and claustrophobic ways. The time travel mechanic was well done, and you know that the writers have done a great job with choices when you keep rewinding and playing them out because you can't pick between them.

Hannah Telle gives a likeable, gruff awkwardness to Max. Max is relatable as a lead, whilst managing to be both flawed and deeply admirable. Ashly Burch steals the show as Chloe, and gives a superb and memorable performance. The supporting cast were all empathetic and enjoyable, and characters that I assumed were going to be flat archetypes ended up having surprising depth. Throughout, LiS is a superb example of don't write 'strong' female characters - write interesting, compelling, and flawed ones, and women with their own agency. Max and Chloe ended up having one of my favorite dynamics in gaming, and their relationship was raw, awkward, and touching. LiS easily has some of the best representation of women I've seen in a game. LiS did a fantastic job in every regard - friendships, romance, dealing with sexuality without being sexualised and objectified in turn. It was also the little moments of genuine, non-glamorized normalcy, like the other girls in Max's dorm not having their makeup on in the morning, or even the girls changing outfits day to day, whilst having their own style. A lot of other games would have taken an opportunity for a late night bikini swim to become voyeuristic camera angle fun, but no, Life is Strange portrays the scene with fun normalcy, and respects Chloe and Max as characters over objectifying them to the audience. Kudos to Dontnod for also dealing with some really rough subjects respectfully, including depression, suicide, PTSD, along with some other more spoilery topics. There are also some moments in Eps. 4 and 5 in particular that could have been relentlessly objectifying in the hands of other developers. Instead, Dontnod does not back down on the horror of the situation and the implications, whilst still not being gratuitous and exploitive. I can't think of many creators in any medium who could have handled it with such grace, and I remember being pleasantly surprised throughout. It's a great demonstration of yes, it's important to deal with really heavy subjects, but you can explore them with grace and sensibility without being exploitive.

I played up the retail version of LiS last year, so it could technically be in my top ten list for 2016. It was already hard enough placing games, and adding LiS was a genuine headache. I will say that it would have easily been in my top three of 2015. Life is Strange really was a memorable experience, and I still miss Arcadia Bay. I can almost smell the sea breeze, the stuffiness of the Blackwall Academy's halls, the sizzling of bacon in the Two Whales Diner, the smelly old shoes in the cluttered dormitories... Max's dead plant...

FIRE EMBLEM FATES. I had high expectations going into Fates after the pleasant, addictive surprise that was Awakening. Awakening wasn't a revelatory experience in regards to story, but it had a great set-up and mystery that somehow managed to be engaging throughout. In contrast, the stories, characters, and localization of Birthright and Conquest... were a thing. The pacing of both games was sluggish, and there wasn't always a great narrative throughline taking you from place to place. A lot of the support conversations felt like filler, and interesting ones were few and far between. There were some characters with compelling potential, but most weren't really utilized. Corrin was a dull replacement for Robin as the lead, with being non-offensive at best and downright idiotic at the worst. I unfortunately found a lot of the voice cast in English to be hit and miss. Thankfully, there are areas where Fates greatly improves on Awakening. The soundtrack is wonderful, and blends the gentle Japanese influence for Hoshido with the Celtic influence for Nohr beautifully. There were enjoyable additions to gameplay and classes. Conquest was a mic-drop in terms of map design, that was admittedly quite horrifying at times in its requirements. Outside of the invasions battles, My Castle mostly felt like filler. Ultimately, Birthright ultimately had the stronger character design, story, and characters for me, whilst Conquest had the clever, nail-biting maps (I was terrible) and the stronger soundtrack. With Fates, there are some great steps for the series, along with many steps back. Awakening kept it fairly tight and simple, and was a stronger game for it. Fates tried to do too much, have too many game versions and characters, and ended up being a considerably weaker experience all-round for me personally. We did get some great Lobster memes, though. OUGI.

BATMAN: THE TELLTALE SERIES. When Telltale chose to make a new Batman continuity, I was pleasantly surprised. The outcome itself was refreshing and intriguing all at once. The voice cast is superb all-round. Without even the slightest bit of hyperbole, Telltale's definitely created my favorite Catwoman/Selina Kyle of all time. Her character is believable and compelling, and her design sensibly walks the line of practical, whilst still being femme fatale appealing. Selina and Bruce genuinely feel like equals in every conversation and interaction, which very few Batman tales manage effectively. There is one chapter in particular between Bruce and Selina that gives their dynamic a genuine chemistry and maturity like I've rarely seen in a game before. Bruce himself is younger and more inexperienced in regards to his alter ego than most continuities are, but with your guidance, he can go in some interesting places. The character design for all for the villains is fantastic, and definitely makes me want more seasons from the series to see what Telltale could do with the Bat Family and Batman's rogues gallery. Fascinatingly, playing as Bruce, was far more stressful than playing as Batman, and I found myself frequently pausing the game due to the decisions I had to make. The action prompts are interesting and dynamically used. There is a great sense of continual follow-through and action in regards to choreography and prompts for the fight scenes, and there is also a satisfying weight to Batman's animation. Batman's detective link cues sometimes felt like filler, but did come together in satisfying ways, especially in a more active way in Episode 5. Telltale's Batman is definitely some of the most potential I've seen out of a new continuity in a very long time. The Arkham series scratched that itch playing as Batman, but always felt quite shallow in regard to character and story - which is still surprising, considering Paul Dini's involvement in the first two. It was fantastic to play a Batman game that had compelling story and characters, I was truly sorry when my time playing as Bruce and Batman was over, though hopefully just for now.

GAME OF THE YEAR LIST:

NUMBER TEN - THE BANNER SAGA 2. BS1 was an extremely memorable game for me. It combined a Norse mythology inspired world with superb art direction, great character design, compelling characters, clever world building, and a breathtaking soundtrack. The sequel builds on what the original did well, whilst gradually opening up more and more of the world and lore. The meticulous detail on the various equippable items continued to be impressive, as was the locale descriptions on the world map. Even the backgrounds on the battlefields always told their own stories, and can be affected by decisions you've made. The attention to detail in every aspect of BS2 is impressive, and is even a step up from BS1. There are some genuinely cinematic and jaw-dropping moments throughout the game, which is impressive considering there is often very little being animated. The characters are all distinct with strong designs and interactions. The various player characters - who I won't spoil - had a fascinating contrast between their goals and storylines, and there was snappy and touching dialogue throughout. Austin Wintory's BS2 score builds on his original, with a slightly off-kilter relentless march to it all. If BS1 was more mournful, BS2 has more of an ominous undercurrent. BS2's gameplay has some interesting class additions in BS2, and being able to pick a second class for your characters offers some interesting combinations. Stealth, buff, skipping turns, and secondary abilities were all fun additions and/or expanded on previous staples, and I often used a stealth character as an invisible blockade. Alette's Overwatch with a good enemy knock back item was ludicrously satisfying. BS2, like ME2, is the joining tissue of a larger story, but is memorable on its own. There were many awe-inspiring, intriguing, and tense moments, and I can't believe the scale of what has been achieved by such a small team. I look forward to BS3, but I also don't want my time with this beautiful world and its characters to end.

NUMBER NINE - VIRGINIA. There are very few games like Virginia, and it's hard to not throw around the term 'cinematic' when referring to it, but... it really is cinematic in a way very few games are. The art direction, the camera angles, the lightning, the pacing - there's an atmospheric synergy between it all. The glue that holds Virginia together is its incredible soundtrack. Since there is no dialogue (or even moving dialogue lip flaps on the characters), the soundtrack itself becomes the dialogue, and the narration... it sets the pace, and it takes you and guides you throughout the game. It's the glue that holds the game together, and is the drive that pushes you forward, and the gentle hand that holds you back. Virginia is very much worth playing for the soundtrack alone. The art direction was gorgeous, and I was surprised how effective the simple character models ended up being. Virginia had a few little items that could be collected, and they affected the way you viewed your world in subtle, poignant ways. The flowers in your apartment, for example, or even just the simple act of collecting a decorative pin made a moment in the ending much more powerful.

I was fascinated that I genuinely built a connection, attachment, and understanding with the player's FBI partner, Maria Halperin, without a line of dialogue shared. Virginia's core idea and concepts are so strong that it makes up for my issues in the back half of the game. The game didn't need to step too far into surreal symbolism, as the story the game tells up to that point is strikingly effective. I feel like the decision to make the game more symbolic in the backhalf was a genuine disservice to the impressive storytelling and pacing that the game has for the first 3/4s. It was incredible how much of an intricate story Virginia managed to get across without a line of dialogue, or even minimal reading. Twin Peaks was definitely an inspiration, and after playing Life is Strange earlier last year with similar inspirations, LiS was the stronger of the two in that regard. Outside of adding an emotional layer to the player character, a lot of the surreal moments to Virginia don't feel necessary . In comparison, Life is Strange keeps a very strong narrative throughline throughout. It takes intrigue and character set-up cues from Twin Peaks, without sacrificing any element of the game itself.

The masterful way the soundtrack pushes Virginia forward throughout is something I've rarely seen before in any medium. The soundtrack is such an absolute achievement, and is integral in engaging players in this fascinating, understated world. I regretfully have my issues with Virginia, but what the game has achieved is absolutely commendable regardless.

NUMBER EIGHT - WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY. I'm not sure what the kind folks over at Square were smoking when they put together WoFF, but I wasn't expecting it to be one of my biggest enjoyable surprises of 2016. The best way I can describe it is the weird Final Fantasy equivalent of an Aesop's Fable. WoFF is charm incorporated - from its art direction, detailed character animations, localization, soundtrack, to the addictive gameplay itself. WoFF is the first FF game in the franchise to break the spin-off character curse for me. Unlike KH/Dissidia, the FF characters are well integrated into the main story, all with their own sub-plots and character arcs. The interactions of the FF cast feel surprisingly natural, and it was charming to see cross-series friendships that were well-explored. Refreshingly, none of the characters are flanderized, and all of them are extremely likeable where I hadn't found the characters to be in the games they originated from. Special note goes to Princess Sarah, Warrior of Light, Squall, Snow, and Lightning. The summons have always been a highlight of the FF franchise as a whole, and to see them interacting with each other in lots of cutscenes was ludicrously fun. I enjoyed Ramuh's long suffering parent dynamic with the energetic upstarts of Shiva and Ifrit the most, though Bahamut's short temper was a bit of fun for a franchise character favorite. Claudia Black voicing Leviathan was a nice surprise.

WoFF is a rare gem in general where it has an extremely dense lead and supporting female cast and, heaven forbid, there is actually a 40+ year old woman, complete with age lines. (It was a genuine miracle.) The female characters drive the plot, and are in positions of leadership, both with new characters and returning FF characters. Because the number of female characters from the franchise is so high, it leads to many wonderful story moments between women the like of which you don't normally see in a lot of games - or in a lot of media, really. There are so many friendships between women, women being silly/funny together, rescuing each other, protecting each other. I don't think the Bechdel Test is the perfect guide, but I think it's interesting to apply to media regardless - and WoFF speeds past the Bechdel Test so far that it's only a speck in the distance.

WoFF's dub shows the importance of having a great localization. The voice cast is fantastic, and really strong all-round. There is a surprisingly natural flow to the dialogue and the back and forth banter which is extremely hard to do, let alone when localizing from another language. I'm not sure if I'd played a straight translation of the Japanese version, I would have enjoyed it nearly as much. I'm not a slapstick fan, so I was concerned about the humor - thankfully, both the original Japanese version and the localization balances it with some very funny tangents, word play, and genuinely funny fourth-wall breaking antics. The hilarious fourth-wall breaking flavor text for your collectible mirages is alone worth a play of the game, with the Who's Who character index also being spectacular. The highlight of both the localization and the use of the FF cast comes to a head with the game's Interventions, which are short playable side-stories for each of the characters. Everyone has their own little subplot. Most are really funny, others are dark, and some a genuinely sweet. I'd love to spoil them, but they're worth playing the game for alone.

Hamauzu's WoFF soundtrack is one of his strongest and most cohesive works, and I'm astonished to say, is my favorite FF soundtrack since XII. The soundtrack is beautiful, funny, addictive, and ominous in equal measure, still whilst feeling stylistically coherent. New arrangements of classic FF themes are all fantastic, with Terra's Theme and Eternal Wind easily being my favorite arrangements of all time for both. WoFF's gameplay is surprisingly addictive throughout, and is a new twist on an old reliable formula. Thankfully, catching and levelling your charming mirages has as much tedium removed as possible. Because of the ability to transfig mirages back and forth at will, with one mirage you could have access to six+ forms with different abilities, sizes, and resistances that can be painlessly transformed as needed. The freedom and versatility is fantastic. You could also transfig a mirage into a different family and be able to apply all the experience you'd accumulated immediately. Stacking mirages and Lann/Reynn was a great way to get powerful new abilities, and combinations of ability seeds for mirages and mirajewels for L/R gave WoFF a very unique, constantly customizable freedom and gameplay. The use of fixed camera for world exploration was well done and created some interesting perspectives that were used to make the player feel claustrophobic, or give a sense of scale. Jun Akiyama's work as event director gave the game an incredible polish. The dungeons all had some fun, easy little puzzles, though the size of the dungeons could have easily been reduced. WoFF was this glorious, off-kilter bundle of addictive charming fun that I didn't know I needed in my life. No FF knowledge required to enjoy it, but it's icing on the cake if you do.

Part 2.

 

[Yabberwocky]

Part 1.

NUMBER SEVEN - OVERWATCH. Jeff Kaplan and everyone on the Overwatch team at Blizzard deserve a medal for actually getting me regularly playing a multiplayer game, what is this absolute madness? The beautiful animated shorts got me interested in Overwatch, but it was the game's impeccable attention to detail that made me stay. The art direction is timeless and almost effortlessly iconic. The soundtrack is snappy and distinctive. The animation on the entire playable cast is incredible, let alone the detail that goes into animating each character's weapons. The in-game emotes have endless hilarity and charm. The voice work is great, and all the characters in general are extremely distinct without being endlessly clichéd. I also appreciate Kaplan and the Overwatch team making an active effort to bring more diversity to the AAA gaming space, with Ana's clever design and character being an absolute highlight for me. Let's continue to have badass sixty year old ladies in games, please. Considering that there isn't a gigantic amount of maps or game modes in Overwatch, I logically feel like Overwatch should get stale - but it never does. Each game is different, and is never be predictable. It's rivetingly tense if it's competitive, or absolutely hilarious with hero stacking. I love that all kind of players are valuable in Overwatch, whether you enjoy being a DPS or would prefer something defensive. It's depressingly valuable on console, where the controls don't feel as responsive for DPS. It's fascinating how there is a constant evolution to the game, and where Overwatch has come in less than a year is absolutely huge. Look at all the changes McCree went through, or poor D.Va! Overwatch is a game I enjoy endlessly now in its present state, whilst also being excited for the future. Winky face!

NUMBER SIX - UNCHARTED 4. It's quite rare that I have a lot riding on a game emotionally going into it. Uncharted as a franchise has been a delightfully escapist series with charming characters that scratches that Indiana Jones itch, whilst showcasing the spectacle of gaming as a medium. I'd really grown to care about these characters, and was heavily invested in their fates. UC4 dealt with very relatable human issues with thoughtful nuance, especially in regards to relationships, loss, obsession, and addiction. Nate and Sam's relationship was fascinating, and the dynamic twist of the older brother now being the more immature one, made for compelling scenes between the two. Elena's and Nathan's relationship throughout UC4 in particular is an absolute triumph, and was a genuinely mature and grounded dynamic. I couldn't be happier with the ending, and it's a rare gift to finish your time with a long running franchise without it leaving a bad taste in your mouth.

Uncharted games have always ultimately fallen flat for me with their borderline supernatural antagonists. The human antagonists that follow along tend to be a lot more compelling. Whilst I enjoyed UC4's human antagonists, I was even more riveted by uncovering the journey of Henry Avery. Avery's tale as a backdrop felt thematically satisfying, considering the struggles our heroes go through. I was intrigued throughout. It's regrettable that when I look back at UC4, I feel like a lot of my memories of the game outside of story are climbing rock walls. So many. The first half of the game had my least favorite locales in the franchise, and the pacing of the game felt surprisingly sluggish at times. On the other hand, the freedom in a lot of UC4's levels was fantastic, and there were many ways to approach - or avoid! - a firefight. Thank you to Naughty Dog for ending my journey with Nate, Elena, and Sully on a satisfying note. It is one that I will always look fondly back on.

NUMBER FIVE - INSIDE. Considering the nature of the beast that is creating a creative product regardless of the medium, it's exceptionally rare that I could pronounce something as being close to perfect. INSIDE truly does feel like that for me, and feels like one of the biggest stand outs in this regard since the original Portal was released. It's an extremely polished game, with impeccable pacing. All the fat has been trimmed, and it's an extremely tight experience throughout. The puzzles make you think, but never slow down the pacing of the game for too long - there are a lot of satisfying 'a-ha!' moments. The art direction is phenomenal, and is used to perfection to direct the player's eye. The atmosphere is unnerving and palpable, and despite not having dialogue and utilizing subtle storytelling, the game is riveting throughout. There are many memorable and tense moments, jaw dropping in their design and scale. It's one of those games that must be experienced, and what an incredible experience it is.

NUMBER FOUR - OXENFREE. Oxenfree wrapped up everything I love (sci-fi/80s/great characters/story/art directions/soundtrack/clever player interaction), and then presented it in a stylish bow. It's a game that showcases the possibilities of gaming as an interactive medium for narrative in a variety of ways, many of which were extremely unnerving. Oxenfree has a rare, incredible synergy between art direction and concept. All of this is compounded by a memorable and atmospheric 80s synth soundtrack, which has no qualms switching between moments of genuine musical beauty to nails-on-a-80s-chalkboard terror. Oxenfree has snappy writing throughout, with great pacing and a compelling set-up. The cast is charismatic, and even on my third playthrough, I was discovering new dynamics between the group. The voice work is great, and there is a great naturalistic flow with the writing in the game. Your dialogue choices will reflect on your friendships, which - of course - I managed to mess up at various times. I loved the dialogue choices being colored speech bubbles, it was like an interactive, unnerving storybook. Oxenfree's NG+ is clever, and keeps you on your toes. Oxenfree has a wonderful attention to detail, and I'm not going to lie, I've been mildly jumpy about radios ever since.

NUMBER THREE - TITANFALL 2. It was thanks to the positive word of mouth and Half-Life 2 comparisons that I became quite curious about TF2. Titanfall 2 feels like the glorious love child of Portal and Vanquish, and I could not have been more pleasantly surprised throughout. It was a masterclass in level design and gameplay mechanic build. The scope steadily increased throughout the campaign, and gameplay elements are introduced separately before being combined together. TF2 really did remind me of Portal, in very similar clever ways. The level design was genuinely smart and interesting, and it was always particularly satisfying when you looped around a level back to the beginning. I had more jaw dropping moments than I can count, and there were so many missions with uniquely memorable level design, the likes of which I haven't experienced in years. The level design had an incredible synergy with the gameplay in a way few games are able to achieve. Every aspect of TF2 has a fantastic rhythm and flow, whether it is wall running, weapon switching, or switching load outs on the fly with BT. The guns feel responsive, and everything is polished and smooth. Whether you're playing as Cooper, or Cooper piloting BT, the flow is present throughout. Props to Respawn for doing a fantastic job balancing Master difficulty. UC4 was an interesting game to compare and contrast in terms of game mechanics and difficulty. In UC4, the hardest difficulty nixed the use of the rope for me the majority of the time due to the fact Nate would quickly die, so I lost one of the gameplay elements due to the difficulty. TF2, however, keeps its mechanics viable regardless of difficulty. Wall running and jumping still must be used sensibly while it combat, and both were still very useful - and sometimes quite necessary - even on the hardest difficulty. The enemies never felt bullet sponge-y, and combat in/alongside BT is also extremely well balanced for Master. BT feels durable, but get overzealous and you will be taken down quickly. Dashing for dodging, especially in fights against other Titans, was incredibly useful. Titan battles were fun, albeit quite stressful at times.

Though I still haven't gotten to play the multiplayer, TF2's single player campaign was well paced, and didn't outstay its welcome. TF2's story and set-up treads familiar ground, but does so with an enjoyable characters, and is engaging throughout. Matthew Mercer does a great job in voicing the lead, Jack Cooper - the character is likeable, but is not too over the top or eyerollingly clichéd. Cooper isn't overly cocky and has a sense of humour, and he and BT play well off each other. I grew surprisingly attached to BT, more than I expected to. His design is great, with some lovely touches of character animation. He also has some enjoyable and heart warming one liners, and I got quite fond of the big guy. Especially on a Master difficulty playthrough, where the player is extremely vulnerable, BT is a constant source of protection and power. I was surprised how keenly I felt his absence when Cooper was doing missions by himself, and felt empowered when Cooper and BT were fighting together. I was in awe of my time with TF2, and after that ending stinger, I really need a TF3.

NUMBER TWO - FIREWATCH. Firewatch immediately captured my attention from the very beginning with its unconventional introduction, and didn't let me go until long after the credits rolled. My time with Henry, Delilah, and the beauty of Shoshone National Forest was an extremely unique and memorable one. Firewatch was an addictive combination of so many elements - impeccable art direction, writing, voice work, player interactivity, and a surprising amount of non-linear player freedom. The amount of constant player interaction throughout is what sets Firewatch apart from others in the genre. Whilst there are basic elements, like tree cutting or climbing, Firewatch also shines in subtle immersive ways that add up. There are multiple opportunities and instances to interact with the world in a way that will sometimes grant you extra scenes, dialogue, or a reoccurring reference throughout the game. The constant interactivity through the use of the radio to select Henry's dialogue is clever, and stops a dialogue heavy game from being a passive experience. Of course, you don't have to talk to Delilah at all, if that's your choice. (You jerk.) Whilst places are circled on your map, there are no magic quest markers in the world to lead your way - you have to constantly use your map and compass, and observe the world around you. Firewatch is not only a satisfying treat for the eyes, thanks to some superb art direction, but is satisfying to play due to Firewatch never being a passive experience.

Firewatch's smart integration of a linear story in combination with non-linear exploration amazing. Until I listened to the Audio Tour tapes and experimented, I had no idea how much freedom the player had. You can skip scenes and dialogue, or maybe even trigger some special interactions depending on your choice. There is often a surprising variety in the way a scene can play out, and the dynamics of the characters in it. The amount of depth and nuance to Henry's and Delilah's interactions are impressive, and it would take quite a few playthroughs to see it all. Rich Sommer's Henry is a compelling lead - he can be a grump, but also a very funny one. Cissy Jones' Delilah is an absolute triumph, and Jones' performance is the best voice work I've heard in a video game. Jones' Delilah is effortlessly charismatic and naturalistic, never stilted, with a great sense of comedic timing and genuine drama. Henry and Delilah have a tangible chemistry, and the choice to let the voice actors record together very much plays off. There has never really been a companion like Delilah - she misses absolutely nothing that Henry says or does, not a line of dialogue, or even a smallest little action. I've done three playthroughs, and I'm still discovering different surprises in Delilah's dialogue, and how she interacts with Henry. If Delilah wasn't captivating, or talked too much, the game could fall flat. Instead, it was me badgering her all the time, because she was such a delight to interact with. I love that that she responded accordingly and sarcastically for telling her about even the smallest thing ('Really, Henry?'), or even dryly noted when I said I'd do one thing, and changed my mind a second later.

The story of Firewatch is a personal and poignant one, starring two very flawed individuals. There is a rawness to the characters, and the choices they make are presented in a very non-judgemental way. Though I can understand some of the complaints with the climax of the story, I found the ending to be perfect. I had no idea about the potential player interactivity at the end of the game, and was horrified when I found out. For me, Firewatch is a revolutionary game in many subtle and memorable ways, and combines multiple clever facets into a very strong package. I also miss my turtle.

NUMBER ONE - THE LAST GUARDIAN. I can't say that there are many products I've waited nine years for with extremely high expectations - expectations that were then completely exceeded. In retrospect, my hardest time with TLG was the first hour of the game. Every time something went wrong I'd automatically put the blame on Trico, before recognizing I was at fault. I soon realized I would have to quickly readjust my thinking in the assumptions I made about Trico and how I was interacting with the world. I started to pay attention to his body language. I quickly realized that if I asked him to do something, and he didn't do it, it meant that the puzzle wasn't meant to be solved that way. Trico responds promptly with his attention. He tilts his head and flicks his ears when he's registered your command, even if it takes him a few seconds to brace or walk over to move into place. Trico's communication through his physical reactions and behaviour is masterful, I've never seen anything like it. In retrospect, I think I was the one being trained.

I've seen a lot of people say you need to be patient to play The Last Guardian, but more and more I think that's not entirely true. TLG rewards the player immensely for being observant. You never need to button spam him. Offer him a command, and he'll immediately let you know that he's understood it, or whether or not he can do it. It was never not a thrill to turn around and see this big, beautiful creature following you with rapt attention. I still have no idea if patting Trico, removing spears/blood, and feeding him genuinely makes him more responsive to you, or if it's all placebo effect. Either way, I did all of the above, and my time with Trico was painless and memorable. Video games understandably have a hard time in general of maintaining that illusion of life. Where the illusion of life often quickly falls apart for me in a lot of games, is when you can see how scripted your companion's decisions are. With Trico, the illusion of life never broke for me. He never teleports or is dragged into place to trigger an action. You never see the internal cogs taking him from A to B. Trico's train of thought feels like a genuine, organic curiosity, and a responsive interaction with the player. The constant flow from action to action and animation to animation is just incredible, and like nothing I've ever seen before. Though I found Trico to be extremely responsive, the potential of unpredictability with your interactions with Trico is thrilling, as is his autonomy. Every time he follows your commands, it's a moment of joyous understanding between the two of you.

The synergy in your relationship with Trico never stopped astounding me. There was one moment in particular where I was stuck with where to go, and after tolerating my antics, Trico grumbled, and took me over the pillar where I needed to climb on. Trico's vocalizations were a fantastic tool to let you know if you were going the right way. He started with grumbling, before it turned into irritated bellows. The realization that I was the annoying, dim-witted companion was quite humbling! I also quickly learned the best thing to do when entering an area was to watch Trico, as he'd generally look or head to where you had to start. There were no quest markers, just unspoken observation between you and him that would lead you right to where you needed to go. I wasn't expecting Trico to be as intelligently autonomous as he was. There were plenty of platforming sections with him where you didn't need to tell him a thing. He'd observe, and then move onwards. It was a sensible choice, as manually telling him to jump all the time is tedious. The scope and the scale of TLG's platforming is also like nothing I've experienced before. It wasn't hard platforming, mind you, but the vulnerability of the boy and the scale of the world made everything extremely nail-biting and like nothing I'd really experienced before. Being up on a tiny strip of metal as the wind bellows around you makes for a continual harrowing experience, especially when the ground is so far away that you can't even see a hint of it. The scale felt even more ludicrous when I'd see our friendly giant Trico bounding back in forth in the distance, feathers blowing in the breeze as he called for the boy, with the building you both had come from almost Lego sized in the distance. TLG also has some of the most well-crafted level design since DS1, and the scale of these levels continued to astound throughout the entirety of the game. The back half of the game is where the level design in particular really shines, especially with how many areas are connected. Getting higher and higher within the crater that the game is set in gives you a fantastic sense of how far you come, and how the areas are interconnected. There were so many memorable set piece moments to TLG, and they perfectly combine player interactivity throughout with an urgency and scale.

The core of TLG's story is straightforward, and beautifully told from beginning to end. (With lots of speculation in regards to background of the setting itself, of course). Though it is extremely minimal in comparison to other games, TLG is Ueda's most cutscene heavy game. The story moments of TLG are even more satisfying due to your constant interactive relationship building with Trico. The ending of TLG is my favorite ending in gaming. It pays off every single moment the two of you interacted throughout the game, and the mechanics that you did it with. The Boy himself is a wonderful protagonist, and is the first time I've truly cared for one of Ueda's player characters. The way he talks, calls, and giggles with Trico helps the player build a bond with him as much as your feathered friend. The boy's been meticulously animated, with a genuine weight and awkwardness to his movements. I wouldn't have minded the boy being more responsive, but the boy's weighted animation is very effective, and does add to a tangible vulnerability. The boy's narration throughout the game was a surprise, and was funny and touching in equal measure. Takeshi Furukawa's breathtaking score is also very much worth a mention. Considering Kow Otani's SotC and the iconic Miller's Crossing Theme used in the original announcement trailer, it was hard not have high expectations. Much to my surprise, Furukawa exceeded my expectations, and to the point that I can't even contemplate The Last Guardian without his work. After finishing the game, hearing the game's main leitmotif still makes my breath catch. 'Epilogue' is perfection, and exquisitely encompasses the game as a whole.

The tragedy of TLG is that it's a flawed gem. The primary downfall of TLG outside of the camera, is its issues with getting across how to interact with Trico. The response from some players and reviewers indicates more instruction was needed. An unsubtle tutorial from the narrator would have helped, ie. 'just call Trico once, he'll respond, no need to repeat!' The constant button prompts are intrusive, and not utilized as effectively as they could have been later in the game. It's frustrating, because Trico is extremely aware and responsive, and these issues didn't need to happen. It's incredibly rewarding when you develop a back and forth between the player and Trico organically, but some help would be better than the player never really connecting with Trico at all. Considering the length of this love letter about a boy and his catbird, I really should end it there. The Last Guardian exceeded my every expectation. Trico - my charming feathered friend - thank you for your patience, your bravery, your protection, and your affection. My time with you was an experience I'll never forget.

For the parser:

1. The Last Guardian ; The humbling game in which I became the dim-witted companion to Trico's observant protagonist. One of my favorite games of all time, and my game of the generation.
2. Firewatch ; A linear story told with clever non-linear exploration and fantastic player interaction, with sharp writing, voice work, and characters. Shout-out to 'My Shitty Boss is Going to Get Me Killed' Hill.
3. Titanfall 2 ; Fantastic rhythm and flow through movement, level design, gameplay, and weapon switching. One of the most unforgettable single player campaigns in years. BT is my bb.
4. Oxenfree ; A memorable, charismatic and chilling game, with a superb soundtrack... that has legitimately traumatized me in regard to radios.
5. Inside ; A perfectly polished platformer (worthy of alliteration) with impeccable art direction.
6. Uncharted 4 ; A poignant, genuine, and thoughtful end to an iconic franchise. I couldn't be more content... outside of the continual rock climbing, there was a lot of that.
7. Overwatch ; I'm voluntarily playing a multiplayer game. Regularly. For fun. That is all.
8. World of Final Fantasy ; Final Fantasy's answer to an Aseop's Fable. Play the game for the localization and FF cast, stay for the addictive gameplay and incredible soundtrack.
9. Virginia ; Worth the price of admission for the soundtrack itself and the way it drives the game. There's never really been anything quite like Virginia.
10. The Banner Saga 2 ; A beautiful stepping stone in a bigger, intriguing, and surprising tale. The most leadership anxiety you could possibly have since The Oregon Trail.

Honorable Mentions
x. Life Is Strange ; I still feel like Arcadia Bay was a place I actually visited, it was hella memorable. I genuinely miss the world and its characters.
x. Final Fantasy XV ; It's like they started building open world extensions on a house while the basic story foundation was still being designed. One of a kind, regardless.
x. Fire Emblem Fates ; One great step for map design, one giant leap back for storytelling kind.
x. Batman: The Telltale Series ; Playing as Bruce Wayne was even more tense and riveting than Batman, plus best Selina Kyle ever.

2015.

 

[Shantom]

1. Overwatch ; A game with a lot of flaws yet it's still managed to be my most played new game this year, and has completely knocked TF2 out of my play list. The variety of heroes is its biggest strength.
2. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; A great shakeup of the formula, with lots of great new Pokémon.
3. SteamWorld Heist ; An excellent and well polished take on the SPRG genre.
4. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ; The only flaw is there's too many flashbacks. Edit: And the prosecutor. The prosecutor was bad.
5. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel ; Weak characters compared to Trails in the Sky, and takes far too long to get going, but it has the same skill at worldbuilding as the earlier games, and is overall still a very good experience.
6. Pony Island ; I don't want to spoil any twists here, so I'll just say it's an interesting game from start to finish.
7. Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma ; Ultimately a bit of a disappointment, but the puzzle rooms are fun.
8. Pocket Card Jockey ; Very relaxing.
9. XCOM 2 ; I wasn't a big fan of Enemy Unknown but this was an improvement in nearly every way.
10. Abzû ; Pretty and cathartic.

x. DOOM ; I've just started this and it's amazing. Haven't played it enough to rank it
x. Pokémon Go ; This would've made the list but the crashing at launch issues introduced with the December update have soured me on the game

 

[Adry9]

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; A trip to my last year's GOTY. The best RPG I've ever played and this DLC is a memorable ending to an epic journey.

2. Hitman ; Almost out of nowhere I became instantly hooked to this game. Don't usually replay titles or care for achievements but exploring the perfectly crafted maps and trying new approaches is so fun I'm almost 70h in and will probable get to 100. I also have to give props to IO for making their game fit perfectly well with the new business model approach by Square Enix, one that we will probably start seeing more often.

3. Doom ; Rarely do we get to see a AAA title where every aspect of the game in centered around one single element, in this case, combat. Art direction, sound design, story, movement, level design... everything here is built to create the best FPS experience possible, and DOOM delivers. This is definitely one of the best FPS campaigns in recent years.

4. Inside ; INSIDE is a technical masterpiece. Graphics, art direction and sound design all come together to create a dark and unique atmosphere throughout the game, with the controls and animations carrying the same level of polish.

5. Dark Souls III ; DS3 is a great send-off to the series, reminiscing of all the best moments from the Souls franchise. It's a pity that exactly because of that it all seems too familiar, and we all know Dark Souls is at its best when you venture into the unknown.

6. Oxenfree ; Oxenfree's atmosphere and characters will grab you from the beginning till the end. The game is incredibly well written, and the way they introduce dialogue sections without taking control away from the player makes conversations feel much more organic and engaging. Beautiful art direction and a great soundtrack also help create a special vibe. Funny, intriguing, sad, scary... Oxenfree knows how to be all those things, and it does it with ease and charm.

7. Pony Island ; A unique experience. You don't play Pony Island, Pony Island plays you.

8. Civilization VI ; One of the best strategy games of the year, AI issues aside, and addicting like no other.

9. Forza Horizon 3 ; The best racing game of the year. It probably would've been higher on this list if my experience with the PC port hadn't been absolutely atrocious.

10. Pokémon Go ; The first three weeks of Pokemon GO were a social phenomenon like no other, the game itself is shallow but those days were memorable.

 

[tryagainlater]

1. Hitman ; I always wanted a game that would have constant updates and would give me reasons to keep going back week to week and month to month with new things to do. Unfortunately, the types of games that offered that such as MMO's were not my thing. If you told me last year that Hitman was going to be the game that finally managed to fulfill that desire, I would not have believed you. When the episodic release structure was announced, I was probably more optimistic than most. Since Hitman was always about Agent 47 going on isolated missions in some widely different locations, the idea of buying missions separately wasn't a crazy one. I actually thought they were going to have a large DLC plan for Absolution but nobody in the world wanted even a megabyte of more content from Absolution, free or otherwise so that wasn't going to happen. There were plenty of reasons to be skeptical of the model since it didn't seem like IO and Square knew what they were doing with the details of it changing a number of times. It did work though and it made the game better. Hitman is a game about replaying missions. I've always seen Agent 47 as someone caught in a Groundhog Day loop and he doesn't break out of it until he pulls off the perfect assassination. The break in between episodes encouraged you to keep playing with the challenges and opportunity guiding you to see the fun stuff. As I said, I was fairly optimistic about the episodic structure so I wasn't that surprised that it worked. However, I was totally surprised by how good their live content ended up being. Escalations, elusive targets, featured contracts and challenge packs kept me coming back every week to wring out every bit of value from the maps. The live content could have flopped if people weren't using it or IO stopped supporting it but it is still going strong in 2017.

It is difficult to talk about Hitman without discussing the release structure so let's get to the actual game part. Thankfully, the game part is also fantastic. Each level is filled with a ton of detail and has a ton of dumb ways to despatch off your various targets. The game is very self aware and it leans into its ludicrous nature perfectly. The opportunity system is a really great solution to being able to show players how to interact with the different systems but the game is fully functional with it turned off for long term veterans of the series who want to figure things out on their own. The challenges, escalations and contracts allow to you to explore specific areas and observe certain NPCs in the maps that you may not have spent a lot of time doing in the main mission. The elusive targets are definitely the most interesting aspect of the live content and IO have been quite good at continuously pumping them out. They may not be the most interesting hits the series has ever seen but they're a nice event for the community and the one chanced nature of them raises the tension. Nothing represents a game "of 2016" more than Hitman since I started playing it at launch in March and played it almost every week since. It also has a decent chance of being the game I play most in 2017 too. It's not flawless as it has some noticeable glitches, the episodic model despite being great does make the lesser maps stand out more and that bonus episode nonsense still annoys me to this day. With that said, it's still easily the best game I played in 2016.

2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; I've always looked at Uncharted as a series that shows what video games are capable of visually and Uncharted 4 is no exception. What Naughty Dog have managed to achieve with the PS4 is phenomenal although not entirely surprising since they only seem to get better and better the more games they release. After Uncharted 2 was so successful in its attempt to make a game play like a blockbuster movie, it seemed almost any franchise that had even a little bit of action in it tried to do the same thing. Unfortunately, a lot of the copycats and I count Uncharted 3 as one of them didn't learn the right lessons. You felt like you were watching a movie but not like you were playing a game. I'm not saying that Uncharted has the deepest mechanics in the world but it at least feels like Naughty Dog are trying to make every cool moment have some satisfying level of interaction and there are some really cool moments in A Thief's End. The jeep chase in Madagascar is the highlight and it's a shame they weren't able to top it since it was only half way through the game but it's not the only moment that had my heart racing. However, what Uncharted 4 was quite a lot better at than the previous games were the quieter moments. It was easy to relate to Nathan and Elena's relationship despite the staggeringly unrealistic situations all the characters find themselves in. Sam was introduced surprisingly well since the idea of Nate having a long lost brother he never spoke about seemed like it was going to be a really awkward plot point but it worked. Uncharted 4 needed to justify a reason to bring Nate back to wall climbing and treasure hunting which I think they've achieved and ended with an even bigger justification for him stopping his mass murder of evil mercenaries. I've enjoyed the character since the moment I started playing Uncharted 1 and I'm glad he was given a proper send off. I do feel the pacing in the game could have used some work as some sections dragged but overall, it is a fantastic package.

3. Dishonored 2 ; Something happens and then Corvo Attano is dishonoured (it's spelt with a "u", damn it) again and his daughter, Emily is encased in stone. Or something slightly different happens and Emily is dishonoured (still spelt with a "u") and Corvo is encased in stone. Okay, the story in Dishonored has never been particularly compelling but it has an interesting world and it is damn fun to stab dudes in that world. Similar to another game on this list, Dishonored 2 doesn't do much to differentiate itself from the previous entry in the series but its predecessor was so good that I can't complain. You still blend stealth with magic to sneak through the weird Steampunk world with some impressive verticality to the level design. The new feature is being able to play as Emily who has a completely different set of abilities to Corvo. For the most part, I did not enjoy her powers as much but there was still plenty of fun to be had with throwing enemies around with Far Reach and killing multiple people with the Domino ability was one of my favourite things to do despite it being a bit overpowered. Playing through the game with two characters added a bit more replayability to a game that already had quite a bit with lethal and non-lethal playthroughs feeling different enough. I really wanted to play more Dishonored after beating this game a few times so I suppose it was successful in leaving me wanting more which is good because everything gets a sequel these days.

4. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; My GOTY 2015 keeps on giving. This may be my cheapness talking but I find almost all DLC to be a terrible waste of money. With Blood and Wine, I almost felt like I wasn't giving CD Projekt Red enough money. The amount of work they put into this is phenomenal. Toussaint and Beauclair are beautifully realised with a ton of great content similar to what the base game offered. The same quality of writing is there too and it wraps up Geralt's story nicely. If there were more developers like CD Projekt Red, I might actually buy DLC.

5. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Is Deus Ex: Mankind Divided just a standard sequel to the five year old Deus Ex: Human Revolution? Yes, it is. Is Human Revolution awesome and reasonably unique that another game like that was going to be awesome? Yes, it is. Admittedly, they could have done more with the five year development time and the new consoles to do something more impressive with the sequel but Mankind Divided is still a wonderful stealth game in a year that was actually pretty good for stealth games. I actually do like it more than the previous game but it didn't do enough different to really stand out. I will give some commendation to it's hub world, Prague. The ever increasing need to make open worlds bigger and bigger has lost a lot of what makes Prague special in Mankind Divided. Everything has a purpose and it's densely packed with content with little filler. Pity about the long loading times in between areas of the city.

6. Furi ; People really aren't happy with PS+ these days but it keeps giving me games I never would have played otherwise. Furi was a fantastic surpriser this year in a genre I rarely give much of a look at. It controls great, the bosses are fantastic and the music reminds you why synth is still popular which you probably do need reminding because that stuff is fairly tired by now. Playing on higher difficulties like a lot of these types of games is infuriating but, of course, satisfying. If only it wasn't for those slow as hell walking sections between bosses.

7. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ; I'm happy that this series continues to exist. It was a long wait for the previous game and with some of the spinoffs not getting localized, it always felt like the series was on shaky footing. Fortunately, it seems like Capcom are going to keep making these games and will bring the main series over seas at least. It's another great Phoenix Wright game and there isn't really much else the say. The high points of the game are a match for the high points of the original trilogy and Maya was back for some step ladder discussions. Plus, they finally did good by the Apollo Justice character. It actually felt more like his game than Wright's and they got away with it by not putting his name in the title. Hopefully in the next game, they'll finally make good use of Athena.

8. Mirror's Edge Catalyst ; It was a year of long awaited sequels and I don't think a lot of people hold up Mirror's Edge as one of the notable ones but I had a lot of fun with this game. Sure, the story is terrible and XP in Mirror's Edge was pointless but that running sure felt good. The open world decision wasn't popular but it worked for me. Just being able to run is something I think the first game needed outside of the linear levels and time trials. The game needed to give you some breathing room and space for you to learn the mechanics more naturally and I think the world in this game is very well designed around your mechanics. The content within that world is very much lacking but that running sure felt good. The main missions are well designed despite not caring about the motivation of Faith and the combat was fairly innocuous, at least compared to the first game. I do spend a lot of time just running around the world in this game doing nothing because that running sure is good.

9. Tricky Towers ; Another one for the PS+ pile. I didn't see myself caring about Tetris in 2016, or for the last 10 years for that matter, but Tricky Towers ended up being a nice little surprise. It puts a fun twist on a fairly old mechanic and makes for some good multiplayer. The single player was surprisingly compelling too with the challenges and they were able to squeeze a lot of those five different shaped blocks.

10. Pocket Card Jockey ; The game that made me remember why we need more demos for games. Hearing the concept of a horse riding game mixed with Solitaire didn't manage to capture my interest but I downloaded the demo since it was free and it introduces you to its weirdness pretty damn quickly. It's surprisingly simple once you start playing and has some depth to its odd mechanic. Being able to name all your horses is great. It didn't manage to keep my interest long enough for me to finish all the races but I enjoyed the time I spent with it and I'll hold the memories of Dangling Scrotum's victories forever in my heart.

 

[Viewtiful]

1. Overwatch ; No other competitive shooter has hooked me this bad in a LONG time. Has a great cast of characters.

2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; A very satisfying end to Nate's story with one of the best epilogues in a video game I can remember. One knock on this game for me is that there are less big action set pieces and shootouts in this game compared to the previous games. I did enjoy the more open sections of the game where you can explore though.

3. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight ; the absolute best indie Metroidvania I've played. This game has beautiful sprite work, excellent controls, and great atmosphere.

4. Doom ; I really enjoyed the frantic pacing of the battles in this game and it has one of the best soundtracks of the year.

5. IMSCARED ; I don't think I've ever been more scared playing a game since the original Dead Space(It was my first horror game)with many sections giving me goose bumps and making the hair on my neck stand up. What makes it so scary is the excellent sound design. It's best if you go into this game blind so I won't say anymore.

6. Oxenfree ; I really enjoyed how this game handled conversations. This game also has a great soundtrack.

7. Let It Die ; A weird rogue-like Dark Souls with Suda51's distinct visual style.

8. Fire Emblem Fates ; I liked that Conquest felt more like a traditional Fire Emblem game.

9. Darkest Dungeon ; This game has a great art direction and I enjoyed the brutal difficulty.

10. Pokémon Go ; The only mobile game I've ever played for more than a week. I still boot this up from time to time which is more than I can say for any other mobile game.

 

[Dance Inferno]

I think it's important to be transparent and well informed about candidates and nominees, especially when voting for an award or otherwise. What would be the point of a major art award if the committee didn't read, watch, or play anything that could be potentially nominated? As shown in the 52 game threads, I've played a lot of games, not just one's released in 2016, and as said in my opening statement there will always be glaring holes, but I do think it's important to try to play as many possible candidate before voting. And of course, these candidates are pique my interest for one reason or another.

I agree to a point... if you were a professional critic. However, most of us here on GAF are just hobbyists and we play games in our spare time. Forcing yourself to play more games than you want simply because you want to be well informed before voting seems counter productive. Your time is valuable, and you should spend it with games you want to play, not games you think you ought to play.

Now, if you enjoy the process then so be it. I'm not here to tell you you're living your life wrong, but it sounded like you were forcing yourself to play all the games that came out in 2016 so that you could be an educated voter. Maybe I misunderstood your point, in which case keep doing what you're doing. But if you are feeling that playing 50+ games per year is becoming a slog, maybe it's time to slow things down a bit.

 

[nampad]

1. Clash Royale ; Wow...I got hooked on a mobile F2P game. This game deserves the spot even though there are admittedly some pay 2 win elements in this game and the progression is tied to typical mobile game timers. The underlying gameplay is just so good and has surprisingly much depth to it. The fast matchmaking paired with great latency free quick matches have an addicting "one more game" character.
Unfortunately, the community is toxic and the developers are too slow to adapt to any balance issues. Still, it is one of the best multiplayer games I have played.

2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; This is the end that the brilliant Uncharted series deserved. Naughty Dog showed again and again that they are just in another league when it comes to cinematic games. I hope we will get another one with different main characters.

3. Batman: Arkham VR ; THE ultimative VR experience for me so far. I don't want to know how big my grin must have been while playing this game. I AM BATMAN!!!

4. Star Wars Battlefront Rogue One: X-Wing VR Mission ; You are finally able to sit in a X-Wing, do I really need to say more? I hope we will get a complete game out of this.

5. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes ; A rather simple gaming idea that can even be fun for non gamers (at least the defusal description part).

6. Playstation VR Worlds ; London Heist is the reason for this rating, Sony should greenlight a full game.

7. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood ; The atmosphere in this game is just great. I didn't think a Until Dawn rollercoaster ride spin off would be good and was proven wrong.

8. Playroom VR ; One of the big surprises of the PSVR lineup for me. Shows that VR can be used for some offline mp fun and it being free was nice.

9. O! My Genesis VR ; VR added a lot to this rather small and short god game

10. Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 ; The gameplay is as good as it has been since 2015. Unfortunately, there are even less licensed teams in the game now (or at least the ones normal people care about) and Konami still has not implemented the option file support conveniently.

 

[TripOpt55]

Okay here are my votes. Wasn't really sure beyond the top five, so I just did quick little blurbs on them.

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; There were a lot of gameplay improvements both small and large made in the latest Uncharted title. Little tweaks to the mechanics and feel made for the best gunplay in the series. New additions like the grappling hook and jeep pay dividends across all areas of the game including exploration, platforming and combat along with helping to deliver what is arguably the best action set piece in gaming history – Chapter 11's heart-pumping chase and convoy sequence through the streets of a Madagascan city. But it is the story that sticks with me the most when I think back on A Thief's End. After nearly a decade of tagging along on their adventures, I have become extremely attached to the series' cast. I went into Uncharted 4 knowing it was likely the end of my time with Nathan Drake and company which made every moment with them more impactful. Each scene with Nate and Elena in particular hit me like a ton of bricks. The game does an incredible job of weaving the final act of our core characters' saga alongside the latest treasure hunt and accompanying historical tale to create one of my all-time favorite stories in gaming. And while it was sad to see it all come to an end, I couldn't be happier with how Naughty Dog brought this narrative to a close with its unexpected final epilogue. The entire experience is one that will stick with me and my easy choice for Game of the Year in 2016. (Bonus Points: For memorable multiplayer moments like that perfect swinging rope kill or that long distance explosive toss that wipes out most of the opposing team.)

2. The Last Guardian ; Much like Team Ico's previous games, The Last Guardian can be a frustrating experience at times. The controls aren't quite right. The camera can be annoying. And yet, much like other Team Ico games, it makes up for these problems through the unique, moving experience it provides to players. The Last Guardian succeeds the most in the bond it develops between the boy and his enormous new friend Trico. And most impressively, it does this largely through the gameplay. You two need each other. You will learn to rely on each other. And by the end of the game, you will be willing to do anything for each other. This along with the rest of the story elements, including the wonderful ending, make this my favorite story of the three ”Ico" games. When this touching tale is combined with the game's clever physics puzzles, dizzying platforming sequences and surprisingly strong set pieces, you end up with one of the very best games of the year. (Bonus Points: For the way Trico reminds me of my pets.)

3. Titanfall 2 ; This was the biggest surprise for me in gaming during 2016. It finds itself on this list based on the campaign alone (with no offense meant to its multiplayer, I just don't really play FPS games online). The first game didn't even have a campaign, so I wasn't sure what kind of quality to expect when they added one to the sequel. And Respawn's founders are most famous for Modern Warfare which was the most overrated FPS campaign I've ever played (I respect its influence, but terrible encounter design brings it down). It's the first time one of these short, rollercoaster-ride first-person shooter campaigns has ever really blown me away. The mobility provided by your character's jumping and wall running abilities is right up my alley making for fast-paced shootouts and some shockingly solid platforming given the genre. The titans are vehicle segments done right adding variety while playing like a natural extension of the core gameplay. Throw in some well-crafted set pieces, tense boss fights and fun dialogue between you and your titan BT and you get a short, but oh-so-sweet story mode. One of my all-time favorites in the FPS genre. (Bonus Points: For one of the year's best levels ”Effect and Cause.")

4. Doom ; This is a welcome throwback to first-person shooters of yesteryear with its run-and-gun style of play and labyrinthine level layouts. The combat packs a punch heaving all manner of Hell's demons at you, but puts plenty of tools at your disposal to deal with them. A myriad of heavy armaments – most with a slick alternate fire mode or two – from trusty shotguns to Doom's infamous BFG combine with brutal melee finishers to create intense bloody battles with a layer of depth and strategy to them. Exploring Doom's complex, maze-like maps add variety to the proceedings while rewarding you for scouring all the nooks and crannies and going after secondary combat challenges gifts players similarly in the hectic firefights. With more linear, cinematic campaigns being all the rage in the genre during recent years, Doom felt old-school in all the right ways, tapping into the series' roots to create a modern FPS classic. (Bonus Points: For bringing me back to old memories of playing Doom 1/2 with my cousin many years ago.)

5. Mirror's Edge: Catalyst ; Every gamer seems to have one of those cult classic titles that they yearn to see a sequel for. It was underappreciated in their eyes. It didn't sell enough. Mirror's Edge was that game for me. Catalyst isn't the sequel I dreamed of. It has a number of issues, some stemming from the new open-world structure, while others involve the combat or narrative. But there is a feeling that Mirror's Edge's first-person platforming gives me that I simply can't find elsewhere in gaming. It is the way that it tests my skills (tasking me with completing difficult sequences on the sticks) and my brain (sussing out the correct route and moves to use) and puts it all under time-pressure. Beyond some of its other blemishes, Catalyst gives me that. It can be found in the game's mainline missions, but is most evident in its pitch-perfect Dashes. So despite its flaws, Mirror's Edge: Catalyst still delivers the joy and the exhilaration of nailing that perfect run utilizing some of the best 3D platforming to ever exist. That is enough to earn a spot in my top five games of 2016. (Bonus Points: For the awesome the Gridnode missions.)

6. Quantum Break ; This was a very fun cinematic third-person shooter which is a type of game I have grown to love. I was really unsure about the multimedia approach to storytelling used here, but I feel like it came together better than I expected and made for a unique narrative overall. I was also impressed with how they told a time travel story that didn't fall apart under further scrutiny like most do. And the third-person shooting was solid fun. I appreciated that it encouraged you to not use cover and stay moving unlike a lot of TPS games these days.

7. Severed ; I didn't think I'd like the swipe-based combat so much, but they kept on adding mechanics to make something surprisingly deep. The exploration/dungeon crawling/light puzzles helped add variety to what could have been repetitive. I'll definitely be on the lookout for whatever developer Drinkbox Studios does next. I have enjoyed all of their games so far.

8. Ratchet & Clank ; I feel like there were some real missed opportunities here, but I love the core gameplay loop of the series and always have a good time with it when they don't stray too far from the proven formula.

9. Kirby Planet Robobot ; The mech suit was just super cool. I loved seeing old copy abilities given new life because I could use them with the mech. The final boss is kind of bonkers too.

10. Gears of War 4 ; Safe but solid. Did a good job of transferring to the new characters while still involving the tried and true gameplay, old characters and series' lore. Kudos for the enemy variety too.

 

[PeterGAF]

1. Overwatch ; Overwatch is one of the best multiplayer shooters ever made. The last multiplayer game I had this much fun with was Halo 2. Overwatch is focused and expertly designed. The heroes are fun to play, the maps are well designed, and the visuals are clean and timeless. Overwatch is a game I will play for many years to come. I can't say that about any other game on this list.

2. Doom ; Doom is one of the best single player shooters ever made. If I could have a tie for first between Doom and Overwatch I would, but since I can't Doom is a very close second to Overwatch. Doom's level design is exceptional. The levels are open giving you great arenas to fight demons in while also giving you plenty of places to explore. But the levels still do a great job at pushing you forward. Doom is mechanically perfect. The shooting is good, movement is fast, and the glory kills are satisfying. Doom is just short of being a perfect game due to it's sub-par multiplayer, but make no mistake the campaign in Doom is the best a shooter has ever seen.

3. Final Fantasy XV ; Final Fantasy XV begins with a splash screen that reads "a Final Fantasy for fans and first-timers." I am a part of the latter. XV was my first Final Fantasy and it has made a fan out of me. I love the dynamic between the four main characters (Noct, Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio). I loved going on a road trip with my bros. The sense of adventure in FFXV is unparalleled. I'm not ashamed to admit that some story elements went over my head since this was my first FF game. There's a lot of nonsense with crystals, gods, kings, and what not but that's ok because there was a more intimate story running along side all of that. The story of four friends, and that story has just as satisfying of a conclusion as Noct's journey to retake his throne. I love this game. I never thought I would love FFXV as much as I did but here it is as a solid number 3 on my list.

4. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; Sun and Moon started off slow. I thought this was going to be a bad Pokemon game but after leaving the first island Sun and Moon really picks up. The Alola region feels smaller than other regions, even if the playable space is similar, but that smaller scale makes the game feel like a more personal journey. The island challenge is a fun replacement for the gym challenge of past games. Many of the new pokemon are great too, Tucannon being one of my personal favorites. Sun and Moon has a terrible opening and there is no excusing it. Getting your first pokemon and then getting through the tutorials and hand holding takes far too long, but once you get to the second island the game really gets going. It has quickly become one of my personal favorites in the series.

5. Hitman ; Hitman is the best James Bond game ever made. There are many games which have tried to mimic the feeling of being a 007 type (even official 007 games), but none have been able to master the more social elements of a Bond movie. Bond is great at shooting, but he also navigates himself around social encounters, such as parties, where he's not supposed to be. No Bond game has ever done that well. Hitman does. Following your target around in a crowded party is as exhilarating as choking him out. As a big James Bond fan I appreciate that. It might not be a 007 game, but no video game has made me feel like James Bond better than Hitman. Hitman also shows how episodic gaming should be done. The missions are expansive, long, and self contained. It's easy to play a mission and put the game down for a while after. Each mission has a satisfying progression, and the episodic nature also works well within the context of the Hitman universe. It also allows for crazy timed events like the elusive targets, a target who you only get one shot at taking down and is only available for a limited window of time. Please make an actual James Bond game that is a mix of Hitman and Uncharted. Please please please!

6. Gears of War 4 ; Gears 4 is a solid entry into the series. Maybe a little safe. But solid none the less. The campaign was classic Gears and while I've never been the biggest fan of the series' multiplayer I LOVE Horde mode! Horde in Gears 4 is the best in the series and I still play it to this very day. I love facing off against wave after wave of Swarm with my buds. The classes scared me at first but they actually add to the mode and the enhanced tower defense elements that allow you to build fortifcations wherever you want is great! I will play Horde mode in Gears 4 for a long time.

7. ReCore ; ReCore needs some love. It's a little janky and the load times are long (or at least they were when I played it), but if you can get past the jank ReCore is a fun and challenging game. It could have used a little more time in the oven and I hope we see a ReCore 2 which gets the time and budget it needs to be fully realized!

 

[conman]

1. The Witness ; I am and will always be a sucker for puzzle games of all kinds, but exceptionally well-crafted puzzle games are rare. At its core, Jonathan Blow's The Witness almost seems like a "puzzle anthology" since one can imagine a book collecting many of the game's puzzles without the need for the game's lush environments. However, it's those lush environments that come to take on an increasingly central role in the way the game plays out. Not only because of how the environments become rolled into the puzzles themselves, but because the tone and setting grow entangled (often literally) in many of the game's puzzles. This game is a master-class in how to do tutorials, and in fact, the game could be said to be one very large, very elaborate tutorial. But isn't that what all games are at heart? Every great game always teaches us one thing: how to play it well. The Witness teaches us to play it, but also thematizes that teaching. Also, any game that can justify including a scene from an Andrei Tarkovsky film gets my vote.

2. Inside ; I enjoyed Limbo well enough. It was like a short children's fable in game form. Inside takes some of the same core design principles from Limbo and puts them to a much more powerful purpose. With hints of Out of This World (aka Another World), as well as some of the most stunning Expressionist and Surrealist landscapes in any game anywhere, Inside's visual design is at the top of its class. But it is the sense that moving rightward is also a type of "reading," that we are seeing a story unfold and accelerate in a way that only a 2D game can manage. It's amazing to me that so few 2D platformers attempt to tell stories in this way, but with games like Inside doing it so well, I can understand why some might feel too overwhelmed and intimidated to even try. Inside is 2D game storytelling at its finest. And, ooh boy, that ending.

3. Hyper Light Drifter ; I was surprised to find this game sticking with me through 2016. It was not the most polished, most seamlessly designed, most tonally powerful game I played last year. And yet, it's a world and an experience I haven't been able to forget. Part classic Zelda, part classic Metroid, part something else totally new, Hyper Light Drifter is a sign that there is much still that game designers can do with the old look and conventions of 8-bit and 16-bit games. More than a simple "retro" game, Hyper Light Drifter is a confident and mechanically rich game with a singular vision that reminds me that these retro-style games have a lot left to say and do.

4. Quadrilateral Cowboy ; A late addition to my list to be sure. I have played some earlier Blendo games, got my chuckles and appreciated the formal innovation (especially the use of jump cuts in Thirty Flights of Loving). Brendon Chung and Co. continue to experiment with different game genres and hunt out new ways of telling game stories and applying game mechanics. Quadrilateral Cowboy revealed to me something I hadn't expected, which is that puzzle platformers like Portal share a common lineage with tool-oriented stealth games like Splinter Cell. I was shocked to discover just how closely those two genres fit. By the end of the game, I stopped noticing that I was playing a puzzle-stealth game because it just seemed so natural to both genres. And, more surprising still, the end of the game was deeply moving. Wonderous, whimsical, and wild. And also, there is something so incredibly satisfying about tossing out your "deck" and watching it clatter to a surface as though it's a tattered old book. This game oozes character.

5. Firewatch ; While there is little this game does that is new, there is much that it does well. Part adventure game, part walking sim, Firewatch was a joy from beginning to end. Most remarkably, it understands that "environmental storytelling" isn't just about finding recordings of other people or journals or whatever, it's also about happening upon deserted habitations and rooms. This was a wilderness filled with layer upon layer of its prior inhabitants. The story had as much to do with uncovering its key mystery as it did in unearthing its many pasts. Well done, Campo Santo.

6. Hitman ; Another late addition. I only started playing this after all the episodes were released, so I missed the experience of playing a single level over and over again while waiting eagerly for the next level to be released. Nevertheless, the game's levels are designed so beautifully and brilliantly that I returned to levels over and over again. These are playsets in the most perfect sense of the world. Moving pieces everywhere to play with. Interactive drama and characters. Part toy, part interactive performance piece, the levels are a new standard for the stealth genre. This is where old '90s era series like Splinter Cell and Thief would have gone if not for the aggressive tone that took over big-budget game design in the years since. Does for the stealth genre what Dark Souls did for action RPGs; Hitman showed us a totally separate lineage of the genre, a "might have been" that actually now is.

7. Kentucky Route Zero - Act IV ; Each year one of these games has come out it has been on my end-of-year list. This year is no exception. What is exceptional, however, is how low on my list it ended up. It is good largely because it is riding out the same ideas as its predecessors, but it is missing the great set-pieces of its earlier entries. Many of the best ideas now are put into the peripheral content that keeps us all interested. That does not mean this is not still a great game in a great series. It is. It just means that it's not quite as strong as the prior three (or as good as the truly baffling and wonderful peripheral piece, The Entertainment). This is a series that continues to show why it is among my favorite all-time games.

8. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; While this second entry in the grand reboot of the long-running series had a slow start, the back half is incredible. The first half in the snows of a Soviet military installation were dull and familiar; however, arriving in the steamy wonderland of the Geothermal Valley was a highlight of the year for me. A blend of Uncharted, The Witcher 3, and Metroid Prime, Rise of the Tomb Raider also showed that for as much it is like those games, it is also its own thing. Sure, the story was too big for its britches, but the second half of the game reminded me why I keep playing these games. Outstanding design (visually and structurally) in the tombs and crypts, and a much greater focus on exploration and discovery than on combat. I didn't play Uncharted 4 this year (alas, no PS4), but if I had, I am sure I would see that the new Tomb Raider is no longer slavishly imitating Sony's series.

9. Doom ; In contrast to Rise of the Tomb Raider, this game's best moments were in its first half. The sense of discovery, freshness, and urgency were all beautifully communicated in this other rebooted long-running series. It was a reminder that what made the original Doom games so fun was not necessarily combat so much as it was the sense of movement and uncovering secrets. The original Doom has more in common with Metroid Prime than with the FPS games that would later claim to be "Doom clones," and this new entry is a reminder of that fact. My only real problem with this new game is that the visual look and level design dragged on in the last handful of stages. It all grew too familiar, but those first handful of stages were an excellent experience.

10. Thumper ; Maybe not the "hardcore" space racer I was hoping it would be (in the manner of F-Zero or WipeOut), but it was new and fun. The dark, electric, chrome look was impressive. As was the way this game eschewed its rhythm game affiinities in favor of polyrhythmic insanity. The boss designs were clever and it was a much-needed breath of racing-game fresh air, but all in all, it had more style than substance. But, man, did it ever have style.


x. Enter the Gungeon ; As a fan of both Spelunky and The Binding of Isaac, this is perhaps the closest to those sacred ranks than any other rogue-alike-lite-alike game I've played (though it remains a very distant third). While it's missing some of the reasons to keep coming back that those other two games have, it has sharp mechanics and a clever visual aesthetic. This game is one idea/mechanic/system away from greatness.

x. Virginia ; Ignoring the goofy story, I deeply appreciated this game's quieter moments. The surreal images and events came too fast and too heavy for my taste, and only added up to a supremely goofy ending. But this title showed that there's still a lot of interesting narrative techniques to be discovered in games as a creative medium. Yes, it totally stole the jump cut structure from Thirty Flights of Loving, but it also put the technique to new uses that had its own distinct emotional impact. The folks who designed Virginia are definitely onto something, but this isn't quite it.

 

[AllenSpawn]

1. Final Fantasy XV ; worth the wait. Genuinely felt like I was running around with a bunch of mates. Just wish they'd recorded some more and varied dialogue.....
2. DOOM ; I've never played a doom before. Biggest and best surprise of the year.
3. Uncharted 4 ; A great and fitting end to the series. Some thought there was to much story and feels. I though just right.
4. Battlefield 1 ; I love battlefield games , and this has been my favourite 1. Even as good as B:BC2.
5. Inside ; Haunting.The last hour was phenomenal.
6. Vanishing Realms ; I played a lot of VR this year on Vive. This was my favourite game. A zeldaesque VR masterpiece. Fighting 6 foot tall skeletons with a sword and shield is properly amazing. Wow.
7. Tom Clancys The Division ; It worked very well. Had some mint runs with me mates.
8. Ratchet and Clank ; The nuts and bolts of it is , I love this game.
9. The Lab ; Valve makes a game. I Love it.
10. Holopoint ; I felt like Legolas playing this! This game is a great workout, so simple yet so much fun in VR.

 

[timetokill]

Those of you posting in the final hours, PLEASE check the nominations spreadsheet linked in the OP to ensure your spelling is correct.

There are hundreds and hundreds of spelling mistakes and things we have to fix, and having to do it at the last minute really sucks. Please take the extra minute to double-check your ballots.

Thank you!

 

[DukeBobby]

1. Hitman ; If you had told me at the start of the year that the latest Hitman game would end up topping my GOTY list, I would have laughed in your face. It had everything going against it: Absolution was shite and the episodic structure looked to be a recipe for disaster. However, IO somehow managed to deliver the most engrossing and intricate stealth game of the generation, with top tier level design and pitch-perfect black humour running through its veins. Each level is a virtual playground that begs to be replayed over and over again, and it never once got boring during the 150 hours I spent with it. I could quite easily spend another 150 more with it.

2. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice ; Another huge surprise. Dual Destinies was by far my least favourite in the series (case 2 made the circus case look like a masterpiece in comparison) and the demo didn't do the game any favours. The spiritual stuff has never been my favourite thing in the series and a whole game based around that didn't look promising. However, I was hooked right from the get go and I barely put my 3DS down until I finished it. It's easily the best in the series since Trials and Tribulations with some of the best cases and twists yet.

3. Dishonored 2 ; Damn, it's been a good year for stealth games. This is a top drawer experience that builds upon the foundations set by the original and does everything that a good sequel should do. It has some absolutely inspired level design with one level in particular being extremely memorable. The ability to play as two characters, each with their own set of powers, means the game is ripe for multiple playthroughs.

4. Dark Souls 3; I felt Dark Souls 3 got lost among the pack this year, which is a shame. Yes, it's not quite on the same level as the original Dark Souls and Bloodborne (then again, what games are?) but if more Souls is what you're after, then Dark Souls 3 delivers in spades, with some top notch level design and some of the most memorable bosses in the series.

5. Doom ; One of the most purely enjoyable games of the past few years. A rip-roaring old school shooter with absolutely frantic pacing that doesn't let up from the first minute until the last. Also, be prepared for neck ache from all the headbanging you'll be doing.

6. Furi ; Definitely my favourite PS + offering this year. Furi is a boss rush game with a cool visual style and an absolutely pulsating synthwave soundtrack. The game takes no prisoners and throws you into the action right from the off, offering up a series of challenging boss fights that will test your skills as well as your patience. One boss in particular has a final phase that is downright infuriating and could be a road block for a lot of players. Preserve, however, and you will find one of the most rewarding games of the year and one that you will be dying to replay the second the credits have finished rolling.

7. Superhot ; As the game rightly tells you, this is the most innovative shooter in years. Well, one of them at least. Unleash your inner Neo as you shoot a bunch of red man that only move when you do. A simple looking game on the surface belies a rather more tactical game, where you must always be thinking one step ahead. As a package, it's a bit bare-bones, but there is plenty of replayability to be found here.

8. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; It's got pretty woeful pacing and it doesn't always play to its strengths, but Uncharted 4 is still an engrossing cinematic experience with top notch visuals and voice acting as well as some much improved shooting mechanics.

9. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; A bit of a disappointment overall (Human Revolution was my second favourite game of 2011), but still good enough to earn a spot on my list. I thought the Prague hub was very well designed as well as some of the other areas you visit, such as Golem City. However, it felt like half a game. I guess we'll get the rest of it in a couple of years.

10. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood ; Without VR, this would be a fairly unremarkable rail shooter with some cool environments and a couple of effective jump scares. With VR, this is an immersive, edge of your seat roller coaster ride with some genuinely heart stopping moments. If you've got PSVR, give this a go.

x. Enter the Gungeon ; Unfortunately, I only managed to sink a couple of hours into this one. However, it made a great impression and seems to be a solid roguelike game. Hoping to sink some more time into it when I get the chance.

x. Final Fantasy XV ; One of the most poorly designed games I've played all year, but still somewhat enjoyable despite its myriad of issues. It deserves a honourable mention by miraculously managing to not be godawful.

x. Virginia ; The story dissolves into absolute nonsense towards the end, but this is still a fairly intriguing Twin Peaks style mystery with an absolutely brilliant soundtrack. Be sure to check that out at the very least.

Unfortunately, I didn't get around to playing The Last Guardian or Inside, which is a shame. They're part of my ever growing backlog, though!

 

[Moral Panic]

1. Dragons Dogma ; Some games just deserve a PC edition, and this game was top of the list. Improved graphics and framerate made the game's already great combat even better.
2. Dark Souls 3 ; Not the conclusion to the Souls franchise I'd hoped for but still with a lot of tense and great moments. That feeling after you solo Nameless King is not represented in other games.
3. Final Fantasy 15 ; Flawed greatness. An obviously rushed game, but one which is still very enjoyable.
4. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight ; For me pretty much a near perfect indie game. Perfect length. Manages to find that fine line between flooding you with information, and leaving so much up to interpretation that wild mass guessing by the loadest voices make their opinions canon. Great, fun combat with excellent boss battles. Map system which makes it possible to work out where you havent been without pointing it out.
5. Hyper Light Drifter ; Fun indie game, good graphics and gameplay. A bit buggy when I played it.
6. Xanadu Next ; Feels like a precursor to the Soulsbourne combat. Some bad UI/UX makes the game a bit annoying and no NG+ was very dissapointing.
7. Jotun ; Good 2D graphics. Combat a little shallow.
8. Duelyst ; Very fun SRPG card game with mindblowingly good sprites. Not a fan of the monetisation policy as I feel it is designed to rinse whales rather than get a fair reward for hard work.

 

[HouseDragon]

1. The Last Guardian ; Trico is the video game character that has felt the most alive to me. This, coupled with its beautiful music, sceneries, and with the Boy's relationship to Trico, makes it an incredibly emotional experience that I'm sure to remember for the rest of my life. This game is a modern classic in storytelling and, more importantly, lets the gameplay be the title's core voice. The Last Guardian is an accomplishment, a landmark in gaming and my 2016 Game of the Year.

2. Final Fantasy XV ; A flawed masterpiece. It has a lot of mistakes that could've been ironed out, but it's highs are among the best in the series and it absolutely nails it during its pivotal parts, like the freedom in the open world and the ending.

3. Dark Souls 3 ; Stellar game that brings the Dark Souls series full circle. A game that honors its predecessors and refines the formula to a tee.

4. DOOM ; Even though it could've done with some more variety in its locations and enemies, this game has a flow like no other. It's the most focused game of the year and knows exactly what it is all the way to the end. A return to form for the franchise.

5. Uncharted 4 ; A technical marvel and a joy to play, it ends the story for Nathan Drake in an emotional and personal journey. It has a different style than previous Uncharted titles so it felt a bit off and I have some criticisms about the pacing and setpieces, but it still defines what a 'cinematic action' game should be: awesome.

6. Street Fighter V ; It is the 'Game with a rocky launch' of the year (like Driveclub before it). And like Driveclub, it has only gotten better with time. Beneath its barebones appearance of not having Arcade mode or a dedicated "Vs. AI" option (at first), it is a superb fighting game, having the V-System and a roster of characters that feel so different to each other (and to their previous iterations), if you're interested in a dedicated fighting experience, this is it. The support from Capcom with its Pro Tour and pot bonuses for Evo have given it immense legs. Also, I believe it is the best fighting game to start with, making it that much more recommendable.

7. Battlefield 1 ; I'm not that much of an online FPS fan, but once every few years comes a game that hooks me entirely. Warhawk was first, then Killzone 2, then Destiny. Now it is Battlefield 1. It's team play and objective focused matches are intense and add that to the mayhem that vehicles and destructible environments bring and that's a recipe for a dynamic, ever changing, hell of a game. The WW1 setting is the icing on the cake. Yum.

8. Hitman ; I, too, was a non believer. I thought the episodic format would stain the Hitman franchise. And I too, had a serving of crow, because this game is amazing. Even though there are some details to be ironed out, I'm still thinking to this day "This game has no right being this good. No way.". I think I'll have another dish of crow, please.

9. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Great game that stars one of the most dense cities in gaming: Prague. The freedom it gives you to explore it is unmatched and worthy of the 'Deus Ex' name. Yes, the game could've done with a better story and more locales, but it still is an achievement and a great successor to 'Human Revolution'.

10. Abzu ; I love the setting of this game. It looks and sounds like a dream and the way the game changes scenery and beasts with every chapter is really refreshing. It has some awe inspiring sequences and, in my opinion, trumps 'Journey' in every way. A memorable experience.

 

[Lys Skygge]

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; The Last of Us completely changed my view on video games. What I once thought was a simple, fun escape to pass the time became something more. Never had I played a game that featured such complex and fascinating characters. The Last of Us made me fan of Naughty Dog, and when Uncharted 4 was announced, I was immediately sold on the PS4. When it came to light that Neil Druckman was directing UC4, my excitement increased. When the first trailer played at E3, my excitement levels increased even more. With everything that was revealed about UC4, my hype and excitement continually increased. Never had I been so excited for a videogame in my life. I played through the original trilogy up until the day before UC4’s release (I got the platinum for all 3 games). I treated the midnight launch like a ritual. I opened my best craft beer, my girlfriend and I baked snacks. Once I got home with my collectors edition in my hand, I patiently waited for it to install. I could play the game only a few seconds after inserting it into my PS4, but I didn’t want any interruptions, so I waited an hour for it to completely install. It was finally time to play Naughty Dog's follow-up to The Last of Us.

Uncharted 4 not only met my expectations, it exceeded them. UC4 is an absolute masterpiece. While the pacing is often criticized, I found it to be perfect. The game started off slow to introduce us to Nathan's thought-to-be-dead brother, Sam. Sam was a fantastic addition to the Uncharted family. While his inclusion is somewhat jarring, I felt that Naughty Dog handled it as well as they possibly could. Sam had depth, and the addition of Sam gave Nathan depth.

Returning characters Elena and Sully were as great as ever. We finally got to see how Nathan and Elena interact outside of their adventures, and what we see is a flawed relationship where neither are quite happy with their “normal” lives. Their relationship was honestly one of the better representations of a relationship I’ve seen in a videogame. The chapters with Elena and Nathan finally communicating their feelings felt authentic and personally hit close to home. Sully had his time to shine in Uncharted 3, but Uncharted 4 was about Nathan, Elena, and Sam. Sam was the catalyst that forced Nathan and Elena to open up to one another, and in the end their lives are better for it.

Uncharted is always a bit so-so when it comes to antagonists; Uncharted 4 changes that trend. We have a privileged, rich snob, Rafe. And a loyal mercenary, Nadine. Both are after the same thing, but for different reasons. Rafe wants the fame and glory that Nathan is known for, and Nadine is in it to help her floundering PMC which she was recently made leader of. But the most surprising antagonist was Henry Avery. Henry Avery is a pirate legend whose treasure Nathan, Sam, Rafe, and Nadine are after. While unseen, you can feel Avery's presence. As the story progresses Avery goes from a somewhat honorable, respectable pirate to a backstabbing, psychopathic, madman. You can sense Avery's descent into madness as you play through the game, and it feels natural. The most fascinating thing about Henry Avery is that you learn about his descent and treachery through old journals, and often the environments themselves.

Uncharted 4 not only improved the storytelling from its predecessors, but also its gameplay. The gunplay feels better than ever. The guns themselves actually feel like they have a kick (unlike the previous games). The hand-to-hand combat looks and feels much better, and the addition of stealth adds another great layer of fantastic gameplay. UC4 also introduces us to the rope, which makes traversing and combat even more fun, and a Jeep which we get to use to explore the large environments. The set pieces aren’t quite as “bombastic” as the previous games, but I felt that their execution was a bit better, and more natural. The set pieces worked better in the context of the story.

Multiplayer is a lot of fun, and highlights how fantastic UC4s gameplay truly is. MP is addictive, and I find it hard to put the controller down once I start playing. I really hope MP is supported for a long time.

Is Uncharted 4 better than The Last of Us? Honestly, it’s really hard for me to decide. I would honestly say they’re even. Overall Uncharted 4 is everything I hoped and wanted it to be. A great story, fun gameplay, beautiful graphics and animation, and the most wonderful characters in gaming. I’m incredibly sad that this is the end of Nathan's adventures, but his final adventure was a perfect send-off and I’m happy that the series went out on a high note.

2. Dark Souls III ; I'm still fairly new to the Dark Souls games. Bloodborne (which won my GOTY last year) was my first taste of a Souls game. I played through Dark Souls II and enjoyed that as well. Dark Souls III wasn't quite as good as Bloodborne, but it was still an incredible experience with solid gameplay and fantastic atmosphere.

3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ; The original version is one of my favorite games of all time. So the remastered version was an absolute must-buy for me. It' was a lot of fun to return to the world of Skyrim. I honestly think I had more fun with Skyrim than I did with The Witcher 3.

4. Gravity Rush Remastered ; I saw a lot of praise for this game back when it released on the Vita. So when it came out for PS4, I bought it on day one. It's a fantastic gem of a game with addictive gameplay, a wonderful protagonist, and a cool story. I'll definitely pick up Gravity Rush 2 in the near future.

5. Ratchet & Clank ; Another remastered game on my list that I thoroughly enjoyed coming back to. With the Xbox 360 being my main console last generation, I missed out on the PS3 R&C games. So it was nice to see a R&C game come out on the PS4. It's such a fun, feel-good game.

6. The Witness ; I haven't beat The Witness yet, but from what I've played, I've been really enjoying myself. It's a game that makes me feel both smart and dumb. It's such a great feeling once you solve a difficult puzzle.

7. No Mans Sky ; NMS is an incredibly flawed game, but I really enjoyed my time with it. It's charming and has fun gameplay. I'm definitely interested to see how (if) the game evolves over the years.

8. ABZU ; A beautiful game with a gorgeous soundtrack. My only issue with it is that it's pretty much an underwater Journey. While Journey is one of the greatest games of all time, I wished ABZU would do something a bit different. Overall though, I enjoyed my time with it.

9. The Tomorrow Children ; I love the art in TTC, and I enjoy the gameplay as well. I wish there was a bit more than mining resources to upgrade a town. But I enjoyed the couple weeks that I spent playing it. It's another game that I'm interested it seeing how it evolves.

X10. There is non. Every other game I played this year were older and don't qualify.

Games that I missed and probably would have made my list:
XThe Last Guardian (Just bought it, but won't be able to play until next week)
XBattlefield 1
XFinal Fantasy IV
XTitanfall

 

[Capra]

1. Dark Souls 3 ; While it is derivative of the first game as many claim, it's still freaking Dark Souls. The atmosphere, music, creature/environmental design, and mechanics are as mesmerizing as ever and it's overall a better cohesive whole than DS1.

2. The Last Guardian ; Frame-drops aside, The Last Guardian was an absolute joy to play from start to finish. Trico may be the most beautifully-realized character I have met in a video game - his mannerisms and animation combine to create a believable animal with its own thought processes and desires separate from the player's. While others may find frustration in trying to get Trico to listen to their commands, the experience is eerily familiar to anyone who's had to deal with training a dog, and having the patience to guide him along and fight through the communication barrier between him and the boy is rewarded when your mutual understanding inevitably evolves to something more second nature. Well worth the wait.

3. Let it Die ; A surprise contender that smashed my expectations. The whole experience is just as surreal, darkly humorous, and frustrating as anything we've come to expect from a game with Suda's name attached to it... Yes, "frustrating." It can be unfair and tedious to a ridiculous degree, especially as you climb to later floors... But just like No More Heroes I can't help but feel like that's the point. You settle into the grind and learn to handle your losses because the pay-off is so satisfying, only to unlock greater challenges that test both patience and skill even further. There's a theme that you can infer from the repeated iconography of death and materialism about the cyclical nature of being, and perhaps about the level of bullshit we're willing to put up with as gamers and human beings in the name of personal satisfaction. About how our climb to the top for a definitive end mimics the Buddhist ideal of attaining Nirvana (literally "extinguished," like the candles representing each of the bosses' lives once you defeat them) and a true satisfaction apart from the seemingly-endless cycle of suffering to get there.

There's also a skateboarding grim reaper with a Finnish accent who calls you "Senpai" and is probably intended to be evocative of Travis Touchdown's "edgy otaku trying to be cool" schtick but in a weird old guy sort of way, but is actually one of the most endearing characters I've seen in a game in a while. So there.

4. Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse ; The follow-up to SMT4 manages to fix most of my gripes with that game - redrawn demons and new demons with competent designs, actually likeable characters, and a difficulty curve that doesn't take a massive dip 1/5 of the way through. Demon fusing and customization is as fun as ever and the story is a massive step up from IV's... Although the amount of anime cliches and awkward "power of friendship" dialogue comes dangerously close to Devil Survivor 2 levels. The characters are generally likeable enough to make it palatable though.

Spoiler

You can also just go ahead and subvert all of it to kill all your friends in true SMT fashion, you monster.

5. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; Oh hey, Game Freak actually managed to make a Pokemon game feel fresh for the first time in over 20 years. And with a pretty decent story as well. And the new designs are almost universally fantastic. Other than that... Well, it's Pokemon! It's still as addictive and endearing as ever. What more can I say?

Mimikyu will hold a spot among my favorite Pokemon for years to come.

 

[Kiro]

1. The Witness ; The battle between first and second place this year was difficult. Both games have creative, unique designs that are polished in every regard. When I reflect on these two games, I know I will be playing only one for the next several years (Overwatch). However, even though The Witness is a game you can only truly experience once, it is a game that will fondly stay in my mind for decades. That is why it deserves top spot. Jonathan Blow meticulously crafted a game where everything has meaning, and almost everything is a puzzle. It is beautiful, challenging, and creative in the way it teaches you the core mechanics of the game. You feel the sense of accomplishment dozens of times in this game and your knowledge is the only thing that is continuously “upgrading”. A true masterpiece.

2. Overwatch ; While this game is placed second, it is still in my top games of all time. It has minor faults, and was slow to add features that were missing from day one. But it is still being supported with more modes, maps, characters, skins and collectibles being added every few weeks. This game is simply addictive. One round turns into fifteen. Playing a different game turns into an invitation to join an Overwatch party and play for the rest of the night. Each character has charm and personality, and I constantly find myself watching funny highlight videos or theorizing about the next character to be announced. I will be going back to this game for years to come.

3. Fire Emblem Fates ; As a huge fan of Fire Emblem and a not-so big fan of Awakening, I was hesitant about this game. But I loved all three games, despite their stories being crappy. It looked beautiful, had some new changes and units that fit well, and still felt like classic Fire Emblem. If I had more game time I would replay all three of them and see if I could beat the highest difficulty. I can’t wait for the next entry in May.

4. Ratchet & Clank ; I didn’t think so many remakes and remasters would make my top ten this year but they are phenomenal and deserve recognition, starting with Ratchet and Clank. The game is silly, the guns are awesome, the gameplay is enjoyable, and the graphics are pixar-level beautiful. The Clank sections suck, but other than that I loved every second of this game - beating it twice and earning the platinum trophy.

5. Resident Evil 4 ; Another remake and the third system I’ve played this game on. Every time I play this game I am reminded why it is so good. Everything just feels right. It is well paced, tight controls, smooth story and tons of fun. There isn’t much more to say besides ‘It is Resident Evil 4, you should know why it is up here’.

6. The Last Guardian ; This game is a mess in many ways. The controls are pretty bad, and the framerate and camera at times are appalling. Despite those elements being poorly regarded in my eyes, the graphics and story are the best of any game this year. They are so good in fact, they carry this game to my top ten list. It was a long wait to play this game, but it was worth it.

7. Doom ; Woo! If I could summarize how to have brainless fun with a game, it would be Doom. A great game to play in between other slower, thoughtful games (such as The Last Guardian). Doom is simple, chaotic carnage. I had fun from start to finish playing this game, but I didn’t feel there was much to it beyond it being fun. But then again, what else do you really need from a game? Enjoyable is enjoyable.

8. Gravity Rush Remastered ; A vita port and it shows. The colours are quite bland, the missions are a little repetitive and enemies are simple an easy. Yet somehow Kat, Dusty, Raven, and the power to gravity fall anywhere make this game really fun. I wish it had more differentiated content, but it only makes me more excited to delve into Gravity Rush 2.

9. Titanfall 2 ; I wasn’t a big fan of the multiplayer, especially since it was competing against Overwatch. But I played the story and it is tight, crisp and creative. The time-warping level in particular stands out to me on how well these guys can make a campaign. I really hope whether they continue with Titanfall 3 or a new IP, they invest more into their single player modes, as they clearly know how to make a great one and this one was far, far too short. But short and sweet is still worthy of top ten this year.

10. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD ; The last spot goes to another remake. I’ve played this game from start to finish four times now. Three times on the Wii and once on the WiiU. It has its downfalls as some textures are ugly and the game can be very dull and drawn out at times. But it is Zelda. A big, long Zelda with lots of dungeons, side quests and things to do. I couldn’t exclude this game for its short-comings, it has too many great moments to dismiss it from the list.


Other games I've played this year:

x. Axiom Verge ; Fun game. Kind of easy and kind of repetitive. An enjoyable experience but not one that will stay with me.

x. Life is Strange ; Cool idea and it was my first of these types of games. While it is fun, the story was not as good as it needed to be for a game in this genre. It was worthwhile, but nothing more than that.

x. FFXV ; I wish I could throw this game in my top ten but I am not even close to being done! Great game, but I can see it being a bit repetitive and quite easy. Still really solid gameplay and looks amazing.

x. Pokémon Sun ; Complete crap. I don’t know how my opinion is so different than everyone else’s, perhaps I look at different things in pokemon games. The most linear game I’ve played this year. Cutscene after cutscene into unskippable forced dialogue. Pokemon are boring, ugly, and scarce. The islands have one art style: island-themed. Seriously, it made me question whether I will ever pick up another Pokemon game again.

x. Resident Evil 6 ; Pretty fun in co-op mode, but that is all it has going for it. I would never play this game again, and I luckily had friends who made it fun to go through with.

x. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; It was kind of fun at times but I felt like I was just collecting things and trying to survive through the input lag that was present on the PS4.

x. Star Fox Zero ; Enjoyable to play once. But after those few hours, I never wanted to turn on this game again. The controls are so stupidly done that it seriously ruined this game.

 

[Franz Brötchen]

1. Civilization VI ; Fantastic game. May be lacking in number of civilizations but not in number of mechanics as previous vanilla versions.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD ; Does what a HD remake is supposed to be: Preserving gameplay with minor tweaks and looking like you falsely(!) remembered the original to already look like.
3. Fire Emblem Fates ; My first FE game ever and definitely marks the beginning of me digging deeper into this awesome series..
4. Pocket Card Jockey ; This is how you make people play Solitaire in 2016, Microsoft.
5. Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma ; Played through the entire series for the first time cannot omit this entry from this year's list.
6. Star Fox Zero ; Luckily I adapted quickly to the controls and therefore this reimagining of SF64 is now my definitive Star Fox.
7. Doom ; Finally a AAA single player game that let's you have fun. Also, the barebone characterization is the best characterization possible.
8. Paper Mario: Color Splash ; The battle system is needlessly involved, but who cares about that in a game where you want to be entertained by witty dialogue. On this front and on the beautiful presentation, PM CS delivered
9. BoxBoxBoy! ; There cannot be enough handheld puzzle games and this utterly charming little series is a great example.
10. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse ; My first entry into the series. I like world building and music, Metroidvanias are always appreciated. Little too much work towards the true ending, though.

 

[Grexeno]

1. The Witness ; In a year filled with amazing games, this is the one game that could be called a magnum opus. It takes a single, simple puzzle concept, then stretches and bends it to degrees one might think impossible going in. Also the only game to make me literally fall out of my chair when I discovered one of it's myriad secrets.

2. Doom ; Doom is one part antique game design and one part unrelenting murderfest that combines into an exceptional whole.

3. Dark Souls III ; The most polished game in the series, this third installment delivers some of the best, most souls-y areas, bosses, and gameplay that the series has to offer.

4. Overwatch ; Overwatch delivers a massive cast of colorful characters that are all polished to a mirror sheen.

5. Ratchet & Clank ; It puts an immaculately beautiful coat of paint on the series' classic and mostly unchanged gameplay. And that's just fine.

6. Inside ; An atmospheric and engaging adventure with a delirious final sequence.

7. Titanfall 2 ; In an age where Call of Duty and Battlefield look to changing settings to stay fresh, Titanfall 2 says "fuck it, let's take Super Mario Galaxy and make that a shooter campaign."

8. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; Sun/Moon deliver a Pokemon experience that is at long last completely frictionless, and add in a bunch of fantastic new monster designs to boot.

9. Hitman ; Hitman gleefully revels in the sheer amount of absurdist ways to engage with it's world of assassination.

10. VA-11 HALL-A ; Mix drinks and change lives.

x. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ; Another great entry in the series.

x. Oxenfree ; Exceptional writing.

x. Abzû ; A nice little underwater Journey.

 

[marcincz]

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Only one short word. A masterpiece.
2. Gravity Rush Remastered ; One of the biggest surprise in 2016 for me. Very good game.
3. Mirror's Edge Catalyst ; Unappreciated and quick forgotten title. Pity, because it's fine game.
4. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; step forward in comparison with previous Deus game and thankfully lame boss fights disappear.
5. Quantum Break ; I like Remedy games and style of their productions. Another very good game in Remedy portfolio.
6. Firewatch ; The best indie game I have ever played. Fantastic.
7. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel ; I heard many positive opinions about it, so decided to give it a shot. Not regret. Good game.
8. Ratchet & Clank ; Stunning and amazing graphics. It looks more like a movie, not a game.
9. Shadow of the Beast ; Nice and unfortunately short title. However it is still very decent game.
10. Virginia ; Once again very short title on my list. Amazing music and mystery story.

 

[iconoclast]

1. Street Fighter V
2. Raiden V ; The best game on the Xbox One. It's long, looks good, sounds great, and it has an interesting layer of strategy in its scoring system that previous Raiden games lacked. To unlock the true last boss, you have to fully power up all of your weapons. This means that you won't be able to use the "best" weapon at every point; you have to sacrifice scoring potential and survivability along the way. Trying to optimize your approach is a lot of fun.
3. Caladrius Blaze ; I like this about as much as I like Raiden V. While I think prefer Raiden's style a bit more, Caladrius is the more refined game with even more content to explore. Bottom line is that both are fantastic.
4. Dark Souls III
5. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
6. Overwatch
7. Doom
8. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
9. Ratchet & Clank

 

[The Wheel of Fortune]

Fuck this shit. I was doing some sick banners with art from my favorite characters from each game and my PC decided to crash in the middle of everything. Will have to make do with this quickly improvised one.

2016 is up there as one of the worst years of my life. So much bad stuff happened in so little time, that my time for gaming (which was already brief enough itself) was cut shorter. Still, even though 3 of my most anticipated games ended up being trash, I played around 18 games released in 2016 and feel confident enough to write a top 10 list. I even had a lot of trouble deciding on the order for the top 5! So, let me briefly tell you about my choices this year:

1. VA-11 HALL-A ; A game with many issues. The gameplay can get repetitive at times, it never goes on to add new things to spice up the experience and some people may even get tired of the dull routine of serving drinks and clicking to advance the dialogue, which may give the illusion of bad pacing and lack of choice (and I say "illusion" because I truly believe the game doesn't suffer from any of this). Still, that's not the "magical" part about this game. This game is, first and foremost, about broken people. The creators nailed it when crafting the world for this game: with every in-game day that passes, you feel like you start to understand the world a little more, how broken characters make up a dysfunctional society that manages to breath hope and, more importantly, happiness. This game became one of my favorite experiences of all time not because of its gameplay (which I still enjoyed a lot, it's a dream of mine to own a place like it someday and bartend) or its sometimes unnatural story (it probably felt more natural to me because I've gone through something eerily similar to Jill's story), but because it manages to paint a world that no other game I've ever played has dared to look into before, and it does it pretty damn well. The choices are well ingrained into the gameplay, the soundtrack is amazing, and the characters are some of my favorite this year. Jill, the main character, became one of my favorite protagonists of all time and I will carry this strange game with its broken characters in my heart for the rest of my life.

2. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; Reimagining the Pokémon series was something I have always feared. The formula was getting stale, I thought, but it still worked and felt good (even in the lackluster XY), and after seeing what they've done with series like Paper Mario, it's better to be safe than sorry, I thought. But this game did what few people thought possible: it took me back to the first time I played Pokémon Blue, which was my first videogame, and gave me a similar feeling once again. This is pretty much the best example of how to properly change the formula of an aging series without altering its soul. I was addicted to this when it came out, I couldn't stop playing it, and my mind was always looking forward to the next opportunity I had to sink into the world again. The only reasons this is not my game of the year is because (1) Vallhalla made more of a personal connection with me, (2) the lack of a good post-game (I'm an ultra fan of the Battle Frontier from Pokémon Emerald), and (3) because the *endgame spoilers*

Spoiler

Elite Four selection is crap,I was massively disappointed to battle with the kahunas again, even though I became a big Kahili fanboy and Acerola is a pretty nice character. I hope they get some new faces in for Stars

.

3. Overwatch ; I've never been a fan of multiplayer-only games, but this game is really special as it is without a single-player campaign. Not really much to say about this one, I've spent a lot of time interacting with the community and kick ass online with my girls Symmetra and Tracer. I felt like this, Dark Souls III and Mario & Luigi tied, all of them were magnificent experiences for me. Hope this wins GOTY! Although it's not my favorite, I think it's probably the game with less flaws this year.

4. Dark Souls III ; I appreciate the gameplay changes they made to get more people into PvP and enhance the experience, but I couldn't get into it like I did with DSII. I also had problems with NG+ and its lack of differences, I stayed at SL115 for the entirety of NG and NG++ (to get the Platinum) and I didn't notice any changes at all. That said, the bosses are absolutely fantastic (my top 5 is

Spoiler

Pontiff Sulyvahn > Abyss Watchers > Nameless King > Soul of Cinder > Lothric,Younger Prince

), the locales were amazing and fun to explore even if the level design didn't reach the peaks of DSI's first 1/3 or DSII's DLC areas. My ranking is as follows: BB (one of my favorite games of all time) > DSII > DSI > DSIII > DeS.

5. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam ; I'll save some of the points that made this a great game for another thread I'm planning to write up, but to put it in a few words, this showed that Paper Mario can still be a good franchise even if they choose to not use new characters by focusing on the gameplay first. The boss fights were magnificent, really memorable, and the fact that most of the NPC's were Toads hardly bothered me at all. Glad to see the Mario & Luigi franchise is going in a good direction.

6. Fire Emblem Fates ; Maybe the fact that Awakening is one of my favorite games of all time made me overhype this a little bit. My main problems were about the story (in all 3 campaigns), first and foremost. If people thought FEA's story seemed like fanfiction, though I admit that I enjoyed it a lot, then this one will blow those complains out of the water. It's such a damn shame, because that is, in my opinion, the only bad part of the game. The gameplay is a great improvement on Awakening, and the soundtrack has some of the best videogame tracks of the year (particularly Dusk Falls and Road Taken). I felt like the characters didn't really reach the heights of the first game, but I still like them a lot (particularly the Hoshido gang).

7. Inside ; An amazing experience! Everyone should give it a go, even though it's somewhat short. I will not say much on this one, better avoid spoiling something!

8. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice ; There's nothing bad with more Ace Attorney, in fact, they should bring over DGS1 while we're at it, but I wasn't a big fan of the setting and the fact that the prosecutor was the same for every case of the game, except for the obligatory Payne in the first one. The big issue I have with this game is that the culprits were blatantly obvious in all cases, there were not many witnesses to select from and in many cases it came down to choosing from the defendant, the main characters, and a sole witness that was related to the case. It really made no sense to

Spoiler

have Nahyuta in both America and Kura'in at almost the same time and I'm fucking tired of Maya in general, but especially of having to defend her for something she obviously didn't do for what feels like the hundreth time in the series

. Maybe this seems overly negative for a game in my top 10, but it's still a pretty good game that's worth a buy at full price. Can't wait for more!

9. Kirby: Planet Robobot ; I really enjoyed the technological spin they put on the series this time. The bosses were really memorable and good, even though the game is on the easy side, and the powers made way for some interesting mechanics and were varied enough to keep the gameplay interesting, even in combat. Sadly, the minigames were forgettable and it never really reached the heights of my favorite entry in the series (Crystal Shards), but it's still a fantastic game and one of the best outputs of the 3DS this year.

10. Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness ; An individual that is dead set on bringing happiness to every single person, even if it means using shady means to do so, doesn't sound like much of a villian, but the way the writers managed to pen such an interesting character in Alpha is marvelous! From the very start, the premise had me hooked and I managed to go through some bad pacing and strange writing to experience the multiple conclusions to the story. Was it worth it? Absolutely, but it definitely would've helped to know more about the series beforehand and maybe something else to fix the pacing issues.

Honorable mentions:
x. Unravel ; I think this would easily be in my top 10 were it not for that stupid No Deaths trophy that soured my experience of the game a little bit. It's really solid and interesting, if it's at the right price, every platformer fan should give it a go.
x. Dishonored 2 ; Felt like an expansion, more than a sequel. In this case it isn't such a bad thing, as the first one was solid and really fun no matter what style you chose to play the game, but I was expecting something more, I guess. Still enjoyed my time with this a lot!
x. Oxenfree ; Kudos to the creators for putting such a magnificent NG+ on this game. My main problem with this one is the criminally slow speed at which Alex moves, holy shit did it drive me mad at times. It's the only reason I still haven't gotten the Platinum trophy.

Disappointment of the year: Paper Mario Color Splash (followed by No Man's Sky and Uncharted 4). Will save my bitching for another thread.

Backlog: Watch_Dogs 2, Far Cry Primal, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, and Momodora. Didn't buy FFXV, waiting for dem story patches.

 

[WickedLaharl]

1. Dark Souls III ; Awesome aesthetics and great bosses. Good enemy variety and level design.
2. Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma ; disappointing sequel but still an engrossing VN
3. Gears of War 4 ; Great campaign and solid multiplayer. MP map design is a bit messy but a vast improvement over Judgment in every way.
4. Overwatch ;
5. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ;
6. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered ;
7. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ;
8. Gravity Rush Remastered ;
9. Final Fantasy XV ; Bad story and characters but i found the open world activities and dungeons enjoyable
10. Watch_Dogs 2 ; Greatly improved over the 1st. Much more variety in how missions can be completed.

 

[antitrop]

1. Overwatch ; Overwatch took up so much of my time that I can't even come up with a full Top 10 list this year. I had no interest in the game until I played the Open Beta, but as a longtime Blizzard fan, I really should have seen this coming. Right away, I was able to ease into it with the familiar feeling Soldier: 76, learning other characters as I went. Now I actually enjoy playing the Support characters the most, especially Zenyatta. Once Competitive mode was patched in shortly after launch, I was permanently hooked. I'd rather be playing it right now than typing this.

2. DOOM ; It's so cool to be able to put DOOM this high up in my list. I was always looking forward to it, but id software still delivered well over my expectations. I played on PS4 and it's one of the smoothest controlling and playing FPS I've ever played on a console, I would love to get to the PC version, eventually. The polished gameplay is complemented perfectly by the appropriately intense soundtrack and Mick Gordon proves himself one of the best composers in the industry, once again. I look forward to his work in Prey later this year and hopefully the next MachineGames Wolfenstein, as well.

3. Final Fantasy XV ; To me, this almost feels like the MGS V of 2016, in that the gameplay was extraordinarily compelling, while the story disappointing and left feeling incomplete. But MGS V placed highly for me last year and FF XV does, too. While its overall plot doesn't come together completely and many character motivations are completely and utterly ignored, the game still delivered a satisfying journey of four close friends. XV's cast is, in my opinion, one of the most cohesive and memorable of the entire series, a series I've held dear for many years. It's unfortunate that the game represents so much uncapitalized potential, but what's there is still incredible and I valued my time spent with Noctis, Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto greatly.

4. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; I've always been entertained by the characters and well-directed cutscenes of the Uncharted series, but I felt the gunplay just wasn't up to the same standards as the titans of the genre, with plenty of shooting to be done in the games. After excelling with the gunplay of The Last of Us, Naughty Dog finally brings the Uncharted series' combat up to the highest standards with 4. Almost all encounters in this game were a complete joy for me, I suppose it's just somewhat unfortunate it features the least of them. Some of the chapters struggled in pacing and towards the end, I started to wonder when it was going to begin wrapping up, but I still loved almost all of it. It was the finale the series deserved.

5. Dark Souls III ; Yeah, it's "Dark Souls: Greatest Hits Edition", but it's still fun.

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

1. The Last Guardian ; Talk about worth the wait! As a huge Team ICO fan I have been waiting for this game for quite some time. And fortunately now that its out I can say it delivered on all of my expectations. I can see how some would not like it, but I found Trico AI to be incredible, how he is a movable puzzle piece you don't fully control in a 3D world to be fascinating and it had huge emotional payoffs

2. Doom ; A game that had been sitting strong as my GOTY since its launch in May. Easily the biggest surprise for me. The perfect fusion of old school shooter style with modern shooter updates. Great secrets, the best OST of the year, creates the best shooter this gen

3. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Most characters and franchises don't get what Drake got with Uncharted 4. Usually franchises and characters either get run down into obscurity or worse left in some never to be resolved plot point. But Uncharted 4 had an amazing send off for the character and the series as its currently constructed. Finished very strong. It was also interesting to me how it seems almost an inverse in the adventure to shooting ratio that the earlier Uncharted games had. Still when the game popped, it popped. Still amazing character interactions, set pieces, and wow moments throughout.

4. Titanfall 2 ; If Doom didn't come out this year, this would have been my favorite shooter of the year. Really fun campaign. Its a shame the enemy AI wasn't more fun to fight against, but everything else was top notch. Given how often they'd mix things up it almost reaches Rocket Knight Adventures (Genesis) level of variety (not quite, that game is crazy good..go play it too).

5. Dragon Quest: Builders ; I don't like minecraft, and I really don't like "just go build thing" style games. But this game really had me hooked because they wrapped that concept into conventional JRPG progression and I became hooked. And for a simpleton like me the blueprints was great. Helped me build a good enough base

6. Street Fighter V ; Yea it launched rough, and was missing the story but I still had a lot of fun with this game. Not only playing it, but also watching it in tournaments. I really wish the game developers could get out of their own way and let the game really shine. I'm hoping like other SF games, it'll eventually get there

7. Inside ; I liked, but didn't love Limbo. But I heard all the praise and gave it a go. I really think its a good step up puzzle interaction wise than their previous game. I also found the world, and story elements interesting. They might be getting "too cute" but hey that's all fine with me

8. Ratchet & Clank ; Welcome back guys! One of my favorite comfort food franchises. It just feels good running around with wacky weapons, in beautiful stages and just blow things up. Its not A crack in time level of good but its a great revisit.

9. The Witness ; I admit I haven't finished this game. Its one I want to get back to it, because the world, and the way it rolls out the puzzles is really fascinating. I swear there were times where the rush I got from beating puzzles felt the same as when I'd down a souls boss. It was a rush to do it with no hints outside the fascinating way the game would teach you the mechanics

10. Rez Infinite ; Its hard to think of this as a new game but its my gold standard for VR at this point. Area X was amazing, and the base game has never felt so good. I swear I know it was originally a Dreamcast game but it felt designed for VR. One of the greats


--------
Games I own and still want play from 2016:
- Final Fantasy XV
- Dishonored 2
- Dark Souls 3
- More Witness
- Play more Overwatch

 

[WhyMe6]

It seems I basically only played seven games this year, and only five of them for longer than ten hours. My year basically consisted of Bloodborne+DLC, followed by Overwatch for the rest of the entire year, with Pokemon Shuffle and Pokemon Sun sprinkled throughout. My son being born didn't help my play time, either. There are so many quality games I didn't get a chance to play, but I wouldn't swap my 200 or so hours of Overwatch for those, either, hahahaha.

1. Overwatch ; This was a game I had no interest in before release and that caught me totally by surprise: an incredibly fun, balanced shooter with an amazing difficulty curve and the first multiplayer FPS to really grab me since Perfect Dark. I will be playing this for years to come.

2. Pokemon Sun ; A beautiful return to form for Pokemon after the two recent lacklustre 3D entries. Game Freak built a wonderful world with a great atmosphere, soundtrack and brilliant new Pokemon designs.

3. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir ; The usual fantastic Vanillaware release, but remastered and tweaked completely to be, in my opinion, a much better game.

4. No Man's Sky ; I came into this expecting "Mass Effect 1 Planet Exploration: The Expanded Game", and that's what I got. Wandering around strange worlds finding strange creatures and beautiful sights, this was exactly what I wanted to play on a larger scale. A few small gripes aside, this met and exceeded my expectations and it's another title I'll be playing for a long time to come. Surprisingly, the new updates haven't really interested me all that much (much needed glitch fixes aside), it's the base game that grabbed me.

5. Doom

6. Pocket Card Jockey

7. Titanfall 2

Bring on 2017's releases, Persona 5 and the Switch!

 

[woopWOOP]

1. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; I'll probably be fondly thinking back to this entry many years in the future. The amount of new Pokemon introduced is rather low compared to other generations, but the Alola islands themselves are pretty great. Small and comfy. Swapping the classic gym battles for these little trial missions and a Pokemon boss battle is a nice change of pace. Replacing HMs with the Ride Pager makes juggling Pokemon in your party so much less of a hassle, especially post-game. Poke Pelago simplifies a lot of older mechanisms by placing it all in that submenu, instantly available at all times. This is the first Pokemon game where I actually bothered to plant and harvest berries! The Festival Plaza is... a kind of crappy way of dealing with online fuctionalities. Hey, you can't win 'm all. Singleplayer reminded me of the Black & White Pokemon games. There's plenty of cutscenes about characters other than you, but watching these characters interact and develop throughout your adventure is pretty fun to watch. Lastly, although the game sadly got rid of triple battles and rotation battles, the 4-player free for all Battle Royal is a fun new addition. What can I say, I'm a free for all chaos kind of person and this is a decent way of bringing that same style of chaotic gameplay to the Pokemon franchise. I really like it.

2. Fire Emblem Fates ; Is splitting the game up in three different, seperate parts kind of overkill? Kind of, but with 70+/- hours spent on each of them I sure got a lot of worth out of them. Out of these parts I think Conquest is the highlight. Different mission objectives, good map design and plenty of clutch moments even on the normal difficulty. Revelations is a bit simpler, but gives you a crazy amount of units to mix and match with. Creating super children with crazy ability/class mashups can be addicting! It's too bad the overall story reaches new levels of stupid this time around (the excuse for children is especially bullshit), but the fun character interactions and army customisation options more than make up for it.

3. Kirby: Planet Robobot ; It's another Kirby entry with the same style as Return to Dreamland. I really like that style. The previous 3DS game, Kirby: Triple Deluxe, had a Hyper Nova gimmick that was basically a 1-hit kill super move that you had to use at a specific area of the stage and wasn't really fun to lug around. This time the gimmick is a magitech armor suit that can utilise varying Kirby powers in new overpowered ways, but unlike the hypernova you're still in control. You're still platforming and wrecking enemies left and right, just with new more powerful abilities. Abilities that can also help you solve mandatory (and hidden) puzzles. One of the better Kirby games for sure. Also the final boss throwback is pretty rad.

4. Star Fox Zero ; The controls can be rather complex, but as someone who played plenty of Splatoon with the gyro before playing this game it was easy to get a decent handle on it. Allowing the camera of your choice at all times would be nice tho, I hate playing these kind of games in First Person mode and the TV screen locking onto a target whenever a boss appears can be frustrating.

5. Paper Mario: Color Splash ; Part of me really digs this game, which is why it's such a shame this game has so much to complain about too. I enjoyed it most of the way through, but then it almost felt like the game abruptly ended. What I thought was the start of the final world turned out to be the final level. The writing and Toad NPCs are great tho and I really enjoyed the 'puzzley' battle system approach. Would I play another Paper Mario in this same style? Yeah, probably. As long as they get rid of those instant game overs, get rid of the awful minigames and don't punish you with an unwinnable scenario if you use that Thing card one turn too early.

6. Shantae Half Genie Hero ; Backed the kickstarter and although I'm really satisfied, it kind of feels like there should've been more? The various transformations are fun and cute, but quite a few of them are used once or twice before being overshadowed by better transformations. Kind of made me wish there were challenge stages focusing on specific transformations.

7. Shantae Risky's Revenge Director's Cut ; First time I played a Shantae game, on the WiiU! I'm not too big on the Metroidvania genre in general, but these games are simple enough for me to get through. Plenty of hints dropped ingame to know where to go so I never was stuck and frustrated. Fun little game.

8. Creepy Castle ; Cute looking indie game, nailed the retro style nicely. Gives a selection of multiple scenarios, but I've only managed to play the first one yet. Odd battle system, but I liked it. Game has some surprisingly funny and touching moments.

 

[Temujin]

1. DOOM ; Best FPS since Wolfenstein TNO. I didn't really "feel" the first few levels, but later I really got into it. I loved the "Doom Slayer" lore in the later Hell levels as well. There really isn't that much variety in level/enemy design, but there are plenty of weapons and power-ups to RIP AND TEAR (sorry) your way through the game without being bored. It's a remarkably simple game really, but maybe this old-fashioned, no-nonsense approach to action and shooting is what makes me - and plenty of others I see - mark this as their GOTY.
Special mention to Mick Gordon for his great soundtrack.

2. Dishonored 2 ; Dishonored was one of my favourite last gen games, so I was really looking forward to this. I played Brigmore Witches a week before starting this one, and story-wise I'm happy I did because certain things make more sense (so we're getting

Spoiler

Daud

DLC again right?). At first sight, things don't feel that much different than the first one, but the level design gets better and there are lots of little surprises later on - the Stilton manor mission for example, was so, so good.
Pretty much my only complaint is that the Outsider is now your ally instead of the chaotic neutral force he was in the first one - he's much less threatening here.

3. XCOM 2 ; I was interested in this game since its announcement, but held off until about a month ago. Why? Well, while I liked Xcom Enemy Unknown, I also found it to be a very tiring and draining game at times. Since I mostly play games just to relax, games like this are pretty much the opposite of what I want. So when I finally did get the game (thanks, local toy shop, for your great Black Friday sales), I compromised: I played it on easy difficulty. I still had a hard time at first, and some ups and downs in terms of difficulty throughout the game. But now, I actually enjoyed it, and it was a good compromise between the stress of combat/losing your team and having fun advancing the story line. I quite enjoyed the story by the way,

Spoiler

the Council spokesman dying

made me feel genuinely upset. Anyway, it's a great sequel, I loved the new additions (Ranger class = so good!).

4. Furi ; Another personal surprise hit which I probably wouldn't have played if it weren't for PS+. And I don't even like "hard" games. Or boss rush games. But somehow, I ended up loving this, and actually putting an effort in to learn boss patterns. Beating the last boss was definitely one of my biggest personal gaming achievements this year. Really loved the atmosphere, world and story in this one. And yes, I didn't even mind the slow walk sections, I loved the build-up to the next battle.
Also, the game has awesome, awesome music, with Make This Right being one of my favourite tracks.

5. Forza Horizon 3 ; While it feels like a minor upgrade from FH2 at first, the setting's far more varied and more fun overall. And, finally a snow/mountain expansion.
One complaint I have: too many drivatars really kill your chances at a good drift zone run. So annoying.

6. King of Fighters XIV ; My favourite fighting game of 2016, and my favourite King of Fighters game in a quite a while (XII and XIII didn't do much for me). Great roster of characters, plenty of single player modes, great, classic KoF gameplay that very much feels like the old games. Hopefully the upcoming Fatal Fury and/or Samurai Shodown games will be just as good.

7. Inside ; This is mostly on my list because of the atmosphere, world, story (or, absence of story - I really enjoyed reading everyone's interpretation in the spoiler thread) and yes, that last half an hour or so - definitely one of the most remarkable and memorable gaming moments in 2016. I can't say I enjoyed the gameplay that much - sometimes it feels too simple and empty, other times I got really frustrated with certain...things. In any case, it's worth experiencing just for the world and atmosphere.

8. Oxenfree ; Very short but very interesting adventure. It probably helps that I played this with great headphones on, because the music and sound design is amazing. Great atmosphere.

9. Severed ; A short, pretty, sometimes frustrating metroidvania-lite game with a good soundtrack and great atmosphere (... I seem to repeat "great atmosphere" a lot in this GOTY list). I was really looking forward to this from the moment it was announced, and it didn't disappoint. Played this on the Vita, and yes, I burned my finger several times. Worth it.

10. Pokémon Go ; I only casually played this for a month this summer, but after a rough start I really got into it. It helped that I was in London for a week, where there's a pokéstop and tons of Pokémon every 5 steps.


Honorable mentions:
x. Street Fighter V ; I enjoyed the gameplay in this one more than in SFIV, but the way Capcom handled this game is such a downer.
x. Titanfall 2 ; I enjoyed the campaign, but I wasn't wowed by it like some of you were.
x. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 ; I appreciate more single-player content and the community events, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the first one. Certain zombies now looking like plants and vice versa make the already chaotic battles even more confusing.
x. Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator ; I will always suck at Guilty Gear games but still like playing them. Amazing graphics and, unlike SFV, plenty of single player content.
x. Abzû
x. Firewatch
x. Virginia

 

[Skikkiks]

alright I played a bunch of games this year and I smell and I'm 6 years old so time for some words on some games, but first some words on some other games. Also shoutouts to my friend for helping me with the banners, go click a heart or yell swaers at him or something

1. Overwatch ; is the multiplayer phenomenon that has swept the world and I am one in the number. It was always gonna be this way, really. I haven't played a multiplayer first person shooter since I've gotten sick of playing PS3 Team Fortress 2 and this has been the closest thing to a successor of that kind of gameplay in years. As it got traction and the closed beta went underway is when I got more and more excited about it. I watched streams of it for hours and learned as much as I could before getting to put my hands on it. Then the console beta hit, and I put 40 hours of pure joy into a game that hadn't come out yet in a week.

So it's been 6 months or so since then, and I still play it. And I still love it. Overwatch excels in nearly every regard and is addicting enough that I still keep coming back to it. It had everything I wanted in a Team Fortress successor. The thrill of the standstill before breaking through with the push that breaks the enemy team. That's made even stronger here with the addition of ultimates, which function like everyone has their own personal ubercharge. When people in quickplay bother to call their fucking ults, group up like rational human beings and combine their efforts to destroy the opposition? It doesn't get much better than that, friend.

Obviously it's not just the gameplay, but the shell encasing it. The art style is colourful and fun. The characters are quirky and varied in a way that have let them connect with a whole deal of people. Map design is more hit than miss, though you'll never stop hearing the ire of millions of gamers getting stonewalled off the final point of Volskaya Industries or Temple of Anubis. Its way of monetizing itself may not be the greatest, but with continued support and a bevy of free content for, based on its success, years to come, it's a fair trade. Overwatch is a game that I've put hundreds of hours in and a game I feel that I will continue to play in the years to come, and for that, it lands at #1 in this list of games. So yeah I don't know game sux lol.

2. Clustertruck ; is a dumb game. It's supposed to be a dumb game but my god is it absolutely fantastic. Clustertruck is a 90 level game where you jump on trucks to get to an end goal. If you looked at the gif banner above, you'll understand that it takes that concept to nonsensical extremes. It begins innocently enough, with basic desert and forest and snowy areas. Then the blackened laser area happens. Then the trick laden medieval area happens. Boulders chase you in ancient area, wacky bounce pads await you in sci fi area, pipes and gears abound in steampunk land and then you just go to Hell and kill the devil. All while jumping on trucks. It is Good.

But what really took Clustertruck to the next level for me personally was doing the levels with no abilities. After gaining points from completing levels, you can purchase different powerups like slow-mo or a grappling hook to weirder powerups such as making the game play like SuperHot or throwing some shit on the ground and summoning a truck. I chose to play it with nothing but a run and a jump and the game turned into something else. Even when all the platforms are trucks with random wacky 'intelligence' that just do random shit sometimes, it never feels unfair, which is a big credit to the level design. When you got no get out of jail cards and you just got to trust that you can Jump Good, especially in the later levels, It becomes one hell of a thrill making big ass jumps at high speeds landing on stupid ass trucks.

Couple this good ass gameplay with custom levels through workshop support (on Steam at least), a kickin soundtrack, Halloween and Winter themed level packs as free new content and some fun twitch interaction shit as it is a fun dumb streamer game, you got yourself a complete package. What really puts this game at the near top of my list, however, is the experience I had beating the last level with no abilities. No game tested my mettle like that this year, and no game made me whip my shirt off and run around my house in victory as I beat it. If that isn't justification enough for this spot, then I don't know what is.

3. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth ; was one of my biggest surprises of this year. If you told me my third favourite game this year would be a random Digimon game I bought for 11 dollars, I wouldn't have believed you; but here I am writing about it and god dang is it good. The couple of times in this thread that this game has been brought up, nostalgia has been thrown around a lot. I have no nostalgia for the Digimon franchise. I been a pokeboy for life, but Pokemon has never motivated me to fill a pokedex like this game has.

The turning point for how good this game was gonna be for me happened very early. I got this early game tadpole character to max level and went to the big breasted lady's headquarters to digivolve it. I was given four options to evolve it into, with nothing but a silhouette to guide my opinion. I chose an option and I got a Numemon, a goofy looking slug thing that flings its own shit. That's when I learned the possibilities are endless in Digimon, and even the most normal looking idiot can turn to great wacky atrocities. I can take my rather normal looking small idiots and turn them into bees with honeycomb cannons and godly shit slugs and a living fucking train and that's what drove me to fill the field guide and find whatever else is behind the silhouettes.

The rest of the game is pretty good too. Story is wacky shit but for the most part isn't offensive. Combat has a whole slew of nuances that even after beating the game I don't feel I've explored fully. After a point I can force and eliminate encounters and any random encounter can be auto battled which was real nice for the fact that I wanted to evolve things so grinding was fun. There's plenty of shit still to do and I never really got bored in my 67 hours of playtime. I look forward to more Shit Slug acquisitions in the future.

4. Severed ; is a whole hodgepodge of shit in a beautiful package. To run it down, it's a first person dungeon crawler with metroidvania level design, its combat is completely touch based and behaves something like a punch out game and you upgrade things by severing limbs in slow motion like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and it all just works and it works really well. The artstyle, while similar to Drinkbox's previous outing of Guacamelee, is taken up a notch in its new hellish setting, with all the disturbing imagery and badass monster designs to boot. The combat is so very very satisfying, Measured swipes to parry incoming attacks, followed up by quick successive swipes to the enemy's weakpoint is great fun, couple that with multiple enemy encounters with every enemy having their own attack speeds and patterns and figuring out the time management needed to deal with threats is fun to strategize around. It really just comes together and is just a fantastic package.

5. Ratchet and Clank ; is one shoot bang of a shoot banger. Sure the movie sucked but who cares about that shit? Ratchet and Clank is a real jump shooter, you jump and you shoot and you flip off any jump shooter that didn't get shoot by your jumps. Like the other sequels we just went over, Ratchet and Clank is a Ratchet and Clank game. Other than the glaring omission of an arena area, it functions as a sort of greatest hits of the series and has basically everything that worked from the other games in one game.

The weaponry is has a good mix of old classic guns and new guns like a shotgun that turns enemies into pixel characters, and the Groovitron. God bless the Groovitron. This game is much improved from the original because it has strafing and ergo has actual gunplay, The first game just played like Knack but worse. The worst part of no strafing in the original is that Spyro: Year of the Dragon had strafing for a monkey character but not here!?!?!?!? idk I don't know what this paragraph is just read about the next game fr**k.

6. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice ; is not the best Ace Attorney game I've played this year (what could have been?!?!!?) but it is definitely the best mainline Phoenix Wright game to come out since the third game. Case for case it's one of the more impressive Ace Attorney game. The third case is especially a ride and the final case that brings the whole overarching story together is one hell of a climax. Even the filler case a great deal of people don't care for is fun to go through in its own right.

Beyond that, it's a Phoenix Wright game if ever there was one. A cast of quirky characters with some of the either best or most offensive name puns you'll ever see in your entire life. The 2D -> 3D transition the series took with Dual Destinies is still paying off dividends here, with their improved 3D animations bringing these characters to life more than ever before. The one real weakspot is the game's prosecutor, a boring nerd that flings his rosary and can only speak in different inflections of "LET IT GO AND MOVE ON"

7. Unravel ; got swept up from being released so early in the year but it managed to resonate with me. It's just a nice, charming little game. Its visuals are an absolute splendor, really capturing the essence of the seasons as you progress through the game. I loved using the yarn for puzzles and how flexible the yarn was. The whole yarn gimmick, needing to go to what are functionally checkpoints to refresh Yarny with more yarn gave it its own flavour in a sea of 2d puzzle platformers, even if it was a little wonky at times. The nicest thing was how Yarny animated, the way it swatted at flies, the way it waded through snow, the way it shivered when left still on a winter level, it gave the character a charming level of personality that was good.

8. The Last Guardian ; is a game not without issues. The non pro PS4 runs the game like a clogged toilet, the controls are intentionally and painstakingly designed with such care that they succeed in being arduous and rather shite, the camera can be painful especially when platforming around towers and in specific instances Trico would rather smell its own farts rather than jump atop the perch clearly designed for Trico to jump on.

But beyond that, it really is a special game. It's a game that was in development for the better part of a decade, but it doesn't really seem like one. Games with long development cycles like Duke Nukem Forever usually are all over the place and lack direction, but you can look at The Last Guardian and reasonably suspect that was not the case here. It appeared to be about a boy and his dog then and it's a boy and his dog now, and that story is a story worth experiencing.

9. Kirby: Planet Robobot ; is a Kirby game. If you've ever played a Kirby game then you'll know what to expect from this game. It pretty much does everything you've come to expect from this franchise. The kicker here is that it does it exceptionally well. The gameplay here is more or less the same as the previous 3DS entry, Triple Deluxe, but Robobot gets rid of the whole super big power up cutscene attack thing from Return to Dreamland if favour of a robot mech and it pays off here. The mech functions enough like Kirby to not bog down the game, but is different enough to be a nice change of pace.

Beyond that, it's Kirby and you really can't stress that enough. You got the classic Kirby level design, you got the fun optional minigames, you got the fun side modes after beating the main story mode, you got lots of bosses with the arena and true arena all there. If you've played a Kirby game, you already know what you're going to get. If you've never played a Kirby game, you really can't go wrong with starting with this game.

10. Abzû ; is a game that probably won't be talked about without addressing the elephant in the room. Yes, Journey and it have a relative amount of stuff in common. The art director and composer are the same and the general story flow is similar. However, I don't think comparisons are warranted due to the fact that the games have different goals in mind. Journey is more centered around its Super Smash Brothers Brawl Online Play gimmick, (which isn't a comparison to rag on the game, but I spent many an hour of my misspent youth effectively communicating with a nameless, voiceless adversary in Brawl's pitiful online mode) while Abzu is far more straight forward in how it tells its story.

But I digress from that, as Abzu's main draw is the sea. I liked Journey because I like a good big ass beautiful desert, and I like Abzu because I like a big ass beautiful sea. Abzu really does the glory of the sea justice, moments like diving deep into a blank blue abyss to swimming through kelp and wildlife are sublime. The fish are another great feature, the variety of fish on display as you make your way through the game is wonderful and when you take the time to be surrounded by a school of fish or sit atop one of the many meditation stones and watch as the fish swim about, it really is a pleasant, tranquil experience for pretty much anyone.

x. Amplitude ; is a fun rhythm game. Its got trippy ass visuals, it's got some kick ass tunes, and it's got some fun ass gameplay. It has its issues, the biggest gameplay learning curve is that some of the time, you have to hit a note as soon as you transition between instruments which can throw you off should you not be prepared. The game's biggest sin, oddly enough, is no DLC; which could have helped the game's song variety issues. That being said, bonus songs outside the campaign have the variety, Digital Paralysis is a good song and I could go for some god dang Freezepop in 20anything.

x. Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 ; is here in my honourable mentions for a very sad reason. Before I continue with my criticisms of this game, it has been said that my #1 Game of 2016 was in fact Overwatch. Regardless, I had my fun with Garden Warfare 2. It's dumb fun with friends and it's good dumb fun in general. The reason it is here versus something like Overwatch is that after nearly 60 hours in a two and a half week span, I got the platinum trophy, ejected the disc from my gaming console and whipped it at the wall. With Overwatch, I put more hours in a shorter time span and I continue to play it and I continue to love it.

x. Gravity Rush Remastered ; is something I wanted to get to on my Vita, but something I just never got the time to get to. I wanted to make that time when I heard the game was being ported to the PS4 and I'm glad I did. After you really get the feel for it, Gravity Rush is a joy to play. The games movement with its falling at high speed and sliding around is great fun and zipping around to deliver gravity kicks to demented creatures with Big Pink Weakspots that shatter on hit is greatly satisfying. Hype for the sequel I'm about to play!

x. Rez Infinite ; as someone who always meant to play it but didn't until the remaster, is a hell of a trip. The games visuals nail the cyberspace aesthetic fantastically as does the soundtrack, it's one hell of an audiovisual feast. Another layer of that being how as you shoot things, the sound effects of the hitting shots create more complimenting music. Chaining together maxed shots in rapid succession is some dope shit. The new level for the game is a great spin on the gameplay and is a welcome addition with the normal levels. Hope this re-release results in something more.

x. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered ; is the remaster to one of my favourite games of all time. It doesn't do much different than the PC release that got put up in November of 2014, but hot damn if I needed a reason to revisit this classic. A fantastic looking game with fun strategic gameplay, even if it's marred by a 'number of turns only count' ranking system that leads to juicing your cute, fragile speedy scout idiots and blazing through the level to kill one enemy to cap a point. It's still god damn good and it's still a good game for any interested nerd to play.

Ace Attorney Investigations 2 is the best Phoenix Wright game I played this year. I may have watched a playthrough of it three years earlier before playing Dual Destinies, but doing a full playthrough was still a god damn trip. When you're watching a twist you already know about unfold and are still getting hype about it you know it's some shit. I'm fairly confident it's my favourite ace attorney game but I need to replay Trials & Tribulations to fully confirm it as such oops

Cook, Serve, Delicious! was a hidden gem I played when I went down my backlog. I never cared for this kind of game but hot damn if I didn't get addicted. It's fun to memorize and develop muscle memory for the variety of foods that you can offer and their varied recipes, you then couple that with the fast and frantic after obtaining bigger buzz with a better restaurant and it becomes oh so overwhelming and oh so satisfying to clear them all out. Can't wait for the sequel!

Tales of the Borderlands was my first real Telltale game other than playing through the first two chapters of the first Walking Dead game because they were free on PS+. What I thought would be something I'd come back to every week or so to do a chapter, became something I blazed through on one of my off days. A fun plot with fun characters and fun writing and oh boy was it fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun. Fun.

 

[Nimby]

Woah I didn't even know this was posted. Glad I caught it.

1. Overwatch ; One of the best shooters released in a decade for me. 2000 games later, still want to keep playing.
2. Dark Souls III ; Dark Souls is a top ten game for me, and while the third one doesn't quite hit all the marks the original did, it's the second best for me.
3. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse ; Tightens the gameplay of it's prequel while fixing the flaws of an already good game
4. Hitman ; The game that brought Hitman back to its form. One of the best looking games while running at decent framerate, with numerous ways to complete missions, it was kind of overwhelming!
5. Titanfall 2 ; The movement abilities are so smooth and the Titans brought something new to ADS shooters, which this one is the best this gen by far.
6. Ratchet & Clank ; Fun and beautiful platformer that makes me hope Insomniac keeps pumping out these games like they did for the PS3.

Games that probably would've made it if I completed them or played them:
DOOM ; Unfortunately just haven't got around to it, I know I'm missing out
Pokemon Sun/Moon ; Just got it and haven't played very much of it
Fightan games (GGXRDR and SFV) ; The former is beautiful while the latter is fun to play with friends. Haven't played much of either.

 

[timetokill]

Less than 12 hours left, punks!

 

[MarauderShields]

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; The perfect end to an amazing series
2. Overwatch ; One of the best MP games ever
3. Dark Souls 3 ; Its a familiar formula but its a great one
4. The Witcher 3 Blood and Wine ; An amazing expansion for an all time great game
5. Inside ; Didn't care much for Limbo but this was better in every way
6. The Last Guardian ; Worth the wait
7. Forza Horizon 3 ; One of the best racers ever
8. Battlefield 1 ; Have not played this as much as I should but Operations is amazing
9. Call of Duty Infinite Warfare ; The MP is awful but the campaign was a massive surprise
10. Ratchet and Clank ; Never played a Ratchet game before and now I feel like I was missing out

 

[SuperBanjo]

1. Pokemon Go ; That's right, I have a smartphone game as my GOTY. While it's true that the game is rather shallow considering you just catch Pokemon and conquer gyms, it was great to have a gaming experience that I never had before. I was actually walking around, seeing Pokemon within the real world of AR, and even seeing and talking with people who were also playing the game. I still play it almost daily. While it still has glitches that players have to deal with, I still think it's my favorite game of the year for the unique experience alone.
2. Pokemon Sun/Moon
3. Ratchet & Clank
4. Kirby: Planet Robobot
5. Paper Mario: Color Splash
6. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
7. Pokken Tournament
8. Star Fox Zero
9. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens
10. Hyrule Warriors Legends

 

[dancrane212]

On the chance I sleep in tomorrow and forget to give this another read through and add some headers I'll post my list now. I made more of an effort to clear up my 2016 backlog since this thread first went up so some of these are pretty hot takes I'm sure to have differing thoughts on as things settle and I move through more of my stack of titles but here's what I got so far.

1. Inside ; A sublime game from start to finish; I think Inside is the best cinematic platformer since Out of This World. It's difficult to put into words the feelings I had playing this for the 3-4 hours it took but it was hard to shake them off after the credits rolled.
2. Quantum Break ; The mixed reception Quantum Break got after release took the winds out of my sails at launch but this week I made an effort to sit down with my copy and had a blast. Much like Alan Wake the game lends itself so well to being broken up into nightly play sessions so for 5 nights straight I got to experience Remedy's best combat, world, and characters. There are definitely some stumbling blocks along the way but if Quantum Break is to be the sendoff for the "traditional Remedy experience" it leaves things on a very high note for me.
3. The Banner Saga 2 ; I was tied between putting Banner Saga 2 or the console port of the original game on this list. While I believe the first game has a more memorable back 3rd the early to mid-game of Banner Saga 2 is superior in my mind. Moments like the

Spoiler

hovering rock bridge

are able to get as much of a rush from me as any AAA release.
4. Titanfall 2 ; The original TItanfall is an incredible game. When it was first announced I scoffed at it's multiplayer only approach but once videos of the Beta (or was it an Alpha?) started to leak out the game started to grab my attention and would eventually hook me in a huge way. While the sequel ends up making changes to that multiplayer that leaves me disappointed the fantastic campaign really helps balance things out.
5. Gears of War 4 ; In the leadup to Gears 4 I decided to play through the original trilogy and boy did those games have issues I had conveniently forgotten over time like awful checkpoints and mediocre turret sequences. The best thing about Gears 4 was that it had non of those issues; it was just great shooting from start to finish.
6. Doom ; I was sold on DOOM from it's E3 presentation but I was surprised how much I enjoyed the platforming and world design in the game. ID did a fantastic job bringing this franchise back.
7. Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak ; I'm not the biggest fan of putting games on my list I have not completed but I'd remiss not including such a great RTS on this list. This prequel nails the tense gameplay I love so much about the genre.
8. Superhot ; So much fun to play. The stuff surrounding the campaign was surprising and really well done as well.
9. Shadow of the Beast ; Solid combat through a memorable world. I just wish the final boss wasn't such a snooze.
10. The Little Acre ; Charming little adventure game that I'd happily recommend.

x. Oxenfree ; Loved the style of the game. Just wish the mystery stayed a bit more...mysterious.
x. The Banner Saga ; I'm late to the party with this but the first Banner Sage is an A+ debut for Stoic.
x. Dex ; A neat mix of the GBA Splinter Cell titles and Deus Ex. The game definitely has some issues but I think it is worth checking out to get a different take on those style of games.
x. Final Fantasy XV ; Played a couple hours of the game but the news of a patch to contextualise the story better and to rework a point of frustration pushed the game back in my stack.
x. Hyper Light Drifter ; Ended up waiting on the 60fps patch, and now that it is out I plan on playing my copy but until then I'll keep listening to, and loving, the game's soundtrack.
x. Mafia III ; Surprising good story that got me to put up with the repetitive mission design.
x. ReCore ; ReCore is incredibly frustrating to me. Despite having pretty fun gameplay the poor state the game launched in, and the content of the game that was blatantly cut out might make ReCore my most disappointing game of the year. Damn shame.
x. Resident Evil 5 ; Replaying this with a friend (first time going through on co-op) was a great experience.
x. Song of the Deep ; Great Metroid style game even if it got a bit long in the tooth (I have to go fetch stuff again?)
x. The Last Guardian ; It's on my plate and judging from the reception the game has got in this thread I'm in for a great ride.
x. The Way ; Feel bad about not getting too deep into this and play to rectify it in the next couple weeks.
x. Uncharted 4 ; Midway through the game right now and I'm liking what I've played so far. The pace is definitely slowed down from previous games but after Uncharted 3 not clicking with me very well I'm happy for a change from this series.
x. Virginia ; Fantastic score and sound design. I may not know what was going on in that final sequence but it held my attention the whole way.
x. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD ; A solid remaster of my favorite Zelda game; what's not to love?
x. Darksiders: Warmastered Edition : I gave the game another shot with this remaster and finally got to see what all the fuss was about. Looking forward to giving #2 a shot this year.

 

[Chac]

1. The Last Guardian; Trico is so real it hurts. A fucking masterpiece.

2. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II; Nothing beats this series in terms of world building and ever evolving NPC dialogue.

3. Firewatch; Interactive storytelling at its finest.

4. Fire Emblem Fates; This battle system is incredibly addicting and I love pairing up all the beautifully drawn characters.

5. Pokemon Moon; Never thought I'd like another Pokemon game, but this was the one to do it. Changing up the formula did the trick.

6. Paper Mario: Color Splash; Fuck the haters, this game is legit greatness. The writing is superb and some of the levels are beyond brilliant.

7. Oxenfree; Fucking killer soundtrack and the most authentic dialogue ever.

8. Virginia; A bit of a mindfuck in a good way. No dialogue necessary.

9. Recore; A fun romp that's filled to the brim with character.

10. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book ; Alchemy has never been this engaging and the cuteness is off the charts.

Honorable mentions:

X. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir; This is how you do a remaster.

X. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided; Not enough playtime but seems to be more of the same great formula.

X. Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni and Senran Kagura Estival Versus; Life and Hometown, nothing more to be said.

X. Root Letter and Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness; Enjoyable VNs nobody played that I highly recommend everyone giving a chance.

X. Walking Dead: Michonne; Another solid Tell Tale experience.

X. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth; My first foray into Digimon. Need more time with this one. I appreciate its story focus.

X. Severed; I want to like this game more, but the battle system is making it hard for me.

Notable omissions due to not playing them yet: Final Fantasy XV
Tokyo Mirage Sessions
Quantum Break
The Banner Saga 2
Steins;Gate 0

 

[Breesus Christ]

1. The Last Guardian; A game that is minimalist that yet, said the most to me. If could describe one word with this game, it would be POWERFUL! I'm thankful that a game like this exist in 2016.

2. Uncharted 4: A Theifs End; IMO the best uncharted game to date, drake will be missed! Was my goty till the last guardian.

3. Dues Ex: Mankind Diveded; One of my favorite game worlds ever!

4. Rise of The Tomb Raider: 20th Anniversary Editiob; Simply a great follow up to the TR2013. Cannot wait for the sequel

5. Ratchet and Clank; this game is what is great about the industry we love. Pure fun!

6. Furi; one word to describe it would be, Stylish!! Thank you ps plus!!!!

7. Call of Duty: Remastered; exactly how I remember it! Multiplayer is still goat to me!

8. Madden 17; best madden in forever imo. Had a blast playing with my brother! Just really fun!

X Mad Max, wasn't eligible but damn I enjoyed this game
X Bloodborne, I get the hype now
X Shadow of Mordor, fun game overall

 

[joshcam19]

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End; The best game in one of my favorite series of all time. Naughty Dog’s attention to detail is second to none. The acting, the animation, the score, and the game play make this an instant masterpiece. Probably the game of the generation so far.
2. Dark Souls III; I first started playing From Software’s games with Bloodborne and was instantly hooked even though I was extremely late to the Souls’ party. I was able to catch up with the series in time for Dark Souls III. Even though I enjoyed Bloodborne more there is no denying how great the series is and this was a fitting conclusion to a trilogy I’m glad I was able to get into even though I was very tardy.
3. The Last Guardian; Shadow of the Colossus is my favorite game of all time and though the Last Guardian is not quite to that level it was in fact worth the wait. Combining elements of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Team Ico was able to tell a story about a boy and a mythical creature that pulled at my heart strings and created a special bond that I have never had the pleasure of experiencing outside of real life. I’m glad Sony stuck with this game because it was a magical ride.
4. Ratchet & Clank; The best game in the series other than A Crack in Time. It fixes the biggest issue with the original where the first game had the protagonist at odds with one another but in this game they are instant friends and it fixes the tone of the whole story. I really hope this is the start of a rebirth for the series because these games proved they still have plenty legs and stories to be told in the future.
5. Salt and Sanctuary; Bringing the Dark Souls’ formula to a 2D plane worked perfectly in this game and creates new problems to solve such as spacing. The art style and the subtle story along with the tight game play make this one of the best indie games of the generation.
6. Battlefield 1; I guess I’m a Battlefield fan. I originally bought Battlefield 4 at the PS4’s launch to give me something to play but ended up really enjoying the online despite its many flaws and my normal aversion to multiplayer games. Currently I am addicted to their World War 1 entry into the series and I guess going forward I am now, surprisingly, a fan of the franchise. Also a shout out to the single player which is quite strong and benefited from the short contained stories.
7. Inside; Limbo was a good game but I think it was a little over hyped, so I was a little hesitant about this new game from Playdead. However, the puzzles are eloquently designed and the animations are beautiful, combined with a story that feels like it is straight out of the Twilight Zone this is a very special game.
8. Severed; Perhaps the last great Vita exclusive, Severed is another gem released by DrinkBox. The Vita is one of my favorite pieces of hardware ever released and this is one of the best games for it. Finally a game that does touch controls right. A beautiful art design and an emotional story, everyone should play this game.
9. Kerbal Space Program; I bought this game on a whim because I needed a game set in space while I was waiting for No Man’s Sky and ended up loving this hardcore rocket simulator, despite its obtuse controls on console.
10. Life is Strange; One of the best adventure games released in the last 10 years. Every decision feels like it matters and the story is top notch. The time rewinding mechanic adds a new layer to these types of games.

x. Bound; A gorgeous game with a surprisingly emotional story wrapped in a simple but enjoyable 3D platformer.
x. No Man’s Sky; This game doesn’t deserve the hate it received. It’s a game, much like Minecraft or Terraria, that isn’t for everyone, yet everyone thought it was the game to end all games. If you don’t like making your own goals in a game this is not an experience for you.
x. Abzû; Journey under water is a fair comparison and though it never reaches the heights of the games that inspired it, it is still an inspired adventure.
x. Thumper; The first of three VR games I would like to mention this one is truly a great game as well as an experience enhanced by virtual reality.
x. Batman Arkham VR; A little too short but being in the Arkham universe was an amazing feeling and shows what VR can be.
x. XCOM Enemy Unknown Plus; One of my favorite strategy games comes to Vita and just like before saps hours from my life and I couldn’t be happier.
x. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered; Finally one of my favorite PS3 games has trophies which is enough of an excuse to get me back into this world again.
x. Bioshock: The Collection; Some of the best games of the last generation and probably one of the most complete collections ever assembled.
x. Gravity Rush Remastered; One of the best Vita games gets remastered beautifully for the PS4.
x. Rez Infinite; The game that I spent the least amount of time with on this list but in my limited time this has been one of the trippiest VR experiences I’ve had.

 

[Pellegri Testament]

1. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 ; There's only so much that can be said about this without spoiling something, but I would say that it hit most of the notes I wanted it to as a sequel. My main gripes come from the final few "chapters" of the game where things that needed to have more detail to them, did not have anything. Even with those issues, I feel like it was a surperior game to the first. I just hope that the third installment is able to explain what needs to be explained and doesn't leave people with more questions than answers, something that I feel like Sky did a better job at.

2. Digimon Story : Cyber Sleuth ; This had no right being as good as it was, but nostalgia is a hell of a drug. I liked Digimon as a kid and this was the first Digimon game I had played since then, which it instantly pulled me in. I honestly had no interest in this until about 2 weeks before release, but a few gameplay videos later made me want to risk the chance with it, something that I can still say I do not regret even after paying higher import costs to get it physically on Vita.

3. Yomawari ; "Scary" is not a word I would use to describe this, despite it being showed off as being as such. As far as atmosphere goes though, it is one of the best I have played. This is one of the few games that I feel like it not having music is a net positive. Footsteps and nighttime ambient noises are all it needs to really make you feel alone in it's world. The only issue I have with it is that I wish they had some sort of backstory for the town you're in, which would have been a perfect things for the collectibles to do, which they didn't. This also had one of the most disturbing openings I've seen in a game, which it only being in the tutorial, it leads you to believe that nothing will go wrong.

4. Overwatch ; I honestly suck at competitive shooters, but even I can't look past how good this game is. During the time I played, I primarily played Mercy and felt like I was at least "decent", something that I couldn't say about any other character.

5. Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni ; I went into this expecting nothing but fanservice, what I got in the end was one of the better beat em ups I have played, quite a bit better than Senran Kagura. The story also felt like it had a purpose to it and the characters felt like they had real growth to them.

6. Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate ; I still have quite a ways to go in this as I haven't even touched the postgame yet, but I liked how the "main story" didn't hold back past the first few dungeons. The game has a significant amount of systems to take in at once and if you haven't mastered them by the time you near the end of the story, you will get your ass handed to you.

7. Trillion: God of Destruction ; From a gameplay perspective, I think they were trying to bite off far more than they could chew. The raising sim part could have used a bit more to it and the "roguelike" dungeons may as well have not even existed, as they were there for nothing more than trying to rng the best items. What I felt like the game did well on is the Trillion fights and the characters. The Trillion fights actually required strategy and I liked how they played into the story, although I wish more than just a handful of stats/abilities actually mattered in the end. Even with the characters and Trillion being the highlight of the game, it's hard to look past it's flaws and see it as something special.

8. Stranger of Sword City ; While I enjoyed what I played of this (didn't get too far into postgame), it's a shame that even what was said to be the "hardest Vita drpg" didn't hold a candle to 2015's Dungeon Travelers 2. The perma death system ended up being more of a hassle than anything since it only made you want to reload an old save, rather than have to grind a new character up. Experience really could learn a few things when it comes to drpgs considering they're known for just that, especially in the balance department.

 

[GoodCoffeeJoey]

1.) Overwatch ; A masterwork of game design. Easy to pick up, with a high skill curve. Everything is intuitive with great feedback, all characters have distinct playstyles and personality and strong maps that play to the unique strengths of each hero.
2.) Dark Souls III ; It's more Dark Souls. Feels more derivative than earlier games, relying on references to Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1, but the gameplays tight and the levels and bosses are strong.
3.) Invisible Inc ; The first roguelike game that's ever managed to grab me. Great stealth gameplay featuring a good and varied roster of enemies and hero abilities. Strikes a nice balance in the strategy/management side between XCom and other roguelike games.
4.) Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havok ; I'm having trouble coming up with something here and keeping it spoiler free. It's good.
5.) XCOM 2 ; Improves on its predecessor with randomly generated levels and timed objectives which creates urgency and more varied gameplay.
6.) Dishonored 2 ; Great level design. Powers and combat are improved on from the original to make alternate strategies more viable.
7.) Hitman ; The first Hitman where things actually feel intuitive and there's almost no jank. Levels are big and varied with many possibilities.
8.) Tom Clancy's The Division ; Incredible art direction and atmosphere.
9.) Battlefield 1 ; Best Battlefield since at least 2.
10.) Titanfall 2 ; Has some of the most imaginative and best flowing levels in a first person game in a long time.

x.) Destiny: Rise of Iron ; The new Wrath of the Machine raid is the best piece of content for Destiny since the original Vault of Glass raid in vanilla.
x.) Hearts of Iron IV ;

 

[CoyoteSpitfire]

1. Doom ; I can't remember the last game where I was excited to fight the enemies. The speed and brutality of this game is intoxicating. Mick Gordon's killer soundtrack doesn't hurt either.

2. Overwatch ; I'm not usually into first-person shooters, or team-based multiplayer at all for that matter. But, what can I say? It's just too fun.

3. Street Fighter V ; Woefully mishandled, but probably my most played game this year.

4. Dark Souls 3 ; Much better than DS2. But I don't think it had a particularly strong unique feel. It kinda feels like a "FromSoft's Greatest Hits 2009-2015 edition".

5. Inside ; One of two games I've ever beaten in one sitting (the other being Undertale). It's well-made and intelligently designed. A real gem of a platformer.

6. The Last Guardian ; I haven't finished it yet, but I already enjoy it more than Ico or SOTC.

7. Darkest Dungeon ; The art and tone completely sell this game for me. I'm still looking forward to playing more.

8. X-Com 2 ; Brutally difficult (for me), but still quite fun. Although the loading times are a bit much

Spoiler

but not enough to deter me from save scumming.

9. The Witness ; I may not have had the motivation/interest to beat the game, but I can still appreciate the intelligence and creativity behind it.

10. Hyper Light Drifter ; Nice art and tone. But, the game's presentation was a little obtuse for me. I'll probably go back to it sometime soon though.

 

[kierwynn]

1. SteinsGate 0 ; I loved the original SteinsGate and put it second on my GOTY list last year (was a close fight for first place tho!). SG0 is a different kinda of game- while SG was about the twists and turns of their story and what was happening, SG0 told the story of an alternate timeline that you knew existed but never saw. The new characters introduced were fun (particularly Maho!) and while the destination was known, the journey kept me throughly interested the whole time.

2. Fire Emblem Fates ; I admit, I came into the Fire Emblem series with Awakening (and the non perma death mode), but it instantly made me a big fan. Fates did a lot of things I didn't really like (the 3 different paths all sold separately for one), but I still really enjoyed the game. The characters, the game play... I just enjoyed it all! While the story was somewhat lacking (or outright nonsensical with Conquest), it didn't ruin the overall fun I had with the game.

3. Final Fantasy XV ; I've been a big fan of the FF series for as long as I remember- it's the first game I can ever remember experiencing, so of course I was excited for FFXV. I was a little worried since I don't normally play open world, more western leaning games, but I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. I'm actually still working on it- there's so much side content!

4. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir ; I loved Odin Sphere on the PS2, and this was a vast improvement to that. The game is gorgeous and the game play changes were interesting and made fighting more fun. Great game!

5. Bravely Second: End Layer ; A good sequel to a great game! The characters were fun and while the music wasn't as good as previously, it was still pretty good. An overall solid game.

6. Rhythm Heaven Megamix ; I've been a big fan of this series since a friend introduced me to the ds version when it came out. The story itself kinda bogged the game down a little and the earlier games were a bit too easy, but overall the new additions were solid and it was still a lot of fun.

7. Zero Time Dilemma ; I know a lot of people had issues with ZTD, and I mean it wasn't perfect... but I still really enjoyed it. I have some issues with the characterization of past characters, but it's still a really good game.

8. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; I didn't finish X/Y, unfortunately, but Sun/Moon was a really great addition to the series. It changed the formula a little without changing it too much. i also enjoyed a lot of the new pokemon!

9. Style Savvy: Fashion Forward ; I love fashion games and the Style Savvy series has always been at the top of the genre. Despite how it looks on the outside, it's full of depth and a lot of content. I like that they added hair styling and make up, along with designing clothing and modeling. So much to do for what looks like a simple, everyday fashion game!

10. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth ; I was never a huge Digimon fan when I was a kid out of some weird loyalty to Pokemon, but I learned to appreciate it when I got older and realized you can like multiple things that are sorta similar and that it's not a contest. lol This was my first Digimon game and I really enjoyed the mix of like a typical turn based JRPG formula with the monster gathering, evolving/de-evolving aspect. It was an overall very enjoyable game!

 

[victreeb3l]

1. The Last Guardian ; An unforgettable journey with mans best friend. Masterpiece.
2. Fire Emblem: Fates (SE) ; Dumb storylines with really awesome map design. Outstanding OST.
3. Uncharted 4 ; Probably the best graphics I've laid my eyes on. Thrilling experience.
4. DOOM ; I ripped and tore until it was done and I want more. Fast and action packed.
5. Final Fantasy XV ; Still playing through it but still appreciate it what I've experienced so far. Gorgeous art and world design.
6. Pokemon Sun & Moon ; Love the new additions to the formula. Z-moves are awesome.
7. Titanfall 2 ; Clever level design with heart pounding mech battles.
8. Tokyo Mirage Sessions ; I felt like I was playing an idol anime and it was awesome. Lovely character designs and battle system.