1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; It's pretty rare a DLC is better than an already amazing game. Blood and Wine is a work of art.
2. Stardew Valley ; I can't believe someone made a farming simulator where I put in 100+ hours and I still want to play more. Stardew Valley has its own unique charm.
3. Darkest Dungeon ; Still trying to beat this game, I hate the brigand 16 pounder with a passion. Makes you feel like everything is pointless and random, which I guess is the point.

1. Street Fighter 5 ; One of the best looking and playing fighting games ever. Despite the rocky launch, the gameplay more than makes up for it. It's the only game I keep coming back to this year.
2. Inside ; Amazing 3 hour experience.
3. Furi ; Great boss rush game with fantastic music.
4. Dark Souls 3 ; It's probably my least favorite in the series, but still a great game.
5. Overwatch ; I don't play FPS games much but this one grabbed me more than usual.

"Comments on games must begin on the same line as the game title itself, following a semicolon ( Not a hyphen. Not a dash. Not a slash. Not a space. Not a period. A semicolon."

Please follow the rules, guys. Makes it a bit easier for us!

Looks like Doom is doing well,

Think it's the early favourite.

The Witcher 3 Blood and Wine; This DLC complemented the grim, slavic tone of the main game perfectly by contrasting it too beatiful fairytale-esque landscape where evil was hidden rather than in plain site. As ever, the joy of this game rests in it's stories and places, and in those departments it is, once again, absolute killer.

Doom; The first tutorial battle of Doom was possible the modst exhilariting moment I had ever experienced in gaming. The raucous sound of Demons on the hunt, the thud of your boots and trusty sound of your shotgun all drive up one's adrenaline to perhaps unsafe levels. Aesthetically, this game was amazing, with excellent and subtle tonal contrasts between UAC and Hell.

XCOM 2; Commmmanderr; XCOM 2 adds onto the fantastic rebooted XCOM series, expanding and extending the strategy elements introduced in its precursor. While the RTS remains largely the same, with the largest change likely being cover, the macrostrategy has been overhauled, with more divergence in play styles allowed.

Overwatch; Extremely fun game, where every Hero feels unique and every battle magical

Battlefield 1; Beatiful graphics, evocative setting, the pounding drums of the Theme. Every battle in this game feels like one for the ages.

1. Battle Garegga rev.2016 ; one of my favorite shmups in one of the best port jobs by M2. the arrange mode is a blast on rank max mode and the plethora of options is astounding.
2. Samorost 3 ; improved on the previous 2 installments in every way. top notch soundtrack, beautiful set pieces, and a very memorable experience.
3. Pocket Card Jockey ; still been playing this one every trip I go on. gamefreak knocked this non-pokemon title out of the park.
4. The Last Guardian ;
5. Wild Guns Reloaded ;
6. Dark Souls 3 ;
7. Doom ;
8. Mecha Ritz: Steel Rondo ;
9. Rhythm Heaven Megamix
10. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir ;

x. Blue Revolver
edit: had to edit and made some ranking changes

Enter the Gungeon ; Awesome and lots of replayability

It's interesting how DOOM's in almost every list but it's hardly ever first and usually in 2nd to 5th place

I haven't been gaming very much this year, but I could throw together a top 5 I think.

1. The Last Guardian ; What an incredible realization of art from years and years of development struggle. I can't believe that this game exists and that I enjoyed it as much as I did.

2. Forza Horizon 3 ; I don't play many racing games, but got this one for $20 a week or two after it launched on a whim and put many hours into it. Had an absolute blast literally just driving ALL the roads.

3. Uncharted 4 ; Took me six months to chip away at this one, but when I finally sat back down to finish the last few hours, I was enthralled by its conclusion. Naughty Dog pulled many emotions from me during the fantastic Epilogue.

4. Pokémon Sun & Moon ; The mix up of the formula put this on the list, otherwise I'd have played and forgotten it. Excited for Switch release.

5. Final Fantasy XV ; Currently playing through this one, but enjoying it to the extent that I expect it to make this list.

*****I am having a lot more trouble with this than I thought. Lemme think on it.

****Currently playing through Final Fantasy and Titanfall 2, so my list isn't final. Don't know if this all technically disqualifies my list, but the year isn't over and I have a few games to play that could jump into this list before January 21st.

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; A fantastic wrap up to a beloved series, that pulls on your emotions just right. Not much can be said about the epilogue except that it leaves you happy.
2. Final Fantasy XV ; A beautiful mess of a game with a ton of faults and blemishes. Yet the game is much more than the sum of its parts. The ending rivaled or surpassed any other this year.
3. World of WarCraft: Legion ; A return to what made WoW great to begin with. If they keep content coming it will easily be the best expansion since Wrath.
4. Dark Souls 3 ; Top notch gameplay and challenge. The annualization of Souls and personal fatigue has begun to hit me however.
5. Battlefield 1 ; DICE nailed the period and made a compelling multiplayer package.
6. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Gameplay and variety pull up a disappointing narrative.
7. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine ; More of The Witcher is always a good thing.
8. Doom ; Much like Wolfenstein, this surprised me by how faithful it is to gamings legendary series.
9. Fire Emblem: Fates ; The only thing I didn't like about Fates is it's almost too much.
10. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; Makes the list by challenging long held Pokémon standards.

I don't really wanna do the whole 'man wasn't this such a bad year - but a great year for games!' cliche, but I think it might be telling how much of my list is themed around stuff I found transportative and escapist, and there being so much of this whole thing to go around, for the last 12 months? Bit of a blessing, not gonna lie.



1. The Witness ; Superlative, an absolute masterpiece of game design. It takes a single, simple puzzle mechanic and riffs on its single theme in almost every way imaginable, to the point where it becomes its own language that, as the game wordlessly teaches you and as you interpret and build upon the knowledge you gleam from what the game puts in front of you, completely wraps you in its own world and doesn't let go. There's something so visceral, almost spiritual, about the level to which it re-contextualizes how think and how you examine and interpret the immaculately crafted (and utterly beautiful) environment around you. It's maybe the closest I've come to the cyberpunk dream of being absorbed into a game reality, not as much escapist immersion through atmospheric world-building in the way that my 2015 GOTY, The Witcher III, did (as well as several other games on this year's list), as much as it is escapist immersion into a way of thinking, a mental state. Through its enigmatic secret endings, collectible audio lectures and video clips, it explores the morality of this from a philosophical perspective in a very thought-provoking manner as well. More than just my favourite game of the year, The Witness is one of the most profound and deeply satisfying learning experiences I've ever had, and both a testament to and a warning call of the power of mechanical thought.



2. Overwatch ; Oh, 200 hours of my 2016, where did you go? Easily my favourite multiplayer shooter since Team Fortress 2, with a diverse, characterful and at this point pretty much iconic cast, crossing a huge variety of playstyles and mechanics which somehow all mesh together into a genuinely mechanically beautiful whole. Not quite on the top of the list, there's something a bit too, don't know, asocial, polished, controlled about it that stops it from being the transcendentally weird social experience that prime TF2 was, it could still maybe use a wider map/mode variety and the less said about the loot boxes the better, but that's ultimately nitpicking. It looks amazing, has the most immaculate audio design from a mechanical perspective of basically anything and I find almost every character incredibly satisfying and rewarding to play even with how wide a gameplay variety they cover.



3. Inside ; I'll count myself among those who didn't think a huge amount of Limbo (it was probably more impressive in the context of the time), but man, this completely did it for me. Gorgeous in a chillingly bleak and in moments curdling-ly gruesome way, expertly crafted and immaculately polished into a rotten, fleshly, surreal, stark and just enrapturingly horrible sheen. The way it silently communicates its story and ideas of the cyclical futility of agency and control, with some of the most impressive cinematography, framing and visual composition I can remember in a game, is just amazing. Its final set piece is pretty much the high water mark for blackest-of-black comedy in all of gaming as well, just the grossest thing.



4. Firewatch ; Big hurrah for games which tell affecting stories that aren't afraid to a) tackle mature, high-concept and genuinely heavy themes with grace and elegance, b), communicate what they have to say about these by taking bold, post-modern risks with narrative structure, and c), do so with some of the best naturalistic dialogue writing and acting in the medium. Without doubt the high point of storytelling in games this year, and I'm on the side that will defend the polarizing ending pretty much to death. A really affecting tale about the romantic fantasies and anti-climactic realities of running away from your problems that brings to mind some of the best bits of The Last of Us and the best Coen Brothers movies in how it tells it.



5. Dishonored 2 ; The first Dishonored was probably my favourite thing to come out of the recent revival of the Looking-Glass-style so-called 'immersive sim' revival, with its roots in some of my favourite games of all time like Deus Ex and Thief 2, so, even despite this being in many ways just more of the same, I still had a great time with it. It boasts some of the most impressive environmental and level design of the year, fluidly moving from idea to idea, each rendered in the series' trademark unique visual design and with some really showstopping architectural setpieces - the Clockwork Mansion level is a huge standout in this regard.



6. Hyper Light Drifter ; A beautiful beautiful beautiful pixel art game with an amazing soundtrack, has a really alien and magical, melancholy-yet-serene tone to the entire thing, dripping in atmospheric detail. It controls incredibly tightly, I did find it a little bit too punishing at times for what it was going for, or something about the hitboxes weren't quite as tightly crafted as the rest of the thing, so it got a little frustrating from time to time. As a general exercise in tone and atmosphere, though, it's pretty flawless.



7. Superhot ; A brief but superbly paced and stylishly designed FPS, it gets a lot out of the magic of the time-moves-when-you-move mechanic but when it really shines is when you have enough of a grip of the fluid pace of the mechanics to barely need to slow down time at all.



8. Civilization VI ; As long as you turn all of the bad bad bad AI diplomacy decisions into an elaborate head-canon, it's pretty much the best game ever made. For real though Teddy, you're literally paying me to beat up on Frederick Barbarossa, the first war I've been involved in for a millenia, but then turn around and denounce me as a warmonger? Privateers, ironclad armadas, we're taking a trip to Washington.



9. Thumper ; Speaking of exercises in tone, the most punishingly intense, in-your-face, get-cramps-in-your-hand-from-gripping-the-controller-too-hard thing I've played this year, it's just so so much. Has an amazing industrial soundtrack by Lightning Bolt's Brian Gibson and some of the most DMT-nightmare visual setpieces I've seen in basically anything.



10. Oxenfree ; A pretty and terribly charming teen mystery that's pretty much entirely made by the believability and complexity of its core cast of characters, once again an incredibly atmospheric game with some of the best teen-to-teen interaction you'll find in a game if that's your thing.



x. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt - Blood & Wine ; Not including this on the top 10 since eliminating it on a technicality makes making the list a little bit easier, but naturally as a big expansion to my GOTY last year, I enjoyed this a lot. I think I have more problems with it (or just the state of the game as it is today) than I did with the main game, and it doesn't reach the narrative heights of that or the probably superior Hearts of Stone, so I'm not thaaat fussed about kicking it off the list either way. Don't let me tell you its not worth playing if you liked the main game though.



x. Starbound / No Man's Sky ; Almost put Starbound on the list, I'm playing it a fair bit at the moment but I'm not sure how I feel about it quite yet. Originally I ended up dropping it a couple hours in after finding the constant loop of satiating your hunger demands really oppressive, but I picked it back up recently and started a new, casual difficulty character and have been having a lot more fun with it. Even then, about 10 hours later, I already feel like I've reached that tipping point of suddenly seeing the rest of what the game has to offer unfold in front of you, I can already tell how much more thinly it's spread than Terraria was. Also using this spot to shout out a very similar game which I enjoyed but had a very similar series of experiences with, No Man's Sky, from the initial foreboding stress of managing meters and inventory slots, to more comfortably setting into a rhythm, then the sinking feeling of suddenly seeing the entire loop of the game roll out in front of your feet.



x. Dirt Rally ; Also excluding this on a technicality, it did come out on the platform I played it on in 2015, and got a fair share of attention on last year's voting so this is my Old Game of the Year Memorial Award contender. Don't let me tell you that it isn't one of the best rallying, nay, racing games ever made, it would undoubtedly be right near the top of this list if I was counting it as a 2016 game.

I feel like I touched barely anything the AAA put out this year, don't know whether that was down to a lack of interest or when I play that stuff later I'll be regretting not putting that on the list. Alas, apologies Uncharted 4, Doom, Titanfall 2, Watch Dogs 2, Mafia 3, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, The Last Guardian, etc.

1. Root Double -Before Crime * After Days - 4 points
2. Ratchet & Clank - 3 points
3. VA-11 HALL-A - 3 points
4. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight - 2 points
5. Enter the Gungeon - 2 points

SOME-MIST said:

1. Battle Garegga rev.2016 ; one of my favorite shmups in one of the best port jobs by M2. the arrange mode is a blast on rank max mode and the plethora of options is astounding.
2. Samorost 3 ; improved on the previous 2 installments in every way. top notch soundtrack, beautiful set pieces, and a very memorable experience.
3. Pocket Card Jockey ; still been playing this one every trip I go on. gamefreak knocked this non-pokemon title out of the park.
4. The Last Guardian ;
5. Wild Guns Reloaded ;
6. Doom ;
7. Mecha Ritz: Steel Rondo ;
8. Dark Souls 3 ;
9. Blue Revolver ;
10. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir ;

Click to expand...

Nice, very excited for Garegga to release here next year.

1. Overwatch ; Possibly the best multiplayer game I've ever played and my early front runner for GOTG. What sets it apart is how successfully it got its hooks in me. I'm a guy who get burned out on games but for this one it just never happened, I've been hooked since release, and not just playing, I'm into twitch streams, esports, YouTube channels, and I'm constantly posting in the OT, all of which are a first for any game. It is fun as hell, it is always getting better, and it's the reason the rest of my list is so short.

2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Would be more than willing of the #1 spot any other year. It was easily the best UC game, and felt like a perfect evolution for Naughty Dog after TLOU. Probably one of my top five games of all time. Masterpiece.

Those are the only two I feel okay ranking. Overwatch consumed my year.

1. DOOM ; A simple idea perfectly executed
2. Inside ; Amazing art, amazing tech, great puzzles and a fantasticly fuked up ending.
3. SUPERHOT ; The most innovative shooter I've played in years
4. Titanfall 2 ; An amazing campaign with very diverse setpieces and a fantastic MP
5. Battlefield 1 ; The best BF released in a long time. DICE nailed the setting and Operation is my favorite game mode in any shooter.
6. Overwatch ; A great shooter
7. The Division ; The Diablo shooter that I always wanted
8. Quantum Break ; An interesting time travel story, not enough shootbang.

This year was so fucking good for games. I'm having a hard time deciding on my last choice AND I still have more games that I'm still playing.

Blows the last few years out of the water easily.

1. Titanfall 2 ; The best FPS campaign I've ever played. I bought the game just for the campaign and despite its short length, it was worth every cent by having some of the most memorable moments I've experienced in gaming. I have not played enough of the multiplayer but the focus on speed to survive is what makes it for me who's not really a multiplayer kind of guy.

2. The Last Guardian ; It's amazing how well this turned out. I wasn't expecting much due to the wait but the presentation of Trico and the environment made this an unforgettable experience. It was enough to make me forgive the occasional poor frame rate and controls. Trico is easily the best companion too.

3. The Witness ; Some of the best game design I have ever seen. Blow knew exactly what he was doing in creating a gorgeous looking island so packed full of so many remixes of the same puzzle that manages to flow so well together. That 'eureka' moment when you figure out what to do is so immensely satisfying and this game is full of those moments.

4. Inside ; There's a lot of discussion to be had about how Inside is a great example of telling a story in a way only video games can do. The puzzles, level design and even how the controls feel tells you something about what's going on in this mysteriously grim world and how everything's connected.

5. Dark Souls III ; I somewhat agree with the people saying the series has started to get tired and Dark Souls III didn't really change much. Although this did not effect my enjoyment as the combat, level design and boss' are still top tier and satisfying. I also really got into the multiplayer for the first time and that added a whole new level that I probably missed out on in previous games.

6. Doom ; I didn't fall in love with Doom as much as a lot of people did. I had a bad first impression due to some terrible frame tearing on PS4 and I felt the game dragged on a bit too long. But I can't deny the stellar combat that mixes old school and modern FPS so fucking well and the story and character they gave Doom guy is something to really admire.

7. Overwatch ; I put a lot of time into the game despite (as I said before) not being a multiplayer kind of guy. The characters and focus on objectives rather than player score is something I love and I'm probably going to keep coming back to the game every time there is a new event. But the one thing that really brings it down is the loot boxes. I am able to forgive it since Blizzard is going to be supporting the game for years but I can't help feeling cheated by not getting the thing I want just because I wasn't lucky enough.

8. Ratchet and Clank ; Honestly, there's not much to say. I love Ratchet and Clank and this is probably the best looking game on consoles.

9. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; I didn't really like Human Revolution but something in Mankind Divided really made me love it. I think it may have been having on hub world that was so fun to explore and had a lot of personality to itself. I also loved the writing despite the overall plot not being finished but I thought that was still done well all things considered.

10. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; A fantastic conclusion to Nathan Drake and friend's story. I did have a few issues with the tone the game was given, the combat encounters and how overly long it was but there were just as much improvements that were very welcome. It was fun to have Nolan North and Troy Baker acting as brothers and their relationship was done well.

Honourable Mentions

x. Enter the Gungeon ; Not my favourite bullet hell rogue-like to just pick up and play but there was so much to love. The artstyle, weapon variety, fun looking enemies and animations were simply awesome.

x. Hitman ; Truly the Blood Money sequel everybody has been waiting for. It does so many things right in regards to the gameplay and tone that only makes it hurt more when my internet connection drops out for a few minutes, ruining everything. There's no reason for the game to be so tied down to playing online and while the elusive targets are a cool idea, it's bullshit when you miss them.

1. The Witness ; This game consumed my time for the better part of 4 weeks, playing it by myself, playing it with family members, getting my friends to play it, and then playing it with my friends. The Witness is so deep, so full of inventive ideas, and it communicates all of those to the player without a single word. A true masterpiece.

2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ;

3. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ;

4. Dark Souls 3 ;

5. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (PC re-release) ;

6. Dishonored 2 ;

7. Gears of War 4 ;

8. Final Fantasy XV ;

9. Inside ;

10. Titanfall 2 ;

The Last Guardian is a contender right for top 3 and that makes me so happy. Based Ueda.

1. Overwatch ; I didn’t know it was possible for me to fall in love with a shooter in 2016, much less an online-only team based one. I have avoided stuff like TF2 in the past because the idea of team composition scared me to death- what if I was the person who fucked it up for the team? Overwatch does a great job of just making you feel good about yourself- it doesn’t show K/D ratio, you get credit for kills even if you only contributed a little bit, and there is no way to see the stats of any other player in the match- instead, you get a Hockey style “Stars of the Game”, and a Play of the Game that, the first time you earn it, will hook you into the game forever. I’ve put close to 200 hours into this game, and while I don’t feel I’m great at it, it’s the only thing I want to play when I’m sitting down for an hour. It’s the reason I didn’t play FFXV, Hitman, Deus Ex, TMS, COD, and a bunch of other games I bought, brought home, and said “eh, I’ll play Overwatch instead”. This is the easiest it’s ever been for me to pick a favorite game of the year.

2. Superhot ; I fell in love with the free browser version of this game when I heard about it a few years ago, and was extremely happy with how the final product came out. It smartly keeps it purely to action setpieces, and uses smart things like Endless mode and stipulation challenges to stretch out it’s length instead of wasting time building boring corridors to walk down. I thought the metagame aspect was fun- pulling up that sick ASCII cube was a highlight of the game for me. I really hope I get a chance to try the VR version of this game in the coming year.

3. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Colorful Sound and Future Tone ; Future Tone is the greatest HD remaster I have ever played- it takes all the songs from F and F 2nd, cranks the graphics up, and then takes out all the shit you hate about Diva like Star/Scratch notes and double notes, and replaces it with actually cool new mechanics like hold notes and slide notes! I’m really glad I only bought Future Tone because this actually got announced for a US release, but after really not liking Project Diva X and Project Mirai, I am glad we got a Diva game that was quality.

4. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; This would have been my AAA game of last year if I had owned an Xbox, but I had to wait for the PC version this year. While it’s mostly a prettier version of the 2013 game, just with a somehow worse story, the addition of hub worlds in this, where you could explore and do stuff added a lot to the game. The Geothermal Valley in particular sticks out to me as a place I liked spending hours in, just interacting with the world.
5. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End ; A fitting end to a franchise, with enough distractions from the old “Press X to Uncharted”- the wide open areas that do a great job of tricking you into staying on the set path without making you feel like you are funneled is a great trick that I, as someone who doesn’t like Open World games because I fear openness, really appreciated. And as far as setpieces go, this game had some of the most spectacular ones I’ve ever played- the jeep chase is up there with the Train in Uncharted 2.

6. Pocket Card Jockey ; I burnt out on this after 10 hours, but man, what a great 10 hours they were. I love sports games, I love card games, and I love things that combine the 2. The plot being complete wacky nonsense helps carry the game, and the HORSES ARE SO CUTE!

7. Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest ; I played Birthright earlier this year, and while I thought the gameplay was really good, the story was insipid- we are talking bad Light Novel/Fanfiction levels of writing, just without every female sibling wanting to fuck the main character. I had originally planned on buying all 3 Fates games, but was so off-put by the story in Birthright that I put off buying the games. I was able to borrow Conquest from a friend a month ago, and finally got around to playing it. While the story is even stupider in this (guess what? All of your female siblings actually want to fuck you in this story!), the map and encounter design is worlds beyond what was in Birthright, which probably makes this the best Fire Emblem game if you remove the plot?

8. Picross 3D: Round 2 ; I did NOT expect this game to make my list. Picross is my favorite Nintendo franchise, and Picross 3D on the DS was one of my biggest disappointments of it’s console generation. Having been blessed with 6 incredible e-shop Picross titles over the course of the 3DS’s lifespan, we unfortunately got the first real blemish on the pristine reputation of the 2D franchise last year with the shitfest that was Pokemon Picross. Surprisingly, Picross 3D 2 ends up being worthy of the Picross name, and is actually a great game. It controls better than the DS version, and the ability to auto-delete 0 tiles was the one thing that finally made the game click with me.

9. Firewatch ; I enjoyed this game as a walking simulator- the art in this game is stunning, and the gimmick of giving you a camera that you could have the pictures printed and mailed to you was brilliant. I ended up hating the resolution of the story- the game gets pretty tense, and while in Gone Home the reveal works and makes you feel good, the reveal here of just didn’t work for me., but I loved how the relationship between Delilah and your character ended. This game disappointed me, but that’s only because I had sky-high expectations

10. Titanfall 2 ; Titanfall 1 is the only game I ever prestige in, and I did it as a controller player on PC. Even though it was a multiplayer only game, I fell in love with the world and thought it was ripe for some story focused content. While I wouldn’t say the story in Titanfall 2 is any great shakes, it is one of the best shooter campaigns I have played in some time, with a lot of cool ideas it uses just once, because any more and it would have been overkill. I barely got to touch the multiplayer, but I look forward to doing so in the new year

1. Hitman ; This game was made for me. It pushes all my buttons. I need more games like this!

2. Titanfall 2 ; Best FPS I have played on years. The only MP game that has held me this hard since Destiny.

3. The Last Guardian ; Waited a long time for this. And it did not disappoint

4. Uncharted4 ; A new benchmark in story telling.

5. The Witness ; I lived in this world for a few days. And left that world as a different person.

6. Inside ; Such an original adventure. Great story telling with zero dialogue.

7. Doom ; The pure action was pure nirvana.

8. Ratchet & Clank ; Holy s***t. I literally had to edit my top 10 list after buying and playing this game. The graphics! The gameplay!

9. Final Fantasy XV ; Flawed for sure. But the parts that work work well. The world is a fun place to play in.

10. Dark Souls III ; Was disappointing as a Souls game. But still a Souls game. And this game me my fix.

1. Final Fantasy XV ; The most addictive game I played this year. Never thought I would do so many side-quests in a non-MMO game lol
2. Uncharted 4 ; The best in the series, I love the influences of TLoU in it
3. Overwatch ; My most played game of the year, it's great that we have so many different styles of gameplay in a fps.
4. Street Fighter V ; Very thin in content when released but the gameplay is amazing. I'm glad that the game is much more complete as of today though.
5. Pokémon Sun ; I'm currently playing this one yet but it a really big evolution coming from X/Y - Omega/Alpha. This is like a 3d Pokémon is supposed to be.
6. World of final Fantasy ; It's a notalgic trip, really. Any franchise's fan will love this game, and the battle system is so sooo good.

1. Doom ; Like many others I was a bit worried about Doom in the lead up to release but man was I happy to be proven wrong. What a breath of fresh air it was to play such a pure unadulterated and shockingly self aware game in an era stuffed to the brim with what often feels like pretentious cinematic experiences. It's a game that knows exactly what it is and what the player wants from it and consistently delivers in spades. Id has created a revelation in not only the way it recaptured the arcadey fast paced gunplay the series is known for but also in the way it iterates on and updates that loop for the modern age with mechanics that create non stop forward momentum in combat. Combine that gameplay with some of the smartest level (seriously some of those secrets are straight up brilliant), narrative and art design then throw in one of the most evocative soundtracks in recent memory and you have something truly special. A reimagining worthy of carrying the name of one of the most iconic video game series in history and blaring it as loud as it can for a whole new generation of fans to experience for years to come. Welcome back Id! We missed you.



2. Let It Die ; The main reason this game is ranked so highly is because of how shocked I was at just how much fun it is. What a pleasant surprise to have such a fun FTP game pop up so suddenly at the end of the year with what feels like some of the most demonstrably fair monetization mechanics I've ever seen. In many ways it feels like a blast from the past. A relentlessly wacky arcade inspired game that would've felt at home back in the Dreamcast or the PS2 with so many other classics of that ilk. Then again it is a Suda joint so that sort of goes with the territory. But cheers to Suda for making and releasing a game that feels like it doesn't belong for all the right reasons.



3. Overwatch ; As someone who has rarely into modern multiplayer shootbang games this game not only managed to draw me into an FPS multiplayer but had me keep coming back for more all year. What a fantastic fun pick up and play game especially with a few friends. The only reason this title isn't substantially higher in this list is it's implementation of purchasable randomized loot packs. While I certainly appreciate that these packs are cosmetic only it's still a bummer to see how the design is influenced by their inclusion and often has me feeling left out of seasonal events as I just don't have the time to invest to farm those loot packs and get the things I want. The grind to do so is the only real negative I can level against the game.



4. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth ; This game reminded me why I love turn based JRPGs. Gorgeous art design and a fantastic soundtrack and gameplay reminiscent of Shin Megami Tensei were enough to make to give the game a chance and boy am I glad I did. Even as someone whose only exposure to Digimon was a brief stint with the original animation way back in the day as a child I managed to have an absolute blast training, tweaking and building my team. In fact I had so much fun playing this game I even platinumed (as in trophy not numemon) it which is incredibly rare for me as I don't generally care about trophy hunting. If you consider yourself a fan of monster raising RPGs or turn based JRPGs you owe it to yourself to give this game a chance. While some translation hiccups and odd difficulty spikes can put a bit of a damper on the experience it has a certain type of old school charm that seems exceedingly rare in the home console market these days.



5. No Man's Sky ; This was one of my most anticipated games of all time and while it delivered it did so for reasons entirely different than what I had originally anticipated. This year was a difficult one for me. It was filled with a lot of personal strife and tragedy and No Man's Sky came along right as I as I was starting to feel emotionally spent and exhausted. It gave me a relaxing calming contemplative experience just by virtue of its core gameplay tenets and the serene spaces it allowed me to discover and traverse. In the end it gave me exactly what I needed when I needed it the most without my even really realizing it. It rejuvenated me after some truly difficult trying events and for that I will always be grateful and it will forever hold a special place for me. So from the bottom of my heart thank you Hello Games for creating something so beautifully unique and personally touching.



6. Ratchet & Clank ; Other publishers take note this is how you do a remake. Insomniac games managed to impress in every conceivable way while still maintaining enough meat of the original experience to hit me with one hell of a nostalgia hammer. Not only is this one of the most graphically impressive games I've seen this gen but it captures the wacky charm and humor that I've missed so much from this franchise. The only slight I have against the game is the distinct lack of new inventive weaponry as it is a series staple even if this is a remake I can't help but be a bit disappointed that there was only the pixelizer on the new weapons front. Had there been an additional weapon or two to experiment and play around with this would've easily been in my top 3 games of the year. But as it is Insomniac has proven to me that they still have what it takes to make the Ratchet and Clank series shine again and I absolutely cannot wait for the next game in the franchise .



7. Hyper Light Drifter ; As a kickstarter backer of this project I feel as though I waited for an eternity for this game to come out. It's rare that a kickstarted game is able to deliver in such a complete uncompromising way. Hyper Light Drifter is a stunning achievement in every aspect of design and execution and accompanied by a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack. The tightness of the controls and the thematic design is as striking as it is unique. There is simply no mistaking the thought and deliberate design that oozes from every facet of this game and for that I adore it more than I ever thought I would.



8. Dragon Quest Builders ; Let me be clear I do not understand the appeal of Minecraft at all personally and as such I was hesitant to pick up what seemed to be Minecraft with a Dragon Quest skin but after receiving the game as a gift I had a blast with it. Turns out that adding a story, quests and a direction really makes the difference for me. The signature Dragon Quest humor certainly didn't hurt either. The only thing keeping this from being higher on my list was the lack of any multiplayer mechanics as I would've loved to tour my friends worlds or have them join me in mine. While I'm not usually one to fault games for lack of multiplayer this one just seems to be screaming for its inclusion and it's something I simply can't ignore. Such a big missed opportunity. Here's hoping it's something they can remedy with a sequel down the road.



9. Stories: The Path of Destinies ; This game scratched an itch that went far too long without being scratched. The combat and gameplay design reminded me a lot of games like Gauntlet: Dark Legacy and Champions of Norrath. Games that are some of my favorite of all time. Add to that an addictive story loop built around exploring and navigating a vast branching narrative and a sharp looking well defined art style and you have a game that somehow felt new and fresh while also feeling decidedly familiar. While I purchased this game on the recommendation of a friend it has since been given away as a PS+ title and I strongly encourage everyone who was given access to this game to give it a try as you might have as much fun playing it as I did.



10. I Am Setsuna ; The beautiful piano soundtrack alone was enough to ensure this would get a spot on my list. The decidedly retro nostalgic feel it was seemingly designed to evoke often fell a bit short of living up to its inspirations and sometimes felt forced but that didn't stop it from being a joy to play. There's a lot for TRPG to improve upon for this next release but this game felt like a solid foundation from a studio ripe with talent and fresh ideas for a genre I hold very dear. So, count me in for the next project.


Honorable Mentions
x. Jotun
x. Aragami
x. Valkyria Chronicles Remaster
x. Banner Saga 2
x. Marvel Ultimate Alliance
x. Inside

1. The Witness ; A challenging puzzle game with surprising variety and gameplay twists. It is full of rewarding discoveries to find. Exploration elements work perfectly to clear the mind when a break is needed. It is one of the best games in recent years.
2. The Last Guardian ; A wonderful follow-up to Ico and fully worth the wait. Trico is well-realised, generating empathy which heightens the whole experience. With this game's imperfections with the camera and controls, a Game of the Generation list would still be incomplete without The Last Guardian or The Witness.
3. Dark Souls III ; Another great Souls game, but with its intra-area complexity it could lack some direction where to go to further the story.
4. Pocket Card Jockey ; A horse racing game shown through the medium of a simple card game vaguely based on Solitaire. It can be frustratingly difficult with many gameplay systems, but it is also a lot of fun. I named my first horse Brad Gluemaker.
5. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ; For the SMT battle system, which is a joy to play.
6. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; For its amazing visuals and set-pieces.
7. Hitman ; When everything is going right, or going wrong in the right way, it is one of the best games of the year.
8. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past ; Many story vignettes did not grab me, but the solid Dragon Quest gameplay fundamentals remain intact.
9. Picross 3D: Round 2 ; Though the cubic nature can be at the expense of clarity, for example of finding where something can be done, it is a very good puzzle game. Usually with picross, a square (or in this case, cubes) can be one of two options: filled in or blank (chipped out). This game introduces two colours that a cube can be marked, making three possibilities. This extra wrinkle benefits this game a lot.
10. Paper Mario: Color Splash ; It's a lot of fun with its writing and solid gameplay, with Rock Paper Scissors tournaments being a quick way to get money to lessen the problem of needing to expend cards to attack.
x. Inside ; I didn't like Limbo, but I liked Inside for its atmosphere, puzzles and dramatic crescendo.
x. Stephen's Sausage Roll ; I wish I could get further than 27 cooked sausages!

1. Dark Souls III ; The final instalment manages to have the best combat in the series and the most accomplished art design. It might falter in terms of build diversity and choice of areas to explore compared to the other games, but unlike those the quality is consistent from begining to end.

2. DOOM ; A worthy successor to the classics. Satisfying shooting, simple but exciting story and cool monster designs. It's difficult to imagine how a modern Doom could be pulled off better, excluding the MP.

3. Overwatch ; I'm not usually into competitive FPS but the ease of access and characterisation make it appealing.

4. Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist ; This got a stealth release on PC in December and is actually pretty good. Completely packed with SP and MP content for $20. The retelling of the anime storylines is well done, if not particularly high on production value.

That's it. I'm more excited for updates to old games than new games these days.

1. SMT IV: Apocalypse ; Loved SMT IV, and loved this even more. Incredibly compelling and addictive game.
2. Overwatch ; Amazingly well balanced. Endlessly playable. Incredibly tense. My favorite Blizzard game ever.
3. Hitman ; The absolute madmen actually pulled it off.
4. Dark Souls 3 ; Love this series so much.
5. Doom ; I can't believe how good this turned out. I had no expectations.
6. Civilization VI ; Civ is still fun.
7. Clash Royale ; Maybe my most played game of the year? I don't know, but goddamn is it impressively fun. Best mobile game ever IMO and I haven't spent a penny on it.
8. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Great writing. Cool setting. Jensen still a boss.
9. Pokemon Sun/Moon ; Much better than X/Y.
10. XCOM 2 ; Would've landed much higher if it didn't have crippling performance issues. Still a really fun time.

My list is going to be filled somewhat with games I have barely played in some regards as my year was spent in large part with games from yesteryears.

1. Oxenfree ; Far and away one of the best games I've played in a very long time. Fantastic writing, story/characters, art, sound design (one of the best in years), unique gameplay that actually incorporates itself into the narrative (spoilers to explain), etc. etc. etc. It's a game that hit me on an emotional level and just sticks with me. It's easily my favorite of the year, far and away. And it's in my list of top games of all time.

2. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (PC re-release) ; Overall a great sequel to the first game in the series. The story and cast were more intriguing than the first, the music was great, the design aesthetic was really really interesting, etc. etc. etc. etc. Monokuma was a bit annoying at times but overall it was a pretty great experience. The first was great too and I also played that this year but I'm not going to overload this list with two games from the same series.

3. Stardew Valley ; It"s relaxing, laid back, fun and the dev is continuing to pour content into it.

4. Style Savvy: Fashion Forward ; Found out about this series in the e-shop the other year. Immediately got this when it came out. It's such an addiction and the huge amount of expanded content is so worth it.

5. Va-11-Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action ; It's cute, unique, was pretty simple for a one and done but relaxing and charming all the same.

6. Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor ; Haven't played much but it's quite coo'. It's semi-lovecraftian-esque? aspects attract me. Plus it's design aesthetic intrigues me with how bizarre it is. It's also got a bit of humor to it and a willingness to let the people explore and figure things out as little is really all that defined in terms of goals. The game describes itself as an anti-adventure and I would say that's accurate from what I've seen/experienced. Not to mention it's gender mechanic which is oh so interesting to see in gaming these days.

7. OneShot ; A very original and very charming 4th wall breaking game. Can't say more without spoiling but it's very much worth experiencing.

8. 1979 Revolution: Black Friday ; Telltale style game about the Iranian Revolution. The narrative had it's hits and misses but overall it had a pretty tight focus and works as a teaching tool for that time period for anyone who may not have as much knowledge about what was going on. My one complaint would be the abrupt ending which I assume they will continue to make more games to expand on given the ending and all.

9. The Division ; Played it briefly at a friend's house. I don't tend to like shooters but I liked how it approached the genre in rpg terms. I don't like how much it relies on cover sometimes but it was fun and makes me want to get a Xbox One to play with friends.

10. Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma ; I quite liked it despite my lukewarm attitude about some of the returning characters(and dislike of Mira)/lost plot threads from previous games in the series. Overall a solid game though. Not the strongest in the series but it was alright. It has one of my favorite characters in the whole series so I forgive it somewhat there.

Honorable Mentions:
X. Civ VI ; I can't comment on it much as I haven't really played well....pretty much anything. It would definitely place in the top 10 if I had played it though.

X. Mr. Robot:1.51exfiltrati0n.apk ; I will have to properly rank it sometime down the line. I'm holding off playing it til I watch the show. It is however on my immediate radar specifically because it's by the Oxenfree devs. It being a mobile game also intrigues me even more since it incorporates that into the gameplay itself. It seems very unique and interesting. It's what I come to expect from Night School Studios already with their Oxenfree outing.

X. Animal Crossing: New Leaf- welcome amiibo ; just an update so moving it here.

Devil Daggers ; RPS is right, this is one game I keep coming back to. It is frantic, fun, and rewarding.

1. Titanfall 2 ; The best FPS campaign since Half-Life 2 with a killer MP component. A masterpiece.

2. Uncharted 4 ; The series refined to its pinnacle with flawless storytelling and character building.

3. Overwatch ; The best multiplayer shooter in years. Flawless team based gameplay with a wonderful cast. Constant updates ensure the game never gets stale.

4. Dark Souls 3 ; The greatest-hits of the Souls series. Has everything that makes the series great rolled into one game with some of the best bosses of the series. Way to go out with a bang

5. Hyper Light Drifter ; A beautiful 16-bit rendition of Zelda with RPG elements and Dark Souls mechanics. Excellent combat and wonderful soundtrack.

6. SUPERHOT ; A mind boggling shooter that is just as much of a puzzle game. Also makes a good commentary of internet culture.

7. DOOM ; A title that truly understands what makes DOOM a great series. Bloody, ferocious, and rewarding of nonstop aggression, DOOM is a blast.

8. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ; Another installment in the excellent series that learns from many of the mistakes of its predecessor. A few missteps in the narrative and hamfisted social commentary keep it from being incredible.

9. X-Com 2 ; Takes a lot of what made the previous to addicting and adds in so much more customization, objectives, classes, enemy types, etc and manages to balance them extremely well.

10. Final Fantaxy XV ; A deeply flawed, beautiful mess of a game. With a mesmerizingly beautiful world and great lore, it openly invites you to explore it. The terrible narrative however is the biggest offender in its flaws as well as some questionable design decisions stemming from its troubles dev cycle. However a great finale, the best antagonist in recent installments, and an fantastic combat system makes the game worth the wait.

1. Forza Horizon 3 ; Not even a genre of games that I typically enjoy, but this game draws me in more than any other racer ever has which should really be commended. I never thought I would have a racing game even in my top ten let alone at the top. Really want to spend more time with this as I got into it late but have not been able to put it down since.

2. Inside ; Had not played Limbo before I played this. Was really a fun and unique experience, still not sure what the hell happened story wise.

3. Dark Souls III ; Not the best Souls game but definitely had the best Boss fights along with some beautiful locations.

4. Doom ; Rented this bad boy and played straight through it, Non stop fun.

5. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; Not as good as the previous expansion but still an amazing setting with a satisfying conclusion to the Witcher story.

6. Gears of War 4 ; Did not really add anything to the franchise that was not already there but it was still a great Gears experience.

7. Pokémon Sun/Moon ; I enjoyed this more than any of the prior 3ds entries.

8. Battlefield 1 ; Have only played this periodically at my brother's place, but I will be getting it tomorrow for myself with some gift cards, great game and really enjoy the non futuristic setting.

9. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Special Edition ; More Skyrim is never a bad thing. Plus console mods!

10. Dead Rising 4 ; Just got it and only played a bit but I love it so far and I needed a tenth game!

1. Uncharted 4 ; What can I say? An epic end to an amazing franchise. Exactly what I expected and wouldn't change anything about it.

2. DOOM ; Way above expectations. After all the rumors this game shows up exactly what made doom great. Fast action FPS. I can't wait for the inevitable sequel.

3. Final Fantasy 15 ; Say what you will about the story, but the gameplay is where it is at. Enjoyed 70+ hours of play with this game, and other than a certain mission which went on for way too long, I enjoyed my entire time with it. I look forward to what they add to the game going forward.

4. The Last Guardian ; The wait was worth it. The AI can be reluctant some times, but that’s just how animals are.

5. Pokemon Sun Moon ; While not exactly what I was expecting, this game still delivers. A great Pokemon game all around. Probably higher rated than X/Y to me. The online aspect is poorly implemented.

6. Dark Souls 3 ; Great dark souls game, however at this point I think I’m becoming more tired of the formula.

7. World of Final Fantasy ; Fun game, love the returning final fantasy characters, and the stack game mechanics.

8. Ratchet and Clank ; Over my initial expectations. The animations are great. Made me remember why I loved the original games, and that is saying something.

9. Stardew Valley ; So much time spent in this game. Going in blind was a fun experience. Playing through it again with a guide expanded the game even further for me.

10. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine ; This honestly was better in many way than the main game.

Man, this is going to be a tight race this year. Just reading through the posts there is no clear #1.

1. Final Fantasy XV ; Shocked at how great this one turned out. Never cared about Final Fantasy games after VI but I took a chance on XV and I am consistently surprised with how enraptured I am by the world and especially the rich, lovable characters. Watch Kingsglaive and Brotherhood beforehand for best results.

2. DOOM ; Another great surprise. Extremely intense and fun game that I would have to play 1-2 levels at a time because of how exhausting it is.

3. The Last Guardian ; Gorgeous game. Completely lives up to the quality of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Trico is believable.

4. Watch_Dogs 2 ; By far my favorite GTA ever. Love the tone, the variety, the ability to play non-lethally, and the cast.

5. Dark Souls 3 ; Can't get enough of this series, but if this is the last one then From Software went out with a bang. Memorable bosses, expert level design, and faster combat like Bloodborne.

6. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Easily the highpoint of the Uncharted franchise. Great acting, harrowing set-pieces, nice stealth addition, and a tremendous farewell to Nathan Drake.

7. Inside ; Had no idea what to expect from this game and I ended up playing it all in one sitting. Engrossing, bizarre, provocative, genius.

8. Titanfall 2 ; Got this strictly for the single player and I was not at all disappointed. The variety from level to level is incredible with fantastic platforming and the second best partner this year aside from Trico.

9. Dishonored 2 ; My first playthrough with Emily was high chaos and satisfying. My second playthrough with Corvo was low chaos and somehow even more fun. Didn't except to love this game as much as I did.

10. Kirby: Planet Robobot ; 25 years after his debut this is somehow Kirby's best game yet.


Honorable mention
X. Star Fox Zero ; My most hyped game for the year by a long shot and it is better than people give it credit for but not all that I hoped it would be. If this gets a port to the Switch that can make the controls more intuitive I'll be all over it.

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; An expansion that is better than many standalone experience, a crescendo ending to the memorable withcering experience.

2. Pokémon Sun/Moon ;

3. Dark Souls III ;

4. Rise of the Tomb Raider ;

1. Overwatch ; The only multiplayer shooter to get me interested in online play since TF2, and this game is way better than TF2.
2. Dragon Quest Builders ; I've never been so addicted to a game in my life. Charming and wonderful to play and build.
3. The Last Guardian ; It's everything a fan of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus was hoping for.
4. Final Fantasy XV ; Weird pacing and glued together story aside, everything else is awesome and it's a game that doesn't exist elsewhere.
5. Bound ; A game with a beautiful aesthetic, amazing animations, and an awesome concept.

1. Overwatch ; The best FPS since the old-school Halos. Accessible yet deep competitive game that feels completely different every time I play.
2. Atlas Reactor ; This random-ass game that I decided to try with some friends on a whim ended up being one of the coolest games I've ever played. It's like some weird PVP combination of XCOM and a strategy RPG and it works so incredibly well. I can't really explain it that well but there is a free version, and I'd heartily recommend trying it out.
3. DOOM ; A modern take on a classic series. One of the few good reboots I've seen in a long time. Pure adrenaline.
4. Titanfall 2 ; I didn't expect anything from this game after what I felt was a pretty shallow experience in the original title. Surprisingly superb campaign with some fantastic environments and mechanics you don't find in most shooters.
5. Tom Clancy's The Division ; This game gets a lot of hate (and has a lot of flaws) but I had a blast in co-op with some friends. Really cool setting and stylistic direction. Dark Zone is a killer concept that I can't wait to see expanded upon in the next game.
6. Firewatch ; Kind of faltered a bit near the end, but Firewatch was still an enthralling little experience that hooked me for its brief stay. Great VA from its small cast.
7. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; Probably the best Uncharted game. Naughty Dog took a bit of what they learned from TLOU and applied it pretty well to a completely different series. Still suffers from some of the same nagging issues in previous games, but overall UC4 is a very competent blockbuster adventure game with some of the coolest sets in the series.

Honorable Mentions
x. Superhot ; Just finished this today. Clever deconstruction of the FPS genre. Extremely short game but a one-of-a-kind experience.
x. Gears of War 4 ; Not really any innovation here, but a fun co-op romp over a weekend. Infinitely better than Judgment.

It's been a good year for shooters.

I should also mention that I haven't played a LOT of 2016 releases (hence the short list). Things like XCOM 2, TLG, Hitman and Ratchet, to name a few.

Dragon1893 said:

Yakuza 5 was last year.

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oh... i guess then i'm down to 5. damn i can't think of 10 games...

1. Uncharted 4 ; Lovingly crafted campaign made with heart and full of character, add to that highly addictive multiplayer without forcing microtransactions on the player.

2. The Last Guardian ; Technical faults aside, the relationship developed through gameplay was incredible.

3. Dishonored 2 ; Great level design, cool powers, and excellent replay value.

4. Deus Ex Mankind Divided ; While the set pieces were disappointing compared to Human Revolution, the gameplay and missions were still solid and kept me engaged throughout.

5. Hitman ; Crazy and hilarious details make this stealth game extra special, and gameplay that encourages exploration and replays. My only main problem was the overall story felt kind of glued together given the episodic format.

6. Oxenfree ; Barring the occasional awkward dialogue, this creepy and unique game made me want more from Night School Studio.

7. Inside ; Amazing atmosphere, played through this in one night.

8. Firewatch ; Intriguing and a bit unsettling to play through.

9. Abzu ; Beautiful game to relax and sit down with a cup of tea.

10. Gears of War 4 ; The set pieces and graphics were excellent, but the gameplay, while solid, felt like not much had changed. That ending was extremely abrupt, I thought there was at least one more chapter left.

1. Dark Souls III ; An incredible journey through an amazing world. I didn't want it to end.
2. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; A great action/adventure game with stunning graphics.
3. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; It's on my list solely for it's stellar survival mode. Might be the best horde mode ever. SP is OK but has pacing issues. Graphics are amazing as usual.
4. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare ; The Wing Commander game I always wanted. MP is trash though.

1. The Witness ; An amazing experience from start to finish. The Witness frequently introduces clever new ideas that will keep you on your toes and hides some of its biggest secrets in plain sight, you just won't know it until you've learned enough of the visual language that the game uses to communicate with you. It rivals Portal as the best puzzle video-game ever made. The world design, setting and surrounding mystery made it truly memorable. One of those rare games that show you what makes this medium so special and sticks with you long after you've finished it.

2. The Last Guardian ; A close 2nd, worth the wait and my favorite Team Ico game. A magical story about friendship and learning to trust each other. Trico feels unlike any creature you’ve ever encountered in a video game, he(?) feels like a living, breathing animal. The sense of scale is stunning, environmental puzzles are well designed and unique, the story is moving and told in a minimalistic way that let’s your mind fill in the gaps. TLG deserves all the criticism for its controls and camera, it sometimes made the game a very frustrating experience for me. You’ll also have to unlearn a lot what modern platforming games taught you, there are no glowy waypoint markers and there’s no hand-holdiness during platforming in this game. You can fall to your death at any moment and I like that they designed it that way. It is decidedly old-school game-design with some of the most beautiful animations, graphics and music you’ll ever experience in a game. The art on display is stunning and I think Ueda is one of the most important auteurs in this medium. His ambition always seems greater than what’s currently possible (20fps SotC, TLG on PS3). I can’t help but love his works of art even more because of that, when you finally get a chance to play a game like TLG, it feels stubbornly uncompromising and truly unique.

3. Overwatch ; Got me back into online FPS multiplayer after a long break. It's much closer to playing a sport as a team than just shooting each other. Blizzard actually managed to make playing a support role fun. The game features the most inclusive and diverse cast of characters battling each other on impeccably designed maps. Overwatch was the most fun I had playing a video-game in 2016 and after 100+ hours with it, I'm far from finished.

4. Dark Souls III ; A worthy conclusion to the DS trilogy that felt like a “Greatest Hits”-album but didn’t quite reach the heights of Bloodborne. It’s still unmissable for any fan of the series and features some stunning architecture/level&creature-design. The DLC boss is among the best in all of SoulsBorne.

5. Dragon Quest Builders ; Minecraft for Dragon Quest fans, Minecraft with a story and goals, Minecraft for old people, … call it what you want, this game was a big surprise and a ton of fun.

6. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ; A technical marvel. Very similar to the last 3 games and not as good as RotTR in terms of gameplay, but a satisfying conclusion to the franchise with some impressive set-pieces and an incredibly well-told story with the most likable cast of the PS3 era returning for one last adventure. Great epilogue.

7. Oxenfree ; Very atmospheric presentation and soundtrack, good voice-acting combined with a clever new spin on believable conversations in games. Cool setting and a story that kept me hooked from start to finish.

8. Rez Infinite ; A faithful adaption of Rez in VR would have been enough, but Area X turned it into my favorite VR experience so far. Hope they build on this foundation and work on a proper REZ 2.

9. Firewatch ; A tense story with a likable cast, told in a novel way and scored by a very atmospheric soundtrack. The beautiful presentation was sadly held back by very annoying bugs/crashes on PS4 that almost made it unplayable.

10. Pokemon Go ; Not a very good game per se, but the experience of catching Pokemon in the real world - be it on a hike or on my way to work - felt like magic. Meeting other people near Pokestops, glancing at each other's screens and exchanging that knowing look made Pokemon GO the most communal gaming experience of the year for me



x. Hitman ; Episodic gaming done right, the high amount of options offer lots of replay-ability, a return to form for one of the best stealth franchises in gaming.

x. Root Letter ; My favorite Visual Novel released this year. A trip to Shimane mixed with the search for a missing pen-pal. Not quite “Top 10”-material, but while other VNs tried to tell complex stories full of “complex motives” this year, Root Letter had a much smaller scope and I felt it worked in its favor. Beautiful art and moody soundtrack.

x. Persona 5 ; Would have made the list, but I’m far from finishing the story. It’s very similar to P3/4 but for some reason, P5 is not pulling me in the same way those games did. The presentation is remarkable and Atlus fine-tuned the combat system to perfection.

x. Yakuza 6 ; Only played the first 3 chapters so far, but I can already tell that this is the best mainline Yakuza game in a while. First impressions: Hiroshima is a great new setting, Haruto is a cute little fella, Kiryu has no idea how to use modern technology and it's hilarious. [edit: finished it, loved it. Possibly my favorite mainline Yakuza game, it's up there with 2 and 3. Y6 already has a spot in my 2017 GOTY list]

x. ReCore ; It has its flaws and I didn't finish ReCore because of very annoying glitches and stories of how bad the second half would be, but the core platforming mechanics are pure PS2 platforming joy. I also like the character&robot design a lot. With more polish and without the tacked-on open-world/level gating, this could have been the start of a great new Xbox franchise.

x. Steep; The Forza Horizon of winter sports. Only played a few hours but I can alredy tell that this is a great entry in a genre that hasn't seen many releases since the heyday of SSX and Amped.

x. Inside ; I liked Limbo and appreciated the art and especially the animations in Inside, but the game and its story left me completely cold. Didn't like the puzzle design or how it controlled, the twist felt too random and I was glad when the game was over. Inside is my “I just don’t get what everybody likes about this”-game of 2016. But hey, art is subjective. I might give it another shot in a few years.

x. Dishonored 2, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Titanfall 2, FFXV, Stardew Valley, House in Fata Morgana and many other titles I wanted to try. 2016 was an outstanding year in terms of gaming, up there with 2011, 2007 and 2001.

wild wild rice said:

Nice, very excited for Garegga to release here next year.

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hopefully it comes west and hopefully on a disc. Id gladly quadruple dip

Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma doesn't have its name right in the spreadsheet. It needs a checkmark in the Vita column, too.

1. Uncharted 4 ; I want to praise this game due to it being a remarkable showcase of how far video games have come as a medium. I feel like NDI took what they learned in TLOU and made something very special here.

2. The Witness ; I didn't finish this game. I ran into a brick wall at the end of the game, and couldn't work through it. The moment I realized that puzzles were a lot more than just little screens on which I connected dots was really special. I loved exploring that island.

3. Stardew Valley ; Bought this thing on a whim and ended up playing it every night for months. Well executed, fun, and quirky game.

4. Final Fantasy XV ; I had almost no expectations with this game. I thought (and still think) the characters look stupid and I thought that it looked like a janky mess in pre-release footage. Playing it though is a dream, and it makes me feel more confident in what Square will do with the future of the franchise than I was after XIII.

5. Firewatch ; I may never play this game again, but I really enjoyed their approach to story telling and exploration. I would love to experience more things like this game.

6. No Mans Sky ; In spite of all its flaws and shortcomings, I love exploring places that I've never seen before, and likely will never see again. It's like playing with Terragen circa 2005 but way faster.

7. Ratchet & Clank ; A gorgeous nostalgia trip of a style of game that's been absent from my life for some time.

8. Titanfall 2 ; I bought one shooter this year. This was the one.

My 2016 game of the year is a 2007 remaster, COD4; because its clear people bought IW for COD4RM and it built upon a solid foundation.

Best,

OM

1. INSIDE ; INSIDE managed to one-up Limbo in pretty much every way, moving that game's black&white aesthetic into a much more well-developed visual motif of light and darkness. The environmental puzzles were some of the most naturalistic I have encountered and the open-ended storyline left me with lots to think about when the game ended. An incredible second game from a very talented team. I can't wait to see what they do next.

2. Pony Island ; This game came out of nowhere and gripped me from the very first moment. I don't want to get into what makes it so great, as that basically spoils the whole point of the game, but suffice it to say that I still am not sure whether I beat the game or not. Perfect blend of humor and horror that really should be played by as many people as possible. remember, you will need an actual mouse to play this game. Trackpads are nearly impossible.

3. Overwatch ; Simply multiplayer perfection. Haven't played another game in a long time that's been as fun to play for as many hours as Overwatch is. It took the idea of an objective-based hero shooter and made it more accessible and interesting than it's ever been. The constant supply of new free content has made this a game I'll be coming back to for quite some time.

4. DOOM ; The biggest surprise of the year for me personally. I picked up the game due to the positive buzz and the low price during a Steam sale, and couldn't have been happier. I was never even a huge fan of DOOM when I was younger, but goddamn if id didn't do an amazing job updating the game to modern standards while maintaining what made the series so great in the first place. Some of the best level design in the genre, excellent weapon diversity, a killer progression system, and soul wrenching music cements this game in the annals of shooter history.

5. Civilization VI ; What can I say other than this game was a perfect update to the Civilization franchise, taking what I liked about Civ V and increasing the depth of play by a good degree. I can't wait to see what the expansions add. Only strike against this game for me was the lack of team play.

6. Stardew Valley ; I was never that big into Harvest Moon, but this game grabbed me from basically the first moment I played it. One of the best examples of impossible to put down gaming. The fact that this greatness was developed by just one person makes me love it even more.

7. Fire Emblem: Fates ; Waifu weirdness aside, this was a perfect strategy title for me. So good that after playing Birthright, I immediately bought and beat Conquest after which I immediately bought and beat Revelations. I hate the weird dating sim elements, but the rest of the package was so good, I could overlook it.

8. Oxenfree ; A great point and click adventure game that really refined a lot of the issues that I have with the genre these days. Dialogue actually felt meaningful, the characters were relatable, and the branching paths offered some good opportunity for replayability. A really good game and one that had to make the list.

9. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE ; This game surprised me for sure. Wasn't certain what to make of it prior to launch, but the premise always intrigued me. I loved the mixture of pop idol success story and JRPG goodness. This is certainly one the most overlooked games this year. Track it down if you have a Wii U and don't look back.

10. Overcooked; Pure co-op greatness. Constantly restarting to get the perfect flow of tandem cookery felt great and the ever varied level design along with free holiday content made me fall in love. this was the game that made the Steam Link seem worth it me, and it wasn't a fact I had even considered prior to my friend bringing it over to work through this awesomeness.

1. Battlefield 1- Incredible piece of work from DICE. As far as multiplayer is concerned, Battlefield has never been better.

2. Total War: Warhammer - Always been a fan of CA's work, and they did it again with this one. Their continued devout support for modding is a breath of fresh air. You don't have to be a huge Warhammer fan to sink 155 hours into this one.

3. Civilization VI - They do it every time. I can think of no other franchise that can devour people's lives like this one. Excellent.

4. Owlboy - I'm literally 42 minutes into this one, and it may yet finish higher. I just to haul ass and finish it to really judge if it's going to be that amazing for me. Watch this space.

5. Enter the Gungeon - I don't normally like Roguelikes, but this one does it well. Plenty of unique enemies and scenarios, gorgeous and clever pixel art, and extremely difficult bullet hell.

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine ; A great expansion pack absolutely gushing with high quality main quest and side content.
2. Stardew Valley ; An idyllic Harvest Moon-like game originating on PC now moves to console. A switch version would be interesting to see.
3. Doom ; id really redeemed themselves after the lukewarm reception of RAGE in 2011. It's quite the technical feat beyond the great gameplay loop it offers.

wild wild rice said:

A lot of people sleeping on Pocket Card Jockey, apparently.

Click to expand...

Oh, I forgot I'd played it. I played maybe 30-45 mins of the demo. I really enjoyed my time with it but it's probably not the kind of game I'd get into necessarily. I'm keeping it mind for a rainy day, though. I liked it enough to give it honorable mention props but I feel like I can't rank it (or Starfox Guard, which I also played a similar amount of time of) since I played such a small portion of it.