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[Phediuk]

Yep, here it is folks. The debate is finally over. Using the infallible metric of Metacritic scores, I have at last determined the unarguable Best and Worst Games of 2016 For Forever And Ever. I have curated the list with the following criteria:

1. Games with under 20 reviews are excluded.
2. No DLC, expansions, etc.
3. Ports and rereleases of games first released before 2016 are excluded.
4. Multiplatform games are listed according to whichever version has the most reviews; all other versions are excluded.
5. I combined Pokemon Sun/Moon and the various Fire Emblem Fates games into one entry each.
6. I listed the complete Hitman package only, rather than all of the inidividual episodes.

Each entry on the list consists of a game's title, platform, and Metascore. Let's check it out:

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4) - 93
2. Inside (XONE) - 92
3. Overwatch (PC) - 91
4. Forza Horizon 3 (XONE) - 91
5. Dark Souls 3 (PS4) - 89
6. Owlboy (PC) - 89
7. Titanfall 2 (PS4) - 89
8. Stardew Valley (PC) - 88
9. NBA 2K17 (PS4) - 88
10. XCOM 2 (PC) - 88
11. Civilization 6 (PC) - 88
12. Dishonored 2 (PS4) - 88
13. Battlefield 1 (PC) - 88
14. The Witness (PS4) - 87
15. Fire Emblem Fates (3DS) - 87
16. Pokemon Sun & Moon (3DS) - 87
17. Total War: Warhammer (PC) - 86
18. Pony Island (PC) - 86
19. Monster Hunter Generations (3DS) - 85
20. DiRT Rally (PS4) - 85
21. Doom (PS4) - 85
22. Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 (PS4) - 85
23. The Walking Dead: A New Frontier Episode 1: Ties That Bind (PC) - 85
24. Ratchet & Clank (PS4) - 85
25. MLB The Show 16 (PS4) - 85
26. FIFA 17 (PS4) - 85
27. BlazBlue Central Fiction (PS4) - 85
28. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS) - 84
29. Salt & Sanctuary (PS4) - 84
30. Darkest Dungeon (PS4) - 84
31. Gears of War 4 (XONE) - 84
32. Planet Coaster (PC) - 84
33. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4) - 84
34. FRU (XONE) - 84
35. Hyper Light Drifter (PC) - 84
36. Hitman (PS4) - 84
37. Rhythm Heaven Megamix (3DS) - 84
38. Grim Dawn (PC) - 83
39. Hearts of Iron 4 (PC) - 83
40. Devil Daggers (PC) - 83
41. Dragon Quest Builders (PS4) - 83
42. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (PC) - 83
43. The Last Guardian (PS4) - 83
44. Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma (VITA) - 83
45. Watch Dogs 2 (PS4) - 83
46. The Banner Saga 2 (PC) - 82
47. Superhot (PC) - 82
48. Madden NFL 17 (PS4) - 82
49. FA 2016 (PS4) - 82
50. Final Fantasy 15 (PS4) - 82
51. Enter the Gungeon (PS4) - 82
52. Severed (VITA) - 82
53. Starbound (PC) - 81
54. Quadrilateral Cowboy (PC) - 81
55. Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS) - 81
56. Trackmania Turbo (PC) - 81
57. Tyranny (PC) - 81
58. Firewatch (PC) - 81
59. Zombie Night Terror (PC) - 81
60. Bravely Second: End Layer (3DS) - 81
61. The Bug Butcher (PC) - 81
62. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice (3DS) - 81
63. Football Manager 2017 (PC) - 81
64. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 (XONE) - 80
65. BoxBoxBoy! (3DS) - 80
66. Oxenfree (PC) - 80
67. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE (WIIU) - 80
68. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 (VITA) - 80
69. Samorost 3 (PC) - 80
70. Skylanders Imaginators (PS4) - 80
71. 1979 Revolution: Black Friday (PC) - 80
72. Tom Clancy's The Division (PS4) - 80
73. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 (PS4) - 79
74. Offworld Trading Company (PC) - 79
75. Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate (VITA) - 79
76. Alienation (PS4) - 79
77. The King of Fighters 14 (PS4) - 79
78. Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak (PC) - 79
79. RIGS: Mechanized Combat League (PS4) - 79
80. Shadow Warrior 2 (PC) - 78
81. NHL 17 (PS4) - 78
82. Stellaris (PC) - 78
83. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X (PS4) - 78
84. Overcooked (PS4) - 78
85. Grand Kingdom (PS4) - 78
86. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (PS4) - 78
87. Unravel (PS4) - 78
88. That Dragon, Cancer (PC) - 78
89. Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 (PS4) - 78
90. Abzu (PS4) - 78
91. Street Fighter 5 (PS4) - 77
92. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PS4) - 77
93. World of Final Fantasy (PS4) - 77
94. Quantum Break (XONE) - 77
95. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada (PC) - 77
96. Kathy Rain (PC) - 77
97. Headlander (PS4) - 77
98. Silence: The Whispered World 2 (PC) - 77
99. Hue (PS4) - 77
100. Furi (PS4) - 77
101. Killing Floor 2 (PS4) - 76
102. 7th Dragon III Code: VFD (3DS) - 76
103. Pokken Tournament (WIIU) - 76
104. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (3DS) - 76
105. Obduction (PC) - 76
106. Deponia Doomsday (PC) - 76
107. The Final Station (PC) - 76
108. EA Sports UFC 2 (XONE) - 76
109. Far Cry Primal (PS4) - 76
110. Klaus (PS4) - 76
111. American Truck Simulator (PC) - 76
112. Paper Mario: Color Splash (WIIU) - 75
113. Yomawari: Night Alone (VITA) - 75
114. Event[0] (PC) - 75
115. Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth (PS4) - 75
116. Seasons After Fall (PC) - 75
117. Shardlight (PC) - 75
118. Worms WMD (PS4) - 75
119. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book (PS4) - 75
120. Batman: Arkham VR (PS4) - 75
121. The Turing Test (PC) - 74
122. I Am Setsuna (PC) - 74
123. Star Fox Guard (WIIU) - 74
124. Black Desert Online (PC) - 74
125. Amplitude (PS4) - 74
126. Attack on Titan (PS4) - 74
127. Virginia (PC) - 74
128. Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 1: Realm of Shadows (PC) - 74
129. Master of Orion (PC) - 74
130. Dead Rising 4 (XONE) - 73
131. Lumo (PS4) - 73
132. Punch Club (PC) - 73
133. Project X-Zone 2 (3DS) - 73
134. Stories: The Path of Destinies (PS4) - 73
135. Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2 (PS4) - 73
136. The Flame in the Flood (PC) - 73
137. Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 2: Children of Arkham (PC) - 73
138. Eagle Flight (PS4) - 72
139. Tricky Towers (PS4) - 72
140. Layers of Fear (PC) - 72
141. Steep (PS4) - 72
142. Return to PoPoLoCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale (3DS) - 72
143. Headmaster (PS4) - 72
144. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood (PS4) - 72
145. Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness (PS4) - 72
146. EVE: Valyrie (PS4) -72
147. Let It Die (PS4) - 72
148. Bound (PS4) - 71
149. Megadimension Neptunia VII (PS4) - 71
150. Lego Marvel's Avengers (PS4) - 71
151. Job Simulator (PS4) - 71
152. Stranger of Sword City (VITA) - 71
153. Aragami (PS4) - 71
154. Sebastian Loeb Rally Evo (PS4) - 71
155. No Man's Sky (PS4) - 71
156. The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 3: What We Deserve (PC) - 71
157. Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter (PS4) - 70
158. Mother Russia Bleeds (PC) - 70
159. Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel (PS4) - 70
160. Grow Up (PS4) - 70
161. Fortified (XONE) - 69
162. Final Fantasy Explorers (3DS) - 69
163. The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 1: In Too Deep (PC) - 69
164. Ashes of the Singularity (PC) - 69
165. Song of the Deep (PS4) - 69
166. God Eater 2: Rage Burst (PS4) - 69
167. Mirror's Edge Catalyst (PS4) - 69
168. Star Fox Zero (WIIU) - 69
169. Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization (PS4) - 69
170. Tumble VR (PS4) - 69
171. Arslan: The Warriors of Legend (PS4) - 69
172. WWE 2K17 (PS4) - 69
173. Blade & Soul (PC) - 68
174. Battleborn (PS4) - 68
175. Mario Party: Star Rush (3DS) - 68
176. Mafia 3 (PS4) - 68
177. The Solus Project (PS4) - 68
178. Senran Kagura: Estival Versus (PS4) - 67
179. Brut@l (PS4) - 67
180. Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors (VITA) - 67
181. Nights of Azure (PS4) - 67
182. Romance of the Three Kingdoms 13 (PS4) - 67
183. Champions of Anteria (PC) - 67
184. Yo-Kai Watch 2 (3DS) - 67
185. One Piece: Burning Blood (PS4) - 66
186. The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 2: Give No Shelter (PC) - 66
187. Battlezone (PS4) - 66
188. This is the Police (PC) - 66
189. Robinson: The Journey (PS4) - 65
190. Trillion: God of Destruction (VITA) - 65
191. Metroid Prime: Federation Force (3DS) - 64
192. Shadow of the Beast (PS4) - 64
193. Gal*Gun: Double Peace (PS4) - 64
194. The Town of Light (PC) - 64
195. ADR1FT (PC) - 64
196. Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India (PS4) - 63
197. ReCore (XONE) - 63
198. Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (3DS) - 62
199. Here They Lie (PS4) - 62
200. Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia (XONE) - 62
201. Tharsis (PC) - 61
202. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven (PS4) - 61
203. MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies (VITA) - 61
204. Space Hulk: Deathwing (PC) - 60
205. We Are The Dwarves (PC) - 60
206. Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (3DS) - 60
207. The Technomancer (PS4) - 60
208. Necropolis (PC) - 59
209. Playstation VR Worlds (PS4) - 59
210. Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness (PS4) - 58
211. Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme VS-Force (VITA) - 57
212. MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death (VITA) - 56
213. Dangerous Golf (PS4) - 56
214. Hardware: Rivals (PS4) - 56
215. Trials of the Blood Dragon (PS4) - 55
216. Homefront: The Revolution (PC) - 54
217. The Tomorrow Children (PS4) - 54
218. Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade (PC) - 52
219. Mighty No. 9 (PS4) - 52
220. Koi (PS4) - 51
221. Shadwen (PS4) - 51
222. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan (PS4) - 44
223. Bombshell (PC) - 43
224. Umbrella Corps (PS4) - 38
225. Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival (PS4) - 31
226. Ghostbusters (PS4) - 30

Spoiler

Disclaimer: the preamble is facetious and I am well aware of the futility of creating a "definitive" list of the best anything, but I still think this will make for some interesting discussion.

 

[Kayhan]

Just bought Inside on the Steam sale. Looks like I need to get on that.

 

[dugdug]

Wow had no idea PS VR Worlds scored so low. That's a shame.

 

[SictorVullivan]

 

[Alex_Mexico]

Ah geez, Migty No 9 is mediocre but not 219 out of a 226 list bad. Had that game came out without a Kickstarter drama it would've scored higher. At least in the 60s.

 

[Dabanton]

Seems about right to me.

 

[SliceSabre]

BlazBlue: CF confirmed best fight man game of the year.

 

[Phediuk]

Here's the original list, for reference (over 900 entries):

http://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/score/metascore/year/all/filtered?sort=desc

 

[Magnus]

Really bummed to see how Mighty No. 9 turned out. Glad to see Overwatch near the top.

Where is World of Warcraft: Legion? I feel like expansions should be included. It's a herculean entry for that franchise. Really reinvigorated it.

 

[SuperSonic1305]

Star Ocean was that bad?

 

[Devilgunman]

I thought we already had one of this, with platform breakdown and everything.

 

[Lord of Ostia]

Star Ocean was that bad?

It's pretty bad, yeah

 

[Phediuk]

I thought we already had one of this, with platform breakdown and everything.

MC did their own official list, but the criteria for inclusion were a lot looser (a lot of DLC packs and games with 7 reviews and what have you.)

 

[Mushroomer25]

Just bought Inside on the Steam sale. Looks like I need to get on that.

It's positively incredible. Deserving of the spot on the list.

 

[Joey Ravn]

Ah geez, Migty No 9 is mediocre but not 219 out of a 226 list bad. Had that game came out without a Kickstarter drama it would've scored higher. At least in the 60s.

It has several profound performance issues on pretty much every single platform it's on. Not to mention that the game itself is pretty mediocre and derivative.

 

[Glass Rebel]

I'm sure Capcom is proud of those Umbrella Corps scores.

 

[Baroquemantic]

There are a crap ton of games listed here that I really want to play.

 

[73V3N]

stopped reading at uncharted 4 being number 1

 

[Jawbreaker]

Looks fantastic. What a great year for games.

stopped reading at uncharted 4 being number 1

You'll want to avoid the results thread for NeoGAF's GotY when it goes up, then.

 

[Stumpokapow]

1. Games with under 20 reviews are excluded.

Why?

 

[NSESN]

3DS had a fantastic last year of life

 

[kurahador]

No wonder Uncharted 4 hate is apparent as of late.

 

[funkystudent]

Metacritic seems way more flawed then it use to be.

 

[TwistedFreeze]

3DS had a fantastic last year of life

Yeah, for a second, I was worried it'd get the slow death of Nintendo's consoles but it has thankfully avoided that

 

[Remk]

How the hell are there 20 reviews for MeiQ? I call bullshit on this list...

After going to the site...

21 reviews, huh I guess Idea Factory is close to hitting the big leagues then

 

[Fancolors]

226. Ghostbusters (PS4) - 30

Wait, they still make licensed movie games? I thought those were long dead.

 

[Kinyou]

Was dangerous golf that bad? It didnt look like anything amazing but it's surprising to see it that far down

Wait, they still make licensed movie games? I thought those were long dead.

Ghostbusters was the first one in a long time, and given how it was received I imagine it will also be the last one for a long time

 

[Kusagari]

I'm amazed the Psycho Pass VN got 20 reviews.

 

[Phediuk]

Wait, they still make licensed movie games? I thought those were long dead.

Yes, it is something of an anachronism.

 

[egocrata]

204. Space Hulk: Deathwing (PC) - 60

Wow, it is really that bad?

 

[Phediuk]

Why?

20 reviews is a nice solid sample size.

 

[T.O.P]

Yay Forza <3

 

[ronaldthump]

Damn, plenty of games to get to from this list.

You sorta forget but wow. Need to get to INSIDE

 

[AniHawk]

I'm amazed the Psycho Pass VN got 20 reviews.

believe it or not, it was supposed to be a big thing from nisa this year. they even dedicated a quarter of their interactive wall space at anime expo to it this year, and an art print for it was the prize for the stamp rally (which was danganronpa in the past).

 

[Conciliator]

most of the games at the top are pretty good, and most of the games at the bottom are pretty bad.

glad to be here to offer my insight

 

[Van Bur3n]

(Blood and Wine would have been tied with Inside for #2)

Speaking of which, there seems to be a lot of praise for Inside. I liked it myself, especially the ending sequence, but it didn't exactly blow me away like how a lot seem to feel about it. Hmm.

 

[AniHawk]

i think the biggest discrepancy this year between me and critics was mirror's edge catalyst. however, the first mirror's edge didn't get the kind of praise from critics it earned after release either.

the second biggest one is ztd. that game is crazy ungood.

 

[Rob2K19]

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth should be top 50.

 

[Richie]

Color Splash not in the Top 100 (hell, 50) -and- rated below the maddening Paper Jam is a crime!

It's a helluva list though, thanks for posting. It should help to see what backlog games to focus on...

 

[emag]

most of the games at the top are pretty good, and most of the games at the bottom are pretty bad.

glad to be here to offer my insight

But Metacritic scores don't mean anything! So I've been told time and again on GAF. I have to do my own research by playing each game for myself. Maybe Ghostbusters is actually GOAT, but going by review scores I'd miss out!

 

[Mohasus]

Only 4 games above 90, one of those is MP only and somehow there are people saying this was one of the best years in gaming. Haha.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Only 4 games above 90, one of those is MP only and somehow there are people saying this was one of the best years in gaming. Haha.

Somehow there are people using metacritic as a metric for whether this was one of the best years in gaming.

Haha.

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

Only 4 games above 90, one of those is MP only and somehow there are people saying this was one of the best years in gaming. Haha.

?

If you want to use numbers there are over 150 games rated 80 or higher, so.

edit: meant 70

 

[antitrop]

Star Ocean was that bad?

Yes

 

[Greatest Ever]

Metacritic is still a deeply flawed, borderline asinine system, but as a general way of capturing a game's critical reception it's ok.

And on that front, 2016 was phenomenal. I am so happy with this year.

 

[Phediuk]

Only 4 games above 90, one of those is MP only and somehow there are people saying this was one of the best years in gaming. Haha.

Well, using the same criteria, 2015 only had 4 too (MGS5, Witcher 3, Bloodborne, Undertale) and 2014 only had 3 (Smash Bros Wii U, Bayonetta 2, Dark Souls 2), so I'm not really seeing the problem here. And why are you implying that MP-only is a bad thing?

 

[Snagret]

Pretty great top 20, honestly

 

[Greatest Ever]

Only 4 games above 90, one of those is MP only and somehow there are people saying this was one of the best years in gaming. Haha.

Besides the MP bullshit, whatever, we're not gonna act like scores were hilariously inflated last gen? Game critics will always be terrible, sometimes on their own accord, sometimes because of their job's general time crunch, inability to review work, lack of academic standards for critique, etc, but last gen they were particularly bad. At least this generation they've been more in line.

 

[Strangelove77]

What the fuck is Pony Island?

EDIT: never mind, just looked it up on Wikipedia. Sounds awesome. Weird that I never heard of it til now.

 

[A Link to the Past]

What the fuck is Pony Island?

Buy it without watching or reading anything about it