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[LurkerPrime]

Red, Blue, Green.

So when we were discussion Rogue Legacy people brought up Risk of Rain as another must play game. I was under the impression that it was kind of like an endless runner so I never really gave it a go. How well does the game hold up today?

It's a sidescrolling shooter/platformer-roguelike with insane escalation in difficulty (in a good way--you'll see!). Highly worth playing, much better than Rogue Legacy.

Holds up just fine. They patched out most of the bugginess from the engine switch, so it should be as good as ever.


FTL is the best roguelike of that era, though. Top-to-bottom excellence.

 

[jshackles]

For the late crowd or other-side-of-the-world GAF: There isn't much time left to vote for this year's SteamGAF GOTY!

I currently have ballots from the following 132 voters:

A Fish Aficionado, Aaron D., AbundantChoice, Admodieus, Adnor, AHA-Lambda, Alex_CWB, Amzin, Anno, Anteater, Arthea, Ascheroth, Atraveller, Axass, Baron von Loathsome, Baron_Calamity, BernardoOne, bobnowhere, Bonfires Down, Buraindo, CecilRousso, Crimsonclaw111, ctw0e, cyba89, d00d3n, darkwing-buck, def ault, Dessart, dex3108, diabolusinmusica, DillonMabry, DodgeDusk, Dongs Macabre, dot, Dr Dogg, Dragon1893, Durante, Echoplx, electroflame, fantomena, fenners, FLD, Flips360, Funyarinpa, Garmonbozia, Grief.exe, hannes, hardcastlemccormick, Hektor, illusionary, InquisitorAles, iosefe, Iron Badger, JarrodL, Jawmuncher, jshackles, Kagemusha, Khronico, KingKong, Knurek, Kudo, Kurt Russell, Lain, Large Professor, laserlaser, Last Baron, Leafhopper, Locust, LurkerPrime, Mackenzie 92, madjoki, Miletius, Mivey, Monooboe, More_Badass, Nabs, NeoRaider, Nete, Nillansan, Nzyme32, Oreoleo, Orgen, Ozium, PandaPedinte, pantsattack, Parsnip, PaulSane, Phinor, QFNS, r3n4ud, Rayge, Rhaknar, rickyson1, Roboleon, Rockin' Ranger, Sarcasm, SatelliteOfLove, ScreamingTrees, septicore, SilentMatthew, Sinatar, spinalscratch, spindoctor, Spirited, sprinkles, Stallion Free, Stumpokapow, T-Rex., Teggy, Tektonic, texhnolyze, The Dear Leader, the_firewithin, The_Super_Inframan, TheLetdown, thesaucetastic, ThirtyFour, Tizoc, tuxfool, Ucchedavāda, Uraizen, Uzzy, Vazra, vermadas, Volimar, Wo33er, Wok, xezuru, Yakkue, yuraya, Zero-Crescent, zkylon

If your name is listed here, it means your ballot has been counted. Everyone else, get over the OP for official rules and entry instructions.

As the voting is drawing to a close soon, I figured I would go over some of the specifics. The awards ceremony will be done in this thread sometime around March at 7:00pm Monday Pacific time (three hours after the voting closes). I've been tallying the votes as they come in so it should be easy to have final results fairly quickly. I'm pre-building some graphics for the games I know that will more or less be in the top 10 so it should only take a few hours to put the finishing touches on everything at that time.

For those of you that haven't ever been a part of this process, I'll start with the #10 and work up to the #1 game (Ryan Seacrest / Casey Kasem top 40 style) with about 5-10 minutes between reveals to give the thread time to react and discuss. Try to speculate what's coming next or simply talk about your own experience with the revealed game. It's always been a lot of fun, so be sure you don't miss the excitement!

After the top 10 are revealed here, I'll post a thread over on gaming side with our official results showing all the games and their rankings for full discussion. DON'T MISS IT!

 

[Hakkelus]

GabeN AMA

https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Gaben/...l_newell_will_be_joining_us_tuesday_the_17th/

Huge load of info coming about new games! Right!?

 

[hooijdonk17]

GOTY:

(5 Points) - XCOM 2

(4 Points) - STELLARIS
(3 Points) - DOOM
(2 Points) - CIVILIZATION VI
(1 Point) - TYRANNY

I think XCOM 2 should win GOTY because although all my nominations are great, it's one of the two games on my list (the other being STELLARIS) that delivered on every expectation I had. It wins over STELLARIS because it's overall more enjoyable, more varied and more XCOM. Sorry STELLARIS.

For reference, I thought Doom lacked a good multiplayer, Civilization VI failed on AI, and Tyranny was short on content.

Honorable Mentions: (In no particular order) HITMAN, Lara Croft GO, We Are The Police, Orwell, Pony Island

 

[derFeef]

I wish I could vote on any GOTY games this year, but I have not finished any main titles. It would feel like cheating.

 

[Endruen]

Get on Wind Waker and Majora's Mask ASAP. Those two are my favorite 3D Zelda games.

Skyward Sword is my least favorite 3D Zelda, so you're not missing much there.

No judgment here. I really, really love me some Zelda. I didn't care for Skyward Sword, but that's about it.

I just rarely see a TP favorite. I was mostly wondering how you'd stack it all if you thought TP was the best.

2 of the ones you haven't played you really should play ASAP. I'm partial as hell to the older ones, though.

I'm on it guys, don't you worry, I have all three of them (HD and 3D versions for WW and MM). Now I'm playing Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth, but as soon as I finish it, I'll tackle Majora's Mask and see what the whole deal is about. I played a couple of dungeons in Wind Waker on Dolphin before the Wii U release and I was loving it, maybe it takes a spot on my top once I play it.

Now, maybe we should keep this Steam related, shouldn't we?

 

[Servizio]

I wish I could vote on any GOTY games this year, but I have not finished any main titles. It would feel like cheating.

I won't tell if you won't.

If there's something you've really enjoyed, however briefly, vote for it.

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

So when we were discussion Rogue Legacy people brought up Risk of Rain as another must play game. I was under the impression that it was kind of like an endless runner so I never really gave it a go. How well does the game hold up today?

The soundtrack alone is worth playing for. Thankfully, the rest of the game is good, too! The various characters all play very uniquely, catering to different playstyle niches instead of just being iterations of each other. I liked to play as the Sniper character, building charges for single-target, high damage shots, while my teammates swept up smaller minions and kept the large enemies within range. The Engineer specializes in setting up traps to lead enemies into, rather than fighting directly. The Mercenary, on the other hand, requires players to get within melee range and take advantage of invincibility frames tied to their moves to avoid taking damage. Unlocking all of the additional characters takes quite a bit of work, but you can get a handful by just playing the game normally.

Getting a group together to play online - assuming it still works - is a lot of fun! Solo play is... tricky. Overwhelmingly so. I think it works best with friends, but, that's just me. We tried out oddball team compositions just to see how long we'd last, but even if we played to win, we still had to give our best or risk (heh) a wipe.

 

[Tizoc]

I wish I could vote on any GOTY games this year, but I have not finished any main titles. It would feel like cheating.

Just vote for the game u finished
1 vote at least should qualify u iirc

Also first person to guess my #1 steam 2016 goty title will be bestowed with gospel truth that has literally occured in our lifetime :^)

 

[Oreoleo]

Also first person to guess my #1 steam goty title will be bestowed with gospel truth that has literally occured in our lifetime :^)

Errybody knows it's Xanadu.

 

[derFeef]

Errybody knows it's Xanadu.

It's clearly Pictopix.

 

[Tizoc]

It's clearly Pictopix.

Pictopix is a 2017 release tho :3
I meant '16 but forgot to type it^^;

 

[derFeef]

Pictopix is a 2017 release tho :3

Goddamn!

 

[Tizoc]

Errybody knows it's Xanadu.

Xanadu Next to be exact, uncover thy eyes and gaze unto a truth of our world

Spoiler

A 10 year old boy wearing girl clothes killed a man by making him think that a bus is the boy's father, and the man died from being run over by the bus.

 

[Oreoleo]

Spoiler

A 10 year old boy wearing girl clothes killed a man by making him think that a bus is the boy's father, and the man died from being run over by the bus.

I... uh, what?

 

[Monooboe]

one of the best games of its type.

Highly worth playing, much better than Rogue Legacy.

The soundtrack alone is worth playing for. Thankfully, the rest of the game is good, too!

Thanks guys, you really sold me on Risk of Rain! Been playing a ton of The Division as my podcast game so would be nice to find another one to try out.

 

[Tizoc]

Speaking of pictopix, this dang game is draining way more hours out of me than iy should.
If t had the easy difficulty option of paint it back i wouldve added it to my 2017 completed games list by now :v

I... uh, what?

That ish literally happened.
I had remembered it today.

 

[KenOD]

I'm glad I remembered Toonstruck was released on Steam in 2016. Christopher Lloyd's best work, Tim Curry's third best work

 

[derFeef]

So, Amnesia games just got achievements on Steam.

 

[Rickenslacker]

Spoiler

A 10 year old boy wearing girl clothes killed a man by making him think that a bus is the boy's father, and the man died from being run over by the bus.

Is this anime

 

[Arminsc]

Just finished Leon campaign in Resident Evil 6 last night and I loved it. The melee combat feels amazing!

Excited to play the other campaigns. I hope to finish all of them before RE7 hits.

 

[Tizoc]

Wait a minute
Re7 releases soon right? That means after it releases
Capcpom can announce their next pc port project(s)

 

[derFeef]

Just finished Leon campaign in Resident Evil 6 last night and I loved it. The melee combat feels amazing!

Excited to play the other campaigns. I hope to finish all of them before RE7 hits.

I hope you have enough time, it's one behemoth of a game.

 

[Arulan]

GOTY:
(5 Points) - Tyranny
(4 Points) - Hearts of Iron IV
(3 Points) - SHENZHEN I/O
(2 Points) - DOOM
(1 Point) - Dungeon Rats

I found this to be a difficult process this year. There were a lot of great games in 2016, but nothing that immediately stood out as my definitive pick. Part of this is perhaps due to the lack of RPGs in the same number and quality as we've seen in the two years prior.

Dungeon Rats is a relatively short game in both length and scope, but it takes The Age of Decadence's combat system and creates a set of well-designed encounters that I found very enjoyable to play. Most people may recognize The Age of Decadence by its fantastic reactivity and no-combat play-throughs, which may make Dungeon Rats seem like an odd choice, but Iron Tower Studios' understanding of turn-based combat systems and relevant character systems made for a very enjoyable short dungeon-crawl of sorts.

I don't play a lot of FPS anymore due to a lot of the mainstream-targeted nonsense of the past decade, but was pleasantly surprised with DOOM. While I still think there is a lot of room for improvement, it was refreshing to play a FPS with fast-paced combat, where you're expected to avoid damage based on player-skill, and in which you can tell level design was a high priority for the developers.

I started SHENZHEN I/O during the holiday break and continue to be amazed at the work Zachtronics continues to do. I printed out my Technical Document Organizer and spent hours upon hours enamored in creating problem solutions, and more importantly, optimizing my solutions. It's a great sequel to TIS-100. Oh, and it continues to be one of the best modern uses of leader-boards.

While 2016 was a little lacking in RPGs, it had strategy games in spades. The one I found myself playing the most was Hearts of Iron IV. After a hundred or so hours, I do have issues with the AI, but a lot of what I've come to love about Paradox's grand strategy games kept me playing for that long, and likely more to come as they continue to update the game. While not really part of the GOTY discussion, I do think that a lot of the strategy games released this year have potential to go from good or great to truly fantastic games based on future-support.

And finally that leaves us with Tyranny. First of all, the game is not without its flaws, and when compared to 2015's The Age of Decadence, its level of reactivity is significantly constrained. That said, I found myself very much enjoying the writing and setting. It does a great job of integrating characteristics of the setting into the mechanics and systems. The relatively short duration, in comparison to Pillars of Eternity, I found to be a boon, as it kept it more focused. It would be fantastic if more RPG developers allowed for smaller-scale experiments in-between their usual releases.

I should note that I haven't played VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, Stardew Valley, The Witness, Dark Souls 3, and likely a few others which could have possibly made it.

 

[Ascheroth]

Still have to finish Revelations 1 and play RE6 from the Capcom bundle.

Also, the amount of levels N++ has is insane.

 

[hooijdonk17]

So, Amnesia games just got achievements on Steam.

Time to replay the first one

Spoiler

which incidentally I never fnished because I basically shat myself after a couple of hours..

 

[Arminsc]

I hope you have enough time, it's one behemoth of a game.

I hope to finish another two campaigns during this week, so maybe I'll start RE7 later than launch date to have time for the last one.
If they are 7ish hours each maybe I can squeeze two campaigns this weekend if I stay at home and do nothing but play, that way I'd finish before the release lol

 

[Stallion Free]

I would like to publicly confirm that I played all five of my GOTY votes to completion and have the achievement receipts to back it up.

So, Amnesia games just got achievements on Steam.

I'm still waiting on Dear Esther and Gibe Home to sync up with their console ports and have achievements added. Good to see the Amnesia Debs manage a quick turn around time.

 

[yuraya]

Wait a minute
Re7 releases soon right? That means after it releases
Capcpom can announce their next pc port project(s)

Dino Crisis HD Remaster
Code Veronica HD Remaster
RE3 HD Remaster
RE Outbreak HD Remaster

 

[Endruen]

Game of the Year
(5 Points) - Umineko When They Cry (Question Arc)
(4 Points) - ABZÛ
(3 Points) - Stardew Valley
(2 Points) - Enter the Gungeon
(1 Point) - Darkest Dungeon

Early Acces GOTY
(3 Points) - ARK: Survival Evolved
(2 Points) - Astroneer
(1 Points) - Slime Rancher

 

[Accoun]

If you told me that local stores will have Origin gift cards before Steam Wallet cards I wouldn't believe, but I was in a mall today and that's what I've seen.

 

[spindoctor]

I wish I could vote on any GOTY games this year, but I have not finished any main titles. It would feel like cheating.

I'll let you in on a secret... reviewers sometimes don't even finish the games they are reviewing (and they're getting paid to play them!). Those reviewers then go on to make GOTY lists and wars are fought over those lists on sites like GAF.

It's fine if you haven't finished enough games. Just tell us which games you enjoyed playing the most.

 

[MaxiLive]

So, are the GamePump games I think it is 1 new + 1 bonus (lit) due out in January?

 

[Xanathus]

Xanadu Next to be exact, uncover thy eyes and gaze unto a truth of our world

Spoiler

A 10 year old boy wearing girl clothes killed a man by making him think that a bus is the boy's father, and the man died from being run over by the bus.

That's actually what also happens in the latest JoJo manga series.

 

[Honey Bunny]

This looks good
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=842165949

 

[Danielsan]

Game of the Year
(5 Points) - Doom
(4 Points) - Dark Souls 3
(3 Points) - Firewatch
(2 Points) - Darkest Dungeon
(1 Point) - Abzû

 

[Bonfires Down]

I wish I could vote on any GOTY games this year, but I have not finished any main titles. It would feel like cheating.

I haven't completed my GOTY.

Spoiler

Darkest Dungeon

Spoiler

120 hours played :O

 

[Knurek]

I would like to publicly confirm that I played all five of my GOTY votes to completion and have the achievement receipts to back it up.

We all know you used IdleMaster for game time and SAM for unlocking the achievements.
We all know.

Spoiler

We approve

 

[The_Super_Inframan]

I'm really sad about the lag of Thumper and Speedrunners on all those votes...

I've beaten SuperHot VR and can confirm, it is pretty incredible. Basically the only fun VR game right now imo...

Space Pirate Trainer is super fun too imo! And Elite of course

 

[His Majesty]

GOTY:
(5 Points) - Hitman
(4 Points) - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
(3 Points) - Tyranny
(2 Points) - Doom
(1 Point) - The Technomancer

DLC:
(3 Points) - The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine
(2 Points) - Dying Light: The Following
(1 Point) - Shadowrun Hong Kong: Shadows of Hong Kong

 

[Baron von Loathsome]

I'm really sad about the lag of Thumper and Speedrunners on all those votes...

If it's any consolation, Thumper made my top 10 of the year across all platforms.

 

[Volimar]

Witcher 3...I wasn't prepared for these feels. I wish I had gotten the GOTY version during the holiday sale. But no I had to have the cheap FF titles.

For those of you that haven't ever been a part of this process, I'll start with the #10 and work up to the #1 game (Ryan Seacrest / Casey Kasem top 40 style) with about 5-10 minutes between reveals to give the thread time to react and discuss.

brb, mailing in my long distance dedication.

 

[strafer]

I so wanna slap this fucking neighbours dog who's been barking for 2 hours now.

 

[J Jizzle]

Game of the Year
(5 Points) - XCOM 2
(4 Points) - Stellaris
(3 Points) - Darkest Dungeon
(2 Points) - Tyranny
(1 Point) - Total War: Warhammer

 

[Volimar]

I so wanna slap this fucking neighbours dog who's been barking for 2 hours now.

I read this as.

"So I wanna stop fucking this neighbor's dog..." and that's how you know I've been up all night.

 

[TheLetdown]

I got a "good" ending on Witcher 3 but it wasn't what I wanted. I had to have that completionist push at the endgame when I had finally given that shit up to even get to the endgame in the first place.

And if Jshack could go full Casey Kasem, that would be awesome. Right in the middle of the countdown, he stops to tell Becky that Jeff still really misses her but mostly hopes she understands why he had to strike out on his own to try every Huddle House in America or at least the ones in driving distance of an S10 with a radiator problem in direct defiance of the existence of Waffle House so could you please just spare the brief solemn moment of precious air time to play "If I Could Turn Back Time" but promise me not to cut the outro early?

 

[gngf123]

Game of the Year
(5 Points) - Va-11 Hall-A
(4 Points) - Momodora
(3 Points) - Furi
(2 Points) - God Eater 2
(1 Point) - Pony Island

Remember to PM your lists to jshackles!

 

[KainXVIII]

GOTY:
(5 Points) - Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (hands down!)
(4 Points) - The Witness
(3 Points) - Dead Rising 1
(2 Points) - FINAL FANTASY X HD Remaster
(1 Point) - DOOM

 

[Plesiades]

I love how diverse these lists are. The results are going to be interesting.

 

[Large Professor]

I'm really sad about the lag of Thumper and Speedrunners on all those votes...

Blame early access. I really liked Speedrunners in 2015..

Here is my steamgoty prediction:

1. Doom
2. Hitman
3. XCOM 2
4. Dark Souls III
5. The Witness